Love Beyond the Grave

Fang Xianye was preparing to leave his residence to visit Jin'an Temple for worship that day. As he lifted the sedan chair curtain to enter, his steps suddenly halted. The servant standing nearby, He Zhi, asked curiously, "My lord, what's the matter?"

Just as He Zhi moved to approach, Fang Xianye waved him off and said, "It's nothing."

With that, he stepped into the sedan chair and lowered the curtain. Outside, He Zhi called out in a drawn-out voice, "Lift the sedan!"

As the sedan swayed into motion, Fang Xianye looked at the black-clad, masked intruder inside and frowned, whispering, "What are you doing here?"

The visitor pulled down the black cloth, revealing a handsome young face—it was Duan Xu.

With a cheerful grin, he said, "Something urgent came up. There are people lying in wait for you outside the city. Let me ask you this—among the four sedan bearers outside, is there anyone you particularly favor and wish to keep serving you?"

Fang Xianye replied, "The one at the front left. Why?"

"Good. Then later, I'll protect you, He Zhi, and him. The ones coming to kill you are experts from Echo Pavilion—the same place Luo Xian used to belong to. They're no match for me, but I can't guarantee the safety of too many people."

"Who wants me dead?"

"Who else but the one who sees you as a thorn in his side—my father." Duan Xu snapped his fingers with a smile.

Recently, he had Chen Ying keep an eye on his father at home. Chen Ying was a meticulous child with an innocent face. Though he lacked analytical skills, he provided many useful clues.

—For instance, the steward had casually mentioned that his father withdrew a large sum of silver from the treasury, claiming it was for renovating the ancestral home, but nothing had come of it.

—Or how his father had been frequently sending and receiving carrier pigeons with unknown parties.

Following these leads, Duan Xu discovered his father had finally resolved to kill Fang Xianye again—just like five years ago, by hiring assassins from Echo Pavilion.

Fang Xianye's expression darkened. After a moment's thought, he said, "Then I'll return to the residence immediately and avoid leaving the city."

"Echo Pavilion won't stop just because you dodge them today. And they don't accept contracts that have failed twice. With my father's temperament, he won't expand the circle of those in the know. If this attempt fails, he'll have to give up."

Fang Xianye scoffed coldly. As long as he lived, his former "father" would never rest easy.

Duan Xu crossed his arms. "You've already made a name for yourself. There'll be more dangers ahead, so you need to pick a few skilled personal guards. Until you find them, why not bring Luo Xian out of Yù Zǎo Tower to protect you for a while?"

"No. The court is in turmoil right now—we need Luo Xian's intelligence from Yù Zǎo Tower," Fang Xianye refused immediately. Then, as if remembering something, he said seriously, "I was just about to look for you. There's been a change in the Horse Administration corruption case—the witness has recanted."

"Sun Changde, the chief clerk of the Court of the Imperial Stud? Don't tell me he's claiming those three thousand warhorses weren't embezzled but actually died of plague?"

"Not only that. He now says his earlier report about the Horse Administration corruption case was coerced, intended to frame the Minister of the Imperial Stud and the Minister of War. The recantation was likely orchestrated by Duke Pei, though I don't know the details. Sun Changde is now at the Dali Temple, detained under Chief Justice Jing Yan awaiting trial."

"Jing Yan doesn't belong to any faction—he's an upright and impartial official. He's been watching this case closely. Sun Changde won't be able to fool him."Fang Xianye shook his head and said, "We both know the corruption in the Horse Administration is undeniable, but some of the evidence Sun Changde has was fabricated by you. Although Sun Changde doesn’t know those forgeries came from you, Jing Yan’s investigation might eventually lead back to you. With truth and lies intertwined, things will become complicated."

Duan Xu clasped his hands together near his lips, fingers interlaced carelessly.

When they first discovered the corruption in the Horse Administration and the witness, Fang Xianye had warned that the witness was unreliable and needed caution. Coupled with insufficient evidence, they had temporarily refrained from exposing the matter.

Even during the recapture of Shuozhou, the evidence still wasn’t fully gathered, making it an inopportune time to bring it up. But if they missed this chance, the military plans for Yun and Luo Provinces would fail. Before leaving the Southern Capital, Duan Xu had forged a batch of evidence as a contingency, arranging coincidences to ensure those "proofs" ended up in Sun Changde’s hands. This way, when the Horse Administration corruption case erupted, it would shake the emperor’s confidence.

Now, Sun Changde, pressured by Duke Pei, was retracting his testimony, obstructing the investigation. These forged documents had become a major problem.

After a moment of silence, Duan Xu smiled and said, "We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. My father, Duke Du, and my future father-in-law won’t stand idly by. The murkier the waters, the better."

Hearing the questioning voices of the city gate guards, Duan Xu stretched lazily and remarked, "I understand the situation. Right now, saving you is more urgent."

Duan Xu’s information proved accurate. Not long after leaving the city, the sedan chair jolted violently, followed by hurried footsteps and shouts outside. He instructed Fang Xianye to stay put inside, then covered his face, lifted the curtain, and slipped out. The next moment, He Zhi and the sedan bearers Fang Xianye had chosen were thrown into the chair, trembling in shock, clinging to each other in fear.

Outside, chaos erupted—clashing blades, splattering blood, bodies collapsing—so dense it sounded like a storm. Fang Xianye could almost picture the scene.

