Love Beyond the Grave

Her young man, adorned with a golden crown and wedding robes, clad in red atop a white horse, lowered his gaze amidst countless unnamed colors before withdrawing his sight and gradually fading into the distance.

He Simu unconsciously moved along the rooftop ridge, wanting to follow him but nearly fell, only to be pulled back safely to the ground by Hejia Fengyi.

She was dazed for a moment before turning to Hejia Fengyi: "You helped him."

The spell in Duan Xu's hand was clearly crafted by Hejia Fengyi—one capable of activating the Bright Pearl to exchange their five senses, transferring his color vision to her in that fleeting moment.

Now, she had become an ordinary person devoid of all magical power, which was why Hejia Fengyi had to remain by her side.

Hejia Fengyi fanned himself with a folding fan, feigning innocence: "Heaven and earth bear witness, the contract was yours to make, the deal was yours to strike. I merely provided a slight catalyst."

He Simu glared at him. With an appeasing smile, Hejia Fengyi picked up a wind-riding talisman and concealed their forms as they flew over the Southern Capital, quickly catching up to Duan Xu, who was riding his horse at a leisurely pace.

Seeing her approach, Duan Xu curved his eyes into a smile. His round, bright eyes remained unchanged in their deep blackness, his skin faintly flushed with a layer of rosy hue beneath the surface, his pale red lips lifting at the corners.

He Simu suddenly found it difficult to look at his smile.

Duan Xu in color was far too beautiful.

—"I wanted you to see me in my wedding robes. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime sight—don’t you think it’s worth it?"

So this was his plan.

Having walked the earth for four hundred years, this was the first time she understood the meaning of a wedding—to merge one’s most beautiful moment with another’s life. In the long years to come, recalling that single glance of awe could soothe the mundanity of endless time.

"He gave me his color vision, so now he can only see in black and white. How is he supposed to see his bride?" He Simu murmured.

Hejia Fengyi closed his fan and leaned on his cane. "Quite right," he said.

No sooner had he spoken than Duan Xu arrived at the prince’s residence, dismounting to enter and fetch his bride. The red-robed figure disappeared into the crowd gathered at the entrance. Moments after Duan Xu stepped inside, chaos erupted from the residence—shouts, the sound of something shattering, instantly disrupting the joyous atmosphere. Amid the commotion, a loud cry rang out: "Assassin! There’s an assassin! Someone’s trying to kill General Duan!"

"The bride has been taken!"

A burly, masked figure burst out of the gates, holding the bride hostage with a gleaming blade pressed to her neck. The man barked in awkward Han speech: "Stay back! Move, and I’ll kill her!" Seizing a horse from the wedding procession in the street, he hauled the delicate bride onto the steed and galloped away in a cloud of dust. Panic spread through the crowd inside and outside the gates, the street packed with people jostling to avoid the charging horse.

Duan Xu and the prince’s household rushed out in pursuit. Clutching his shoulder with a furrowed brow, Duan Xu’s sleeve revealed glimpses of crimson blood. He shouted, "Huqi people have infiltrated the Southern Capital and taken the bride! Close the city gates at once—apprehend the thief!"

Servants streamed past Duan Xu, charging toward the fleeing assailant. The sunlight blazed down on Duan Xu, gilding his features in a radiance far more intense than mere black and white—golden, like his crown. His pupils constricted, his expression one of unmistakable fury.

Yet somehow, it didn’t seem entirely genuine.He Simu watched Duan Xu through the crowd for a moment before grabbing Hejia Fengyi and saying, "Follow that bride and the assassin!"

Hejia Fengyi shielded his head from the sun with a fan, detachedly trying to evade responsibility. "This isn't appropriate. It's not related to ghosts or spirits. Why meddle in others' affairs..."

He Simu smiled faintly. "I said, follow them."

Hejia Fengyi snapped his fan shut. "Right away."

