CALID Chapter 102

Threat

When Duan Xu’s condition improved and he finally regained consciousness, it was the third day after Fang Xianye’s death.

Duan Xu opened his eyes and gazed at the ceiling for a moment. He then felt his hand holding another soft hand, fingers intertwined. Before he could react, the hand holding his hand moved, and he was embraced.

The girl leaning on him was warmed by the room’s fireplace, gathering strength not to press him down, but holding his arm tightly. She had never been good at controlling her strength, but now she managed it perfectly.

Duan Xu raised his other hand and patted her back gently, whispering, “I’m fine now, I feel much better, as if I’ve slept for a long time.”

“What do you mean, fine? You almost died,” He Simu said softly.

During this period, besides dealing with affairs in the ghost realm and taking care of Duan Xu, she had been searching for spiritual herbs everywhere with Feng Yi. Every time they found herbs, they were stopped by Tian Tongxingjun, who was treating Duan Xu, saying that not all herbs could be used casually.

She had lived for so many years, but for the first time, she understood what it meant to be desperate for a cure.

Sometimes she held his hand, intertwining their fingers. She wanted to fulfil his wishes, with their fingers intertwined, his hand holding her heart, perhaps reluctant to let go of this world.

Tian Tongxingjun, who was standing aside, let out a long sigh of relief. He whispered, “Your Highness of the Ghost King, may I have a word with you?”

He Simu patted Duan Xu’s back and let him go, saying, “You lie down first.”

Duan Xu obediently nodded.

He Simu then turned and left the room with Tian Tongxingjun. Just as they met Duan Jingyuan, who came in with red eyes, Duan Jingyuan trembled and asked, “Is my brother awake?”

He Simu nodded, and she wiped her tears and ran into the room. Tian Tongxingjun turned and closed the door, took a few steps aside, then turned back to look at He Simu.

Tian Tongxingjun was one of the top mortal cultivators in the world, with a young and gentle face. He sighed and said, “Your Highness, I have done my best to nurture him and provide him with talismans. But his yang energy has been depleted too much, and his body has been severely damaged. I… can only do my best.”

He Simu lowered her gaze and went straight to the point, “How much time does he have left?”

“If he rests properly, he may have about ten years or so,” Tian Tongxingjun said after careful consideration.

“If he can rest properly, then he wouldn’t be Duan Xu,” He Simu said with a bitter smile.

“If he continues to be this way, even with my talismans and my best efforts to nurture him, he… may only have two more years.”

He Simu fell silent for a moment, raising her gaze to the sky, where snowflakes drifted down under the sunny day. The fine snow fell leisurely in the sunlight, crystal clear and bright, like a world of glass, melting into water upon touching the ground.

The second time she saw Duan Xu was also under such snowfall in Liangzhou. Back then, Chenying was just a child focused on eating. She hugged Chenying, and Duan Xu put his hat on her head. She watched his back through the gap in the curtain, lively and upright.

Under the sunny day, white snow, the young people in the world.

And the white snow under the sunny day, suddenly arriving, turned into water upon landing, fleeting like a dream.

“Alright, I understand. I will trouble the Star Lord in the future,” He Simu heard her own voice, calm yet ethereal.

Tian Tongxingjun bowed and said, “No need for thanks.”

Suddenly, there was a sound of something falling and breaking inside the room. He Simu’s thoughts returned, and she immediately turned and entered the room, seeing the bedside table toppled over, the vase shattered on the ground. Duan Xu fell to the ground, as if attempting to walk but failing. Duan Jingyuan supported Duan Xu, tears streaming down her face as she cried, “Third brother…”

He Simu immediately went up to help Duan Xu up. Duan Xu grabbed He Simu’s arm, and before He Simu could help him back to bed, he spoke, “Fang Xianye… Fang Xianye committed suicide?”

His eyes were bloodshot, as if these words were squeezed out from between his teeth.

He Simu was silent for a moment and said, “Yesterday, I checked the ghost register. His name wasn’t there. He has already passed away.”

Duan Xu closed his eyes, covered his forehead, and remained quiet for a while. Suddenly, he started laughing inexplicably. His laughter started low and rose, gradually becoming wild and poignant, as if a violent wind swept out of his frail body, wanting to turn this absurd world upside down.

