The Netherworld Bridge was surrounded by darkness, with a faint smell of blood in the air. Looking around, no one was found, only the Yellow Spring Water flowing quietly under the bridge.
Beside the bridge is an endless stretch of land, on which are planted densely packed red spider lilies. The enchanting blood-red color looks extremely weird.
There is a secret path among the red spider lilies, winding its way to a rugged cave. On a plaque above the cave are inscribed four large gold-plated characters: "Soul Pawn Shop". In the dark night, it flashes a scorching light like a lamp.
Xie Fei was lying on the beauty couch in the room wearing a black brocade robe, with her long black hair tied casually behind her with a jade belt. Perhaps because he was supporting his chin, the wide sleeves of his robe slipped down, revealing his fair wrists and strong forearms.
He looked lazily at the book in his hand, his expression indifferent, with a hint of coldness between his eyebrows, and his thin lips with a little pink, the corners of his mouth slightly pursed.
Just when he was feeling a little sleepy, three people came in from outside the cave, led by Black and White Impermanence, followed by a frail and thin woman. The woman was wearing a palace gown covered with mottled and glaring bloodstains, which were even dripping down her calves onto the ground.
With a quick glance of Xie Fei's narrow eyes, he knew that the woman's kneecap must have been shaved.
A layer of faint black mist lingered on the woman's pretty face. She followed the Black and White Impermanence indifferently. The deep hatred in her eyes actually added a touch of vitality to her.
"Sir, this is today's new evil spirit, Xiwen." Black and White Impermanence came up to Xie Fei and bowed respectfully.
Xie Fei restrained his expression slightly, slowly propped himself up and half leaned against the table, with his hand holding the book resting on his bent knee, looking like a peerless and handsome young man.
"You guys go down first." Xie Fei waved his hand and said lightly.
Black and White Impermanence nodded, waved their whisk lightly, instantly took back the soul-binding chain on Xiwen, and then quietly retreated.
Xie Fei looked Xiwen up and down, his expression calm, and said slowly: "Do you know where this place is?"
The man's voice was very pleasant. Xiwen answered subconsciously, "Probably the underworld."
"Yes and no." Xie Fei said.
Xiwen pursed her lips. She could feel the power of the handsome man in front of her. Thinking of how respectful the vicious Black and White Impermanence were in front of him, she thought that his status in the underworld must be extraordinary.
After hesitating for a moment, Xiwen bit her lower lip and said firmly: "I don't want to enter the reincarnation cycle. Before I see that person suffer retribution, I will never enter the reincarnation cycle."
Xie Fei raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said, "Yes."
Xiwen was startled when she heard this, then looked at Xie Fei in disbelief and asked softly, "Really?"
"If you are willing to pay with your soul, then it will be true." Xie Fei raised his thin lips slightly, his brows were clear, and his cold voice was like spring water hitting a jade plate, knocking into Xiwen's heart bit by bit.
"Are you willing?" Xie Fei glanced at her and asked again word by word.
Xiwen's eyes flashed, and her bloodstained hands unconsciously clenched in her sleeves. She took two steps forward in a somewhat unmanageable manner, knelt down with a plop, and tremblingly grabbed Xie Fei's sleeves, and said earnestly: "I, I do!"
Xie Fei glanced at the stained sleeves, frowned slightly, a trace of annoyance flashed across his eyes, he pursed his lips and shook his sleeves, and Xiwen fell to the ground instantly.
"In that case, then sit down and tell me your situation in detail." As she spoke, a round stool appeared out of thin air beside Xiwen. She glanced at Xie Fei's ugly face, climbed up carefully and sat down, placing her hands on her legs like a reserved little wife, with her brows lowered.
"But... can I tell it now?" Xiwen raised her eyes and glanced at Xie Fei quickly, and asked in a low voice.
"Yeah." Xie Fei nodded and lay back on the beauty couch.
——Xiwen’s life is so miserable.
Xiwen was the ninth princess of the Great Qi Dynasty. She was born weak. A master personally divined at that time and said that beauty is envied by heaven and she should not have extreme joy or sorrow in her life, let alone get pregnant and have children. It would be a blessing to live a peaceful life. Therefore, the ninth princess was raised in the deep palace since the day she was born. The emperor loved his daughter so much that he even gave her the title of Princess Anping, hoping that she would be safe.
