After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Ghost Wall

Jiang Huaiyi’s hand froze as a wave of paralyzing terror swept over her.

In an environment like this, her nerves were already stretched to the breaking point. This sudden whisper right in her ear made her grab onto the bookshelf with white-knuckled intensity—it was the only thing keeping her legs from giving out entirely.

Even so, a chill raced from the crown of her head to the soles of her feet. Her scalp tightened, and the piercing cold was so sharp it actually cleared her congested nose.

She turned her body with agonizing slowness. Standing just a meter away was the City God she had seen earlier.

When Shen Wensi had been by her side, Jiang Huaiyi had been startled, but she hadn’t felt this level of raw dread. Now, alone, she felt like prey. However, after so many scares, she had finally learned to control her facial expressions. Her face was pale, but she didn’t look completely panicked, even though her heart was hammering so hard it felt like it might burst from her chest.

The City God still looked refined and gentle, exactly as he had before his earlier outburst. But having seen his true colors, Jiang Huaiyi wasn’t fooled.

She clutched the record book, her fingers rubbing the cover reflexively. She had no intention of letting it go. She wondered why he had chosen this exact moment to appear. There were four of them in this building why her?

It felt deliberate. Eerie. She stood her ground, silent. The City God kept his distance, watching her with a fixed, polite smile.

Why does this minor Underworld official give off such a suffocating aura? Standing before him, she felt an invisible pressure, similar to what she felt from Shen Wensi, though Shen Wensi’s aura became negligible once they grew familiar.

Jiang Huaiyi swallowed hard. She began to back away slowly, never letting go of the book. Whether he allowed it or not, she was going to read this record today.

Since the bookshelves were flanked by stairs on both sides, she planned to bolt down the opposite staircase. The City God watched her retreat. The flickering flames of the oil lamps danced in the wake of her movement, casting long, ghostly shadows. In the gloom, his red official robes looked like a fresh splash of blood.

The distance between them grew. Initially, she only dared to take tiny, cautious steps. As she grew bolder, her pace quickened. The man remained rooted to the spot, his eyes locked onto her with an intensity that made her skin crawl.

The darkness was silent. When she was a few meters away, she suddenly spun around and sprinted down the stairs.

She flew, the wind whistling past her ears. She clutched the book tightly having no pockets, she could only grip it for dear life. As she reached the landing, she looked back into the darkness. The figure hadn’t followed.

She let out a small sigh of relief. But the relief was short-lived. As she reached the next level down, she saw a ghostly figure standing at the far end of the corridor.

Her heart skipped a beat. The figure was too far away to see clearly, but she didn’t hesitate. She kept running.

Then, things got truly strange. She ran down to the next floor, and there, in the exact same spot on the long corridor, stood a figure. It was identical to the one on the floor above. She could almost hallucinate the blood-red hue of the robes. It stood there, quiet and surreal.

She didn’t stop. She wanted to believe these were just identical floors. To test her theory, she intentionally knocked a few scrolls out of place on her way past.

She had two theories: either she was caught in a Ghost Wall (a loop) and the City God was toying with her, or there was a guardian standing on every single floor. Either way, she wasn’t giving up the book.

She sprinted down to the next level, her breath hitching. She glanced at the corner where she had messed up the scrolls. They were perfectly, unnervingly neat. Her breathing slowed not from calm, but from the realization that her first theory was likely correct.

Yet, out of the corner of her eye, the figure was still there. And it was closer.

Her heart pounded. Every time she went down a floor, the figure was there, and it was getting nearer. She hadn’t noticed these figures when she was climbing up; they must have appeared only after the City God arrived.

To move faster, she snatched an oil lamp from its bracket. The handle was long and thin, almost as if designed to be carried. As she ran, the flame flickered violently.

She looked down over the edge, but she was still too high to see the others. She didn’t dare scream for help, fearing she would expose their positions to the City God. She felt a cold draft at her back, as if something were trailing her, turning the air like ice against her skin.

Terrified, she refused to look back. She knew if she saw whatever was behind her, she would lose the courage to keep moving. She counted the floors in her head, descending over a dozen levels in a blur.

She should be near her Senior Sister’s level by now. But as she descended, her panic spiked. She couldn’t see Chu Lianxue anywhere.

The figure in the corridor was appearing on every floor now, and it was less than ten meters away. She could clearly see the red official robes identical to the City God’s.

Jiang Huaiyi gripped the lamp. For the first time in her life, she wished she were nearsighted so she wouldn’t have to see him so clearly. She reached the bottom levels. She could see the ground floor now, but the silence was deafening. No matter how many floors she passed, there was no sign of Shen Wensi or the others.

She looked at the opposite shelves. The corridors were open; if anyone was there, she would see them. The fact that she couldn’t meant only one thing.

She couldn’t hold it in anymore. She screamed across the void: “Daoist Chu! Chu Lianxue! Where are you?! Can you hear me?! WHERE ARE YOU?!!”

Only a hollow echo answered her. It was as if she were the only living thing left in this vast, dark room.

Her stomach churned with nausea, and a bitter taste rose in her throat. But she couldn’t stop. She hit the final five floors.

Four. Three. Two. One.

The moment her feet hit the ground floor, she didn’t find safety. She found the City God.

He was standing exactly one meter away from her, just as he had been at the top. He watched her with that same, placid smile.

Jiang Huaiyi panted, trying to catch her breath, but her nerves wouldn’t settle.

The man spoke, his voice dripping with malice. “Are you quite finished running?”

Jiang Huaiyi bit her lip, glaring at him. He had been the one on the corridors. He had been everywhere. She felt herself teetering on the edge of a breakdown.

The City God seemed to read her mind. He added the final blow: “You should have known when you entered once the doors close, there is no leaving. Did you truly think the Gates of Hell were so easily breached?”

Jiang Huaiyi took two deep breaths. Her slumped shoulders straightened against the bookshelf. She was terrified that the others had abandoned her, but his words gave no hint of that.

“What ‘Gates of Hell’?” she spat, her voice trembling but defiant. “You’re just a lonely ghost from who-knows-where. How dare you act so bold in front of me?”

The City God’s expression soured for a moment before he chuckled.

“Bold words for a hollow vessel,” he sneered. “Let’s see if your tongue stays so sharp when you look at this.”

He gestured behind her. Jiang Huaiyi told herself not to look, but her instincts betrayed her. She turned her head.

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