The Vicious Beauty Faked His Death Three Times [Transmigration] - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Understanding

The gloomy stone path was sticky and damp; one could feel a distinct sliminess stepping onto it. The surroundings seemed never to change; after walking for so long, it felt as though this path had no end.

Lin Qinghan narrowed his eyes at his environment. Ahead was a tunnel with no visible end; behind was a faint, receding entrance.

Stopping only for a brief moment, Lin Qinghan lifted his leg and continued forward. After a while, he stopped again to observe. It was still a distant end and a long-receded entrance.

About half an incense stick’s time had passed since he entered, yet the surroundings remained unchanged. He was walking in circles.

Lin Qinghan halted, frowning as he surveyed the area.

There was a dense demonic aura in this stone path, but he could not find its source. It was as if he were enveloped by this aura, rendering him unable to perceive anything else.

The opponent doesn’t want me to find it, Lin Qinghan thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and a trace of a smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. Then the smile vanished, and he remained standing there, frowning as if troubled by his current predicament.

Drip, drop.

A drop of water fell from above, passing right in front of Lin Qinghan and landing on the ground with a splash, shattering into tiny droplets.

Lin Qinghan did not continue further. He stopped as if he finally couldn’t hold on anymore. Ignoring the eerie environment, he sat down haphazardly on the ground, leaning against the stone wall to take a short rest.

With his arms crossed, he leaned against the cold stone and slowly closed his eyes. After a moment, his breathing became steady. In this unknown environment, Lin Qinghan had actually fallen asleep.

Under the cover of darkness, the demonic aura began to flow slowly. A tiny vine crept gradually along the stone wall toward Lin Qinghan, its movements slow and cautious as if afraid of waking him.

After a long while, the vine reached the area above Lin Qinghan’s head. It lifted slightly away from the wall and gingerly touched a strand of his hair. Seeing no movement, its behavior grew bolder as it crawled toward his neck.

This time, it was no longer cautious. It detached from the stone wall and lunged decisively and swiftly toward that slender, fair neck.

In an instant, the vine was severed by a fine thread that appeared out of thin air. Half of the vine landed on Lin Qinghan’s shoulder; a thick green liquid flowed from the cut, dripping onto his black martial attire and looking particularly conspicuous.

The severed vine yanked back abruptly, retreating to a high spot, no longer daring to touch him. it stared warily at the fine thread on his shoulder. As if sensing the gaze, the thread swept the half-length of the vine off his shoulder and even cleaned away the slime that had fallen on him.

The stone path distorted for a split second when the vine was cut, leaking a bright beam of light before being covered by darkness again.

The vine dared not act rashly. It hung on the stone wall observing Lin Qinghan. Seeing him frown as if sleeping fitfully, it grew even more hesitant. It waited until Lin Qinghan sank back into a deep sleep and his brow smoothed over before moving again.

This time, it wasn’t just one vine. Nearly the entire area around Lin Qinghan was covered in vines. They moved slowly toward the man leaning against the wall, their numbers so great it looked as though they intended to swallow him whole.

The fine thread hung on Lin Qinghan’s shoulder, seemingly watching the vines crawling toward him, ready to strike the moment they made a move.

This time, the vines were no longer wary of the minuscule thread. Letting the thread cut its companions, one vine spread rapidly across the stone wall. The moment the thread slashed at other vines, it suddenly suspended itself and lunged at Lin Qinghan’s neck, intending to entwine him deathly tight.

“Caught you.”

Slender fingers pinched the vine lunging straight at him. Instantly, flames began to spread from his fingertips. The vine struggled violently, but it was too late. A fierce fire ignited with Lin Qinghan at the center, swallowing the vines around him that didn’t have time to evade.

The vines made a sizzling sound in the fire, as if wailing in pain. The flames consumed them bit by bit, turning them to ash. The stone path before him distorted violently as darkness and light repeatedly tried to swallow each other.

Lin Qinghan sat in the middle of the fire, opening his eyes to look at the world around him, the burning flames reflected in his indifferent gaze.

He looked up at the twisting stone path. His well-defined fingers curved slightly and snapped, making a crisp sound. The fire suddenly roared higher. In a flash, the darkness of the stone path was completely swallowed by the flames, revealing its true form.

The surroundings were wide and bright. In the center stood a massive stone altar. In the middle of the altar was a gargantuan vine reaching straight toward the ceiling. Its thick main body was being scorched by the fire, while the branches spreading to the ceiling seeped into the soil, extending upward to places unseen.

Its roots were not planted in soil but were soaked in crimson blood. One didn’t even need to get close to smell the dense demonic aura.

Lin Qinghan stood and walked toward the altar. He looked down and discovered a ring of golden inscriptions he couldn’t understand carved into the stone—it looked like some kind of restriction.

The Black Bone Fan suddenly appeared, slashing viciously toward the vine being consumed by fire. As it crossed the altar, the inscriptions suddenly emitted a golden light. A powerful barrier rose abruptly, violently repelling the fan, which Lin Qinghan caught in his hand.

Simultaneously, the entire stone tunnel shook violently.

“As I thought, Tianhai Pavilion relies on you for support.” Lin Qinghan looked down at the bottomless crimson blood. The Black Bone Fan traced the golden inscriptions. “Let me guess. You reached a deal with Tianhai Pavilion. As a divine medicine, you can suppress sinister demonic energy to help Tianhai Pavilion strip demons of their original forms to refine magical artifacts. Your reward is the discarded demon blood, used as fertilizer for your growth.”

