After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 28

Chapter 28: Sending off Souls

Jiang Huaiyi looked at the young girl in front of her and found it hard to imagine what she had been through in her early years.

A pang of sadness rose in Jiang Huaiyi’s heart. She thought about what her life would be like if she hadn’t been adopted by her master and cared for by her uncle and senior sister.

Compared to her, she was much luckier.

Seeing her in a daze, Jiang Huaiyi couldn’t help but ask, “What happened after that? How did you end up here?”

The sedan chair did not go to the wealthy man’s house. In the middle of the journey, the city was breached, and the sedan bearers and the butler abandoned her and ran away.

She followed the crowd and ran into the air-raid shelter, where she eventually died.

After she finished speaking, she smiled: “Dying here is actually not so bad.”

Jiang Huaiyi sighed, wanting to say something, but in the end, she didn’t open her mouth.

Compared to her life before she died, she didn’t know how to comfort the other person.

She wanted to say that things would get better, but she no longer had a future.

Her youth and her beautiful future were buried here.

Jiang Huaiyi didn’t say anything else. Instead, she took out the food from her bag and gave it to the other person.

She also started eating. Xu Zhaodi might not have eaten such fresh food for a long time. At first, she ate with restraint, but later, she started to devour it.

Like a starving ghost.

The moment of death was actually not very painful. The feeling of slowly suffocating was not that uncomfortable.

It was just that she had been hungry for too long. The long-term hunger had made her numb, but once she started eating, she couldn’t stop at all.

Shen Wensi didn’t eat anything. She only drank a few sips of water. Her condition was not good.

Jiang Huaiyi looked at her lowered eyebrows and asked, “Can an injury in the ‘Enchantment’ get better after we leave?”

Xu Zhaodi shook her head: “No. A lot of people died in the bombing back then. Her injury is not light. I advise you to get out as soon as possible.”

Jiang Huaiyi was shocked. She looked at the beautiful eyes of the person in front of her.

“But we haven’t found the scroll yet.”

“If you’re not afraid of death, come and get it. What you want is on me.”

She smiled very sweetly, as if she was just talking about a normal thing and chatting with them casually.

Jiang Huaiyi denied her words without hesitation: “We have to take the scroll with us.”

But her body unconsciously shrank back.

The girl smiled, mocking her for her bold front but weak heart.

Jiang Huaiyi suddenly felt that she had lost face. She was thinking of standing up and arguing with her.

A rumbling sound suddenly came from above. The entire tunnel started to shake.

The girl stood up and didn’t say much. Instead, she looked at Jiang Huaiyi and said:

“I advise you to get out now. The ‘Enchantment’ is about to reset. You still have time to get out now. I can’t guarantee what will happen later.”

With that, she crawled back into the box. Since her body had stretched out a lot.

The wooden box from just now was a little difficult to accommodate her. The girl could only fold her limbs again.

She lay down in an extremely distorted position. The box was not very high.

She sat opposite her and could see the girl’s fair and delicate face gradually turning pale and finally purple.

The rumbling sound from above was getting louder and louder. The smell in the tunnel was also getting worse, like a pond of rotting pork.

The stench was unbearable. It was so strong that it made people want to vomit their bile.

Shen Wensi grabbed her hand and watched her walk outside. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed. She asked, “Don’t you want the scroll anymore?”

Jiang Huaiyi shook her head. Her eyes in the darkness were sparkling. The fire seemed to be reflected on two highly polished black obsidian stones.

It made it impossible for people to look away: “I do, but we have to get out first. We can come back down later. In your condition, you might die here if we don’t.”

With that, she dragged Shen Wensi away without a doubt. Her strength was great. With Shen Wensi’s strength gone, she didn’t have to put in any effort at all.

She put her arm around the other person’s waist. The two of them were close together, and their steps were fast as they ran towards the door above.

The iron door above, she didn’t know when, was open. The faint moonlight from outside shone in.

It lit up the stone steps leading up. The two of them walked quickly on the stairs.

Just as they walked out of the iron door, a strong wind rose.

All the scenery in front of their eyes first flew away and then quickly came back.

All the sounds in her ears disappeared with it. The entire pond was like a mute button had been pressed, and her ears were covered.

This hallucination only lasted for a moment. Jiang Huaiyi’s heart felt like it had been hit hard.

After a cold sweat, everything in front of her became clear again.

The sound of the night wind rustling, the rustling of falling leaves, and the chirping of some unknown autumn insects came from her ears.

In the quiet night, the surface of the pond still had the ripples from when she had just fallen in.

Everything seemed to have just happened. A long time had clearly passed, but it felt like only a second had gone by.

She picked up Shen Wensi’s wrist and looked at her watch. It was exactly “zishi” (11 PM to 1 AM).

