The fall of Ji City in Shuozhou Province, located across the Guan River, happened unexpectedly.
After Xia Qingsheng was promoted to Middle General, the traffic of troops, horses, and logistics within the city became dense. Everyone was talking about another war coming; perhaps because the battle situation in Yuzhou was critical, the Liangzhou army would go there to provide support. Two days later, when the battle report arrived, it was realized that something was wrong; apparently, the Tabai Army had crossed to the other side of the Guan River.
Duan Xu led Middle General Wu in a feint attack on the northern city of Yuzhou, and secretly sent Xia Qingsheng to cross the frozen Guan River when the night wind and snow were at their strongest, and the Huqi archers’ vision was obstructed. With surprise tactics, they successfully captured Ji City in Shuozhou Province.
As soon as Ji City fell, Duan Xu immediately left the northern city of Yuzhou without looking back. He led the main Tabai army north to join forces with the Tabai Army in Ji City, fighting fiercely with the Danzhi army in Shuozhou until the sky turned pitch black.
When this news reached He Simu’s ears, she wasn’t surprised. Ever since Duan Xu asked her about the wind direction, she already knew what he was going to do.
The Huqi tribe was extremely tough and warlike; this young general dared to attack right into Danzhi’s home territory. His courage was truly great, only it was unknown if his life was long enough.
These stories were incredibly amazing to Chen Ying. He rested his chin on his hand with a look of pure admiration; even his speed of eating sunflower seeds and peanuts slowed down. He said, “General Duan is so amazing, they say General Duan is the first Daliang general to cross the Guan River!”
He Simu thought to herself, indeed, whether in terms of martial arts or military strategy, he doesn’t look like someone raised by a family of civil officials that has served for three generations.
“When I grow up, I also want to be someone like General Duan! I will protect the country and avenge my father!” Chen Ying clenched his small fists.
He Simu threw away a sunflower seed shell, turned her head, and observed Chen Ying for a moment. In her heart, she thought this seemed like a good way out as well.
“You want to follow Duan Xu?” asked He Simu.
Chen Ying was a bit confused. He Simu thought for a moment, then continued, “These past few days I’ve observed this city; everyone is living in suffering, there are no good families to entrust you to. Duan Xu is pretty good, I helped him check the wind direction, let’s just say I did him a favor. If he can return safely, I could let you follow him. His family is very distinguished; you will never go hungry if you’re with him in the future, you might even get a high position. Well… isn’t that what ordinary humans want?”
As she spoke, she realized Chen Ying’s gaze had changed, his eyes starting to tear up. He pulled the sleeve of He Simu’s dress and said, “Sister Xiaoxiao… are you going to throw me away to someone else? I… I want to follow you… I can eat less… I also won’t eat peanuts and sunflower seeds…”
He Simu looked at Chen Ying quietly for a moment, then wiped the tears from his face. With a gentle yet firm tone, she said, “That is also not allowed. I told you from the start, I will only take care of you for a short while.”
Just joking, life and death are different paths; how could a living person follow a dead person for their whole life.
Chen Ying lowered his small face, remaining completely silent.
He Simu pinched his cheek, and said, “You think you can follow Duan Xu just because you want to? He might very well die in Shuozhou and not be able to return.”
Chen Ying raised his eyes, and weakly said, “Ah…” as if receiving a second blow, unable to accept the reality that his hero might die.
“If Brother General dies, what should we do?”
He Simu thought, this was a good question. She still had a lot of curiosity about Duan Xu. If he died and became a vengeful spirit, his name would be in the Ghost Book, and his life history would be clearly visible to her.
She was actually looking forward to it a little.
Next was the Powang Sword in his hand. She didn’t want her uncle and aunt’s treasure buried underground with him and never see the light again.
Then He Simu asked Chen Ying, “Do you still remember, a few days ago when we were chatting with the neighbors, there was a widow who plays the suona… named…”
“Widow? What’s that?” Chen Ying showed a confused expression.
“It means a woman whose husband has passed away.”
“Oh! Auntie Song?”
“Right, please call her over to eat sunflower seeds together, and also tell her to bring her suona.”
Chen Ying obediently jumped down from the stool, and ran off as fast as lightning.
Not long after, he brought a woman around forty years old into the courtyard. The woman carried a box in her hands, and had a white flower on her head. Her body was slightly plump making her look a bit awkward, and her expression was sorrowful.
She lifted the curtain and entered the room where He Simu was. He Simu greeted her and invited her to sit down. She sat and placed the box on the table, then asked, “What does Miss need a suona for… Lately, seeing this object always makes me feel sad.”
She stroked the box, and said, “My husband played music for other people’s joys and sorrows his whole life, yet in the end, no one played a mourning song for him…”
Auntie Song’s husband used to be the only suona player in the city, and had died in the city massacre.
He Simu served sunflower seeds and peanuts in front of her, and waited quietly for her mood to improve before she spoke up.
“Auntie Song, may I borrow this suona to play for a bit?”
Auntie Song was surprised and said, “Miss He can play the suona?”
“I learned a little bit in the past,” He Simu smiled.
Auntie Song immediately gave permission. He Simu took the suona and moistened the reed. After earnestly remembering for a moment, she raised her hands and played the song “A Hundred Birds Honoring the Phoenix”.
Auntie Song was highly amazed. While listening, she clapped her hands, while her eyes grew red. She said she thought she would never again hear the sound of this suona being played.
“Auntie Song, was my tune correct?” He Simu asked after finishing one song.
Auntie Song nodded quickly and said, “Miss’s technique is very good, all the notes were correct.”
He Simu also asked Chen Ying. Chen Ying’s eyes sparkled with admiration. He also said her playing was good, and not out of tune.
