Love Beyond the Grave

After a pause, Duan Xu added, "And when I'm not by your side, I worry about you—foolishly, beyond my means."

He Simu's eyes flickered. She stepped closer to Duan Xu, gazing into his eyes as she enunciated each word: "You do realize this is indeed beyond your means."

Humans were fragile and easily broken, but she was merely experiencing life briefly. He’d better understand—he was the fragile living one.

She hadn’t forgotten his offenses.

From a distance, Luda called out, "Excuse me, you two. Could you come over here for a moment?"

He Simu turned and walked over, with Duan Xu following her to where Luda and Yilier stood.

Luda’s gaze shifted to his father—resplendently dressed, adorned with jewels yet deathly pale—standing amidst the ashen garden as though something had crumbled with the collapse of the Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Taking his father’s wrist, Luda asked calmly, "Father, why is it that none of my siblings, apart from my eldest brother and me, lived to adulthood?"

Being too clever wasn’t always a blessing.

Yilier cleared his throat, flustered. "They... just fell ill..."

Even now, he still tried to conceal his dark deeds from this son he took such pride in.

Luda seemed to have given up on getting answers from Yilier. He turned to He Simu and asked, "Can you tell me?"

He Simu glanced at the pitiful, aging lord and said coolly, "To sustain a pact with a Greedy Ghost, one must periodically offer bloodline sacrifices to maintain the connection."

Luda fell silent for a moment, his face uncharacteristically twisted with anger and pain. He said to Yilier, "You sacrificed them all to the Greedy Ghost, in exchange for fame and benefits for you, my eldest brother, and me?"

Yilier’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly, his beard trembling as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t.

"And the sacred relic you asked me for?"

When Yilier still didn’t answer, Luda looked back at He Simu.

He Simu said, "Given to the Rakshasa Hall Master, to help him evade my Summoning Decree."

Luda lowered his eyes, then raised them, fixing Yilier with a piercing stare. "Father, is this true?"

Yilier gritted his teeth and suddenly wrenched his wrist free. His pale face flushed red with agitation as he pointed furiously at Luda. "I am your father! Who do you think I did all this for? Who? Our family was looked down upon in the royal court, exiled to this backwater town with nothing. If I hadn’t made a deal with the Greedy Ghost, how could our family have risen again? How could you and your brother have become officials in the Upper Capital? Do you think you’re blameless, coming here now to question me?"

Luda regarded his father solemnly, speaking slowly and deliberately. "Father, rising again was your wish, not mine—and certainly not theirs. Since you’ve betrayed the Azure God, I must resign from my post and leave the royal court."

Yilier panicked at this. He stepped forward and slapped Luda, who didn’t dodge. The gemstone ring on Yilier’s hand left a bloody gash on his son’s face.

"What nonsense are you spouting... resign? Do you want your siblings to have died for nothing? Do you want to kill me with rage? And the Rakshasa Hall Master... you’re helping them! If he turns on us, what will happen to your brother? What will happen to me?""I will protect you."

The situation was at a standstill. The father and son were clearly talking past each other, each speaking their own piece. Just as Lord Iril was rendered speechless with anger, Duan Xu interjected.

Displaying his masterful skill at diplomatic maneuvering, he said, "My master should soon locate the Rakshasa Hall Master. He's not far from turning to ashes, so Lord Iril need not worry about him turning hostile. You claim Luda owes his current status entirely to your deal with the Evil Ghosts, but I'm not so sure. Why did the Rakshasa Hall Master choose you in the first place? Could it be because he discovered you had a son with an inherently special constitution, one who might eventually become a Danzhi priest?"

This tactful mediation addressed both sides. To cement his point, Duan Xu turned to He Simu and asked, "Your Highness, don't you agree with what I said?"

He Simu chuckled lightly, not even glancing at Duan Xu, and instead asked Luda, "No more questions? Then I'll rest now. This late-night drama has left me thoroughly exhausted."

With that, she turned and walked straight past Duan Xu as if he weren't there. Duan Xu said nothing, merely following her cheerfully.

Luda watched them leave, then turned to his panicked and indignant father. "Father, we need to talk."

Duan Xu glanced back at them. It was unlikely Luda would receive the remorse and apology he desired, nor would Iril obtain the gratitude he sought.

Between father and son, bound by blood and profound debt, yet divided by unspoken rifts and conflicting desires—what was there to discuss?

The biggest event in Fucheng that year was the fire at Lord Iril's estate. Overnight, the entire garden and the famed Glazed Tile Pagoda were reduced to ashes, and the enshrined sacred relic vanished without a trace. For Lord Iril, whose luck had always been astonishingly good, this was likely the most unfortunate incident of his life.

The townsfolk buzzed with gossip—some lamented the loss, while others took malicious pleasure in it. The latter remarked how his wives had terrible tempers and how countless servants had been beaten to death in his household, calling this disaster well-deserved retribution.

Iril and Luda talked through the night until noon the next day. No one knew what they discussed, but Luda never mentioned resigning again, while Iril proposed handing over the gold mine to the royal court and retiring to serve at the Azure God Temple in the Upper Capital.

Standing in the courtyard with Luda, watching the servants busily clean up the aftermath, Duan Xu smiled and said, "Young Priest, a fire in the backyard—this is precisely the scenario the High Priest and my master feared most, isn't it?"

