The ghost woman had a long face and raised eyebrows, and she was truly stunningly beautiful. Originally, her beauty had evoked a certain heroic spirit, but now, a resentful air washed over her, as if she had been confined to a small space for years, unable to see the clear sky. Kneeling on the ground, her wedding dress tattered below her knees, it was no wonder someone had said something.
Xie Lian stared at her for a moment before asking, "Xuan Ji?"
It seemed like no one had called her by that name for ages. After a long moment, the resentment that had lingered on the ghost's face slowly faded, and a glint of light suddenly flashed in her eyes.
She said, "...Did he send you to find me?"
Xie Lian guessed that this "he" was naturally referring to General Pei.
Xuan Ji pressed on, "What about him? Why didn't he come to see me?"
The eagerness in her expression and the anticipation in her voice made Xie Lian feel that it would be best not to say "no." Seeing that he didn't answer for a long moment, Xuan Ji suddenly slumped to the ground.
She leaned against the handsome and tall statue of the God of War, her crimson wedding dress spreading across the ground like a giant blood flower. Her hair was disheveled, and her face was filled with agony, as if she were in great torment. She asked, "...Why didn't he come to see me?"
Xie Lian had no answer to this question, so he could only remain silent. Xuan Ji looked up at the statue and said sadly, "Pei Lang, oh Pei Lang, I betrayed my country for you, abandoned everything I had, and ended up like this. Why don't you come to see me?"
She pulled her hair with both hands and demanded, "Is your heart made of iron or stone?"
Xie Lian remained impassive, listening to these words as he pondered. Xuan Ji's claim that General Pei betrayed her country for her was perhaps a reference to how General Pei had exploited their moment of intimacy to extract information from her, leading to Xuan Ji's defeat on the battlefield. She then added that it was General Pei who had caused her to become like this. "This state" naturally referred to the horrific sight of her leg. Xuan Ji was a female general; it was impossible for her to sustain a disability on the battlefield. Therefore, her leg could only have been broken later. Could this also be related to General Pei? Was it General Pei's betrayal that had caused her to harbor such deep resentment?
Although he felt that his thoughts were vulgar, Xuan Ji's resentment was so deep that she was willing to kill an innocent person. Although vulgar, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and think about it. At this time, a woman's scream suddenly came from outside the temple: "Help! Help!"
Xie Lian and Xuan Ji simultaneously looked out the window. They saw someone dragging the bandaged boy out of the white circle where Ruo Xie had fallen. Xiao Ying clung to the man's legs, refusing to let go. The man started cursing. It was Xiao Pengtou: "Get out of here! You idiot! What if you call the female ghost over here?"
Xiaoying shouted, "Come over here if you want! You're scarier than a ghost! I...I'd rather see a female ghost!"
It turned out that the little Pengtou who had just been knocked unconscious by Xie Lian had woken up. He was startled at first when he saw the brides groping around slowly, but soon realized that they could not see anyone. He was very brave and reckless. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that no one else dared to move and quickly drag the bandaged boy down the mountain to collect the reward alone. He didn't care whether the boy was a ghost groom or not. Anyway, everyone down the mountain said that he was, so he must be it. Unexpectedly, Xiaoying rushed over and yelled, alarming the brides wandering around and Xuan Ji in the Mingguang Temple. Xie Lian saw that it was him again. He thought to himself that he should have beaten him harder just now, so that he could not wake up for three days and three nights, and shouted: "Go back to the circle!"
When Xiao Pengtou saw a black mist coming towards him, he hurriedly retreated, but he was dragging a bandaged boy in his arms and holding Xiaoying on his lap. In the end, he was a step too slow and was instantly caught in the black mist and sucked into Xuan Ji's hands. He looked back and saw that this woman with long flowing hair and a sinister aura was the beautiful female corpse lying in the bride's bed and whom he had touched earlier.
Only at this point did he finally feel fear and screamed loudly, but Xuan Ji bent her five fingers and inserted them into the back of his head, instantly peeling off his entire skull from the thick layer of cerebral cortex.
The skull was steaming hot after being peeled off, and its mouth was still open, screaming: "Ahhh!!!"
