Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Bones at the Bottom of the Well**

“Pulu-lu…”

The swordsman’s body sank, sank—

Bai Zhengliu could feel the icy finger bones landing on his head.

That hand, of course, belonged to Liu Shi. She pressed down on Bai Zhengliu with near urgency, forcing his body deeper into the water.

Throughout the process, Bai Zhengliu remained conscious but unable to move.

He could only watch helplessly as his body continued to sink. Past the well’s walls, worn smooth by years of water but still bearing the faint outlines of suppression talismans. Past bricks covered in dark waterweeds. Until, at last, he reached the bottom of the well.

Was he going to die?

When he first set out on the path of the martial world, Bai Zhengliu knew the future wouldn’t be smooth. He would face countless blades and swords, make friends with many, and enemies with just as many.

But “dying at the hands of a female ghost” was far beyond his expectations.

Scenes from his time in the Chang household flashed through his mind. Discovering his lover’s betrayal, investigating the Chang household’s past… In two days and three nights, he had accomplished some useful things.

Whether he could get out now depended on Brother Mei.

For now, Liu Shi was still focused on pressing him deeper into the water, suggesting there were no disturbances above. As long as Mei Yinghan and the others could repair the formation before Liu Shi returned, she would no longer be a threat.

As Bai Zhengliu thought this, something new appeared in his field of vision.

The “pulu-lu” sound continued in his ears, and Liu Shi’s soft, almost cotton-like decayed flesh clung to his back and ears. The intense stench, combined with the underwater environment, made his lungs feel like they were about to burst. But then, he felt Liu Shi give him a push.

She pushed him toward something underwater.

Bai Zhengliu’s sluggish thoughts stirred slightly. He slowly raised his fingers, channeling his breathing technique to linger underwater as long as possible.

In that brief moment, his fingers brushed against a dark shape in front of him.

—It was a skeleton.

Bai Zhengliu froze for a moment before quickly reacting, drawing on his past knowledge to determine the skeleton’s age, gender, and other details.

He soon concluded: this was a woman.

But a woman—then what?

The dizziness from oxygen deprivation clouded his mind, and it took him a moment to realize that, at some point, Liu Shi had left his side.

In the courtyard above, the group frantically patching the broken formation panicked the moment Bai Zhengliu was dragged underwater. Only Mei Yinghan remained calm, commanding, “Seize this opportunity!”

Gu Miao cried out, “But, Big Brother Bai—”

Mei Yinghan’s mind flashed to the image of Bai Zhengliu sinking with Liu Shi above him, his heart trembling slightly.

He took a deep breath. “If you want to save him, hurry!!!”

His shout silenced everyone, leaving them no choice but to follow Mei Yinghan’s orders precisely.

At the same time, Mei Yinghan thought to himself, “Liu Shi hasn’t come up for so long—Brother Bai must have bought us time…” They couldn’t waste Bai Zhengliu’s efforts; they had to speed up the formation’s repair to save him!

With this in mind, Mei Yinghan briefly closed his eyes. The formation diagram Bai Zhengliu had silently shared seemed to materialize in the courtyard. He didn’t even need to double-check; he could pinpoint where each spiritual treasure should go.

Hurry, hurry!

At that moment—

A “splash” sounded as Liu Shi emerged from the well’s mouth.

…

…

Slow down, slower.

Despite his lungs feeling like they would explode, Bai Zhengliu stayed focused underwater, his fingers carefully tracing the skeleton’s contours.

His hand lingered at the woman’s pelvis.

In any other context, a swordsman’s actions would have gotten him slapped by any decent woman, ruining his reputation. But now, facing bones, his mind was on something critical.

The voices of Miss Huang and Liu Shi echoed in his head.

Liu Niangzi had said she hoped Miss Huang would “‘also’ bear a child for the master.”

Miss Huang, unwilling, had drugged Liu Niangzi, causing her to miscarry.

Wasn’t this just typical harem jealousy? What other possibility could there be?

That’s what Bai Zhengliu thought. But his thoughts drifted to lessons from his master during his travels in the martial world.

For swordsmen like them, they had to act discreetly in cities to avoid clashing with authorities. But in remote villages, people practically saw them as upright magistrates.

Bai Zhengliu was young when he first encountered such situations and couldn’t recall his initial reactions. But now, he could analyze calmly: “…Based on this skeleton’s pelvis, she had given birth to at least one child.”

The thought struck him like lightning.

Everything he’d seen in the Chang household connected instantly. In the end, Master Chang had lied to them!

—Liu Niangzi had already had a child, so why would Miss Huang need to force her to miscarry out of jealousy?

But what if the drug wasn’t for Liu Niangzi but for Miss Huang herself? …Thinking carefully, when Miss Huang spoke of the incident to the maids, she never mentioned who took the drug.

