My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 22

A chilly breeze brushed past Si Wan, and a flash of crimson appeared before her eyes.

The woman swept past Si Wan, walking directly toward the empty rosewood display stand before turning to smile at her.

“Give it to me.”

Her gaze fell upon the object in Si Wan’s hands, gentle as if reminiscing about something.

Only when Sheng Zhen spoke did Si Wan realize she was still holding a spear and halberd.

“Sorry.” Si Wan said with a hint of apology.

Hearing Si Wan’s apology, Sheng Zhen’s eyes deepened as she stared at her for a long moment before letting out a soft, mocking laugh.

“You don’t need to apologize to me for holding this. It wasn’t originally mine to begin with.”

As she spoke, a trace of loneliness flickered across her expression, but it was quickly masked by the smile in her eyes.

Si Wan knew this object belonged to the person whose name was engraved on the tombstone, the one who shared her name.

At this thought, Si Wan’s grip on the spear and halberd unconsciously tightened, and for some reason, that strange feeling resurfaced in her heart.

Seeing Si Wan remain motionless for so long, Sheng Zhen showed no impatience, merely watching her with a faint smile.

Sheng Zhen’s gaze was intense, impossible for Si Wan to ignore. Meeting those eyes again, Si Wan felt as if she had been scalded.

Trying to conceal her unease, Si Wan hurried over and handed the spear and halberd back to Sheng Zhen.

The weapon was heavy, and as Sheng Zhen took it, she nearly lost her grip. Si Wan then heard her complain with a touch of dissatisfaction.

“So heavy.”

Seeing Sheng Zhen struggle, Si Wan instinctively reached out to help, but Sheng Zhen dodged her hand, leaving Si Wan awkwardly suspended, unable to advance or retreat, as if grasping at air.

She knew Sheng Zhen was doing it on purpose, having caught the slight upward curve of her lips and the hint of schadenfreude in her expression.

Si Wan: “…”

Lowering her hand, Si Wan watched Sheng Zhen’s figure, pondering the meaning behind the first part of her earlier statement.

After Sheng Zhen placed the spear and halberd back on the display stand, a rumbling sound echoed as the mural descended once more, appearing before them.

The mural’s reappearance interrupted Si Wan’s thoughts, and her gaze shifted to the figure standing before it, slightly tilting her head to observe the painting.

The vivid red of the woman’s dress seemed to mirror the crimson hues in the mural.

The figures in the mural were colossal, and those standing beneath it appeared as insignificant as ants.

Sheng Zhen stood motionless before the mural, like a statue, her eyes tenderly fixed on the person depicted.

Even though it was only a silhouette, the emotions stirring in the depths of her eyes were deeply moving.

Si Wan walked to Sheng Zhen’s side, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye, fully aware of whom she was missing.

“Quite impressive, isn’t she?”

Sheng Zhen suddenly spoke, her smile seemingly reserved for that person alone.

Thinking the question was directed at her, Si Wan paused briefly before nodding.

“Yes.”

Sheng Zhen’s gaze shifted from the mural to Si Wan, the smile in her eyes barely concealing her sorrow and loneliness. With a sigh, she said,

“But it’s a pity, I’ve never actually seen her like this.”

Upon hearing Sheng Zhen’s words, Si Wan fell silent for a long moment. Her gaze began to meticulously examine the entire mural, and when it settled on the unknown figure’s back, an uncontrollable emotion surfaced, one she couldn’t quite name, a discomfort that made her heart ache as if being crushed by a hand.

Sheng Zhen had never witnessed that person charging across the battlefield. In the murals carved after death, only her fragmented impressions of that person slowly pieced together an image of what she imagined them to be.

Seeing Si Wan’s silence, Sheng Zhen quickly forced a smile and spoke in a light, seemingly indifferent tone.
“Never seen them? So be it. This princess doesn’t care for such things anyway.”

Though her words said one thing, Si Wan knew she was harboring regret, a regret that had lingered for a thousand years.

Perhaps feeling uneasy under Si Wan’s gaze, or perhaps aware of how poorly she had lied and fearing exposure, Sheng Zhen feigned a cold expression and asked,
“What are you doing here? Coming to apologize to this princess?”

Noticing that Sheng Zhen still seemed bothered by their earlier disagreement, Si Wan pondered for a while before speaking with sincerity.
“I never found you annoying.”

Sheng Zhen laughed at this, her deliberately cold expression melting into a smile as she leaned closer to Si Wan, studying her face before teasingly saying,
“But this princess finds you annoying.”

She then began counting off her grievances against Si Wan on her fingers.
“You have a foul temper, you ignore me after just a few words. And you’re so heavy-handed…”

Si Wan remained silent beside her, listening patiently to the litany of unnamed “crimes” being attributed to her.

After finishing, Sheng Zhen glanced at Si Wan’s face, then reached out to pinch her cheeks, sighing in frustration.
“Isn’t it just your sour face? No one but this princess could ever put up with you.”

Si Wan didn’t move or resist, allowing Sheng Zhen to vent her frustrations.

Seeing that she had pinched Si Wan’s cheeks red, Sheng Zhen guiltily stroked her face before turning to look at the passage behind them.
“There’s only a way back here. Do you still want to move forward?”

At this, Si Wan’s eyebrow twitched slightly, but before she could respond, the walkie-talkie in her hand emitted a harsh static noise mixed with muffled voices.

Hearing the sound, Si Wan immediately pressed the device to her ear, trying to decipher what was being said.

After what felt like an eternity of static, the transmission finally cleared, and Guan Yue’s anxious voice pierced through directly into her eardrum, so loud it nearly made her ears ring.
“Si Wan, Si Wan! Can you hear me? Si Wan…”

Guan Yue called her name several times in a row. Fortunately, Si Wan had pulled the walkie-talkie away from her ear just in time, or her eardrums might have burst.