The terrified people in the white circle also opened their mouths and screamed: "Ah——!!!"
Xiaoying was also terrified, and she screamed as she dragged the bandaged boy back into the circle. Xuanji raised her five fingers towards them again, but Xie Lian dodged in front of her and said, "General, please don't commit murder again."
He called her General, intending to remind her that she, too, had been a heroic warrior, charging into battle and defending her country. However, Xuan Ji crushed the screaming skull in her hand, her once beautiful face distorted to the point of seven degrees. She sneered, "Is he afraid to see me?"
Xie Lian was at a loss, thinking he might as well pretend to be sent by General Pei and try to negotiate. However, Xuan Ji didn't need his answer. She laughed a few times, turned abruptly, pointed at the statue, and said, "I burned your temple and caused chaos on your territory! Just for you to come see me, I've waited for you for so many years!"
She stared at the statue of the God of War for a long time, then suddenly jumped up, grabbed its neck and shook it madly, saying, "You still refuse to come to see me. Don't you know you've let me down? Look at my legs! Look at what I'm like now! I'm doing this all for you, just for you! Is your heart made of iron or stone?"
Although, as an outsider, Xie Lian didn't want to comment on who was right or wrong, but based on his personal feelings, he couldn't help but think, "If you want to see him, can you try a more normal way? If someone wants to see me this way, I won't want to come anyway."
Xiaoying, on the other side, finally rejoined the circle with the bandaged boy. Looking over, she whispered worriedly, "Young Master..." Xie Lian smiled at her, signaling not to worry. But as soon as he smiled, Xuan Ji's face twisted instantly. She pounced from the statue, saying, "Since you're not looking at me, but rather at those smiling women, I'll let you watch as much as you want!"
Although she was pinching Xie Lian, her words were directed to General Pei. Xie Lian originally thought that Xuan Ji herself could not marry the man she loved, and seeing the bride smiling happily in the sedan chair, he felt jealous. But he did not expect that it was because General Pei liked women who loved to laugh, so she mentally associated this with the bride who was going to marry her lover. No wonder she burned down the Minguang Temple at the foot of the mountain. It seemed that she could not stand the fact that there was a woman coming in and out of General Pei's temple all day long, sharing the same statue with her. This female ghost was worthy of being called "ferocious". Even though her legs were broken, her movements were extremely ghostly and swift. Even after being hit by Ruo Xie, she was still so powerful that she pinched Xie Lian and her to a stalemate. He was about to summon Ruo Xie, but he heard a loud shout: "Ahhhhhhhhh——"
Seeing him and the ghost at a stalemate, the young girl, Xiaoying, actually picked up a branch from the ground and rushed over, shouting as she rushed, as if to give herself courage. Xuan Ji didn't even need to make a move. She just glanced back, and before she could get close, she flew away, flying several feet away, head down, body up, and fell heavily to the ground!
The bandaged boy screamed hoarsely, "Ahh!" and ran over. Xie Lian was startled and sat up, but suddenly felt a chill on the back of his head. Xuan Ji had already placed five fingers on him, as if to peel his skull from his scalp as she had just done. In desperation, Xie Lian grabbed her wrist with his right hand and shouted, "Bind it!"
With a swish of air, a white silk thread appeared, twisting around Xuan Ji in a series of twists and turns, binding her tightly. Xuan Ji's legs were broken, leaving her unable to evade the force. With a thud, she fell to her knees and rolled on the ground, trying to break free from the silk, only to find it tightening. As soon as Xie Lian was free, he didn't even have time to catch his breath before he immediately stood up and ran towards where Xiaoying had landed.
Ruo Xie had been taken in, but no one dared to move. A few bold villagers, accustomed to being touched by brides, gathered around. The bandaged young man knelt beside her prone form, bewildered and anxious like a gnat on a hot frying pan. No one dared to move her, fearing she'd broken something vital, and any movement would only worsen the damage. Xie Lian quickly examined her, realizing that no matter how careful he was, it was useless. With such a fall, she was clearly doomed.
Although he hadn't spent much time with Xiaoying, and hadn't spoken much, he knew that despite her ugly appearance, she had good intentions. Such an ending was truly heartbreaking. Xuan Ji wouldn't be able to break free from Ruo Xie for a while. Xie Lian thought, "Even if it's useless, I can't let her die in this state." So he carefully turned her over.
