Love Beyond the Grave

When He Simu awoke from her dream, the bright moonlight filtered through the paper window, casting small white squares upon the floor. Gasping heavily, she sat up in bed—the vivid images from moments ago had vanished without a trace, taking with them the distant memories of her parents.

"What's wrong?"

A familiar voice reached her ears. Turning her head, He Simu saw Duan Xu leaning casually against her bedside, dressed in simple clothes with his arms crossed. The faint moonlight reflected in the young man's eyes, his lips curved in their usual smile. It was impossible to tell how long he had been standing there.

He Simu steadied her breathing and murmured softly, "What is this? There's wind inside my body. Do all living humans have wind inside them?"

"That's breathing."

"Ah... breathing." He Simu exhaled slowly.

So wind inside the body was breathing.

After a pause, she glanced around dazedly and whispered, "Just now... my father and mother were here."

Duan Xu seemed surprised by this. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he studied her expression in the moonlight. "Were you dreaming?"

"Dream?" He Simu repeated the word as if weighing its meaning. The images had faded so quickly, leaving only the night and the moonlight. So this was what mortals called a dream.

Mortals lived such fortunate lives. Those they could never see again could still appear in their dreams.

After a moment of silence, He Simu lifted her gaze to Duan Xu, wondering why this man had appeared in her room in the dead of night.

As if reading her thoughts, Duan Xu smiled nonchalantly. "I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't feel my body. Thought I might have died—startled me so much I couldn't sleep. Figured I might as well come check on you. Never expected you'd be sleeping so soundly, even having pleasant dreams."

He paused, then asked, "You dreamed of your parents? What did you see?"

He Simu shot him a sidelong glance—this improper man who barged into a woman's room at night—and answered carelessly, "I dreamed they were teaching me the rules of feeding."

The rules of an Evil Ghost's feeding. Such eerie and horrifying words clearly didn't deter Duan Xu. Instead, he looked intrigued. "I've been curious about this for a while. Why are you so kind to Chen Ying? I heard you were friends with his father. Perhaps..."

"Yes, I ate his father. Taking care of him was part of the bargain."

"Is that the rule for Evil Ghosts? You must strike a deal with humans before eating them?"

"No." He Simu twirled the silk cord of her Ghost King Lamp Jade Pendant idly. "That's just my rule."

Duan Xu fell silent for a moment before asking, "Why? You're the Ghost King, ruler of all spirits. You could take anyone's life without hesitation. Why lower yourself to grant mortals their wishes?"

"Why? Since when does the world need so many reasons? Can't I just do as I please?"

Duan Xu watched her intently, his youthful face uncharacteristically serious, devoid of its usual teasing.

He Simu met his gaze. In that drawn-out silence, she knew he was guessing at her secrets again. Fearless and irreverent toward gods and spirits, he harbored an intense curiosity about her, always trying to uncover every detail of her past.

A man shrouded in mysteries loved nothing more than solving riddles.

Leaning against the bedside, He Simu said lazily, "Fine, go ahead. What are you guessing this time?"

"I fear I might offend you."

"Spare me. Your gaze alone is offensive enough."Duan Xu thought for a moment and said out of the blue, "Your parents must have been very gentle people. Just like you."

"...Gentle?" He Simu raised an eyebrow.

"You can't taste, yet you cook and make sugar figurines; you can't see colors, yet you create marvelous paintings; you can't discern melodies, yet you play musical instruments. You can't even perceive the most ordinary things like breathing or dreaming, so why did you learn these skills that are difficult even for humans? Why do you only consume humans through deals? It must be because your parents wanted you to understand this world through these means."

So formidable, having seen the vast universe, yet still tender toward the smallest blade of grass.

He Simu was taken aback.

Under the pale moonlight, she lowered her eyes after a moment of silence and said noncommittally, "Perhaps."

"Are they... gone?"

"Yes."

"How did they pass?"