When she grew up, Xiwen also discovered that she was different from others, but she was gentle in nature and knew that she was weak. In order not to worry her father and mother, she stayed alone in her boudoir for the past sixteen years. Not only did she not complain about her fate, she even often comforted her mother who was worried about her, and she also taught herself to master the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
The queen looked at her beautiful and gentle daughter and felt more and more unbearable. She thought about the fierce fighting among the princes and her daughter had never developed any feelings with her brothers. After she and the emperor passed away, her daughter might be left alone. The queen could not help but want to find a reliable husband for her daughter.
After discussing with the Emperor, the Queen began to prepare a blind date banquet for Xiwen. However, the noble ladies in the capital who got the news avoided Princess Anping as much as possible, so before the Queen's decree was announced, every household arranged marriages for their sons overnight. Even the left and right prime ministers, who were sworn enemies, put aside their past grudges and got engaged.
The Queen was furious, and Xiwen was secretly sad when she heard this. She was also a young girl and had imagined what her future husband would be like, and even thought about a sweet life after marriage. But looking at her mother who had become haggard because of her, Xiwen suppressed her sadness, smiled and comforted her mother, saying that she didn't want to get married, and just wanted to be her mother's sweet little cotton-padded jacket for the rest of her life.
After this incident, Xiwen gave up the idea of getting married and having children. For her, who had no desires, there was nothing wrong with spending her life like this.
But there happened to be a person who ruined her life - General Liang Shao of Dingbei.
Liang Shao's family has been doing business for generations. Liang Shao's father originally planned to train his son to take over the family business. However, Liang Shao had no interest in business since he was a child and only loved to wield swords. Later, his father became so anxious that he secretly joined the army and went to fight in the northern border. Liang Shao was indeed talented. In less than three years, he became the General of Dingbei. After returning to the capital in triumph, the emperor held a banquet to celebrate for him and gave him a general's mansion.
Young and successful with a handsome face, Liang Shao instantly became a hot commodity in the capital. Hongniang almost broke down the gate of the general's mansion with the good news. However, Liang Shao was very successful at that time and was very arrogant. He looked down on the girls of these families and felt that he should be matched with the most outstanding woman in the world.
At this time, the empress dowager's sixtieth birthday was approaching. At this birthday banquet, Princess Anping, who had been pampered for eighteen years, showed up for the first time. She was beautiful, played the guzheng beautifully, her voice was like the song of a yellow oriole, and her temperament was gentle and moving. Liang Shao immediately fell in love with her.
Liang Shao immediately knelt down, expressed his love, and asked the emperor to let him marry Princess Anping. The emperor was already very satisfied with Liang Shao, so he granted the marriage immediately.
Not long after the marriage was granted, news of war came from the border. Liang Shao asked for permission to go to the battlefield, but was accidentally injured on the way back to Beijing. After falling into the water, he was rescued by Chen Bing'er, a girl from Luohu village. Even though she knew that Liang Shao already had a fiancée, Chen Bing'er still plunged into the marriage without hesitation. Liang Shao also gradually fell in love with Chen Bing'er in her meticulous care and companionship, and the two made a beautiful vow to be a couple for the rest of their lives.
Princess Anping, who had been eagerly waiting in the palace, fainted in panic after receiving the news of Liang Shao's disappearance. After she recovered, she found that her fiancé had returned with another woman, and even broke off the engagement with her in public, vowing to marry Chen Bing'er at all costs.
Princess Anping was heartbroken. Under her persuasion, the emperor finally spared Liang Shao's death sentence, demoted him to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, and took back the General's Mansion.
Although Liang Shao was punished, Princess Anping became a laughing stock in the capital. Xiwen, who already had low self-esteem, stayed indoors from then on. Her health got worse day by day. She was sad but had to pretend to be happy. Gradually, she became depressed and finally fell ill on her bed. The emperor was furious and sent someone to bring Chen Bing'er to the palace to give her twenty beatings with a stick to vent his anger. However, Chen Bing'er fainted before ten beatings, and there was a pool of blood under her.
