My Partner Always Wants to Dig My Grave - Chapter 37

The corridor was dimly lit by flickering candles, and no one noticed that the surrounding candles had burned to their ends yet showed no signs of extinguishing.

In front of the tightly shut stone door, figures moved restlessly. The murmurs of discussion gradually quieted after Guan Yue cast a cold glance their way.

Si Wan had been inside alone for nearly half an hour. Everyone had exhausted every possible method but still couldn’t open the tomb door. With no signal inside the tomb and Si Wan not carrying a walkie-talkie, the group could only wait anxiously, completely unaware of the situation inside.

Guan Yue paced back and forth outside the stone door, her brow furrowed as she stared intently at the sealed entrance.

Si Wan’s fate was uncertain, and no matter how worried she was, Guan Yue had to remain calm to reassure the others.

“Professor Guan, if all else fails, we should just blast it open. After all, Professor Si is still inside.” Song Yan suggested after descending, sharing Guan Yue’s concern for Si Wan.

Since no one could find a way to open the tomb door, Song Yan’s proposal seemed like the best option, and the others quickly voiced their agreement.

“That’s right, Professor Guan. Rescuing Professor Si is the most urgent matter.”

“And as you know, the words that appeared on the tomb door earlier suggest the tomb’s owner was inherently cruel. We have no idea which mechanisms inside might be lethal.”

One after another, they voiced their suggestions, nearly swaying Guan Yue.

But despite her anxiety, Guan Yue calmed herself and softly muttered a single word under her breath.

“Cruel?”

As someone deeply knowledgeable in this field, she was skeptical of that description. Although the words on the tomb door had carried a menacing tone, the only mechanism triggered since their entry had been the one Si Wan stepped on.

At this thought, she began to sense something amiss.

Si Wan…

Guan Yue’s gaze remained fixed on the tomb door as the events of the past few days flashed through her mind.

Why had Si Wan specifically headed in that direction? And why, after searching the area, had she still managed to step precisely on the mechanism that triggered another door?

Si Wan’s luck wasn’t usually this bad, but she was also not the type to take repeated risks in the unknown, as she had these past few days.

Just before the tomb door closed, Si Wan’s calm and composed demeanor as she entered suggested she knew exactly how to navigate the obstacles once the candles went out.

All signs seemed to indicate that this entire tomb had been waiting for Si Wan to walk right into its trap.

Recalling how Si Wan had often been lost in thought lately, Guan Yue realized something was off.

She remembered the pen that had floated in mid-air and the unusual behavior Si Wan had exhibited afterward, all of it was suspicious.

As if suddenly enlightened, Guan Yue’s thoughts snapped back to the present. Hearing the clamor around her, she frowned and interrupted them in a firm voice.

“No.”

Hearing her refusal, the group fell silent and looked at her in confusion.

Song Yan seemed taken aback and hesitated. “But…”

Guan Yue shook her head slightly and spoke rationally. “We know too little about this tomb. Using explosives recklessly could easily damage the burial artifacts inside.”

After saying this, she turned her gaze back to the tomb door, sighed, and added, “Let’s trust Si Wan. For now, all we can do is wait.”

The group wore grave expressions, unaware that the temperature in the tomb had dropped several degrees. The candlelight flickered faintly as a crimson figure phased through the wall, drifting among them. Her dignified posture lent an eerie beauty to the ghostly aura surrounding her.

Her scarlet lips curved into a smile, a flash of murderous intent passing through her eyes. Her voice carried laughter yet felt like a suffocating quagmire.
“If you dare blow up my tomb, not only Si Wan, but all of you will join me in burial.”

Unaware of the female ghost’s deliberate threats, the others merely shivered as an unnatural chill swept over them. Guan Yue, however, paled, her earlier composure shattered as she urgently spoke up.
“Blow it up if we must.”

Her sudden change of mind left the group momentarily stunned.

A ghost haunted the tomb, a millennium-old vengeful spirit, by their calculations, and it had latched onto Si Wan.

The thought made Guan Yue grow increasingly anxious.

With no clear idea of the situation inside, those waiting outside grew restless. Now that Guan Yue had given the order, they prepared to contact the surface team when the ground trembled once more, putting everyone on alert.

Fine dust shook loose with the vibrations, and the tightly sealed tomb door swung open, bringing a relieved smile to Guan Yue’s face.

“Si Wan!”

Only when Si Wan emerged unscathed did the group finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But after a brief, unfocused glance, Si Wan spoke calmly,

“You were planning to blast the tomb door?”

Guan Yue stared at her in bewilderment.

“How did you know what we just discussed?”

Si Wan frowned slightly, as if recalling something, and rubbed her temples with a hint of resignation.

“You were too loud.”

In truth, Si Wan hadn’t heard their conversation outside, but Sheng Zhen had caught every word.

Having just pulled herself out of her own turmoil, perhaps to distract herself, Sheng Zhen had begun repeating their every remark to Si Wan, peppering in her own commentary. The resulting chatter grew incessant, and Si Wan, unable to stop her, could only endure the noise.

No one questioned Si Wan’s explanation, assuming instead that the tomb door simply lacked soundproofing.

But Guan Yue grew indignant.

“If you could hear us, why didn’t you make a sound?”

Before Si Wan could respond, Sheng Zhen chuckled, drifting before her and lifting Si Wan’s chin with an icy hand, her tone playful.

“Si Wan, why don’t you make a sound for me?”

Her drawn-out inflection lent the words a ambiguous undertone.

