CALID Chapter 66

Farce

His youthful golden crown wedding attire, red clothes and White horse, gradually receded into the countless unknown colours as she lowered her eyes and moved away.

Unconsciously, He Simu tried to chase after him along the roof ridge but nearly stumbled, only to be pulled back safely by He Jia Feng Yi.

Momentarily dazed, she turned to Feng Yi. “You helped him, didn’t you?”

Obviously, the charm in Duan Xu’s hand was made by Feng Yi, capable of activating the pearl to complete the exchange of senses, transferring his sense of colour to her at that moment.

And now, she had become an ordinary person with no magical powers, which was why Feng Yi had to stay by her side.

Feng Yi fanning himself, innocently said, “I swear by heaven and earth, the pact was made by you, the deal was set by you, I merely catalysed it a little.”

Glaring at him, He Simu watched as Feng Yi picked up a wind control charm, concealing their forms as they flew over the sky of Nandu, quickly catching up to Duan Xu, who was riding slowly on his horse.

Seeing her catching up, Duan Xu smiled with his eyes narrowed. His round and bright eyes remained an unchanging pitch-black, with a faint layer of blood colour beneath his skin, and his lips lifted slightly in a light red hue.

Suddenly, He Simu felt she couldn’t quite bear to see him smile.

With colours, Duan Xu was too beautiful.

“I wanted you to see me in wedding attire, a once-in-a-lifetime moment, don’t you think it’s valuable?”

So that was his plan.

After walking the earth for four hundred years, she finally grasped the meaning of a wedding. To blend her most beautiful moment with another person’s life. In the long days ahead, she could recall that stunning moment to soothe the dullness of time.

“He gave me his sense of colour, so now he can only see in black and white. How is he going to see his bride?” He Simu murmured softly.

Feng Yi folded his fan, leaning on his cane. “That’s a good question.”

Before he finished speaking, Duan Xu had already arrived at the entrance of the palace, dismounting and walking in to greet his bride. Shortly after he entered, chaos erupted in the palace. Someone screamed that there was something broken, disrupting the festive atmosphere. Amidst the commotion, a loud shout was heard: “Assassin! There’s an assassin! Someone is trying to assassinate General Duan!”

“The bride has been kidnapped!”

A burly masked figure was seen carrying the bride out of the door, a gleaming blade held to her neck. Speaking awkwardly in Mandarin, he warned, “Don’t move! If anyone moves, I’ll kill her!” He then mounted the waiting horse in the street, scooped up the helpless bride, and galloped away, leaving chaos in his wake as people scrambled to avoid the charging horse in the crowded street.

Duan Xu and the people from the palace immediately rushed out of the gate. Duan Xu was holding his shoulder, his brows furrowed, and beneath his sleeves, one could faintly see the crimson blood. He shouted loudly, “Huqi people infiltrated Nandu and abducted the bride! Close the city gates and capture the thief!”

The servants streamed out from beside Duan Xu towards the direction of the thief. The sunlight shone strongly on Duan Xu, and there was a bright glow on his eyebrows and eyes, much stronger than black and white, just like his golden hairpin. Duan Xu’s pupils were contracted, making him look very angry.

But perhaps not so angry after all.

He Simu watched Duan Xu for a moment through the crowd, then pulled Feng Yi. “Follow the bride and the assassin!”

Feng Yi fanned himself to shield from the sun, feigning ignorance. “This doesn’t seem right. It’s not about ghosts, it’s meddling in others’ affairs…”

He Simu smiled slightly. “I said, follow them.”

Feng Yi put away his fan. “Alright.”

Immediately, Feng Yi used a wind control charm to carry He Simu, flying over the streets of Nandu like a gust of wind, chasing after the assassin and the poor bride. As they drew closer, after turning a corner, they found the horse empty, galloping away on its own. There was no sign of the bride or the thief. The pursuers were in an uproar, clamouring to search and close the city gates. It seemed like a headless fly, talking about informing the commanding general who was sitting in the Duan family, ready to drink today.