Chen Bing'er died, leaving two lives lost. Liang Shao almost went crazy when he got home and learned the news. Xiwen, who was seriously ill, was also shocked when she heard the news. She quickly asked her father to comfort Liang Shao. Liang Shao did not show his emotion. He handled the funeral in an unusually calm manner, then rejected the emperor's request to stay and left the capital. The emperor felt guilty, but he did not think that Liang Shao was deeply in love with Chen Bing'er, so he let the tiger go back to the mountains.
Not long after, the emperor heard that there was a hot spring in the suburbs that had miraculous effects of calming the mind and strengthening the body, so he took the queen and Xiwen out of the palace in disguise. Halfway through the journey, Liang Shao descended from the sky with a group of bandits and killed all the guards. He then personally cut off the heads of the emperor and the queen and threw them in front of Xiwen.
In the dark dungeon, Xiwen was barely alive. Everyone thought she was dead, but in fact she was imprisoned by Liang Shao, who buried her parents' heads beside Chen Bing'er's grave as a memorial. He hated Xiwen so much that he tortured her in every way possible, including cutting off her finger and wrist bones, pulling out her nails, and branding her with irons... He tortured her to death.
Xiwen's eyes widened, and the hatred in her eyes seemed to burst out at the next moment. She gritted her teeth and said hatefully: "I hate him! It was obviously him who came to provoke me first, but in the end he promised to spend his life with another woman. He could have come to me privately to explain the matter, and then I would have persuaded my father to cancel the engagement, but he judged others by his own meanness and canceled the engagement in public, making me a laughing stock in the capital and losing the face of the royal family. As the emperor of Da Qi, how could my father not be angry?"
Big tears welled up in her eyes, fell on her hands, and spread blood like a bunch of gorgeous red spider lilies.
"I hate him even more for killing my father, the emperor and my mother, not even leaving them a complete corpse, and forcing such a proud person like them to pay tribute to Chen Bing'er!"
Xiwen felt a pain in her heart. She felt so sorry for her father and mother. For such a playboy, she had ruined her body and even caused her father to vent his anger for her, resulting in his head and body being separated. It was not worth it, not worth it.
"I hate Chen Bing'er too. She knew Liang Shao had a fiancée, but she didn't avoid him. Instead, she stayed close to him..." At this point, Xiwen paused, lowered her head with red eyes, and said softly, "Actually, the one I should hate the most is myself..."
What a foolish dream! With such a delicate body like yours, you still want to get married. You have clearly decided to stay with your father and mother for the rest of your life, so why am I blinded by Liang Shao?
The room was silent for a moment. There was a slight movement in the air, creating ripples. Judge Cui appeared silently beside Xie Fei. Xie Fei handed him a tissue and sighed, "What do you want?"
"I want to protect my father and mother and make Liang Shao suffer the consequences. Chen Bing'er...she is also a poor person. She died for me, so we owe each other nothing." Xiwen sighed, her eyes red and tears welled up.
Judge Cui took the judge's pen and wrote down every word on the Book of Fiendish Souls. Xie Fei took a sip of water from the teacup, then said calmly, "You are a woman. I can't help you fulfill your wish myself. I can only assist you. Have you thought it through?"
Xiwen's eyebrows curved up, she smiled faintly, and said, "I've thought about it. If it's you, I believe you can help me fulfill my wish."
Xie Fei nodded indifferently. Judge Cui finished writing the Book of Evil Spirits and handed it to Xiwen. Xiwen solemnly signed her name on it. The next moment, she turned into a wisp of smoke and disappeared into the book.
The author has something to say:
In order to avoid any further misunderstandings between me and the readers, which is also the reason why I did not write it carefully at the beginning, I will make some explanations for the first world here:
First, Xie Fei is not Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva himself, he is just the successor to this position. "Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva" is just like "Emperor", it is a general term for people.
Second, Xie Fei treated Liang Shao ruthlessly because he said something wrong for the following reasons:
——Xie Fei is still a teenager, and he is the kind of teenager who only knows how to practice and is ignorant of worldly matters. His original world (the main storyline) is a world where strength is supreme, so if someone provokes him, he will fight back twice as hard.