He Simu grabbed his wrist, he trembled, slowly let go of her hand, his eyes filled with boundless madness.

He laughed, “The Emperor wants to kill me and is driving me crazy. Then I will go to his doorstep and see who can kill whom!”

That night, the candlelight flickered. The young Emperor, frowning as he reviewed the memorials, was temporarily interrupted by the commotion. The Ministry of Punishments reported that there were no witnesses, and the matter of the false decree could only be classified as unsolved. Lady Duan went to plead to the Empress Dowager, who also said it was a false decree and instructed him to treat the meritorious subject well.

Duan Xu was indeed a meritorious subject, with outstanding achievements. The troops on the northern bank only listened to him; the late emperor’s decree couldn’t recall them. While he followed his own orders, he also brought back tens of thousands of troops ostensibly for review, but in reality, it was a threat. Even the newly appointed general sent to the northern bank died under mysterious circumstances.

How could someone so uncontrollable be allowed to remain?

As the Emperor pondered this, he suddenly felt a chill around his neck. He was being strangled, and he was about to shout for help in panic when he realized that the attendant beside him had already collapsed, and he couldn’t make a sound.

A shadowy figure stood before him, and upon closer inspection, who else could it be but Duan Xu?

Duan Xu, dressed in black, with a pale complexion and bloodshot eyes, appeared like a ghost from the underworld. He calmly pulled up a nearby chair, crossed his legs, and looked at the most noble emperor in the world.

The Emperor frantically clawed at his own neck, and Duan Xu calmly said, “Ignoring the urgent situation on the front lines, the Emperor wants to take advantage of my illness to kill me. I didn’t realize the Emperor feared me so much. However, in the current situation, I wonder who will die faster.”

The Emperor stared at Duan Xu.

Duan Xu continued, “The Emperor wants to know how I got in here. Naturally, if I want to get in, I can. Isn’t that right, Simu?”

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in red appeared out of nowhere in the hall, her eyes devoid of white, staring coldly at the Emperor. The Emperor seemed unable to believe his eyes and recoiled in horror.

He Simu snapped her fingers, and the soft thread around the Emperor’s neck dissipated. He coughed incessantly, covering his neck and hoarsely calling for help, but his voice echoed in the vast hall with no response. The Emperor rushed to the door in panic, only to find it wouldn’t open, and his pounding on it went unanswered.

He turned back in astonishment, looking at Duan Xu and He Simu. They watched his turmoil indifferently, as if telling him — you can’t run away.

Anger surged in the Emperor’s eyes. He lowered his hand, which he had been using to pound the door, and pointed at Duan Xu. “How dare you… How dare you treat Us like this!”

“Why wouldn’t I dare!” Duan Xu suddenly stood up and slammed the table. He laughed and said, “What are you, really? An emperor? What’s so great about being an emperor? Are you born with three heads and six arms, or a brilliant mind with seven orifices? What can you do? Reap the benefits of others’ work? Secure your throne with your cronies? Kill others but not be killed yourself?”

The Emperor gritted his teeth, his neck still tight, and said in uncontrollable rage, “Outrageous! We are the Son of Heaven, the ruler of the world!”

Duan Xu sneered, “Ruler of the world? How vast is your world? You’ve never stepped out of the Southern Capital in your entire life. Yet you dare to boast about ruling the world? A frog in a well dares to talk about ruling the world?”

He took a few steps towards the Emperor, who kept retreating until he was caught by his robes. Duan Xu said, “Since Your Majesty says so, then let me show you your world.”

In an instant, the world changed. The Emperor watched in disbelief as everything in the palace disappeared in the blink of an eye, and they stood on scorched earth, surrounded by deafening war drums.

Duan Xu released the Emperor’s robes, causing him to stagger back. As the Emperor looked down, he saw himself stepping on a soldier’s severed limb and shouted in horror as he fell to the ground. In the dark night, countless people wielding knives hacked at each other’s bodies, with cries of death and flesh flying. Even the moonlight seemed to turn red. This land resembled a devouring furnace, where countless people were crushed.

The Emperor panicked and called for help, but no one responded, and no one even seemed to notice them. They were like three ghosts on the battlefield.

