Chapter 16
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Chapter 16:
Mi Hongbao felt his blood run cold in an instant, he looked at Li Chunzhou beside him in bewildered suspicion, Li Chunzhou still had a calm expression on her face and comforted him, "Don’t believe her words, she’s the fake one, A’bao."
Mi Hongbao’s gaze swept inch by inch over Li Chunzhou’s face in front of him, each feature of hers was exactly as he remembered, he couldn’t have been mistaken.
However, a bit further away, that voice was indeed Li Chunzhou’s, currently shouting at the top of her lungs, "A’bao, the person beside you is Red Bean! She took you away while you were unconscious… No matter what she says, you must not believe her!"
Li Chunzhou’s voice kept coming, sounding a bit scared, trembling slightly, making it easy to imagine her looking worried but trying to stay strong as she got closer to them.
Whether it’s true or not, Mi Hongbao knew deep down that once the two Li Chunzhous met, the act would fall apart. The fake couldn’t keep pretending to be real, and the real one might get hurt.
Mi Hongbao’s eyes turned fierce as he quietly reached for the handle of his knife at his waist.
The forest was silent, the moon peeking through the clouds, casting a cold light on the blade.
Li Chunzhou glanced at his hand by his waist, then looked up, smiling as she asked, "A’bao, are you trying to kill me?"
Unafraid, she moved closer, locking her gaze onto Mi Hongbao’s dark eyes as their breaths mingled, and Mi Hongbao caught a whiff of a sweet scent.
Li Chunzhou gazed at him, her eyes moving up to meet his, gently asking, "…Are you willing?"
Without a word, Mi Hongbao gritted his teeth, scooped up Li Chunzhou in front of him, and ran.
Qi Leyuan, puzzled, ran beside them, not understanding, even Li Chunzhou was surprised by Mi Hongbao’s sudden actions.
Mi Hongbao held the person in his arms as they walked through the jungle, looking ahead with determination. Li Chunzhou, in his swaying embrace, gazed up at his handsome face. She saw Mi Hongbao’s Adam’s apple moving up and down nervously, his voice mixed with quick breaths.
Li Chunzhou stayed quiet for a moment before asking, "A’bao, aren’t you afraid that the real ‘Li Chunzhou’ is someone else?"
When people run fast, their leg blood circulation speeds up, depriving the brain of oxygen, making it hard to think calmly. Upon hearing Li Chunzhou’s words, Mi Hongbao responded without hesitation, "If you are real, we are both safe! If you’re not… at least Lady Chun is safe."
Li Chunzhou was stunned by his answer. There was no wind in the woods, but Mi Hongbao was running so fast that Li Chunzhou’s loose hair strands swayed slightly. In the clear moonlight, all was silent except for the real and vivid sound of her heartbeat in her ears.
Their escape was not graceful, but far from romantic. However, Li Chunzhou suddenly wrapped her arms around Mi Hongbao’s neck, beamed a happy smile, and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
Mi Hongbao looked down in surprise and met Li Chunzhou’s radiant smile. This smile surpassed all he had seen before, even more beautiful than any smile in his memory, making him momentarily lose focus despite their escape.
"A’bao, you’re amazing!" Li Chunzhou exclaimed happily. "You guessed right in an instant! Of course, I am real! The real Li Chunzhou, see, she’s even wearing red embroidered shoes."
The ground bird, Qi Leyuan, who was running alongside them, took a quick look back. Indeed, the blurry figure behind them was wearing a pair of red embroidered shoes, just like the red-clothed female ghost.
Although Mi Hongbao had good stamina, he was still only human. The ghost’s hand almost touched his shoulder several times, and the forest in front of them seemed endless, like they could never escape.
Mi Hongbao’s emotions were on the verge of collapsing. If he wasn’t holding Li Chunzhou in his arms, he would have wanted to give up and confront the female ghost directly.
Li Chunzhou turned her head and glanced at Mi Hongbao with hollow eyes. She whispered in his ear, "Run towards the yard where it all began."
Too busy to think much, Mi Hongbao followed Li Chunzhou’s instructions and ran into the yard. He quickly scanned the yard and couldn’t find any place for them to hide except for an old large tub next to the firewood stack, maybe used for storing water in the past, just enough to hide two people.
Mi Hongbao covered the hole in the middle of the lid, lifted it, and looked inside the tub – it was empty, no water.
Carefully, he put Li Chunzhou down and even remembered to pull in the chirping little chicken Li Li beside him. Despite feeling like he forgot something, the sound of the red embroidered shoes running on the ground was getting closer. Without much thought, Mi Hongbao quickly hid in the tub and pulled the lid shut.
After cutting off the moonlight, the whole tub instantly became pitch black. The two people’s breathing intertwined in the darkness, unable to see each other. Mi Hongbao could only feel Li Chunzhou’s warm skin and soft body. His heart was beating fast, unsure if it was due to fear or racing thoughts.
Qi Leyuan found himself squeezed between the two, feeling a bit crowded in this chicken story.
To hide his anxious feelings, Mi Hongbao looked up and saw the wooden lid tightly covering the tub, not a single ray of light coming through, making him feel secure. But Mi Hongbao still felt a sense of unease.
Something doesn’t seem right, what could it be…?
He wracked his brains, wondering if the female ghost outside would find them. She had no eyes, so she couldn’t see them. As long as they didn’t make a sound, they should be able to sneak past. But why did Lady Chun lead herself into this yard? Could the key to leaving be hidden here…?
No, that’s not it, something else, he felt like he forgot something… What could it be…?
While Mi Hongbao was lost in thought, Li Chunzhou suddenly leaned in, covered Mi Hongbao’s mouth, and whispered in his ear, "There are two ways to leave here."
Mi Hongbao felt a bit bewildered, the hand covering his mouth was soft and fragrant. He instinctively reached out to support her waist.
Li Chunzhou spoke slowly, "One is to break the cage, two is to kill the monster."
Qi Leyuan was surprised to hear her words, Li Chunzhou’s suggestions were surprisingly similar to the last rule!
[Breaking the cage or killing it can end everything…]
Squeezed between the two, Qi Leyuan was now more certain – Li Chunzhou must be the "Oiran" mentioned in the rules.
But then he started to worry again, with their current strength, it was unlikely to kill the female ghost in the red dress outside.
Li Chunzhou looked up in the dark and smiled slightly, asking suddenly, "Have you seen enough?"
As she spoke, Mi Hongbao’s eyes widened suddenly, realizing where things went wrong!
When I lifted the lid just now, there should have been a hole in the center of this wooden cover, not complete darkness…
The reason why there was no moonlight shining through the small hole from a moment ago until now was because the monster had been lying on the wooden cover all along.
…She had been lying on the cover all along, silently peering at them through the bloodied holes where her eyes should have been.