My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 27

A gentle breeze brushed past, accompanied by the other person’s unrestrained laughter, making Si Wan instinctively turn her head to look.

Her loosely hanging strands of hair fluttered slightly, causing a faint tickle on her neck that sent a shiver through her heart.

When Si Wan heard Sheng Zhen’s words, for some reason, she caught a glimpse of the loneliness hidden beneath layers of laughter, a vulnerability that should have been hard to detect but seemed magnified infinitely in her eyes. It was as if she already understood every joy and sorrow of the other person, no matter how deeply concealed, she could always uncover it.

Noticing Si Wan’s gaze, the smile on Sheng Zhen’s lips deepened, and her hand stealthily crept onto the back of Si Wan’s hand.

Despite the intimacy of the gesture, Si Wan felt not the slightest hint of aversion. Even though the other was the very ghost she feared the most, in that moment, all she felt was a pang of heartache for Sheng Zhen’s long, solitary wait for someone.

Sensing the fleeting emotion in Si Wan’s eyes, Sheng Zhen’s cold hand forced its way between Si Wan’s fingers, compelling her to interlace their hands, indifferent to any resistance.

With her chilly forehead lightly pressed against Si Wan’s, Sheng Zhen spoke, each word bold and radiant, leaving no room for doubt.

“You shouldn’t pity me. I am the most noble eldest princess.”

Si Wan did not resist the other’s actions. Feeling the coolness on her forehead, her thoughts grew clearer.

Though Sheng Zhen seemed to value her status, the epitaph she had personally carved after her death made no mention of it at all.

There must be something here that Si Wan did not yet know. And in the recurring dreams she’d had, Sheng Zhen had never appeared, nor did she know who the owner of that hairpin was.

At the thought of the hairpin, Si Wan’s expression shifted slightly, but she quickly returned to her usual composure.

Just then, Guan Yue’s voice pulled Si Wan’s thoughts back to the present. Sheng Zhen had already returned to her side, sitting upright with a dignified posture as if she had done nothing at all.

Seeing her like this, Si Wan sighed helplessly and then focused on listening to Guan Yue’s words.

“Now that the door is open, we’ll send people down to investigate, but you cannot go down with them.”

Guan Yue emphasized the last sentence, glaring at Si Wan as if warning her not to sneak down when no one was paying attention.

Song Yan, standing nearby, nodded in agreement and chimed in to persuade Si Wan.

“Professor Si, your health hasn’t fully recovered yet. Please don’t push yourself to go down.”

“I’m fine,” Si Wan replied.

Frowning slightly, Si Wan noticed that not just these two, but almost everyone present seemed to disapprove.

Hearing the commotion, Nian Nian walked over, still wearing her polite smile, and added her own attempt to dissuade Si Wan.

“Professor Si, it would be best if you directed operations from up here.”

Nian Nian’s assigned duties naturally included protecting the two professors, so she was firmly against Si Wan taking any more risks.

A shadow of gloom flickered across Si Wan’s indifferent expression. She knew these people were concerned for her well-being, her previous loss of contact in the tomb had frightened them badly.

Nevertheless, Si Wan still wanted to go down. After a moment of consideration, she spoke up, trying to persuade them.

“Have you forgotten the words on the tomb door?”

Guan Yue naturally understood that Si Wan still didn’t want to give up on this opportunity. Pointing at the cave entrance, she said to Si Wan, “Are you trying to say that this tomb gate only allows you to enter alone?”

Si Wan wanted to nod but felt it would come off as overly narcissistic and even less convincing.

Before she could figure out how to respond, Guan Yue spoke again, cutting off her train of thought. “We already said last time was just an accident. After all, we still have to trust in science.”

With others present, they couldn’t explain the events of the previous time and could only dismiss it as an accident for now.

Si Wan also knew that such matters couldn’t be spoken aloud by them. If someone with ill intentions exaggerated the story, it would only lead to more trouble. So, she remained silent and said nothing more.

Guan Yue sighed, came over, and patted Si Wan’s shoulder. “Our team has already gone down. Just wait here peacefully.”

Hearing this, Si Wan subtly glanced at Sheng Zhen beside her, seeing her as her only hope.

Sheng Zhen understood Si Wan’s intention and could read her thoughts from her gaze. However, instead of complying, she let out a derisive laugh, a hint of cunning flashing in her dark red pupils. Smiling at Si Wan, she said, “Not this time. Has Si Wan forgotten what she said last time?”

As she spoke, Sheng Zhen leaned close to Si Wan’s ear and repeated the words softly, her tone playful.

Si Wan’s expression darkened upon hearing this. Back then, she hadn’t known what tricks Sheng Zhen was up to, so she’d been cautious before agreeing and deliberately stated that she would only go down alone that one time. Now it seemed Sheng Zhen had already known her intentions back then but hadn’t exposed her.

