I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 40

The mirror shattered. Qi Yan’s pupils constricted, and she grabbed Bai Qing’s hand, asking urgently, “Why are you bleeding?”

Bai Qing was momentarily stunned. Only then did she notice her hands were covered in bright red blood. She frowned slightly, her gaze moving down to the still-dripping faucet, where she saw reddish bloody water leaking out.

Qi Yan followed her gaze and shuddered violently once more.

“It’s not me bleeding; there’s something wrong with the water in this sink.”

As the faucet continued to pour out bloody water, Qi Yan stood there in a daze, feeling a bit lost. She asked a silly question: “Is it real blood?”

Bai Qing glanced at her, quite calmly twitched her nose to give it a sniff, and said, “It is real blood.”

Qi Yan was even more bewildered now. Thinking about it, no one here would prepare fake prop blood; it would definitely be real!

“Then… is it human blood?”

“Likely so.”

Qi Yan clutched her sleeve. “How can you be sure?”

Bai Qing said airily, “The scent of blood varies slightly between every species of animal. My nose is never wrong.”

If a Demon King who had lived for over a thousand years didn’t even have this much skill, it would indeed be hard to justify.

Now that the mirror was broken, Qi Yan didn’t have to worry about a ghostly face appearing in it again. She leaned over to the vanity and started feeling around, even asking Bai Qing to directly dismantle the mirror.

The two of them worked like a demolition crew, wreaking havoc on the sink area, but they came up empty-handed.

Qi Yan turned her attention to the toilet. This bathroom was too small; it only had a sink and a toilet. If the key wasn’t in the sink, it had to be in the toilet.

She dragged Bai Qing over to the toilet and said, “Help me open the lid of the water tank.”

Bai Qing looked at the toilet, then glanced at the person hiding behind her. Crossing her arms, she said, “Why don’t you go yourself? Do you really take me for a servant girl to be ordered around?”

“I don’t! I’m just scared, okay? There was a face in the mirror just now; who knows what will be inside when the tank lid is lifted?” Qi Yan had one great quality: she was honest. Especially when it came to being a coward, she was exceptionally honest.

Bai Qing peered at her, a hint of a smile leaking into her eyes. “Then how do you plan to repay me?”

“Repay you?!” Qi Yan’s voice instantly shot up in pitch. “Don’t forget that the only reason you’re so arrogant right now is because I spent my points to buy Essence to keep you alive!”

Ever since Qi Yan turned into a doll in the Carnival, Bai Qing had been using her spiritual power frequently. The reason she could maintain such ease for so long despite her damaged soul was entirely because Qi Yan was constantly exchanging points for Essence to “recharge” her.

Speaking of exchanging points, Qi Yan had more to complain about. She refreshed the “General” shop every day, but useful items were scarce. Occasionally, there were first-aid items like healing packs that were somewhat useful, which Qi Yan would exchange for and stockpile whenever they appeared.

She didn’t have many usable props in her hand right now. Aside from the items from the shop, she only had that Divine Wood Branch which could save her life five times in total. She was reluctant to use it; she hadn’t even used it when she turned into a doll, wanting to save it for a critical moment to save her own neck.

To this day, Qi Yan was hesitant to buy high-level props from the “Specialized” shop, mainly because she didn’t know how many points she needed to set aside for Bai Qing’s recharging. She held a “God Tier” card in her hand, but this card needed power. After weighing the pros and cons, Qi Yan felt that no matter how tempting the high-level props in the shop were, none were as good as the trump card in her hand.

She would have to buy props sooner or later, but the prerequisite was to save up more points first, at least to ensure Bai Qing’s charging was worry-free.

Hearing her say this and seeing her looking so pitiful, the amusement in Bai Qing’s eyes grew even stronger. In the end, she stopped teasing her.

With a wave of her long sleeve, a gust of wind flipped the lid off the toilet tank. Ceramic things couldn’t withstand such rough treatment; the lid flew up and smashed directly onto the floor, shattering into pieces.

Qi Yan didn’t have time to complain about Bai Qing’s brutality. She pushed her forward and leaned over to look inside.

It was to be expected: the water in the tank was also a murky, reddish blood water. Because the lid was off, the pungent, metallic stench could no longer be contained.

“I’m really going to vomit.” Qi Yan pinched her nose, looking up at Bai Qing with a pitiful face. “Could you…”

“I cannot.”

The person was cut off by the fox before she could even finish.

Qi Yan: “…”

“I haven’t even finished and you’re saying you can’t?”

“I know what you want to say. You want me to reach in and see if I can fish out a key.” Bai Qing looked at her with her arms crossed, looking like she had already seen right through her.

Qi Yan: “…”

Truly, if anyone in this world was a mind-reader for Qi Yan, it was definitely this stinky fox, Bai Qing.

“Don’t look at me with that expression. Looking all pitiful like I’ve bullied you.” Bai Qing was acting completely unmoved. “If you want me to see if there’s a key inside, fine, but I’ll just blast all the water out. It’ll get all over the floor.”

“That works!” Qi Yan quickly spoke up in agreement. “I think that’s fine! Do it! But you could aim it into the sink next to us.”

