Love Beyond the Grave

After Chen Ying ran away crying from the courtyard gate, Duan Xu's figure appeared by the entrance. He watched Chen Ying's retreating back before turning his gaze to He Simu.

The tall, beautiful woman tilted her head slightly in the sunset, offering a faint smile that seemed to silently declare Duan Xu's defeat and her own foresight.

Duan Xu didn't seem to consider himself defeated. He walked up to her and said with a smile, "Chen Ying just needs some time to come to terms with it."

"Come to terms? With what? There's nothing for him to come to terms with." He Simu waved her hand dismissively, stretching lazily as she walked past him.

"Humans fearing Evil Ghosts is as natural as sheep fearing wolves. Chen Ying's reaction is perfectly normal—it'd be best if he avoided ghosts for the rest of his life. It's people like you, fearless to the point of abnormality, who are the odd ones. Being feared and despised by humans is precisely where a Ghost King should stand."

With these lightly spoken words, He Simu disappeared through the doorway, her retreating figure vanishing from sight.

She didn't seem troubled by Chen Ying's fear or rejection, as if she'd long grown accustomed to such reactions. Perhaps, as she'd said, most human affairs meant little more than "indifference" to her.

It was all just idle amusement, a performance for the moment.

After the Imperial Decree was issued, Commander Qin quickly summoned the generals to reformulate battle plans. With Zheng An overseeing the process, Duan Xu and his Snow-Treading Army were finally not excluded.

During this period of Great Liang's military mobilization of supplies and weapons, Duan Xu took Xia Qingsheng, Han Lingqiu, and a contingent of soldiers to survey the terrain north of Shuozhou with the general of the Solemn Valor Army. Due to its advantageous location, Shuozhou's prefectural city would serve as the Northern Territory's rear base.

He Simu, temporarily bereft of her Magical Power, naturally remained in Shuozhou's prefectural city. She wandered freely with Duan Xu's money pouch, spending extravagantly and breaking things wherever she went, until every vendor in the city knew of this strange customer who threw gold around carelessly and left destruction in her wake.

Chen Ying had stopped crying but still frequently visited his "sleeping sister Xiaoxiao." Whenever he encountered He Simu, he remained somewhat timid. He Simu would always respond with a faint smile, neither cold nor warm toward him.

Several days after Duan Xu left the city, a group of uninvited guests arrived in Shuozhou.

That day, He Simu had crushed another pile of walnut cakes and was leisurely returning to the Lin residence where she was staying, carrying the remnants, when she noticed the household in chaos—people coming and going amid faint sounds of weeping. Puzzled, He Simu handed the paper bag to the Lin family steward, instructing him to feed the walnut cake remnants to the dogs, then asked, "What's going on here? Why all the commotion?"

The steward sighed. "You know how the Snow-Treading Army's diviner, Miss He, fell ill with that strange sleeping sickness?"

He Simu asked curiously, "Did she wake up?"

"No, not that. Her family has come looking for her."

"Oh, I see—"

He Simu paused mid-sentence, realizing what the steward had said. She turned her head. "He Xiaoxiao's family is here?"

Running into acquaintances while possessing a body was the worst kind of trouble—far more problematic than any illness. That's why He Simu typically operated in distant places, almost never encountering familiar faces in foreign lands.

This period of rest was truly bringing all sorts of unusual encounters.He Simu rubbed her temples and followed the sound of wailing. Passing through the corridor and a stone gate, she saw a woman being supported by someone as she wiped her tears, while the Chéng Jié Army's Captain Song stood nearby comforting her. Servants were scattered around the courtyard in small groups. He Simu stood among the onlookers and asked softly, "Who are these people?"

The servant recognized her as General Duan's friend and replied, "The one in the dark brown dress with some white hair in the middle is Miss He's mother. The one supporting her is Miss He's elder brother. I heard that after Miss He went missing, they searched all the way from Yuezhou. When they were distributing missing person posters in Liangzhou, someone said the person in the portrait resembled He Xiaoxiao, so they came here. Just now, they confirmed that Miss He is indeed their missing relative—even the birthmarks matched. But now that Miss He remains in a deep slumber, her mother is heartbroken."

He Simu's gaze swept over the people in the courtyard before she leaned against the wall, watching the scene unfold with detached amusement.

How touching. As if the girl who had tried to kill herself months ago because her mother and brother wanted to sell her off as some old man's concubine had never existed. Judging by this spectacle, her dear family had taken the money, realized she was gone, and now came rushing to find her?

The weeping woman cried out, "Her name isn't He Xiaoxiao at all! She's Qiao Yan, my youngest daughter. She vanished without a trace over three months ago. She was always such a well-behaved and sensible girl—how could she have traveled hundreds of miles alone to Shuozhou?"

She really ought to reflect on how she drove her "well-behaved and sensible" daughter to make a deal with an Evil Ghost, lending her body for half a year in exchange for freedom.

The brother supporting the woman added, "Yan'er never knew any magic tricks, let alone possessed the skills of a Diviner. It seems the master was right—my sister's body has been taken over by an evil spirit!"

He Simu raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze to the white-haired, Daoist-robed elder standing beside Captain Song. Captain Song bowed to the old man and said, "Reverend, when you mentioned earlier that an evil spirit was haunting the prefectural city, were you referring to Miss He... ah, no, Miss Qiao?"

The old Daoist stroked his beard and said calmly, "From afar, I observed ominous energy gathering above the Lin residence. Upon entering, the sinister aura grew even stronger. I've also examined Miss Qiao's condition—she shows no signs of illness yet remains in a deep slumber. Clearly, she has been bewitched by an evil entity."

