Love Beyond the Grave

Duan Xu lowered his gaze and murmured softly, "A nightmare?"

"Perhaps you're feeling a bit sad now, but in a few months, you'll come to terms with it. A young talent like General Duan, which beauty in this world couldn't you marry? After you return to the human realm, if you encounter any disasters, troubles, or need any help at all, just call my name, and I'll come to you—though I won't help for free. You'll still have to trade your five senses with me." He Simu's smile was faint, her tone gentle.

She had spoken to him before with feigned fragility, testing, threats, arrogance, and calmness, but this was the first time her voice had been so tender. Not as the Ghost King or the Curse-Bound Person, but as someone who had received and given sincerity.

Duan Xu raised his eyes to look at her, meeting her calm and gentle gaze. He asked, "The world of Evil Ghosts you showed me—was that also a transaction?"

"No, it was gratitude. Because you made me realize the human realm is far better than I expected, so this was my thanks to you."

"I heard you personally went to the Nine Palaces Maze Prison to save me. During the time I was unconscious, you stayed in my room. If I called for you, you would come and hold my hand."

"No need for thanks. I brought you into the Ghost Realm—this was my duty."

"I kissed you, embraced you, and you never truly punished me. You knew there were many things I could do myself, but whenever I asked, you always softened."

"You really are good at acting spoiled and shameless."

"Don't evade the heart of the matter."

"What am I evading?"

Duan Xu stepped forward, closing the distance until their breaths mingled, his eyes locked onto hers as he enunciated each word, "Do you really not have even a little bit of affection for me?"

He Simu gazed into those bright eyes she adored so much. His eyes shimmered with unshed tears, trembling slightly, filled with startling emotion and longing, telling her this was a question of utmost importance to him.

In every terrifying illusion, nightmare, or confrontation with enemies, he was always steadfast, confident, and arrogant, exuding a self-destructive strength. But only in front of her, when calling her name, he was like a beast offering its neck, baring its vulnerable belly.

He Simu still remembered when he finally awoke from the illusion, calling her name over and over. He said, "How wonderful—He Simu came for me."

His voice was weak yet certain, as if "He Simu" had become a spell that could replace "Duan Xu" to rouse him from the depths of illusions.

On the day he ambushed the enemy camp, covered in blood and collapsing to the ground, he reached out to her. She sensed he was yearning for something, though she didn’t understand what it was—perhaps neither did he at the time. Now, she gradually realized he wasn’t just extending his hand to her; he was offering her his heart.

A heart shattered into fragments, riddled with scars, pieced back together by his own hands, beating fervently with countless old wounds. He placed this heart into her hands.

From then on, the way he looked at her always seemed to say, "You could hurt me so easily—I’ve given you that power."

Jiang Ai once asked her, "If you treat him so well, why won’t you agree to be with him? What are you afraid of?"She barely realized it—she was actually afraid. Afraid that she couldn't hold onto this heart, that it would slip from her grasp and shatter into pieces on the ground, which seemed almost inevitable.

This youth was the most special, the most unique mortal in the world to her. She wanted to protect him from the suffering of this world, to keep this heart from gaining new scars. For mortals, the best life was one of success in the imperial exams, a blissful marriage, children and grandchildren filling the halls, ambitions fulfilled—not entangled with Evil Ghosts.

She would return this heart to him, whole and unharmed.

He Simu chuckled softly and reached out to poke Duan Xu’s shoulder, pushing him away.

"You’re not within the scope of my consideration, nor do I wish to consider you. After all, it won’t be long before I forget even your name."

Duan Xu’s eyes trembled slightly, as if something had fallen to the ground, cracking into countless fissures.

He Simu then raised her hand to cover his eyes. He didn’t dodge, allowing her icy fingers to rest over them.

In the darkness, Duan Xu heard He Simu say, "Cry if you want, but don’t cry in front of me. You’re the only Curse-Bound Person I’ve ever had. I hope all your wishes come true—but I am the one wish you can’t fulfill. Remove me from your desires."

Slowly, she lowered her hand from his eyes. His gaze had darkened, a faint shimmer of moisture glinting within. But he didn’t cry. He simply stared at her, unblinking.