Si Wan: “…”

With Sheng Zhen hovering before her, Si Wan’s vision filled with only her presence. To others, however, her expression grew cold and imposing, sending an involuntary shiver down their spines.

Si Wan didn’t push Sheng Zhen’s hand away but turned her head aside, her demeanor frosty as she spoke.

“Don’t…”

She had meant to tell her to stop, such behavior was hardly appropriate.

But before she could finish, she sensed multiple pairs of eyes fixed on her from behind Sheng Zhen and remembered they weren’t alone.

Si Wan fell silent, her lips pressed into a tight line, her gaze detached, as though nothing had happened at all.

Guan Yue, standing close by, naturally overheard Si Wan’s unfinished words. Recalling Si Wan’s reckless actions, she felt a mix of frustration and helplessness, wanting to say something.

But as she watched Si Wan’s indifferent expression, the reprimand died on her lips, leaving only a resentful remark.

“Don’t let it happen again.”

Si Wan nodded but didn’t respond. Lowering her gaze, she suddenly remembered the letter still in her hand.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the paper. She cast a subtle glance at Sheng Zhen in front of her before turning to Song Yan and speaking calmly.

“This is a letter I retrieved from inside. Take it out and keep it safe.”

At Si Wan’s words, the others immediately gathered around. Before Song Yan could take the letter, Guan Yue snatched it from Si Wan’s hand.

Marveling at the letter’s pristine condition, Guan Yue momentarily forgot about Si Wan’s solo adventure. Staring at the handwriting, she murmured in confusion, “This writing looks so familiar…”

Si Wan responded with a quiet “Mm,” then explained, “It belongs to the tomb’s occupant inscribed on the other gravestone, Princess Sheng Zhen.”

She emphasized the last few words, as if underscoring the person’s identity.

The weathered gravestone bore only the words “Sheng Zhen” and “Courtesy Name Nan’an,” and even those fragmented inscriptions were ones Si Wan had transcribed onto paper. There was no way for the others to verify the details, let alone comprehend how Si Wan could so confidently declare the tomb owner’s identity out of the blue.

Guan Yue shot Si Wan a sidelong glance, then shook her head slightly and said gravely, “Si Wan, this is not a princess’s tomb.”

Si Wan’s expression remained largely unchanged. After all, this was a mausoleum Sheng Zhen had built for the general, so it could hardly be considered a princess’s tomb.

Seemingly reading Si Wan’s thoughts, Guan Yue shook her head again in denial. “Nor is it a general’s tomb.”

Only then did Si Wan’s expression grow solemn. Her gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward Sheng Zhen, who averted her eyes at that moment.

Si Wan seemed to understand, it was a sign of Sheng Zhen’s guilt.

Hesitating, she frowned and asked, “Then what is it?”

Had Sheng Zhen’s habitual use of “this palace” been a genuine mannerism or a deliberate act? Si Wan realized she had never paid it much attention.

Song Yan stepped forward, looking somewhat uneasy, and said, “Professor Si, while you were recuperating in the hospital, there were some matters we hadn’t had the chance to inform you about. A couple of days ago, since we couldn’t enter the burial chamber, we conducted further surveys of the surrounding area and discovered…”

Guan Yue raised a hand to stop Song Yan from continuing, her expression serious. “The scale of the mausoleum is unprecedented, it exceeds the specifications of an ordinary royal tomb.”

Still uncertain, Guan Yue spoke vaguely.

Unprecedented…

Si Wan lowered her gaze slightly and repeated the word under her breath.

After handing the letter to Song Yan, Guan Yue said, “This is the only item from the hidden passage, right? Let’s head out now.”

For them, finding an intact letter was already a rare achievement, so they hadn’t expected anything more astonishing than this paper inside the hidden passage.

However, Si Wan’s next words halted them in their tracks just as they were about to leave.

“No, there’s a study inside, filled with books.”

At her words, they crowded around the tomb entrance again, wishing their eyes could pierce the darkness to see the study Si Wan described.

They reached for their flashlights, but Si Wan’s sharp reprimand stopped them cold.

“Don’t open it.”

Hearing this, they suddenly remembered Si Wan’s warning about triggering mechanisms and immediately put down their flashlights with lingering fear, all turning to look at Si Wan, the only one who knew the situation inside.

“Professor Si, what should we do now?”

As archaeologists, discovering such a substantial amount of text was undoubtedly more astonishing than finding the ancient tomb itself. Naturally, they didn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Si Wan didn’t answer them immediately, instead glancing at Sheng Zhen.

Only Sheng Zhen could see the gauze lantern in her hand, but such a massive workload couldn’t possibly be completed quickly by one person alone.

Noticing Si Wan’s gaze, Sheng Zhen subtly tightened her hand hidden beneath her sleeve, suppressing the unease of nearly having her identity exposed. She flashed a bright smile at Si Wan and spoke.

“Wait until the memory insects burn out their lives, then you can enter safely.”

Upon hearing this, a flicker of confusion passed through Si Wan’s eyes as she turned to ask Guan Yue beside her.

“Did any of you see insects here?”

Before Guan Yue could respond to Si Wan’s question, startled exclamations came from those clinging to the tomb door, putting both women on immediate alert.

Song Yan pointed inside the tomb chamber with astonishment, saying,

“Professor, something’s flying toward us.”

Sheng Zhen’s earlier words flashed through her mind. Her expression sharpened as she spoke coldly,

“Don’t touch it. It’s poisonous.”

…