This time it was Bai Qing’s turn to be stunned, looking at her in surprise.

“Just don’t splash it on me. The floor is fine. I just want the key; once we find the key, we’re out of here!”

Qi Yan’s logic was sound. Since they were looking for a key and this bathroom was so tiny, it had to be in either the sink or the toilet. If the key was hidden in the tank, once Bai Qing splashed all the water out, either the key would be carried along into the sink and get caught in the drain, or it would be left at the bottom of the tank. Either way would work.

Bai Qing fell into silent thought. Looking at Qi Yan’s serious expression, she eventually agreed. She stepped back two paces with Qi Yan, gathered her spiritual power, and struck. She wrapped the water from the tank within her spiritual energy. The blood water swirled in the air into a red sphere before Bai Qing controlled it and flung it into the sink.

The blood water splashed into the sink and went down the drain with a loud “whoosh.”

Clink.

The sound of metal hitting metal rang out. Qi Yan looked joyful and rushed over. Sure enough, there was a key.

Disregarding the blood water clinging to the key, Qi Yan grabbed it and ran over to open the room door.

Sometimes, being too excited leads to sorrow. Just as the bathroom door opened, a girl with a bluish-purple face was standing right in front of her. The moment the door opened, that face enlarged, rushing forward to press right against Qi Yan’s face.

Qi Yan let out a yelp and dove back, crashing right into Bai Qing’s arms, once again clinging to her like a koala and refusing to let go.

“What is that word you humans use again?” Bai Qing chuckled. “A ‘noob who loves to rush.’ That describes you perfectly, doesn’t it?”

“Waaaah, why are you always gloating? Does it make you happy to see me this scared?”

“It’s alright. I wouldn’t say I’m overjoyed, but it is certainly quite interesting.” Bai Qing was saying mean things, but in reality, her hands were protecting the person in her arms quite securely.

Bai Qing dragged the lingering Qi Yan to the doorway. The ghostly figure was gone, leaving only darkness outside.

“It’s fine now. It’s just dark. Can you let go of me?”

Qi Yan shook her head frantically in her arms, refusing to go out no matter what. “Find the light! It must be on the wall! Turn on the light and then I’ll let go!”

Bai Qing had no choice but to drag her along while feeling along the wall. Fortunately, Bai Qing’s night vision was extremely strong. With a quick glance, she knew where the switch was and reached out to flick it.

The room lights flickered on. Bai Qing patted the person hanging onto her and said, “Alright, there’s no one here.”

Qi Yan poked her head out and looked around cautiously. Only after confirming the environment was temporarily safe did she heave a sigh of relief.

“I’ve seen more ghosts today than in my entire life!”

Bai Qing couldn’t help but laugh at her complaint. “You say that as if seeing a ghost is such an easy thing. You ordinary humans, unless by a stroke of luck or being born with a special constitution, cannot see ghosts at all.”

“Then what about ghosts who actively scare people?”

“You think ghosts enjoy actively scaring people? Unless they are bound by karma, typical ghosts aren’t that bored. If karma is involved, most ghosts are at least like Ling Yi, malicious spirits with self-awareness. Under normal circumstances, they will precisely target the person they want to haunt for revenge.”

“I see.” Qi Yan rubbed her chin and began to observe the room before her.

It looked like a large, multi-functional study. A computer and a pen holder sat on the desk. The entire room was surrounded by incredibly high bookshelves. The four walls filled with books gave the room a sense of profound solemnity.

At the same time, there was a suffocating sense of oppression.

Qi Yan couldn’t quite put her finger on what the feeling was, but she felt a baseless sense of stifling just by being there.

Recalling the ghost she saw the moment she pushed the door open, Qi Yan recognized her; it was Ranran from the Carnival. However, unlike in the Carnival, she wasn’t wearing a school uniform, but a set of loungewear instead.

Since she was moving around here in loungewear, this place was likely Ranran’s home.

Qi Yan walked a full circle around the wall-to-wall bookshelves, taking in the titles. It was breathtaking. “From the history of classical music spanning ancient and modern times to all sorts of classical scores, four entire walls filled with nothing but classical music. Good lord, this family is into music.”

Bai Qing picked up a book at random and flipped through it. The strange, tadpole-like symbols caused her to knit her brows. “What kind of script is this?”

Qi Yan explained, “It’s not script; it’s a music score. These are called staff notations, a way to record music. It’s similar to the Gong, Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu pentatonic system of the past.”

With that explanation, Bai Qing understood. “So, this is a household of music experts.”

“And it’s specifically focused on classical music and piano performance.” Qi Yan browsed the shelves; nearly every volume was related to classical music, piano, and various compositions.

The house surely contained a piano, though it wasn’t in this study.

Looking at the notebooks left on the desk, the handwriting was very youthful, and the contents were almost entirely about music and piano. Since Qi Yan didn’t study music, she didn’t understand much of it, only recognizing some familiar titles as she skimmed through.

Pieces like Moonlight Sonata, Nocturnes, and the like.

The writing desk had several drawers. Qi Yan pulled them open one by one to find stacks of more notebooks. She pulled a few out to flip through; aside from music, there were many related to academic subjects.

