After Swapping Identities With My Archenemy - Chapter 85

Chapter 85: Ten Miles of Barren Graves

Jiang Huaiyi shuddered, feeling the cold turn tangible as if she weren’t sitting in a car at all, but standing exposed in the open air. The wind whipped against her, stripping away every ounce of warmth.

The luxury car had completely transformed into a paper-joss car. It functioned as a vehicle, but it had no other amenities. The two headlights had turned into two eerie, swaying lanterns. No wonder the heater wouldn’t turn on; if it got warm, the whole car would likely fall apart.

The entity beside her wasn’t planning on letting her go. Seeing that Huaiyi remained silent, it spoke again: “Do you want to leave? As long as I don’t stop, you’ll never escape.”

Huaiyi’s mouth twitched. This kind of intimidation didn’t work on her anymore. After the initial shock, she was now calm bordering on numb. And slightly annoyed.

“Why didn’t you let her (Shen Wensi) come up too?” Huaiyi asked.

The paper-woman driver visibly blinked, stunned. This made Huaiyi even angrier. They were clearly picking on the “soft persimmon” (the easy target). It was a premeditated move. Huaiyi snorted; ever since she got angry, her body felt hot with a surging internal fire. Her fear had transmuted into rage, making her feel as though she were physically glowing.

“Open the door,” Huaiyi said calmly. She knew most ghosts were unreasonable.

The ghost chuckled, about to mock her, but Huaiyi didn’t have time for nonsense. “Open the door, or I’ll pee in your car. I doubt you want your paper ride to get soggy.”

The Paper Person: “…”

The car vibrated noticeably. Huaiyi got the distinct impression that the car really didn’t want to be peed on. The driver’s face went rigid, losing all semblance of expression, turning back into a flat paper doll. She didn’t speak; she just drove.

Huaiyi made a motion to unbuckle. Two minutes later, she was standing alone in the desolate wilderness, watching the paper car drive away in a huff. She hoisted her sack of cat food over her shoulder and looked around. A strange sense of familiarity washed over her.

It felt as if… she had been here a long time ago.

The Forbidden Ground

She checked her phone. No signal. Based on the driving time, she was at least twenty kilometers away from home. Huaiyi started walking, but the road quickly vanished. In its place was a sight that triggered her deepest trauma: The Ten-Mile Barren Graves.

This was the site of her childhood trial the nightmare that had left her with a permanent psychological shadow. Ten years ago, she had seen more ghosts here in one night than most see in a lifetime. Back then, it was her “Hell Mode” trial, conducted at midnight.

She checked the time. It was midnight again.

But this time, apart from her racing heart, she felt remarkably stable. She stepped into the graveyard. The area was far more dilapidated than it had been a decade ago. Weeds choked the paths, and many headstones were snapped in half. It was a true “No Man’s Land.”

As she walked through the bitter wind, she smelled woodsmoke and ash. In the distance, Will-o’-the-Wisps those eerie blue-green flames began to flicker over the burial mounds.

Normally, this would have paralyzed her. But as she moved, she remembered her Master. She remembered waking up after fainting here as a child to see her Master’s worried face, feeling the old woman’s warm hands rubbing her ears to wake her up.

Her Master and her Uncle were the only ones who told her it was okay to be afraid.

The blue flames began to ignite in sequence, like a trail of breadcrumbs, staying just out of reach but always within sight. They were guiding her.

As she followed the lights, ghostly shadows lunged at her from the corners of her vision. Skeletal remains poked out from rain-washed coffins, their empty sockets staring at her with ill intent. Huaiyi’s response? She stepped right on a leering jawbone to break its gaze.

If I had been this brave ten years ago, I wouldn’t be in this mess, she thought.

She realized that the fire within her—her “Yang” energy was burning brightly. As she approached the shadows, the ghosts recoiled, scorched by the invisible heat of her soul. The path cleared. The blue flames suddenly shifted, turning from cold green to a brilliant, vibrant red.

A Final Goodbye

Huaiyi quickened her pace. She was no longer the weak, cowering child. She didn’t need a wing to hide under. Even if every light in this graveyard went out, she would not falter. The shackles that had bound her for ten years shattered in an instant.

She covered in thirty minutes what had taken her two hours as a child.

At the end of the path, the red fire stopped. It illuminated a small patch of ground. Huaiyi dropped her sack and watched as the flames coalesced into a familiar figure.

That kind, weathered face… the woman who had raised her. She had almost forgotten the sound of her voice, but she recognized her instantly.

“Master!” Huaiyi ran forward, heart soaring.

The face in the fire offered a gentle, proud smile. Then, the flames began to shrink.

“Master! Don’t go! Don’t leave me!”

She lunged to hug the fire, but the moment she reached out, the light flickered and died, leaving her in the silent dark.

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