Qin Yexuan arrived at the end of the mountain path first.
On his shoulder, Zhu Xiaoqing, with disheveled hair and a ruined makeup, panted heavily. "You scoundrel, classmate Qin, I order you to put me down immediately!"
Still giving orders at a time like this…
Qin Yexuan numbly let go.
Zhu Xiaoqing leaped down in disarray, clutching her stomach in pain, feeling as though her insides were about to be crushed by the rapid movement.
Qin Yexuan silently gazed ahead.
Just as Zhu Xiaoqing was about to say something, she suddenly spotted a familiar colored bubble and covered her mouth.
Yes, it was exactly the same as the soapy bubbles that had appeared in the warehouse, half transparent and half colorful.
"Director Zhu, since we've come this far, shall we go in and take a look?" Qin Yexuan seemed to be asking her opinion.
Zhu Xiaoqing retorted in embarrassment, "You brought me all the way here, so there's no choice but to go in. Also, who are those two behind us? Why do they look like they want to kill you?"
Qin Yexuan smiled slightly, "That one is the Ancient Demon Emperor, named Di Xin, also known as the legendary King Zhou…"
Zhu Xiaoqing scoffed, her face full of disbelief, "You're still in the mood to joke at a time like this… Ah, what are you doing?"
Qin Yexuan had actually reached out to take off her clothes.
Zhu Xiaoqing was terrified. In this desolate, uninhabited place, with only him and this student.
If he gave in to his beastly instincts, her forty-plus years of purity would be ruined.
"Director Zhu, I infer that behind this soapy bubble is a hidden space, likely filled with illusions and traps. Therefore, I need to cover your eyes with your clothes to prevent you from falling victim as soon as you enter!"
Zhu Xiaoqing was furious, "Are you trying to fool a child? I think you have ulterior motives! I don't need your protection, I'll go in myself!" She rushed through the soapy bubble in anger.
Her eyes lit up. Moonlight shone down, and a giant stone tablet stood before her.
The stone tablet obscured all the scenery behind it, with only a line of bloody characters on it!
"Stop here, and answer this: Have you ever committed a sin, felt guilty, or harbored regret?"
What is this?
Zhu Xiaoqing was speechless. "Who is it, putting up such a stone tablet to scare people? Classmate Qin, look at this…" She turned to look, but there was no one beside her. The surroundings were all darkness, endless darkness.
The small path under her feet had also disappeared. All the light was receding, leaving only the words on the stone tablet, clear and distinct, as if growing infinitely.
Instantly, Zhu Xiaoqing's hair stood on end.
In her mind, she suddenly thought, have I ever done anything sinful, guilty, wicked, or regretful?
As she pondered, distant memories surfaced. Indeed, there was one such incident.
An event like a nightmare that had haunted her for over thirty years.
A long time ago, Zhu Xiaoqing was very young, only six or seven years old. One day, her parents were arrested by the clan and were to be sent to Dongling Temple for punishment.
But her parents never returned.
Zhu Xiaoqing became an orphan without parents and was sent to the clan's welfare home.
The Zhu family's welfare home housed only neglected elders and unwanted children; happiness was nonexistent there.
Moreover, an elder in charge, Grandma Zhu, would beat and scold Zhu Xiaoqing every day.
Finally, one day, Zhu Xiaoqing couldn't stand it anymore and tricked Grandma Zhu to the side of a well.
Then, she gave a fierce push…
More than thirty years later, this dark past suddenly surged into her mind. Zhu Xiaoqing felt a chill all over her body and saw an ancient octagonal well appearing in the darkness ahead.
"No… no…" Zhu Xiaoqing wanted to scream, but she couldn't.
She suddenly felt something was wrong with her body. She looked down and saw a pair of wrinkled, calloused hands.
Old, withered, age-spotted hands.
What… what is happening to me?
Zhu Xiaoqing desperately touched her face, her hair, and then, in the reflection of the well water, she saw a familiar yet terrifying face.
Is… is that Grandma Zhu?
I… I've become Grandma Zhu?
Zhu Xiaoqing's hairs stood on end. Then, a sweet and clear voice came from behind her, "Grandma, I saw fifty yuan there. I wonder who dropped it."
Zhu Xiaoqing's body trembled violently. She saw a little girl holding a tattered cloth doll.
A grey, patched skirt, one eye of the doll missing. This… wasn't this little girl her younger self from back then?
Zhu Xiaoqing suddenly understood something!
This was true hell!
Her young self pointed at the well. Zhu Xiaoqing, now transformed into the victimized old woman, shook her head desperately, not wanting to go near. But her body, uncontrollably and without choice, followed the little girl.
She stood by the well in agony, knowing what was about to happen next.
As expected, the little girl gave a fierce push from behind.
Zhu Xiaoqing screamed and fell…
She lay at the bottom of the well for three full days and nights, seeing the sun three times and the moon three times. On the fourth night, she finally lost consciousness in a daze…
Then, Zhu Xiaoqing suddenly opened her eyes. In front of her, it was that octagonal well again!
The little girl reappeared, "Grandma, I saw fifty yuan there…"
"No, spare me, I know I was wrong. I… I will definitely burn paper and kowtow to you… I…"
Zhu Xiaoqing's voice couldn't come out. Again, she was uncontrollably drawn to the well, and then fell.
Each time, it was her "younger self" who pushed her down fiercely!
Cycle after cycle, the same outcome.
Zhu Xiaoqing didn't know how many times she had cycled. Ten times? A hundred times? Or a thousand times?
She was completely numb, plunged into endless pain and darkness.
Another cycle began, and the old woman she had become was pushed down again.
But this time, something was different.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the darkness, piercing through the wall of the octagonal well.
Zhu Xiaoqing numbly grasped it, and then the entire person was pulled up, as if passing through a wall, and fresh air rushed to her face.
She was still immersed in the endless cycle of hell. Looking up, she saw a bright moon in the sky, heard the chirping of insects and birds around her, and it was quiet and warm. Not far away, she could even see a hot spring, and that damn classmate Qin was standing before her.
"Qin, classmate Qin…" Zhu Xiaoqing sobbed uncontrollably, and this time she couldn't hold back any longer. She hugged Qin Yexuan tightly and cried her heart out.