With a swift motion, Hejia Fengyi activated a wind talisman, pulling He Simu along as they darted through the streets of the Southern Capital like the wind, chasing after the assassin and the unfortunate bride. They were closing the distance rapidly, but after turning a corner, the white horse was suddenly riderless, galloping wildly on its own—both the bride and the assailant had vanished. The pursuing soldiers erupted into chaos, clamoring to search for the missing and close the city gates, buzzing around like headless flies as they talked about notifying the commander—though the Imperial Guard Commander on duty today was currently seated at the Duan residence, preparing to enjoy the banquet.

Hejia Fengyi and He Simu came to a stop. He Simu turned to look at him, and Hejia Fengyi offered an apologetic smile. "This really isn't appropriate..."

Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "If I still had my Magical Power, would I need you? How did I lose it again?"

Hejia Fengyi immediately began calculating with his fingers, then said, "They went southeast."

Though Hejia Fengyi often spouted nonsense, his divination skills were top-notch. Following his directions, they soon found suspicious activity in the woods south of the city—a carriage speeding westward. It looked ordinary, but its speed suggested a desperate escape.

Hejia Fengyi and He Simu materialized in front of the carriage, startling the horse into rearing up before it settled, kicking up dust. From the jolting carriage came a woman's startled cry.

The pale-faced coachman stared at the two figures who had descended from the sky. The girl in red quju robes demanded coldly, "Where are they?"

Hejia Fengyi cleared his throat and announced loudly, "I am State Preceptor Feng Yi. Is Miss Wang unharmed?"

After a brief silence, the carriage curtain was lifted. Wang Su Yi, now dressed in plain commoner's clothes with a bamboo hairpin, stepped out on her own—surprisingly unbound—before dropping to her knees and kowtowing, her voice trembling. "I beg the State Preceptor to spare me."

A man leaped out after her, calling "Su Yi!" as he tried to pull her up. When he couldn't, he knelt beside her instead, looking up at them. "All blame lies with me. If the State Preceptor must arrest someone, take me."

He Simu studied him closely, then exclaimed in surprise, "You're... the incense master from Yuèrán Jū?"

Wasn't this the young man who had nearly mixed up her incense order that day when she had been distracted?

Taking in the scene, she understood the gist of it and turned to Wang Su Yi. "Is this man your lover?"Su Yi knelt on the ground, her face hidden but her clenched hands visible as she replied, "Ah Xuan and I grew up together since childhood—he is the son of our old steward, later becoming a master perfumer at Yueran Residence. We have long been in love, but due to the disparity in our social status, we could not make it public. Marrying Young Master Duan was never my wish. I beg the State Preceptor to grant me mercy and let me leave with Ah Xuan."

Hejia Fengyi turned his gaze to He Simu and said, "Elder Ancestor, what do you think—"

"If marrying Duan Xu wasn't your wish, then why did you agree to it? You have your own love to protect, but are his dignity and marriage less valuable than yours?" He Simu ignored Hejia Fengyi's interjection and spoke coldly.

Hejia Fengyi wisely fell silent.

Su Yi was taken aback, then gritted her teeth and said, "Young Master Duan is naturally excellent—even if he were the man everyone in the world wished to marry, he still wouldn't be the one in my heart. Besides... Young Master Duan knew all about this. He had long discussed it with me and helped plan this for Ah Xuan and me."

He Simu was stunned.

Su Yi had always been a gentle and soft-spoken woman, but she was a lady raised on poetry and literature, delicate in appearance yet proud and unwavering in spirit.

That day, she had thought Duan Xu came to reject the Wang family. She felt both joy and sorrow—joy at not having to marry someone she didn’t love, sorrow at being unable to escape her parents' arrangements and the matchmaker's words, unsure of what to do. Before she could even settle her emotions, she heard shocking words from Duan Xu—an outrageous plan. She didn’t know how he had learned of her relationship with Ah Xuan, nor why he would dare to do something so reckless and without benefit.

He was like an unsolvable riddle.

Duan Xu gave his reasons, and after much thought, she believed they didn’t sound like lies.

"Young Master Duan said he had seen too many so-called 'respectful and loving' marriages in this world, finding them utterly dull. He also has someone he loves—the girl he adores most. Perhaps she won’t marry him, and if so, he would remain unmarried for life."

