After My Faked Death Failed, Can I Still Find a Happy Ending? - Chapter 4

Having said that, there are simply too many markers here representing Canglu. Making this deduction naturally seems reasonable; yet, Ji Mian still feels a bit guilty.

Every step of the way, it was Ji Mian who guided her here. Lin Qingye has such a sharp nature; she wonders if Lin Qingye has already grown suspicious of her.

“It looks very similar.”

Ji Mian ran to the side to activate the mechanism, and the two naturally stood a bit further apart.

The stone platform emitted a loud roar, and then slowly began to descend. Just as it was about to reach the bottom, the pedestal beneath them made a click sound, and the rumbling ceased.

In the darkness, Ji Mian vaguely sensed that the space had opened up. The whistling of the wind in her ears quieted, yet the air became increasingly chilly. She could not help but shiver. Suddenly, a blade of wind whipped toward her, coming to a steady halt right at her throat.

Lin Qingye, reacting with lightning speed, instantly moved to Ji Mian’s side, her own blade, Shuangjiang (Frostfall), pointed directly at the intruder’s vital point.

The moment Lin Qingye stepped over, Ji Mian caught a glimpse of the young girl’s features by the light of the fire in her hand. It was as if it were a hallucination, fleeting and gone in an instant, but Ji Mian still managed to catch the moment she shed her disguise.

Ji Mian: !!!

“Who are you? How did you get down here?”

The girl’s voice was sharp, sounding like the friction of a dry wooden cork against the mouth of a bottle.

Lin Qingye observed her carefully for a moment; the pressure of her hand inadvertently eased.

“It is two against one. I think you should be the one to answer our question first.”

The girl gasped heavily, struggling to swallow. The moment she turned her head, she accidentally met Ji Mian’s blood-red eyes. She flinched, her hand trembled, and the dagger grazed Ji Mian’s neck, instantly filling the air with the scent of blood.

“Hisss.”

The girl naturally saw the wound on Ji Mian. She had not intended to hurt anyone, and now she panicked. Unable to hold the dagger steadily, it fell straight to the ground.

“I am sorry, I did not mean it.”

“Are… are you okay? Should I help you bandage that?”

Ji Mian waved her hand without speaking, tore off a strip of cloth, and wrapped it around her neck.

Lin Qingye glanced at her, then glanced at her again…

She reached out and adjusted the cloth upward, finally covering the bloody wound completely.

“So, who are you?”

“I… I came down to look for someone, and then I could not get back up.”

Only then did Ji Mian notice a piece of leather armor lying to one side, along with an ugly-looking pair of gloves, which appeared to be gear for diving.

Besides the entrance they used, the only other way to enter this underground palace was through the front gate via the river.

“Do you have water? Or food?”

The girl smacked her lips, her nostrils fluttering slightly. Her cracked lips appeared pale, and she could not help but keep licking them, only to be stung by the pain. A pair of huge, sagging bags hung under her eyes, making her look just like a ghost.

Lin Qingye took a water flask and some dry rations from her person, giving her only a portion and urging her to eat slowly. She watched the girl’s movements closely while patiently questioning her.

“Looking for someone? Why look for someone in the underground palace?”

“There are ghosts haunting the city. The day I came down, Xiao Yan’s family said she had gone missing. I went to beg Old Woman Wang, and she said Xiao Yan was down here.”

“Did you not find her?”

“No. There are too many traps inside, and I just got trapped here.”

The girl ate a little, her manners relatively refined. She wiped the crumbs from her lips, took a gulp from the water flask, and explained hurriedly.

“Old Woman Wang is a famous shaman in the village. When the haunting started, the local officials took her away. We have always had a legend that only the elderly know the truth, and Old Woman Wang is one of them. She told me that it was the River God in the river causing trouble. As long as I gave this item to the River God, it would soften its heart and let the person go.”

The girl took out a rather exquisite small box from her clothing, which contained a gemstone. Lin Qingye only took one look before her brows furrowed immediately.

“Do you know what this is?”

There was even a hint of anger in her voice when she spoke.

The girl shook her head and honestly handed the item to Lin Qingye.

“Never mind. You should not hold onto this thing; it is too dangerous.”

Lin Qingye withdrew her gaze, took the small wooden box, fumbled around the stone platform they had descended on, and pressed the mechanism to ascend.

“Let us go. We will take you back.”

“But…”

“Fine.”

The group lingered in the outskirts for a while, only returning to the city when dawn was approaching. Lin Qingye looked toward the moat; rows of weeping willows were planted along the bank, swaying gently in the breeze—a tranquil and beautiful scene. She did not see any tree that looked out of place, not a trace of the blood-curdling scene from the night before.

The two first went to a medical clinic to have their wounds treated before leading the girl to the government office. Lin Qingye wrote the petition and handed it to the bailiff. After a short wait, the magistrate invited them inside.

When they entered the yamen, they discovered the person who should have been sitting in the main seat was nowhere to be found. Instead, an old woman was sitting to the side, holding a bowl of tea. Her face was shriveled and wrinkled, and when she saw them enter, those wrinkles deepened even further.

