After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 66

Chapter 66: You Are Not Allowed to Hold Anyone but Me

Amidst the heated discussion of the crowd, a sudden gunshot startled everyone. The “Dragon Hunters” spun around to look at the group they had previously ignored.

Jiang Huaiyi had remained silent while planning her next move. Once she calmed down, a complete strategy formed in her mind: she had Chu Lianxue write a Communication Talisman and throw it down toward the river. Then, she used a gunshot to strike the talisman’s path, using the sound and spiritual vibration to transmit the message. Large spiritual creatures like the Jiao have incredibly sensitive senses; it would undoubtedly receive the warning.

Simultaneously, the gunshot served two purposes: to urge the creature to flee and to intimidate the crowd.

As the echoes of the shot died down, the people on the deck scattered like frightened birds, diving for cover. When they finally dared to peek out, they saw the Jiao beneath the surface stiffen the moment the talisman hit the water. It immediately stopped trying to nudge the old man.

The creature’s massive head swung around. The river was barely wider than its body, yet it turned with impossible fluidity, reminding Jiang Huaiyi of a 3D version of the game Snake. Its head rose briefly above the water, casting a final glance back before submerged again, its long body vanishing rapidly into the depths.

With a powerful parting thrall of its tail, a massive wall of water erupted, drenching the deck in a spectacular spray. Jiang Huaiyi’s group had already stepped back, so they only got a few splashes on their boots. The people huddled on the deck, however, were soaked from head to toe.

In the biting northern winter, being drenched is a death sentence. As the freezing wind hit them, their screams turned from anger to genuine agony.

The Escape

Leaving the freezing, panicked crowd behind, Jiang Huaiyi’s group headed down the mountain. They didn’t care if those people froze; the law would handle the survivors once the police arrived in two days.

By the time they reached the valley floor, the sun had vanished. They found their way back to the wooden huts, guided by the familiar silhouettes in the dark.

As they unpacked, Jiang Huaiyi noticed something disturbing. In her backpack, the cloth she had used to wrap the snake-headed lampstand had come loose. The lampstand’s ruby eyes were staring directly at her.

She checked her silk paper; it was still unnervingly gray. Shen Wensi noticed her hesitation and quickly stepped over, re-covering the lampstand’s head. Instantly, the paper returned to its normal luster.

“It was the lampstand!” they both whispered at the same time.

The realization hit them: the “irritability” and murderous urges Jiang Huaiyi had felt on the deck weren’t just her own—the lampstand was influencing her. It was a manipulative, sentient object.

The Cat and the Jealousy

Jiang Huaiyi picked up Xiao Die, her cat, intending to tuck the small creature into her coat for warmth. But as she moved, Shen Wensi suddenly grabbed her wrist. Her grip was firm, her expression uncharacteristically intense.

“What are you doing?” Shen Wensi asked.

“I’m warming her up,” Jiang Huaiyi replied, confused. “She’ll freeze out here.”

“No,” Shen Wensi said flatly. She didn’t let go.

Chu Lianxue and Mu Ze wandered over, curious about the standoff. Chu Lianxue’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she leaned in toward Shen Wensi. “Are you actually jealous of a cat?” she whispered.

Shen Wensi’s face flickered with a brief, unreadable emotion, and she instinctively loosened her grip. Seizing the moment, Mu Ze snatched the cat.

“Let me do it,” Mu Ze said, tucking the cat into her own coat. “You just recovered from a fever; don’t push it.”

As Chu Lianxue and Mu Ze began their usual bickering, Jiang Huaiyi stayed close to Shen Wensi.

“Why do you dislike Xiao Die so much?” Jiang Huaiyi asked softly, tugging at Shen’s sleeve. “I can feel it.”

Shen Wensi turned her head slightly away, a hint of stubbornness in her posture. “Don’t you think that cat is strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you’ve had her since you were a child,” Shen Wensi said, turning back to face her. “You are in your twenties now. Why hasn’t she aged? Why hasn’t she died?”

Jiang Huaiyi froze. She had always told herself Xiao Die was just a long-lived cat, but the logic was hard to ignore.

“And how,” Shen Wensi continued, “can a ‘simple cat’ suppress a cursed object like that lampstand? She isn’t normal, Huaiyi.”

Jiang Huaiyi was speechless. The “creepy” feeling she had buried deep in her mind began to surface. “She’s just a cat…” she whispered, though she sounded unconvinced.

Shen Wensi looked at her, her cool, dark hair framing a face that remained clean despite the grime of the journey. Her voice was soft but firm:

“Regardless… can you just not hold her? For me? I don’t like it when you hold her.”

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