Most notably, beyond the middle school curriculum, these notes even advanced into college-level material!

Could there be a college student in this house besides the middle-schooler, Ranran?

But this thought was quickly dismissed because every notebook had the name “Qiu Ran” neatly written on it.

Qi Yan felt like she was suffocating. As a student about to graduate from university, she had climbed the ladder from elementary to high school and knew the hardships of being a student. Back when Qi Yan was in school, there were no “burden reduction” policies; the academic culture was an endless rat race where staying for evening self-study until 9:00 PM or 10:00 PM was the norm. If a student had a “tiger parent,” it was even more exhausting.

Now it appeared that Qiu Ran’s parents were the champions of tiger parenting.

“Forcing a middle school kid to learn college material, isn’t that just killing them?” Qi Yan gave all of Qiu Ran’s notebooks a cursory look, her anger rising. “Not just academics, but music lessons too. This child only sleeps four hours a day; the other 20 hours are packed tight. It’s absolutely stifling!”

“If they’re so good at pushing a kid, why didn’t they push themselves first? I’d love to see what kind of geniuses these parents are.”

Qi Yan walked toward the study door in a huff, but as expected, the door was locked, and there was no way to unlock it from the inside. Qi Yan gripped the handle and pulled hard several times, but the door didn’t budge.

As she dejectedly inspected the door’s structure, she discovered that the keyhole on the interior handle had been melted shut.

This was truly excessive. With Qi Yan’s intelligence, she immediately realized what was going on with this door. This was a cage built by parents for their child. A door that could only ever be locked or opened from the outside meant that the person inside never held the power; it always belonged to someone else.

Qi Yan turned to stare at the desk, as if she could see a young Qiu Ran locked in this room from sunrise to sunset, day after day.

What about the piano? Where is it? And was this child ever happy while learning music?

While Qi Yan was lost in thought, she heard Bai Qing say, “Come look at this.”

Qi Yan snapped back to reality and ran to Bai Qing’s side. “What is it?”

“Something is wrong with this mural on the wall.” Bai Qing stood in a corner of the study with her arms crossed, staring at a carved mural.

“What’s wrong? What does it depict?” Qi Yan leaned in to observe closely. She had a great interest in art and always wanted a closer look whenever she encountered it.

Bai Qing, however, knew nothing about art. She simply said, “I’m not talking about the painting itself, but the fact that it’s tainted with ghostly energy.”

Qi Yan had been leaning in so close she was almost touching it, but Bai Qing’s words made her jump back in fright.

“What ghostly energy?!”

Bai Qing ignored her, stepping forward to pull Qi Yan behind her for protection. She then extended her hand, pressing her fingers together against the mural.

Qi Yan watched as a white light emanated from Bai Qing’s fingertips. The light swallowed the mural in an instant, and a cloud of black smoke was dispelled. The mural on the wall suddenly transformed into a hidden door.

“There is a mechanism here that I do not recognize.”

Qi Yan’s eyes widened as she approached. She saw that it was a code lock.

“A code lock leading from the inside to the outside, a secret door hidden by a mural.” Qi Yan’s eyes lit up. “This is most likely a silent rebellion planned by the long-oppressed Qiu Ran!”

A child who could survive a parent’s force-feeding style of education might be a genius herself. Combined with years of mental pressure, Qiu Ran was likely far more mature than her peers, perhaps even possessing a level of cunning that surpassed many adults.

This door was an exit clever Qiu Ran had left for herself; it was her only psychological sanctuary. Qi Yan really wanted to know where this door led.

To leave, she had to crack the code. The person who set the code was definitely Qiu Ran, so what would she use as a password?

Since the door carried the risk of being discovered by her parents, Qiu Ran wouldn’t have set a password that was easy to guess. Qi Yan was stumped again. If it were something like a birthday, clues would surely be in the study, but Qiu Ran definitely wouldn’t use such obvious information.

Qi Yan stood before the mural-door, thinking it over, before suddenly opening the player shop to see if there were any useful props.

“What are you looking for?” Bai Qing was curious as Qi Yan kept refreshing the shop, not even stopping when it consumed her points.

“Do you know a common problem with these modern code locks?”

Of course, Bai Qing didn’t know; she wasn’t a modern person.

“Fingerprints are easily left on the screens of these locks. Fingerprints are the patterns on human fingers, unique to every individual. They are used as evidence to identify criminals in many cases. On this kind of lock, pressing hard leaves marks. In other words, the numbers that are pressed most often are the code.”

The smart lock Qiu Ran used was advanced, but the screen was still prone to fingerprint marks. Qi Yan found a box of magnetic powder in the shop and beamed. “Lucky! I didn’t expect them to actually have it. It seems this shop is quite well-stocked; you can find anything as long as you spend points to refresh.”

Bai Qing looked at the box of grey powder in her hand and asked in surprise, “What is this?”

“Sprinkling this on the surface reveals the fingerprints.” Qi Yan didn’t hesitate to use it, pouring the powder directly onto the lock.

Soon, under the effect of the magnetic powder, the fingerprints on the code lock began to emerge.

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