Xiaoying's face was covered in blood, and everyone around her sighed. However, she still had a breath left in her body. She whispered, "...Master, am I being more of a hindrance than a help..."
While she didn't make matters worse, she certainly didn't help much either. Xie Lian was already about to summon Ruo Xie, so he didn't need anyone else's help. Even if her branch had hit Xuan Ji, it wouldn't have had any effect, especially since she couldn't even get close to the ghost. In that sense, it was a pointless act of suicide.
Xie Lian said, "No. You helped a lot. Look, once you came over, you distracted the female ghost, so I could find time to subdue her. Thank you so much. But, next time, don't do this again. You must tell me before you help me, otherwise it would be terrible if I don't respond."
Xiaoying smiled and said, "Alas, Master, you don't need to coax me. I know I didn't help, and there won't be a next time."
She spoke incoherently and spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with several broken front teeth. The bandaged boy was shaking anxiously, whimpering, not knowing what to say. Xiaoying said to him, "Don't go down the mountain to steal food again. If you are caught, you will be beaten to death."
Xie Lian said, “If he’s hungry, he can ask me for something to eat.”
Hearing this, Xiaoying's eyes lit up and she said, "...Really? Well, thank you so much..."
As she laughed, two lines of tears suddenly flowed from her little eyes.
She whispered, "I feel like I haven't been happy for many days in this world."
Xie Lian didn't know what to say, so he patted her hand gently. Xiao Ying sighed again, "Oh, never mind. Maybe I'm just... born unlucky."
This actually sounded a bit funny. Moreover, because she had a crooked nose and slanted eyes, she was comically ugly, and she looked quite funny with blood and tears all over her face.
She shed tears and said, "But, even so, I still... I still..."
Having said this, she died. The bandaged boy, seeing her dead, hugged her body and sobbed softly, burying his head in her belly, as if he had lost this support and dared not lift it up.
Xie Lian reached out and helped her close her eyes, thinking to himself, "You are better than me."
At this moment, a strange bell sound was heard.
“Dang!” “Dang!” “Dang!” Three loud noises were heard. Instantly, Xie Lian felt dizzy and asked, “What’s going on?”
Looking around again, the brides were stumbling to the ground, with only their arms raised straight forward, pointing to the sky. A group of villagers also fell to the ground, as if they were all knocked unconscious by the deafening bell sound. Xie Lian was also a little drowsy. He put one hand on his forehead and struggled to stand up. His feet went weak and he half-knelt on the ground. Fortunately, someone helped him up. He looked up and saw that it was Nanfeng. It turned out that the seven brides had immediately scattered after entering the forest. Nanfeng had almost run across the entire Yujun Mountain to capture them all, and he had just returned. Seeing that he was very calm, Xie Lian immediately asked, "What's the matter with the bell sound?"
Nan Feng said: "Don't worry, these are reinforcements."
Following his gaze, Xie Lian discovered that a line of soldiers had appeared in front of the Minguang Temple.
The soldiers in this line, each clad in armor, looked radiant and awe-inspiring, each shrouded in a faint aura. In front of them stood a tall, handsome young general, clearly no ordinary man. With his hands behind his back, he approached Xie Lian, bowed slightly, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Before Xie Lian could ask, Nan Feng whispered, "This is General Pei."
Xie Lian immediately glanced at Xuan Ji lying on the ground and asked, "General Pei?"
This General Pei was quite different from what he had imagined, and also very different from the statue. The statue was heroic, its eyes gleaming with pride, a handsomeness tinged with aggression. This young general, while also handsome, had a fair complexion and eyes as calm as a piece of cold jade. There was no murderous aura, only a calm composure. He could be called a military general, or a prime minister.
General Pei saw Xuan Ji lying on the ground and said, "Lingwen Palace informed us that the incident at Junshan might be closely related to our Mingguang Palace, so I rushed here. I didn't expect it to be so closely related. Thank you, Your Highness."
Xie Lian thought to himself, thanking Ling Wen, how could the efficiency of Ling Wen Palace be so low? He said, "Thank you, General Pei."