He had never seen anyone more adept at killing than Duan Xu, not even the assassins of Echo Pavilion who made murder their trade. Fang Xianye could hardly call it martial arts, for Duan Xu’s methods had no form, no fixed techniques—only the intent to take lives.

At times, Fang Xianye suspected Duan Xu relished such direct and brutal slaughter.

Five years ago, when Fang Xianye naively set out for the Southern Capital, his servants were slaughtered along the way, and he himself was moments from death under pursuit—that was when he first met Duan Xu.

Like a divine warrior descending from the heavens, the man slaughtered every assassin who had come to kill. Fang Xianye vividly remembered the blood-red sunset, clutching his bleeding left hand as he stared at the blood-soaked figure who turned to look at him—his heart filled with terror and despair.

But the man walked over, crouched down, and said casually—I’m not here to kill you. I’m here to save you.

He took Fang Xianye’s hand and expertly bandaged it, smiling as he said—First meeting. I’m Duan Xu, the ‘Xu’ from ‘sealing the wolf at Juxu.’ The one who wants you dead is my father, Duan Chengzhang.

That was the first time Fang Xianye met the man whose name he had borrowed and strived to embody for seven years.

A very peculiar man.

Duan Xu brought him to the Southern Capital, engaging in deep conversations with him throughout the journey.Under the brilliant starry sky, Duan Xu poked at the fire with his sword, his eyes reflecting the flames as he said earnestly—"I've read your writings. They're too good to vanish from this world. You should, as the ancients said, establish the heart of heaven and earth, set the destiny for the people, continue the lost teachings of past sages, and open the path to peace for all generations."

—"I've heard that weapons of war are inauspicious tools, unfit for gentlemen. Let me wield the inauspicious, while you take up the gentlemanly. How about that?"

He Zhi's trembling voice interrupted Fang Xianye's reminiscence. The young servant, curled up in fear, asked, "That warrior outside is so formidable—who is he?"

Fang Xianye paused before answering, "A friend."

If not for shared ideals, they should have been enemies.

No sooner had he spoken than a black-clad assassin crashed backward into the sedan chair, a sword embedded in his chest, eyes wide open as he stared lifelessly at Fang Xianye, blood gushing forth. The two attendants screamed in terror while the bearers mustered courage to shield Fang Xianye. Then Duan Xu, masked, stepped onto the sedan's threshold, looking almost amused. Leaning forward with one hand on his knee, he pulled the sword from the assassin's chest with the other, wiped the blade clean with his sleeve, and sheathed it casually. "All cleared out," he said.

Fang Xianye finally relaxed, exhaling deeply—until Duan Xu added, "There's something else I need to tell you. Come out here."

Pointing at the two attendants, Duan Xu smiled. "You two stay put. Lower the curtain later—don't look at what you shouldn't see, don't listen to what you shouldn't hear. Understood?"

The bearers exchanged hesitant glances, torn between distrust and fear of his blade. Waving them off with "He won't harm me," Fang Xianye stepped out, letting the curtain fall behind him.

The roadside was littered with corpses—a dozen or more—blood soaking the earth. Duan Xu stood among them with unsettling ease. Glancing back at the sedan, Fang Xianye moved farther away and whispered, "What is it?"

"I want to introduce someone to you."

"Now? Here?"

Duan Xu nodded, eyes crinkling as he stepped back and called deliberately, "He Simu."

—"After you return to the mortal world, if you encounter calamity or need help in any way, just call my name and I'll come to you."

Almost immediately, a wisp of blue smoke perfumed the air with sandalwood. A pair of pale purple embroidered shoes appeared amidst the bloodied ground, followed by a pale-faced woman with willow-leaf eyebrows and phoenix eyes—beautiful yet icy.

This was He Simu's true form.

Surveying the carnage, she turned to scrutinize Duan Xu, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

Duan Xu hissed slightly but didn't pull away.

Frowning, she asked, "You're injured?"

He nodded, then shook his head with a smile. "Nothing serious—just flesh wounds on the shoulder and ribs. Most of this blood isn't mine. Are you... concerned about me?"

He Simu chuckled. "If my Curse-Bound Person loses his senses, how will he trade with me?"Duan Xu's gaze flickered slightly. He didn't pursue the topic further but instead pointed at Fang Xianye and said, "Can you let my friend here see your true form as well?"

He Simu turned her attention to Fang Xianye and promptly snapped her fingers. Fang Xianye, whose complexion was already rather pale, immediately widened his eyes in shock.

He had already been astonished watching Duan Xu talk to thin air, and now a young woman in red robes—pale as death—had materialized before him, staring at him coldly.

For a moment, he couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality, too stunned to speak. Duan Xu took the opportunity to make a brief introduction between the silent pair: "Simu, this is my dearest friend Fang Xianye. Xianye, this is the Ghost King, He Simu."

"Ghost King?" Fang Xianye murmured in repetition.

But He Simu ignored him, turning directly to Duan Xu instead. "Why did you summon me?" she asked coldly. "I granted you this privilege, not for you to call on me whenever you please."

"Naturally, I wish to make a deal with you."

"And the terms?"

Duan Xu blinked, his smile innocent and guileless. "Attend my wedding," he said. "Simu, I want you to attend my wedding—that will be the condition of our deal."