She didn’t want to bear Master Chang’s child. When Liu Shi arrived, she screamed for her to leave…

As Bai Zhengliu pieced this together, he pushed off the well’s bottom and began to ascend!

At that moment, in the courtyard—

Liu Shi’s appearance sent everyone into a frenzy of tension.

Amid the tension, there was a trace of sorrow.

They hadn’t made it in time.

Wang Shi let out a soft sob, thinking, “If Bai Lang hadn’t given me the talisman, if he’d kept the ghost-repelling item, would he have ended up like this?”

Her heart ached, and she stood farther back, careful not to disrupt the battlefield.

In the process, she didn’t forget to pull Hu Tuhu, the butcher, along.

Only then did she recall—Bai Zhengliu had been taken by the vengeful ghost because he used his sword to save Hu Tuhu.

Wang Shi was overwhelmed with emotion. But those feelings vanished when she saw Hu Tuhu’s current state.

…

…

Facing Liu Shi again, Mei Yinghan could clearly sense her speed and strength had diminished.

He didn’t need to check closely to know this was Bai Zhengliu’s doing.

Bai had held Liu Shi underwater, not only buying them time but also injuring her. This gave them enough of an opening, even with Liu Shi back in the courtyard…

Blocking her path with his longsword, Mei Yinghan shouted again, “Hurry!”

Fu Ming and Gu Miao, though terrified, knew the situation had changed—retreating now would mean falling into an abyss. Gritting their teeth, they picked up the items Chang Bo had prepared and shakily began filling the formation’s gaps.

The courtyard grew colder. Each step felt like walking in the snows of Tianshan.

Fu Ming and Gu Miao shivered from the cold, but thankfully, their background in drawing proved useful now.

As the spiritual treasures in their hands dwindled, Mei Yinghan felt Liu Shi’s attacks weakening.

It was almost done!

A faint spark of joy rose in his heart. He should have been thrilled to vanquish the vengeful ghost, but thinking of Bai Zhengliu, buried in the well, Mei Yinghan couldn’t muster the feeling.

He only wanted to eliminate Liu Shi quickly and retrieve the swordsman. Even if Bai Zhengliu was no longer breathing, he…

As Mei Yinghan thought this—

Suddenly, a fierce wind swept through the courtyard!

The weakened water flow surged again, washing through the yard. The decayed flesh on Liu Shi’s face tightened, restoring her former appearance. Only her eyes remained, streaming with deep, resentful blood tears.

What had happened?

No one present knew. But as Liu Shi transformed, even Mei Yinghan, the most skilled among them, began to lose the strength to wield his sword. He felt a heavy snow mountain pressing on his shoulders, watching helplessly as Liu Shi, astonished, traced her fingers over her own face.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”

Restored to her former look, Liu Shi began to laugh maniacally!

Her blood tears flowed more as she laughed, chilling everyone to the bone. Intense fear burst from their chests, spreading to every limb in an instant!

She was going to kill! She was definitely going to kill!

Compared to these outsiders, the one Liu Shi hated most was naturally Master Chang.

Everyone watched as Liu Shi, after her wild laughter, left for the main courtyard where Master Chang was.

She’d likely kill Master Chang, then come for them.

Fu Ming and Gu Miao despaired, stumbling back, their minds filled with one thought: “It’s over, it’s all over!”

Unknowingly, they said it aloud.

Mei Yinghan stood silently with his sword, saying nothing.

Wang Shi had long fallen silent.

The courtyard was quiet, save for the occasional “whooshing” wind.

Then, a voice came from the nearby well—

“It’s not over.”

Accompanying the voice was a hand gripping the well’s edge, pulling a body up.

Clutching the well’s rim, that hand held a crumpled but unyielding talisman.

Under the group’s shocked, astonished, and disbelieving gazes, Bai Zhengliu leapt lightly from the well, landing on the ground.

A subtle look of disgust crossed his face as he set the talisman aside and wrung out his soaked collar.

Seeing Bai Zhengliu like this, everyone—regardless of their feelings toward him—had a spark of relief in their eyes.

Only one “person” was different.

Bai Zhengliu approached, murmuring, “I knew it. Why did Master Chang suddenly know all our movements? Why did you and Sister Wang insist on coming here…”

As the swordsman spoke, a cold smirk curved his lips.

“It was because of this!”

With his final words, Bai Zhengliu stopped in front of Hu Tuhu!

Following his steps, everyone turned to Hu Tuhu and gasped in unison!

Standing before Bai Zhengliu, how could this be the “simple-minded, burly” man? He still held the twenty-eight weapons, but where they touched, his flesh was already rotting and decayed.