She didn’t want to see him cry, so he truly didn’t shed a tear.

He Simu’s fingers trailed down his cheek before resting on his shoulder. She smiled brilliantly and said, "May you grow wings and become the great fish of the northern sea."

As soon as she finished speaking, a clap of thunder roared. Her hand flinched on his shoulder before she withdrew it into her sleeve. She took two steps back, then turned and walked away, her pace neither hurried nor slow. Her red robes brushed against the lush green grass as she left, never once looking back.

Duan Xu watched her figure until it disappeared beyond the mountain’s edge. Then he lifted his gaze to the overcast sky and chuckled softly. "So she’s afraid of thunder."

He had come to understand her a little more.

Of all times—now.

Duan Xu bit his lip, his eyes red but dry. He stood silently for a long while. When the first drops of rain began to fall, he walked to the first grave marked by a maple tree and crouched beside it. Gazing at the tomb, he even managed a bright smile. "She’s really a scoundrel, isn’t she?"

From a distance, Jiang Ai and Yan Ke observed the scene. Jiang Ai crossed her arms and sighed. "The Right Minister has gotten his wish, it seems."

"Just a mere mortal. I knew it would end like this." Yan Ke’s expression was calm, though he exhaled imperceptibly in relief. Everyone had noticed He Simu’s peculiar fondness for Duan Xu these past days, and he had been secretly worried.

Jiang Ai shook her head. "Not just any mortal. That child is different."

She had once asked him why, when Bai Sanxing attacked her in the Nine Palaces Maze Prison, he had risked himself to help her. The boy had only smiled brightly and said he hadn’t expected Bai Sanxing to be so strong. Pressed further, he admitted that he thought Simu was close to her.

—"Simu is too lonely. You’re a ghost she trusts. I hope you can stay by her side forever.""I also know my life is fleeting, and I'm not sure what I can offer her in such a brief time, but I want her to experience the happiness of this world."

"Simu is a very stubborn girl. She inherited an unbreakable backbone of pride from her parents. A heart full of passion to warm the world—I truly adore that about her."

The boy even asked her with a smile if he was the first person to extinguish his Heart Candle and still emerge from the Nine Palaces Maze Prison. Jiang Ai told him no—before him, there had been another, an Evil Ghost whose Heart Candle had been snuffed out yet still walked free: He Simu.

Back then, when He Simu ambushed Bai Sanxing in the Nine Palaces Maze Prison, she destroyed his Heart Candle, but her own was also extinguished by him. The two most powerful Evil Ghosts were both lost in the maze, yet three days later, He Simu walked out and reignited her Heart Candle—nothing short of a miracle.

Desirelessness brings strength. Evil Ghosts are born from obsessions too deep to escape, which is why they cannot break free from the illusions of the Nine Palaces Maze Prison. But He Simu was different. She wasn’t born from the lingering regrets of the living—she was born from the love between her parents.

The boy she brought with her was similarly untouched by the illusions. They were actually quite alike.

Jiang Ai couldn’t help but sigh. "This child... he really understands Simu."

Yan Ke frowned dismissively. "What could he possibly understand?"

Jiang Ai realized it was pointless to discuss matters of the heart with a jealous man. She changed the subject, gesturing toward the Nine Palaces Maze Prison.

"But how is Bai Sanxing still there? His Heart Candle was extinguished. In the maze, he should have been worn down to nothing within a hundred years. How has he lasted three centuries unscathed?"

Yan Ke fell silent for a moment before replying, "The answer to that is simple. There aren’t many possibilities."

Jiang Ai knew what he meant. If Bai Sanxing hadn’t faded after three hundred years, it meant his Heart Candle wasn’t truly extinguished. Like other Evil Ghosts exiled to the maze, his candle must still be burning somewhere outside it.

"That’s strange. We saw Simu extinguish his Heart Candle with our own eyes. How could another one still be lit elsewhere?"

"It’s not impossible. That mortal’s Heart Candle was reignited, wasn’t it? He managed it because of his infatuation with Simu. As for Bai Sanxing..." Yan Ke’s gaze shifted to Jiang Ai, making her uneasy.

