I snapped back to reality as that shout ripped me out of the illusion.

  Clinging to the stone wall, I spat out a mouthful of black blood. My whole body tingled and burned as if I’d been hit by lightning.

  “Lian…?” My voice was muffled and muddy, like half of it got buried alive.

  “Don’t move.” His voice was right beside me, yet it sounded like it came from the heavens.

  A burst of light flashed before my eyes.

  Before I could fully wake, a hand reached down, grabbed me by the collar, and yanked—hard. I was dragged out of the reeking pit like a sack of turnips.

  I coughed more black blood, squinting through the firelight. That cold, blade-sharp face belonged to Lian. Behind him stood Hua, his brows tight with something suspiciously close to worry.

  Lian didn’t waste words. He hauled me upright with that efficient brutality of his. “I said don’t move.”

  I tried to laugh, but it came out as more coughing.

  “What are you two doing here?” My throat was sand-dry, my tongue felt plastered with dust, and even my voice wobbled.

  Lian brushed some dirt off my shoulder before answering in that maddeningly calm tone. “When we woke, you and the creature were both gone.”

  Hua strolled closer, flicking dirt from his sleeve with lazy elegance. “The bandit boss was still out cold, so we tied him up. Better than letting him wake and cause trouble.”

  “Tied him up?”

  I couldn’t help picturing it. For a second, I almost laughed—until the laugh pulled at something painful in my chest.

  “After that,” Lian said, steady as ever, “Hua found your tracks. We followed for quite a while before hearing you scream.”

  A cold sweat broke out across my back. My eyes even stung. “Thank the heavens you came. I was about to be offered as a sacrifice.”

  Lian didn’t comment. He only frowned, clearly displeased that I almost fell to my death.

  His gaze swept over me once, sharp as frost. “You lost focus.”

  “What?” I blinked.

  “Illusion arts prey on scattered minds.” His explanation was short and clipped—as if he were pointing out a bad move in a chess match. Then he lifted me as if I weighed nothing and carried me away from the pit, setting me firmly on safe ground.

  My legs were still jelly when he finally let go. I muttered, “Scattered mind? What part of me was scattered? I was very focused just now, thank you very much…”

  Hua snapped his folding fan shut with a crisp “pa,” lips curving. “Dear Gong, try not to trust sweet-talking strangers. Especially those questionable ones.”

  I threw up my hands. “How was I supposed to know the beasts run scams now?! It looked refined, educated, even granted me three wishes—I almost believed it!”

  The system chimed in with surgical precision:

  【Almost? You stated all three wishes very clearly.】

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  I opened my mouth to argue—right when Fang Mei’s human face twisted into something monstrous, his smile stretching ear to ear. As he retreated into the darkness, his voice slithered after us:

  “You don’t understand his heart. Those three wishes… He wished for you two to never wake again. To stay trapped forever, so he could escape alone and enjoy his glory.”

  “Bullshit!” I jumped up, yelling, “When did I ever swear anything like that?! I was trying to save people—save people!”

  But Lian and Hua’s expressions shifted. A dangerous chill surfaced in their eyes.

  Lian narrowed his gaze first. Those usually calm eyes were now shadowed, fathomless, as if he were calculating something unpleasant.

  He took a step toward me. Then another. His robes scraped the floor with a sound like a blade being sharpened.

  My throat clicked as I swallowed. Great, so now he was going to pick me up, beat me senseless, then interrogate me?

  Even worse, Hua didn’t stop him. He rotated his fan slowly, the motion smooth and elegant, but his eyes gleamed with something ominous—like he was waiting for the show to start.

  Then it hit me—they were still under Fang Mei’s influence.

  “H-hey—hey hey hey!” I backed up against the wall, wishing I could fuse into it. “You’re not actually buying this, right? He’s trying to turn us against each other!”

  The tomb felt colder than ever. My teeth chattered. “If you really hit me, I’ll scream for help—oh wait, never mind, no one’s here! No one will hear me even if I scream my lungs out!”

  Lian’s brows creased deeper, like he was barely holding himself back. His fingers twitched—ready to strike. Hua closed in too, his fan spinning faster.

  “Great, I’m dead. I’m absolutely dead tonight.” Desperate times… call for desperate shell-based measures. I fumbled out the two pitch-black Xuan-Gui shells.

  “Here! One for Lian! One for Brother Hua!”

  I slapped the shells onto their ears like I was putting bells on two disobedient cats.

  They froze.

  The shadows in their eyes thinned, clearing like fog in the morning.

  Lian was the first to look down at me. He touched the shell on his ear, brow still harsh, and growled, “Who told you to wander off again?”

  “Ow—ow ow ow! Easy! I almost died!” My voice cracked with injustice. “I was saving you two! You were under Fang Mei’s illusion—you nearly committed spousal murder!”

  Hua snapped his fan shut again, chuckling. “Seems the shells are smarter than your brain.”

  I rolled my eyes and held the shells up. “These aren’t normal shells! They blocked Fang Mei’s scream before—and they break illusions. I used them to snap you two out of it!”

  Lian stared at the shells, something dawning in his eyes. Then he snatched both pieces, flipped his wrist—

  Pa. Pa. Pa.

  He started tapping them together like percussion instruments.

  “Hey—HEY! Don’t play with those!” I yelped. “What if you activate some formation?!”

  A screech erupted from the darkness—Fang Mei’s voice, sharp enough to peel the inside of my skull. But this time it was panicked, like someone kicked him square in the backside. His howl grew distant, then faded completely.

  Silence settled.

  “…He’s…gone?” I muttered, swallowing hard.

  Lian lowered his hands but stayed alert. Hua lifted a brow and flicked open his fan again. “Interesting. They have more uses than expected.”

  I wiped cold sweat off my forehead and slumped onto the ground. “Stop researching the shells. Start researching how to get OUT.”

  I was about to urge them onward when a grinding roar cut through the air—clack, clack, clack—the sound of a thousand gears turning. The entire tomb vibrated, the darkness churning like stirred ink. From the depths, crimson lights flickered to life—like countless eyes opening.

  “Oh hell—don’t tell me there’s another monster?!” My feet slipped on the damp stone. “We just sent one off! Why is there a buy-one-get-one-free deal?!”

  Lian’s eyes sharpened instantly. He hooked a hand around my collar and yanked me to him. “Move.”

  Hua snapped his fan shut, his tone crisp as steel. “Looks like we’re fighting our way out.”

  I didn’t even get to complain about the tomb’s excessive after-sales service before the darkness exploded with new horrors.

  The first creature lunged out: two horns on its head, mouth split to the ears, body long as a centipede and broken in several places, slithering forward with terrifying speed.

  Then the walls cracked open. Bird-headed humanoids burst out, feathers slick and black, trailing blood. Their eyes bulged like lanterns, and their shrieks rattled my skull.

  Farther back, a six-legged, horse-like beast galloped forward on four legs while the other two clawed at the walls, sending sparks flying.

  “Uh…” My knees gave out. “Is this a tomb or a freaking monster theme park?!”