After Redeeming The Beautiful and Tragic Heroine [Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Elder Qin had vanished in the corridor.

Wei Haoran looked to Xue Qingshu in confusion, intending to ask her what to do.

But then he saw that Xue Qingshu, who had been behind him, was also gone.

Wei Haoran’s pupils contracted. In the moment of his stupefaction, the corridor shuddered even more violently.

Beneath his feet, the stone tiles cracked, and a massive fissure, extending along both stone walls up to the ceiling, was terrifying to behold.

Wei Haoran gasped, hesitating whether to continue forward or turn back.

However, in the few breaths he stood there in doubt, the corridor in front of him suddenly emitted a dull “thump,” and then the entire structure began to collapse section by section at an astonishing speed.

Watching the sight, Wei Haoran panicked.

He stopped deliberating whether to advance or retreat and immediately turned tail and ran back.

One step, two steps, three steps…

Wei Haoran pushed himself to the limit, running with the speed of a sprinter.

Finally, just as the last section of the corridor collapsed, he stepped onto the secret passage’s stone stairs.

At the same time, the entire length of the corridor came crashing down with a roar.

Wei Haoran lay exhausted on the stone steps, convinced he was about to lose his soul.

He lay there for a long time, and in his daze, he suddenly heard muffled voices drifting down from the passage above.

“Master, is it really okay for us to do this?”

“What’s not okay? It’s just a test.”

“A test?”

“Yes, a test.”

It was Yu Yuan’s and Xue Qingshu’s voices.

Wei Haoran sprang up from the steps and looked behind him.

Then, he locked eyes with Xue Qingshu, who had just turned the corner of the passage.

Wei Haoran: !

Xue Qingshu: …

She hadn’t expected Wei Haoran to still be alive.

Yu Yuan, walking slower, reached Xue Qingshu’s side. Seeing the other woman stop, she followed her gaze down the stairs.

Then, she also made eye contact with Wei Haoran.

Wei Haoran: !!

Yu Yuan: …………

She hadn’t expected Wei Haoran to still be alive.

She thought the Male Protagonist had already been “sent off.”

The main character’s halo is truly powerful, Yu Yuan sighed inwardly.

Qin Niang, who was walking last, also came down at this moment.

Seeing Xue Qingshu and Yu Yuan standing rooted with complicated expressions, she did the same as them and looked down the stairs.

And then, she also made eye contact with Wei Haoran.

Wei Haoran: !!!

How are they all here?!

Qin Niang: !!!!

She hadn’t expected Wei Haoran to still be alive!

He has some life force…

The four people remained in a momentary standoff, each lost in thought.

Finally, it was Wei Haoran who spoke first, asking Xue Qingshu: “Immortal Lord, this disciple just heard you mention a test. Were you testing me?”

He had been pondering and had neatly put the cause and effect together in his mind.

He confidently thought that “Immortal Lord Wen Ti” must have discovered his potential and deliberately used this collapsing corridor to test his abilities.

He completely failed to recall how he had previously schemed against Yu Yuan and Xue Qingshu.

Nor did he realize that Xue Qingshu harbored murderous intent toward him.

He only believed that because he was so outstanding, “Immortal Lord Wen Ti” must have long forgiven his previous self-preservation attempts and understood his difficulties.

“Immortal Lord, are you satisfied with this disciple’s performance in the test?”

Wei Haoran’s eyes were shining.

Xue Qingshu: . (A blank look.)

Actually, I had no intention of testing him.

Yu Yuan: .. (A look of dawning realization.)

So, the Male Protagonist is actually a naive fool…

Qin Niang: … (A look of judgment.)

What an idiot. It’s obvious she intended to kill you…

The atmosphere once again descended into an awkward silence.

Yu Yuan’s gaze shifted uncomfortably between Xue Qingshu and Wei Haoran. She was genuinely curious about how Xue Qingshu would respond to Wei Haoran.

Xue Qingshu also noticed Yu Yuan’s gaze.

She forcibly restrained the urge to twist Wei Haoran’s neck right there and gave him a perfunctory reply: “Your reaction was still a bit slow.”

With that, she walked down the steps, passed directly by Wei Haoran, and stopped in front of the completely collapsed corridor that blocked the secret passage.

Yu Yuan closely followed Xue Qingshu, also bypassing Wei Haoran.

Then, she mimicked Xue Qingshu, staring at the rough, uneven boulders blocking the passage, and expertly asked the other woman: “Master, what should we do next?”

She figured, given that her villainous master could anticipate Elder Qin’s attempt to harm them, she definitely had a solution.

Sure enough, after only looking at the rubble for a moment, Xue Qingshu told Yu Yuan: “We’ll do this.”

As her voice faded, Xue Qingshu’s hand searched the stone wall on the left side of the passage, finally stopping at a protruding area, which she pressed down firmly.

The protrusion sank into the stone wall.

The entire secret passage began to shake, just like the corridor before.

