After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Paper Man Leads the Way

The bit of sympathy in Jiang Huaiyi’s heart was completely gone. She gave her a resentful look.

Sure enough, what her senior sister said was right. She secretly criticized Shen Wensi in her heart.

She retorted quietly, “You’re so capable, yet you still need me, a short person, to help you.”

After she said that, she felt much more balanced in her heart. Even the most capable person would get hurt.

She wasn’t a good-for-nothing.

She felt the hand on her shoulder tighten after she said those words. She nervously leaned closer to Shen Wensi’s shoulder.

She asked nervously, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Shen Wensi’s voice came over coldly: “In that case, when we see a ghost later, you’ll face your fear head-on.”

Jiang Huaiyi stiffly turned her head and saw her fake smile.

With that, she heavily patted Jiang Huaiyi’s shoulder again. The force was so great that she wondered if her weak appearance was an act.

Jiang Huaiyi showed a wry smile and continued to support her as they walked.

Once again, they returned to the passage. The fire inside was very weak now. They could only barely see the inside.

After their eyes had adjusted, they could walk freely in the dark environment.

Jiang Huaiyi took out the fine silk cloth and glanced at it, finding that the scroll was very close to where they were.

She vigilantly looked around, afraid that the little ghost would suddenly pop out.

Although she still wasn’t sure about her guess from just now, she was still taking precautions based on the principle of “better to be safe than sorry.”

Shen Wensi looked at her as if she were facing a great enemy and found it a little funny.

She wanted to say a word of comfort, but what came out was, “I’m here. What are you so afraid of?”

Jiang Huaiyi heard that, looked her up and down, and sighed. She didn’t say anything but took the initiative to act as a “crutch.”

The meaning was so obvious. Shen Wensi put her hand on her shoulder with a dark expression.

A healthy Shen Wensi could handle it, but a injured Shen Wensi couldn’t.

The two of them started chatting casually: “I thought all you ghost cultivators were very strong. It turns out you’re just mortals too, and you get hurt.”

Shen Wensi glanced at her: “I also thought you ‘Xuanmen’ disciples were all brave and capable people. I didn’t expect you to be completely different.”

The two of them went back and forth. If it weren’t for their composed expressions, an outsider would surely think they were arguing.

Jiang Huaiyi learned more about her, and a different thought arose in her heart.

She was completely different from the ghost cultivators her senior sister talked about. The difference was so big that it was like her senior sister bought a pirated game and said the game was no fun.

But when she, unwilling to give up, bought the genuine version, she fell in love with it.

This feeling was indescribable, especially since she couldn’t complain to her senior sister. For a moment, her emotions were fluctuating, and her eyes looking at Shen Wensi lit up.

Shen Wensi looked at her and saw the brightness in her eyes. She asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve found that you’re really different from those people. You’re a good person.”

Shen Wensi raised an eyebrow: “You’ve only known me for a short time. How can you say I’m a good person? If you had met those people…”

She paused here. Jiang Huaiyi pressed on: “What would happen if I met those people?”

Shen Wensi said in a serious tone: “You would realize that I really am a good person.”

She didn’t have a smile on her face, and even the curve of her lips didn’t change.

It made it hard for Jiang Huaiyi to tell if she was joking.

She wanted to laugh, but she was afraid that Shen Wensi would get all sarcastic again. She was so憋 up that her face turned red.

It had to be said that the atmosphere between the two of them had become a lot more relaxed.

It made her feel less heavy when looking at the people around them.

As Jiang Huaiyi smiled and looked down at the fine silk cloth, a black shadow suddenly flashed in front of her.

She looked up abruptly, startled.

She subconsciously turned her head, ready to help Shen Wensi again.

She reached out her hand but grabbed empty air.

She cursed in her heart, “Here we go again.” With her past experience at the New Min Villa, she wasn’t as panicked now.

It was just that the coldness in her heart rose again without Shen Wensi in sight.

Although she already knew that this was an illusion, she couldn’t help but call out her name: “Shen Wensi!”

No one answered her.

Although it was expected, Jiang Huaiyi really hoped that the other person’s voice would sound, telling her that she was there.

She suddenly felt that this habit was not good. She shouldn’t always rely on other people.

Jiang Huaiyi took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down so she wouldn’t be so scared.

The air mixed with a pungent smoke smell entered her nasal cavity. She covered her nose and looked at the blackened walls around her.

She found that this place was no different from where she was just now. Could it be that she was not the one who entered the illusion this time?

If it was Shen Wensi, Jiang Huaiyi couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

Her current physical condition was not very good. She didn’t know how difficult it would be for her to deal with other things.

Thinking of this, Jiang Huaiyi started to feel a little anxious.

She no longer cared about the oxygen problem below. She hurriedly took out a lighter and a candle and lit it.

