My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 34

Since candles were lit along the corridor, the flashlight Si Wan had brought down ultimately went unused. After some discussion, they decided against forcibly extinguishing the surrounding candles due to certain considerations.

Once they made contact with the team on the other side, the two of them descended the steps within the corridor.

Yet Si Wan remained somewhat distracted, her gaze lingering on the burning candles along the walls. The red candles she had seen during her rainy-day visit now seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

Unconsciously, her eyes drifted toward Sheng Zhen beside her. However, with Guan Yue present, she couldn’t outright ask.

At that moment, Guan Yue, observing the lit candles on the walls, seemed lost in thought for a moment before recalling something. She turned to Si Wan and asked, “I remember you asked me about the candles last time. You even inquired about the color I saw. Could it be that what you witnessed wasn’t these candles?”

Hearing Guan Yue’s words, something suddenly flashed through Si Wan’s mind. After a moment of contemplation, she carefully replied, “When I came down last time, the candles around were also lit, but…” She paused, her eyes scanning the surroundings once more before sighing. “But what I saw back then wasn’t these. They were more like the red candles used in ancient wedding ceremonies.”

Mentioning this, she rubbed her temples in frustration. It was precisely because she had felt the warmth of the candlelight so vividly that she knew what she experienced was no mere ghostly illusion.

Upon hearing this, Guan Yue halted her steps. Without questioning why the candles had been lit during Si Wan’s previous visit, she stared at the candles on the wall and spoke seriously, “Si Wan, I trust your memory isn’t mistaken. But since you’ve witnessed two different scenes, we might as well consider the possibility that this corridor can transform, leading to different burial chambers.”

Si Wan had naturally considered this possibility as well, but the scale of such an undertaking seemed too grand, exceeding what would be typical for the tombs of a princess and a general, making her hesitant to confirm it.

She nodded and replied in a low voice, “But I stumbled upon it by chance last time. I’m not sure if we can find it again now.”

If they could locate it, everything would still be explainable. After all, that mural held significant research value, and Si Wan hoped to conduct a thorough excavation of this tomb no matter what.

Yet after speaking, Si Wan felt somewhat uneasy. With Sheng Zhen right beside her, her earlier conversation with Guan Yue felt almost like they were openly scheming about someone else’s property.

Guan Yue, unaware of Si Wan’s fleeting discomfort, remained optimistic about the possibility of another burial chamber. She reassured Si Wan, “Don’t worry too much. Since you found it once, there’s bound to be a next time. Besides, we’re leading this excavation together. Even if you don’t trust me, you should trust yourself.”

Guan Yue’s words pulled Si Wan out of her thoughts. She gave a simple “Mm” in response, then felt a hand grasp hers, fingers slowly intertwining and locking tightly with her own.

The cold touch, the intimate gesture, Si Wan didn’t need to guess to know it was Sheng Zhen.

Sheng Zhen seemed to do it on purpose, leaning against Si Wan’s shoulder and bringing her lips close to Si Wan’s ear as she spoke with a light laugh.

“What do you mean ‘by chance’? You’re overthinking it.”

Because, in truth, it had all been set up for Si Wan to walk right into the trap.

Though Si Wan had grown accustomed to Sheng Zhen’s actions, the intimacy of her leaning so close still made her somewhat flustered. It took her a while to steady her emotions and ensure her expression remained unchanged.

She spoke, trying to divert her attention.

“How much longer until we arrive?”

Guan Yue squinted as she looked ahead and replied, “Should be soon. I can hear something.”

As she spoke, Guan Yue stared at the path ahead, which remained shrouded in darkness for some reason. Only when they moved forward did two candles flicker to life simultaneously, as if begrudgingly granting them light.

Just as Guan Yue finished speaking, the beam of a flashlight appeared ahead of them. At the same time, the final two candles along the path to the tomb chamber ignited.

The moment the candlelight flared, the people clinging to the tomb door gasped and shrank back inside.

Si Wan and Guan Yue glanced at them and then exchanged a look, confirming that these were the team members they had sent ahead into the tomb chamber.

Guan Yue immediately stepped forward to reassure them.

“It’s us, it’s us. Don’t be afraid.”

Hearing Guan Yue’s voice, one of them dared to take a cautious look before letting out a sigh of relief. With a mix of excitement and lingering fear, they said, “Professor, you’re finally here. We were almost scared to death.”

Just ahead was the tomb chamber where the floral banquet was displayed. Si Wan peered inside, it was vast, and even with the flashlight beams, it remained oppressively dim.

Frowning slightly, Si Wan averted her gaze. After a moment, she addressed the group gathered around her in a calm tone. “What’s the situation now?”

The team leader met Si Wan’s cool, detached eyes and shivered involuntarily, quickly reining in his excitement. Straightening his expression, he glanced hesitantly at the candlelit corridor and said, “Professor, these candles weren’t lit when we entered, but now…”

Before he could finish, Si Wan interrupted him, her gaze subtly sweeping the surroundings. “We’ll take these candles back for analysis later to figure out why. In our line of work, we shouldn’t jump to supernatural conclusions.”

Si Wan’s voice was clear and crisp, like a mountain stream, carrying a hint of chill that somehow brought an unusual sense of reassurance in that eerie and unsettling place.

