My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 10

A gentle breeze brushed through her hair, the sunlight casting a halo-like glow upon it. Her cold, striking features seemed to soften slightly, as if the chill surrounding her had lessened.

Sheng Zhen drifted to Si Wan’s side, pursed her lips, and poked Si Wan’s chest with her pale, delicate index finger, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

“How could you agree so easily? In the past, when I invited you to the Hundred Flowers Banquet, I had to imitate Liu Bei’s three visits to the thatched cottage just to persuade you. And when you finally showed up, you scolded me for being extravagant. Do you even know that you were originally meant to…”

Her finger passed through Si Wan’s body, carrying a bone-chilling coldness that spread from her chest to every limb, causing Si Wan to shudder violently.

Sheng Zhen’s words trailed off abruptly, but her expression grew even more resentful. The look she gave Si Wan carried a hint of grievance that Si Wan couldn’t ignore.

But Si Wan’s mind was elsewhere. Pondering the female ghost’s words, she furrowed her brows.

Hundred Flowers Banquet?

Hearing the ghost’s words, a flicker of confusion crossed Si Wan’s eyes. Yet the moment their gazes met, she instinctively averted her own, not out of fear, but rather from an inexplicable sense of guilt toward the other.

But this fleeting emotion was quickly interrupted by Liu Yaoyao’s astonished voice.

“Professor Si, you… agreed?”

The word “okay” that Si Wan had uttered moments earlier still echoed in her mind. Even though she had clearly heard Si Wan’s agreement, she found it hard to believe and wanted further confirmation.

Sheng Zhen crossed her arms, tilted her head to the side, and spoke in a strange tone.

“Yes, she agreed.”

For some reason, when the ghost said this, Si Wan felt a pang of reluctance and guilt.

Her eyes involuntarily drifted toward Sheng Zhen, and she almost instinctively began to offer words of comfort, something she was not skilled at. But reason quickly pulled her back. Calmly, she nodded at Liu Yaoyao and said,

“Mm.”

Song Yan was also surprised that Si Wan had agreed so quickly. When Liu Yaoyao had first mentioned it, she hadn’t held out much hope. After all, Si Wan had always declined all celebratory banquets and gatherings, claiming she disliked crowds.

Even after Si Wan confirmed her agreement verbally, the air remained thick with an unsettling chill, cold enough to make one shiver.

“Then I’ll come find you all at sunset.”

Clearly delighted by the confirmation, Liu Yaoyao snatched the remaining food container from Song Yan’s hands and hurried off, afraid Si Wan might change her mind.

At the mention of “sunset,” Si Wan’s brows furrowed slightly. She parted her lips as if to say something but ultimately remained silent.

Sheng Zhen, who understood exactly what Si Wan had wanted to say, saw her resentful expression fade, replaced by a gentle smile. The warmth in her eyes was a stark contrast to her earlier ghostly demeanor, so striking that even Si Wan, who had been avoiding looking at her, couldn’t help but glance over.

A pale hand rested on Si Wan’s shoulder, followed by the ghost’s words.

“What are you afraid of? Afraid of sunset? Afraid of the dark?”

Hearing this, Si Wan’s expression shifted. She didn’t understand how a ghost who had been following her for less than two days could know about her fear of the dark.

She wanted to ask, but when she finally spoke, her words were directed at Song Yan instead.

“Where is Guan Yue?”

Song Yan pointed in a direction and said,

“Professor Guan is over there monitoring the progress.”

Following the direction Song Yan indicated, Si Wan saw Guan Yue holding a notebook and jotting something down.

Si Wan walked over, and Sheng Zhen naturally followed by her side. Though still somewhat curious about the surrounding instruments, the ingrained poise in her bones prevented her from paying too much attention to these things. Even as she floated without walking, her elegant and noble demeanor remained unmistakable.

Sheng Zhen’s actions deepened Si Wan’s suspicions. When she reached Guan Yue’s side, she glanced at the notes in Guan Yue’s hand out of the corner of her eye, and her frown deepened even further.

A sudden gust of chilly wind caught the attention of Guan Yue, who had been intently watching the excavator dig deeper.

Guan Yue paused her writing, turned her head, and smiled when she saw it was Si Wan.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in charge of the other side?”

Si Wan’s expression turned serious as she shook her head and said,

“There’s nothing new on my side. How about here?”

At this, Guan Yue lowered her head and flipped through her notes, replying with a hint of helplessness,

“It’s the same here. Aside from the burial items Officer Nian retrieved from the villagers, we’ve only dug up some cold weapons further down. This…”

Si Wan glanced at the soil layer, where the excavator continued to dig deeper but still only revealed ordinary earth, and finished Guan Yue’s sentence.

“This doesn’t look like a tomb.”

Guan Yue nodded in agreement and said,

“Even if they wanted to hide it, they wouldn’t give up such a prime feng shui location. It’s probably still here, we just haven’t found the real tomb entrance.”

Not only did this place not resemble a tomb, but it was also possible that there wasn’t even the most ordinary burial site here. It might just be a misleading tombstone and a few randomly buried burial items.

Thinking of this, Si Wan recalled the words the female ghost had spoken earlier that day. Though she couldn’t trust a ghost’s words, her suspicions grew.