Xuan Ji faintly heard the words "General Pei" while struggling. She suddenly looked up and said eagerly, "Pei Lang, Pei Lang! Is that you? Are you here? Are you finally here?"
She was tied up by Ruo Xie, so no matter how ecstatic she was, she could only kneel and stand up. Unexpectedly, when she looked at the general, his face turned pale and he asked, "Who are you?!"
Xie Lian had already briefly explained to Nanfeng the story behind the ghost groom. When he heard her question, he said, "Isn't this General Pei? Could it be that she's been waiting too long and doesn't recognize him?"
Nan Feng said, "It's General Pei. But he's not the one she's waiting for."
Xie Lian was puzzled. “Could it be possible that there are two more General Peis?”
Nan Feng said, "Yes, there are exactly two of them!"
It turns out that the General Pei the ghost Xuan Ji was waiting for was the main deity of Minguang Hall, while the one before them was a secondary deity, a descendant of General Pei. To distinguish them, they all referred to him as "Little General Pei." In a proper Minguang Hall, these two deities are enshrined, one facing the main deity, facing the hall entrance. General Pei is the main deity, his statue facing the hall entrance, while Little General Pei's statue is placed behind him. Though they are descendants of the same ancestor, they appear to be brothers. The fact that two people from the same family ascended to heaven is truly a remarkable story.
Xuan Ji looked around but didn't see the person she wanted to see among the soldiers. She said sadly, "Where's Pei Ming? Why didn't he come? Why didn't he come to see me?"
General Pei nodded slightly and said, "General Pei has important matters to attend to."
Xuan Ji murmured, "Important matters?"
Under her long hair, she wept as she spoke, "I've waited for him for hundreds of years. What's his priority? Back then, he was willing to cross half the country in one night just to see me. What's his priority now? So important that he won't even come down to see me? Is there one? Nothing at all, right?"
General Xiao Pei said, "General Xuanji, please be on your way."
Two Mingguang Hall soldiers walked over. Ruo Xie suddenly jumped off Xuan Ji and tangled itself around Xie Lian's wrist. Xie Lian patted it twice to appease it. Xuan Ji allowed the two soldiers to hold her, then froze for a moment before suddenly struggling and pointing to the sky, cursing, "Pei Ming! I curse you!"
Her roar was so sharp that Xie Lian was startled. He thought to himself, “Isn’t this just cursing our ancestors in front of future generations?”
General Pei remained calm and said, "Excuse me."
Xuan Ji continued to scream at the top of her lungs, "I curse you! You'd better never fall in love with anyone. Otherwise, if that day comes, I curse you to be like me, forever and ever, moment by moment, endlessly consumed by the flames of love! Burning with the flames of love, it will burn your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys!"
At this moment, General Pei said to Xie Lian and the others, "Excuse me. Please wait a moment." He placed his index and middle fingers together and lightly touched his solar plexus. This was the key to activating psychic communication. He must be communicating with someone. After a moment, he hummed, lowered his hands, and clasped them behind his back. Turning to Xuan Ji, he said, "General Pei asked me to tell you—'That's impossible.'"
Xuan Ji screamed, "I curse you--!!!"
General Pei raised his hand slightly and said, "Take him away."
Two soldiers dragged the frantically struggling Xuan Ji away. Xie Lian asked, "General Pei, may I ask, what will be done with this Xuan Ji?"
General Xiao Pei said, "Stay at the foot of the mountain."
Finding a mountain to suppress them—this was indeed a common method used by the Celestial Realm to deal with demons and monsters. After pondering for a moment, Xie Lian said, "This General Xuanji harbors a deep resentment, brooding on the vengeance of having her leg severed due to General Pei's treason. I'm afraid suppressing her won't be a long-term solution."
General Pei tilted his head slightly and said, "She said she broke her leg because of her treason against the country, General Pei?"
Xie Lian said, “She did say that it was General Pei that caused her to become like this, but I don’t know the truth.”
General Pei said, "If that's what you must say, then it's fine. It's true that she betrayed the country for General Pei. However, the details might be different from what others imagine. After General Pei and her parted ways, General Xuan Ji offered military intelligence to keep her. General Pei didn't want to win unfairly, so he refused."