Counting the time it took for them to walk here, they had only been down there for a short time.

She suddenly understood that the time flow in the two small worlds was not the same.

Shen Wensi coughed twice next to her, covered her chest, and sat on the backpack, gasping for air.

In the quiet night, only the moonlight was shining on her.

It gave her absolutely cold, frosty jade-like face a thin, unnoticeable layer of silver light.

She slightly raised her beautiful phoenix eyes and looked at the stunned Jiang Huaiyi.

She saw her take a few steps and take off all the unnecessary things on her body, leaving only the incense, candles, paper money, and ritual tools in her backpack.

She turned around, and the sound of her sneakers stepping on dead leaves made a crunching sound.

Just as Jiang Huaiyi was about to take a step, she felt her wrist being pulled, and her whole body was held in place by inertia.

Shen Wensi’s voice came from behind her: “Where are you going?”

Jiang Huaiyi pointed to the broken iron door. The answer was obvious.

Shen Wensi shook her head: “No, how are you going to get up now if you go down?”

The “Enchantment” was already on the verge of collapse. This was a “dead array.” The ghosts inside had let them go once, but they wouldn’t be so kind as to let them go a second time.

Jiang Huaiyi pried her hand off. Her face was very calm, completely without the fear she had when she first came.

“Don’t worry. I’ll come back up. You have no idea what my abilities are.”

Shen Wensi sneered: “I can’t agree. Wait for me to rest, and we’ll go back down together.”

Jiang Huaiyi shook her head resolutely: “The only way to break this ‘Enchantment’ is to send all the souls inside away. You’re a ghost cultivator. This is not your area of expertise.”

“What’s more, you’re injured now. I don’t want you to go down there again.”

Jiang Huaiyi spoke quickly. She shook off Shen Wensi’s hand and sprinted into the iron door.

Shen Wensi hurriedly got up. Her heart was beating violently. She was seriously injured inside.

The other person flew away from her fingertips like a butterfly.

She saw Jiang Huaiyi’s bright and mischievous smile, which was hidden in the darkness.

A sudden wave of anxiety rose in her heart. She jumped down without hesitation.

But she didn’t hide in the darkness like the other person. Her legs were firmly on top of the iron door.

A surge of nameless anger rose in her heart. Without caring about the dirt, she reached down.

She only felt solid dirt. The damned “Enchantment” was sealed the moment Jiang Huaiyi jumped in.

The moonlight shone on her face, which was a little eerie. Shen Wensi silently chanted: “Xie Bi’an, come here quickly.”

…

Jiang Huaiyi came down very quickly. Once she was down, the terrifying rumbling sound started again.

The disgusting smell in the air was like it was trying to drive this outsider away quickly.

She stepped on the stone steps. Her heart was pounding. She endured her fear and started to set up the incense array.

She set it all the way inside. The passage was filled with dead bodies. She tried her best not to look at them and walked inside.

She walked back to where the girl had been. Behind her were scattered incense lights, forming a winding path for the dead.

At the end of the path, there was only one patch of fire. It was the candle she had left here, which had now burned out.

It shone on the girl’s face, making her look eerie and strange.

Her shriveled body was lying quietly in the box. A pair of black eyes looked over.

When she smiled, she revealed a dark, hollow mouth. She had turned back into her previous appearance, which made people feel terrified.

Her voice was a little sharp as she asked, “Why are you back again? Do you want to stay here and keep me company?”

Jiang Huaiyi endured the fear that was about to make her faint. She shook her head and carefully picked up the candle on the ground.

The girl’s black eyes followed her hand and stared at the candle.

She said in an eerie voice: “You’re back. I won’t let you go this time.”

With that, she took her hand out of the box and quickly grabbed the wooden wall of the box.

Jiang Huaiyi quickly pulled a candle from her bag and said, “Xiao Zheng, should I take you out?”

The smile on the girl’s face froze. She looked up and stared at her with disbelief.

“What did you say?”

Jiang Huaiyi patiently repeated it. Her tone was very soft: “I’ll take you out. I’ll send you away.”

The girl recovered from her shock and sneered, but she didn’t extend her hand to Jiang Huaiyi: “You’re saying this because you want the thing on me, aren’t you?”

Jiang Huaiyi shook her head. Just as she was about to explain, she saw her take out a rolled-up scroll from behind her.

She said with a half-smile: “What you want is here.”

She observed the expression on Jiang Huaiyi’s face, not wanting to miss any subtle changes.

She had seen people like this before. There were people who had shown her kindness.

But when she took out the scroll, those people would change their faces.

Who could resist the temptation of this thing? The past few decades had taught her that no one could.

She desperately wanted to see this person be greedy and reveal their true nature, just like everyone else.

