Chapter 5: From Today Onwards, I Am Your Disciple p1
Upon hearing this, Liu Ying, instead of asking about the secret room’s location, looked at Shang Shang with concern and asked tremblingly, “Are… are you alright?”
With her face revealed, there was no need to hide anymore. Shang Shang examined the mask, making sure it wasn’t damaged, then placed it on her head, her fingers deftly tying the broken strings beneath her chin.
“I’m fine,” she said, suppressing her anger as she tied the final knot. “I’ll lead the way.”
She walked straight towards them, unguarded, but without glancing at Mu Qiandan, passing by her directly.
Li Biyuan’s heart trembled, ‘Is she angry? This is bad, this is really bad!’
The gathered spiritual energy, having no target, dissipated instantly. Mu Qiandan withdrew her hand, uncharacteristically silent, giving Liu Ying a look, urging him to follow.
Shang Shang walked out of the courtyard, stopped under a pine tree, briefly oriented herself, and then headed in a specific direction.
She had said she had caught rats in the Liu residence before. This was presumably her second time here, yet she seemed as familiar with the place as if she lived there. The original story mentioned the protagonist’s exceptional memory, able to remember any path she had walked once. It seemed to be true, another one of her numerous positive traits.
After navigating the maze-like corridors, Shang Shang stopped in front of a secluded building. “It’s here.”
Liu Ying looked up at the plaque, “This is indeed Liu He’s room, but I just checked, it’s empty.”
Shang Shang pushed the door open and entered, “Follow me.”
The three of them went inside, the room indeed empty. She walked past the gauze curtain, straight to the wardrobe, opened the door, pushed aside the hanging clothes, and felt along the wall.
While she searched, Mu Qiandan walked to the bed and examined it. The bedding looked like someone had just gotten out of it, but covered in a layer of dust, indicating that the owner had left in a hurry and hadn’t returned for a while.
Mu Qiandan glanced around, saying coldly, ‘This Liu He is definitely spoiled rotten. A perfectly good family ruined by him. If I were his father, I’d haunt his bedside every night.’
Perhaps she had found the mechanism, as a click came from the wardrobe, followed by the grating sound of a large stone against the wall. A few seconds later, a large hole appeared in the wall, pitch black and emitting a putrid odor.
Mu Qiandan continued, ‘Authors these days have really run out of ideas. I’ve seen this kind of plot device since I was a kid, over a decade ago. They’re still using it? Can’t they be more creative?’
She sounded like a critic, commenting on everything. Li Biyuan, finally unable to bear it, said, ‘Can I say something? You’re so harsh.’
Mu Qiandan replied, ‘Mm.’
Li Biyuan coughed, ‘And besides, just because it’s been done before doesn’t mean it can’t be done again. Hiding a secret room in a wardrobe might be cliché, but it’s practical! Why bother coming up with new details? Readers might not even notice, it’s a waste of effort.’
Mu Qiandan said, ‘Oh.’
‘…’ She wasn’t listening at all!
Shang Shang stepped aside, pointing into the hole. “Have you been here before?”
Liu Ying peered inside. Unlit, it looked like the mouth of a giant beast, bottomless, emanating a damp, cold air like a tomb, making him instinctively recoil.
“No,” he shook his head. “I’ve barely been in this room, and Liu He never mentioned it.”
“I discovered it by accident,” Shang Shang said, scooping up the clothes from the wardrobe and piling them on a chair. “I was chasing a yellow rat, came into this room, and happened to find the mechanism. I thought there might be a rat’s nest inside, but secret rooms like this usually hide the owner’s secrets, so I hesitated and didn’t go in.”
The original story described the protagonist as intelligent and calm, but influenced by her fiery dragon blood, she often appeared impulsive and impatient. As long as her emotions were stable, she could utilize her intelligence, which was evident in this situation.
Mu Qiandan listened to the explanation of the character setting, watching Shang Shang from behind, and snorted.
Liu Ying asked, “Do you think Liu He is in there?”
Shang Shang replied, “There’s definitely something in there.”
The hole was dark; entering directly might lead to a fall. She looked around the room, finding a cabinet that likely held valuables. She smashed the cabinet door with her elbow, rummaging through it and retrieving a gold hairpin. Examining it in the moonlight, she nodded and asked, “This is your family’s belongings, can I use it?”
The cabinet was filled with gold and silver; any single item would be enough for Liu Ying to treat his daughter, yet his brother would rather let them gather dust than offer any help. He said with a heavy heart, “Go ahead.”
Shang Shang put the tip of the hairpin in her mouth and, without changing her expression, bit it off, chewing it as if it were a delicacy.
