False evidence

Chapter 499 The Blood-Red Wall

The masked monk seemed anxious, but the anxiety he displayed was different from that of ordinary people. He spoke slowly, but without uttering a single wasted word. As soon as he finished saying "Don't step on the nine," he turned back to the coffin.

This time, he raised his left hand. His fingers gripped the cuff of his sleeve, and the wide sleeve of his monk's robe obscured his face from view.

His right hand also moved, rising and then falling, revealing a mask in his hand.

I was so curious about what he looked like that I couldn't resist going around to the front to see his face.

The masked monk seemed to have guessed what I was thinking and whispered, "Don't do anything rash, save people first."

Fang Ling then pulled me back and whispered in my ear, "Don't do anything reckless, important matters are at hand."

As they were talking, the coffin in front of the masked monk slowly opened!
Unlike the coffins on the left and right, this one did not open to the sides like a door. Instead, the entire coffin lid seemed to be lifted by an invisible force, slowly rising into the air. It only stopped moving after rising more than two meters, almost touching the ceiling.

"The rest is up to you." The masked monk turned around, had already put his mask back on, said this to me, and then walked out of the door at a leisurely pace, heading forward until his figure disappeared at the back door of the front house.

I looked at Fang Ling, and she was more decisive than me. Ignoring where the strange monk had gone, she walked directly to the open coffin and looked inside.

I followed them to the front, and sure enough, inside the coffin was a downward-facing secret passage. Because there was no light source, I couldn't see how deep the passage was or where the steps led. All I could see was that each stone step was about two feet wide, making the relatively narrow coffin seem quite grand.

"What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but ask Fang Ling.

Fang Ling glanced at me and said, "I came out here to find the person who ruined my life, and I've come this far."

"The person who ruined your life?" My eyelids twitched.

The Fang Ling we're talking about now isn't just herself, but also Tong Jiawen, who has a close relationship with me. The person she's referring to as the one who harmed her is naturally Tong Jiawen.

Tong Jiawen herself once said that there are three people she hates the most in her life.

She never deliberately hid her conflict with Lü Xin; it was a mixture of love and hate.

Jiang Baohan was initially seen as a place she could entrust the rest of her life to, but he subjected her to psychological and physical torture to an appalling degree.

To be honest, the person who truly ruined Tong Jiawen's life was Zhao Tiezhong. This so-called martial arts master used underhanded methods to force Tong Jiawen into marriage. He was the culprit who caused Tong Jiawen's tragic life.

I asked, "Do you have any news about Zhao Tiezhong?"

Lu Xin's consciousness has always been with me, and Jiang Baohan also met her final end not long ago. Therefore, the enemy that Tong Jiawen is looking for can only be Zhao Tiezhong.

Back then, Tong Jiawen, along with Lü Xin and Chen Zudao, wiped out the Zhao family overnight, and Zhao Tiezhong naturally died. But after experiencing so many strange events, I've come to understand that death doesn't necessarily signify the final end to human grudges and passions.

I can hardly truly understand Tong Jiawen's resentment, but I am very clear about her personality. She refuses to give the deadbeat Jiang Baohan any peace and tries her best to make him suffer endlessly. She can be said to be ruthless to the extreme.

Lü Xin was very special to her, and I have no doubt that even now, deep down she still loves Lü Xin more than she hates him.

If it were me, even if I were to experience a mix of love and hate, with hate outweighing love, and wanted revenge, I wouldn't be able to carry it out because of Lü Xin's special circumstances. Therefore, the pent-up hatred, unable to be released, could only be transferred to other targets.

This unlucky fellow, there is no other choice but Zhao Tiezhong.

Fang Ling looked at the secret passage inside the coffin, bit her lip, and said, "Should we light a fire?"

I realized, "Why bother with a fire? Just use my phone." I took out my phone to light the way, but found that it had been turned off and couldn't be turned on again.

Fang Ling shook her head and said, "I've already tried it, it's completely useless. Ever since I came here, it seems like none of the things I carry with me work, only the things here do."

"This is fucking ridiculous." I muttered, but still took out my lighter. Strangely, the disposable lighter wouldn't light, and there wasn't even a spark from the gears rubbing against the flint.

Fang Ling took out something, which turned out to be a box of matches.

"I got it from the shop in front." She hesitated for a moment. "I was wondering if I would be discovered if I lit it to light the way."

"Give me."

I asked her for a match, unzipped my waterproof backpack, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, shook one out, put it in my mouth, and lit it with a match.

I took a small puff and handed the cigarette to Fang Ling: "Hold it upside down, cover it with your palm, and take a puff when you really need light."

Using smoke for lighting wasn't my original idea. Back in my freshman year, the school was fixing the electrical circuits, and some idiot cut the public lighting circuit in the dorms. For over two weeks, the stairwells were pitch black. It was then that Meng Chao came up with this weird idea—it was both fun and provided light. I never thought it would come in handy here today.

Fang Ling didn't take the cigarette, but glared at me and said, "Your sister Ling isn't in good health. Aren't you afraid of making her smoke? Give me the matches instead."

I had no choice but to return the matches to her. When I lit the matches, I had used the light to look into the dark passage, but the walls of the passage seemed to absorb light, so I couldn't see very far with the help of the firelight.

I took another drag of my cigarette: "I'll go down first."

"Together." Fang Ling immediately grabbed me, her voice slightly reproachful, "You're so impulsive. Do you know what's down there?"

Holding her warm, soft hand, I felt a little awkward for a moment: "At most, it's just a ghost, what else could it be?"

Fang Ling gave me another reproachful look: "If it were just a ghost, there would be no need to worry. The key is that there might be living people inside."

My heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran through me. I don't know when it started, but ghosts have become less scary in my eyes. Instead, some people's actions and words are more terrifying than ghosts.

Fang Ling didn't say anything more and stepped into the coffin with one leg.

I also entered the coffin and stepped onto the steps, only to discover a problem. Individually, the steps were wide enough, but overall they were the same width as the coffin. If two adults went in one after the other, they could easily trip and fall; if they walked side by side, they would have to squeeze together.

Fang Ling, who was being dominated by Tong Jiawen, showed no intention of letting go. Instead, she resolutely stood next to me, only frowning frequently because of the cigarette in my hand.

"I think I'll put out the cigarette."

Fang Ling shook her head, but her gaze drifted to the side.

By this time we had descended four steps and were almost at the foot of the coffin. Following her gaze, we turned to look, and apart from the wall, there was nothing special.

Fang Ling whispered in my ear, "Use a cigarette to shine a light on it."

Not understanding what was going on, I simply did as she instructed, holding the cigarette butt up to the wall she was looking at. Looking closely in the dim light, I then noticed something amiss.

The wall was red, as red as blood...

(End of this chapter)