Yuzhou
After getting the information she wanted, He Simu stayed at the Yilier family for a few days before leaving. Duan Xu naturally bid farewell to Lu Da and accompanied He Simu.
As they walked out of the city, the small road outside the city was filled with purple and red flowers, and the spring breeze was gentle. As Duan Xu walked, he slowly smelled the fragrance of grass and flowers, mixed with He Simu’s scent.
Originally, her scent was very cold, like a mixture of snow and plum blossom, but now it had changed to his fragrance. They had the same scent, but hers was still colder.
Time was up, the exchange was over.
He Simu, who was walking ahead of Duan Xu, stopped and turned around to look at him for a moment. A ghostly aura gradually emanated from her, her eyes turning as black as ink. Duan Xu felt a churn in his stomach and bent over, spitting out the Ghost King Lamp, causing the surrounding ghostly aura to dissipate.
The evil ghost Duan Xu turned back into the mortal Duan Xu.
The Ghost King Lamp floated in the air, wrapped in a gust of wind, rolled in the nearby stream, and then emerged from the water back to He Simu’s waist.
He Simu lowered her eyes and casually wiped the Ghost King Lamp, calling out, “Jiang Ai.”
As soon as she spoke, a purple-clad, butterfly-patterned, graceful woman in her thirties appeared on this country road. She was adorned with jewels and looked more magnificent than the concubines in the palace, which seemed out of place with the rustic scenery. She bowed her head and saluted, “Your Majesty.”
“Prepare the carriage, I want to return to Yuzhou City.”
“I have already arranged it for Your Majesty’s rest period.”
At that moment, dust flew up on the road, and Duan Xu rubbed his sleeves to shield his eyes. When he put his arm down, he saw many ghosts appearing on the road, like dark clouds filling the sky. Among the evil spirits, thirty-two ghost servants carried a carved redwood sedan chair with clouds and flames. The sedan chair was surrounded by gauze curtains, and bells hung at the four corners, producing a clear and melodious sound.
Duan Xu was stunned, as if he could still see evil spirits because of the lingering effects of the Ghost King Lamp.
“Simu, I can still see evil spirits and wandering souls,” he said.
Hearing the word “Simu” from his mouth, Jiang Ai, the mistress of the Xuan Ghost Palace and the Left Minister of the Ghost Realm, raised her eyebrows in surprise. Her gaze shifted between him and He Simu, almost writing the word “curious” in her eyes.
He Simu seemed completely unaware of Duan Xu’s words, walking along the red carpet laid out straight towards the sedan chair. She reached out her pale hand from her crimson sleeve, and a ghost servant offered his arm for her to lean on as she stepped onto the sedan chair.
Actually, these few days, she had hardly paid any attention to him. He was almost talking to himself beside her.
Duan Xu’s gaze darkened slightly.
“Are you leaving?” he asked, raising his voice slightly, uncertain.
She smoothly entered the sedan chair without answering, as if she was about to leave this mortal world without looking back. When the curtain was lowered, it separated them from each other. Previously, she mentioned that she would only take a vacation once every few decades, so if she took one now, it might be a lifetime.
Duan Xu lowered his eyes for a moment, then looked up and smiled. He joked lightly outside the sedan chair, “Didn’t you say it would be a month? It’s only been a few days. A gentleman’s word is his bond, you can’t deceive me.”
“I’ve been so audacious before, I’ve offended you so many times, how can you just let me go like this? Aren’t you going to settle the score with me? Not make me pay the price?”
There was silence all around, He Simu didn’t answer, and Duan Xu couldn’t see her expression either. The smile on his face remained unchanged, but the fist behind his back clenched tighter and tighter.
Then the curtain was pulled back, and the pale woman frowned slightly, saying, “Why so much nonsense, come up here.”
Duan Xu was startled. His hands behind his back loosened for a moment, and he relaxed, the smile on his lips growing bigger.
He cheerfully exclaimed, “Okay.”
He Simu raised her chin, and the ghost servant beside her immediately reached out a hand, as if serving her, to help Duan Xu onto the sedan chair.
Jiang Ai watched from the side, smiling meaningfully behind her hand.
