Official Zhao said that the bleeding from the seven orifices was due to the body being unable to withstand the suddenly awakening War Ghost power. The War Ghost clan all experience a power awakening at the age of twenty-five, and many clan members die because their physical bodies cannot endure the immense power.

Lu Qianqiao was currently in this extremely dangerous stage.

“So—Miss, for you to be willing to stay during this special period, choosing to remain devoted to the General for life, my admiration for you is truly like the rolling waters of the Yangtze River, endless and unceasing…” Official Zhao shed tears of emotion, gripping Xin Mei’s hand and refusing to let go. “Rest assured! Even if I exhaust all my energy, I will write you both a moving, earth-shattering, ghost-weeping classic theatrical piece! Do you prefer the two main characters to die together? Or one dies and one goes mad?”

Xin Mei pulled her hand back: “…Can’t they both live happily ever after?”

“That wouldn’t be heart-wrenching or moving!” Official Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Go be heart-wrenching and moving yourself!”

Si Lan could bear it no longer and dragged him out, slamming the door shut with a bang, then heavily sat down beside Xin Mei, gazing silently at Lu Qianqiao, whose face was deathly pale on the stone bed. He was no longer bleeding, but had yet to awaken—this was already the third day.

He turned to look at Xin Mei. The General had been unconscious for three days, and she had sat by his bedside for three days as well. She didn’t display any expression of heartbreak, just stared blankly at the person on the bed, her brow tightly furrowed.

“You…” Si Lan deliberated for a moment, then finally spoke. “Your feelings for the General… if they haven’t reached that stage yet, you don’t need to do this. I know the marriage was bestowed by the Emperor, perhaps you and your family couldn’t oppose it… but with the General in this condition… some things can’t be treated as child’s play. Go back, none of us would blame you.”

Xin Mei looked at him in confusion: “…What do you mean by haven’t reached that stage yet?”

“The kind of bone-deep, soul-stirring love…” Si Lan felt somewhat uncomfortable. “You little girl clearly haven’t awakened to such things yet. If you feel you must repay the General because he’s been good to you, that’s completely unnecessary. I think the General himself is willing… and… he definitely wouldn’t want you to see him in such a pitiful state, let alone have you suffer any consequences because of him…”

“I don’t care about that. I want to stay.” Her answer came very quickly.

“That’s exactly what I mean!” Si Lan was exasperated. “Do you love the General so deeply? I can’t see it at all! The General… he could have let go originally, but you had to interfere, making him kindle hope again… of course, this isn’t necessarily bad, but…”

She remained silent for a long time, then said quietly: “I don’t know.”

She didn’t know what bone-deep, soul-stirring love was. Things like living and dying together she had only seen in theatrical pieces—she had never experienced them once in her entire life.

“You mean I should hold him and wail dramatically, then find a river to jump into for a tragic love suicide?”

That’s how it seemed to be performed in theatrical pieces, wasn’t it?

Si Lan felt the veins on his forehead about to burst: “Who’s asking you to do such nonsense!”

Her father must be filled with blood and tears of memories to have raised her so smoothly to this age!

“Actually, I want to leave too!” She frowned, looking very troubled. “These past few days I’ve often wondered whether I should go home. You know, being a widow definitely isn’t pleasant, though I suppose I could remarry… well, that’s not the point. Every time I tell myself to go home, I feel like there’s something I can’t let go of, like being hungry but unable to find anything to eat! How could I possibly let myself go hungry!”

…What kind of ridiculous reasoning was this!

“I don’t know what you mean by bone-deep love.” Xin Mei took out a wet cloth to gently wipe Lu Qianqiao’s face. “Anyway, I know Lu Qianqiao won’t die. I won’t leave.”

“You… where on earth does this confidence come from…”

“It’s not confidence… it’s that I’m willing to believe.” She turned to look at him, her gaze clear. “I believe he definitely won’t die. As for everything else, we’ll talk about it later.”

Si Lan retreated under her aura of absolute certainty: “Well… never mind… take good care of the General. I think he’ll be very happy that the first person he sees when he wakes up is you…”

He closed the door. Official Zhao was still leading a group of little demons, crouched by the door eavesdropping, but Si Lan slapped them all away with one palm.

