Yan Wushuang helped me up. I looked up and saw Liu Shinian’s sorrowful figure.
His tears, crystal clear, fell drop by drop onto Xue Ji’s face.
My heart, like his tears, ached with each drop.
The surroundings were eerily silent, just like that day on Mount Wangu.
I slowly walked forward, reached out, and held him tightly. His sorrowful tears, as he raised his head, fell onto my face.
I gently wiped away the remaining tears for him, and then wiped away Xue Ji’s tears from her face.
Everyone, silent, slowly approached, their expressions solemn, patting his back.
His tears gradually dried in the wind. After sitting in a daze for a long time, he dejectedly picked up Xue Ji and, under everyone’s gaze, carried her back to Black Mountain.
We followed behind him, watching him walk the not-so-long path with such gravity.
Liu Shinian decided to bury Xue Ji on the back mountain of Mingyue Palace.
From there, one could see the entire Mingyue Palace, as well as other distant mountains, and even the entire bright moonlit night.
He cupped his hands, taking handfuls of soil, not covering the red coffin.
We also helped him, burying the red coffin bit by bit.
Before long, a mound of earth, half a person’s height, was built on the back mountain.
He half-knelt before the grave, expressionless, drew out “Liu Sword,” and carved four large characters on the tombstone.
“Xue Ji’s Tomb”
I had thought he would carve “Tomb of My Beloved” or “Tomb of My Beloved Concubine,” but I never expected him to simply carve “Xue Ji’s Tomb.”
Perhaps it was because she was as composed when she arrived as she was quiet when she left.
Liu Shinian turned around, looking back at the entire Mingyue Palace, his eyes gradually becoming lonely and lost.
A cool breeze blew, revealing a corner of the brocade handkerchief hidden in his embrace. He raised his hand and took it out.
The handkerchief fluttered in his hand with the wind. Lost in thought, he put the handkerchief away and silently walked down the mountainside.
We followed him as we had when we arrived, silently trailing behind him.
For the next few days, Liu Shinian remained dispirited, lying on the rooftop day and night, drinking himself into oblivion.
Xue Gucheng stood below, looking up at his drunken, decadent appearance, feeling a pang of heartache.
His hollow eyes seemed to no longer distinguish between happiness and sorrow; he only drank, one gulp after another, without pause.
Xue Gucheng, unable to bear it any longer, flew up to the rooftop to accompany him.
He casually took out a bottle of wine from his embrace, sat beside him, and remained silent.
He took a sip, and Xue Gucheng took a sip.
Liu Shinian turned his head and asked faintly.
“How is Muye?”
“She sustained minor injuries and is much better.”
“It was I who harmed her.”
“If you think that way, then drink with me until dawn, and by then, I will forgive you on her behalf.”
Liu Shinian smiled with relief; Xue Gucheng truly understood him.
After abandoning his identity as a knight-errant, Xue Gucheng gradually integrated into this life of self-indulgence, losing his former aloofness and arrogance.
The two drank from dawn till dusk, and from dusk till dawn, eventually falling asleep on the rooftop, refusing to come down no matter who called.
Yan Wushuang watched from below for a long time before returning to her room worriedly, fetching a blanket to cover them.
I looked out from this small pavilion, also seeing Liu Shinian’s weary appearance.
My heart was gradually filled with self-reproach.
“If I hadn’t implicated him, would all of this have been avoided? Would he, perhaps, have lived a better life?”
However, the self-reproach in my heart yielded no answers.
Suddenly, a clear sky began to rain down a vast expanse of gentle peach blossoms. Everyone emerged from their houses, looking up to admire this exquisite scene.
“Look, it’s peach blossoms.”
“So beautiful, but where did the peach blossoms come from?”
Amidst everyone’s puzzled speculation, only Liu Shinian and I knew that Yu Jiao had arrived.
Then, a charming voice transmitted through the wind.
“Ghost King, I’ve come to see you.”
Following that, three figures were seen approaching from the foot of the mountain. Everyone ran out, wanting to see who had arrived.
What greeted their eyes was a peerlessly beautiful woman. She was dressed in a pink peach blossom dress, with a peach blossom as large as a peony pinned to her head.
Every frown and smile carried a captivating charm.
Behind her followed two people: one was Yue Jiucui, who had caused a disturbance at Mingyue Palace not long ago but had almost lost his life.
The other, a woman dressed in black, was unfamiliar to them, but they could guess that the three of them must have some unusual connection.
Yu Jiao, seeing so many people surrounding them, looked at them as if they were exotic curiosities.
She couldn’t help but let out a laugh, whether of amusement or joy. After laughing, she deliberately raised her voice.
“Wan Gui Wang, your place is quite lively. I thought everyone here was like us, villains. Now it seems you are no different from ordinary folk.”
