Love Beyond the Grave

He Simu patted the battlement and remarked, "This city wall is truly solid."

Despite so many attempts to storm it, the attackers had repeatedly failed, resorting to hurling insults from below.

"The Shuozhou Prefecture wall is one of the few remaining in the Northern Territory beyond Guan River. When the Hú Qì People invaded, the previous dynasty relied on such fortifications to hold them off. After the Hú Qì seized the Seventeen Northern Shore Prefectures, they bore a grudge and ordered all city walls dismantled. But when the Danzhi dynasty was first established, rebellions erupted everywhere. Without walls, rebel forces took cities with ease, forcing Danzhi to rescind the order. That's why Shuozhou's wall still stands." Duan Xu pulled He Simu back slightly from the edge as he explained.

Turning to him, He Simu said, "The rebellions during Danzhi's early years were barely a decade ago. Now the dynasty seems quite stable."

"At the time, when the Han people under Danzhi rebelled, Great Liang feared Danzhi and clung to its corner of safety, offering no support. Naturally, the Northern Shore people grew disillusioned. The Hú Qì army was formidable, and the uprisings gradually died down."

Pausing, Duan Xu lowered his gaze, his expression unreadable. He smiled wryly. "Isn't it the same now? Great Liang thinks the Natural Barrier of Guan River makes it invulnerable, with no intention to reclaim the Northern Shore or its people. Were it not for the Hú Qì invasion, they'd still be lost in infighting."

He spoke as if he truly were a general devoted to his country, whose life's purpose was to recover the Seventeen Northern Shore Prefectures.

Had he been Duan Xu, third young master of the Duan family—a lineage of imperial relatives and three generations of Hanlin scholars—such aspirations would be expected. But given his intricate ties to Danzhi, this wish seemed incongruous.

He Simu thought for a moment, then pointed toward the enemy camp. "Earlier, I saw a soldier carrying a letter into the third tent on the southern side. I could see the writing on the envelope, but it was in Hú Qì script—I couldn't read it."

Duan Xu immediately signaled for writing materials and instructed her to copy the text.

Rolling up her sleeves, He Simu swiftly scrawled several lines of flamboyant, peculiar characters. When she handed the paper to Duan Xu, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes before he raised a brow and studied her with curiosity.

He Simu scrutinized his reaction and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, so you do recognize this phrase!"

It was a Hú Qì insult, equivalent to calling someone a "turtle's bastard."

"From the Scripture of Azure Words to vulgar street slang—General Duan, your erudition knows no bounds. Surely, the Southern Capital doesn't teach such things."

So far, his allegiances, identity, and every word he'd spoken were suspect.

Duan Xu's eyes glinted, realizing she had tricked him. Unfazed, he said, "It's a long story. Once, while crossing a bridge, an old man deliberately dropped his shoe below and made me retrieve and put it on for him—three times..."

This sounded all too familiar.

He Simu's temple twitched. She continued, "You complied each time, and he said you were teachable, telling you to meet him at dawn on the bridge. But he always arrived first and scolded you until one day you went at midnight and finally beat him there. Then he handed you a copy of the Grand Duke's Art of War?"

"It was the Scripture of Azure Words," Duan Xu corrected."I had no idea your name was Zhang Liang?"

"Hahahahaha." Duan Xu leaned against the city wall, laughing. He composed himself slightly and said, "But it's true that I have a formidable Hú Qì master. I suppose I'm his most accomplished disciple."

"Oh? Where is he now?"

"Blinded by a goose and retired."

"......"

He Simu felt there wasn't a single truthful word in this man's mouth. Duan Shunxi—truly as changeable as his name, utterly unfathomable.

"What did you see earlier? Really nothing at all?" Duan Xu steered the conversation back on track.

"I saw that soldier enter the third camp on the left. But what he was holding wasn't a letter—it was a few Little Redtail Fish."

Duan Xu's gaze suddenly sharpened. "The third camp on the left?"

"Correct." He Simu was puzzled by his sudden seriousness.

Duan Xu pressed his fingers to his lips, pondered for a moment, then smiled faintly and murmured, "He's there."

