The spring afternoon was peaceful and quiet. Chen Ying was still asleep nearby, so Duan Xu kept his voice low, almost whispering in her ear, yet every word was exceptionally clear.

To swear by everything that the name Duan Xu possessed in this world—this oath was heavy enough.

He Simu gazed into his eyes, then after a brief moment smiled and pushed him away. “If it’s not, then it’s not. Why are you reacting so strongly? You’re angry. This is the first time I’ve seen you truly angry. Interesting.”

He hadn’t become angry when Commander Qin threw him to the North Shore, when Wu Sheng Liu questioned him, or when Commander Qin’s subordinates ostracized him, yet he was angered by such an ordinary question.

Duan Xu pressed his lips together, his gaze turning away and then back again. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the figure before him flash, and immediately found himself pinned against the wall, his throat in her grip. He Simu wore a white single-layer garment and lifted him with just one hand. She smiled, tilting her head, “But we haven’t settled our account yet. What was it you said? That you’d only live for ten days?”

The Ghost Queen still held a grudge from the day they first exchanged sensations.

Duan Xu grasped her wrist and said with some difficulty, “Your… wounds…”

“You should worry about yourself first.” He Simu moved closer, staring intently into his eyes. Duan Xu merely returned her gaze in silence.

The sunlight was warm, the room quiet.

He Simu seemed surprised. “Aren’t you usually silver-tongued? Why aren’t you speaking now?”

Duan Xu smiled faintly. His grip on He Simu’s wrist tightened as he submissively said, “I beg… Ghost Queen… to spare me…”

“Will you dare do it again?”

“…” Duan Xu blinked but did not answer.

Eagerly admitting fault, but ready to repeat the offense next time.

He Simu narrowed her eyes. He knew she wouldn’t bear to kill him and was just humoring her. Being manipulated by this little fox didn’t feel good at all.

Yet he gazed at her with apparent sincerity, his eyes filled with nothing but her.

“Those who always protect others are very lonely.”

He Simu suddenly recalled these words that Chen Ying had relayed. The hand gripping Duan Xu’s throat paused, then released him.

When Duan Xu landed on the ground, he still had the presence of mind to use technique, making no sound that would wake Chen Ying. Even his sigh of relief and coughing were suppressed. As he bent over coughing, he looked up at He Simu with a smile in his eyes. He Simu looked down at him imperiously, waved her hand, and walked to sit on the bed. With a snap of her fingers, the heavy ancient book fell into her hand again.

“What exactly happened?” Duan Xu asked, acting as if nothing had occurred, and sat down at the edge of He Simu’s bed. He Simu’s gaze remained on the Ghost Register as she indifferently related the events to Duan Xu.

Now that both Daoist Ming Feng and the fake Qiao Yan had been burned to death by her, Duan Xu could fabricate whatever story he wished. He Simu had no desire to quibble with mortals. To her, the ones who tried to usurp her position in the Ghost Realm were the ones she needed to punish.

Duan Xu smiled and said, “What’s wrong with these subordinates of yours? How dare they be so disrespectful.”

“It’s not surprising. They’ve been eagerly waiting for me to fall from grace for quite some time now.” He Simu flipped through the Ghost Register without raising her eyelids. “Whether in the human world or the ghost realm, it’s always like this on the throne.”

Duan Xu fell silent, his gaze falling on the crisscrossing scars on her arms.

He Simu looked up at Duan Xu, following his gaze to the scars on her own body. She sighed and shook her sleeve to cover her arm. Before, she had seen Duan Xu’s body covered in old and new wounds without thinking much of it, but after truly experiencing pain herself, she realized how unbearable it was. These mortals living in the world were truly fragile.

So she said, “If only I had discovered you when you first entered the Tianzhixiao, you could have suffered fewer wounds and endured less pain.”

Duan Xu seemed to consider this seriously for a moment, then with a hint of a smile in his eyes, he said in an almost joking tone, “That wouldn’t have happened. If you had met me then, you certainly wouldn’t have been interested in me. Meeting you now, I think, is the best timing.”

