Geisterkonserven

Kapitel 10

"Ah." Liu Wenying was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood the meaning behind Liang Yingwu's question. She thought for a moment, then looked to the side and said, "Zhu Zili and He Yunkai both pursued me."

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me," Zhu Zili immediately protested.

"I never pursued you, you're just deluding yourself. Don't get cocky." He Yunkai cursed as soon as someone pointed the finger at him.

"Of course I did! For a while last semester, you would buy me drinks every time I had PE class, and a few times you even used your own towel to wipe my sweat. Ugh, that towel was covered in your unwashed, sweaty smell. It was disgusting!" Liu Wenying immediately retorted in a shrill voice.

"I was blind back then, and now I have absolutely no interest in you."

Liu Wenying was so angry that she was about to yell back, but Liang Yingwu waved his hand and said, "Don't say anything, it couldn't be He Yunkai."

Judging from He Yunkai's appearance, he doesn't seem like someone capable of learning illusion magic.

As I watched the students accusing and distrusting each other, and then digging up each other's secrets, I felt a growing anxiety. The atmosphere was already thick with tension. When distrust reached its peak, all the pent-up resentment would explode. If just one person made the first move, the chain reaction could cause serious consequences similar to those of a hundred years ago.

I looked at Liang Yingwu, who also looked worried and couldn't think of a solution.

Suddenly, I realized something. If we all start fighting and it becomes a chaotic mess, it will be a lose-lose situation. If the culprit is among us, how can he ensure that he won't suffer in such a chaotic battle?

I whispered this question to Liang Yingwu, and he couldn't figure it out either.

“Really, if that person is among us, given how things are going, I can’t control it anymore. If we make a move, no one can guarantee their own safety. Could it be that his illusion magic allows him to remain unscathed in the chaos? Or is that person actually not among us?” Liang Yingwu said the words “not among us” and suddenly his whole body trembled. He looked up at the passageway.

In an instant, I understood Liang Yingwu's thoughts, and a chill ran down my spine.

Actually, the two people who weren't among us and could ensure we wouldn't get caught up in the chaos were Lu Yun and Yuan Qiuhong. And none of the earlier speculations pointed the finger at these two people who were swallowed by the tunnel and weren't even present.

We overlooked them.

"Silk".

I heard Liang Yingwu gasp.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking about?" I asked Liang Yingwu in a deep voice.

He looked quietly toward the entrance of the passageway for a moment before answering me, "I think I already know who it is."

"Who is it?" I asked back without thinking.

Liang Yingwu shook his head without answering me, seemingly lost in thought.

My brain was working at full speed, my mind racing. Who could it be, Yuan Qiuhong or Lu Yun?

Yuan Qiuhong is from Shanghai, born into a wealthy family, and every move she makes exudes an undeniable air of nobility. It's truly hard to imagine that such a person could be a descendant of a mysterious illusionist lineage. And Lu Yun, usually introverted and quiet, is... she is... God, she's from Hubei! Back in Sanlitun Village, she even served as a translator between the two sides because she could speak the local dialect. Could it be her?

Just as I was about to ask Liang Yingwu again, he suddenly shouted, and what he said left me speechless.

Liang Yingwu shouted, "Lu Yun, Lu Yun, I like you, come out!"

In an instant, all the students stopped arguing and looked at their teacher, Liang.

Liang Yingwu continued shouting, "I have absolutely no feelings for Liu Wenying, but I like you. Come out here!"

It seems, just as I suspected, that Liang Yingwu also suspected Lu Yun was "that person." And there must be some untold entanglement between these two, a love triangle. That Liang Yingwu, he actually got involved in a teacher-student romance without giving a hint. Otherwise, why would it take him so long to figure out who it is?

But what will be the outcome of Liang Yingwu's confession now? Knowing Liang Yingwu as I do, he's not the type to say such cheesy things; he must have ulterior motives.

Over a hundred years ago, Bao Yong's infatuation with Bao Yue, a fellow villager, stemmed from his dislike of Xiao Xiuyun, which triggered Xiao Xiuyun's "life-or-death test." Now, Liang Yingwu has openly admitted to liking Lu Yun; could this situation be resolved?

After a few shouts, a dark figure slowly emerged from the passageway.

"Lu Yun!" Exclamations rose and fell.

"Where is Yuan Qiuhong?" I asked loudly.

Lu Yun stopped not far from us and pointed to the side: "Isn't that it?"

Liang Yingwu hurriedly pulled out a flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the spot. Yuan Qiuhong was lying among the bones not far from the living area. I didn't have time to marvel at the power of the illusion. I rushed over to check on her. She seemed to have just fainted, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

By now, everyone understood that the one who had led them to this desperate situation was Lu Yun, who usually appeared introverted, quiet, and harmless.

