Love Beyond the Grave

Yan Ke's expression darkened as he was about to lose his temper when He Simu closed the folding document and looked up with a smile: "He's not my lover. Jiang Ai, you should stop teasing me and A-Yan like this."

Her demeanor and the atmosphere had lightened considerably now, no longer carrying the oppressive authority from before.

Jiang Ai shook her head dismissively, the golden tassels and jade ornaments on her head chiming softly. She sighed: "Teasing? If it were just teasing, why would A-Yan react like this? Shouldn't a thousand-year-old Evil Ghost have better composure than this?"

Seeing Yan Ke's gaze grow three degrees colder, Jiang Ai dropped her amused expression and said: "Alright, I'll stop teasing you two. I'll go check on that new little friend."

As the wealthiest among the twenty-four Hall Masters, if there were rankings for those who loved spectacles, Jiang Ai would undoubtedly be the Ghost Realm's undisputed champion. She gave a slight bow and walked leisurely toward the palace gates, her expensive jewelry tinkling with each step until she stopped beneath the towering white gates. Tilting her head back, she began chatting with the suspended youth.

Yan Ke glanced at this scene from afar before turning back to He Simu with a grave expression: "Simu, how could you suddenly lose your Magical Power?"

He Simu replied nonchalantly: "What matters is that I have it now, isn't it?"

After a moment's silence, Yan Ke sighed: "Never mind, as long as you're fine. What about the Rakshasa Hall Master? How do you plan to capture him?"

"I have my arrangements."

Over the years, Simu had grown increasingly independent and inscrutable, no longer relying on him as she once did.

"Very well."

Yan Ke sighed again, bowed, and withdrew from the hall. Pausing outside the palace, he eventually walked toward the gates. Seeing his approach, Jiang Ai covered her mouth with a sleeve and chuckled: "Speak of the devil, here comes our Ki-Demon Hall Master Lord Yan Ke himself. Meeting one's romantic rival must be particularly galling."

It seemed she'd already repeated to the mortal youth what she'd said earlier in the hall.

The boy hung suspended by ropes tied to each wrist high on the palace gates, his expression obscured by black gauze. His careless laughter drifted down: "An honor to meet you, Lord Yan."

Unlike the perpetually jesting Jiang Ai, Yan Ke rarely smiled. Any Evil Ghost witnessing his smile would likely recount the event for centuries. The Right Minister always carried himself with solemn dignity, as if frost crystallized in his veins—except with He Simu, all other ghosts and humans heard only his icy tone and the arrogance of long-held authority.

Yan Ke frowned at the boy's complete lack of fear: "Why has Her Majesty suspended you here?"

"I offended Simu, so naturally received her punishment. Being hung here by her is an honor."

Yan Ke's pupils contracted as he said slowly: "A mere mortal dares address Her Majesty by name?"

Before the living boy could respond, Jiang Ai interjected: "I personally witnessed him call Her Majesty by name to her face, and she said nothing. Does the Right Minister need to be angry on her behalf?"

As the money-loving Xi Ghost Palace Lord who operated countless gambling dens and brothels, Jiang Ai had rolled in the mortal world's dust for millennia. With razor-sharp wit and discerning eyes, few in the Ghost Realm could match her in debate. Clearly, she was now shielding this living boy.Yan Ke shot a sidelong glance at Jiang Ai. Knowing he wouldn’t gain any advantage in front of her and would likely end up being mocked, he said nothing more and left with a flick of his sleeve.

Jiang Ai watched Yan Ke’s retreating figure with a click of her tongue, then looked up at the young man whose face she couldn’t see and whose name she didn’t know. Compared to him, she was far more familiar with the black-and-silver-edged sword at his waist.

It was also because of this sword that she had spoken a few extra words on his behalf.

“It’s been a long time since I last saw this sword. Are you the new master of the Illusion-Breaking Sword?”

Duan Xu smiled. “Indeed. Thank you, Left Minister. Did you know the sword’s previous owner?”