The girl did not dare to look at the old woman at all, shrinking timidly behind Ji Mian.

“Why are you hiding? Do you even know how to come back?”

The old woman set down her teacup, leaned on her cane, and walked toward them. Holding her waist with one hand, she used her cane to tap the girl’s legs. The girl hopped around behind Ji Mian, apologizing profusely.

“Grandma, I will not do it again. Please forgive me.”

“You have been down there for ten days. If you had not come back, I, with these old bones, would have had to go down into the water to fetch you myself!”

Ten days? Could a person really survive for so long in such a place without food or water?

“Ma’am, we only arrived in the city a few days ago. We are quite curious about the River God matter. I wonder if you would be willing to tell us about it?”

Lin Qingye could see that the old woman and the girl had a deep connection, but she did not know if the old woman would be willing to return this favor.

Upon hearing this, the old woman finally straightened her posture and looked the two over. When her gaze swept over Ji Mian, she paused for a long time. Ji Mian felt uneasy under her stare and instinctively looked away.

“How can such things be told to commoners like you? Since the magistrate is already handling this matter, there is no need for you to be anxious. Rest assured, it may be resolved by tomorrow. When that time comes, you can enjoy yourselves here; our feng shui and local delicacies are quite good.”

The old woman tapped her cane and called out to the girl.

“Xiao Qin, hurry home. Your mother has been looking for you.”

That evening, the two arrived at the government office as agreed. They saw a figure dressed in night-traveling clothes. The old woman lifted the corner of her garment and looked at the two for a while.

“It is not convenient to talk here. Follow me.”

The two were led to a small alley where there was a household in the corner. The old woman reached out and pushed open the outer wooden door. However, she did not open the inner room door; instead, she asked them to sit at a small, low wooden table in the courtyard.

Ji Mian felt that something was wrong not long after sitting down. The air carried a strange, musty odor. She subconsciously glanced at Lin Qingye, only to find the other party’s expression unchanged.

Could it be that only I can smell it? She followed the scent toward the locked door. The wooden door was not sturdy; a small crack had opened in the middle. Ji Mian squinted to peer through the gap and, for a flash, saw a patch of green ghost fire.

Where did this evil formation come from?

“Seeing that the two of you are not ordinary people, I will speak plainly. Beneath the moat, there is an underwater palace. According to investigations, it is the ruins of the Canglu Kingdom. Canglu was destroyed after losing a war, but the treasures of the country were never leaked; it is logical to think they were hidden in these ruins. The magistrate wants to swallow this fortune alone and does not allow news about it to spread. The underwater palace is full of traps and guarded by a ‘River God.’ The magistrate had no other choice but to find me, this shaman.”

Lin Qingye lowered her eyes, tapping her fingertips on the tabletop.

“Why did you choose to tell us?”

“The River God is always coming up to abduct people; this cannot continue. I want peace. You can take whatever is in the palace; all I want is for you to capture that River God.”

“What exactly is this ‘River God’?” Ji Mian asked curiously, interrupting.

“This… I have never seen it myself, so I do not know.”

Ji Mian asked, “Then, are the corpses of the deceased still there?”

“The young person’s death was ill-fated. We performed a ritual a few days ago and had the body buried in the suburbs south of the city.”

The two bid the shaman farewell and snuck back to the inn.

“Lin Qingye.”

“Both of those people are acting suspicious.”

Lin Qingye nodded.

“The aura on that girl is wrong. How could someone survive for ten days without food or water?”

“As for that old woman, I cannot quite put my finger on it.”

Lin Qingye frowned, looking as if she had been pondering for a long time, yet she still had no leads.

“Never mind. We will just have to go down again.”

That was true; just thinking about it here would not lead to any conclusions.

Ji Mian felt uneasy. She remembered the plot of the story: Ji Zhiheng had swapped the Lisheng Xu (The Sequence of Living) in advance, and Lin Qingye only discovered some ancient texts in the palace. How was it that this time, all the weirdness of the village was manifesting at once?

That girl was likely a demon, and the old woman might be involved in something shady—it was truly unthinkable. But if those two were in league with each other, would it not be dangerous for the two of them to enter the palace together?

“Lin Qingye, let us split up.”

Ji Mian at least had the script. She would go down first to test the waters. If the situation went south, Lin Qingye would still be able to provide backup from above.

Moreover, the script is an iron rule. If she accidentally changed something that triggered a chain of butterfly effects, Ji Mian could not bear the consequences.

Therefore, the best option for now was to follow the script to avoid extra trouble.

The two agreed to go their separate ways. They left together, then split up in front of the stone palace.

With the experience from the first time, Ji Mian navigated the underground path with ease, carrying plenty of supplies for unexpected needs.

Ji Mian lit a torch and followed the path deeper. Just as she stepped into the endless corridor, the oil lamps on both sides lit up one by one, leading all the way to the end.

Seeing this, Ji Mian slowed her pace, testing the ground as she moved forward. There were no other tricks here; there was only a door at the end of the road.

Looking back, she did not know how long she had walked, but the candles behind her were extinguishing one by one, as if urging her to enter the room.

And so, she pushed the door open.