The main chamber was filled with bizarre, giant plants. The blood-red flowers had crowns spanning one to two meters in diameter, with countless petals writhing as if alive, resembling bloodthirsty maws lined with pale, sharp teeth. Long green vines stretched from the stems, snaking slowly along the floor and walls like serpents.
And there, on one of the plant’s stems, was Yang Yan, like a leaf attached to it. From the knees down, his legs had fused with the plant. His arms were spread wide, resembling tree branches, while green vines protruded from various parts of his body—his head, neck, and back. Yet he was still alive. His face occasionally twitches, and his mouth was faintly breathing.
Jiang Xiaosi clung to Shen Mo’s sleeve in terror, trying to avert her eyes from his face but unable to suppress a gasp of horror.
All around them, other plants held similar human shapes—some curled up like tumors on tree trunks, others tightly embracing the plant stems, their bodies fused with the vegetation.
Jiang Xiaosi felt nauseous, finally understanding why she had sensed so many human presences earlier. All these people… they were still alive!
Long Wanqiu, taking advantage of Lin Qiang’s shock, had quietly moved toward the plant holding Yang Yan. Raising her handcuffed arms, she gently caressed Yang Yan’s face.
“See? I told you, he’ll never leave me again. None of you can take him away from me…” she whispered softly.
Jiang Xiaosi’s teeth chattered as she trembled. “You… You did this to him? No matter what wrongs he committed, no matter how much he betrayed and hurt you, you can’t be this cruel…”
Long Wanqiu let out a soft laugh, her voice as delicate and gentle as wind chimes in the moonlight.
“I don’t hate him. No matter how much I love him, it never feels like enough. How could I ever hate him? I only hated that little witch, Ye Miao. But now, I’m not afraid anymore. Ye Miao is dead. He’ll never leave me again.”
Lin Qiang fixed a stern gaze on her. “So, you’re the one who killed Ye Miao?”
Without hesitation, Long Wanqiu nodded. “Yang Yan told me he wanted a divorce. I asked him if it was because of Ye Miao, if he didn’t want me anymore. He said no, that Ye Miao would never forgive him. He just didn’t want to be with me anymore, didn’t want to hurt anyone else. I held him, begged him not to go. I told him Ye Miao was dead—I killed her. Now, no one could come between us again. But he looked at me like I was a monster, and he still wanted to leave. No matter how much I begged him. I didn’t understand. Did I do something wrong? People say men turn bad when they have money. So, for years, I secretly fed him bitter crowgrass, suppressing his intelligence and talents so he’d rely on me, so he couldn’t leave me. But why… Why did he still want to leave? So I cut off his legs. But even then, he crawled, trying to escape. In the end, I grafted him onto this twelve-toothed devil bell. Now, he’s nourished like a plant, and he’ll always belong to me and me alone…”
Jiang Xiaosi’s skin crawled. She realized that Yang Yan still had some consciousness left. Otherwise, those vines wouldn’t have reached out as they did, even climbing onto her sofa. That was Yang Yan—he was trying to break free. He was begging for help!
“What about the others?” Lin Qiang pointed at the other twelve-toothed devil bells.
“That’s my grandfather over there. And over there are my parents, my uncles and aunts. When they grew old and sick, they joined the plants. This way, they wouldn’t die. They could achieve immortality.”
Xiao Tang, furious, shouted, “Is this kind of life even worth living?”
“Of course it is. My family has been gardeners for generations. When we discovered the twelve-toothed devil bell in this tomb, we were ecstatic. Being part of a flower, existing forever like this—it’s a happiness you can’t understand.”
“You’re insane!” Jiang Xiaosi was horrified. Compared to Ye Miao, Long Wanqiu was even more terrifying.
Still smiling, Long Wanqiu slowly raised her arms toward the flower. The plant suddenly opened its massive, gaping maw and bit off her handcuffed wrists.
Everyone was stunned as they watched her severed arms slowly wrap around Yang Yan. Blood flowed into the plant stem, and soon, the wounds fused with the flower. Long Wanqiu’s hair unraveled, and vines began to sprout from the top of her head.
“No one can separate us.” she said with a blissful smile, gazing at Yang Yan, whose expression remained vacant, his eyes hollow.
Jiang Xiaosi couldn’t tell if her heart was filled with rage or sorrow. “Even after Ye Miao died and became a ghost, she still sought out Yang Yan, wanting revenge, wanting to ask why he killed her and their child. She didn’t know that you were the one who killed her. She was at least a normal person who loved Yang Yan! But you… You’re just a madwoman. You don’t even know what love is. You just want to imprison him by your side!”
At the mention of Ye Miao, Yang Yan blinked, and a tear fell from his eye. His body began to shake violently.
Long Wanqiu finally started to panic. “Yan, what are you doing? Don’t leave me, please, don’t…”
But Yang Yan broke free from the twelve-toothed devil bell, slipping from Long Wanqiu’s embrace like a withered leaf. He fell heavily to the ground, quickly turning yellow and dry, finally drawing his last breath.
Long Wanqiu’s arms remained connected to the plant stem. She trembled, unable to move closer to him, tears streaming down her face as she let out a furious roar. “Yang Yan! Even in death, you refuse to stay with me?!”
The dozen or so twelve-toothed devil bells began writhing wildly, their vines thrashing about, grinding their flower teeth together. The entire tomb began to quake violently.
“Damn it! Run!” Shen Mo grabbed Jiang Xiaosi and bolted for the exit. Lin Qiang narrowly dodged the crazed plants and escaped the chamber. Xiao Tang, moving a second too late, was tripped by a vine, and the flower teeth clamped down on his right leg.
Shen Mo gasped in shock. It was too far for him to rush back in time. Lin Qiang fired several shots, causing the devil bell to emit a horrifying scream, but it still wouldn’t let go. Just as Xiao Tang’s leg was about to be severed, a flash of light streaked through the air. Shen Mo saw that it was a copper coin attached to a fine chain, slicing through the thick plant stem in a flash. Xiao Tang, in shock, quickly pulled his leg free from the plant’s teeth.
“Hurry!” A man rushed forward to help him up, dodging the snapping flower mouths behind them.
“Dad!” Jiang Xiaosi cried out in surprise and joy. When had he arrived?
Jiang Liu wielded the copper coin, slashing through the surrounding vines with swift, precise movements. With his help, Xiao Tang limped toward the exit. The five of them managed to escape the tomb just before it collapsed, crawling up through the tunnels to the surface.
It felt like an earthquake as the surrounding area rumbled incessantly. As the ground caved in, Long Wanqiu’s wooden house crumbled into a heap of rubble.
At that moment, the sunlight seemed especially beautiful. Xiao Tang, in particular, looked as though he was about to burst into tears of gratitude.
“Dad!” Jiang Xiaosi happily threw herself into Jiang Liu’s arms.
Jiang Liu patted her on the head, but his eyes were cold as they stared at Shen Mo.
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