The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 25

After the courtyard fell silent, the group exchanged hesitant glances before finally steeling themselves and cautiously moving forward.

Though the talismans around the well were meant to suppress spirits, everyone knew the production team wouldn’t actually fill the place with real charms, that would be going too far.

Tang Jing pulled Meng Xue along as she approached the well. After examining the talismans, she peered inside. “It’s a dry well.”

A collective sigh of relief swept through the group.

But just as their hearts settled, Tang Jing added, “That’s both good and bad news.”

Confused, everyone turned to her.

Kneeling by the well, Tang Jing looked down. “We might have to go down there.”

The moment she said it, the group instinctively took a synchronized step back, too terrified to get any closer afraid the ghost bride might crawl out from the depths.

“Teacher Tang, you mean… that ghost bride…” Tian Qi’s voice trembled, clearly shaken.

Seeing their fear, Tang Jing reassured them, “Don’t be so scared. It’s just an NPC!”

“Nope, nope, nope!” Tian Qi shook her head frantically. “Even though I know it’s just an actress playing the role, I’m still terrified.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Tang Jing, recognizing their immersion in the game, didn’t press further. She stood up. “I’ll go down first and check.”

“No, you can’t!” Sun Sijia lunged forward to grab her, but Tang Jing sidestepped, avoiding her grasp effortlessly.

Sun Sijia didn’t seem to notice the evasion, her concern focused elsewhere. “Y-you shouldn’t go down. Let Brother Luo or the others do it.”

Luo Dong, though visibly nervous, didn’t protest. As the oldest and the only man in the group, he felt it was his duty to take the lead. Just as he was about to step forward, someone beat him to it.

“I’ll go!” Tian Qi raised her hand.

The group stared in surprise especially since her pale face betrayed her fear.

“Teacher Tang is the bravest,” Tian Qi explained. “We don’t know what might happen up here, so she should stay to handle things. I’ll go down the well.”

Despite her obvious terror, she insisted.

Tang Jing shook her head. “You all stay up here. I’ll go down.”

Though this was her first time playing an escape room, she could guess some of the mechanics. The courtyard seemed safe for now, but the well likely held hidden dangers.

“I-I’ll go with you…” Meng Xue raised her hand, volunteering to join.

Tang Jing refused. “Stay with the others.”

She knew Meng Xue was afraid of the dark and ghosts. The cramped space of the well would only amplify her fear better to stay aboveground with the group.

After securing her safety gear, Tang Jing turned to Tian Qi. “Take care of Teacher Meng.”

“Understood, Teacher Tang.” Tian Qi nodded solemnly and moved to Meng Xue’s side.

Meng Xue still looked worried.

Sun Sijia hesitated before stepping forward. “Teacher Tang, I’ll go down with you.”

At this, the group’s expressions shifted slightly, their concern for Tang Jing momentarily overshadowed.

Without glancing at Sun Sijia, Tang Jing subtly looked at Meng Xue one last time before jumping into the well.

Meng Xue and the others rushed to the edge to watch.

The well wasn’t deep, it had been dug specifically for the escape room theme. Below, there was a roughly three-cubic-meter space with decent airflow, though it was pitch black.

In the darkness, a faint shadow stirred. Tang Jing hesitated slightly before asking, “Who’s there?”

The hearts of everyone at the well’s mouth leaped into their throats. For a moment, they forgot to breathe, their eyes fixed tightly on Teacher Tang down in the well.

At this moment, everyone was worried about Teacher Tang.

The shadow remained still. Tang Jing frowned and cautiously moved toward it.

“Teacher Tang.” Seeing her about to act, Meng Xue at the well’s edge called out softly.

Due to the narrow space and strong echoes, sounds in the well could easily hurt the ears of those inside. Therefore, Meng Xue and the others tried to avoid speaking unless absolutely necessary.

When Tang Jing was just a meter away from the shadow, a sudden beam of light shone down from the wall, illuminating the well’s interior clearly. She finally saw what the shadow was and stopped in her tracks, hesitating.

A woman in a red wedding dress, her hair disheveled, was chained to the wall. At her feet lay half-eaten steamed buns and a water pouch clear signs that someone had been feeding her regularly.

Tang Jing was taken aback, but her gaze was soon drawn to the symbols carved into the wall behind the woman.

Row upon row of densely packed marks covered the surface, too many to count.

The woman began to sob. Meng Xue and the others at the well’s edge recoiled in fright, but their concern for Teacher Tang kept them from crying out. They covered their mouths tightly, watching the scene below.

Sun Sijia, however, screamed in terror. The sound echoed piercingly into the well, making Tang Jing wince uncomfortably.

“Stop screaming.” Meng Xue rushed over, clapping a hand over Sun Sijia’s mouth. She glanced toward the well, then pulled Sun Sijia back a few steps.

The audience, still unaware of what was happening, saw Meng Xue covering Sun Sijia’s mouth and dragging her away roughly behavior that rubbed many the wrong way.

[What’s Meng Xue’s problem? Why is she treating Sun Sijia like that?]
[Isn’t Meng Xue Sun Sijia’s senior? How could she act like this toward her junior?]
[Is Meng Xue getting arrogant because she has Teacher Tang’s backing?]

