After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Turning the Tables

Jiang Huaiyi felt a wave of eeriness. This perfectly normal-looking person felt more terrifying than the grotesque entities they had encountered thus far. She stepped back nervously and whispered quickly, “What’s the situation? What exactly did you recite?”

Shen Wensi’s expression was grim. Her elegant brows were knitted together in frustration. “It’s a summons. That bastard tricked me.” Her voice, usually as calm as a still lake, held a rare ripple of genuine anger.

Jiang Huaiyi suddenly realized what that long passage of strange characters was. Her memory drifted back to a childhood curiosity a dusty ancient book hidden at the bottom of her Master’s trunk. Those characters belonged to a script few could recognize today: Ghost Script, also known as Tianwen. It was the language used to communicate between the Yin and Yang realms.

She remembered it so clearly because, after teaching herself from that old volume, she had scribbled some characters only to find that her Master could read them perfectly. It was through that incident that she discovered why her Master could only appear in her dreams. No wonder the text felt familiar but indecipherable at a glance; she hadn’t used it in a very long time.

As the memories flooded back, she pieced together the general meaning of the notice. It was a verbal trap: a passage that, once read aloud, would summon a specific person. It was essentially the underworld version of a “chain post” on an internet forum if you read this and don’t forward it, something bad will happen.

Shen Wensi had fallen for it. Had it been Jiang Huaiyi who was tricked by such a petty prank, she would have been fuming. She glanced back at the notice board and noticed a line of crooked characters at the very bottom. Her pupils constricted.

The handwriting was unmistakably her Senior Sister’s. It looked hurried, with uneven letters. She had missed it earlier because she was too focused on the Ghost Script above.

The simple message read: Wensi, we are here.

This meant Chu Lianxue and the others had arrived before them. They had left this message in haste and then vanished.

Jiang Huaiyi’s gaze shifted to the man in the red robe. She pulled Shen Wensi back, creating distance. This man was likely the “Fake City God”—perhaps not the highest authority here, but certainly the “local snake” of this precinct. Just as she was weighing the best way to slip away under his nose, Shen Wensi spoke up unexpectedly.

“Are you the one who detained these souls? A mere transit station using private torture… is there no law here?”

The “City God’s” handsome, refined face instantly turned cold. He glanced at the chain in Shen Wensi’s hand and said icily, “Is that how you speak to me?”

Jiang Huaiyi was stunned. Watching Shen Wensi act with such righteous indignation, she was completely lost. Before she could process it, Shen Wensi gave her a sharp nudge. Jiang Huaiyi jumped and blurted out: “Yeah, so what?”

The man was thoroughly provoked. He let out a cold laugh. The “normal” aura he projected vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling coldness. Jiang Huaiyi wanted to sew her own mouth shut; there was truly no turning back now.

To her surprise, Shen Wensi cast her a look of approval. Jiang Huaiyi was speechless, but out of habit, she chose to trust her partner. Perhaps Shen Wensi had sensed that this “City God” hated over-politeness? Maybe she was trying to seize the initiative by intimidating him?

As Jiang Huaiyi’s mind raced, the man spoke. His gentle voice was gone. “Commoners are like grass; I mow them as I please. Which department are you from, runner? To be so insolent to a superior… go and eat prison food for a few days.”

A ridiculous thought crossed Jiang Huaiyi’s mind: Does this City God not even recognize his own subordinates? He actually took Shen Wensi for one of his runners. Hope flickered in her heart; if the disguise was this successful, maybe Shen Wensi really did have a plan to turn the tide.

She looked at Shen Wensi expectantly. However, Shen Wensi didn’t make a move. Instead, she put on a face of martyred defiance. She added stubbornly, “A dog relying on its master’s power! You’ll get what’s coming to you!”

Jiang Huaiyi felt a massive headache coming on. It wasn’t enough to insult him; she had to add fuel to the fire. Jiang Huaiyi opened her mouth to argue but closed it again.

The City God sneered. “You’re the one who’s unlucky. I’ll show you what ‘law’ is. Men, take them down!”

Jiang Huaiyi couldn’t help herself now. Without needing a prompt, she snapped, “The Qing Dynasty ended ages ago, you psycho! If your brain is malfunctioning, go drink some herbal medicine!”

The man didn’t react to the first half—modern terms were lost on him—but the latter half clearly landed. Other runners appeared from the shadows. Before Jiang Huaiyi realized it, she had instinctively held out her hands, and they were shackled in chains.

They were led down a seemingly bottomless corridor. The path was lined with cells filled with spirits, and the air was thick with their wailing. Jiang Huaiyi saw several gruesome sights that made her heart race; she nearly had to close her eyes. This was “ghostly wailing” in the truest sense; the sound was so piercing she wished she could plug everyone’s mouths.

She couldn’t take it and retched twice along the way. The runner leading her raised a whip impatiently, but the threat was quickly dissolved by a few gold ingots. The runner’s face instantly transformed from a scowl to a smile wider than a scavenger finding a pile of free bottles.

Jiang Huaiyi finally understood the truth of the proverb “Money makes the ghost turn the millstone.” She bribed her way down the hall, asking the runners if they had seen her Senior Sister.

Shen Wensi walked leisurely, showing no sign of worry. Jiang Huaiyi looked at her tall, straight back and felt a sudden urge to kick her. How can she be so relaxed?

They stopped in front of a cell. With a sharp shove, Jiang Huaiyi was pushed inside as her shackles were undone. Shen Wensi stepped in beside her, smoothed out her clothes, and looked at her calmly.

Just as Jiang Huaiyi was about to explode in an argument, a surprised voice rang out: “How did you guys end up here too!”

The cell was dim, and she hadn’t noticed the people sitting in the corner. A small lamp flickered to life, revealing two familiar faces: Chu Lianxue and Mu Ze.

Jiang Huaiyi was so excited she almost called out “Senior Sister.” But Shen Wensi grabbed the back of her shirt, holding her back. Jiang Huaiyi steadied herself and coughed to cover her embarrassment. Once she was calm, Shen Wensi let go.

The prison cell was cold, with blue bricks and a layer of straw on the floor. It was an “old-fashioned” model, but clearly reinforced with a spiritual barrier to keep the prisoners inside.

The two sat down across from Chu Lianxue and Mu Ze. Up close, Jiang Huaiyi noticed they both looked a bit battered. There were bruises on their faces, and although their clothes covered the rest, their sluggish energy suggested they hadn’t fared well.

Jiang Huaiyi frowned. “What happened to you? Were you attacked by the ghosts outside?”

The two looked at each other and then turned away in an awkward silence.

Shen Wensi leaned into Jiang Huaiyi’s ear and said, loudly enough for everyone to hear, “They probably got into a fight with each other and got caught. The guards probably didn’t even have to break a sweat.”

Their expressions soured further, but neither refuted her. Jiang Huaiyi imagined the scene: the two of them arguing until they attracted attention, and then brawling with each other before the guards even arrived, missing their chance to escape. It was almost too funny to be sad.

Chu Lianxue couldn’t stand the judgment in their eyes. “Actually, we wanted to come in here to wait for you. The building is so prominent we figured you’d find it eventually, so I thought I’d scout ahead.”

The silence that followed was deafening. No one believed that story.

Chu Lianxue quickly flipped the script. “And how exactly did you two get in here?”

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