During his time at Tianzhixiao, he had been most confused and in pain, living in constant fear, his heart like a furnace, with no room for affection. He was grateful she met him now, for he had already gained clarity, had firm beliefs, and needed no saving.

“You don’t wish I had rescued you earlier?”

“No, I don’t.”

I am willing to fall into hell, experience hardships, renew my sinews and bones, change my temperament, comprehend the world’s emotions, and become myself.

Then meet you.

When Chen Ying awoke, he found himself in Duan Xu’s room. After a moment of confusion, he saw Duan Xu push open the door from outside. His general brother wore light armor as if he had just returned from the training field. Seeing Chen Ying, he smiled, “Were you so worried last night that you couldn’t sleep? You’ve slept until evening.”

Chen Ying looked at the light armor Duan Xu wore and jumped down from the bed. He ran to Duan Xu and asked, “General Brother, when can I go to the battlefield with you?”

Duan Xu crouched down to look at him and said, “You’re too young. How about when you’re thirteen or fourteen, I’ll take you to the battlefield?”

Chen Ying lowered his head somewhat dejectedly, then raised it again. “Sister Xiaoxiao is a ghost… will she stay with us forever? Will she leave us?”

Duan Xu fell silent at this question.

Chen Ying became anxious. In his heart, He Xiaoxiao and Duan Xu were the two most omnipotent people, and Duan Xu’s silence now seemed to suggest there was no room for negotiation on this matter. In his urgency, he took Duan Xu’s hand and said, “Sister Xiaoxiao likes you. She… she’s even lovesick for you! Don’t you like Sister Xiaoxiao? If you two are in love, Sister Xiaoxiao will stay, right?”

Duan Xu was taken aback, his expression becoming somewhat peculiar. “Lovesick? She said that?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Hahahahaha…” Duan Xu’s expression changed several times before he finally burst out laughing, saying softly, “She really will say anything.”

Chen Ying looked at him in confusion. Duan Xu stroked his shoulder and looked into his eyes, saying, “I want to tell you something. Will you keep a secret for your brother?”

Chen Ying nodded vigorously like a little chick pecking at rice, saying, “I won’t tell anyone.”

“Good.” Duan Xu spoke slowly and seriously, “He Xiaoxiao might often say she likes me or has affection for me, but it’s all false. She doesn’t like me; she’s just saying it for fun. To her, I’m just a somewhat special mortal—special enough for her to tolerate some offenses, but not special enough for her to love me.”

Chen Ying’s expression turned bewildered.

Duan Xu was silent for a moment, then continued, “I’ve never said I like her. But… I do like her, truly.”

Chen Ying looked at Duan Xu in surprise. Before he could comment on this, he saw Duan Xu place his index finger to his lips and smile, “You promised to keep this secret for me. You absolutely cannot tell He Xiaoxiao.”

Chen Ying was still confused but nodded seriously. With his eight-year-old mind, he couldn’t understand why someone would like a person but not want them to know. He understood even less how the situation Duan Xu described was opposite to what he thought he knew!

Duan Xu nodded with satisfaction. He patted Chen Ying’s shoulder and said, “Don’t call me General Brother anymore. Since you’re my sworn brother, you should call me Third Brother like my sister does.”

Chen Ying’s eyes lit up, and he stammered, “Third Brother… Are you my brother now?”

Duan Xu nodded firmly, “As long as I remain in this world, for every day you call me Third Brother, I will be your family.”

What Chen Ying wanted was simply a promise that he would never be abandoned. When he had kept vigil by the unconscious He Xiaoxiao’s bedside, he had wondered why he was always losing people who were kind to him.

Fortunately, he hadn’t lost Sister Xiaoxiao and had even gained a brother.

Chen Ying hugged Duan Xu tightly, so happy he could fly to the sky. This time he controlled himself well and didn’t shed tears. He thought that he must grow up quickly to protect all these people who were good to him.

Originally, this farce involving evil spirits had General Yin accusing Duan Xu of killing Daoist Ming Feng to silence him, while Duan Xu countered that General Yin had tried to use Daoist Ming Feng to harm the Seventeenth Miss, resulting in a backfired scheme. As the two sides were at an impasse, Qiao Yan woke up.