With that, he bowed to He Simu. "Your eyesight is remarkable, my lady. My thanks."

He Simu had no idea how her words could have been so helpful. Judging by Duan Xu's reaction, it seemed she'd performed some great service. He was even smiling brightly and offering to escort her back. It appeared that not only would he get to catch his breath these days, but he'd even have some leisure time.

But as the saying goes, if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble comes looking for you—and it's usually bad news. No sooner had He Simu followed Duan Xu down from the city wall than black smoke began rising from within the city.

Duan Xu's expression changed abruptly. Below the wall, Han Xiaowei came running with a grave expression, reporting, "General! The granary... the granary's been set on fire!"

Duan Xu swept his robes aside and swiftly descended the steps. The moment his feet touched ground, he grabbed the reins, planted his left foot in the stirrup, and swung onto his horse. His sleeves billowed as he galloped away in a cloud of dust, heading straight for the granary.

All the soldiers stood frozen, only able to watch him disappear into the distance. Duan Xu's movements had been astonishingly fast—too fast for anyone to react.

Only at times like this could He Simu catch a glimpse of the real Duan Xu.

Whether the grain burned or not mattered little to He Simu, a man-eating Evil Ghost. By the time she leisurely made her way to the scene, the fire had been extinguished, leaving only billowing smoke, and the arsonist had already been caught. Soldiers formed a perimeter to keep people away from the granary, but onlookers still crowded in tightly, three layers deep.

He Simu pushed through the crowd for a look and was surprised to find the culprit was actually a delicate young woman.

The girl appeared to be about seventeen or eighteen, with delicate features, though her face was bruised purple and green. Half her hair had been shaved off, revealing stark white scalp. Her clothes were made of fine fabric with exquisite patterns, but they were filthy and tattered, cotton stuffing flying out from the tears. The word "destitute" might as well have been written across her.

He Simu raised a hand to cover her mouth as she asked an old man nearby, "Who's that?"

The old man said, "Eh, you don't know? That's He Yan, the Top Courtesan of Green Joy Garden."

At his age, the old man clearly loved gossip. Once he started talking, he grew enthusiastic.According to the old man, He Yan was originally the daughter of a wealthy family who fell into hard times and became a courtesan. She was beautiful, literate, skilled in singing and dancing, and adept at scheming, quickly attaching herself to a nobleman of the Huqi People. The nobleman kept her in Shuozhou Prefecture, providing her with food, clothing, servants, and a mansion. Her patron was also on very good terms with the Danzi Royal Court, and with this chain of connections, even the prefect didn’t dare offend He Yan.

Flush with newfound power, He Yan became domineering, bullying others and throwing her weight around in Shuozhou Prefecture. The common people, fearing the influence of the powerful, could only swallow their grievances.

But when the Great Liang army arrived, they not only drove out the Danzi forces but also killed He Yan’s patron, who was in the city at the time. Suddenly bereft of her backer, she found herself abandoned by all. People came to settle old scores, each taking their turn to kick her while she was down.

“She was driven onto the streets, and the women from Green Joy Garden despised her, spitting at her and even shaving half her hair off. She had to return to her old trade, but in her current state, how many patrons would still want her? Truly, what goes around comes around.”

He Simu thought of the dark mass of troops outside the city and wondered whether the people here would still act so boldly if they saw the Huqi forces preparing to return.

“Was she the only one in Shuozhou Prefecture who bullied others under the Huqi’s influence? Are you singling her out because she’s the easiest target—a lowly woman?”

As soon as He Simu finished speaking, she heard He Yan laughing softly from the ground. The woman pushed herself up on slender arms, lifting her chin defiantly. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes bruised, her expression bordering on madness.

“Why does everyone get to trample on me? Why! Did I do anything wrong? I just wanted a better life, one without hardship. If not the Huqi, who else could I rely on? Being Han means being lowly, means starving and being bullied, where a few sheep can buy a man’s life. If you had the chance to climb into a Huqi noble’s favor, wouldn’t you? Can Boss Lin’s family do business in the prefecture without currying favor with the Huqi? I did nothing wrong!”

