CALID Chapter 107

Extra : Pearl of the Sunken Sea

As the moon reached its zenith, Jiang Ai once again saw Chenying under the golden wall of Xusheng Mountain.

He leaned against the golden wall, sitting cross-legged with a spread-out ghost book between his legs. The Ghost King Lamp emitted a faint glow beside him as he rested his arm on it, earnestly reading the ghost book by the light of the lamp.

This little guy, Chenying, followed her to handle political affairs during the day and read ghost books at night. Although evil spirits didn’t need sleep, Chenying seemed to have an exceptionally good spirit, being able to work tirelessly for months without rest, which was astonishing.

Jiang Ai’s initial impression of this future heir to the Ghost Realm was a body lying in He Simu’s arms, covered in blood and flesh. It was said that he was only fourteen years old when he died, pierced by thousands of arrows on the battlefield while protecting He Simu and Duan Xu’s determination, thus becoming a wandering soul. He Simu’s hands trembled as she held his body, unlike an evil spirit accustomed to life and death.

Chenying’s body was buried on the back mountain of Yuzhou City, next to her parents’ graves.

The second time she saw Chenying was on Xusheng Mountain, where this child, after becoming an evil spirit, went to visit his own grave. He stood in front of his grave, leaning down to carefully examine the tombstone for a long time, appearing very calm.

“So, I really died.”

After saying this, he turned his head to look at He Simu and Duan Xu beside him, smiling and saying, “When I died, I was still thinking that third Brother and Little Miss hadn’t heard from each other, and your wishes hadn’t been fulfilled yet. I must see you again, and I must make your wishes come true. And then I really saw you again, truly lucky.”

At that time, this child was dressed in black clothes, with a pale complexion and a handsome face, showing a mixture of innocence and maturity between child and adult in his expression. Jiang Ai wondered what this child looked like when he was alive. If he grew up, he would probably be very handsome.

To die pierced by thousands of arrows and still be able to say “lucky” after such a painful death, he was indeed a strange person, no wonder he became an evil spirit.

At that moment, He Simu’s eyes moistened as she went to hug Chenying, and Jiang Ai noticed that after He Simu became human, she seemed to become very prone to tears.

Simu, this child, finally stopped pretending to be tough and was allowed to have her own weaknesses.

Jiang Ai was very happy for He Simu.

Later, He Simu let the Ghost King Lamp choose between Jiang Ai and Chenying, and the lamp surprisingly chose Chenying. Jiang Ai was very surprised and relieved, relieved because she didn’t want to be the Ghost King, and surprised because the Ghost King Lamp chose Chenying, a child who had only recently become an evil spirit and had weak ghostly powers.

Chenying doesn’t seem to possess the same extraordinary talent as He Simu.

Over the past few years, Jiang Ai has been overseeing the Ghost Realm on behalf of someone else, and Chenying has been familiarizing himself with the Ghost Realm alongside her and He Simu, learning the ways of ruling. She gradually discovered that Chenying indeed doesn’t have the same powerful magical talent as He Simu, but if diligence can be considered a talent, then Chenying should also be considered a genius.

She had never seen an evil spirit more diligent and focused than Chenying. Chenying seemed completely unaware of how demanding he was on himself, constantly pushing himself and testing his limits.

People inevitably experience laziness and weariness, and evil spirits are no exception, but Chenying never did. He wasn’t impatient either, just persistently continued his efforts day after day.

The implementation of the Golden Wall Law and the suppression of rebellions had brought the Ghost Realm into a stable phase. Based on Chenying’s progress in magical abilities and governance, within He Simu’s lifetime, Chenying should be able to formally govern the Ghost Realm.

Sometimes, Jiang Ai wondered if this was the purpose of Chenying’s diligence.

He Simu also had some concerns, but her worry was not about Chenying’s abilities; she was worried that the position of Ghost King might become a constraint for Chenying, just as it had been for her. He Simu subtly asked Chenying through Jiang Ai.

However, it was quite difficult because it was hard to be subtle when communicating with Chenying. If it weren’t for Duan Xu and He Simu coming to see Chenying, he wouldn’t engage in idle chatter; all questions and answers were strictly business, as if no trivial matters could take away any of his time.

Jiang Ai cleared her throat.

Chenying didn’t hear her; his mind was entirely focused on the book in front of him.

Jiang Ai thought she should bring out her big loudspeaker, Bai Sanxing, to make Chenying unable to continue reading.

“Chenying.” She walked over to him and called his name. Finally, Chenying lifted his gaze and, upon seeing Jiang Ai, smiled and called out, “Aunt Jiang Ai.”

He Simu’s father called her Aunt Jiang Ai, He Simu called her Aunt Jiang Ai, and now this teenager also called her Aunt Jiang Ai. It seemed she would be Aunt Jiang Ai forever.

Jiang Ai sighed and sat down beside him. “Still reading the ghost book?”

“Yeah, I’m familiarizing myself with the evil spirits of the Twenty-Four Ghost Halls from the past three hundred years and also trying to understand why people in the world become evil spirits. Speaking of which, I have a question I’d like to ask…”

Jiang Ai felt overwhelmed. She waved her hand and said, “Chenying, let’s not talk about that for now. Simu just sent a message saying she and Duan Xu are getting married.”

