Finally free, after being imprisoned for who knows how many days and nights.
Su Yun rose from the dust, her heart filled with wild joy, lifting the hem of her skirt as she sprinted madly toward the south.
This was the capital city. Her lover lived in the southern part of the city, in a courtyard with a persimmon tree in front that bore unbearably sweet fruit every autumn.
This scene had played out in her mind countless times. No matter how much time had passed, she could find her way there with her eyes closed.
Sure enough, the courtyard was still there, the persimmon tree as lush as ever. Though only a few persimmons remained on its branches, they were still brilliantly red.
Everything truly remained unchanged. Just like in the old days, she leaped lightly and effortlessly plucked a persimmon.
This was the spiritual power Chi Lian had given her, allowing her not only to maintain a physical form but also to interact with everything in the mortal world, almost as if she were still alive.
How wonderful.
She smiled, took a bite of the persimmon without peeling it, and reached out to knock on the door.
No one answered for a long time.
It didn’t matter. Hang Sheng had always been a heavy sleeper at night. She continued knocking.
Finally, someone came, sounding somewhat irritated. It was a woman, grumbling and cursing as she walked.
Perhaps it was Hang Sheng’s wife. It didn’t matter. She was already a ghost. All she needed now was to see that he was safe and to know that her silver had truly saved him. That would be enough.
She had truly seen through everything, so when the plump woman squeezed half her face through the crack in the door and glared at her fiercely, she didn’t feel the slightest bit angry.
“Hello,” she said politely. “I’m looking for Hang Sheng.”
“Which Hang Sheng?” The plump woman’s voice was surprisingly pleasant.
“Xu Hangsheng.”
“No one by that name here!” The plump woman slammed the door shut with a loud “bang.”
Su Yun stood there in a daze, looking up at the courtyard gate and then at the persimmon tree, unsure of what to do.
Just then, the door opened again. The plump woman poked half her face out once more, as if she had remembered something.
“Xu Hangsheng?” She tapped her head. “Don’t tell me you’re looking for that lecherous, lowlife uncle of mine?”
In the backyard of the Phoenix Nest Brothel, Xu Hangsheng had grown too old, so old that he could hardly remember who he was.
“Winter is coming…” He crouched low, fanning the small stove. “The girls should be nourished…” He muttered to himself, not knowing whom he was speaking to.
A nearby girl saw him and laughed, whispering to her companion, “Old Xu is getting more and more foolish. Last time he brought Feng Yi sweet soup, the look in his eyes… It was like he wanted to devour her whole. I don’t know why the madam hasn’t kicked him out.”
“I heard he owes the boss a huge amount of silver, so much that he could never repay it in several lifetimes. That’s why he has to stay here and work as a laborer for life,” the other girl said, lifting her handkerchief to cover her mouth as she joined in the scornful laughter.
In the midst of their chattering, a sudden eerie wind swept through the courtyard. The two sisters were momentarily blinded by the dust, and in that split second, a woman appeared before them.
She looked to be around twenty years old, with a delicate face and a somewhat dazed expression. She rushed up to them and demanded, “Where is Hang Sheng? Xu Hangsheng, where is he? That woman said he was here.”
The two women were terrified and scattered like frightened birds.
The courtyard was now left with only an old man, his face and hands covered with pockmarks, emitting a foul odor carried by the wind.
“Do you know where Xu Hangsheng is?” Su Yun took a step forward, though disgusted, she moved closer to him. “She said he was here, at the Phoenix Nest Brothel.”"Who might you be, miss?" The old man was startled, his eyes murky yet gleaming with lewdness as he stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "I am Xu Hangsheng. What brings you here to see me?"
"I am Xu Hangsheng indeed..."
"Su Yun, Su Yun... I remember now. She was a sweet girl who loved persimmons. Now that I think of it, you do resemble her somewhat. Are you her daughter?"
Half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, only Xu Hangsheng was still speaking.
Su Yun remained standing in the same spot, her hand outstretched but not daring to touch his face.
This... aged, repulsive man reeking of foulness—was he truly the same Hangsheng whose robes once fluttered in the wind, whose laughter carried a hint of roguish charm?
Had she really been imprisoned in that cave dwelling for so very, very long?
"Did they beat your face like this because you owed them money?"
Finally, she rested her hand on his cheek and found a familiar feature—the slightly upturned slant of his eyebrows.
"Nonsense! His face turned out this way from venereal diseases, and not just once," the madam's formidable voice cut in abruptly, followed by her arrival in her classic pose—one hand holding a handkerchief, the other on her hip.
