Chapter 46: Chapter 46: It’s Coming
According to Shi Dali’s understanding of the script, tonight’s task of searching underwater for the body was a specified segment, which did not largely depend on the number of people diving or their swimming skills—just fulfilling the requirement to dive was enough.
In other words, as long as there were no issues on the Ghost play side, Xi Yao’s body would definitely be found, so Shi Guanming alone was sufficient.
Even if some kind of mishap occurred underwater, the risk would be borne by Shi Guanming alone. What he needed to do was survive and take away the clues.
At that moment, in the murky waters, Shi Guanming did not know how deep he was. Visibility was poor, and he was just diving deeper on a single breath.
The cold lake water and the unfamiliar environment were depleting the little courage Shi Guanming had. He felt the urge to give up several times, wanting to surface for air, but Shi’s admonition echoed in his ears: surfacing would attract the Ghost’s attention.
In the deep, gloomy waters, the only comfort was the presence of Shi, fighting alongside him. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see him nearby.
Gathering his courage, he continued to dive deeper, and slowly, he approached a red halo of light. When he finally could see the source of the light, Shi Guanming was stunned; it was actually a large red lantern floating in the water.
Using the faint light emitted by the lantern, a huge dark shape was lurking in the turbid lake water below. After the initial panic subsided, Shi Guanming quickly calmed down. He knew he had found the right place; Shi was right, it had to be the sunken ship they used for the bridal procession!
Heading towards the shadow, the ship was bigger than he had imagined, painted bright red from top to bottom, it lay on the lakebed, resembling a gigantic blood-red coffin.
The entire ship was rotted by the lake water, although its general structure was still intact. Shi Guanming could easily break off pieces of the decayed wood with a little effort.
He was now at the stern of the ship. The mast where Xi Yao’s body was bound should be at the front. He groped his way from the cabin to the front and quickly found the mast.
It was hard to imagine that after so many years, the mast had not broken. At this moment, it stood like a sharp sword on the ship, burying both the vessel and the sins it carried at the bottom of the lake.
Following the mast downward, he found a wooden stake at the bottom wrapped with coils of rope. The other end of the rope extended diagonally upward, with no end in sight, a sight taking place in the dark waters as if reaching into another world.
"Found it!"
Shi Guanming felt a surge of joy. The other end of the rope must be tied to Xi Yao’s body. He traced the rope slowly, feeling apprehensive.
It was a lie to say he wasn’t scared at this point, given that he was about to see a terrifying corpse suspended in the lake water and he had to close its eyes.
The rope extended upward, and Shi Guanming felt increasingly uneasy as he swam. Light faintly appeared around him. Logically speaking, he was almost at the surface now—how could Xi Yao’s body be so close to the surface?
Before he could think further, light pierced down from above. Shi Guanming looked up sharply, only to see a body floating a few meters above his head.
It was the body of the third young master; he remembered those clothes!
But quickly, he saw, through the murky lake water, a distorted rope; one end was in his hand, while the other was tied to the third young master’s foot.
Suddenly shivering, Shi Guanming couldn’t see the face of the third young master; the wet hair spread out like seaweed, covering everything. However, he felt a malicious gaze—the third young master was staring at him!
Although he did not know what exactly had happened and why Xi Yao’s body was missing and had been replaced by the third young master’s, something must have gone wrong. The Ghost play... Something must have happened there!
He could no longer heed Shi Dali’s admonition, Shi Guanming turned and swam in another direction. He needed to get far away from the Third Young Master and then immediately surface!
After all, without him, Shi Dali was still underwater; a veteran player, he surely had a way to deal with the current situation.
Without looking back, Shi Guanming swam a good distance before looking up again, only to be met with despair. The Third Young Master remained motionless above his head, and the distance between them had even shrunk significantly.
As the Third Young Master’s corpse shuddered, the hair masking the face scattered, and Shi Guanming saw the bloated, rotting face hidden beneath the hair.
This was not the Third Young Master at all; it was Xi Yao!
But how had Xi Yao impersonated the Third Young Master? And with the ghost play not yet over, her vengeful spirit should be performing on stage now!
But these questions were doomed to remain unanswered, at least for Shi Guanming, as his last memory was of the rotting corpse pressing down on him.
Shi Dali on the boat hadn’t expected the Third Young Master to actually be Xi Yao in disguise, but he immediately realized something was wrong with tonight’s ghost play.
Since the ghost play couldn’t go on, staying on the lake was meaningless. With that thought, Shi Dali decided to pilot the boat away, but suddenly, a thick fog emerged on the calm lake surface, obscuring the surroundings and making it difficult to discern any direction.
Shi Dali took a deep breath, realizing that the other party did not intend to let him leave so easily.
Gradually, the sound of water began to rise over the white expanse of the lake, approaching from afar. Shi Dali calmed himself, watching to see what would happen.
Soon, the noise reached the boat. It was Shi Guanming, who had previously struggled and sunk to the bottom of the lake. He swam to the side of the boat with odd movements and, looking up, extended his hand desperately toward Shi, "Shi, quick, pull me up!"
From his higher vantage point, Shi looked down at him, saying nothing.
"Shi, hurry, I barely managed to escape. That thing is too terrifying, the Third Young Master was impersonated by Xi Yao, and the other end of the rope is tied to the fake Third Young Master. We’ve all been deceived!" Shi Guanming explained while glancing back as if being chased by something.
"Shi, hurry! Save me, it’s coming! It’s coming over here!"
Beating against the boat, Shi Guanming’s desperate cries for help resounded as something drifted out of the mist in the distance.
It was a corpse, dressed in fine clothes, face down with contorted limbs, floating quietly over.
Shi Guanming, submerged in the water, froze because the corpse was dressed in the exact same outfit as his own and had similarly short, finely-cut hair.
Turning his gaze away, Shi Dali looked down at Shi Guanming from the boat. Using the light from the boat, he saw that there was no shadow on the water next to Shi Guanming’s body.
Shi Guanming was dead.
He thought he had escaped, but in reality, only his wronged spirit had, seeking a replacement nearby upon dying in the water. It seemed more like an instinct.
Seeing his own corpse, Shi Guanming suddenly fell silent. The next second, his fair face began to ooze copious amounts of filthy water mixed with mud and sand, pouring from his mouth, nostrils, and even his eyes. The scene was incredibly horrifying.
