The great powers of the world divide and unite, seas turn to mulberry fields. Now, the thirty-six states of the world are divided by the Guan River, with north and south opposing each other. To the south is the Great Liang Dynasty, the orthodox Han Chinese regime, while to the north is the Dan Zhi Nation established by the nomadic Hu Qi people.

Unfortunately, the seventeen states north of the Guan River were once the heartland of the Han Chinese, landscapes praised in countless poems by scholars and talents. Several decades ago, the kingdom changed hands and became Hu Qi territory.

Although Liang’s soldiers were far inferior in combat prowess to the grassland Hu Qi people, the natural barrier of the Guan River and Hu Qi’s poor naval capabilities kept the two sides relatively peaceful for many years. Unexpectedly, nature brought sudden changes. The Guan River, turbulent year-round, experienced a rare century-freeze this year, with sections flowing through Liang State and Yu State completely frozen over.

This delighted the Hu Qi people. They led their armies south, crossing the Guan River as if it were flat ground. In just ten days, they occupied Liang Prefecture city and more than ten subordinate counties. Ten more days and they had swallowed half of Yu State, advancing directly toward the Southern Capital.

Such human upheavals were nothing new to He Simu, an evil ghost over four hundred years old. She had witnessed countless cycles of peace and chaos. Whether the world enjoyed prosperity or suffered warfare made little difference to an evil ghost. Her intimate knowledge of these military affairs stemmed from a peculiar preference.

She was a picky evil ghost who only consumed those at the brink of death, and never those dying from illness. This narrowed her food choices considerably, making battlefields her most frequented hunting grounds.

So wherever battles erupted, she viewed it as a banquet’s beginning and would eagerly attend.

She had been preoccupied with other matters when Hu Qi defeated Liang’s army and captured two states. By the time she had nearly resolved her business, the previously triumphant Hu Qi had suffered a major setback in Liang State, ambushed and defeated by Great Liang’s army before they could join forces with the Dan Zhi troops in Yu State, and were driven back north of the Guan River.

Likely unwilling to relinquish what they had consumed, the Hu Qi massacred Liang Prefecture city during their retreat. Half the civilians died under their blades—the scene He Simu had encountered earlier.

He Simu, resting her chin on her hand while spinning the jade pendant in her fingers, waited for the little one on the bed to wake up.

The Liang Prefecture Governor had been killed by the Hu Qi, leaving the mansion vacant. The young general had temporarily taken residence in the Governor’s mansion, and the body she was possessing, having fainted, had been settled in a courtyard of the mansion. She had been unconscious for an entire day before finally recovering.

The young general was indeed attentive. Following her instructions before fainting, he rescued the child from the pile of corpses and placed him in the same courtyard with her. However, despite sleeping for a long time and not being seriously injured, the child showed no signs of waking.

Two knocks sounded at the door. Before He Simu could invite them in, the door was forcefully opened, revealing an impatient visitor.

A female warrior dressed in bright armor entered. She had a high ponytail bound with a purple cloth, and sharp features with a masculine air. She carried a food box in her right hand, giving He Simu a neutral glance before placing the box on the table. Her tone was flat as she spoke.

“Awake? The physician examined you. You and your brother are merely exhausted with no major injuries. Once your brother wakes, you should leave the mansion.”

Leave the mansion?

She hadn’t yet gathered information about the young general. How could she abandon this small amusement she had just found during her leisure time?

He Simu took the female warrior’s hand, displaying an admiring maiden’s expression, smoothly saying: “Sister, you’re so gallant! Though a woman, you serve as a military commander. I truly admire you. May I ask your name?”

The female warrior looked down at He Simu, her upturned phoenix eyes containing a sharp gaze, and replied tersely: “Meng Wan.”

She didn’t ask for He Simu’s name in return. In the flickering lamplight, her expression remained cold, clearly wishing to end the conversation quickly.

However, He Simu didn’t give her the opportunity. Gripping Meng Wan’s sleeve tightly, she said with an unchanged expression: “Pleased to meet you. This humble woman is named He Xiaoxiao. My brother and I are currently weak. We wish to rest in the mansion for a few more days. Could you please inform the general and ask for his accommodation? Oh yes, may I know the name of the general who saved me today?”

Meng Wan narrowed her eyes, her already sharp gaze now even more blade-like. She slowly lowered her head to look directly into He Simu’s eyes, as if trying to peel back her skin to see her true form. He Simu did not avoid her gaze, instead meeting it with smiling eyes.

“You’re not right,” Meng Wan said.

“Oh? What’s not right about me?”

“Everything’s not right. Liang City has been massacred, your brother lies unconscious, yet you show no fear?”

He Simu tilted her head and replied leisurely: “How does Sister Meng know I’m not afraid? This is just how I appear when frightened. Besides, after surviving the hell of Liang City’s massacre, now with the general descending like a heavenly deity, shouldn’t we feel more secure?”

Meng Wan grabbed He Simu’s wrist, her voice deepening: “My instincts have never been wrong. You’re not a good person. Why are you trying to approach our general? Are you…”

He Simu’s eyes flickered as she smiled at Meng Wan.

“Are you… Prince Pei’s person?”

…What? What prince?

He Simu was confused for a moment, then burst into laughter: “Sister, what are you saying? What prince is this? I’ve never even heard of him.”

Although she hadn’t spoken a true word since the beginning, this statement was genuine.

What did the high-ranking nobles of the human world have to do with her?

The powerful weren’t particularly tasty, and she wasn’t like Yan Ke, the Lord of the Yi Ghost Palace, who specifically targeted officials wielding power.

