Chapter 19

Li Haibo changed into his diving suit, stretched his neck, and did some warm-up exercises. He was planning to go diving in the sea. In this area, there were very little people diving. However, the view under the sea could be described as good. There were green, red, and black seaweed. He had dived here a few times before, and had spotted jellyfish, sea lions, sea stars, and whales. But he had never encountered danger.

Swish, swish. A

sea snake

with an olive underside slowly climbed up from the waters. Its torso was cylindrical, and its body was long and slender. At the end of the snake, there was a somewhat flat tail. Overall, it was a meter in length.

After the sea snake reached land, it slithered straight in Li Haibos direction. Its movements couldnt be considered fast, and Li Haibo was quite far away from the sea. But practically the instant the snake appeared in his sight, Li Haibo turned towards it. After all, it was rather large.

Li Haibos heart leapt. He was wearing a

dive skin

, so he would definitely die if he was bitten by the snake! It had to be known that sea snakes had a very strong venom!

Li Haibo rapidly scrambled backwards in fear, wanting to hide.

The sea snake unhurriedly advanced. It raised its head, its eyes carelessly passing over Li Haibo. But it only paused for a moment, and didnt seem to have the intention of attacking him.

Swish, swish. It slowly headed back to the sea, but this time, it was actually much quicker than when it came.

Li Haibos legs were a bit soft, and he couldnt help but swallow his saliva.

Fortunately, nothing happened.

He sorted out his clothes all over again, put on his diving mask, wore his swim fins, and carried his diving tank. Then, he was ready to go diving.

But he didnt notice that there was a menace concealed beneath the calm sea.

One sea snake after another gradually approached this area of the sea

And Li Haibos head was enveloped in a layer of black gas that he could not perceive.

What are you talking about? Liang Jings eyes were wide, and he blanked out. These days, the frequent accidents had worn him down until his

scalp tingled

. Li Haibo died?

Wang Xing was slightly frightened. I heard he was poisoned to death by sea snakes! Afterwards, the scent of blood attracted a great white shark! The police over there have already confirmed the body is Li Haibos through DNA.

The surroundings were abruptly silent.

Wang Xing had found this information in the classmates group chat. There was even a photo taken at the scene of the accident. In it, the only part of Li Haibo that remained was a pile of white bones. The fins on his feet hadnt been taken off, and there was already nothing left of his internal organs. Perhaps because of being gnawed on by a great white shark and additionally being washed away by the sea water, Li Haibos entire head was reduced to a bare skull. The only piece with hair also retained some flesh. His facial features completely couldnt be discerned! What was even more terrifying was that in the photo, several sea snakes were still coiled around Li Haibos corpse. There were even all kinds of insects nibbling at his bones. Wang Xing only took one look at that photo before vomiting out everything that she had eaten today in disgust!

Who would have thought that this pile of white bones would actually turn out to be Li Haibo, the one who had been discussing with them yesterday about going diving? A living person!

This is all too coincidental! Wang Xing swallowed her saliva. I dont believe that this world has such coincidental things. Have we been caught up in something unclean?

When Yang Meili heard those words, she trembled. She looked like she hadnt slept well for many days.

Liang Jings expression was the worst. He had been reborn! Whether or not the world had unexplainable supernatural events, who could know more than him? Wasnt his own existence an example?

Could it be that even after returning, he would still die? How could he be willing?

Xiao Chen, who had been wordlessly observing on the side for a long time, raised the corner of his mouth. The changes on his face werent easy to detect, but he swiftly recovered to being expressionless. His eyes slightly narrowed. As if he was speaking to himself, he brought up his own question. Is it possible that there is a god of death in this world?

What? Yuan Zhong didnt hear clearly, so he stared at Xiao Chen.

On the other hand, Liang Jing was shocked.

Xiao Chen lifted his gaze. I once heard that when humans commit an unforgivable sin, the Grim Reaper will create a coincidence to gather all of them and let them die in the same accident.

Liang Jing started to tighten his fists. He was not the only one. The expressions of Wang Xing, Yang Meili, and Yuan Zhong were stiff.

Xiao Chan weirdly blinked his eyes. If a sinful person unexpectedly escapes, they will receive the curse of death. He scanned everyone and turned his head. No death, no rest.

The atmosphere in the room was a little strange at the moment, and it was terrifyingly quiet. The looks they directed towards Xiao Chen were even more unclear and complicated.

What are you guys doing, watching me like this? Xiao Chen put on his usual smile, and the corners of his mouth curved. Its not like were any kind of sinners. Plus, Ive already said that this was something I heard about.

All the people were somewhat comforted, until Xiao Chen closely followed up. With a beaming smile that revealed eight teeth, he appeared a bit cute. What if you guys are sinners? Anyways, Im not!

Liang Jing choked and suddenly remembered something.

Correct! Thats right!

Before the accident in his last life, Xiao Chen received an emergency call from home and then got off the bus in a hurry!