But Jiang Huaiyi was unmoved. She didn’t look at the scroll at all and repeated the same words: “Xiao Zheng, I’ll take you away.”

The girl threw the scroll at Jiang Huaiyi in a fit of rage: “Who needs your fake kindness? Here’s your thing. Now get out!”

Jiang Huaiyi was unmoved. She pursed her lips and shook her head.

The girl sneered: “Then burn the scroll, and I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Huaiyi heard that, picked up the scroll on the ground, and lit it without hesitation.

She had already handled it. This counted as finding it.

As for the secrets inside, she could just look at the fine silk cloth.

But today, she had to take this person with her.

The scroll burned very quickly. The fire was strong. After it burned, she saw the girl in front of her turn back into her cute appearance from before.

Her mouth was slightly open. She stared at Jiang Huaiyi in a daze. Tears不知道 when, had started to flow down her face.

Jiang Huaiyi took her hand and walked quickly toward the outside.

Her hand was like ice, completely without any warmth. A chill kept coming up.

Jiang Huaiyi gritted her teeth, holding her hand, and brought her to the “array” at the entrance.

She pushed the girl, signaling for her to walk in. After she finished chanting, she would send everyone off together.

Behind her, ghosts were packed tightly. They had just come out and looked terrifying.

The “Enchantment’s” operation had reached its limit. As soon as the girl went in, there was a “bang!”

The earth and rocks above came falling down. The air-raid shelter began to collapse, and everything below was bound to be buried inside.

Jiang Huaiyi only glanced at it, took two steps forward, and didn’t stop her actions.

The ghosts behind her wove a net for her. The condensed power was almost tangible. It blocked the falling earth and rocks for her.

The girl finally couldn’t help but roar, “Are you crazy! If you don’t leave now, you’ll die here! The scroll has already been burned by you! Why are you still here!”

Jiang Huaiyi glanced at her and didn’t retreat. A gap appeared in the net woven by the souls. A huge rock came smashing down from above.

Jiang Huaiyi couldn’t avoid it. She was caught off guard and a mouthful of blood came out.

Her originally steady body stumbled and knelt down. Then she supported herself against the wall and stood up again.

The wails from behind were deafening. She touched the blood on her mouth and forced a smile: “To prevent my countrymen from suffering anymore, and to allow everyone to leave this place!”

The girl walked out from the incense smoke. She was certain that the person in front of her had no malicious intentions.

How could a person bet their life for some completely useless reputation, to save people who were already dead?

Suddenly, she felt that everything down here, and the hatred in her heart, was so meaningless. The people she resented had already died from rat poison years ago.

All her resentment now was because she was trapped in the “Core of the Array,” existing in this way. It was better to leave as soon as possible.

Jiang Huaiyi was still trying to persuade her to return to the “Core of the Array.” No matter what, she would take everyone out today.

The girl suddenly smiled. With a light flick of her finger, the zipper of Jiang Huaiyi’s backpack automatically opened.

She took out the peach wood sword that only had a handle from inside. It was so hot in her cold palm.

“I can’t leave anymore. I’ll leave the scroll to you. You take the villagers and go.”

The black handle of the sword was like a blade, cutting open the girl’s stomach.

A large amount of flesh and blood flowed out. As a Yin soul, she was already in unbearable pain, but she still managed to pull out a delicate scroll from inside.

Jiang Huaiyi had not expected the change to happen so quickly. She looked at the wound that couldn’t heal in a daze.

Her master had never taught her how to use his sword. This incomplete thunderstruck wood had cut open the Yin soul’s body.

It had cut open her soul. She could no longer heal.

She stepped forward and held the girl’s shoulders. Her throat was so choked up that she couldn’t speak.

The rumbling sound from behind was getting stronger. The “Core of the Array” here was broken, and it would soon collapse forever. Jiang Huaiyi looked behind her in a daze.

The tight net from just now scattered as her incense offerings spread out.

A hundred souls turned into countless streams of light, following the incense wind, and their souls returned to their hometowns.

She felt someone push her hard from behind. She subconsciously hugged the corpse that had already turned into a skeleton in her arms.

The thick local accent sounded from behind her. She saw Xu Zheng’s smiling face and her shattered soul body.

“I wish I had met a good person like you before I died. I really want to have one more bite of the date paste cake that my neighbor’s sister gave me. It was so sweet…”

She flew into the sky like a kite, bidding farewell to the rise and fall of the fireflies, and completely disappeared between heaven and earth.

Jiang Huaiyi looked down in a daze and saw the faded wedding dress in her hands, which was wrapped around a messy skeleton.

In her other hand, she was holding a rolled-up scroll.

Her face was pale. She looked at Shen Wensi who was running toward her, knelt on the ground, and fainted.

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