This major victory at the border resulted in Da Liang seizing control of three prefectures on the North Shore in one stroke. With Zheng An present, even Commander Qin couldn’t manipulate anything; reports of Duan Xu’s military achievements were submitted one after another, and everyone speculated about what special honors would be bestowed upon Duan Xu after his return to the capital. The generals who had previously ostracized him now showed subtle signs of friendliness.
But Duan Xu wasn’t particularly receptive. He simply cupped his hands to Commander Qin, stating that he had some friends from the jianghu to meet and wouldn’t travel with them, but would naturally rendezvous in the Southern Capital later. Then he simply disappeared without ceremony. This arrogant behavior shocked even Zheng An, who remarked that he was indeed a young man not yet twenty, becoming somewhat complacent after gaining military merit.
Meanwhile, the cleanly vanished Duan Xu was now sitting face-to-face with his curse-binder, Ghost Queen He Simu, in an inn in Yunzhou.
He Simu wore her red and white layered court robe, with silver cloud-shaped hairpins swaying in her hair, their tassels reaching down to her shoulders. With one hand propping up her chin, she used the other to offer Duan Xu a sugar pill the size of a pigeon egg. “Eat this.”
Duan Xu had removed his battle armor and official robes, wearing a black round-collared robe with his hair tied in a high ponytail and a black silver-patterned headband across his forehead. He looked like a handsome youth, with no one able to tell he was the illustrious General Duan Shunxi.
He glanced at the sugar pill in He Simu’s hand, then reached out to take it and put it in his mouth.
He Simu raised her eyebrows and asked, “Aren’t you going to ask what this is?”
Duan Xu swallowed the unknown object and smiled brightly. “You wouldn’t harm me.”
After a pause, he added, “And if you wanted to harm me, I couldn’t stop you anyway.”
Duan Xu had a deep understanding of the saying that the wise adapt to circumstances.
He Simu smiled. She snapped her fingers and pointed at his abdomen. “What you’ve just swallowed is a Ghost King’s Lantern wrapped in sugar.”
Despite being mentally prepared, Duan Xu’s eyes widened when he heard this answer. “Ghost King’s Lantern?”
“The supreme treasure of the ghost realm, capable of amplifying magical power more than tenfold, a symbol of the Ghost King, something that every evil ghost covets and fights to the death for—now it’s in your stomach.”
He Simu smoothly explained, then pressed her joined index and middle fingers against his abdomen. A circle of red symbols spread from her fingertips, and the Ghost King’s Lantern inside Duan Xu’s stomach began to emit light in response.
Duan Xu showed a brief expression of pain, but fortunately, it quickly subsided. When he looked up again, he was stunned.
The world suddenly appeared very different from before. He Simu was surrounded by white threads floating in the air, sunlight had a thick, honey-like quality, and behind her floated many phantoms, like withered branches and white bones.
“These threads…”
“Are wind.”
“These shadows…”
“Are wandering souls.”
He Simu smiled slightly, spreading her arms as her red sleeves stirred up sections of white threads. “Little Fox Duan, welcome to the world of evil ghosts.”
After being implanted with the Ghost King’s Lantern, its powerful ghost energy covered Duan Xu’s human aura, making him appear like a genuine evil ghost capable of seeing the ghost realm. He Simu had even left a magic spell in the Ghost King’s Lantern, connecting Duan Xu, the Powang Sword, and the Ghost King’s Lantern, allowing Duan Xu to activate the lantern with the sword’s spiritual power and use it.
Duan Xu said, “So now that you’ve lost your powers and become like a mortal, you’re simply having me pose as an evil ghost to protect you?”
“Something like that,” He Simu handed him the Bright Pearl.
Duan Xu smiled slightly and placed his hand on the pearl. “Shunxi will not fail this trust.”
This time, He Simu wanted to exchange the sense of smell.
After the red dot appeared on He Simu’s brow, she opened her eyes and looked at Duan Xu.
Duan Xu blinked at her, and just like when she first gained the sense of touch, she suddenly moved closer to him. She sniffed at his neck, the silver tassels of her hairpins brushing against his cheek as she asked, “What is… this scent?”
Duan Xu explained, “Agarwood, amber, storax, mint leaves, bletilla, and benzoin. My little sister enjoys perfumery, and she fumigates all my everyday clothes with these fragrances daily.”
“Agarwood, amber, storax, mint leaves, bletilla, and benzoin.” He Simu repeated quietly. She took another deep breath at Duan Xu’s neck, almost greedily, and whispered, “It smells so good.”
Duan Xu made a very slight evasive movement, causing He Simu to look up at him with a smile. “I just remembered something.”
He lowered his gaze to meet hers, and saw her red lips part as she enunciated each word: “You’re ticklish, aren’t you?”
These words made Duan Xu feel more doomed than if he’d heard an enemy ambush. He Simu reached out to touch his neck, but Duan Xu nimbly moved sideways, leveraging the table and spinning in his black robe to stand by the wall. He smiled and said, “That was so long ago. Your Highness, King of Ten Thousand Ghosts, surely you wouldn’t…”
He Simu rubbed her ear and raised her hand. “Come here. Let me tickle you now, or wait until I regain my powers and torment you for three days and nights while suspended in mid-air.”
“…”
The Ghost Queen was truly vengeful over the smallest slights.
Duan Xu hesitated for a moment where he stood, then sighed and walked over to sit before He Simu, resigning himself by spreading his arms.
“Your Highness, please show mercy.”
