After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Colliding with the Yin

Jiang Huaiyi and Shen Wensi stared at Huo Xuanjing as if they had seen a ghost.

Shen Wensi’s expression was unreadable. She set down her juice with a complex look and asked, “Does she usually treat you like this?”

Jiang Huaiyi shook her head in terror. She struggled to swallow the food in her mouth. “She usually ignores me completely! Who knows what nerve she’s pinched today. Now that I’ve ‘changed identities,’ she’s suddenly so attentive.”

It was surreal. Being validated felt good, but in this specific context, it was utterly bizarre. The curious gazes from the surrounding tables made Huaiyi itch to find a hole to crawl into.

She tried to laugh it off. “Is that really necessary? I’m in my twenties. Isn’t it a bit late to start apprenticing now?”

Huo Xuanjing didn’t budge. Her serious gaze didn’t waver. The thought that she might be playing a prank vanished from Huaiyi’s mind the Sect Leader didn’t make jokes about succession.

“It doesn’t matter,” Huo Xuanjing said firmly. “With your talent, you could surpass others in a single year.”

Jiang Huaiyi: “…” The rest of the room: “…”

Huaiyi knew her own “talent” best, but hearing it proclaimed so grandly in front of everyone felt like a massive exaggeration. Predictably, Tang Guoxin’s group—who had just been suppressed—rose up in indignation.

“Sect Leader,” one of them sneered, “if she doesn’t want to, it means there is no fate between you.”

Huo Xuanjing’s face went cold. She spared him a sharp glance. “Show some respect. Didn’t you get beaten enough earlier?”

Huo Xuanjing was notoriously protective. If someone insulted her prospective disciple, she took it personally. The man turned beet-red and sat back down, pulled by his companions. No one else dared to touch the “mold” of her temper.

The atmosphere turned stagnant. Huaiyi held her chopsticks mid-air, caught in a dilemma. Just then, the meddling elder with the cane stepped in again.

“Xuanjing, the girl is unprepared. How can she answer you like this?”

Huo Xuanjing paused, realizing her blunder. A rare look of apology crossed her face. “Uncle is right. I was inconsiderate. Little friend, please consider it. Anything you want, you only need to ask.”

Huaiyi nodded quickly, taking the offered exit. She shot a grateful look at the old man. But the elder simply winked at her.

“Little friend, our Sect Leader is too young. Why not apprentice under me? I’m old, and I’ll leave my entire inheritance to you.”

Jiang Huaiyi sprayed her juice. Huo Xuanjing, who hadn’t walked far, spun around in shock.

“You old goat! You’re poaching from my wall!” she shouted, her face flashing with genuine anger.

The old man just chuckled. Before Huo Xuanjing could enter “Berserk Mode,” others stepped in to calm her down. She eventually left with a cold snort, convinced that if the girl didn’t choose her, she certainly wouldn’t choose that old scoundrel.

The Aftermath and the Walk Home

Once the crowd dispersed, Jiang Huaiyi let out a massive sigh of relief and began shoveling food into her mouth. This feast was essentially an all-you-can-eat buffet funded by the Sect Leader’s deep pockets.

Shen Wensi ate quietly beside her. After a while, the Uncle and Senior Sister leaned in. “We knew you’d be popular, but not that popular. Next time, just say you already have a Master. Most of these people aren’t serious, though the Sect Leader is the exception.”

Huaiyi felt a pang of bitterness. She wondered if she’d be able to offer incense to her own Master this year. Everywhere she looked were familiar faces, yet everything felt different.

As the banquet ended, everyone began to leave. Huaiyi and the others started packing leftovers—a habit from their poorer days. Even though the other tables looked on with judgmental twitches, no one stopped them.

Huaiyi and Shen Wensi walked home together. It was a dry, freezing night in the suburbs. Streetlights were sparse. Huaiyi, feeling the “yin wind” nipping at her neck, subconsciously huddled closer to Shen Wensi. Eventually, she reached out and hooked her arm through Wensi’s, sticking to her like glue.

Shen Wensi stopped. “Why are you sticking so close? How are we supposed to walk?”

Huaiyi let go, looking dejected, but then Shen Wensi reached out, grabbed her hand, and tucked it into her own pocket. Huaiyi’s smile returned instantly.

“What do you think of my suggestion from earlier?” Shen Wensi asked suddenly.

“The… ‘Walking the Yin’ thing?” Huaiyi stiffened.

“Yes. It’s the best way to cure your fear of ghosts. Once you become a soul, you won’t be scared of souls.”

“Right,” Huaiyi muttered. “I won’t be scared, I’ll just be scared to death.”

As they argued, Huaiyi’s peripheral vision caught something. A flash of white fabric, vanishing into the darkness. She squeezed Wensi’s hand inside the pocket, her face contorting with suppressed fear.

The world went silent, save for their footsteps. Suddenly, Shen Wensi yanked her arm. Huaiyi nearly screamed, but Wensi covered her mouth.

“Did you feel it?” Wensi whispered, her familiar scent calming Huaiyi slightly. “There’s something behind us.”

Huaiyi wanted to turn around, but Wensi’s hand held her head firmly in place. “Don’t look.”

A frigid, unnatural draft blew against the back of Huaiyi’s neck. Cold sweat poured down her spine. The sound of footsteps heavy, hollow footsteps continued behind them, even though they had stopped moving.

Wensi pulled Huaiyi onto the grass by the side of the road and opened an umbrella. It wasn’t a modern umbrella; it was a tattered, ancient oil-paper umbrella with several holes.

The moment the umbrella opened, the sounds from the world outside seemed to vanish.

“Slow your breathing,” Wensi whispered. “They are coming.”

They?

Huaiyi held her breath, peering through one of the small holes in the umbrella’s paper. Through that tiny gap, illuminated by the dying glow of her flashlight on the grass, she saw a scene she would never forget.

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