Perlude
“What happened to Xianye?”
“In the poetry gathering in the capital, there’s a famous eccentric named Fan Qian. In May, he wrote a poem called ‘Jiang Huazi,’ which offended the emperor. When the emperor woke up from his fainting spell, he was furious upon seeing this poem and ordered Fan Qian’s execution. Since Master Fang is the head of the poetry gathering, he got implicated and was demoted to the rank of Fifth-Rank Official in the Ministry of Rites as a subordinate official.”
Duan Xu’s gaze darkened, and he murmured, “Ministry of Rites as a subordinate official… Xianye has been put in a meaningless position.”
“Ten years ago, after the crown prince’s death, the emperor never designated a new heir. Now, although the emperor is of age, he has fainting spells, and the issue of succession is pressing. Currently, the various princes and their factions are all restless, and the situation in the court has become unpredictable. Master Fang must be having a difficult time.” Luo Xian sighed.
This situation was quite similar to the chaos during the Three Kings’ Rebellion in Danzhi’s time. Duan Xu had previously watched the internal turmoil in Danzhi’s camp with amusement, but now the tables had turned towards Daliang. Currently, the unrest was latent, but who knew what would happen next.
Feeling somewhat helpless, Duan Xu said, “Without your help in the capital, Xianye is indeed lacking much support. We’re stationed at the border, so the impact is relatively minor.”
“Master Fang’s letter didn’t mention much about these difficulties.”
“He’s not the type to complain about such things.”
Fang Xianye was far away in the capital, and there was little Duan Xu could do to help him. After Luo Xian informed him of the recent important intelligence, she silently disappeared into the night. Duan Xu lifted the curtain of the tent and stepped out. The stars were shining brightly tonight, and the night was beautiful.
After standing in place for a while, lost in thought, he turned to the guard on his left and said, “You, come with me.”
The guard respectfully complied, following their commander as they walked through the various tents until they reached the lush stream at the edge of the camp. Duan Xu leisurely stopped, turning to look at the guard without saying a word. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward and eerie as the guard met his silent gaze for a moment before blurting out, “Alright, you’ve found out again.”
The man’s body collapsed to the ground with a dull thud. A pair of boots embroidered with red cloud patterns stood on the soft, damp ground by the stream, and the beauty under the starlight became even more dazzling. He murmured, “I’ll have to find someone to carry him back later.”
“Call Chenying, he’s already quite proficient at this task.” He Simu stepped over the man’s legs and walked to Duan Xu’s side. Duan Xu reached out and took her cold, fair hand, which carried a hint of amber fragrance, their fingers interlocking tightly.
“You are Chenying’s sworn sister, yet you boss your little brother around like this?” Duan Xu’s eyes sparkled as he laughed clearly.
“Speaking of which, Chenying did complain to me, saying you were too strict in teaching him martial arts, it was almost like you were abusing him.”
Duan Xu raised his eyebrows, “Did he say that?”
He Simu nodded, moving closer to him, “I told him—your third brother is doing the right thing, strict teachers produce outstanding students, so train hard.”
Duan Xu couldn’t help but laugh, imagining Chenying’s aggrieved and tearless face, almost feeling a bit sorry for him. As he laughed, he noticed He Simu’s gaze traveling down from his collar. She reached out to pull at his lapel, and when her cold fingers touched the skin on his chest, he shivered from the chill.
“How is your injury from last time? Let me see,” He Simu said, already pulling his collar halfway open, revealing his scarred skin. The wound was on his abdomen, and she unhesitatingly continued to undress him.
Though Duan Xu was used to her disregard for propriety, he still grasped her hand at this moment, smiling modestly, “Your Highness, it’s not appropriate to undress me here in the wilderness.”
He Simu looked up at him, and he whispered in her ear, “If someone sees me walking by the river, talking to myself, and then suddenly my clothes fall off, wouldn’t that be quite unseemly? Besides, it’s been two months, the wound has long healed.”
He then looked up at her, smiling brightly. He Simu gazed at the starry sky reflected in the young man’s eyes, raised her eyebrows with a smile, and placed a kiss on his exposed, fair collarbone. The body under her hand shuddered again.
“You’re right, we can’t let others see our Fox Duan’s body. Are you really all healed? Does it still hurt?”
Duan Xu adjusted his clothes, saying as he did so, “Yes, it’s long healed, it doesn’t hurt anymore. The medicine you brought was very effective. Were those rare herbs? Did it cost you a lot?”
“Good that you know, take better care of yourself and get hurt less. Don’t mess around just because you’re young.” He Simu gently patted his face. Duan Xu let her pat him, looking at her seriously and asked, “I heard He Jia Feng Yi left Nandu. Did something happen in the ghost realm?”
He Simu paused, then turned her head with a smile, “I came to tell you about this. Yan Ke attempted to assassinate me and seize the Ghost King’s Lantern a few days ago but failed, so he rebelled. He and four other palace lords have raised an army. There will be a major battle in the ghost realm soon. To prevent the chaos from spreading to the human world, almost all cultivators and exorcists have been mobilized. Feng Yi is the strongest sorcerer of the time, so he naturally had to return to Xingqing Palace.”