He didnt die at all!

Liang Jing recalled up to here, and his complexion was sallow. But when he thought of Xiao Chens words, he uncontrollably shook.

He had almost forgotten such peaceful scenes from back then

Without waiting for Liang Jing to recollect himself, Xiao Chen abruptly smiled again. Doesnt it seem like the

Snake Pits

punishment?

What? Wang Xing didnt understand.

Li Haibos death. Xiao Chen tilted his head. Have you not heard of this criminal law? It was used by Daji to punish court ladies. Their clothes were stripped off, and then they were thrown into a hole filled with vipers, bees, and the like. The court ladies were left to be bitten ravenously by hundreds of insects.

At this point, Yang Meilis face turned pale at a speed visible to the naked eye. She was so revolted that she directly threw up.

Probably because she hadnt eaten much in the first place, she only spit out sour water. Along with what Xiao Chen had said, this sour smell made everyone present look disturbed. Their stomachs churned as if mountains and seas were being overturned inside. They were filled with nausea.

But at this moment, Liang Jing obscurely met Wang Xings eyes, and seemingly exchanged something. Afterwards, he quickly retracted his gaze.

Is there really a god of death? Wang Xing heavily gasped, slightly shivering.

I dont know. Liang Jings face was the color of dead ash.

The two of us at that time Wang Xing wanted to continue to say something, but was immediately interrupted by Liang Jing.

Didnt we agree to never mention that again?

Liang Jings voice suddenly raised, and his eyes were terror-stricken. He looked around and took a deep, quivering breath.

Okay! Then tell me, did you really dream about that days events? Wang Xing aggressively asked.

Yes! Liang Jings eyes dodged. Fortunately, his back faced Wang Xing, so she couldnt see.

What is Li Haibos sin? Xiao Chen wrapped both his arms around the mans neck, a little curious.

Perversion. The man was concise.

He hurt his own cousin, and that girl committed suicide.

What is my sin? Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and looked the man in the eye.

There was a moment of silence.

Your sin is me.

T/N: Exams week is officially over! I dont know how I survived _:(` ):_

But lets forget about that. So, I searched up my beloved concubine in Google just for the sake of it. The first link was some tragedy BL movie. I read the synopsis, and I literally cried buckets. Im never going to be brave enough to watch it. The second link was for a novel in NU, and that kind of surprised me.

Snake Pit: more juicy facts

, also known as Snake Pit, was a method of torture used by concubine Daji during the Shang dynasty. A 50-feet deep hole was dug, and poisonous spiders and insects were thrown into it. With their hair shaved and clothes stripped, 72 maidens were bound and tossed in to feed the snakes. It was mentioned in the novel

Investiture of the Gods

by Xu Zhonglin. Throughout the novel, Daji, the favorite concubine of King Zhou of Shang, created several torture devices. Her greatest joy was to hear people cry in torment. Nevertheless, King Zhou became extremely infatuated with Daji and would do anything to please her. Their story is very well-known, but I wont explain it here. Dajis projects included the Bronze Toaster, the Wine Pool and Meat Forest, the Deer Gallery, and the Snake Pit. Most of these were introduced in chapter 17 of

Investiture of the Gods

.

Snake Pit: the story

The Snake Pit in

Investiture of the Gods

(abridged, go to Wikisource for annotations of full version), Chapter 17, King Zhou Tyrannically Creates Snake Pit:

One day, King Zhou and Daji had a feast on Deer Terrace Pavilion. Three thousand and six palace concubines gathered below Deer Terrace Pavilion. In a random joyful desire, King Zhou commanded them to take off their clothing and sing and dance naked. King Zhou and Daji indulged in lots of wine and laughed madly on the pavilion. Only the seventy-two people who once served under Queen Jiang in the harem covered their faces and wept. They refused to sing and dance naked.

Daji said: These are the court ladies who were once by Queen Jiangs side. They resent the king for killing Queen Jiang. I heard that they secretly plan to revolt and murder the king! Actually, at first I didnt believe this, but now that I see they dare to defy the kings command, it seems like the rumours of rebellion are not false! They should be severely punished, which would work well so others do not dare to have a rebellious heart!

King Zhou said: What could be considered a severe punishment?

Daji said: In your small concubines opinion, you can dig a huge pit in front of the Star Picking Belvedere that is several hundred of steps in radius. It will be fifty feet deep. Then throw vipers (metaphor for vicious women), bees (metaphor for evil or enemies), and the like into the hole. Toss these court ladies in. Being bitten ravenously by hundreds of insects, this is called the Snake Pit punishment.

King Zhou was extremely pleased. He immediately followed Dajis words and created a Snake Pit. The seventy-two court ladies were thrown inside together. For a while, worrying and sorrowful wailing emerged from the hole. King Zhou wildly laughed: If it werent for my beloved concubines clever idea, these rebelling concubines couldnt have been exterminated!