“The Everspring Ivy, which supposedly suppresses evil, is actually a sinister thing nourished by demon blood. Truly unexpected.”

Lin Qinghan raised his hand, and the Black Bone Fan slashed at the vine again. The barrier rose once more, and the stone path shook even more violently this time; even small pebbles began to fall from the ceiling.

“Come out,” Lin Qinghan said coldly to the vine.

As he spoke, the small flames on the vine suddenly grew larger, and the stone path gave another slight shudder.

Lin Qinghan watched the vine with composed ease, his expression calm.

After a short while, a small demon reaching only to his waist appeared before him.

The small demon’s body floated off the ground and was slightly transparent. It looked at Lin Qinghan resentfully, its youthful voice falling with anger. “How did you learn of my identity?”

Lin Qinghan did not answer. Instead, he brushed his hand over the inscriptions on the altar, his voice carryng a hint of a smile.

“Let’s make a deal. I give you back your freedom, and you work for me. How about it?”

Hearing this, the small demon narrowed its eyes. A powerful demonic aura surged toward Lin Qinghan, blowing his hair back.

Only at the late stage of Nascent Soul, and even suppressed down to the late stage of Golden Core. If I weren’t currently restricted by others, I could destroy this person with a mere wave of my hand.

Yet the person before him did not show a trace of cowardice. Instead, he watched quietly, the smile on his lips never fading, as if indulging a child’s tantrum.

“What if I refuse?” the small demon said coldly.

“Then you will die here.”

Lin Qinghan looked at him. No emotion could be seen in his smiling eyes, and his words carried an air of irresistible authority.

Only then did Baichun take a careful look at the person before him. A beautiful face, but a cruel heart.

The two stood before the massive vine. The fire hissed as it burned the plant, and the smell of blood permeated the dark passage. The vibrations grew from weak to strong, causing pebbles and soil to gradually shake loose from the ceiling and crash down before them.

The secret passage wouldn’t hold much longer.

After a long pause, Baichun took a step back, looking warily at Lin Qinghan. “What deal?”

Lin Qinghan’s brows curved. He raised his hand and retracted the flames from the vine.

“First, tell me everything you know.”

Ling Yanhe, with a dark face, made his way down from the third floor, finally stopping at the wing room where Lin Qinghan had changed clothes earlier. He pushed the door open, and the cloying fragrance that rushed toward him made his frown deepen.

He scanned the room warily before stepping inside.

Ling Yanhe’s gaze swept over the screen in the middle, then circled around until it landed on the potted plant not far away.

Near the pot was that conspicuous pile of ash. Ling Yanhe merely spared it a glance. With a slight flick of his finger, the pot was sliced into fragments by fine threads. Potting soil scattered along with the ceramic shards, making the room look even more wretched.

Ling Yanhe looked down at the pile of soil, a sky-shaking black mist rising in his dark eyes.

After a moment, he retracted his gaze. Fine threads soared from behind him, and the cheers of vengeful ghosts filled the air around him.

“I told you that person would betray you, but you refused to believe it.”

“Betrayed twice, hee-hee. What a fool.”

“Why not let me eat him?”

“It’s not for the likes of us two ghosts. Today is the day the Symbiotic Gu acts up. That demon slave will die from the pain of his heart being gnawed. Truly, he’s getting off easy.”

In an instant, a powerful atmospheric pressure frightened the ghosts into a chorus of wails.

Ling Yanhe stood in the room, the anger in his eyes growing denser. He half-closed his eyes as if brewing a storm.

He truly hadn’t expected Lin Qinghan to be bold enough to betray him a second time—and to leave so grandly right in front of him.

He had actually fallen for the trick, letting the person run away so easily.

Should he have expected nothing less? A dog that could never learn loyalty.

But it didn’t matter. The other’s life and death were still in his hands. He only needed to hook a finger to take that life, ensuring he could never be betrayed again.

An inexplicable irritability surged in Ling Yanhe’s heart. His gaze fell on the pile of soil in the corner. He paused, and his hooked fingers stopped moving. The fine threads that had been wreaking havoc in the room were pulled over to the soil.

The thread poked the soil somewhat reluctantly, then arched its body and shook its head at Ling Yanhe. But seeing his dark expression, it could only unwillingly push the soil aside.

Once it finished, it disappeared with a whoosh.

Ling Yanhe slowly crouched down. He looked at the gap in the soil and placed the command token upon it.

Crack.

A secret passage leading underground slowly appeared before him.

Ling Yanhe looked at the bottomless passage, the black mist in his eyes swept away. The fine thread that had been lying lifelessly on his finger suddenly lifted and swayed, pointing toward the ground.

“He’s down there, isn’t he?”

The thread swayed even more excitedly at the question.

“Is there anyone else besides him?” Ling Yanhe half-closed his eyes, watching the thread on his finger.

The thread, which had been swaying happily, suddenly went still, then began to sway violently.

Ling Yanhe reached out and tapped the swaying thread with his fingertip. Instantly, the thread went limp again, draped over his finger without moving.

“Shut up.”

The corners of Ling Yanhe’s eyes tilted upward as he stood.

“Always playing those deceptive tricks to bewitch people.”

A moment later, only a mess remained in the room; no sign of anyone could be seen.

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