Duan Xu squinted in confusion and asked, “Yan Ke? That… the Right Minister who… loves you?”
“Yes.”
He Simu answered calmly and calmly, seeming to expect it, and Duan Xu didn’t ask any more questions. He simply said, “So you’re telling me that you’ll be very busy later and may rarely come to see me?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Sigh… How long will the chaos in the ghost realm last? Won’t it be… for a decade or even decades?”
He Simu chuckled, “It depends on the situation. Some may last only a few years, while others may last decades.”
“And how long will yours last?”
“Me? Well…” He Simu teased, pausing for a moment before laughing, “Half a year.”
Duan Xu visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Since she said so, she must have been prepared, and there shouldn’t be any surprises. He expressed some regret, saying, “Half a year, huh? Then you’ll miss the blooming season of peonies in Luozhou.”
“Hmm?”
“Luozhou’s peonies are the most famous. I was thinking of taking you to see them next spring. With the gentle breeze and sunshine, the fragrance of flowers fills the air. If you like, we can ride horses through the flower fields. During the peony season, there will be dragon lanterns and Taiping drum performances in Luozhou at night, which is very lively.”
As the two walked hand in hand by the river, He Simu listened to Duan Xu’s description and said, “Duan Shunxi, listen to how much you’ve talked about. Are you trying to exchange your sense of colour, touch, and smell with me?”
“Why not?”
Duan Xu answered without hesitation, but He Simu’s steps stopped. She squinted at Duan Xu, approaching him and said, “Duan Shunxi, don’t mess around. Ever since Feng Yi taught you how to exchange senses, you’ve become more unrestrained. Haven’t you noticed your own senses fading away? If you suddenly exchange three senses for me, are you asking for death?”
Duan Xu blinked innocently, smiling, “But having only one sense, you can’t fully perceive the myriad of things in the world.”
“It’s enough, more than enough.” He Simu pointed at Duan Xu’s chest and said, “You’re more important.”
Duan Xu’s eyes flashed, and he smiled happily.
After a pause, He Simu still couldn’t help but worry, “It’s a sensitive time now. If anything dangerous happens, you must call me. Do you remember?”
Duan Xu sighed, “But I can’t go to find you either. If something happens to you, I won’t know. What should I do?”
“Don’t worry, if anything happens to me, you’ll definitely know. If I vanish into thin air, it means the world is in chaos and disasters are rampant. By then, what’s the point of Daliang and Danzhi fighting? Let’s just sign a treaty, each go home and clean up our mess first, and then figure things out.”
For the ghost realm, the mortal realm was still too fragile, like playing house. If the ghost realm wished, with the disregard of the immortal sect cultivators, they could easily change the situation with just a flick of their fingers, not to mention something as significant as the annihilation of the Ghost King, which even the immortal sect cultivators couldn’t control.
As the saying goes, when a dynasty flourishes, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer.
He Simu held her brave and fragile lover in this ever-changing and fragile world, his young eyes reflecting her, with a vast expanse of stars above.
“Will you miss me?” her lover asked.
She chuckled softly, Duan Xu liked to ask this question. He never seemed insistent on hearing her say “I love you”, but often asked if she would miss him.
“Yes,” she said. “I miss you often.”
And sometimes, you move me.
Moved by the fleeting, insignificant, foolish, and meaningless yet vivid emotions of the mortal world.
Duan Xu then hugged her back and sighed deeply, “I don’t want to go back. I wish we could fight the battle tomorrow and go to your Yuzhou to play. That place is all black and white; it’s time to build a colourful palace there.”
“A colourful palace?”
“Do you remember the ceiling we saw at Yuling Tower in Hu Prefecture? That’s the colour scheme.”
“The green lacquer, golden characters, red patterns, and various mythical creatures. You want to build a palace with those colours? That would be too extravagant. Are you trying to build a peacock?”
“Well, other evil spirits can’t see it, only I can, and you when you’ve exchanged your sense of colour. I think it would be quite impactful. In a city of black and white, having such a palace would be interesting and convenient for you to remember colours.”
“I don’t think it would look good.”
“Why not…”
The two of them walked hand in hand along the riverbank under the starlight, with only one shadow on the road and one reflection in the river. But the cold hand in Duan Xu’s gradually warmed up as he held it.
After that, rumours spread in the camp that General Duan was seen walking around the riverbank alone at night, talking to himself as he walked. Combined with Duan Xu’s often ingenious ideas, the soldiers said it must be General Duan’s unique way of deduction and contemplation.
So when night fell, whenever Duan Xu lifted the tent curtain, he could see many soldiers walking around the riverbank. Chenying, who helped Duan Xu carry back the unconscious soldier, said at least they didn’t suspect their commander had a problem with his mind, which was something to be grateful for.
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