Feng Yi and He Simu stopped, and He Simu turned to Feng Yi. Feng Yi smiled apologetically. “This doesn’t seem right.”

She forced a smile. “If it weren’t for me losing my powers now, would it be your turn? How did I lose my powers?”

Feng Yi immediately reached out his hand to calculate, then said, “They went southeast.”

Although Feng Yi often talked nonsense, his divination abilities were top-notch. Following the direction he calculated, they searched and eventually found suspicious figures in the woods outside the city to the south. A carriage was speeding westward, looking ordinary on the outside but moving at an extraordinary speed as if fleeing.

Feng Yi and He Simu appeared in front of the carriage, startling the horses, which whinnied and raised their front hooves before settling down amidst the dust. Inside the jostling carriage came the frightened cries of a woman.

The coachman looked pale as he gazed at the two who had descended from the sky. The girl in the red dress and flowing robes spoke coldly, “Where are they?”

Feng Yi coughed twice before speaking loudly, “I am Imperial Tutor Feng Yi. Is Miss Wang safe?”

The carriage fell silent for a moment before the curtain was lifted. To everyone’s surprise, Wang Su Yi, dressed as a commoner with rough clothes and no elaborate hairpin, had not been abducted. She got down from the carriage herself and then knelt on the ground with a thud, bowing her back to them and tremblingly said, “I beg Imperial Tutor to spare me.”

Another man jumped out of the carriage, calling out to Su Yi as he tried to pull her up from the ground. Seeing that he couldn’t move her, he knelt beside her, looking up at them and said, “Since it has come to this, I’ll take all the blame. Imperial Tutor, just take me back.”

He Simu looked closely, surprised, and asked, “You’re… the perfumer from Yue Ran Ju?”

Wasn’t this young man, who nearly got the scent wrong when she went to pick incense that day, the perfumer?

Seeing the situation, she understood and asked Wang Su Yi, “Is this man your lover?”

Wang Su Yi remained bowed on the ground, so her expression couldn’t be seen, only her clenched hands. She replied, “Axuan and I grew up together since we were children. He’s the son of our old steward. Later, he went to work as a perfumer at Yue Ran Ju. We’ve long had feelings for each other, but due to our difference in status, we couldn’t make it public. Marrying Young Master Duan was not my wish. Please, Imperial Tutor, help us and let Axuan and me leave.”

Imperial Tutor Feng Yi turned his gaze to He Simu and said, “Ancestor, what do you think about this?”

“If marrying Duan Xu wasn’t your wish, then why did you agree to marry him? You have your own fate to uphold. Is his dignity and marriage more important than your own fate?” He Simu disregarded Imperial Tutor Feng Yi’s persuasion and said coldly.

Imperial Tutor Feng Yi wisely remained silent.

Wang Su Yi hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, “Young Master Duan is indeed a good man, even if he’s someone everyone in the world wants to marry, he’s not the one I love. Besides… Young Master Duan knows all about this. He had long ago made a plan with me to help me and Axuan.”

He Simu was stunned.

Wang Su Yi was usually a gentle girl, speaking softly and delicately, but she was brought up as an educated and refined girl from a young age, with a strong and unwavering personality.

That day, she thought Duan Xu had come to refuse the Wang family’s proposal. She was happy and unhappy. Happy that she didn’t have to marry someone she didn’t like, unhappy because she couldn’t escape her parents’ wishes and the matchmaker’s arrangements. But before she could calm down, she heard astonishing words from Duan Xu, an astounding plan. She didn’t know how he knew about her relationship with Axuan, let alone why he dared to do this pointless thing.

He was like an unsolvable puzzle.

Duan Xu gave his reasons, and after thinking for a long time, she felt that it didn’t sound like a lie.

“Duan Xu said he’s seen many so-called polite and feigned loving relationships in the world, and he finds it extremely boring. He also has someone he loves. That girl is his favourite, and if she won’t marry him, then he won’t marry anyone else for the rest of his life.”

Wang Su Yi’s resolute voice echoed through the forest, emanating a powerful force despite her petite stature.