What was bone-deep love? What was love to the point of madness?

Xin Mei propped her chin on her hands at the bedside, thinking left and right. Such things seemed inseparable from tears, falling petals, silk rain, and the like. But here there was only the gloomy underground palace, and a general lying on a stone bed who wouldn’t wake up—no wonder she couldn’t brew such lingering emotions.

Lu Qianqiao on the bed suddenly moved slightly. His long eyelashes lifted, revealing the blood-red eyeballs beneath, staring blankly at the tomb ceiling.

“…Si Lan, why isn’t the lamp lit?” His voice was hoarse as he asked quietly.

Xin Mei started slightly and hurriedly brought the candlelight closer: “Lu Qianqiao, I brought the lamp over. How do you feel now? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

He didn’t move at all, only his eyelashes trembled like falling leaves. After a long while, he said: “Xin Mei, you’re still here?”

“Mm, I stayed to take care of you.”

He was definitely going to be moved to tears, right? Official Zhao said her behavior seemed very noble—usually male protagonists would be moved to tears and pledge their lives in gratitude… but looking at his expression, he seemed quite calm, showing no signs of being moved at all!

Lu Qianqiao closed his eyes, his expression somewhat weary: “…I want to sleep a bit more. You can go out if you have nothing to do.”

Huh?

Xin Mei was slightly surprised. How come Official Zhao was never right about anything!

“Then… would you like to drink some water or something…” She placed the candlestick on the table and carefully poured a cup of warm water. “You haven’t had any water after sleeping for several days. You must be very uncomfortable, right?”

He said nothing, just hesitantly reached out his hand to take it. The teacup lightly settled in his palm, but unsteadily tipped over and fell onto the stone bed. The crisp sound of shattering left both of them stunned.

“Oh, it’s nothing… I’ll get another cup.” Xin Mei quickly swept the fragments to the floor and got another cup to pour water.

“No need.” He shook his head. “My eyes… I…”

This time it was blindness in both eyes. Next time it might be deafness, then perhaps muteness, and finally becoming a living corpse who had lost all five senses—this was the process of War Ghost power awakening. So humiliating, so pathetic, yet it had to be exposed before her. This was more despairing than death itself.

“Drink the water.”

She seemed completely oblivious, putting an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up and bringing the teacup to his lips.

He didn’t move.

What should she say at a time like this? Xin Mei pondered anxiously for a while before stammering: “Well… that is, I don’t mind… you don’t need to take it to heart. Oh right! In my heart, you’ll always be the most capable and greatest!”

This was the right response, wasn’t it?

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and said nothing.

How could this be happening?! Xin Mei was at a loss. She gently helped him lie back down, sat by the bedside rubbing her hands together, and hesitantly said in a low voice: “Lu Qianqiao, I’ve never encountered this kind of situation, so I… I don’t know what to say either. That sentence just now, I was wrong—I shouldn’t have spoken so carelessly. Not being able to see… it must be very hard to get used to, right?”

He showed no reaction whatsoever.

Xin Mei reached out to gently grasp his sleeve, thought for a moment, then continued: “I saw you at your lowest point, so when you’re at your most glorious later, you have to let me see that too. That would be fair, don’t you think?”

Still no reaction.

“People should still live optimistically. If you keep thinking you’re going to die, you really might not make it through. Look at me—I never think about my husband-cursing fate. I believe I absolutely don’t curse husbands, so you absolutely won’t die. You should learn more from me in this regard… Hey, if you keep ignoring me, I’m going to start overthinking! Give me some face here! Tell me it’s not my husband-cursing fate that’s making you so unlucky!”

Lu Qianqiao finally turned over helplessly, his unfocused red eyes meeting hers: “You talk a lot.”

“People say married couples should complement each other. You refuse to speak no matter what, so I have to do all the talking. Oh right!” Xin Mei suddenly clapped her hands. “We’re not really husband and wife yet—we haven’t had our wedding night. You just nibbled on me twice, then bled from seven orifices and passed out.”

Nibbled…

A long-absent blush finally appeared on his pale face. He suddenly pulled the blanket over his head: “…I’m hungry.”

