So this was where all the trees of the Gong family had been "hidden." No wonder Xue Lian had never seen a single tree in the Gong family estate. But the smell... it was simply unbearable. Why would the Gong family chop down all the trees and stash them at the bottom of a well? Xue Lian felt confused.

  She slowly approached the nearest tree trunk, lifting the candle in her hand to take a closer look. Huh? Among the pile of branches, something faintly appeared. Xue Lian carefully moved the branches aside. As she did, the branches scattered to the sides and fell to the ground with a "crackling" sound. Xue Lian jumped in surprise and instinctively patted her chest, trying to calm herself.

  The candlelight illuminated inside the tree trunk… She was wearing a pink jacket on her upper body and blue pants on the lower body, just like Xiao Dun'er, dressed in servant's clothes, though much more tattered. But her face… it had already decayed…

  Xue Lian was overcome by an indescribable feeling of nausea. She covered her eyes with her hands, not wanting to look any further.

  "I can't expin it clearly, but anyone who does something wrong and ends up with the old dy... they just disappear..." Xue Lian suddenly recalled what Xiao Dun'er had once said. The body she had just seen was dressed simirly to Xiao Dun'er's clothes. Could it be that all the "disappeared" people were here...? With hundreds of tree trunks, did each one conceal a body? If so, then this… was an underground tomb! Now Xue Lian finally understood why all the trees of the Gong family had disappeared. They had all turned into natural coffins!

  Xue Lian quickly turned and ran out, unwilling to stay in that pce any longer. A hundred dead bodies—anyone would be terrified, especially her as a woman.

  She grabbed the vine and was about to climb up, but suddenly she heard a noise from above. Xue Lian quickly retreated back into the room. Although she was scared, she didn't want to be discovered by the people above.

  "She's gone again?" It was Shen Ma's voice.

  "Y-Yes..." Xiao Dun'er sounded terrified.

  "What′s wrong with you? I told you to keep an eye on her, and you couldn't even do that!" Shen Ma's voice was harsh.

  "I... the young madam might... might just be feeling stuffy and went out for a walk. She might... might be back soon," Xiao Dun'er's voice grew quieter.

  Xue Lian felt guilty. Every time she "ran off," Xiao Dun'er would always get scolded in her pce.

  "Go find her now!" Shen Ma shouted loudly.

  "Y-Yes..." Xiao Dun'er said, frightened, repeating herself in a hurry.

  The footsteps gradually faded away, and Xue Lian let out a sigh of relief. The well was in a less noticeable part of the yard. They must not have noticed that the stone covering the well had already been moved.

  How did all these Gong family servants die? Xue Lian suddenly thought about this question. There were nearly a hundred people here, and they had all died, quietly "hidden" away. So many had died, and of course, the outside world couldn't know. That's why the trees were used as coffins.

  Xue Lian returned to the tree trunk, gathering her courage and carefully examining the body. Aside from some decomposition, everything else seemed intact. She couldn't determine the cause of death, but it was definitely not from torture. Xue Lian then pushed aside the branches on the next tree trunk. There was another body, preserved quite well. It was a man, and it looked like he had only just died recently.

  Xue Lian looked at each body, slowly forgetting her fear. Perhaps it was because she had been here for so long that she no longer noticed the foul smell.

  The twenty-seventh body was retively well-preserved. She wore a pink jacket on her upper body and blue pants on the lower, dressed like a servant, just like Xiao Dun'er's clothing. Her figure was slightly plump, with willow-shaped brows, narrow eyes, and two braids hanging in front of her chest. The body's figure and appearance... it was Xiao Dun'er!

  Xue Lian thought she must be seeing things. How could she see Xiao Dun'er here? But she was dead... dead! Xiao Dun'er had spent every day with... could she be a ghost? No, that's impossible. Ghosts wouldn′t appear during the day. Then who was this? And who was the person lying here? Why did they have the same face? Xue Lian suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of fear. A girl who seemed simple, innocent, and not very bright—only around fourteen or fifteen years old—had been with her every day, and now here she was, seeing her body… yet Xiao Dun'er was still alive.

  The candle was nearly out, and Xue Lian knew she had to leave. She didn't want anyone above to find out she was here, especially Xiao Dun'er, because she realized that Little Dun'er was far more frightening than she had imagined.

  "Damned woman!" Suddenly, a voice came from above, seemingly from the gate of the courtyard. It was quiet, but Xue Lian heard it clearly. The voice, however, was a man′s voice. Xue Lian shuddered slightly, and she suddenly remembered the "ghost" she had seen in the "tomb house"...