"Mother died naturally of old age. Father... I heard it was for love."

Her tone was remarkably calm.

Duan Xu looked at her while He Simu gazed at the white moonlight on the floor. The light streaming through the window illuminated countless dust particles in the air, like a fine snowfall.

Silent cold light, solitary night's eternal brightness.

It was said this was a prophetic verse her father received in his youth. Now it seemed the verse wasn't for her father—it was meant for all Ghost Kings.

Suddenly, something patted her face with moderate force, and the sensation of pain spread. He Simu looked up at Duan Xu, whose hand still lingered by her cheek.

"Wake up," Duan Xu said.

After a pause, he added, "The dream is over."

In the bright moonlight, Duan Xu's features appeared soft, his gaze steady and focused, as if his heart could encompass the entire world yet held only the person before him.

After a moment's silence, He Simu brushed his hand away and smiled faintly. "If I had even a sliver of my magical power back, your hand would be gone by now."

Duan Xu laughed brightly and sincerely, exclaiming, "I truly am fortunate—I've saved another hand."

He Simu thought to herself, this little general really knows how to push his luck.

Though, his hand was actually quite soft and warm.

Are all mortals this warm?

The rest of the night passed dreamlessly.

However, before noon the next day, He Simu encountered an additional complication from gaining the sense of touch—one that stemmed from her and Duan Xu's mutual sworn younger brother, Xue Chenying.

Having exchanged her true form with Duan Xu for the sense of touch, He Simu's original body had now taken on a mortal state. As a result, her previous "He Xiaoxiao" form had fallen into endless slumber, greatly distressing the unaware Chenying.

Refusing to leave or eat, he kept vigil by "He Xiaoxiao's" bedside, waiting tearfully for his elder sister to wake up. He paid no attention to the new, beautiful sister, not even sparing her a glance.

Leaning against the doorframe, He Simu sighed deeply at the sight of this earnest child. The borrowed body still had some time left on its lease, but without her magical power, she couldn't wake the girl prematurely—she'd have to let her sleep a few more days.

After several failed attempts to console Chenying, Duan Xu emerged from the room where "He Xiaoxiao" lay sleeping and said to He Simu outside, "Perhaps we should just tell Chenying your true identity. Excessive grief isn't good for a child's health."At the age Chen Ying is now, Duan Xu had already been deep-minded and a master of acting, feigning sorrow without truly hurting himself. He spoke with conviction.

He Simu idly rubbed a piece of ice Duan Xu had retrieved from the cellar and said carelessly, "Tell him my identity? What identity? An Evil Ghost?"

"Mm."

"No need. I’ve already fulfilled my promise by entrusting him to you, a good family. If not for the deal between us, I probably wouldn’t see him again. With this unexpected turn of events, our connection likely ends here."

The amusement in Duan Xu’s eyes flickered as he repeated, "Ends here?"

"Mm, what else?" He Simu toyed with the ice in her hand, watching it shrink, glistening with water. So this is ice—hard, painful water.

Distractedly, she added, "Do I have nothing better to do than revolve around you mortals? I’ve just been on leave, amusing myself. Soon, I’ll return to Jade Zhou City to handle Ghost Realm affairs."

"Then what will you tell Chen Ying?"

"You can hide He Xiaoxiao’s body first and tell him she died of illness. Once I regain my Magical Power, I’ll return the body."

"He’ll feel abandoned again."

"Better a sharp pain than a lingering one. How else would you explain a perfectly fine person lying here? If he keeps crying like this for ten more days, he’ll ruin himself. Give him a clean break. Treat him well, and in ten or twenty years, when he’s grown and thriving in the Duan household, he won’t even remember a foster sister he knew for just a few months in Liangzhou."

Most of He Simu’s attention remained on the ice, but she belatedly noticed Duan Xu’s prolonged silence. Puzzled, she looked up to find his bright eyes shadowed with unreadable emotions. Yet the moment their gazes met, he grinned, appearing reckless and carefree.