He Simu stared at her in astonishment for a while until Imperial Tutor Feng Yi asked her what to do. She then rubbed her temples, turned aside, and waved her hand, saying, “Let’s go.”

At this moment, chaos reigned in the Duan residence. Most of the dignitaries from Nandu had come to attend the wedding of the third son of the Duan family, and now the bride had been abducted. Discussions filled the hall, with some saying that Duan Xu’s prominence on the northern battlefield had angered the Huqi people, who attempted to assassinate him during the wedding. Failing that, they kidnapped the bride as revenge, tarnishing his reputation.

As people discussed, Duan Xu, dressed in his wedding attire, walked in from outside. His wounds had been hastily bandaged, and he wore a solemn expression. Duan Chengzhang and his wife immediately stood up from their seats. Duan Jingyuan even ran to Duan Xu’s side, grabbing his sleeve and asking, “Third Brother, what happened? Did you catch them?”

All eyes in the room were on him as Duan Xu shook his head slowly.

The guests were shocked, and Duan Chengzhang’s expression grew even more grave. Just as he was about to speak to calm the guests and end the commotion, Duan Xu suddenly bowed to the guests and exclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, witnesses are present here. The Huqi people have stolen our land, enslaved our people, and harmed our relatives. This enmity is unforgivable! I swear never to forgive them!”

Duan Chengzhang seemed to have a premonition of something bad. Before he could speak to stop him, he heard Duan Xu continue passionately, “My wife, Lady Wang, is virtuous and kind. Today, she has suffered unjustly because of me. I am ashamed to face her and her parents. If she returns safely, I will never take a concubine. If, unfortunately, our love cannot be maintained, I, Duan Shunxi, here and now, swear by the honour of my Duan family ancestors, that I will never remarry. If I break this oath, let heaven and earth destroy me!”

The dignitaries present were all high-ranking officials and royal relatives. There was no way to retract such a solemn vow made here.

Duan Xu stood amidst the stunned gazes of the crowd, his figure tall and his voice firm. He seemed as if he had lost his mind in a fit of rage, wanting to reclaim a semblance of dignity and righteousness, and thus unhesitatingly severed all his marital ties.

In the eyes of ordinary people, only someone who had lost his mind could utter such absurd words.

Previously, he had told Wang Su Yi that within the capital, there were only a few families suitable for marriage. Those families were now sitting in the hall, and who would lower their dignity to let their daughter swear such an oath of annihilation.

Duan Xu bowed in all directions, his back straight as a pine tree. When he bent down where no one could see, a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

No one could force him to do something he didn’t like.

Since he had someone in mind already, he wouldn’t let anyone else take that place. He would find a way to keep that position vacant. Even if she didn’t want to sit there, no one else would sit there anymore.

As he stood up, he saw He Simu in the distance. She stood among the crowd outside the door, looking at him with a complex expression.

The sunlight was bright, and summer was in full swing. In a world devoid of colour, she stood out with her silhouette, contrasting with the bustling crowd reflected in her black and white eyes.

At that moment, Duan Xu suddenly understood why she liked skulls so much.

Because she couldn’t see colours.

In her world, there were only black, white, light, and shadow. She needed exquisite contours and clear bone structures to delineate light and shadow, judging beauty based on them.

In fact, her skull was also beautiful, with distinct contours as if meticulously carved.

His Ghost King, his He Simu, looked beautiful no matter how you looked at her.

He wondered if she, like the colourless version of herself, also liked him and the colourful world. He hoped she liked this world, and if she liked him a little more, that would be great.

He took a gamble, risking everything after the age of twenty, hitting the southern wall for the third time, intending to break through it to find a way out, hoping to soften He Simu’s heart and make her fall for him in a moment of weakness.

When he went to find her in the rain of Nandu, he realized that she was the endpoint he couldn’t reach, and perhaps he would spend his whole life striving for her.

So what if he spent his whole life striving for her? Author’s note: Duan Shunxi: I won’t take the blame for this.