He Simu didn’t respond. She breathed lightly into her palm, then began to imitate his previous actions, wreaking havoc on all the ticklish spots around his waist and neck. At first, Duan Xu bit his lip and tried to endure, but as He Simu’s movements became more outrageous, he finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter. He kept laughing while raising his arms to avoid her, though he didn’t leave the chair, making it creak loudly, as the rich, clear scent of agarwood spread throughout the room.
“Hahaha… I was wrong… I was wrong… I won’t do it again… Your Highness… Simu! Spare me… Hahahaha!”
He Simu ignored his pleas, determined to exact her revenge. But when she happened to look up, she saw Duan Xu’s smiling face—his eyes curved in mirth with tears of laughter, the once stubborn and even somewhat crazed young man now seeming carefree and happy.
Like a youth who had always been well-protected and grew up innocent of the ways of the world.
He Simu’s tickling hands paused.
When had she become so childish, quibbling over such small matters with a living person not yet twenty years old, insisting on getting even for such trifles?
Just like when she was only a few decades old.
He Simu’s eyes flickered, looking elsewhere as she slowly lowered her hands.
But Duan Xu caught her wrist.
He Simu looked up at him to see the young man gazing at her intensely. He smiled and said, “Don’t make that expression. I won’t dodge anymore—let you have your fun to your heart’s content, how about that?”
He Simu raised an eyebrow and withdrew her hand. “Expression? What expression?”
Duan Xu shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he said seriously, “An unhappy expression.”
He Simu silently looked at this young man surrounded by ghost energy, then smiled noncommittally and sighed, “Forget it, I’ll let you off, little fox.”
Whether his words were intentional or not, he always found a way to make her spare him.
The next day in Fujiancheng City, Youzhou, territory of Dan Zhi.
Youzhou, nestled among mountains and waters, was a strategic point that military leaders fought for, a transportation hub with a dense population and prosperity. In the bustling streets of Fujian city in Youzhou, amid the crowds of people, an evil ghost resembling a six-year-old child in colorful clothes was frantically making its way through throngs of people, fleeing toward the outskirts.
Another child ghost, appearing slightly older, was chasing after the one in colorful clothes, shouting: “You little bastard, stop running!”
This chase between two ghosts in the busy marketplace couldn’t be seen by mortals, who continued their shopping and selling without notice.
The pursuing ghost gradually caught up with the colorfully dressed one, kicking it to the ground and stepping on it. “You little rascal, hiding for so many days, finally caught you! Committing a capital offense and still trying to escape!”
A ghost appearing to be a ten-year-old child calling another ghost that looked six a “little rascal” made for a strange sight. The ghost that had caught the fugitive was smug for only a moment before looking up to discover another evil ghost standing not far away, observing them.
That evil ghost appeared to be a tall, well-built man wearing a veiled hat with black gauze reaching his shoulders, embroidered with silver pine and cypress. His hair was tied in a simple high ponytail, and he carried a sword with an ebony hilt inlaid with silver. When the wind blew the black gauze, one could glimpse his bright, smiling eyes through the gaps.
Judging by this evil ghost’s aura, he seemed quite powerful.
The ten-year-old-looking ghost, whose childhood name was Mai Zi, glared and said, “I’m executing official duties, what are you looking at?”
The veiled man tilted his head slightly and asked, “Official duties?”
Before Mai Zi could answer, the colorfully dressed ghost he was stepping on suddenly rose, breaking free from Mai Zi’s restraint. It was about to lunge into the body of a child on the street. Mai Zi realized it was attempting possession and exclaimed in alarm, “Hey! You—”
Before he could finish, he saw the black-clothed, sword-carrying man flash before the colorfully dressed ghost. Two gleaming silver lights crossed at its neck, moving so quickly it was dizzying.
“Don’t move,” the man threatened calmly.
Mai Zi drew in a breath. This man was wielding dual swords, and they were extraordinarily powerful spiritual weapons!
An evil ghost using spiritual weapons was as incongruous as a tiger taking Wu Song as its servant ghost, or a chicken standing by a stove wielding a spatula to cook chicken mushroom stew.
The colorfully dressed ghost, its attempt to possess a human thwarted, glared resentfully at the man. Mai Zi clapped his hands, approaching with a mixture of fear and excitement, looking at the dual swords in the man’s hands. “Impressive… how did you manage this, brother? How can you wield spiritual swords with a ghost body?”
The man smiled and changed the subject. “Young friend, you’d better secure your prisoner quickly.”
Mai Zi detected a hint of teasing in the man’s voice, snorted, and took out shackles to restrain the colorfully dressed ghost. “You haven’t been a ghost for long, have you? Let me tell you, in the ghost realm, seniority isn’t determined by appearance. I’ve been dead for over six hundred years, so it wouldn’t be inappropriate for you to call me ‘brother.'”
The man sheathed his swords and complied. “I see. Thank you for the guidance, brother. What law has this child broken for you to arrest him?”
“The Thirty-Second Golden Wall Law, the crime of wanton slaughter.”
“The Thirty-Second Golden Wall Law?”
Mai Zi stared, thinking this evil ghost must be incredibly new if he didn’t even know the laws. Wasn’t memorizing the laws the priority after becoming an evil ghost? He wondered which unfortunate ghost palace this one served.
Mai Zi pointed at the struggling colorfully dressed ghost on the ground. “This one hasn’t been an evil ghost for long either. A few days ago, he killed sixteen people in a family in Youzhou Prefecture, but not to consume soul fire.”
“Then why?”
“For fun. He’s young, doesn’t know any better.”
Mai Zi stepped on the colorfully dressed ghost and sighed. “Wantonly killing living people is a serious crime. I’ve been ordered to pursue him for several days and finally caught him. Oh… by the way, you look unfamiliar.”
“I’ve come from the south and just arrived,” the man smiled.