"What are you implying, boy?"

"Bai Sanxing was madly in love with you. Everyone knew that."

"Pah! That’s ancient history—over a thousand years old. Before he entered the maze, he wanted to tear me to pieces. You know that. Why would I go out of my way to keep his candle burning? I’m not insane," Jiang Ai spat.

Yan Ke neither agreed nor disagreed. "This matter is highly suspicious. There may be consequences."

Three days after He Simu and Duan Xu spoke among the graves, Duan Xu left Jade Zhou City. He asked Jiang Ai to send him to the Southern Capital, departing without a word—not even a farewell to He Simu. When Jiang Ai returned and told her, He Simu’s stunned expression made her realize: "He didn’t tell you he was leaving?"

He Simu shook her head, pressing a hand to her temple. "What kind of tantrum is this?"She was about to continue with her official duties when Jiang Ai took out a scroll from behind and handed it to her, saying, "This is a gift the child prepared for you. He asked me to deliver it."

He Simu glanced at the scroll and took it, weighing it in her hand—it was surprisingly heavy.

"He said to please treasure it."

After delivering this message, Jiang Ai bowed and took her leave. The lively atmosphere of the past half-month had been more than enough; it was time to quit while she was ahead.

He Simu placed the scroll on the desk and returned to reviewing her petitions. Her gaze lingered on the documents for a long while, yet not a single word registered. Her grip on the papers tightened, and her eyes kept drifting toward the scroll. After half an hour of this standoff, she finally sighed, set the petitions aside, and reached for the scroll on the desk.

She told herself she was merely curious—what kind of gift could he possibly have prepared for her?

As she untied the cord binding the scroll, the geographical map of Jade Zhou City slowly unfurled before her, covering the entire desk. The map was drawn with precise proportions of the city's districts, with pavilions, towers, and buildings of all sizes vividly depicted on paper. Every street, alley, and stretch of wilderness bore Duan Xu's annotations.

His handwriting was bold and unrestrained, full of youthful vigor, yet written so small it seemed cramped, as if squeezed together in protest.

At the foot of Ephemeral Mountain, a tiny lantern was drawn, with a note beside it: "Here, firefly larvae can be found. In midsummer, they glow like scattered specks of light, yellow-green in hue, translucent as jade. An ancient poet once wrote, 'Rain cannot quench its glow, wind only brightens its hue. If not ascended to the heavens, it must be a star by the moon.'"

At the entrance of Water Wandering Quarter, just a right turn from the palace, a rose was sketched, accompanied by the words: "A cluster of roses grows by the wall. In March, their fragrance is overpowering, their thorny stems can prick, and their petals range from deep to pale red, like dawn clouds or evening glow. They pair well with banana leaves. As the saying goes, 'In the deep courtyard, the curtains drawn, one naps by day; red roses frame the green banana leaves.'"

In this manner, he had meticulously marked thirty or forty such spots on the map, narrating Jade Zhou City through his eyes—describing colors, scents, textures, and more—gifting her an entirely different world. It was as if he had prepared this for the day she might regain her senses through him, allowing her to rediscover the city anew.

He Simu's fingers traced the map lightly as she chuckled. "Truly worthy of being the second-ranked scholar. Isn't it a waste to use such talent for this?"

Jiang Ai had once told her that Duan Xu thought Jade Zhou City resembled a giant coffin. Yet, he had managed to wrest a few sparks of life from this coffin to offer her.

He Simu lowered her gaze, her thoughts drifting far away with the map. She found herself reminiscing about her earliest experiences of this world—the feel of Duan Xu's skin, the pulse of his heartbeat, the warmth of his breath, the scent that clung to him. Every sensation had first come to her through him.

And then there was his ever-present smile, seemingly carefree and innocent; his pale, sweat-drenched face when he was ill; his bloodshot eyes when he endured pain.

How long would such vivid memories last in her mind?

She wondered if he had shed any tears after she left that day.

—"Do you really not feel even a little fondness for me?"

He Simu rested her chin on her hand, slowly rolling up the scroll as she sighed. "Duan Xu, you little fox."

Why go to such lengths for me?