Chapter 46: It

According to Shi Dali's understanding of the Script, going into the water tonight to find the corpse was a mandatory part of the mission; it had little to do with how many people went in or how good their swimming skills were, as long as the requirement of entering the water was met.

In other words, as long as there were no problems with the Ghost Opera, Xi Yao's corpse would certainly be found, so Shi Guanming alone was enough.

Even if some mishap occurred underwater, the risk would be borne by Shi Guanming alone; what he needed to do was survive and bring back the clues.

At this moment, in the murky water, Shi Guanming did not know how deep he actually was; visibility here was very poor, and he was just diving downward on a single breath.

The icy lake water and the strange environment were consuming Shi Guanming's dwindling courage; he had the urge to give up several times, wanting to surface for air, but Shi Dali's warning echoed in his ears: surfacing would lead to being targeted by ghosts.

In the deep, dark lake, his only solace was Shi Dali, who was fighting alongside him at this moment, but unfortunately, it was pitch black all around, and he could not see his figure for the time being.

Summoning his courage, he continued to dive; slowly, he finally approached that red halo of light. After seeing the light source clearly, Shi Guanming could not help but be stunned: it was actually a large red Lantern floating in the water.

By the dim light emitted by the Lantern, a huge black shadow was lurking under the murky lake water. After the initial panic, Shi Guanming quickly calmed down; he knew he had found the right place. Shi Dali was right—this must be the sunken ship that was delivering the bride!

Swimming toward the shadow, the ship was even larger than he had imagined; it was painted bright red from top to bottom, and lying at the bottom of the lake, it looked like a large, blood-red coffin.

The entire ship had been rotted by the lake water; although the general structure remained, Shi Guanming could break off a piece of rotten wood with just a little effort.

He was currently at the stern of the ship, and the mast that the corpse was tied to should be at the bow; he felt his way along the cabin and soon found the mast.

It was hard to imagine that after so many years, the mast had not yet snapped; at this moment, it looked like a sharp sword thrust into the ship, burying this vessel and the sins it carried together at the bottom of the lake.

Following the mast downward, he found a wooden stake at its base, with coils of rope wrapped around it. The other end of the rope extended diagonally upward, with no end in sight; this scene, occurring in the dark lake water, felt as if it were extending into another world.

"Found it!"

Shi Guanming's heart leaped with joy; the other end of this rope must be tied to Xi Yao's corpse. He slowly followed the rope, feeling apprehensive.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid at this moment; after all, he would soon see a terrifying corpse floating in the lake, and he would have to close the corpse's eyes.

The rope extended all the way up, and the more Shi Guanming swam, the more he felt something was wrong; there was a faint light all around. Logically, this height should be close to the surface, so how could Xi Yao's corpse be so close to the surface of the water?

Before he could continue thinking, light filtered down from above. Shi Guanming suddenly looked up and saw a corpse floating a few meters above his head.

It was the Third Young Master's corpse; he remembered that outfit!

But soon, in the murky lake water, he vaguely saw a twisted rope; one end was in his hand, and the other was tied to the Third Young Master's feet.

Suddenly shivering, Shi Guanming could not see the Third Young Master's face; the wet hair spread out like water weeds, obscuring everything, but he sensed a venomous gaze—the Third Young Master was staring at him!

Although he did not know what had happened, why Xi Yao's corpse had disappeared, and why it had turned into the Third Young Master, something must have gone wrong somewhere. The Ghost Opera... something must have gone wrong with the Ghost Opera!

No longer caring about Shi Dali's warning, Shi Guanming turned and swam in another direction; he wanted to get far away from the Third Young Master and then immediately surface!

In any case, without him, there was still Shi Dali underwater; he was a veteran player and would surely have a way to handle the current situation.

Swimming a good distance without looking back, he looked up again, and the scene above his head filled him with despair: the Third Young Master was still hovering above him, not moving at all, and the distance between them had even shortened significantly.

As the Third Young Master's corpse shuddered, the hair covering its face parted, and Shi Guanming saw the bloated, rotting face hidden behind the hair.

This was not the Third Young Master at all; this was Xi Yao!

But how had Xi Yao disguised herself as the Third Young Master? And the Ghost Opera hadn't ended yet; her Resentful Soul should be on stage performing right now!

But these questions were destined to have no answers—at least, Shi Guanming would not see them; his final memory remained of the rotting corpse pressing down upon him.

Shi Dali on the boat also did not expect that the Third Young Master was actually Xi Yao in disguise, but he immediately realized that something had gone wrong with tonight's Ghost Opera.

Since the Ghost Opera could no longer be performed, there was no point in him staying on the lake. Thinking of this, Shi Dali decided to sail away first, but a large expanse of fog suddenly surged onto the previously calm lake surface, covering the surroundings and making it impossible to distinguish directions for a moment.

Shi Dali took a deep breath; it seemed the other party did not intend to let him leave so easily.

The sound of water gradually rose on the white, misty lake; the sound came from far to near. Shi Dali forced himself to stay calm and wait to see what would happen.

Soon, the sound arrived before him; it was Shi Guanming, who had previously struggled and sunk to the bottom of the lake. Shi Guanming swam to the side of the boat with strange movements, raised his head, and reached out to Shi Dali urgently, "Brother Shi, quick, quick, pull me up!"

Shi Dali looked down at him from above, saying nothing.

"Brother Shi, hurry! I barely managed to escape; that thing is too terrifying. The Third Young Master was Xi Yao in disguise, and the other end of the rope was tied to the fake Third Young Master. We were all deceived!" Shi Guanming explained while turning his head to look into the distance, as if something were chasing him from behind.

"Brother Shi, hurry! Save me, it's here! It's coming over!"

As he pounded the boat hard and Shi Guanming let out a desperate cry for help, something drifted out from the fog in the distance.

It was a corpse, wearing a decent set of clothes, face down, limbs twisted, just drifting over quietly.

Shi Guanming, soaking in the water, froze, because this corpse was actually wearing the exact same clothes as him and also had the same short, fine hair.

Withdrawing his gaze, Shi Dali looked at Shi Guanming under the boat; by the light on the boat, there was no shadow cast on the water surface beside Shi Guanming.

Shi Guanming was dead.

He thought he had escaped, but in reality, only a Resentful Soul had escaped. Those who die underwater will look for a substitute nearby; this is more like an instinct.

Upon seeing his own corpse, Shi Guanming suddenly went silent. The next second, a large amount of sewage mixed with mud and sand began to squeeze out from that still-handsome face, flowing from his mouth, nasal cavity, and even his eyes—the scene was extremely terrifying.