He Simu studied the immortal-like elder in gray robes for a moment before chuckling softly.

Interesting.

What kind of act was this now?

Hearing the Daoist's words, Captain Song immediately requested that he exorcise the evil spirit and restore peace to Shuozhou. The old man pulled out a talisman from his sleeve, muttered an incantation, and the paper glowed red before standing upright.

With a wave of his hand, the Daoist commanded, "Seek the ghost!"

The talisman shuddered eerily, then shot through the crowd like an arrow—only to be caught midair between two fingers.

He Simu lowered her hand indifferently, flicking the talisman between her fingers. "And what exactly are you trying to do, Reverend?"

The old Daoist's eyes widened as he pointed at her. "It's her! She's the Evil Ghost who possessed Miss Qiao! She's the evil spirit causing chaos in Shuozhou!"

Every man, woman, and child in the courtyard fell silent as all eyes turned to He Simu.He Simu tossed away the talisman in her hand. Amidst the watchful eyes of the crowd, she paused for a moment in silence before raising her gaze with a radiant smile. "What’s the matter? Has the Accomplishing Victory Army run out of ways to fault General Duan and resorted to slinging mud at him and those around him?"

The people in the courtyard turned their suddenly enlightened gazes toward Captain Song, who had been unjustly accused in return. His face flushed red with anger as he shouted, "Don’t you dare spout nonsense! The Daoist and I merely happened to learn of this matter! What does it have to do with General Duan?"

He Simu remained composed, smiling without a word.

General Yin of the Accomplishing Victory Army was somewhat superstitious about feng shui, always bringing one or two Daoist priests along to divine auspices and inauspices in battle. The elderly man beside him was Ming Feng Daoshi, the Daoist priest General Yin trusted and relied on the most.

It was said Ming Feng Daoshi had long sensed the presence of evil spirits within Shuozhou’s city walls. That day, while walking the streets with Captain Song, they happened to encounter the Qiao family searching for their relatives and helped guide them to the Lin residence. Upon arrival, however, Ming Feng Daoshi detected an overwhelming aura of malice, prompting them to enter the Lin household—where they found the unconscious He Xiaoxiao—or rather, Qiao Yan.

Inside the tent, Wu Shengliu and General Yin sat on opposite sides, with He Simu beside Wu Shengliu and Ming Feng Daoshi beside General Yin. Kneeling in the center were the mother and son of the Qiao family, while Commander Qin and Zheng An presided from the head seats.

General Yin stood and asked, "Madam Qiao Wu, tell us—when did your daughter go missing?"

The woman prostrated on the ground and replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, she disappeared on the twenty-fourth day of the tenth month last year."

General Yin clicked his tongue and turned to Wu Shengliu. "I heard Miss He Xiaoxiao appeared in Liangzhou on the twenty-sixth day of the tenth month last year. Covering hundreds of miles in just two days—without the aid of supernatural forces, which of us here could accomplish such a feat?"

Wu Shengliu widened his eyes in fury. "So what? Just because she says her daughter went missing then, it must be true? Just because she claims to be Miss He’s mother, she must be? By that logic, I could say I’m your father!"

General Yin slammed the table. "Wu Shengliu, watch your mouth!"

Wu Shengliu leapt to his feet. "Bah! You’re not worth my courtesy! What are you trying to say? That He Xiaoxiao is a monster? That Seventeen is a monster too? That the entire Treading White unit is a den of monsters? Why don’t you just say Duan Xu is a monster while you’re at it? He’s imperial kin—go on, say it if you dare!"

Commander Qin bellowed, "Enough! Both of you, sit down!"

General Yin and Wu Lang Jiang exchanged glances before reluctantly sitting back down, still seething. General Yin snorted. "Wu Shengliu, don’t act so indignant. Naturally, General Duan is a prodigious talent, but the Duan family consists entirely of civil officials. For him to achieve such miraculous feats on his first frontline assignment—even infiltrating enemy camps to assassinate their commanders—do you really think that’s possible? Most likely, he relied on some dark, unorthodox methods..."

Zheng An’s cold voice cut in from above. "General Yin, accusations require evidence. Witchcraft and dealings with spirits are grave crimes—how dare you make such baseless claims?"

Wu Shengliu, however, clenched his teeth, his burly frame trembling as his eyes reddened. "Who the hell do you think we’ve been defending Shuozhou for? For who?! If you had even a shred of conscience, you wouldn’t dare utter such words! Do you have any idea how much effort and how many wounds General Duan has endured to protect this city? And you dismiss it all as 'dark methods'? Let me tell you—as long as a single soldier of Treading White still breathes, we won’t let you lay a finger on General Duan’s people!""What a fine Wu Shengliu you are! Do you listen to Duan Shunxi or Commander Qin? Treading White—"

"Enough bickering!" Commander Qin roared angrily.

He Simu leaned back in her chair, thinking to herself that General Yin was truly a talent—able to spin completely nonsensical, jealousy-filled malicious speculations from the correct answer.

Given the current situation, it seemed she didn't need to say or do anything. Once the conflict was directed at Duan Xu, it would become a factional dispute, and whether she was an evil spirit or not would be irrelevant.

As long as they insisted General Yin was trying to frame Duan Xu, all the evidence presented by Ming Feng Daoshi could be accused of ulterior motives. Right now, apart from not being able to die, she looked entirely like an ordinary person. With Qiao Yan unconscious, it was a case of "dead men tell no tales."

She leisurely took a sip of tea, only to hear someone outside the tent shout, "Report! Commander, the Treading White Diviner, Miss He Xiaoxiao, has woken up!"

He Simu choked on her tea.