Love Beyond the Grave

Jiang Ai's eyes widened. "What?"

At a time like this, what nonsense was he spouting? How could extinguishing the Heart Candle possibly free someone from the Nine Palaces Maze Prison's illusion?

The Heart Candle flickered midair before its light was completely devoured by darkness.

In an instant, darkness surged like a flood, engulfing the youth and vanishing him from Jiang Ai's sight—along with those bright, clear eyes that disappeared without a trace. Holding up her own Heart Candle, Jiang Ai shouted, "Kid! Kid!"

No response came. No trace of him remained, only endless darkness like the belly of a beast that devoured all sound. Even Bai Sanxing had vanished—the palace positions had shifted, and Duan Xu's illusion had taken him away too.

Gritting her teeth, Jiang Ai yelled, "Fine, I agree! You'd better find a way to survive in there!"

Otherwise, she might be the next one imprisoned in the Nine Palaces Maze Prison.

Jiang Ai rushed out through the prison's exit and instantly appeared before the palace hall. Abandoning her usual poise, she sprinted up the steps, shouting, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Simu!"

The moment "Simu" left her lips, He Simu's crimson figure materialized before her so abruptly that Jiang Ai nearly collided with her.

He Simu still held a document in her hand—she must have been in the middle of handling affairs. With a snap of her fingers, the document dissolved into smoke as she frowned and asked, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Ai grabbed He Simu's wrist. "Bai Sanxing hasn't been obliterated yet—he's still inside the Nine Palaces Maze Prison!"

He Simu froze, astonished. "You went to the Nine Palaces Maze Prison? You encountered him?"

Bai Sanxing had been the previous master of the Ki-Demon Hall before Yan Ke. After the former Ghost King's death, he had raised an army in rebellion, becoming the most powerful faction among the revolting Evil Ghosts. At his peak, five Ghost Halls had sworn allegiance to him, and he was the only Evil Ghost capable of fighting He Simu to a standstill. Later, He Simu, Jiang Ai, and Yan Ke—then the deputy master of the Ki-Demon Hall—had joined forces to set a trap, luring Bai Sanxing into the Nine Palaces Maze Prison and extinguishing his Heart Candle to leave him lost and unable to escape.

Had Bai Sanxing not been imprisoned there, He Simu wouldn't have quelled the rebellion so swiftly.

"Mm... and then..." Jiang Ai sighed. "That kid of yours—his Heart Candle was severed by Bai Sanxing. He's lost in the Nine Palaces Maze Prison now."

"That kid probably isn't coming back."

He Simu's gaze sharpened, and her grip on Jiang Ai's arm tightened abruptly.

Xusheng took in the sight of He Simu, Jiang Ai, and Yan Ke gathered before him and felt exactly as his name suggested—hollow with dread.

His pure white, pupil-less eyes darted nervously from side to side. Being a gatekeeper was getting harder by the day. When the former Ghost King's wife had come, he hadn't let her pass and had been punished for it. This time, learning his lesson, he had allowed the current Ghost King's fiancé to enter—so how had the man ended up trapped inside?

"That kid went in on his own! Jiang Ai can vouch for me! I gave him the Heart Candle properly—who knew he'd..." Xusheng protested loudly, his eyes spinning rapidly across the locust wood gate.

He Simu raised a hand to silence him. Dressed in a crimson deep robe embroidered with golden crabapple blossoms, her gaze was as cold as the silver tassels adorning her forehead.

"Give me a Heart Candle," she said. "I'm going in to find him."Yan Ke stepped forward to stop her, his brows tightly furrowed as he said, "Simu, he has lost his Heart Candle. Even if you enter, you won’t be able to find him, and even if you do, you can’t bring him out. Moreover, Bai Sanxing is still inside. If he does anything to you, you’ll be in danger."