I descended from the small pavilion, walked through the garden, and arrived at the front courtyard of the main hall, slowly parting the crowd to reach the three of them.
Smiling slightly, I said.
“If everyone had your abilities, wouldn’t my Black Mountain become a place of sole dominion?”
She covered her mouth and chuckled.
“Just add a few more people, and it will be.”
I smiled wryly.
“Then I will do my best.”
I cupped my hands and greeted those behind her.
“Brother Yue, Sister-in-law Yue.”
Liu Mei’s face flushed, full of shy embarrassment, and she hurried to explain.
“Please still call me Miss Liu. Brother Jiu and I haven’t, haven’t…”
She trailed off, unable to finish.
Yu Jiao secretly smiled and teased her from the side.
“Sooner or later, you’ll be his. Calling you sister-in-law is just a matter of time.”
Yue Jiucui stepped forward to help Liu Mei out of her predicament.
“Let’s wait until she’s made up her mind before calling her sister-in-law. Calling her Miss Liu also sounds intimate.”
Seeing Yue Jiucui so attentive to his Liu Mei, Yu Jiao was envious and said with a hint of sourness.
“Look, look, your mutual affection is truly enviable. If the person I’m thinking of were half as considerate as you, I’d be thanking my lucky stars.”
“You will.”
Yue Jiucui comforted her.
Lin’er, Hei Feng, Yan Wushuang, and Shisan Niang emerged from the crowd. Yan Wushuang, seeing the unfamiliar person before her, asked me.
“Who is this?”
“This is the Drought Demoness.”
Yan Wushuang’s face showed surprise, but she quickly regained her composure and praised.
“I’ve heard of the Drought Demoness before. I thought it was an unattractive woman, but I never expected you to be as beautiful as a celestial being.”
Yu Jiao, embarrassed, covered her mouth and chuckled, waving the peach blossom in her hand.
“This young lady is truly skilled at flattery. Everyone here is like you, sweet-mouthed from eating honey.”
“Hahaha, that’s only because you are as beautiful as a painted scroll.
Let me introduce you. This is Lin’er, an elder of my Ghostly Clan. This is Hei Feng, this is Yan Wushuang, and this is Shisan Niang.”
I introduced them one by one.
She looked closely and noticed that most of the people here were handsome men and beautiful women, so she teased.
“With so many handsome men and beautiful women, tell me when you’ll introduce a few to me.”
“If you wish, pick any you like.”
“Alright, alright, you’re truly straightforward. But why don’t I see Liu Shinian?”
I looked back, and Lin’er told her.
“Shinian had some trouble and is currently feeling down. He might not want to see anyone for a while.”
Yu Jiao frowned slightly, feeling a bit disappointed.
“It’s only been a short while, and something has already happened?”
Shisan Niang said.
“Miss, you also know that our Black Mountain has always been unwelcome by the righteous path, so it’s not surprising that many things happen.”
Yu Jiao sighed helplessly.
“Alas, people’s eyes often look down but not up, never putting aside their arrogant stance. Therefore, good or bad is all based on their words.”
Lin’er dispersed the crowd and ushered the three of them into the main hall. Yu Jiao was immediately captivated by the grand and spacious hall, exclaiming with admiration.
“Wow, your place is so huge! It can truly rival Nanhai City.”
I laughed heartily and waved my hand.
“There’s still some difference.”
She looked around like a curious baby, examining everything. Before long, Wu Dao came to deliver a message.
“Ghost King, the meal is ready.”
“Good, let’s go. I’ll let you taste our Black Mountain’s unique delicacies.”
“Then I must try them.”
The group arrived at the backyard garden. In front of the garden, there was a viewing platform for admiring flowers. Wu Dao had set up the banquet there.
The table was laden with delicacies: pastries made from flowers, nectar brewed with honey, and bamboo shoots that I personally dug up from the bamboo forest on the back mountain.
Some of them she had eaten before, and some she had never seen.
Yu Jiao leaned down and tasted a couple of bites with eagerness, her eyes immediately lighting up, and she praised.
“This is truly a delicacy from the mortal world.”
Hei Feng poured the wine, handing it out one by one. I raised my cup to toast the three of them.
“Yu Jiao, Brother Yue, Miss Liu, please don’t be reserved. Just eat and drink to your heart’s content. I toast you.”
The three of them raised their cups in return.
“Cheers, cheers.”
Then, all of us at the table raised our cups and drank heartily.
After drinking for an unknown amount of time, everyone was somewhat tipsy. At this moment, a woman walked in from the front courtyard; it was Shisan Niang.
She was not very willing to drink with everyone, but for some reason, she suddenly came over.
