CALID Chapter 94

Hold Hostage

As the sun rose, Jiang Ai saw He Simu on the streets of Yuzhou City. She was walking alone, her steps slow as if she were lost in thought.

Approaching her, Jiang Ai pointed to the corner of He Simu’s mouth and asked curiously, “Your Majesty, what’s that on the corner of your mouth?”

He Simu touched her mouth and replied, “Medicine residue.”

Jiang Ai was even more surprised. Why would a ghost need to drink medicine? She instantly thought of the little child from the mortal realm but swallowed her question when she saw He Simu’s expression.

Walking side by side on the streets of Yuzhou City, now in chaos in the ghost realm, with all the lords returning to their territories to command their ghost armies, and with the obedient deployment of troops to suppress the rebellion, there were not many evil spirits left in Yuzhou City.

“Bai Sanxing has been performing very well recently,” He Simu casually remarked.

“He wishes he could tear Yan Ke apart alive. Naturally, he’ll work hardest on the battlefield. Yan Ke can’t use the Ghost King Lamp. Relying solely on his own magical power, he can’t match up to you,” Jiang Ai said, then curiously asked, “Why can’t Yan Ke use the Ghost King Lamp? His magical power isn’t weak, so he should be able to control the lamp.”

He Simu smiled lightly and replied casually, “As long as I’m around, he shouldn’t even think about using the Ghost King Lamp.”

They reached a quiet corner of the street and saw a patch of autumn begonias blooming by the roadside, the peak of their flowering, spreading brilliantly to the end of the street. He Simu’s steps paused as she squatted down to look at the gracefully blooming flowers. In her mind emerged the map of Yuzhou City drawn by Duan Xu.

Autumn begonias, forget-me-nots. These flowers were light pink, like the evening glow after the autumn sunset, faintly spreading across the sky after the sun had set, with a subtle fragrance, slightly cold, as if mixed with a hint of ointment in the dew.

Jiang Ai saw the begonias and seemed to remember something, saying, “The wood and paint you requested earlier have arrived. They’re piled at the foot of the back mountain. Vermilion, red lead, carbon black, malachite green, orpiment. What kind of palace are you planning to build with such flashy colours? You can’t even distinguish them clearly.”

He Simu remained silent, reaching out to touch the autumn begonias. Suddenly, she asked Jiang Ai, “Aunt Jiang Ai, do you remember what pain feels like?”

Jiang Ai was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and replied somewhat dejectedly, “I’ve forgotten, I only remember it’s a bad feeling.”

“It’s strange, even though I can’t feel it,” He Simu murmured softly.

Why would she feel pain? From the moment she saw Duan Xu until now.

Jiang Ai, Bai Sanxing, Feng Yi, even her distant parents all said that she was very powerful and that she would be the strongest Ghost King.

Was that really the case?

She had never been so desperate before; she urgently desired to possess the power that could protect him, to rescue him from aging, illness, pain, and death.

But she was powerless, unable to fight against the natural cycle of life and death.

She hated her powerlessness.

This time, Duan Xu brought back ten thousand soldiers from the frontline, stationed them outside the southern capital, claiming it was to pay respects to the new ruler upon their victorious return. However, if the new ruler refused to let him return to the frontline, the role of these soldiers would be uncertain.

After recovering from a high fever, Duan Xu rested for several days. Ignoring the advice of the doctors and his sister, he rode out of the city, intending to visit the military camp outside. He rode slowly through the streets of the southern capital but galloped swiftly once he was out of the city. The northern wind blew his clothes and hair, and in the desolation of winter, trees and dust flew by rapidly as he passed.

There was still some distance to the military camp when his horse suddenly neighed, stopped, and even took a few steps back. Duan Xu stroked the horse’s mane and, amidst the flying dust, saw a group of soldiers in armour with weapons suddenly appear as if out of nowhere.

