Tombstone
“Sister!”
In the midst of the noisy crowd, He Simu heard Chenying’s call. She slowly turned her head to look at him. Chenying was still wearing his armour, covered in blood and grime. From the tremble in He Simu’s eyes, he could see a hint of despair. He wanted to say something, but hesitated because of the people around them.
He Simu closed her eyes. It seemed like only a moment had passed, but when she opened her eyes again, the fragile emotions had disappeared. All her feelings were buried deep in her eyes, like the indistinguishable boundary between the night sky and the sea.
She slowly stood up, turned her head, and walked out of the room without speaking to Chenying. He quickly turned and followed her. In a quiet and deserted corner, He Simu stopped, and so did Chenying.
“What’s happened to Duan Xu?”
There was a slight tremble in He Simu’s voice, and her fists were clenched tightly.
Chenying twisted his fingers nervously and briefly recounted what had happened over the past few days. After hearing it, He Simu softly repeated, “Trapped for three days?”
Chenying nodded somewhat confusedly, “Yes…”
“Is he mute? He didn’t think to call me once in three days?” He Simu punched a nearby rock garden, which instantly crumbled into powder.
She turned back, and Chenying saw her eyes filled with ghostly blackness. She lowered her head and rubbed her temples, asking in a low voice, “How is he?”
“The arrow wound is less than an inch from his heart, but we have brought in the most famous physician from Qizhou. The doctor said the wound might be treatable, but…” Chenying’s eyes reddened, and he bit his lip. “But the arrow was poisoned. The doctor said if there is no antidote by tomorrow, the poison will reach his bones, and he will be beyond saving.”
Tomorrow.
That meant if she hadn’t come to see Duan Xu on a whim today, the next time she saw him, he would be a corpse.
He Simu looked towards the bustling, busy area and after a moment of silence, said, “Who injured him?”
“The Danzhi troops on the border. We don’t know exactly who, they managed to escape.”
“I understand.” He Simu said curtly, “Take care of him. I’ll bring back the antidote by tomorrow.”
With that, she vanished into the darkness, turning into a wisp of green smoke.
When Lu Da returned to his room to rest, he suddenly heard an unusual noise at the window. As he turned around, something grabbed his throat and lifted him up. Struggling, he saw the figure of a woman in the centre of the room. Tall and pale, she wore a red and white three-layered dress, her luxurious silver hairpin shimmering in her hair. Her entirely black eyes looked at him coldly.
“I’ve heard that the poison on the arrow that hit Duan Xu was concocted by you,” He Simu reached out her hand. “Give me the antidote.”
“The Ghost King herself… Indeed, business and personal matters are separate…” Lu Da laughed lightly, his face turning red and purple from suffocation, but he remained calm. “I’ve also heard… that the Ghost King always trades something for something else.”
He Simu stepped closer, “What do you want?”
Lu Da pointed at the faintly glowing blue jade pendant on He Simu’s waist.
“The Ghost King Lamp.”
He Simu’s pupils contracted sharply, and Lu Da was dropped to the ground, coughing violently as the room filled with dense ghostly energy, indicating the Ghost King’s wrath. He Simu sneered, “Perhaps you know an evil ghost named Yan Ke?”
Lu Da lowered the hand clutching his chest and looked at He Simu without speaking.
He Simu mocked, “I didn’t expect the high priest of Danzhi, a believer in Cangyan Scripture, to stoop to allying with evil ghosts, just like his despised father.”
Lu Da’s face paled, whether from He Simu’s grip or something else. He said calmly, “I know what I have done is a betrayal. As long as Danzhi remains safe, I am willing to bear all the consequences. Duan Xu, with your unrivalled power, must die, or you must lose your strength.”
He Simu tilted her head, finding it absurd, “Do you think Duan Xu has succeeded thus far because of my help?”
If he were truly adept at seeking help, she wouldn’t be standing here.
Lu Da merely replied, “Ghost King, the poison was made by me. Only I know the antidote. You can do anything, even bring the emperor here, and I will kill myself immediately. Without the Ghost King Lamp, I won’t give you the antidote. I may not be your match, but you can’t extract it from my mind.”
The slender yet proud priest in white looked at the Ghost King, the candlelight in the room flickering uneasily, casting shadows on He Simu’s pale face and dark, intense eyes. Lu Da nervously gripped his robe.
After a moment of silence, He Simu laughed softly, “Lu Da, you don’t understand the battlefield and shouldn’t have gotten involved. And you’re not suited to be a priest either. Trying to maintain this fractured nation with a unified belief is a naive and laughable wish.”
She approached Lu Da, her cold finger pressing against his chest, chilling him to the core.
“Lu Da, you are destined to be out of place and achieve nothing. And I…” She chuckled softly, “Although I have some affection for Duan Xu, why would I give you the Ghost King Lamp for him? You are too naive.”
Lu Da’s gaze flickered, but he insisted, “You have one day. If there’s no antidote by tomorrow, he will die.”
“Everyone dies, today or tomorrow. What’s the difference?” He Simu’s eyes showed contempt.