Among the Danzi, the people were divided into four classes, and the Han, who had resisted the Danzi most fiercely, were the lowest of the Fourth-Class Citizens, burdened with the heaviest taxes, strict restrictions on weapons, and lives as cheap as livestock. As a "Fourth-Class Citizen," He Yan was naturally filled with resentment.

Glaring at the surrounding crowd, she spat viciously, “You all just want to watch me suffer, want me dead—well, forget it! If I die, we’ll all die together!”

He Simu fell silent for a moment before adding to the old man, “Though, with a mouth like that, she does deserve some of it.”

Just as He Yan was shrieking hysterically, Lin Jun, who had been standing in front of the granary, strode over and slapped her hard across the face.

The burned granary was the public granary built by Boss Lin’s family. The Lins were rice merchants, and most of the Snow-Treading Army’s provisions upon entering the prefecture had come from their granary. Later, when the army regrouped and brought in additional supplies, those too were stored in the Lin family’s granary.

Now, no one knew how much had been lost to He Yan’s fire.Just moments ago, when she saw Lin Jun rushing over, his face was pale and his breath ragged. Now, he was trembling with rage. After striking He Yan, he pointed at her and said sharply, "Yes, that's right. My Lin family grovels and flatters just to scrape together a few measly coins under the noses of the Huqi People. It disgusts even us. Aren’t you and I the same? Don’t you want to hold your head up as a human being? Are the Huqi People born noble or something?"

He Yan’s lip was bleeding from the blow. She raised her head and glared hatefully at Lin Jun. "Hold my head up as a human being? What kind of person am I? What kind of person are you? Once I entered the brothel, did I ever have a chance to hold my head up again? Han or Huqi, they all look down on me. People climb high, water flows low—naturally, I’ll go wherever there’s prosperity!"

"You—!" Lin Jun pointed at her, his originally pale face now flushed with anger, unable to utter another word.

Duan Xu patted Lin Jun’s shoulder to calm him down. He bent slightly to meet He Yan’s eyes and said coolly, "How did you deceive the guards to enter the granary?"

He Yan lowered her head and let out a sinister laugh. "What about the guards? They’re just men too."

An old man in the crowd, sensing a scandal he was privy to, whispered to He Simu, "The granary’s shift leader today, Xiao Xie, used to be involved with He Yan for a while. Must’ve softened his heart—who knew this woman would go so mad?"

Duan Xu’s gaze darkened slowly as he stared at He Yan without speaking. Under his piercing stare, He Yan shrank back momentarily before suddenly growing even more frenzied. She laughed and cried at once, tears streaming from her bruised and swollen eyes, a pitiful and absurd sight.

"You high-and-mighty lot… Even if I die, I’ll never let you go! I’ll become an Evil Ghost and haunt you all!"

With that, she suddenly lunged toward the granary wall, as if to dash her brains out.

Duan Xu made no move to stop her. But in that instant, a figure darted from the crowd, brushed past him, and in one fluid motion drew the Illusion-Breaking Sword from his waist. A flash of cold steel, and the figure yanked He Yan back just before she could collide with the wall.

Then, with a swift and decisive turn of the blade, the sword cleanly slit He Yan’s throat. Blood sprayed.

In the stunned silence, He Simu held the Illusion-Breaking Sword as He Yan collapsed to the ground. Blood dripped from the blade into the pool spreading from her body.

Want to become an Evil Ghost? Better not.

Truth be told, she had no issue with He Yan seeking death—but she took strong exception to her dying wish of becoming an Evil Ghost.

This mad girl was steeped in resentment and unresolved grievances. If she died by suicide, she’d undoubtedly become a Wandering Soul, and in a few decades, likely evolve into an Evil Ghost.

But here’s the thing: if He Yan wanted to be an Evil Ghost, she’d have to see if He Simu was willing to accept her. Troublesome subjects like these—the fewer, the better.

The Illusion-Breaking Sword was a blade of mercy, one that killed yet also delivered. Those slain by it would have their grievances dissolved, passing on immediately without becoming Wandering Souls.