Judging by the appearance of these soldiers, they were neither his troops nor the city’s garrison. With their inexplicable appearance and ominous aura, these pale-faced soldiers with dark eyes hardly seemed human at all.

Holding the reins tightly, Duan Xu thought it seemed the battle on Simu’s side wasn’t over yet.

“Be careful, Lord Duan!” A shout came from somewhere, and suddenly three Taoist priests appeared in white robes in front of Duan Xu’s horse.

Duan Xu looked at these three unexpected young men in white robes and saw them chanting words while one of them threw an umbrella-shaped magical tool above his head. Immediately, a protective circle formed around Duan Xu. The group of evil spirits rushed towards him like a dark cloud, but the Taoist priests swiftly wielded their swords, slashing through the dark cloud with lightning speed, scattering ashes everywhere.

Dismounting from his horse, Duan Xu looked at the golden light emanating from the magical circle beneath his feet and then at the magical tool above his head. He couldn’t help but feel the peculiar sensation of being protected by others.

“May I ask who you three are?” he asked loudly.

“We are disciples of the Star Palace, sent by Senior Brother Feng Yi to protect Your Excellency,” one of the priests replied while busy fighting off the demons.

As expected, Duan Xu watched them fight, realizing this was entirely unfamiliar territory for him. So, he leaned against his horse, holding his sword, and obediently stood within the protective circle. Any evil spirits attempting to approach him were repelled by the circle, only able to rage outside the golden light.

One of the three, a tall and thin white-robed priest, flew over, slaying the evil spirits outside the circle with his sword. However, just as he was about to turn around and join the melee again, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The Taoist priest slowly turned his head to look at Duan Xu, his posture somewhat stiff as he raised his hand to retract the magical tool and dispel the protective circle. Duan Xu’s gaze sharpened.

“What are you doing, Mu Xi?” his companion shouted.

Before the words had fully left his companion’s mouth, Duan Xu’s Broken Illusion Sword was already drawn, resting at the throat of the Taoist priest. Duan Xu narrowed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips. “Yan Ke, come out of his body,” he said calmly.

The Taoist priest fell silent for a moment before saying, “You have quite the ruthless eye.”

He looked down at the sword by his neck and then raised his eyes. “Are you going to kill this cultivator to save yourself?”

Duan Xu’s gaze flickered.

The cultivator possessed by a ghost walked away with his sword, then turned against the remaining two cultivators. The two were both astonished and furious, struggling to resist amidst a throng of malevolent ghosts.

Taking the opportunity while the evil spirits were distracted, the evil spirits approaching Duan Xu were swiftly slashed by his Broken Illusion Sword. Dealing with spirits of this calibre was well within his capabilities. He had called for He Simu earlier, but there was no sign of her now, presumably having been handed over to Feng Yi long ago. Seeing the sinister black cloud of spirits about to engulf the other two Taoist priests, Duan Xu hesitated for a moment, then realizing that they couldn’t defeat Yan Ke anyway, he decided to put his Broken Illusion Sword against his own neck.

“Yan Ke, let’s make a deal,” he announced loudly.

The possessed Taoist priest turned his head, his black eyes locking onto Duan Xu.

“If you’ve come to rob me, you surely don’t want to leave with just one corpse, right? I’ll go with you, you release these three young heroes, and… my horse,” Duan Xu said, smiling and pointing to his fine steed by his side.

The Taoist priest looked at Duan Xu for a moment, then waved his hand, and the attacking evil spirits stopped. The tall and solemn blue-clad spirit stepped out of the Taoist priest’s body, crossing the ashes of the fallen spirits on the ground to stand in front of Duan Xu, and said coldly, “Duan Shunxi, let’s see how long you can keep smiling.”

Duan Xu sheathed his sword, the smile fading from his eyes as he noticed the ghostly lamp jade pendant at Yan Ke’s waist.

Yan Ke had promised to wipe the smile off Duan Xu’s face, and he hadn’t lied.