Yuzhou City was located in the southeast of the Daliang territory. It had been occupied by evil spirits hundreds of years ago. At first, it was forbidden for humans to approach, but later the Ghost King simply cast a spell to make the city completely disappear from the eyes of the world. So in this world today, Yuzhou City was like a legend, no one knew if the Ghost King’s Yuzhou City existed, or where it was.
But obviously, not only did Yuzhou City exist, but it was also very lively.
When the Ghost King finished his rest, he returned in grand style on the sedan chair, letting the palace lords know that the Ghost King was coming back. For a while, except for the fleeing Xingyu Palace Lord, the other palace lords all gathered in Yuzhou City to respectfully welcome the Ghost King.
Duan Xu followed He Simu off the sedan chair and saw this legendary ghost city. The city walls and houses were tall, all four stories or more, with walls and roofs as white as snow, shining brightly. The only visible colours in the entire city were black, white, and grey, so the red carpet on the ground stood out, stretching from the palace all the way to He Simu’s feet.
The evil spirits lined up on both sides of the road. As soon as He Simu stepped off the sedan chair, the evil spirits immediately knelt and prostrated themselves on both sides of the road, loudly proclaiming, “All welcome the Majesty!”
Duan Xu’s steps paused, he pinched the edge of the curtain hat and pressed down. This hat, which had been split in half and restored by He Simu, was now back on Duan Xu’s head.
Entering the ghost city as a living person, this was truly like a lamb entering a tiger’s den.
He accepted the worship of the myriad ghosts behind the Ghost King with a semblance of authority, walking from the red carpet all the way to the gate of the palace. The palace lords were all bowing under the steps of the palace, saying, “Your Majesty.”
Standing at the head of the palace lords was a man in his late twenties, tall and stern, with sharp eyebrows and eyes, exuding an aura of majesty that made people not dare to approach.
After bowing to He Simu, the man’s gaze fell on the young man behind her, who wore a hat that obscured his features. It was said that the Ghost King brought back a living person from the mortal world and even let him sit in her own sedan chair.
This was indeed showing an extreme favour.
“Your Majesty, this is…”
Before he could finish, He Simu pointed to the young man behind her and said, “Yan Ke, tie him up and hang him at the palace gate for two days and two nights.”
The young man seemed stunned for a moment, then he actually laughed out loud. “Your Highness finally settles the score with me.”
His tone sounded as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart, light and joyful.
He Simu raised her chin and glanced at the young man before waving her sleeve and walking into the palace. Yan Ke watched the young man bow to him and offer his hands, smiling, “Thank you, Master Yan Ke.”
He couldn’t help but frown. What was the relationship between this mortal and He Simu?
Just now, returning with the Ghost King, he seemed to be highly favoured, but now he was suddenly tied up with ropes and hung outside the palace gate, attracting the attention of the evil spirits in Yuzhou City. Meanwhile, the Ghost King convened the ghost officials to hold a court meeting to discuss the issues left behind during her rest and the situation discovered. When it came to the assassination attempt, Guan Huai immediately stepped forward, expressing deep regret and self-blame, loudly condemning her own failure in discipline and governance, unexpectedly colluding with Fang Chang and the Xingyu Palace Lord. Then he swore repeatedly that he had no ulterior motives and would never harm the King.
Guan Huai was truly a character who could put on a good show all by himself, passionately sincere and without the dignity expected of the oldest evil spirit in the ghost realm. It was probably his ability to sail with the wind that kept him from turning to ashes until now.
He Simu looked calmly at Guan Huai’s performance, not interrupting until he finished his act. Then, flipping through the recent documents, she said, “Yan Ke, what’s your opinion?”
Yan Ke stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Fang Chang has been captured and detained in the Nine Palace Prison. He should be sentenced to annihilation. Guan Huai’s negligence led to this disaster, so he should also be punished by being sent to the Nine Palace Prison. I, as the supervisor of the Ghost Realm in place of Your Majesty, also should be punished for my oversight. Please make a judgment, Your Majesty.”
He Simu tossed the documents onto the platform and said, “Bring Fang Chang here.”
Soon, Fang Chang was brought to the court. After several months of absence, the evil spirit with a scholarly appearance looked very dishevelled, his hair bun askew, bits of hair scattered, and a frightened expression still lingering on his face as he knelt unsteadily on the ground. Having just emerged from the Nine Palace Prison, he probably couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion.