Chenying’s eyes immediately lit up, excitedly asking, “So Brother and Miss Simu are finally tying the knot! Where will the wedding be held? In Yu Zhou City? Half of the guests being evil spirits and the other half humans, we really need to plan the banquet carefully…”

Seeing the rare lively expression on Chenying’s face, as if he had come alive, Jiang Ai interrupted his rambling about the wedding arrangements and propped her chin up, asking him, “Little Chenying, do you envy them?”

Chenying paused, the blue light reflecting on his pale face.

“Envy what?”

“Simu and Duan Xu have become humans, living passionately with all five senses, able to marry and grow old together. But you died, and yet you have to learn all these complicated things to support the Ghost Realm. Don’t you envy them? Do you really want to be the Ghost King?”

A look of surprise appeared on Chenying’s young face, and he said matter-of-factly, “Brother and Miss Simu being together for a lifetime is one of my wishes. Now that my wish has come true, what is there to envy? Besides, I don’t see anything wrong with being dead. Sister and Brother are still by my side, so what’s changed in this world?”

After a pause, he seemed to understand what Jiang Ai was trying to ask, and continued, “Sister once said that sacrifice is necessary to be on the throne, but there’s nothing I’m willing to sacrifice. What’s most important to me in this world are Sister and Brother, and their wishes are my lifelong aspirations. Brother has already reclaimed seventeen provinces, and Sister hopes to maintain the balance between the human world and the ghost realm. Becoming the Ghost King and fulfilling these tasks are my wishes.”

Although Jiang Ai had long known that Chenying’s determination was to protect He Simu and Duan Xu, this was the first time she felt it so clearly as a “determination.”

She furrowed her brow. “But what about you? What about your own wishes?”

“This is my own wish.”

“What if Simu and Duan Xu die a hundred years from now?”

“Then they will have descendants whom they cherish. I will do my best to protect the world they inhabit.” Chenying lowered his head to look at the ghost book and said, “I know I’m not as clever as Sister and Brother, and I don’t know if I can do it well, but I will try my best.”

Jiang Ai didn’t know what else to say.

She realized that Chenying had a special trait; he viewed “self” lightly but considered the people around him very important. Perhaps it was because of the loss of his loved ones at a young age, he had a deep attachment to his later loved ones—He Simu and Duan Xu.

Jiang Ai thought that perhaps this child would be better as he grew up. When he had his own family and more loved ones, his attachment to He Simu and Duan Xu would gradually fade.

But Chenying didn’t have the chance to grow up as a normal teenager.

Jiang Ai patted Chenying’s head and said, “Simu and I both know how hard you work. There’s no evil spirit in this world who’s more diligent and kind than you.”

She seemed to understand why the Ghost Lamp chose Chenying.

“You’ll surely become a great Ghost King.”

Chenying smiled, putting away the ghost book and lifting the Ghost Lamp, cheerfully saying, “Let’s go find them first!”

Jiang Ai watched Chenying humming a tune as he walked down the mountain, his slender figure not visible in the moonlight. She smiled and shook her head.

Former Ghost King He Yicheng was the legislator during troubled times, former Ghost King He Simu was the advocate for law and order, and later Ghost King Xue Chenying was the proponent of law and order during prosperity.

Under his rule, peace endured for thousands of years among the Ghost Realm, human realm, and the realm of immortals.

As for matters too distant to discuss, a grand wedding was held in Daizhou City five years later. The procession of red-clad attendants stretched endlessly, scattering pearl and silver coins to the people along the streets. Drums thundered, firecrackers echoed through the sky, and the entire city was adorned with red confetti, like a red snowfall.

The feast lasted for three days, causing a sensation throughout Daizhou.

No one had expected that the renowned artist He Simu would have such wealth, lavishly spending to find a husband. Even after several years, the people of Daizhou were still discussing the wedding. Some said, “If I had known earlier, I would have pursued He’s daughter.” Others replied, “Don’t dream. You haven’t seen the groom of Miss He.”

Under the bright summer sun, the groom, dressed in red with golden embroidery, smiled as he rode through the streets on horseback. Anyone who saw him would say that there was no more handsome groom in the world.

Decades later, when Zhao Xing, the governor of Qizhou, rebelled and declared himself emperor, capturing the capital and establishing a new dynasty, the people of Daizhou still fondly remembered the grand wedding and the departed He Simu and her husband.

It seemed that this grand wedding was the most legendary event in Daizhou in decades.

**Nomad: Zhao Xing is always rebelling, can’t he take a break? On a more serious note, thank you to the author for writing such a beautiful novel. Although my heart is broken with Fang Xianye’s death T T

Thank you for reading my translations. I really enjoyed reading everyone’s comments throughout.

By the time you are reading this, I am in the middle of my holiday. I have scheduled these chapters and haven’t decided which novel will be updated regularly next. Whichever novel it is, I will update my homepage to let you know. I hope you can support me there too by giving it a read if it is to your liking. Thank you again!!