Si Wan’s expression grew somber, but after pressing her lips together, she ultimately said nothing more.

This time, unlike the last, the weather wasn’t as severe, and the team descending had successfully brought in the equipment. The transmitted images appeared on the computer screen.

Si Wan sat in front of the computer, frowning as she watched the dark images on the screen. Occasionally, the beam of a flashlight would flash by, but it wasn’t enough to make the scene clearer.

In the pitch-black footage of the tomb’s passageway, unlit candles on the walls occasionally came into view. In the dim light, it was still faintly discernible that these were not the red candles that had been lit when Si Wan entered.

Seeing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Si Wan’s eyes, and she asked Guan Yue, “What did the candles look like when you saw them back then?”

Guan Yue thought for a moment but eventually shook her head. “I didn’t notice.”

At the time, she had been too anxious. Moreover, the candles had extinguished at an alarming rate, seemingly synchronized with her every step, sending chills down her spine.

Reminded by Si Wan, Guan Yue recalled something and spoke into the walkie-talkie with a frown. “I remember there were candles on the walls. Try to find them.”

Soon, a voice came through the walkie-talkie in response. “It’s no use, Professor Guan. We did see the candles, but we tried to light them and couldn’t.”

At this, Guan Yue remembered the scene from when she had gone down to find Si Wan, the candles along the walls extinguishing one by one. It had terrified her at the time, but with Si Wan still ahead, she had no choice but to push through her fear.

At this thought, Guan Yue glanced at Si Wan beside her before offering a somewhat reasonable explanation to the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie.

“Probably moisture damage from being stored too long. Where are you now?”

On the computer screen, someone’s flashlight swept around, followed by an excited voice.

“Found it! We think we’ve found something, there’s a burial chamber here…”

The voice of the person relaying the message suddenly cut off, making the hearts of those above ground skip a beat, fearing something had gone wrong.

“Professor, it seems like…”

After a long pause, the walkie-talkie crackled to life again, but the voice was hesitant.

Hearing the sound and confirming that those below were safe, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as Guan Yue was about to ask a question, Si Wan snatched the walkie-talkie from her hand. With a serious expression, Si Wan spoke.

“Is it a mural you’re seeing?”

The mural was indeed grand, its carving technique exceptionally skilled, and the pigments used remained vibrant even after a thousand years. For archaeologists like them, such excitement and awe were inevitable.

But Si Wan didn’t expect what came next. As the camera panned and the flashlight illuminated the scene, she saw no mural.

The voice from the walkie-talkie could hardly contain its excitement.

“No mural, but the burial chamber is arranged like a banquet.”

Hearing this, Si Wan remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on the screen.

The burial chamber was dimly lit, with only the flashlight’s beam revealing the general layout of the banquet.

It was as if a specific feast had been recreated, every detail exuding luxury and refinement, offering a glimpse of the lively toasts and celebrations from a millennium ago.

Recreating a banquet in a burial chamber was unprecedented. Guan Yue, snapping out of her daze, immediately took the walkie-talkie back from Si Wan and, struggling to contain her excitement, asked,

“What’s placed inside?”

“Flowers! But they’ve dried up.”

Someone rolled their eyes and remarked,

“Obviously, after all these years, it’s a miracle they haven’t turned to compost.”

They weren’t wrong, the fact that these flowers had merely dried up over a thousand years in the tomb was astonishing in itself.

Upon hearing this, a flicker of something unreadable passed through Si Wan’s eyes. She continued to stare at the screen as if trying to decipher something from it.

Suddenly, a chill brushed her cheek. Unseen by anyone, a pair of pale, elegant hands cupped Si Wan’s face, and a proud voice whispered,

“Beautiful, isn’t it? How do you find my floral banquet?”

As Sheng Zhen’s voice faded, fragmented images flashed through Si Wan’s mind. The other’s proud tone and demeanor seemed to overlap with a figure from her memories.

Si Wan tilted her head slightly out of habit, her gaze shifting to the side, meeting Sheng Zhen’s smiling face. In that moment, the two figures seemed to merge completely, and Sheng Zhen’s earlier words echoed in her mind once more.

She pondered for a long time, trying to recall what she had said in response back then.

“The flowers are beautiful, but it’s all a bit too extravagant.”

Her words, though not explicitly accusatory, indirectly criticized the one who had hosted the banquet, causing that person to frown and walk away with a cold snort.

The stinging pain on her face snapped Si Wan back to reality. But when she looked over, Sheng Zhen wasn’t cold-faced as she remembered, nor had she stormed off in anger. She was still right beside her, merely wearing a slightly indignant expression while pinching her cheek.

“Knew you’d say that.”

Si Wan paid no mind to the discomfort on her face, Sheng Zhen hadn’t actually used much force.

Meanwhile, Guan Yue eyed Si Wan suspiciously, furrowing her brows as she remarked, “Since when did you start judging people from over a thousand years ago?”

…