It was precisely that scar that made Mei Xiang’er feel that she and Ji Yunshu were actually the same!

She roared wildly.

“We’re the same!”

This tone was already approaching madness and psychosis!

She instantly revealed those vicious eyes, bent down, pressed close to Ji Yunshu’s ear, and said, “Look at that scar on your face, then look at the scar on my body, then look at my brother—we’re the same, destined to stand in the same camp.”

“Don’t make one mistake after another, Mei Xiang’er. Don’t let yourself reach the point of no return.”

“I’ve already reached the point of no return!”

She was like someone who had inhaled opium, her entire being abnormally excited. She grabbed Ji Yunshu’s chin from behind.

While saying, “As long as you promise not to investigate this matter anymore, I can help you too—help you find an extremely exquisite piece of skin to replace the skin on your face. How about it! Good, right? Promise me.”

Though her chin was pinched red, Ji Yunshu remained stubbornly defiant.

Her voice was hoarse as she asked, “Mei Xiang’er, do you know why your mother flayed your skin instead of someone else’s?”

“Why?”

“Because in her heart, there still existed a bit of conscience. She would rather have you hate her for a lifetime, would rather be sad and heartbroken for a lifetime herself, than flay someone else’s skin and make their parents suffer unbearably like her. In the end, she could only carry her regret and that belief until the moment of her death. But she never imagined that because of her one wrong step, she would actually lead you onto that path she fundamentally didn’t want to take, turning you into a criminal with hands covered in fresh blood.”

“That’s not true! Stop talking!” Mei Xiang’er’s fingers applied even more force.

Lifting Ji Yunshu’s face high!

“You’re lying! From the very beginning, my mother wanted to flay someone else’s skin to replace my brother’s—she just didn’t dare! Fine! Since she didn’t dare, then I’ll fulfill her dying wish. I’ll help her, help my brother, let my brother become a complete and normal person.”

“Mei Xiang’er, stop deceiving yourself. In this world, there’s no such thing as skin replacement.”

This wasn’t the modern era—there was no skin grafting!

Yet—

Mei Xiang’er’s face showed rejection. With a flick of her hand, her fingertips released Ji Yunshu’s chin.

“Miss Ji, don’t waste your efforts anymore. I know you want to persuade me, but it’s useless.”

As she spoke, she lifted the oil lamp from the table and brought it close to Ji Yunshu’s face. That scar, reflecting the candlelight, seemed to be dripping wax!

Mei Xiang’er revealed a regretful expression. “This face is so beautiful—how many women in the world can’t compare to you? Yet this scar has ruined you. Why does Heaven treat us this way? Making us live in inferiority, never able to hold our heads up?”

Ji Yunshu knew this woman was beyond salvation!

Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves and orderly footsteps came from above the wooden planks overhead, transmitted wave after wave!

So—

This was an underground chamber!

So well hidden!

Mei Xiang’er’s expression tightened as she looked up. She seemed to know what was happening outside!

Then, with a creaking sound, a small opening appeared in the wooden planks overhead, and a weathered voice came through.

“Xiang’er, those people have already surrounded the courtyard.”

Extremely calm!

She could tell it was Mei Xiang’er’s brother.

Mei Xiang’er smiled and said toward that small opening, “Brother, don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, we’ll always be together.”

“Yes, we’ll definitely be together.”

Extremely eerie and sinister!

Afterward, that small opening was closed.

Had the people outside been brought by Jingrong?

Ji Yunshu struggled a few times, still to no avail. She quickly said to Mei Xiang’er, “Give up—you can’t escape!”

But Mei Xiang’er was very calm.

She took out a strip of cloth, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into Ji Yunshu’s mouth.

“Mmph!”

Ji Yunshu shook her head, her body still struggling continuously.

And Mei Xiang’er, holding the oil lamp in her hand, slowly retreated backward, a faint smile blooming at the corners of her mouth.

Brilliantly radiant!

“Miss Ji, let Heaven decide—let’s see whether the heavens want you to live or die.”

“Mmph?”

Ji Yunshu’s eyes widened in crimson as she watched Mei Xiang’er turn and climb the ladder, open the opening above, and leave this nauseating underground chamber.

Soon came the sound of wooden planks collapsing!

Footsteps!

And the rustling of voices!

Before long, her sensitive nose detected a faint smell of smoke.

White smoke gradually seeped in from above.

As the collapsing sounds grew heavier, that faint white smoke turned into thick black smoke.

Although the underground chamber was pitch black, Ji Yunshu understood very clearly that dense smoke was permeating all around her.

And above her head, that dilapidated thatched hut had already become a sea of flames!

It seemed Mei Xiang’er and her brother had resolved to die.

They would be together forever!

The thick smoke rolling in the underground chamber choked into Ji Yunshu’s nose, as if someone were strangling her throat—extremely uncomfortable.

Because her mouth was stuffed with something, she couldn’t cry out at all. No matter how much her body struggled, the rope binding her grew tighter and tighter.

“Mmph! Cough!”

The thick smoke pierced into her eyes, and she could only close them tightly.

The suffocating sensation spread to her throat section by section.

She gradually lost consciousness.

She didn’t know how much time passed, but the footsteps overhead grew louder and louder. Someone was shouting, someone was running, someone was continuously moving things!

“Shu’er!”

It was Wei Yi’s voice.

“Yunshu!”

It was Jingrong’s voice.

Ji Yunshu could hear them, heard them very clearly.

She tried hard to open her eyes, but her eyelids hung heavily on her eyelashes, and her body couldn’t move either.

“Mmph…”

Unable to respond!

“Shu’er, where are you? Shu’er?” Wei Yi’s voice kept calling out continuously.

Above was a sea of flames—that foolish boy Wei Yi must be searching frantically, right?

And in Ji Yunshu’s dizzy mind, a sentence Wei Yi had said suddenly flashed through.

“As long as I hear the sound of this bell, I can find you.”

“As long as I hear the sound of this bell, I can find you.”

…

Yes, these were words Wei Yi had said.

Ji Yunshu used all her strength to move her bound feet.

The faint sound of the bell at her ankle rang out.

Once!

Twice!

And again!

…

Until all the strength in her body was exhausted, combined with the thick smoke choking her throat, she lost consciousness for a time.

She didn’t know how long had passed when the pain on her face woke her with its sting.

Opening her eyes, she discovered she was lying on an antique-styled bed.

She lifted her heavy hand, preparing to touch her painful face. Halfway up, it was grabbed by someone and stuffed back under the covers.

“Does it hurt badly? Of course it hurts! If we’d been half an incense stick’s time later, your face truly would have been beyond saving.”

An unfamiliar voice entered her ears.

She turned her head to look and vaguely saw a man standing beside the bed.

“You… who are you?”

“Muruo!”

A very pleasant voice!