Such a sharp object should have drawn blood, yet she swallowed it. Liu Ying’s sorrow was replaced by shock, “Hey, your mouth…”
Shang Shang waved her hand dismissively, swallowing the entire hairpin bit by bit. She commented that the gold wasn’t pure, then picked out two gold earrings and a bracelet, devouring them all. Her teeth were sharp, the only sound a faint crunching as she chewed the gold as casually as if it were pastries, but the sound made Mu Qiandan’s teeth ache.
A timely pang of pain in her hand reminded her of the sharpness of those teeth. Now that she thought about it, considering their strength, it was surprising she hadn’t lost a chunk of flesh. The protagonist must have shown mercy.
After consuming the gold, seemingly satisfied, Shang Shang stood up, patted her stomach, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
Sparks crackled in her throat, followed by a burst of flames, burning brightly and illuminating the entire room.
Liu Ying’s lips twitched, realizing his concern was unnecessary. Even if this person wasn’t an immortal, she was certainly no ordinary human.
Mu Qiandan’s gaze was indifferent, ‘This is also one of her abilities?’
Li Biyuan said, ‘Swallowing gold and breathing fire, it’s a characteristic of dragons. The book does mention it, but I didn’t expect her to master it so early.’
Mu Qiandan’s eyes reflected the firelight as she muttered, ‘She really gets all the good stuff…’
Her voice was so low that even Li Biyuan didn’t hear it and asked what she had said. Mu Qiandan closed her eyes, concealing her thoughts. ‘Nothing.’
Shang Shang extended her hand, and the fireball obediently landed in her palm. “Let’s go in.”
It turned out she had only created it for illumination.
The three of them entered the hole, descending the steps. As they reached the bottom, the stench intensified.
The firelight revealed a narrow passage, its end not yet visible. The walls were made of dark gray bricks, teeming with ants. Faint scratching sounds could be heard, likely rats.
Who knew what lurked in this dark, damp place. The thought of swarms of insects and rats made her scalp crawl. Mu Qiandan frowned, thinking of turning back, but seeing the two ahead walking deeper without hesitation, the firelight receding, she hesitated.
After a moment of silence, she covered her nose with her sleeve and followed.
After walking about thirty meters, the narrow passage opened into a chamber. It wasn’t large, almost empty except for some filth, with only a stone platform in the center, on which sat a coffin.
Their arrival and the commotion seemed to disturb the occupant, who mumbled softly.
Rats scurried past their feet, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Mu Qiandan frowned deeply, her impatience growing. She asked stiffly, “Is that your brother talking?”
Liu Ying stared at the coffin, as if trying to identify something. As the firelight revealed more details of the coffin, his expression turned to shock, then to sheer terror. “This… this coffin, it’s my mother’s!”
Could the person talking inside be his mother?
But the mumbling, though soft, was clearly that of a man.
Mu Qiandan focused her spiritual energy on her ears, listening intently to the mumbling.
“I did something wrong, but they were wrong first, weren’t they?”
“This is the only thing I’m good at. If I can’t make them suffer, they’ll all look down on me, everyone will look down on me! That can’t happen, absolutely not!”
“Mother will forgive me, right? You always loved me the most, you’ll definitely say I did nothing wrong…”
Calling the coffin’s occupant “mother,” the speaker must be Liu He. And from the content of his ramblings, it was almost certain that he was behind all the strange occurrences.
Mu Qiandan looked back, “Go back and bring your daughter here, quickly.”
She didn’t expect Li Biyuan to find a way for the ghost to cross over anymore, and there was no need. With Liu He in hand, the one who tied the bell had to untie it. She just had to force him to undo the spell.
She couldn’t help a dead person cross over, but she could certainly “persuade” a living one.
Liu Ying, realizing who was in the coffin, didn’t stop to question, rushing out, his footsteps fading quickly.
Only two people remained in the chamber. Mu Qiandan glanced at the girl beside her, realizing they would be spending a lot of time together. Wanting to break the ice, she said, “Move the fireball closer, let’s see what’s inside the coffin.”
Even when trying to be friendly, her tone unconsciously carried a hint of command. Shang Shang’s calm expression immediately rippled. She snorted and abruptly closed her hand, extinguishing the fire.
Li Biyuan said, ‘She’s definitely angry.’
Mu Qiandan retorted, ‘Shut up.’
The coffin wasn’t closed; before the firelight completely vanished, they had seen the lid leaning against the stone platform, and a pair of shoes lying beside the coffin. This meant Liu He was currently inside.
She was truly unlucky to have to deal with these crazy people.
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