At night, Shangguan Qing was awakened by a loud noise outside.

The voice was mournful, as if a wrongfully deceased ghost was crying out about the grievances he suffered in his lifetime. This kind of thing was common in the underworld.

She glanced out the window. The faint moonlight shone through the curtains onto the floor of the room. A vague figure flashed by.

It turned out that it was really a ghost crying, no wonder only she could hear it.

Shangguan Qing turned over and saw Cheng Ji sleeping soundly. He put his arms around her slender waist and held her tightly.

She tried to pry his hands open, but failed, and finally had to use her spiritual power to remove his restraints.

Shangguan Qing got up from the bed and walked out of the room.

As soon as I opened the door, suddenly...

A middle-aged woman with disheveled hair appeared and stood at the door. She was dressed like a noble lady and was obviously the wife of a wealthy man.

But her face was covered with blood and tears, which was horrible and lamentable.

Shangguan Qing exuded a chill all over his body, his eyes half-closed, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade.

The female soul shrank her neck and her nose kept sniffling. She took several steps back in fear and didn't dare to get too close to her.

Before Shangguan Qing closed the door, he glanced at the naked man who was still sleeping soundly, and his actions were much more cautious and gentle.

"Please help me." The middle-aged female soul knelt down and begged, "I can do anything you ask me to do. Please help me, Lord Shangguan!"

Shangguan Qing raised his hand and set up a barrier in the living room to block the source of the sound.

Then she walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down with a dignified and serious posture.

"First, tell me what you want me to do for you?" She said in a cold and businesslike tone.

If it is a matter within the jurisdiction of the underworld, she can take action, but if it goes beyond this boundary, she will not care.

"It's my ex-husband. He lost all the money playing cards and ruined our family. Now he's asking my parents for money and threatening them with a knife." She was very emotional, and her voice was sometimes dull and sometimes sharp because of her hoarseness.

Shangguan Qing looked at her body carefully. There were no injuries. "Then how did you die?"

"I... took sleeping pills." She fell into a vortex of memories, her brows unconsciously knitted, "After the divorce, my ex-husband kept harassing me and asking me for money, which caused me too much mental pressure. I couldn't bear it anymore, so..."

But she didn't expect her ex-husband to be so shameless as to ask her parents for money!

Shangguan Qing looked at her with a pair of cold eyes, without a trace of warmth.

"I only deal with ghosts. Your parents are still alive and well in the world. They are not my business and I can't help you." His tone was as cold as ice.

The middle-aged female soul moved her knees in front of her unwillingly, kneeling closer step by step.

Her tears and blood fell to the ground, and her miserable appearance was pitiful.

"Don't you want to know about the dagger? I can tell you!" She raised her head and took out her last bargaining chip.

When he heard the word "short knife", Shangguan Qing's eyes lit up instantly.

It seemed that this female soul had understood her in advance and knew what she needed.

"You are not a female soul from the Warring States Period, how could you possibly know?" Shangguan Qing gradually radiated anger, "I warn you not to challenge my bottom line with this matter!"

She hated being forced to do things under the guise of solving her problems.

It was not until the end that I realized that the promises made by the other party were all fake.

The female soul waved her hands excitedly, "No! I didn't lie to you. I used to be a history professor. When I heard that you were asking about the origin of a short knife inlaid with a night pearl, I remembered that I had seen some information about it."

She was afraid that Shangguan Qing would not believe her, so she explained, "If I didn't know this, how could I have the confidence to ask the Lord of the Netherworld for help."

Shangguan Qing saw that her reaction did not seem like she was lying.

"Then how much do you know?" She was still very wary of the female soul, "As long as what you say is true, I will help you settle your family's affairs.

Hearing this, the female soul trembled and took out two photos from her clothes, "There are bamboo slips I took. It was originally a biography of the emperor, but it mentioned General Shangguan."

Shangguan Qing took the photo and understood the words on it. The general meaning was:

"General Shangguan ignored the opposition of his ministers and adopted the enemy captives into his government, and gave them the surname 'Shangguan'."

give......

If she was the prisoner, then her surname was given to her by General Shangguan.

What if she isn't?

What ability does this prisoner have that would make a general keep him in his mansion despite the opposition of his ministers and continue to use his surname?

Shangguan Qing's eyes were fixed on the two yellowed photos, and his fingers gently stroked the uneven texture of the bamboo slips, as if he could travel through time and space and touch that dusty history.

She raised her head, her eyes sharp and inquiring, and said to the female soul in a deep voice, "The records on these bamboo slips are indeed thought-provoking, but these alone are not enough to solve the doubts in my heart. Do you have more information related to General Shangguan and the prisoner?"

Hearing this, the female soul shook her head. A hint of hesitation flashed across her eyes, but then she became determined.

She spoke slowly, her voice soft but full of unquestionable power, "I really only know these few details, but one thing is certain, the captive is a woman. In ancient times, the inheritance of surnames was particularly solemn. Unless there was a special feeling or a very high status, a man would not easily give his surname to a woman.

There must be a deep affection behind this that is unknown to outsiders, or the woman must have something extraordinary that made General Shangguan willing to bear the criticism from the court and the public to protect her."

As the female soul spoke, a light mist seemed to rise around them, and the picture gradually became blurry and clear.

Faintly, a man in ancient costume, with extraordinary heroism between his brows, is looking gently at a woman in exotic costume. Complex emotions are intertwined in their eyes - pity, respect, or a firmness that transcends the world.

Although this scene is just an illusion, it is enough to make people feel the depth of emotions that have been buried by history.

Shangguan Qing's thoughts were like fallen leaves blown by the wind, flying around in his mind.

She stared at the two yellowed photos, her eyes flashing with complex light.

A picture gradually emerged in her mind: a heroic female general in gorgeous armor standing on a towering city wall, her hair blown by the wind, and a subtle tenderness hidden in her determined eyes.

Next to the female general, a woman dressed in foreign clothes stood quietly with a book in her hand. There was no need for words between the two of them; they could understand each other's intentions just by looking at each other.

This scene coincided with what the female soul said, causing Shangguan Qing to feel an inexplicable throbbing in his heart.

She couldn't help but wonder, could it be that the foreign woman was really what she looked like in her previous life?

This sudden speculation was like a bolt from the blue, making her world instantly become both familiar and unfamiliar.