“Previous owner? You mean its forger—Simu’s uncle by marriage, the former Celestial Mystery Star Lord, Ju’an.”

Noticing Duan Xu’s apparent surprise, Jiang Ai chuckled lightly. “What, didn’t Simu tell you this sword was forged by her uncle? Seems you and Simu aren’t that close after all.”

Duan Xu seemed thoughtful as he said, “Xi Ghost Palace Lord, do you know much about Simu’s parents and her uncle and aunt?”

“I was on very good terms with them. When the previous Ghost King was alive, he even honored me with the title ‘Aunt Jiang Ai,’ and Simu followed her father’s lead in addressing me.”

“Then could you tell me about her childhood?” Duan Xu bent down as far as he could, glancing at Simu, who was absorbed in handling official business in the distant palace, and spoke in a hushed voice.

Jiang Ai tilted her head slightly and smiled faintly. “Why should I tell you? What can you offer me?”

After a pause, she added, “Child, prying into the Ghost King’s past isn’t something to be taken lightly.”

Duan Xu shook his head, still smiling. “I’m not doing it for fun.”

Jiang Ai studied this living man, hanging high on the palace gates yet still utterly at ease, and thought to herself—what a bold and bright child.

A lamb among wolves, yet he could remain so carefree. If he weren’t Simu’s, she’d have loved to taste his Soul Fire.

Not long after Jiang Ai left, He Simu finished most of her official duties, ordered the ghost servants to clean up the ashes left by Fang Chang’s demise, and then stepped out of the hall. Lifting her gaze, she saw Duan Xu hanging from the palace gates.

He swayed leisurely in the air, looking less like someone being punished and more like someone basking in the sun.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she stopped in her tracks, twirling the Ghost King Lamp idly in her hand.

How strange. Shouldn’t living beings feel pain? Hadn’t he always complained at the slightest discomfort, accusing her of being heavy-handed? Why was he so silent now?

This guy hadn’t even lived twenty years—how could he be so audacious and fearless?

Duan Xu caught a familiar fragrance and looked up to see He Simu perched atop the Ghost King Lamp’s pole, floating in midair before him.

With a radiant smile, he said, “Simu.”

“What exactly have you been reflecting on all this time?” He Simu asked coolly, like a schoolmaster checking homework.

Duan Xu seemed to ponder seriously for a moment. Peering at her through the black veil, he blinked his earnest eyes and said, “I’ve been thinking—after I kissed you and killed that assassin, you stared at me in silence for a long time. What were you thinking then?”

He Simu thought his reflection was rather belated.

“That’s your question? Fine, I’ll tell you. At that moment, I thought—once I regain my Magical Power, I’ll make sure you regret it deeply.”Duan Xu nodded, then shook his head, his voice laced with amusement as he spoke slowly, "Besides that, I suspect you were also wondering back then—why did I kiss you? You might have thought I was acting on impulse, driven by passion, momentarily infatuated, or perhaps kissing you to provoke you. But you quickly realized that wasn’t the case."

Gazing into He Simu’s eyes, Duan Xu spoke with certainty and clarity, "You realized I seemed serious, so you said nothing. Even now, you’ve only hung me from the palace gates instead of killing me. Isn’t that right?"

If she truly believed he had intended to insult her, even if he were her once-in-centuries Curse-Bound Person, she wouldn’t have let him live.

He Simu tilted her chin slightly, her tone indifferent as she said, "Is it amusing for you to speculate and play these cryptic games?"

"Then I’ll be honest about my thoughts at the time. I was indeed momentarily overcome, finding you exceptionally lovely, thinking I’d never meet another girl like you, never feel this way about anyone else."

He Simu’s eyes flickered, but she remained silent, listening.

"After these past few days, once I calmed down and thought it over carefully," Duan Xu paused, then smiled leisurely, "I realized the truth is exactly that."