After a moment’s thought, she added another reminder. “And don’t be so timid.”

As she spoke, her expression grew even colder, and her tall, slender figure standing there exuded an undeniable sense of security.

Guan Yue chuckled and patted the team leader’s shoulder, half-jokingly saying, “Maybe it’s just Professor Si’s irresistible charm.”

Si Wan shot a glance at Guan Yue but said nothing.

Sheng Zhen, the only one who knew Si Wan was afraid of the dark and ghosts, laughed softly nearby.

A cold wind swept through from nowhere, howling like the wails of vengeful spirits, sending chills down their spines. The flickering flames around them stretched and distorted their shadows, creating a terrifying scene.

Guan Yue looked surprised but quickly regained her composure, raising her voice slightly to say, “Stay calm, everyone. There must be some mechanism in this tomb, it’s not haunted.”

The eerie wind came and went swiftly, as if deliberately toying with them, and soon everything returned to calm. The candles in the corridor remained lit, showing no signs of extinguishing.

Yet no one noticed that Si Wan, expressionless, allowed the red-clad female ghost to lean against her. From an angle hidden from others, her hand grasped back at the icy-cold hand. The ghost’s soft robes brushed against her ankles, bringing a faint, ticklish sensation.

Sheng Zhen smiled and said to Si Wan, “Let’s go in. I’ll light the way for you.”

Hearing this, Si Wan’s expression shifted slightly, but she did not refuse. She turned to the others, who had just barely calmed down, and said, “I’ll go in first to check.”

Given the strange occurrences earlier, they couldn’t be sure whether the tomb chamber was safe, but Si Wan had already stepped inside. Guan Yue wanted to stop her but was too late.

The moment Si Wan entered, the pitch-dark tomb chamber was suddenly illuminated by flickering candlelight, revealing everything clearly.

Si Wan: “…”

The group was once again terrified. The day’s frights had come one after another, nearly giving them heart attacks. They stared at the suddenly lit tomb chamber, unable to utter a complete sentence, and could only hide behind Si Wan.

“It’s haunted, it’s haunted…”

Guan Yue frowned and immediately spoke up, “Don’t talk nonsense. Professor Si must have just triggered a mechanism.”

After calming everyone down again, she approached Si Wan and said, “Why are you so reckless this time?”

Si Wan did not answer Guan Yue. Her gaze followed the red figure.

Sheng Zhen, with her back to Si Wan, held a fire starter of unknown age and personally lit the last candle in the tomb chamber.

The warm candlelight fell on Sheng Zhen’s pale face, casting a soft glow.

Seeing that Si Wan remained silent, Guan Yue felt a headache coming on but still warned sternly, “Let it slide this time, but don’t just walk in like that again.”

Si Wan was two years younger than Guan Yue, and she was usually very cautious. But since entering the hospital, her behavior had given Guan Yue more than a little cause for concern.

Ignoring Guan Yue’s words, Si Wan stepped toward the desk in the corner.

The desk, meticulously carved from red sandalwood, held food that had long rotted away in jade dishes. Even though it was a dark, indistinguishable mass, Si Wan seemed to know it was pastry made from flowers.

Unconsciously, a thought flashed through her mind: the pastry was sweet, but also cloyingly so.

The thought lasted only a moment before her attention was drawn to a piece of paper on the desk, starkly out of place with its surroundings.

It was a sheet of rice paper, seemingly preserved with great care, its surface bearing traces of frequent touching.

Yet, on this cherished paper, there were crossed-out misspelled words.

The general meaning was an invitation to a flower banquet, written in an unfamiliar hand. However, two characters had been rewritten later, elegant and familiar strokes carefully forming the name “Si Wan”, written with such seriousness it was startling.

Above the rewritten characters, a name had been blotted out with ink. The latter part was no longer legible, but what remained clear was that the person shared the same surname: Si.

Guan Yue sighed, walked over, and handed Si Wan a pair of gloves. Her eyes scanned the characters on the paper, briefly skimming through the earlier content before finally settling on Si Wan’s name. A flicker of confusion crossed her gaze as she remarked,

“Was this invitation written incorrectly? But the ancients placed great importance on etiquette, especially those of such high status. They would never use a flawed item to slight someone. Could it be that they didn’t value this person?”

Yet, no matter how she thought about it, it didn’t make sense. Even if someone were deeply disliked, proper etiquette would still be observed. The appearance of this invitation felt like an unsolvable mystery.

Sheng Zhen drifted over and gently embraced Si Wan from behind. Her delicate fingertips traced the thousand-year-old handwriting, a fleeting nostalgia glimmering in her eyes. A playful smile curled at the corners of her lips as she spoke in an intimate, almost teasing tone.

“I valued it greatly, didn’t I, Si Wan?”

“Mm,” Si Wan responded absentmindedly. After putting on the gloves, she carefully picked up the paper.

The sheet was small, and its contents were laid out clearly.

But Si Wan’s thoughts had already drifted far away. In her dream, this invitation had been delivered by Sheng Zhen three times before it finally reached that person’s hands.

In the past, Si Wan could have relied on continuous archaeological research of the ancient tomb to uncover the truth behind this invitation, interpreting it from the most objective perspective. Yet, that dream had blurred the lines between reality and illusion, leaving her increasingly unable to distinguish one from the other.

…