...I never expected that the so-called "I betrayed my country for you" would actually be like this. Xie Lian asked, "Then she said that her broken legs were because of General Pei. Is this...?"
General Xiao Pei said, "She broke her legs herself."
...Break it yourself?
General Pei spoke calmly, "General Pei disliked strong women, and General Xuan Ji was naturally strong-willed, which is why their relationship couldn't last. Unwilling to accept this, General Xuan Ji told General Pei she was willing to sacrifice and change for him. So she abandoned her martial arts and broke her legs. In doing so, she effectively severed her own wings, tying herself to General Pei. General Pei didn't abandon her, but took her in and cared for her, but he never wanted to marry her. General Xuan Ji, her long-cherished wish unfulfilled, committed suicide in anger, not to say goodbye to him, but simply to grieve General Pei. But, please forgive me for speaking frankly."
He spoke with such politeness and an air of excessive calmness that he said, "Not really."
Xie Lian rubbed his brows, remained silent, and thought to himself, "Who are these people?"
General Xiao Pei continued, "I don't know whether this is right or wrong. I only know that if General Xuan Ji had been willing to let go, this wouldn't have happened. Your Highness, I'll take my leave."
Xie Lian also bowed and sent them off. Nan Feng commented, "Strange."
Xie Lian thought to himself, he himself was a laughingstock in the Three Realms, a renowned eccentric, so it was best not to criticize others. The matter between General Pei and Xuan Ji was not a matter of innocence, so there was no point in arguing about who was right or wrong. It was just a pity for the seventeen innocent brides, as well as the military officers and sedan chair bearers who escorted them, who had suffered such an unprovoked disaster.
At the mention of the bride, he immediately turned his gaze and saw the seventeen bodies of the brides lying on the ground, all of them undergoing varying degrees of transformation. Some had been reduced to mere skeletons, while others had begun to rot, emitting a foul odor. The stench awakened the people on the ground, and as they slowly awoke, they were once again horrified by the sight.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xie Lian unleashed a mystical lecture on the law of karma, admonishing them to pray for the brides after they returned from the mountain, to find a way to notify their families to claim the bodies, and to refrain from engaging in corpse trafficking or any other acts of ill will. After such a terrifying night, and with the instigator gone, no one dared to say anything else. They trembled as they listened to his words, feeling as if they had just experienced a nightmare. Only then did they realize how possessed they had been last night. With so many dead, how could they have been so focused on making money? Looking back, they felt horrified. Everyone had been doing the same thing last night, relying on their numbers and someone leading the charge, and they had blindly followed suit. Now, fearful, they all repented and prayed.
It was still dark, and there were still wolves and other troublemakers in the mountains. Nanfeng had just completed a long circuit of the mountain, and now he was about to lead such a large group down again. He didn't complain, and agreed with Xie Lian to discuss the upside-down corpse forest and other follow-up matters together later.
After the bandaged boy woke up, he sat down beside Xiaoying's body again, hugging her in silence. Xie Lian sat down beside him as well, thinking for a long time. Just as he was about to offer words of comfort, he suddenly noticed that the boy's head was bleeding.
If it were the blood from the forest of corpses, it should have dried up by now, but this blood was still flowing, so it could only be that he was injured. Xie Lian said to him, "You have a wound on your head. Remove the bandage and let me take a look."
The young man slowly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes glancing at him for a moment, as if hesitant and timid. Xie Lian smiled faintly and said, "Don't be afraid. If you're injured, you'll definitely need to bandage it. I promise I won't be scared by you."
The young man hesitated for a moment, then turned away, slowly undoing the bandage on his head. He moved slowly, and Xie Lian waited patiently, already pondering his next question: "This young man definitely can't stay on Yujun Mountain anymore. Where else can he go? He can't just return to the Heavenly Realm with me. I'm struggling to make ends meet myself, so I need to find a safe way to accommodate him. Also, Qing Gui, Qi Rong..."
At this time, the boy took off the bandage and turned around.
When Xie Lian saw that face clearly, he felt as if all the blood in his body had drained away in an instant.
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