Rubbing her ear, Si Wan responded briefly.

Hearing her reply, Guan Yue, who had been calling her name repeatedly, fell into a prolonged silence. Si Wan had to speak again.
“It’s me…”

She paused briefly before continuing.
“I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”

Having tried to contact Si Wan for so long without success, Guan Yue finally felt a weight lift from her heart upon hearing her voice. In her heightened anxiety, she hadn’t even noticed the cold sweat on her forehead.
“How are you now? Is there a lack of oxygen in the tomb? Why did the rope suddenly snap?”

Bombarded by Guan Yue’s rapid-fire questions, Si Wan didn’t know which one to answer first. After a moment of silence, she calmly spoke.

“I haven’t felt any discomfort inside so far. I’ll return to the original location in about an hour. You can lower a new rope for me then.”

“No, you must come out now!” Guan Yue insisted, her tone firm.

They still didn’t know the current situation inside the tomb. With Si Wan being the only one who had gone down and given what had happened earlier, the tomb clearly wasn’t safe.

Si Wan frowned slightly and replied, “That won’t be necessary. I’ll make my way back as quickly as possible.”

There was another brief silence from Guan Yue’s end, as if she was angered by Si Wan’s response. Eventually, Song Yan took over the walkie-talkie to speak with her.

“Professor Si, we’re preparing to send someone down.”

As soon as Song Yan finished speaking, Si Wan heard a low rumble of thunder and noise from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

Pursing her lips, Si Wan said coldly, “It’s raining again on your side. How can you arrange for someone to come down now? Just wait up there. There’s no need to worry about me.”

Song Yan seemed to want to say more, but the walkie-talkie was taken by someone else.

“Professor Si, we don’t recommend you staying inside any longer.”

Nian Nian also urged Si Wan, not wanting anything to happen to her.

Guan Yue chimed in from the side, shouting, “That’s right, Si Wan. You can’t risk your life like this.”

Si Wan raised a hand to rub her temples and said, “For the next hour, I can keep in contact with you until I return to the spot where I descended. But you must not send anyone else down to look for me.”

Si Wan knew they were worried about her, but she couldn’t let others endanger themselves because of her.

After a moment of thought, Nian Nian agreed. Guan Yue, though frowning deeply, reluctantly acquiesced.

“Be careful.” Guan Yue said.

Si Wan acknowledged her and then felt Sheng Zhen’s gaze on her.

Sheng Zhen stood with her arms crossed, waiting patiently for Si Wan’s answer.

“Will you advance or retreat?”

Even though Si Wan had clearly stated during her earlier conversation that she intended to stay for another hour, Sheng Zhen still asked.

Si Wan’s eyes swept her surroundings before settling on the arrows at her feet. “Will you guide me?”

The tomb belonged to Sheng Zhen. Even if she allowed Si Wan to proceed, it didn’t guarantee the tomb was safe.

A faint smile tugged at Sheng Zhen’s lips, deepening as she spoke, but her answer was a refusal. “No. I will only remain here by your side.”

This response didn’t surprise Si Wan. “Where is the path ahead?” she asked.

Hearing this, Sheng Zhen walked to a specific spot, her fingers tracing the wall until she activated a hidden mechanism.

At the sound of the mechanism turning, Si Wan instinctively grew alert. A section of the wall slid open, revealing a jar of wine and, beside it, two gourd-shaped vessels connected by a red silk cord.

Seeing this, Si Wan’s expression shifted slightly. Before she could say anything, Sheng Zhen had already poured the wine into one of the vessels.

Sheng Zhen handed it to Si Wan and said with a smile, “This isn’t difficult. Drink it, and I will naturally open the door for you.”

“But there’s one more thing…”

Si Wan stared at the object in Sheng Zhen’s hand for a moment. Without waiting for Sheng Zhen to finish speaking, she took it and raised it to her eyes to get a better look. But just then, Sheng Zhen suddenly grew angry and knocked the object from her hand, spilling wine all over the floor.

Sheng Zhen looked at her with an expression of exasperation, as if frustrated by her stubbornness, and said indignantly,
“Stubborn fool! For all your expertise, can’t you even tell this wine is undrinkable?!”

“Then why did you give it to me?”
Sheng Zhen was momentarily speechless at Si Wan’s retort. She tilted her head and pouted, saying,
“I never said there was only one option.”

Sheng Zhen hadn’t intended to poison Si Wan, which was why she had hurriedly knocked the object away after Si Wan took it.

“What’s the other option?” Si Wan asked.
Sheng Zhen lifted her chin slightly, a smug look on her face, and replied,
“Beg me.”

Si Wan fell silent for a moment, choosing not to engage further on the topic. Instead, she glanced at the spilled wine and the fallen object on the floor and said,
“I didn’t intend to drink it. I just wanted to see it more clearly.”

Sheng Zhen’s expression shifted, and she frowned, asking,
“What’s so interesting about it?”

But Si Wan bent down to pick up the object, holding it in her hand before speaking earnestly,
“As far as I know, this is the Nuptial Wine, used in the bridal chamber. The vessel for the wine is called the ‘Jin.'”

Sheng Zhen’s hands, hidden beneath her sleeves, clenched slightly. She forced a smile, though her trembling soul betrayed her.

Si Wan lowered her gaze and spoke again,
“You are already a married woman. It’s inappropriate for you to offer me this wine.”

Upon hearing this, Sheng Zhen looked up at Si Wan in confusion, her lips parting as if she wanted to say something.
In the end, all she heard was Si Wan’s “inappropriate”. Biting her lower lip, Sheng Zhen abruptly turned her head away and let out a cold snort.

…