He Simu descended from the throne step by step, standing with her hands behind her back in front of Fang Chang. She leaned down and said, “Fang Chang.”
This call immediately awakened Fang Chang. He hesitated for a moment, fear instinctively evident in his eyes, mixed with a hint of madness.
“Your Majesty, you’ve returned,” he said with a sneer. “So I’m going to be annihilated, right? Well, come on then! All you know how to do is to annihilate anyone you don’t like. Do you think you can secure your throne like this? Do you think they really obey you? Everyone is just waiting for you to weaken a little so they can replace you. You’re just relying on your own strength, and tyrants like you deserve to be overthrown by everyone!”
This evil spirit seemed to think he was a righteous advisor.
He Simu chuckled softly, lowering her head. “Yes, but what can you do? I’m standing right here. If you can kill me, then come and do it.”
She straightened up, saying lightly, “I thought you’d have more inspiring last words.”
With that, the Ghost King Lamp on her body ignited, and Fang Chang was immediately engulfed in flames. He rolled and screamed in agony within the firelight, his voice echoing through the sky. Even the most resolute ghost officials couldn’t help but shudder.
He screamed for half an hour before falling silent. When the flames extinguished, fine dust dispersed in the air, drifting silently in the sunlight.
The death that had lasted for over five hundred years finally came to an end. There was no eternal flame, only silent ashes.
The expressions of the palace lords varied, murmuring to each other. It could vaguely be heard that someone was saying that a deputy palace lord said “no” and ended up dead, and that Your Majesty had killed more than twenty deputy palace lords and palace lords.
He Simu glanced up and, amidst the drifting dust, saw Duan Xu suspended in the distance. The palace walls and tiles were snow-white, adorned with black flame patterns, and his black attire seemed like a pattern on the white wall.
Outside the palace, the threads of wind were dense, and the black veil on his curtain hat was entangled by the wind, fluttering. From the gap, she saw his eyes.
Bright, slightly raised, clear as jade, his eyes were focused on her.
After exchanging a brief gaze with him, He Simu withdrew her gaze and sat down on the throne indifferently. “Guan Huai, the Xingyu Palace Lord, is sentenced to ten years in the Nine Palace Prison, and the Xingyu Palace will be temporarily managed by Jiang Ai. As for Yan Ke, his negligence in overseeing the ghost domain for a moment will not be pursued further. However, if there is a next time, he will be punished similarly to Guan Huai.”
The palace lords bowed and accepted their orders. Guan Huai secretly wiped his sweat. He really didn’t want to stay in the Nine Palace Prison, even for a moment, let alone ten years. He was indeed heavily burdened because of Fang Chang.
But it was still better than being turned to ashes.
After this meeting convened by the Ghost King, the rewards and punishments for the merits and demerits accumulated over the past six months were implemented. The palace lords had been on edge until the meeting concluded. When He Simu waved her hand and said, “You may leave,” the eyes of all the palace lords in the entire palace lit up with reverence, and they respectfully withdrew one by one.
Jiang Ai and Yan Ke stayed in the palace. Yan Ke glanced from afar at Duan Xu hanging obediently at the palace gate and asked He Simu, “Your Majesty, who is the person you brought back?”
“As you can see, he’s a living person,” He Simu replied casually, her gaze on the documents.
It was evident that she didn’t want to say more. She even specially gave the mortal a curtain hat with a spell that would make any evil spirit who saw him forget his appearance, implying a measure of protection.
Jiang Ai glanced at He Simu, then at Yan Ke, and burst into laughter. “It seems that this child has some affection for our Majesty, and our Majesty is very tolerant of him. Is this the first time our Majesty has brought back a beloved one to Yuzhou City?”
Yan Ke’s expression darkened, and his fist under his sleeve clenched. Jiang Ai laughed even more heartily, not minding the seriousness of the matter as she pointed at Yan Ke. “Oh my, Yan Ke, look at your expression, feeling uncomfortable? Everyone knows that our Majesty dislikes evil spirits and prefers mortals. It’s been hundreds of years, yet you’re still holding onto that hope.”
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