She picked up the few remaining pots of wine on the table and began to drink them herself. Yu Jiao turned her head and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Hahaha, you woman, you have quite a high tolerance for alcohol!”
“Here, you drink too.”
Shisan Niang pulled her up, and the two began to drink against each other.
After taking a sip of wine, Shisan Niang began to recite poetry.
“A thousand cups are not enough for a bosom friend; one does not talk with those who are not kindred spirits.”
Yu Jiao smiled hazily, finding her peculiar.
“You woman, you’re so strange, yet you know so much. Let me recite one too.
How many times in a lifetime can one laugh heartily? Meeting over wine, we fall into a drunken stupor.”
While they were drinking, I only had two cups and sat to the side, not getting drunk. However, today, I saw Shisan Niang like this for the first time.
So I asked Wu Dao, who was holding a wine jar beside me.
“What’s wrong with Shisan Niang today?”
“Oh, I heard Shisan Niang asking the elder about the Drought Demoness. Perhaps they share similar fates, which is why she subconsciously wanted to come and see.”
“I see.”
When everyone had drunk their fill, Yu Jiao, emboldened by the alcohol, asked the unfamiliar woman before her.
“Do you also have troubles?”
“Yes.”
“Who is that dead ghost?”
“Him, he’s Xian Ning’er, a great general.”
“That’s wonderful. He should be a devoted lover, right?”
“He treats me very well, but it’s a pity that deep affection is often met with shallow destiny.”
Yu Jiao sighed and picked up the wine pot to drink.
“And you?”
Shisan Niang walked over, put her arm around her shoulder, and asked.
Speaking of that person, Yu Jiao was filled with anger.
“He’s nothing. He puts on a grumpy face all day. If I didn’t like him, I would have kicked him away long ago.”
Shisan Niang suddenly found her very amusing and couldn’t stop laughing.
“Hahaha, you’re truly amusing.”
“We young women should be more assertive, don’t you think?”
“Yes, yes, yes.”
The two sat on the ground, with their arms around each other, laughing heartily.
At this moment, Liu Shinian and Xue Gucheng woke up from the cold wind and heard the commotion in the courtyard.
Xue Gucheng got up to look and saw two women drinking and chatting merrily in the flower garden, with people around them sitting slumped in various states.
“Who is that woman?”
Xue Gucheng asked in confusion.
“That is the Drought Demoness.”
Liu Shinian recognized her after just one glance.
“Drought Demoness?”
He recalled the stories he had heard from his elders in his childhood.
It was said that in Beishendu, there was a woman called the Drought Demoness who brought misfortune to others, but the person before him did not seem like the one in the legends.
“She’s probably here to see me.”
Liu Shinian said slowly.
Xue Gucheng’s face was filled with confusion. He looked back at Liu Shinian, and in a daze, remembered what Yue Jiucui had said in the guest room that day.
It seemed it must be this woman, but what was her relationship with Liu Shinian?
Liu Shinian offered no explanation, merely saying faintly.
“But I… can’t help her anymore now.”
Xue Gucheng knew he was still grieving for Xue Ji’s death. He patted his shoulder, offering comfort in a manly way.
At this moment, a voice came from downstairs.
“Two lords, the Ghost King asked me to bring you some food.”
Liu Shinian looked down and saw Wu Dao holding a tray with several delicacies on it.
Wu Dao stood foolishly in the corridor, looking at them with a pure expression.
“Come up.”
Liu Shinian said.
He gave an awkward smile, then seemed a bit embarrassed.
“I, I can’t fly.”
Liu Shinian drew his sword and threw it down. The sword body seemed to have a will of its own.
It flew down automatically, landing at Bi Shouyuan’s feet, sending him and the food up together.
He gently placed the food down, looked downstairs, and then said sheepishly.
“Lord, I, I can’t get down.”
Liu Shinian’s gaze was filled with doubt. As a member of the Ghostly Clan, it was strange that he couldn’t fly, let alone get down, and he wondered how he had survived.
Liu Shinian waved his hand in exasperation.
“Forget it, stay here. You can keep us company.”
Thus, Wu Dao was also drawn into this two-person team, accompanying them in drinking.
In the latter half of the night, perhaps due to drinking too much or being overly tired, Liu Shinian fell into a daze and slept.
Seeing him asleep, Xue Gucheng also lay down on his side, leaving only Wu Dao sitting blankly in the center, unsure of what to do.
He looked left and right, also wanting to lie down and sleep. So he carefully lay down on the tiles. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he faintly heard a whisper as light as a breeze.
“Muye”
It was the Ghost King’s name. He suddenly became alert and sat up.
Then, in a daze, he heard the whisper again.
“Muye”
He looked in surprise; it was Liu Shinian who had spoken. He immediately frowned, but then, as if amused, covered his mouth and chuckled.