He Yunkai roared and charged forward. Lu Yun gave a soft snort, and He Yunkai's body grazed past Lu Yun at least three feet away. He Yunkai continued his roar, his eyes glaring forward as if Lu Yun were right in front of him. He charged straight to the cave wall and didn't stop. He clenched his fist and slammed his head against the stone wall, staggered a couple of times, and fell down, apparently knocked unconscious.

The crowd that had intended to rush forward with He Yunkai immediately stopped in their tracks. Under such an illusion, even if there were many more people, they would probably end up like He Yunkai.

A resentment that has been passed down for a century (3)

Liang Yingwu walked slowly toward Lu Yun and said, "I've never told you before because our identities aren't appropriate, but I've always liked you. I was actually very upset when I rejected you last time."

Lu Yun asked, gazing longingly, "Really?"

Liang Yingwu walked up to her, looked into her eyes, and said, "Really." Then he bent down slightly and kissed her lips.

Everyone watched as Liang Yingwu kissed her, unsure of what to say.

I stared intently at Liang Yingwu. In the darkness, I could vaguely see him kissing Lu Yun passionately. His right hand, which was holding Lu Yun, slowly rose, then suddenly cleaved into a knife-like shape and slashed fiercely at Lu Yun's carotid artery. Lu Yun's mouth was sealed by Liang Yingwu, and without uttering a sound, she collapsed limply to the ground.

Just as I guessed, it was absolutely right. That Liang Yingwu guy…

"Nado, scout ahead, quick," Liang Yingwu said to me, handing me a spare flashlight at the same time.

I took the flashlight and, without saying a word, went straight into the tunnel.

The culprit has already fainted. Will this Dragon-Trapping Formation be broken?

One bend, two bends, and we're out.

In less than ten minutes, I was back in the Bone Cave.

It seems that Xiao Xiuyun's record was correct; even without someone in charge, this great formation can still function at its most basic level. Therefore, now that Lu Yun has fainted, the passageway will no longer trap people for a long time, but after two turns, it will return to the White Bone Cave just like before.

Needless to say, their quick return speaks volumes. At this moment, Lu Yun was bound like a dumpling and lay on the ground, still unconscious. It seems Liang Yingwu's blow was truly ruthless.

Liang Yingwu told us that early last year, Lu Yun secretly approached him and confessed her feelings, but he rejected her outright, citing the inappropriateness of a teacher-student relationship. Lu Yun was an extremely introverted girl; it was already difficult for her to muster the courage to confess even once, and after being rejected, she never brought it up again. Liu Wenying also deeply admired Liang Yingwu. Although Liang Yingwu remained indifferent, Liu Wenying, being naturally outgoing, didn't mind being rejected several times and remained close to him. After I reminded him, Liang Yingwu suddenly realized that if Lu Yun never gave up on her feelings for him, but mistakenly took Liu Wenying's constant clinging to him as his acceptance of her, and thus believed that his original claim of a "teacher-student relationship" was merely a deceptive excuse, wouldn't that essentially match the motives of Xiao Xiuyun more than a hundred years ago? Thinking about Lu Yun's background and actions over the past few days, he immediately felt 90% confident. So he shamelessly used his "handsome man" charm to lure Lu Yun out and then took down this mysterious illusion master in the same way.

Although they were still trapped among a pile of bones and unable to find their way out, the culprit had been found. Unlike before, when they were clueless and could only wait to die, everyone felt much more at ease.

"Hey, I'm telling you, you could have made your move when you walked up to the road and leaned your head in. Why did you have to wait until you were kissing passionately and had your fill before you did it? Hehe..."

"What are you talking about? Didn't you see He Yunkai's appearance? How am I supposed to know she's really there? We need to confirm it further," Liang Yingwu argued loudly. However, many people burst out laughing; this was probably the first time they'd laughed in days.

"That's true. With such a rich range of taste sensations, it's not so easy to imitate."

"And another thing, given that he could get intimate with Teacher Liang, why would Lu Yun bother with a fake phantom? Of course, he'd have to take the bait himself." Liu Wenying, his rival in love, chimed in, though it sounded rather sour.

"Alright, alright, we're not out yet. If you have the energy to make fun of me, you should think about how to get Lu Yun to let us out willingly." Liang Yingwu changed the subject, but this was indeed a big problem that could make everyone serious again.

"If you want to go out, wait a hundred days."

I was shocked to find that Lu Yun had actually woken up. The force of Liang Yingwu's palm strike just now would have left an ordinary man unconscious for several hours. It seems that Lu Yun's physical resilience is not as good as it appears.

He Yunkai hadn't woken up yet; otherwise, upon hearing those words, he would have rushed up and beaten someone up again.

"What's wrong with you, Lu Yun?" Guo Yonghua stammered.