He Simu replied, "I’ve entered the Nine Palaces Maze Prison dozens of times before and have never once encountered Bai Sanxing. Besides, he’s been imprisoned for centuries, his Magical Power severely weakened. He’s no match for me now."

"But that boy is already lost in the illusion. Without a Heart Candle, he can’t escape the Nine Palaces Maze Prison," Jiang Ai chimed in, though she had no better solution. Even a powerful Evil Ghost like Bai Sanxing would be trapped forever in the maze without his Heart Candle—what hope did a mere mortal child have?

Moreover, the maze was filled with Evil Ghosts who had starved for decades or even centuries. The moment the boy lost his way, he’d be devoured like prey. She could only declare his obituary here and now.

But He Simu shook her head. "Our fates are intertwined. If I find him and guide his Heart Candle to reignite from mine, he might wake up."

At her words, both Jiang Ai and Yan Ke were stunned. Yan Ke even grabbed He Simu’s shoulders in agitation, exclaiming, "What are you saying? Let him use your Heart Candle? What if he doesn’t wake up and extinguishes yours instead? You’d both be lost in the Nine Palaces Maze Prison forever, beyond redemption! Do you want to become the next Bai Sanxing? You can’t go!"

He Simu met Yan Ke’s gaze calmly. "Let go, Yan Ke. He’s a living person—he can die. Every moment he spends in the maze increases his peril."

"I won’t let go. How… how can you go this far for a mere mortal?" Yan Ke demanded, furious and disbelieving.

He Simu’s eyes flickered, and the wind around her surged, its fine threads coiling and pushing Yan Ke’s hands away, forcing him back.

Slowly and deliberately, she said, "There is no 'mere mortal.' Duan the Little Fox is my Curse-Bound Person. He belongs to me. If I want him to live in this world, he cannot die."

With that, He Simu strode to the gate, took her Heart Candle from Xusheng’s hands, and as its flame brightened, she vanished into the swirling darkness the moment the gate opened.

The moment she disappeared, the fierce wind restraining Yan Ke dissipated. Jiang Ai hadn’t even tried to stop He Simu. She sighed helplessly at Yan Ke. "You know her. You can’t stop her."

Yan Ke’s expression darkened.

Inside the Nine Palaces Maze Prison, He Simu held her Heart Candle aloft while retrieving the Curse Bond’s Bright Pearl with her other hand. "Find Duan Xu!" she commanded.

The pearl emitted a soft glow in the endless darkness, pointing the way forward. He Simu followed the light, calling out intermittently—sometimes "Duan Xu," sometimes "Duan Shunxi," and once or twice, "Duan the Little Fox."

Screams and cries of pain echoed around her, but none belonged to Duan Xu.

He was as silent as a drop of water lost in the vast ocean, leaving no trace behind.He Simu followed the direction indicated by the Bright Pearl, which displayed Duan Xu's path through the Nine Palaces Maze Prison. He had already passed through the Startling Gate, the Closed Gate, the Harm Gate, and even traversed the Death Gate. This journey subjected him to countless illusions, yet unlike the lost Evil Ghosts who wandered aimlessly in the maze, his route appeared remarkably clear.

As He Simu walked through the Scenic Gate, she even wondered—had Duan Xu not fallen into the illusions at all? Could he have walked out of the Life Gate on his own?

Just as this thought crossed her mind, the light from the Bright Pearl suddenly reached its end. Within the glow of the Heart Candle, a sword tip gleamed coldly, pointed directly at her.

It was the Illusion-Breaking Sword.

He Simu halted. The blade inched further into the light, creeping closer to her throat. Then, a pair of black boots stepped into the illumination, followed by a young man in a black round-collared robe, his hair tied high in a ponytail, a black-silver forehead band wrapped around his head.

The black of his robes was uneven, mottled with dark stains that extended to his face—likely the blood of Evil Ghosts he had slain along the way. His veiled hat was nowhere to be seen, revealing his sharp, handsome features and deep-set eyes. Those eyes, as they often did when he lost himself in battle, were unfocused, their light scattered like the endless, churning ocean in a frenzy.