Duan Xu walked up to the Emperor, appearing like a demon from hell under the moonlight, and looked down at him. “Your Majesty, do you see? This is also your world. The Northern Front, which you consider a great achievement, sees thousands of souls lost every day. Every inch of this land belongs to every person who sets foot on it. You sit high in your hall, but your domain is just a speck. Do you truly believe the world belongs to you? Do they live and die for you?”

He grabbed the Emperor’s collar, his gaze unwavering. “It’s you who should live and die for them. If you can’t do that, you don’t deserve to claim dominion over this land.”

The Emperor trembled for a while before gathering his courage and said, “Duan Shunxi! You traitor! Even if you kill Us, We will never submit like a traitor like you!”

Duan Xu turned his head, mocking. “Traitor? A king who drives his loyal subjects to death dares to utter such words?”

Suddenly, the world changed again, and they were back in the brightly lit palace, warm and quiet, as if the bloodbath just now was just an illusion. The Emperor looked at Duan Xu and He Simu in horror, then regained his composure and said, “Duan Shunxi, you… you practice witchcraft!”

Duan Xu released the Emperor’s collar, causing him to sit on the ground. He looked at him calmly and said, “Yes, I do.”

“I have no interest in your throne. I will drive away the Huqi people and prevent them from meddling in the Central Plains again. You’d better watch your position, govern this world properly, and not let others take it away from you. I won’t harm you or betray you, as long as you don’t interfere with my affairs.”

He squatted down and pointed at the Emperor. “I’ll say this once. Whether you believe it or not is up to you. My brother died, my friend died. If you dare lay a finger on my people again, I’ll immediately commit regicide. I have mystical powers that can penetrate any defence you have, as demonstrated today. You should pray for my survival, because if I die, I will haunt you every day.”

The Emperor trembled and said, “Duan Shunxi… you… you’re mad!”

Duan Xu laughed, his laughter bright and resplendent. He nodded approvingly and said, “Yes, so you better not offend a madman. Write the decree now and let me return to the north.”

When the attendants in the Ning Le Hall woke up in the morning, they saw the Emperor sitting on the ground pale and exhausted, as if he had been severely struck, and hurried to call the imperial physician for treatment. When they opened the door, they saw snow covering the ground, and a figure in a black cloak gradually fading into the distance, leaving behind four sets of footprints in the snow as he walked away with a decree in hand.

The attendant rubbed his eyes, astonished to see two more sets of footprints beside Duan Xu’s, disappearing into the falling snow, an eerie sight indeed. In a world unseen by him, there was a girl in red triple clothes and black hair adorned with a silver hairpin, supporting Duan Xu’s arm as they slowly walked out of the palace walls together.

The attendant turned back and ran to the Emperor, helping him up, and said, “Your Majesty… this is… this is an assassin!”

The Emperor’s gaze slowly shifted to the departing figure, and he seemed to finally catch his breath, gritting his teeth and saying, “No, it’s… me… last night… I secretly summoned Duan Shunxi to the palace and granted him an imperial decree… appointing him as the Grand Marshal of the Army of the Empire… to campaign against the Danzhi.”

Duan Xu’s body trembled in the snow, supported by He Simu. He smiled wearily and said, “I’ve broken your rules, haven’t I?”

He Simu supported his shoulder and said, “I didn’t say a word. I just took you on a trip to Youzhou, ruining what plans?”

After a pause, she sighed and said, “Let’s not make this a habit. If Feng Yi and the others come after us, let them wipe me out. Let’s see if they can find a better Ghost King.”

“He Simu, why are you talking like this?”

“Maybe I’ve gone mad, just like you.”

Duan Xu leaned on He Simu’s shoulder, laughing softly. But as he laughed, he grabbed He Simu’s sleeve and choked up.

Before entering the palace, Jing Yan came to him and gave him all the letters and strategies found when searching Fang Xianye’s mansion, saying it was a matter of loyalty to fulfil someone’s request, and there was also a dying message from Fang Xianye to deliver to him.

Fang Xianye said—A gentleman cherishes his loyal friends. If I am to be reborn, I wish to live in a flourishing age of the Han people.