Blindfolded, Duan Xu was taken somewhere unknown, where he endured a long session of brutal torture, letting out a painful laugh as his lips split open. Bound to a rack, he felt as though there wasn’t a single part of his body that wasn’t hurting. The last time he had been injured so badly was probably during his confrontation with Shi Wu. He wasn’t sure why he had been brought here after coughing up blood and running a fever, wondering if his body could handle this punishment.

But perhaps the fading pain was a blessing; otherwise, he might have passed out from the agony. Regardless of how the demons around him cursed and shouted, Duan Xu simply tilted his head – playing dead.

The voices of the surrounding evil spirits suddenly quieted down, and footsteps approached.

Duan Xu presumed it was Yan Ke who had arrived.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s been knocked unconscious, Your Majesty,” the executioner demon said obsequiously.

Your Majesty? Had Yan Ke already declared himself as king? Why was the Ghost King Lamp here with him? How was Simu doing?

A series of questions floated through Duan Xu’s mind, but he only heard Yan Ke give a cold laugh and say, “Simu, you’ve protected him quite well. It took quite some effort for me to get my hands on him.”

Duan Xu’s heart skipped a beat. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and amidst the silence, He Simu’s voice rang out as if from a distant and blurry source.

“Oh? You also realize that your time is up and have resorted to such tactics.” He Simu’s voice, absent for a year, sounded indifferent and calm.

“You were willing to exchange his life for the Ghost King Lamp last time. What will you use to bargain this time?” Yan Ke asked softly.

Exchange his life for the Ghost King Lamp.

Duan Xu froze.

Everything from the day they parted a year ago flashed through his mind rapidly – from He Simu’s gaze to the subsequent words of Chenying, stopping at one sentence she said – it was Miss who brought back the antidote.

The day she left, it seemed like she didn’t have the Ghost King Lamp with her.

So He Simu had used the Ghost King Lamp to exchange for his antidote. At this critical moment, He Simu had lost the Ghost King Lamp, which prolonged the war for another half year until today.

Duan Xu’s heart sank, sinking into the depths of a lake, half icy and half fiery. He slowly clenched his fist.

On the other end, He Simu laughed. “Hahaha, what exchange? How about the Ghost King Lamp I gave you? Isn’t that clear enough? I’ve done everything I could for him. Now, there’s no relationship between him and me. If you want to kill him, go ahead.”

“He Simu!” Yan Ke’s voice suddenly rose, sounding like he had knocked something over with a loud clang. He exclaimed angrily, “What did you do to the Ghost King Lamp? Why can’t I use it?”

For a moment, the room was filled with silence, then laughter echoed.

“Hahaha… Poor Yan Ke. For three hundred years, you’ve been unable to find my weakness, and now you have the Ghost King Lamp but can’t use it. You can’t defeat me, you can’t kill me, yet you’ve fallen in love with me. How could there be such a foolish person like you?”

After a pause, He Simu continued calmly, “Let me tell you something. Three hundred years ago, I deliberately infused a fragment of my own soul into the Ghost King Lamp. So, the Ghost King Lamp you coveted so much is, in fact, the key to my life.”

This statement struck like an arrow to the heart, visibly freezing Yan Ke in place.

He Simu’s voice floated ethereally, sounding both pitying and provocative as she said, “If you want to kill me, destroying the Ghost King Lamp is the way, but are you willing to do it?”

Without the invaluable treasure, the Ghost King Lamp, how could Yan Ke stand against the combined forces of Jiang Ai and Bai Sanxing? How could he legitimately claim the title of Ghost King? The realm of evil spirits is driven by desires, with greed for power and position deeply ingrained. Who could bear to destroy the coveted Ghost King Lamp, acquired through such cunning and effort?

However, as long as He Simu still existed, as long as her fragment of soul remained within the Ghost King Lamp, no one could command the Ghost King Lamp without her permission.

The only way to possess the Ghost King Lamp was to destroy it.

This was the trap she had set for every ambitious spirit since she entered the realm of the spirits.