Lu Yun snorted, her voice shrill and frightening. By the phosphorescent light, I could see her face was strange, indescribably bizarre and eerie, something about it was off. Although her features were the same as before, she just felt very different from the Lu Yun of the past. To be honest, I'd had this vague feeling for the past two days, but before I just thought it was because everyone was extremely tense from being trapped in the White Bone Cave, naturally making them different from usual. But now this difference was a hundred times more pronounced, and it stirred something within me.

"Who...who are you?" I asked instinctively, a question that even I found baffling.

However, this simple, even foolish, question went unanswered. Lu Yun was standing beside the pile of phosphorescent bones, the brightest spot in the entire cave, so anyone standing nearby could see her expression. Upon hearing my question, Lu Yun actually frowned, as if she were deeply thinking about something:

"I am, I am..."

She slowly turned her head, looking at everything in the cave, her features contorting as if she had a splitting headache:

"I am... Xiao... Xiu... Yun!"

Everyone gasped in shock.

Xiao Xiuyun, the recorder of the White Bone Diary, a genius of illusion magic from over a hundred years ago, and the instigator of the cannibalistic bloodbath in the Ancestral Cave—how is this possible?

“Impossible. You are Lu Yun, and you are 21 years old this year. Even if you are the current successor of the illusion lineage, you cannot be the Xiao Xiuyun from more than a hundred years ago,” Liang Yingwu said.

Lu Yun narrowed his eyes and stared straight at Liang Yingwu: "You, you heartless man, are just like A Yong."

A resentment that has been passed down for a century (4)

Zhu Zili rushed up to Lu Yun and shouted, "Stop playing tricks here! Let us out now, or you'll starve to death too!"

Lu Yun glanced at Zhu Zili, his expression filled with arrogance and disdain. What happened next left us all dumbfounded and at a loss.

"You're not really stupid enough to think you've already captured me, are you?" Lu Yun sneered, standing up. The climbing ropes that had been wrapped around her countless times seemed to fall to the ground as if they were just gently placed on her.

Liang Yingwu and I both took a step back in unison, while Zhu Zili was so frightened that he took six or seven steps back.

However, Lu Yun simply stood there without making any further moves. To her, none of us posed any threat and could be dealt with at any time, as long as she didn't repeat the mistake she just made, giving Liang Yingwu an opportunity to strike.

“Although you have discovered me, the experiment will still continue. When the time comes, who will be the first to make a move?” Lu Yun’s eyes swept around, passing over He Yunkai who was still unconscious, and finally stopped on Liang Yingwu: “At first, I thought it would definitely be this brainless muscle man, but now it seems that you might be the first to make a decision, Teacher Liang.”

Liang Yingwu remained silent.

“He wouldn’t do such a thing,” I answered for Liang Yingwu.

"Really? Legendary reporter, you two have a good relationship. You'll probably stay until the end. With him around, you'll feel at ease, right? So, maybe in your sleep, he'll just slash your throat like that, and the blood will spurt three feet away, just like Bao Yue."

Lu Yun's eerie tone sent shivers down my spine.

Lu Yun's gaze swept over my neck twice before returning to Liang Yingwu's face.

“However, because of you, I’ll tell you a few more things before I proceed with my experiment. Hmm, the feeling of a young body is really nice. Yes, this body, of course, belongs to that girl named Lu Yun. Speaking of which, she should be my fourth-generation disciple. And here…” Lu Yun raised her right index finger and pointed to her head, “Now, more than half of it should belong to Xiao Xiuyun.”

"It's strange, isn't it? It's a secret that even my apprentice, grand-apprentice, Lu Yun's master, and Lu Yun himself don't know. Back then, when I took on an apprentice, I left something in her mind. If she can find the person she loves and live like that, she will never know what I left her. And what I left will automatically be passed on to her disciple when she turns 50."

"Is it deep hypnosis that occurs under certain conditions?" Liang Yingwu asked.

"Hypnosis, humph, that low-level stuff. I've made a part of my soul pass down from generation to generation. No matter how long time passes, it won't disappear until it revives. I started reviving when you rejected Lu Yun and I found out you were getting along so well with Liu Wenying. That's why this trip to Shennongjia happened."

Liang Yingwu was taken aback: "So this trip to Shennongjia was entirely influenced by you..."

I was also startled. It turned out that Liang Yingwu and all the students who came this time had already been unknowingly influenced by Lu Yun. This ability to manipulate people's hearts so silently is truly terrifying.

Lu Yun continued, "Yes, you will continue this failed experiment from back then. This time there are far fewer burial goods, so it may not take too long."

"Wait a minute," I said quickly.

"how?"

My mind raced with all sorts of thoughts. I knew that if things ended like this, and Lu Yun disappeared into the tunnel again, no one could make her reappear, and we would truly be finished. But what could we do next to get this old monster from over a hundred years ago to let us go?

"Trying to stall for time? You'd better not use your cheap tricks. Goodbye."