This time, Qiao Yan truly regained consciousness.

Seeing her mother and brother arrive, she was so frightened she nearly fainted again. Then, weeping before everyone, she explained that her mother and brother had tried to sell her as a concubine to an old man. Unable to bear the humiliation, she had fled. She begged the gentlemen not to let her return to that hellish situation.

She also said that to take her away, her mother and brother had colluded with Daoist Ming Feng to have an evil spirit possess her, intending to frame Duan Xu and harm the Seventeenth Miss, but they lost control of the evil spirit and were devoured by it.

Of course, this part was scripted by Duan Xu and relayed through Qiao Yan.

General Yin naturally denied this. Daoist Ming Feng was dead and couldn’t testify, and the key person, Qiao Yan, had changed her story. Finally, Commander Qin and Zheng An made a decision: with a major battle imminent, this matter would be set aside to maintain military morale, and thus ended without resolution.

This was probably an outcome that all parties were pleased with.

But when He Simu saw Duan Xu casually mention that the matter wasn’t over yet, she could imagine that General Yin’s future wouldn’t be pleasant.

Meanwhile, Da Liang and Dan Zhi officially went to war again. Duan Xu’s Taibai troops were originally assigned to feint an attack on Youzhou, while the real main force would make a surprise attack on Luozhou. Duan Xu didn’t complain about being given this thankless task again; he simply took Taibai and went.

He dutifully drew Dan Zhi’s firepower at Youzhou, allowing the three armies of Cheng Jie, Su Ying, and Feng Xi to tear open a gap at Luozhou. However, the battle at Luozhou soon reached a stalemate, and General Yin even died in the chaos.

When He Simu heard this news, she found it hard to believe it wasn’t connected to Duan Xu.

The commander of the Cheng Jie army was incompetent, and the three armies were about to retreat from Luozhou. Duan Xu was urgently transferred to take command of Cheng Jie, leaving Taibai under the command of Wu Sheng Liu and Xia Qing Sheng.

Upon arriving at the Cheng Jie army, Duan Xu issued many military orders with swift decisiveness. During discussions with several generals and Commander Qin about military intelligence, he abandoned his formerly compliant attitude, becoming incisive and firm. With the military situation dire and an imperial edict pressing them to capture Yunzhou and Luozhou within two months, Commander Qin could only let Duan Xu take the risk.

Surprisingly, the results were excellent.

Duan Xu was very familiar with the terrain of Yunzhou and Luozhou. He used the landscape to lure the enemy deep into ambushes, and divided his forces for flanking harassment, wearing down the Luozhou troops mercilessly. He also used the contents of the Cangyanjing to create supernatural illusions, engaging in psychological warfare with the Dan Zhi army, continuing his trademark unconventional and crafty style.

As Yunzhou and Luozhou territories were gradually devoured, combined with the ongoing succession struggle in the Dan Zhi royal court, the royal court didn’t consider Yunzhou and Luozhou particularly important areas. Suspecting that Da Liang still wanted Youzhou, they stationed their elite troops around the capital and Youzhou, refusing to send reinforcements to Yunzhou and Luozhou. Without supplies and support, the Yunzhou and Luozhou defenders ultimately couldn’t hold on and retreated step by step.

With heaven’s timing, geographical advantage, and human harmony, after two months, the Da Liang army occupied Yunzhou and Luozhou.

Duan Xu became the commander of both the Cheng Jie and Taibai armies.

After Da Liang soldiers had established defenses in these two prefectures and temporarily ceased hostilities, the war that had lasted nearly half a year, shifting from defense to offense, finally paused. Duan Xu would also return to the Southern Capital with Commander Qin to report on their duties. The journey from Yunzhou to the Southern Capital would take about a month.

“Wasting a month on travel is so inefficient,” said He Simu, who could travel a thousand miles in a day and appear anywhere in an instant. She reminded Duan Xu, “You still owe me one more exchange of the five senses.”

Duan Xu finished writing his memorial, put down his brush, and replied, “When would you like to collect?”

“Now.” He Simu moved closer to Duan Xu and smiled, “Young General Duan, would you like to see the Ghost Realm during this month?”