——He actually wanted to tell the emperor that his martial arts skills were better than Liang’s, and you don’t have to be afraid to touch him easily because of the war. I can replace him, and you don’t have to rely on him in future wars.
——The princess’ injury was also a reason. He blamed himself for not protecting her well. It was a bit like a rage for beauty, but he was actually telling others in this way that I am very aggressive. If anyone says something bad about the princess, I will beat him up and make him lose face. I don’t care about royal relatives or nobles. This move scared those who often gossiped about the princess behind her back and they dared not say anything anymore.
3. Although theoretically the emperor is in charge of the court and the empress is in charge of the harem, and no one dares to disrespect them, then no one should dare to gossip about the princess, right? In fact, this is not the case. There is a war on the border, and the emperor is controlled by powerful ministers in many places. The court is not yet at the point where he has the final say. He needs to consider too many things, so he can only endure some things (such as talking about the princess behind her back). At the same time, I mentioned in the article that most of those who gossip about the princess are from the royal family. They won't say anything about the princess directly, but will say it behind her back in a sarcastic tone. The queen can at most punish them, but cannot impose severe punishment. Moreover, the law does not hold everyone responsible, and there is nothing the queen can do about it, so there are so many royal family members.
——Perhaps you will say that neither the queen nor the emperor can give the princess the respect she deserves, so why can the hero? That's because the emperor and the empress have rules to restrict them, such as censors, and the emperor needs to rely on his ministers, and the same goes for the empress. Those old royal relatives are not good people. But the male protagonist is different. He has no official position, he just does business, and there is no need for these ministers and relatives. Besides, he is a royal noble and a future son-in-law. It is not a big deal to beat those officials for his fiancée. What's more, he has the emperor and empress to protect him behind him. The most important thing is that he solved the rumors at the root, because he married the princess.
4. The princess was pampered in the deep palace because of her physical condition. Also because of her physical condition, the queen never let her learn what royal princesses should learn like other princesses. She was completely free to do whatever she wanted, which is why she grew up to be such a weak, simple and kind person. This caused her to always retreat when faced with problems, and she would not fight back like other princesses - so when she heard Liang Shao saying bad things about her, she left sadly instead of fighting back.
No. 5. The princess had listened to everyone’s gossip for so many years and had actually gotten used to it. But why couldn’t she stand it when Liang Shao called her a “sick person”?
——The main reason is that Liang Shao is different. He is the one who proposed to marry her and the one who gave her hope. Another reason is that the princess has begun to have feelings for Xie Fei. She wants to marry him but is afraid that she will be a burden to him. A mixture of emotions makes her so sad.
No. 6. I did not intentionally vilify Liang Shao. I deliberately wrote him as stupid to show off the male protagonist. This is inseparable from the environment he grew up in.
——He was only eighteen or nineteen years old, an age when he was impulsive and irrational, as could be seen from the fact that he ran away from home to join the army. Furthermore, although he liked to practice Wudang General since he was a child, his family was in business, so he did not receive any systematic training, and therefore he was not a very smart and wise person. An impulsive, irrational, and unintelligent teenager can easily be influenced by others and do many irrational things, such as being easily angry, liking to be in the spotlight, and being mentally unstable...
No. 7. Liang Shao defended his country, so isn’t it bad that the emperor treats him like this?
——The reason why he was made a general was that the emperor felt that his martial arts skills were the best among all the generals and he could fight on equal terms with the enemy generals. Although I am currently brave but not wise, and a little impulsive, I am young and can grow slowly. Later, he asked to marry the princess, and after the emperor agreed, he became even more determined to train him well. The emperor later turned against him because he was really angry with him. I have high hopes for you and I am training you, but you slap me in the face? In addition to the royal family's reputation issue, his most beloved daughter became the laughing stock of the whole city. The emperor became so angry due to several reasons, not because he deliberately treated his meritorious officials like that.
8. The last one, the overall setting of this article is that the hero saves and protects the heroine, so the two of them will not slowly develop feelings through quarrels, concessions, compromises... This is a sweet love story where the hero pampers the heroine~
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