He Simu frowned, showing no sign of surprise. Her fingers toyed with the Ghost King Lamp Jade Pendant at her waist, her pale eyelids lowering before lifting again as she said, "Young people often experience fleeting infatuations. There’s nothing strange about liking me. I’ve met many like you, though you’re likely the cleverest among them. Someone as smart as you should think carefully before speaking."

"I have thought it through."

"No, you haven’t. Do you truly understand me?"

"I want to understand you."

"Duan Shunxi, you can’t." After a pause, she added, "And I don’t need you to understand me."

He Simu’s tone was detached, utterly unmoved by Duan Xu’s words, firmly rejecting his feelings. Having said this, she turned and left on the Ghost King Lamp, leaving Duan Xu with an unyielding back. Duan Xu tilted his head slightly, watching her retreating figure for a long while before letting out a soft sigh.

As night fell, the royal city grew somewhat quieter—though not entirely, since Evil Ghosts didn’t sleep. Duan Xu knew that being hung above the palace gates of the Evil Ghosts’ capital was akin to dangling a piece of meat over a pack of starving tigers. Every one of them would be eager to take a bite. If not for He Simu’s authority keeping them in check, he’d have been torn apart and devoured long ago.

Having been suspended for an entire day, his arms had gone from aching to numb. Resigned to the fact that sleep was unlikely, Duan Xu decided to enjoy the view of the palace and the ghost city from his prime vantage point.

At a glance, the rooftops were all snow-white, as if covered in perpetual frost from an icy wasteland. Though the weather was gradually warming, the sight still sent a chill through him, cold seeping from his eyes into his heart. The palace walls and the facades of the dwellings were adorned with intricate black patterns he couldn’t decipher, likely related to some form of curse magic. Most of the residents here were the Ghost Palace Lords and their retainers, none of whom hunted for prey within these walls, lending the place an austere silence.

No warmth of hearths, no trace of human vitality.

The city looked like one massive coffin.Does He Simu usually live in a place like this? No wonder she always needs to go outside for fresh air.

As Duan Xu was thinking this, he caught some faint rustling sounds. His thoughts snapped back to the present, and with a flick of his right foot, the Illusion-Breaking Sword at his waist swung up into his right hand. Gripping the tassel between his teeth, he drew the sword with his right hand, severed the rope binding his left wrist, and rolled aside just in time to dodge an Evil Ghost pouncing at him.

The entire sequence took only an instant. He swiftly cut the rope on his right hand as well, dropped to the ground, tumbled a few times, and faced the tall, burly Evil Ghost that had landed before him. The ghost appeared to be a fierce, muscular man in his forties who wasted no words before charging at Duan Xu again.

There really are bold ones, daring to try devouring him under cover of darkness—aren’t they afraid He Simu will kill them?

Duan Xu mused that he couldn’t possibly be so delicious as to tempt Evil Ghosts into risking their necks for a "last meal."

"I’m no meal," Duan Xu said with a grin, twirling his sword as the hulking figure rushed toward him. "Try eating me, and you might just break your teeth."

The next day, when He Simu arrived at the palace gate, she noticed Duan Xu was still hanging there—though the height seemed off, as if the ropes had shortened, leaving him suspended higher.

"What happened to you?"

"Last night, an Evil Ghost tried to eat me, so I cut the ropes to fight it off. After successfully driving it away, I thought I shouldn’t disrespect your authority, so I tied myself back up and hung here again."

Duan Xu smiled brightly. He Simu thought she’d never seen someone so conscientious.

Frowning, He Simu fell silent for a moment before saying, "Forget it."

As soon as she spoke, the ropes around Duan Xu’s wrists dissolved into smoke. He tumbled from the gate, rolled a few times, rubbed his shoulders and arms, and slowly stood up.

"So you’re letting me off just like that?" he asked cheerfully.

He Simu thought to herself that he didn’t look the least bit chastised. Their conversation the previous day had been crystal clear, yet he showed no signs of being affected.

He was always too stubborn and self-assured.

"Hanging you longer won’t change a thing. Stop cluttering my sight."