Remembering the female ghost, Si Wan glanced at the ghost beside her out of the corner of her eye and then spoke to Guan Yue.

“I’d like to ask you something.”

Her tone was extremely serious, making Guan Yue think something major had happened that even someone like Si Wan couldn’t handle. Her expression immediately turned grave.

“Go ahead.”

Si Wan frowned, hesitating as she spoke.

“If you encountered… um…”

She weighed her words carefully but ended up using the same term as she had that morning, right in front of Sheng Zhen.

“Well, if you encountered something unclean, what would you do?”

Guan Yue, who had been mentally sorting through various professional terms to answer this serious question, froze for a few seconds upon hearing Si Wan’s words. After forcing herself to snap out of it, she looked at Si Wan with a strange expression, frowning as she reached out to feel Si Wan’s forehead.

“What nonsense is this? What are you talking about? Are you feverish and starting to talk deliriously?”

Si Wan subtly avoided Guan Yue’s outstretched hand but paused when she heard Sheng Zhen’s angry voice from beside her.

“I already said I am not something unclean!”

Hearing the female ghost refer to herself this way again, an unreadable emotion flickered in Si Wan’s eyes.

“What are you hiding from?! Don’t you know having a fever is serious? Just the other day, there was a report about someone dying from a high fever. If you’re already delirious, I’ll have someone take you to the nearest hospital right now!”

By the end of her sentence, Guan Yue’s worry had intensified, looking as though she wished she could drag Si Wan to the hospital immediately.

Though she usually enjoyed teasing Si Wan, she knew now was not the time for Si Wan to fall ill.

“I don’t have a fever. Do you see any redness on my face?” Si Wan replied.

Hearing this, Guan Yue calmed down and carefully observed Si Wan’s complexion, speaking thoughtfully.

“Why does it look even paler? What sunscreen are you using?”

It probably wasn’t the sunscreen, more likely, she was still pale from the fright.

Ignoring the female ghost frantically insisting in her ear that she wasn’t “filthy”, Si Wan spoke calmly without changing her expression.

“Stop changing the subject. Just tell me if you have any ideas.”

Guan Yue’s expression grew increasingly peculiar, as if she couldn’t quite believe the Si Wan before her was real. Still, she thought it over seriously for a moment before shrugging.

“People in our line of work are atheists. What ‘filthy things’ are there for us to study how to deal with? If I were to say, every trade has its master. If you’ve really encountered something, you should go see a professional.”

After speaking, she glanced at Si Wan again and added, “I wondered why you suddenly started wearing a Buddha pendant today. So, you’ve run into something unclean.”

The moment she finished speaking, the female ghost beside Si Wan darted over to Guan Yue, angrily shouting into her ear, trying to prove she wasn’t “filthy.”

But Guan Yue only felt the surroundings grow noticeably colder, so cold it felt as if she’d been plunged into an icy abyss.

Puzzled, Guan Yue looked around and asked suspiciously, “I feel like someone’s cursing me. Si Wan, are you secretly cursing me in your heart?”

Si Wan was still mulling over Guan Yue’s words and paid no attention to her baseless accusation.

As for seeking a professional to resolve this matter, Si Wan had genuinely considered going to see one in a few days.

“It’s useless.”

As if reading Si Wan’s thoughts, the female ghost standing beside Guan Yue looked up, her crimson, terrifying eyes filled with a cold sneer, speaking almost maniacally.

“There’s no use. Even as a ghost, I’ll haunt you.”

Si Wan felt a chill run through her body under the ghost’s gaze and decided to drop the topic, switching to another instead.

“Do you really think this is a general’s tomb?”

The female ghost’s every action and manner of speaking made Si Wan deeply suspicious. Moreover, based on what she knew, the ghost’s attire was clearly an elaborate wedding dress, not originally red but stained red by something.

If this truly was a general’s tomb, the ghost’s behavior made no sense.

Guan Yue gestured with her chin toward the spot where the tombstone was placed and said, “Wasn’t that your research? You recorded every word on it in detail. And we’ve excavated numerous weapons here. If it’s not a general’s tomb, why would it be labeled as one to fool anyone?”

Si Wan had studied that tombstone dozens of times, which was why she was reluctant to overturn her own conclusions for the sake of a wandering spirit.

A general’s tomb? A female general? Then why was the wife’s name inscribed on it?

Si Wan was, after all, the only one who could see the female ghost. She had observed the ghost’s figure, tall and slender, with hands that, though deathly pale and frightening, still unmistakably revealed a life of privilege and ease, untouched by hardship.

The ghost had admitted that the tomb was hers, but she could not possibly be a general who had fought on the battlefield.

At this thought, Si Wan bit her lower lip and asked Guan Yue again, “From ancient times to the present, has there ever been a general who referred to themselves as… ‘This Palace’?”

After Si Wan asked the question, the female ghost seemed momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter. Si Wan could tell, it was mocking laughter.

Guan Yue, however, took the question seriously and replied, “There really hasn’t been. Why do you ask?”

Before Si Wan could respond, one of the excavation team members rushed over, panting, and said, “Professor, we’ve found another stele.”

Unnoticed by Si Wan, the female ghost’s expression shifted.

…