She held the flickering candlelight with one hand and started looking for Shen Wensi’s figure.

She didn’t know how far she had walked. There was no sign of Shen Wensi anywhere.

She didn’t even see a single strange thing. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

Jiang Huaiyi returned to where the two of them had been standing. She found that there was only white candle wax left from when she had lit the fire. Other than that, there was nothing else.

It was as if Shen Wensi had never appeared here.

The sounds around her also disappeared. The people who were crying on both sides were now sitting there lifelessly, their eyes staring at Jiang Huaiyi without moving.

The icy expressions on their faces made her feel terrified.

She held the candle, her mind racing, thinking of a way to find her.

The sudden disappearance of the person made her mind a complete mess.

Jiang Huaiyi found a corner, placed the candle on the ground, took out a piece of white paper from her backpack, and quickly cut out a paper man.

Then she felt a little lost. She didn’t have any of Shen Wensi’s belongings on her, and she didn’t even know her date of birth.

She felt annoyed. She looked at herself with hope.

They were so close just now. Was it possible that her hair had fallen on her?

It was not easy to find a single black hair of Shen Wensi’s on her dark jacket. She held the candle and carefully shone it on herself.

She found a black hair on her shoulder. After carefully taking it off, she looked at the length and the smooth black hair quality. It must be Shen Wensi’s.

She fixed the candle on the ground. As Jiang Huaiyi chanted the spell, she threaded the hair onto the paper man.

She tied a small knot. The little paper man stretched its limbs and came alive in her hand.

Its two round little hands waved and rubbed against Jiang Huaiyi’s finger, then prepared to jump down.

She hurriedly said, “The light here is not good. Guide me on my hand. I want to find the owner of this hair.”

The paper man tilted its round little head, seeming a little confused.

The “Xuanmen” school, as long as they had “Opened their eyes,” could more or less see through things. Generally, only very basic spells needed the help of external objects.

The last time Jiang Huaiyi used it was a long time ago.

But with her timid personality, she didn’t dare to “Open her eyes” down here at all. Although she could see now, if she “Opened her eyes,” this would be a completely different world.

Jiang Huaiyi sighed. Her face looked very calm under the candlelight. This small patch of light illuminated one person and one paper man.

The surroundings were pitch black. She was like a fire in a snowy night. The light was here, and the light and darkness were in her heart.

“Please help me, Xiao Kui.”

The spirit in the paper man had always been the big old dog who had come to her house in its twilight years.

It was her master’s pet, and it left after three years of companionship.

When her master left, it was three years old. When it left, it was thirteen, and Jiang Huaiyi was six.

Since then, it had been guarding her. Occasionally, it would appear in her dreams with her master and play with her. It was one of the only two spirits she wasn’t afraid of.

The paper man nodded, turned around, and pointed its round little hand in a direction in the darkness.

Jiang Huaiyi took a deep breath and grabbed the candle that had been fixed on the ground.

Following the paper man’s direction, she walked into the boundless darkness.

The little paper man sat down on her hand and kept pointing the way for Jiang Huaiyi.

Due to the complex terrain underfoot, she didn’t walk too fast.

The eyes of the people around her became stranger and stranger. They seemed to have discovered her, an outsider, which made her feel as if she had a thorn in her back.

The paper man in her hand seemed to have sensed her nervousness and would occasionally gently pat her fingertip with its floating hand to comfort her.

She could imagine that cute “four-eyed golden-haired” dog wagging its tail at her. Her heart finally relaxed a little.

She concentrated on looking for Shen Wensi’s figure.

After several twists and turns, she returned to where the two of them had been standing. The white candle wax was still on the ground. Jiang Huaiyi frowned.

She had clearly searched here just now, and there was no trace of Shen Wensi.

She was a little confused, but the paper man didn’t make any further moves. It stood on her hand and turned its small body toward her.

Its face was originally blank, but now it was a little wrinkled and vaguely looked like a face.

Jiang Huaiyi was a little strange. Just as she was about to hold the candle closer, she saw the paper man’s round little hand stiffly point to the side.

She looked at the direction of its finger with some curiosity. Below it was an unopened wooden box.

The wooden board on top was a little askew, revealing the pitch-black interior.

Jiang Huaiyi asked, “Is the person I’m looking for inside?”

The paper man nodded. Before she could say anything else, it leaped from her hand, floated a few times, and landed perfectly next to the wooden box.

Its round little hand pointed to the gap next to the wooden board.

Jiang Huaiyi no longer hesitated. She pinched the edge of the wooden board and pulled the entire board off.

The board was not very heavy. This was almost instantaneous. A distorted body came into her sight.

Her breathing suddenly became rapid.

The woman in the wooden box was in a distorted position, almost embedded inside. Every gap was tightly blocked. The woman had a familiar face, with a strange smile on it.

It was no one else but herself!

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