As the moon reached its zenith, the hustle and bustle of Qizhou City quieted down. Chenying, sitting by Duan Xu’s bedside, held his hand, anxiously wiping the fine sweat from his forehead. The doctor had just rebandaged Duan Xu’s wound, and now, with a pale face, Duan Xu seemed to dream restlessly, his eyes moving rapidly under his lids. His voice was faint as he spoke.
Chenying leaned closer and heard Duan Xu weakly calling, “Simu… He Simu…”
Chenying thought, his mother had called his name like this before she died.
He couldn’t hold back anymore and started to cry, praying that his loved ones wouldn’t leave him again. He vowed to train diligently from now on, to protect his third brother the next time danger came.
Duan Xu’s faint calls drifted into the wind, crossing countless mountains and rivers, reaching He Simu’s ears.
“He’s calling me.”
He Simu had already left the Danzhi territory, standing in Yuzhou City. In the darkness, only the Ghost King Lamp on her waist emitted a faint blue glow. She murmured softly, “Finally knows to call me now.”
She was on the summit of Xusheng Mountain, perhaps the best view in Yuzhou City. On one side, she could see the snow-covered white houses within the city, and on the other, the lights of countless homes. Half in the human realm, half in the ghost domain. She had buried her parents together in a tomb here.
She crouched down, leaning against the tombstone, as she used to lean on their shoulders when they were alive. Outside, she was the Ghost King, admired by all and feared by countless ghosts, but here, she was just someone’s daughter.
“It’s been a long time since I visited you. I’m about to avenge you, father. You see, you’re always such a worry, being manipulated like that. Your daughter has to clean up your mess.”
He Simu caressed the inscription on the tombstone, which she had painstakingly carved three hundred years ago. Now, it had become somewhat blurred. Three hundred years didn’t seem that long. It felt like she had slept for a moment, and suddenly, three hundred years had passed.
“I don’t understand why Yan Ke wants to be the Ghost King so badly. Over the years, I watched him, trying to find a reason to be interested in the position, but I couldn’t.”
“What is a Ghost King? On the throne, there is only sacrifice.”
None of the evil spirits vying for the throne understood this.
He Simu looked up at the night sky, her fingers tapping her bent knee. She said casually, “Just sacrifice, so what if I lose Duan Xu? He is just a part of the many sacrifices.”
Perhaps it was just because he was so vibrant and passionate that it made her sad. She had never associated the word “death” with him, momentarily forgetting he was mortal, forgetting he would turn grey and become a skeleton.
Since he was mortal, what difference did it make if he died tomorrow or after decades? It was all just a fleeting moment.
“Life and death repeat. There will be many like him in this world. But I might have to wait another few hundred years to meet the next cursed one. Only a few hundred years, I can wait.”
He Simu leaned against the tombstone, gently rubbing the Ghost King Lamp at her waist, chuckling softly, “So, he’s just an ordinary person.”
In the long silence, the cold north wind rustled the trees. Threads of air intertwined between heaven and earth, blowing He Simu’s hair and clothes. Her hair brushed against her eyes and lips.
“It’s getting cold,” He Simu whispered.
—Your hands are really cold, but when I hold them, they warm up.
“He was always so warm.”
“He also said he wanted to build a colourful palace in Yuzhou City. Fanciful, I never thought he would like such things.”
“I haven’t learned how to ride a horse yet. Last time, I fell off the horse, and he said he would teach me again in the future. I said I didn’t want to learn to ride, but actually, I felt a bit embarrassed. I seemed so clumsy when I was a mortal.”
As He Simu spoke, she laughed, then fell silent again. It felt like magma was seeping out of her heart, spreading and burning everything in its path.
She slowly rested her forehead against the hard stone, whispering softly, “Mom, Dad, have I become strange lately? Was I always this afraid of being alone?”
“Mom, I actually found your reincarnation. She’s a very cute and beautiful little girl. I watched her walk away, but in the end, I didn’t speak to her. She will have a new life, a lover, and children. She’s not my mother, she’s not you. I erected a tombstone for you here, but you’ve long been gone from this world. I’ll never find you again, and now, whatever I say, no one can hear. That’s what farewell is all about.”
“Duan Xu is the same. With Duan Xu’s death, there will never be another Duan Xu in this world.”
He Simu stood in front of her parents’ tombstone, and as the dawn broke, she poured the fine wine she had brought onto the tombstone, whispering softly, “I’ve tasted this wine when I still had a sense of taste. It’s exquisite.”
“I can win even without the Ghost King’s Lantern. But by doing this, I suppose you would be disappointed in me.” Pausing for a moment, He Simu continued, “Perhaps I’m just not suited to be the Ghost King.”
Then she slowly lowered herself to embrace the tombstone, holding onto it tightly and murmuring softly, “I don’t want to be the Ghost King either.”
—Someday, you will be like your father, maintaining the balance between ghosts and humans, to protect this world.
The memory was too distant; she was almost forgetting the sound and appearance of her mother saying those words. He Simu chuckled softly, straightening up, still the resolute and unpredictable Ghost King of the underworld.
“Very well, I will do my best.”
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