He Simu realized she had underestimated the Nine Palaces Maze Prison—and overestimated Duan Xu. He had fallen into the illusions after all.

But not entirely. He seemed to sense her presence, at least enough to point his sword accurately at her.

He Simu had no idea what he was seeing or hearing, nor what version of her existed in his vision. She carefully tucked the Bright Pearl into her robes, then lifted her gaze to meet those unfocused eyes and called, "Duan Xu."

The moment the name left her lips, the tip of the Illusion-Breaking Sword pressed against her throat.

Duan Xu was not an Evil Ghost—she couldn’t command him with his name. Yet she felt as though his name was a spell to him. He had repeated it countless times, demanded she call him by it countless times.

"Duan Xu, I am He Simu."

She didn’t evade the blade, allowing it to cut into her neck, drawing blood and draining her magical power. Slowly, deliberately, she said, "Little Fox Duan, wake up."

She reached out and grasped the blade. Dark red blood seeped from her pale, ashen hand, trickling down the engraved characters "Illusion-Breaking" on the sword, causing them to glow faintly.

Illusion-Breaking Sword, she thought, since you chose him, ferry him across once more.

Duan Xu’s blood-red eyes flickered. He closed them as if struggling against something, then opened them again.

The sword at He Simu’s throat slowly lowered. He still seemed trapped in the illusion, swaying unsteadily, vulnerable and confused—as if he had understood her words, yet also as if he hadn’t.

"He Simu," he murmured.

"Yes."

"He Simu."

"It’s me."

Step by step, he drew closer to her, whispering her name, his gaze passing straight through her as though fixed on some distant illusion.

Staggering, Duan Xu reached her. He paused, then lifted his hands like a blind man, groping uncertainly until his fingers brushed her arm.

Then his hand slid down the smooth silk of her sleeve, finding her limp wrist. He wrapped his fingers around hers, interlacing them one by one, until their hands were tightly clasped together.He Simu's hand had just been cut by the Illusion-Breaking Sword, her fingers covered in blood that stained her entire hand crimson.

"What are you doing?" He Simu looked at their clasped hands.

She hadn't expected Duan Xu to answer, yet she heard him murmur in reply: "Holding... your heart."

He raised his eyes, the blood-red orbs seeming to gather a faint glimmer of light. With a soft laugh, he leaned forward and embraced He Simu, surrendering all his strength just as he had during that ambush on the enemy camp, entrusting his heavy body to her.

"You're the real He Simu—no pulse, cold blood, and you carry my agarwood scent," he murmured.

He Simu patted Duan Xu's back as his forehead pressed against her neck. Gazing at the Gate of Life so close before them, she thought that had she arrived just moments later, he might have reached it—perhaps even reignited the Heart Candle through sheer will alone.

"Yes, I've come for you," she said softly.

"You've come for me?" Duan Xu repeated, burying his face in the crook of her neck before letting out a low chuckle.

"How wonderful... He Simu came for me. In this lifetime, it's the first time someone has come for me."

As his words faded, the sound of the Illusion-Breaking Sword clattering to the ground reached her ears, his arms slipping from around her. He Simu followed his collapsing body, kneeling as she supported his shoulders. The Bright Pearl glowed brilliantly between them, its spell rapidly activating.

The Heart Candle in her hand flickered, its blue flame splitting in two—half blue, half red—burning together in strange harmony.

Yan Ke had warned that if she shared her Heart Candle with Duan Xu and he still didn't awaken, her own flame would be extinguished too. Yet she had never feared this outcome, believing as naturally as the changing seasons or the shift between dawn and dusk that he would wake.

This young general had appeared in her life for only a brief moment, a mere drop in the vast river of her long existence.

But within that drop, she could clearly see his reflection—etched with the words: "A heart steadfast as stone, unafraid of gods or Buddhas."