"I refuse," he said, enunciating each word.

He Simu arched an eyebrow.

Here we go again—the young general’s inexplicable death wish.

Leaning against the wall, he moved closer to her, smiling. "I’ll tell Chen Ying your identity—that you’re still with him, that He Xiaoxiao isn’t dead and never will be."

He Simu studied him. True, she currently lacked Magical Power, so he could do as he pleased.

Duan Xu continued, "Since you’re here, don’t think you can just walk out of his life."

Or mine.

The young general before her wore a light-colored round-collared robe, his hair tied in a ponytail, his gaze sharp. He Simu frowned. Ever since their Curse Bond, he’d grown increasingly bold, as if certain she wouldn’t kill him, daring to oppose her at every turn.

But to her, his defiance was no more than an ant’s bite.

Tilting her head, she smiled. "Fine, say what you want. If you think it’s best for Chen Ying, I don’t care. I’ll leave when the time comes. But if you think our Curse Bond gives you leverage over me, you’re sorely mistaken. I bow to no one. You’re just a deal I can end whenever I choose."

Duan Xu blinked slowly.He Simu pushed his arm aside and walked past him with a faint smile, casually tossing the ice cubes in her hand onto the ground, where they shattered into glistening fragments.

Duan Xu turned his head to watch her retreating figure, her deep red silhouette melting into the brilliant sunlight. He chuckled softly, his eyes unreadable. Shaking his head, he murmured, "No wonder they say an army can't have two commanders. How true. A little one should only be raised by one elder."

As the sun set that day, He Simu was finally cornered in the courtyard by Xue Chenying, who hadn't even spared her a glance before.

Chen Ying looked up at He Simu with timid hesitation and asked in a small voice, "Big Brother General said… you… you’re… Xiaoxiao-jiejie… is that true?"

Staring at this unfamiliar woman with phoenix eyes, arched brows, and an aloof beauty, Chen Ying couldn’t reconcile her with the gentle and adorable Xiaoxiao-jiejie he knew. The sudden sense of distance made him deeply uneasy. Was this person really his sweet, kind Xiaoxiao-jiejie? Was Big Brother General lying to him?

"Yes," He Simu replied calmly, as if reading his thoughts. "That’s right. I am He Xiaoxiao."

Chen Ying hesitated, then blurted out loudly, "Then tell me… how many eggs did you trade with Song Da Niang to borrow the suona?"

"..."

He Simu rubbed her temples. "Eight."

Chen Ying’s eyes brightened slightly, finally sensing familiarity in this beautiful yet unfamiliar sister. But then He Simu continued, "Your father was eaten by me."

Chen Ying froze, stunned.

"Didn’t Duan Xu tell you I’m an Evil Ghost?"

"He… he did… but Evil Ghosts…"

"But he didn’t tell you about the deal I made with your father?"

"...Deal?"

"That little general really ought to finish his sentences."

He Simu smiled faintly and pointed at herself. "I’m an Evil Ghost, the same kind as that woman who tried to eat you. Evil Ghosts survive by devouring humans. When your father was fatally wounded by the Hú Qì People, I ate him. In exchange, his next life will be plagued with misfortune, and I saved you, entrusting you to Duan Shunxi."

Chen Ying stared blankly at He Simu. His young mind worked hard before slowly grasping the meaning of her words.

She said she was his father’s friend, yet he had never seen her before—and she could turn invisible. He had found it strange, but he trusted his Xiaoxiao-jiejie, the sister who comforted him by turning into butterflies at his father’s grave. How could she be a bad person?

But… she had eaten his father? Just like that terrifying woman that day?

"You… why did you lie to me…?"

"Because it was easier."

Tears welled up in Chen Ying’s eyes. Biting his lip, he took a step back, then another, before turning around and running away, covering his face as he sobbed loudly.

He Simu let out a soft laugh and said indifferently, "I knew it would turn out like this."