Seeing this, Yu Yuan quickly scanned the passage, thinking, Based on how these things go, it feels like a new space is about to open.

But instead, Xue Qingshu grabbed her hand and started running up the passage.

Yu Yuan: ???

“Master, why are we running up?” Yu Yuan asked breathlessly, climbing the stairs for the second time.

Behind her, Qin Niang’s expression was also very poor.

As for Wei Haoran, the moment Xue Qingshu lifted her foot, he shot to the very front.

He needed to prove to “Immortal Lord Wen Ti” that he was the fastest.

Xue Qingshu glanced at Wei Haoran’s unmatched, fast-disappearing back and slowed her pace to explain to Yu Yuan: “Because what I just pressed was the self-destruct mechanism for the passage.”

Yu Yuan was shocked: “Self-destruct mechanism?!”

Xue Qingshu was calm: “That’s right. Since we can’t get any clues, I’ll just destroy this place.”

Yu Yuan: !!!

Is this the true villain? If you can’t have it, destroy it!

She mentally mourned Elder Qin for three seconds, then started sprinting upward frantically.

She didn’t want to die in this lightless passage.

The four people in the passage raced upward, but just as they were nearing the exit, the passage stopped shaking.

All four came to an abrupt stop.

Xue Qingshu looked down the passage and said darkly: “I’ll press it again.”

The moment her words dropped, Elder Qin’s voice came from below: “Ahhhhhh, pressing it again—are you trying to force this old man to die?!”

Xue Qingshu was silent, the corners of her mouth curling up almost imperceptibly.

Yu Yuan now understood Xue Qingshu’s intention.

She looked at Elder Qin appearing in their sight and gave Xue Qingshu a mental thumbs-up: When it comes to being ruthless, you’re the best.

Elder Qin stomped up the steps with an angry demeanor.

However, the moment he faced Xue Qingshu, he couldn’t help but lose his nerve.

“Immortal Lord, is there nothing we can talk about nicely?”

Elder Qin tried hard to appear imposing.

But when Xue Qingshu simply looked down, he couldn’t help but retreat a few steps.

“Elder Qin, do you remember what this Lord told you?” Xue Qingshu countered.

What did she say… Elder Qin racked his brains, but couldn’t recall.

Fortunately, Xue Qingshu, considering his advanced age, kindly reminded him: “I said that this Lord hates being lied to more than anything.”

[The implication: You lied to me, now you can prepare to die!]

Elder Qin shuddered, having understood her meaning completely.

“Immortal Lord, this old man will take you down there right now,” he said.

Though Elder Qin was loyal to the City Lord, when faced with preserving his master’s interests versus preserving his own life, he chose the latter.

*******

With Elder Qin no longer causing trouble, the group smoothly entered another brand new corridor.

In the corridor, Xue Qingshu and Yu Yuan walked side-by-side behind Elder Qin, keeping a close watch on him.

Behind the three of them, Wei Haoran and Qin Niang walked together. Along the way, Wei Haoran learned the purpose of their trip from Qin Niang:

To find the Shadow Corpses’ true body and eliminate them.

The end of the corridor was a two-person-high stone door with two copper rings.

Elder Qin stretched out both hands, grasped the copper rings, and knocked three times on the left and four on the right, crisscrossing his strikes. The stone door suddenly burst open with a crash.

The secret room inside was eerie and chilling.

A ghostly, pale-white candlelight illuminated the entire room.

On the left were three compartments, each hung with blood-stained white cloth covering the interior, making it impossible to see what was inside.

On the right were ten rectangular transparent cabinets. The cabinets were empty, but the walls were smeared with black and reddish viscous liquid, most likely where the Shadow Corpses had originally been stored.

Yu Yuan felt a prickle of fear looking at these things, and she instinctively moved closer to Xue Qingshu.

“Master, do you smell a bloody scent?” Yu Yuan rubbed her nose and asked Xue Qingshu.

Xue Qingshu was about to answer.

Elder Qin, beside them, laughed at Yu Yuan: “Young Sect Master, it would be strange if this place didn’t smell of blood. Just look at what’s on your right.”

Yu Yuan: …

She glared resentfully at Elder Qin, internally cursing him for being a bully who picked on the weak.

Xue Qingshu shielded Yu Yuan slightly behind her and said: “There is indeed something strange.”

She looked at the three compartments on the left. “The scent A’Yuan smells is coming from in there.”

Elder Qin: ?

He remembered having cleaned the compartments.

He walked to the side of the compartments and pulled back the white cloth covering one.

Immediately, a thick, heavy smell of blood assaulted their nostrils, filling the entire secret room.

“City… City Lord!”

Elder Qin’s eyes widened. He then pulled back the white cloth on the remaining two compartments.

“City Lord’s Wife, Young City Lord!”

Elder Qin froze completely.

Inside the three compartments, the City Lord and his wife, including the Young City Lord, were all dead…

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