Su Yi’s resolute voice echoed through the forest, her petite frame radiating an unshakable strength.

He Simu stared at her in astonishment for a long moment. Only when Hejia Fengyi asked what they should do did she finally rub her temples, turn away, and wave her hand dismissively. "Let them go."

Meanwhile, chaos reigned in the Duan residence. Half the dignitaries of the Southern Capital had come for the wedding of the third young master, only for the bride to be abducted. The hall buzzed with speculation—some said Duan Xu’s recent victories on the northern battlefield had provoked the Huqi people, who had attempted an assassination during the wedding and, failing that, kidnapped the bride to humiliate him.

Amid the murmurs, Duan Xu entered the hall in his wedding attire, his wounds hastily bandaged, his expression dark and brows furrowed. Duan Chengzhang and his wife immediately rose from their seats, while Duan Jingyuan rushed to her brother’s side, tugging his sleeve. "Third Brother, what happened? Did you get her back?"

All eyes in the hall fixed on him. Slowly, Duan Xu shook his head.The guests erupted in uproar, and Duan Chengzhang's expression grew even graver. Just as he was about to speak to calm the crowd and end this farce, Duan Xu suddenly bowed to the assembly and declared loudly, "Esteemed lords and honored guests present here today, bear witness for me. The Huqi People have seized our lands, enslaved our people, and harmed my kin. This enmity is as vast as the heavens, and I shall never forgive it!"

Duan Chengzhang seemed to have a premonition of disaster, but before he could intervene, Duan Xu continued passionately, "My wife, Wang Su Yi, virtuous and kind, has suffered this unwarranted calamity today, all because of me. I have no face to meet her, nor to face her parents. If she returns safely, I vow never to take a concubine for the rest of my life. If, by cruel fate, our marital bond cannot be preserved, I, Duan Shunxi, swear here upon the honor of my ancestors that I shall never remarry until Danzhi is destroyed. Should I break this oath, may heaven strike me down!"

The hall was filled with the empire's most powerful nobles and imperial relatives. A solemn oath made here could never be taken back.

Standing tall amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, Duan Xu's voice was firm, as if he had been driven to madness by anger, seeking to reclaim some semblance of righteous dignity by ruthlessly severing all his future marital prospects.

To any rational person, only someone utterly deranged by fury could utter such an absurd and grandiose declaration.

Earlier, he had told Wang Su Yi that in this capital, when it came to marriage, there were only so many families to choose from—not many options at all. Those very families were now seated in this hall. Who would dare disgrace themselves by sending their daughters to a man bound by an oath invoking heaven's wrath?

Duan Xu bowed deeply in all directions, his back straight as an ancient pine. As he lowered himself, unseen by anyone, the corners of his lips curled slightly upward.

No one could force him to do what he disliked.

Since he had already chosen someone, he would not let anyone else take that place. He would always find a way to keep it vacant. Even if she refused to occupy it, no one else ever would.

As he rose, he spotted He Simu in the distance. She stood among the crowd outside the door, watching him with a complex expression.

The sunlight was bright, the summer at its peak. In her monochrome world, devoid of color, her silhouette stood out sharply, her black-and-white eyes reflecting the bustling crowd.

At that moment, Duan Xu suddenly understood why she was so fond of skulls.

Because she couldn’t see color.

In her world, there was only black and white, light and shadow. She needed exquisite contours, precise and perfect bone structures to delineate light and shadow, to determine beauty.

Her own skull was beautiful too, its contours as finely defined as if carved by a master’s hand.

His Ghost King, his He Simu—she was beautiful in every way.

He wondered if she, like him admiring her monochrome form, might also cherish him and his vibrant, colorful world. Surely, she loved this world. If she could love him just a little more, that would be perfect.

He was staking everything, gambling recklessly, casting away all his marital prospects after the age of twenty, crashing into the southern wall for the third time, hoping to break through and find a way out—all to win a moment of tenderness, a flicker of affection from He Simu.

When he had gone searching for her in the rain of the Southern Capital, he had realized she was an unreachable destination. Perhaps he would spend his entire life running toward her.

To spend a lifetime...

What did it matter to spend a lifetime?