Fortunately, it was decent. She herself couldn’t hear whether the notes were correct or not.
He Simu then asked Auntie Song if she could borrow this suona for a while.
“What do you need a suona for?”
“I have an acquaintance with bad luck; if he dies, I plan to see him off.” He Simu said casually.
She thought, if he died, his coffin would definitely be brought back from Liangzhou to the southern capital. A journey without a funeral song would feel very miserable.
One funeral song in exchange for his Powang Sword.
Besides, by then he’d be dead and couldn’t protest. In the end, this was a barter exchange that didn’t violate her principles.
The person wasn’t dead yet, but He Simu had already planned his funeral, and rented this suona for a month in exchange for half a basket of eggs.
Chen Ying walked Auntie Song out the door, and ran back skipping. He stood on tiptoe and leaned over the table, staring at the suona in the box with immense curiosity.
“Sister Xiaoxiao, how come you can do everything! You can even play the suona!”
“Because there was nothing else to do.” He Simu picked up the suona and twirled it in her hands, “This was taught by my father when I was little. He could play almost all musical instruments.”
Although she was born as an evil ghost, before inheriting the Ghost King’s throne, she was raised in the human world. Her parents seemingly really wanted her to be like a living human. So now she could at least pretend to be human without being caught.
Of course, it was a different story if she met Duan Xu, that little fox.
“Sister Xiaoxiao, what was your father’s job?” Chen Ying jumped onto the small stool, sat up straight, and asked.
He Simu thought for a moment, twirled the suona in her hand a few times, before finding a suitable description, “My father… he used to be a head pig butcher. In my hometown, there’s a place where all the residents are pig butchers.”
Her father, the late previous Ghost King, would definitely clap and praise her metaphor wonderfully if he heard it.
“Ah, a butcher, like Butcher Zhang who sells pork on the street?”
“More or less.” He Simu smiled, her eyes showing a hint of disdain, “Those pig butchers are very hard to control, you know.”
“Then, how did Sister Xiaoxiao’s father and mother die?”
Chen Ying was still at an age where children spoke without burdens, asking whatever he wanted to ask, without realizing that some questions might be inappropriate.
He Simu cast a glance at Chen Ying; Chen Ying was startled by the dark clouds in her eyes, and he fell silent in fear.
He Simu merely smiled and ignored the topic, telling Chen Ying to go to the street to buy her two taels of soy sauce. Chen Ying immediately ran off as if receiving a pardon.
After Chen Ying left the small courtyard, He Simu took out the pearl that had just vibrated from her embrace, and asked, “Feng Yi, what is it?”
“Naturally, to report the situation to you, Ancestor.” A young man’s cheerful voice was heard from the other side.
“I thoroughly investigated Duan Shunxi again. The Duan family has four children, and he is the third son of the Duan family. Since childhood, he has been known to be smart, possessing an extraordinary memory, and able to memorize hundreds of poems, lyrics, and songs. At the age of seven, his grandmother in Daizhou was seriously ill, so he was sent there to serve her. During that time, many of his writings spread and he became very famous in Daizhou. This experience is still considered ordinary, but the only unusual thing is, when he returned to the capital at the age of fourteen, he was robbed on the way.”
“All his guards and servants were killed; only he managed to survive and travel a long distance to the southern capital. Since then, he settled there.”
He Simu’s knuckles tapped the table. With a distant look, she said, “All his guards and servants died, and only he survived? Then how was the old Grandmother of the Duan family doing after that?”
“Not long after Duan Shunxi arrived in the southern capital, the old grandmother passed away.”
In other words, the people who had known him for seven years in Daizhou were almost all gone.
What a coincidence, could there possibly be such a coincidence in this world?
Or was there something he wanted to hide?
He Simu peeled sunflower seeds while thinking, this young general is truly like a treasure box; the more you dig, the more is revealed. Coincidentally, she had been feeling a bit hungry lately; she could go to the front lines of Shuozhou to look for food. At the same time, see if this young general was still alive.
The night grew late. In front of Shuozhou city, the sounds of battle echoed into the sky, accompanied by the clashing of swords and spears.
He Simu hid her true form and walked casually amidst the clamor of battle, among the bloodshed. She wore her favorite red and white triple-layered dress, and the jade pendant at her waist emitted a light.
Endless deaths one after another, the light of soul fires continuously flickering, flying lanterns into the sky, beginning the cycle of reincarnation. A blood-soaked battlefield was like a grand lantern-flying festival in the eyes of an evil ghost.
She crouched down, selecting a dying Huqi man with a good skull shape. With two fingers, she rubbed the man’s eyes; the man blinked and saw the evil ghost before him.
“I can grant you one wish, and then I will eat you. What do you want?” He Simu asked him using the Huqi language.
Seeing the man show the usual expression of confusion, she explained the pros and cons again in brief Huqi language. The Huqi man tightly gripped the hem of He Simu’s dress with one hand, and called out in a trembling voice, “Sky God…”
He Simu tilted her head, “I am not any Sky God.”
“Sky God… kill… that person!” The Huqi man raised his finger; his face was covered in bloodstains making his features indistinct, only the hatred and anger in his eyes were clearly visible.
He Simu followed the direction of his finger. In her world brightly lit by soul fires, Duan Xu rode a dark-colored warhorse, wearing armor and holding a sword, fighting amidst a crowd of enemies, blood spurting three feet high.
His expression was calm and cold, devoid of anger or hatred. However, beneath the surface of that calm lake, there seemed to be something hidden.
Hidden what, she couldn’t see clearly.
“You want me to kill that person?” He Simu pointed at Duan Xu, then turned and said to her prospective meal.