Meng Wan didn’t believe her words. She released He Simu’s wrist and said harshly: “I don’t care what your intentions are, abandon them now! Do you know our young master’s background and talents? It’s only because of his sincere nature and lack of defenses that scoundrels like you harmed him, nearly ruining his future! This isn’t the imperial court, but the battlefield. Even at the cost of my life, I won’t let you harm a single hair on our young master!”

Meng Wan’s righteous and passionate speech left He Simu quite speechless, feeling as if a huge black pot had been dumped on her head.

But Meng Wan’s words reminded her of the hands that had offered her the handkerchief—those neatly manicured, slender white hands covered in scars.

They seemed like hands that should hold a brush, not be on a battlefield.

Hearing Meng Wan call the young general “young master,” it seemed they had known each other before he became a general.

“From what you’re saying, the general has suffered quite a bit?”

“Stop pretending…”

Just as Meng Wan was about to speak, a clear rumbling sound came from a stomach. Both turned to see that the little one on the bed had awakened at some point and was focusing intently on the food box between them.

Xue Chen Ying, who had slept for a day and a night, had been awakened by the aroma of food.

He Simu watched the child wolfing down his dinner and comforted him: “Eat slowly, no one will take it from you. You said you’re eight years old, and your name is…”

“Xue… Chen Ying…” the child said indistinctly, his mouth full of food.

“Ah, then I’ll call you Chen Ying. That’s fine.”

“Okay… Sister, who are you… Where is my father?”

He Simu thought for a moment, unwilling to interrupt his good appetite, and said: “My name is He Xiaoxiao. As for your father, finish your meal first, and then I’ll tell you.”

Chen Ying nodded, burying his little face in his food bowl again.

He Simu rested her chin on her hand, thinking this boy had absolutely no wariness—his closest relationship was with food.

Meng Wan was busy with military affairs and left after delivering her harsh words, leaving a few people to watch the courtyard. Chen Ying only cared about food. As soon as Meng Wan left, he scurried to the table, asking He Simu if he could eat these things.

Now he was busy wolfing down his food. He Simu, chin in hand, watched his bright eyes and casually asked: “Is it fragrant? Delicious?”

“Fragrant! Delicious!” Chen Ying’s cheeks were stuffed. Taking a moment from his busy eating, he glanced at He Simu, who was halfheartedly picking at her food. “Sister… don’t you like it?”

“Ah… I can’t say I like it, nor can I say I don’t like it…” He Simu replied, picking at her bowl of food without much enthusiasm as if completing a task.

After all, evil ghosts have no sense of taste and cannot taste flavors. Of course, human flesh and soul flames aren’t delicious either; they merely satisfy hunger.

Seen this way, being a ghost was quite miserable.

Chen Ying finally filled his stomach. He put down his bowl, letting out a big, satisfied burp. His large eyes blinked as he looked at He Simu.

“Thank you, Miss Xiaoxiao. I’m full now. Where is my father?”

He Simu looked him up and down. The child wore coarse cloth clothes with many clumsy patches. His family circumstances must be extremely poor, and the rough stitching of the patches suggested his father might have sewn them for him. If so, his mother was likely no longer in this world.

Though this child was thin and weak, his appearance was still quite proper—a round little face with round eyes, somewhat endearingly silly.

“Besides your father, do you have any other relatives in this world—mother, grandparents, maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, or the like?” He Simu asked.

Chen Ying shook his head honestly. He drooped his head and said: “Most of my family members are gone. Only my father and I depend on each other.”

He Simu rubbed her temple. This child’s soul flames seemed complete, yet his luck was as bad as those missing a soul flame.

“Do you remember what happened before you fainted?”

Chen Ying hesitated. He seemed to resist recalling those scenes, the color draining from his face. He grasped He Simu’s hand and said: “Bad people… bad people were killing nonstop… My father… my father was… stabbed in the stomach… He bled so much…”

He finally remembered.

He Simu allowed him to shake her hand, speaking calmly yet seriously: “Your father is dead. Tomorrow I’ll take you to bury him.”

Upon hearing the words “dead,” Chen Ying’s eyes instantly widened. His lips trembled, and tears began to fall, both confused and grieved.

“Really? Sister, can you think of something… Can my father come back to life? My father was once injured by a sickle, with a big gash on his leg. He bled a lot… But later the doctor came… and he stopped bleeding… He could even work in the fields again… Earlier, when my mother was still alive, she said minor injuries don’t matter… Everyone gets little bumps and bruises…”

The more anxious the child became, the more he talked, crying while speaking and speaking while crying, as if his mouth were beyond his control, words spilling out in streams. He spoke of his father, then his mother, then his grandparents and maternal grandparents, as if he needed to search every corner of his mind to find evidence that his father could survive being stabbed through the stomach.

He Simu just watched him quietly, neither speaking nor moving, watching as he cried until he was gasping for breath, incoherent, his voice growing softer and softer.

Finally, Chen Ying stopped speaking, took a deep breath, and asked hoarsely: “My father said… people can’t come back to life once dead. Is that true?”

This time He Simu finally spoke. She nodded and said: “It’s true.”

Chen Ying’s eyes trembled, but he didn’t cry anymore, just appearing completely lost.

“Then who are you, Sister?”

“Your father showed me kindness. Since you have no relatives, I will look after you for a while and then entrust you to a good family.”

Chen Ying drooped, then nodded. For no apparent reason, he said softly: “My father said I cry too much, not at all like a real man.”

He Simu patted his head and said: “When my parents died, I caused an absolute uproar. If I could have cried, I would have cried even more fiercely than you. You’re already much braver than I was back then.”