She immediately stood up: “What would you like to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

After waiting a long time, his voice came muffled from under the blanket: “Tofu General.”

She burst into laughter.

The result was dinner consisting of two tofu figurines—one Tofu General and one Tofu Xin Mei, one steamed clear and one with sauce.

Xin Mei ruthlessly chopsticked off her own head and brought it to Lu Qianqiao’s mouth: “Here, eat my head.”

…Why did he find it so hard to swallow?

Then she continued ruthlessly chopsticking off the General’s head, saying: “I’ll eat your head.”

Haha, it felt like drinking from the wedding cup! Xin Mei beamed with joy, feeling this tofu dish was truly the most successful culinary creation of her life, incomparably delicious.

Lu Qianqiao still couldn’t get used to losing his sight. He ate extremely slowly, and got two grains of white rice stuck to the corner of his lips. She leaned over and gently brushed them off with her finger, when suddenly he lightly grasped her wrist.

“Xin Mei, come sit closer.”

She obediently sat beside him. The next moment, his warm, slightly rough hand gently caressed her cheek, his thumb following the line of her eyebrows, slowly and tenderly stroking downward inch by inch, finally stopping at her soft, full lips. The thumb’s movement became even slower, and every fine line of her lips seemed to feel the heat of his skin. That strange, unfamiliar sensation seemed to return again.

Xin Mei’s heart began racing wildly, though she didn’t know why.

His eyelashes were lowered, his face so close that their fragrant breaths mingled together… Was he going to kiss her? Was he?

That thumb stroked for a long time, then finally brushed off a grain of rice just like before. Lu Qianqiao smiled mischievously: “…You had rice on your mouth too.”

“…” Could she beat him up?

“Xin Mei, right now I can’t give you anything.” His voice suddenly dropped low. “But your being here is already…”

Her being here, her not leaving—that was already her greatest gift to him.

She nodded: “Mm, I’m staying with you. Don’t worry.”

His fingers suddenly tightened, then loosened again. He opened his arms and hugged her tightly.

It seemed like a drop of scalding tear fell on her neck, though it might have just been an illusion.

Xin Mei patted his back: “Lu Qianqiao, you will definitely survive.”

The fifteenth day of the seventh month—Ghost Gate opens.

While the vengeful spirits in the burial pit were celebrating wildly in their madness, people sent by the War Ghost clan quietly infiltrated the underground palace.

Of course, Xin Mei knew none of this. She was hidden in the most secret, hardest-to-discover room, eating sweet melon while asking Si Lan: “Why are you hiding me away? Are you afraid I’ll ambush Lu Qianqiao?”

Could it be because she had tried to drink from the wedding cup with Lu Qianqiao several times? That… wasn’t that normal? The two of them were already married but hadn’t drunk from the wedding cup or had their wedding night. According to her father’s reasoning, this marriage was extremely unstable!

Si Lan looked somewhat nervous, as if wary of something: “In any case, it’s for your own good… Besides, the General has lost all five senses and is no different from a living corpse—what would be the point of ambushing him?!”

“Then can I go see him tonight?”

Only after midnight each day would Si Lan relax his expression and take her to Lu Qianqiao’s room to let her see him. Lu Qianqiao had lost all five senses due to his transformation ordeal five days ago—he couldn’t hear, couldn’t see, had no sense of touch, and couldn’t speak. He truly was no different from a living corpse.

However, it was said that over eighty percent of both pure-blood and mixed-blood War Ghosts had to experience these changes, so everyone was quite calm about it. Therefore, she was calm too.

Si Lan hadn’t had time to respond when suddenly a string of dark copper bells on the door began ringing urgently. His expression changed drastically and he immediately stood up.

“Stay here! I’m begging you with the General’s life at stake—absolutely do not leave this room!”

With that, he ran off at full speed.

Note: The five senses actually refer to: touch, smell, taste, hearing, and sight.

Lu’s current condition is that he has no conscious activity at all. Apart from his heartbeat and breathing, he’s essentially dead—commonly known as: a vegetative state.

Using “five senses” is a general description of his condition, not a precise designation.