"You're lying! He clearly had business rivals who cheated him, leaving him in debt for goods, and that's why debt collectors hounded him into this state!"
"Business? Goods?" The madam burst into long laughter. "The only business Xu Fifth has ever done in his life is whoring. As for debts, he certainly owes plenty—mountains of brothel fees."
"You're spouting rubbish!" Su Yun shouted, her hair flying against the wind, her eyes instantly filled with murderous intent.
"Whether I'm spouting rubbish or not, you can ask him yourself. Who are you? His illegitimate child? How pitiful, to be born to such a father."
Su Yun turned her head, still clinging to a thread of hope, and looked earnestly at Xu Hangsheng.
But Xu Hangsheng lowered his head.
In that instant, something shattered, plummeting from illusory heights straight into the mire of reality.
Su Yun's eyes widened as she suddenly realized something and lunged forward, seizing Xu Hangsheng's hands.
All ten fingers were intact. Though scarred all over, every one remained—none missing.
Back then, the messenger who came to her demanding she raise money to save Xu Hangsheng had brought a bloodied pinky finger, swearing that if the funds weren't raised, Xu Hangsheng's life would be in grave danger.
Now it appeared that everything, from start to finish, had been a complete lie.
She had agonized for nothing, sold herself to Chi Lian for nothing, obtained the money for nothing, and waited at his courtyard gate for three full days—all for nothing.
"Then why didn't you come to collect the money after I raised it? You made me wait three days and nights in vain!" By now, she had completely lost control, her voice hoarse, every word seeming to tear from her very core.
"At that time, I... I thought your mother wouldn't be able to raise the money, so... so I sold the courtyard to settle the debt."
"After paying off his debts, he continued living here, carrying on with Feng Xian. I remember it clearly—I was only nine then, just a maid fetching water!" the madam promptly added.
Everything became clear.
He was a lustful man, and she, Su Yun, had sold herself to a snake demon to repay his brothel debts. After selling herself, she waited at his gate with the money, and when he didn't come, she was abducted by Chi Lian. Even after death, she had clung to the thought of whether the pouch of silver she left at his gate had saved his life.So-called love, so-called sacrifice and devotion—the only obsession she held in life and death turned out to be a colossal joke.
Absurd, utterly absurd!
"The Elegant Confinement will return. She'll be back in half an hour."
At the residence of Vice Minister Hou, the sky had turned pale blue. Ban Xia and the others had noticed Xuan Ye's disappearance, and this was the more optimistic Chi Xue speaking.
"I recall that your clan's Elegant Confinement seems to carry a curse—each incarnation never lives past thirty."
This was the more pessimistic You Huang.
"But the Elegant Confinement is only twenty-three now!"
"Your previous Elegant Confinement died before she even turned twenty!"
The optimist and the pessimist were at odds, locking eyes so fiercely it seemed their eyeballs might pop out.
Ban Xia sat to the side, not joining the argument. Before her was a basin of water, and she was concentrating on the incantation Chi Xue had taught her.
It was useless. Though an image had once appeared in the water—vaguely showing a mountain cave—this was the capital, and beyond the city walls stretched endless mountains, with countless peaks and cave dwellings.
The three of them were at a loss, frantic and helpless, when someone began pounding on the door outside.
It was no exaggeration—pounding, not knocking. The madam of the Phoenix Nest Brothel was outside, screaming hysterically, "Great Immortal, Great Immortal, save us! Great Immortal!"
"Are you sure she's a ghost?" Ban Xia asked the madam on their way to the Phoenix Nest Brothel.
The madam was incoherent, clearly terrified, and could only repeat disjointedly, "She... she... she tore Old Xu to shreds... into a pulp... really, a pulp... She... she... she has no shadow... I... I... I..."
As they walked and talked, she suddenly froze, eyes wide, one hand pointing at the main road, trembling all over, teeth chattering, unable to utter another word.
Ban Xia looked up and saw a woman alone on the road, bending over as if searching for something.
The moon had retreated behind thick clouds, and the surroundings were windless. Ban Xia narrowed her eyes, trying to see if the woman cast a shadow, but the woman had already approached, still bent over, and bumped into her head-on.
"Sorry..." The woman looked up, her hair sticky with a crimson stain—whether blood or flesh was unclear—yet her expression was one of desolate helplessness.
"Have you seen a type of copper coin?" she said, gazing intently at Ban Xia, gesturing with her hands. "An ordinary copper coin, covered in rust, red rust."
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