As a Huqi noble, Iril had abandoned his own deity to worship the ghosts of the Han people—a trend that was likely not an isolated case. Over the decades, Han and Huqi people had intermingled north of the Guan River, with the Han outnumbering the Huqi by over three hundred to one. The cultural impact on the Huqi was immense. Their behavior and customs had grown increasingly Han-like, even their faith wavering.

Duan Xu had once overheard his master and the High Priest discussing this, criticizing the Han influence in the royal court. They feared the nation would lose its identity, that Huqi would cease to be Huqi. Thus, they held the Azure God and the Scripture of Azure Words in the highest regard, believing them to be the soul of the Huqi people—something that must remain pure and untainted by foreign influence at all costs."What I think is different from our two masters," Luda replied. "Why should the Azure God only be worshipped by the Hú Qì People? Why should the Scripture of Azure Words only be read by the Hú Qì People? The Han people and others should also receive the Azure God's protection. The Hú Qì People from a hundred years ago are vastly different from those a thousand years ago, and those who live among the Han should differ greatly from those on the grasslands. Flowing water never stagnates—change must come."

Duan Xu was somewhat surprised. Seeing his startled expression, Luda seemed to have expected it. He chuckled softly, "Are you curious how I recognized you? I've seen you before—building sandcastles by the back shore of Heaven Knows Manor."

For a time, Luda had stayed at Heaven Knows as a guest of the High Priest. Sitting on the cliffs at night in quiet contemplation, he would often see a boy sneak out to build sandcastles by the shore. Every day, the rising tide would wash them away, yet the boy returned night after night to rebuild them in the same spot.

Out of curiosity, Luda had secretly observed the boy from a distance. The boy was often covered in wounds, sometimes stumbling as he walked, but he never stopped, always focused intently on his task.

That was how Luda remembered him. When the leader of Heaven Knows introduced their new disciple, Seventeen, he recognized him at once—the boy who had built sandcastles by the back shore.

That boy was no caged bird. He had flown free and become an eagle.

Duan Xu paused, the long-faded memory suddenly vivid again. He smiled brightly and said, "So you saw me after all."

So you saw Duan Xu in the gaps of Seventeen.

But he wasn’t truly Seventeen. By the rules, only the last surviving disciple of a cohort was given a number. He had saved Han Lingqiu, meaning two from that cohort still lived—so there was no real Seventeen.

This was one reason he had taken such a great risk to ensure Han Lingqiu’s survival.

Luda said, "Though the leader claims you are devout, I’ve always felt you don’t truly believe in the Azure God, do you? What are we in your eyes?"

Duan Xu was silent for a moment before countering, "And in your eyes, what is the Azure God? Do you truly believe in its so-called power?"

"The Azure God is, in truth, a kind of faith. Seventeen, you too have faith—you must know its power is immense, rivaling all the divine weapons in this world. The power of the Azure God is the unified belief of millions. Whether the god truly exists is unimportant. What matters is our covenant with the divine—a covenant that needs no response. As long as those who believe in the Azure God live, the god will never perish."

This was the first time Duan Xu had heard a Hú Qì person—let alone a Junior Priest—utter the words, "Whether the god truly exists is unimportant." If the masters or the High Priest heard this, they would surely fly into a rage.

Duan Xu laughed softly. "The unified belief of millions... Ha. In the Scripture of Azure Words, the Azure God’s greatest blessing is to spread the descendants of the Hú Qì People to every corner of the world. And so you march south, invading Han lands, slaughtering millions. Is this what you do for your faith?""War has never ceased since ancient times—how can one distinguish between good and evil? When the Han people fought among themselves or expanded their territories, how many lives were lost?"

Luda fell silent for a moment before turning to Duan Xu. "I know there is deep-seated hatred between our two peoples. Only time and fairness can resolve it. That’s why I seek reform."

Duan Xu did not respond.

The courtyard buzzed with people cleaning up, but silence lingered between Duan Xu and Luda. With a sigh, Luda asked, "Seventeen, how did you die? Was there any injustice?"

Hearing this, Duan Xu couldn’t help but laugh. He had been silent, but now he burst into laughter. "What, would you seek justice for me if there was? Then what about the ninety-some comrades who died with me? Or the thousands of disciples and slaves who perished in Heavenly Awareness? Does the Azure God not protect them?"

From the moment Danzhi was founded, it divided people into ranks—the Azure God does not shelter everyone equally. Luda harbored lofty ideals and might even be a kind man, but he lacked the power to realize them.

His aspirations would only become the freshest tool of oppression.

"In the future, we’ll be enemies—the kind where only one survives," Duan Xu said.

Luda seemed puzzled, as if wondering why someone already dead was talking about life and death. Still, he smiled and replied, "Then before that, we can be friends—the kind who meet by chance."

Duan Xu was silent for a moment before patting Luda’s shoulder with a laugh. "Young High Priest, I’d rather we never meet again. Thank you for not exposing me back then. Let’s part ways here and take care."

Meanwhile, on the other side, He Simu savored the aroma of her tea. The Bright Pearl on the table glowed, and a familiar young man’s voice, sounding urgent, came through.

"Ancestor!"

He Simu replied calmly, "What, has your charm-insect reacted?"

"Yes, but..."

"Where has the Rakshasa Hall Master hidden?"

The man on the other end sighed. "If my charm-insect isn’t mistaken, that creature is now in the Southern Capital."

"Southern Capital?"

"And... inside the imperial palace."

He Simu paused mid-sip, then set down her cup with a smile. "How amusing. You’re quite the negligent State Preceptor, letting an Evil Ghost slip into the palace."