Before Meng Xue’s fans could respond, more knowledgeable viewers jumped in.

[Are you idiots? You don’t even know what’s going on and you’re already barking.]
[The well is so confined that even the slightest sound gets amplified. Sun Sijia screamed right at the edge, did you even think about Teacher Tang down there?]
[Not just Teacher Tang, but the NPC girl too.]

The critics quickly fell silent, too ashamed to speak up now.

Meanwhile, Meng Xue explained the situation to Sun Sijia, who smiled guiltily and said, “Sorry, senior. I didn’t know.”

Meng Xue didn’t bother responding. Her main concern was Teacher Tang, she had no idea how she was doing now.

To prevent Sun Sijia from causing more trouble, Meng Xue pulled her to the edge of the courtyard to wait.

A few minutes later, Tang Jing emerged from the well.

“Any clues?” Luo Dong and the others asked urgently as they helped her up.

“I found a key and some leads.” Tang Jing’s expression was grim not because of Sun Sijia’s scream, but because what she’d seen in the well had unsettled her.

“We not only need to uncover the truth but also find the key to rescue the bride down there.”

“Save the bride?” The group was stunned, unsure of the situation since they hadn’t gone down and didn’t know what was happening below.

“The bride isn’t dead, but she’s been locked down there for a long time,” Tang Jing said.

“Ah?” Tian Qi looked incredulous. “Then… wouldn’t she starve to death?”

“Someone delivers food to her regularly,” Tang Jing replied. “Though whether it’s the same person who locked her up is unclear.”

“In the memory scene just now, wasn’t the bride pushed down by the groom?” Luo Dong frowned. “Could it be the groom who locked her up?”

Tang Jing shook her head. With so few clues, the exact circumstances remained unknown.

Luo Dong took the key to open another door.

Tang Jing glanced to the side, where Meng Xue was scrutinizing her. Only after confirming she was unharmed did Meng Xue’s lips curl into a smile.

Seeing her smile, Tang Jing also smiled briefly before saying, “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Watching the two walk away side by side, Sun Sijia gritted her teeth in frustration and followed.

The next scene was indoors, pitch black. As everyone fumbled along the walls, trying to find a light switch, a single lamp flickered on still red.

At the sight, everyone huddled together in fear.

Tang Jing shielded Meng Xue behind her.

Based on the courtyard scene earlier, they guessed this would be another memory flashback.

Sure enough, after a couple of seconds, several figures appeared in the room, a wedding ceremony.

Tian Qi and the others were so terrified they kept pressing backward. If the door behind them hadn’t been locked, they would have retreated to the courtyard immediately.

“First bow to heaven and earth!”

The groom and bride knelt in reverence.

“Second bow to the parents!”

It was clear the bride was unwilling, as someone beside her forcibly pressed her shoulders down.

Tang Jing noticed that among the watching relatives and friends, there was a shabbily dressed man with red-rimmed eyes, his lips trembling as he stared at the bride.

His reaction caught Tang Jing’s attention.

Meng Xue, following her gaze, also spotted him and whispered in her ear, “Professor Tang, is there something special about this man?”

Tang Jing whispered back, “He might be a key figure. Let’s pay extra attention to him.”

“Oh.” Though Meng Xue didn’t understand his significance, she nodded earnestly.

Seeing her serious little expression, Tang Jing couldn’t help but smile.

Luo Dong and the others were also observing the figures in the scene and had clearly noticed the man.

While everyone else wore smiles, this man looked on the verge of tears his stark contrast made him impossible to ignore.

“Snap!” The red light went out, and the memory scene vanished.

“Professor Tang, you mentioned earlier that the bride was locked in the well and someone kept bringing her food?” Luo Dong asked, as if recalling something.

“Yes,” Tang Jing nodded.

Tian Qi also caught on. “So that patched-up man from earlier really is suspicious?”

“Click.” The room’s lights turned on.

Everyone jumped, but when they saw it was Jian Anping who had flipped the switch, they relaxed.

With the lights on, their courage returned.

Instead of searching for items right away, they first pieced together what they’d just witnessed.

“The bride didn’t want to marry the groom,” Tian Qi said, frowning.

“Could that man covered in patches be the bride’s lover?”

“We’re not sure yet. We need to find more clues.”

“Come here, quick!” Sun Sijia called out.

The group snapped out of their thoughts and walked over at the sound of her voice.

What Sun Sijia had found was a piece of paper with the words: “Meet me in the backyard at midnight tonight.”

Eight words, unsigned. They exchanged glances.

“Could this be related to what we just saw in the courtyard?”

“So, this note might have been dropped by the groom?”

“But why not just tell the bride directly?”

Once again, they were stumped.

“There are a lot of poetry collections here,” Tian Qi said. “All written by someone named Tian Su.”

“The courtyard we’re in is called the Tian Residence,” Meng Xue added.

“How do you know that?” Everyone turned to look at her.

“I saw two lanterns in the courtyard with the character ‘Tian’ on them.”

At her words, the others remembered as well.

“So, the groom’s surname is Tian. Could this Tian Su be the groom’s name?”

Tang Jing suddenly recalled something and took out the earlier note. Comparing the handwriting, she found it didn’t match.

But with so many poetry collections here, all authored by the same name, there had to be some special significance.

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