The state of the world is ever divided and united, just as oceans turn into mulberry fields. At present, this world of thirty-six provinces is split into two opposing territories, with the Guan River acting as the natural boundary. To the south lies the Liang Dynasty, an orthodox Han dynasty in the Central Plains, while to the north is the Danzhi State, founded by the nomadic Huqi tribe.
Unfortunately, the seventeen provinces north of the Guan River, once the center of Han civilization and praised in poetry by countless literati, had changed hands decades ago and are now Huqi territory.
Although the combat strength of the Liang state soldiers was far inferior to the nomadic Huqi from the grasslands, thanks to the natural moat of the Guan River separating them, and the Huqi’s inability to fight on water, the two sides had been relatively peaceful for many years. However, who would have thought that severe weather would suddenly strike? The Guan River, whose currents were usually swift year-round, experienced an extremely rare severe winter this year, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in a hundred years. As a result, the flow of the river across Liangzhou and Yuzhou provinces froze solid.
This, of course, made the Huqi overjoyed. They led their troops south, crossing the Guan River which was now as flat as land, and in just ten days, they occupied the provincial capital of Liangzhou and over a dozen counties under its jurisdiction. Ten days later, they conquered more than half of Yuzhou Province and headed straight for the southern capital, Nandu.
This kind of chaos in the mortal realm had been witnessed countless times by He Simu, an evil ghost over four hundred years old. Whether it was a prosperous time of peace or a chaotic time of war, it made no difference to an evil ghost. The reason she knew so much about this war was because of her hobby.
She was a picky eater among evil ghosts. She only liked to eat people who were dying of unnatural causes, not those who died from disease. Therefore, her food choices were very limited and could mostly only be found on battlefields.
So, wherever there was a battle, to her, it was like a banquet that she was always happy to attend.
Initially, she had some business to attend to, so she couldn’t be present when the Huqi successfully defeated the Liang army and occupied the two provinces. By the time her business was almost done, the previously triumphant Huqi had suffered a crushing defeat in Liangzhou. They were suddenly attacked and routed by the Daliang army. Even before they could join forces with the Danzhi troops in Yuzhou, they were immediately pushed back north of the Guan River.
Perhaps reluctant to regurgitate the meat they had already swallowed, the Huqi massacred the entire population of the Liangzhou provincial capital as they retreated. Half of the population perished under their blades, an event exactly like the one He Simu had witnessed earlier.
He Simu rested her chin on her hand while twirling the jade pendant, waiting for the little boy on the bed to wake up.
The Governor of Liangzhou was killed by the Huqi, leaving his residence empty. The young general temporarily stayed in the governor’s residence, and the body possessed by He Simu was also placed in a courtyard in the governor’s residence after she fainted; she was unconscious all day and had just woken up.
The young general was apparently quite thorough. He really did save the little boy in the pile of corpses as He Simu had requested before fainting, and placed him in the same courtyard as her. It was just that this child had slept for so long and didn’t seem to have any serious injuries, yet he still hadn’t woken up.
Two knocks sounded on the door, and before He Simu could invite the person in, the door was pushed open forcefully. It was clear the person outside was impatient.
A female general wearing gleaming armor walked in. Her hair was tied up high with a purple silk handkerchief. She had strong eyebrows and a sharp heroic aura, very much like a man. Her right hand carried a food container. She cast a flat glance at He Simu, who was sitting at the table, then placed the food container on the table and spoke in a calm tone.
“You’re awake? The physician has examined you. You and your younger brother are just overly exhausted and have no serious issues. Once your brother wakes up, the two of you can leave this residence.”
Leave the residence?
She hadn’t even found out about that young general yet; how could she let this little bit of entertainment she had just found on her vacation slip away so easily?
He Simu grabbed the female general’s hand and put on a look of admiration like a teenage girl, then smoothly said, “Sister, you are so brave and heroic; even though you’re a woman, you can be a general in the army. I admire you so much; may I ask your name?”
The female general stared at He Simu. Her sharp phoenix eyes narrowed, and she said briefly, “Meng Wan.”
She did not ask for He Simu’s name in return. Her face, illuminated by the candlelight, looked cold, and she clearly wanted to end this conversation quickly.
However, He Simu didn’t give her the chance. She tightly grasped Meng Wan’s sleeve and said without changing her expression, “Nice to meet you. My name is He Xiaoxiao. Right now, my body and my brother’s are still weak. Could we rest in this residence for a few more days? Please ask the General to be lenient. Oh right, what is the name of the General who saved me today?”
Meng Wan narrowed her eyes. Her sharp gaze now looked like a blade. She slowly lowered her head and looked straight into He Simu’s eyes, as if wanting to peel off her skin and see her true form. He Simu did not avoid her gaze, and her eyes even looked like they were smiling.
“You’re weird,” said Meng Wan.
“Oh? Weird how?”
“Everything is weird. Liangzhou City was just massacred, your brother fainted, why aren’t you afraid in the slightest?”
He Simu tilted her head and said casually, “How does Sister Meng know I’m not afraid? When I’m terrified, this is just how I am. Besides, in the middle of the massacre hell of Liangzhou City, my brother and I managed to survive. Now, with the arrival of the god-like General, shouldn’t we feel more at ease?”
Meng Wan grabbed He Simu’s wrist with her free hand, her voice growing heavy. “My instincts are never wrong. You are not a good person. Why do you want to get close to our General? Are you…”
He Simu’s eyes sparkled, and she looked at Meng Wan with a smile.
“Are you… someone sent by Duke Pei?”
…What? Duke who?
He Simu was momentarily stunned in confusion, then she chuckled, “Sister, what are you talking about? What kind of Duke is that? I’ve never heard of him.”
Although she hadn’t spoken a single truthful sentence earlier, this sentence was entirely true.
Whatever high official or noble there was in this world, what did it have to do with her?
Powerful people weren’t necessarily delicious either. She wasn’t like the Master of Qigui Temple, Yan Ke, who specifically targeted powerful officials.
Meng Wan clearly didn’t believe her. She released He Simu’s wrist and said sternly, “I don’t care what your plan is, you’d better just give up! Given how high our young master’s origins are, how extraordinary his talents are? Just because of his sincere and unguarded nature, he was framed by scheming people like you, nearly ruining his future! Now we are not in the royal court, but on the battlefield. Even if I have to risk my life, I will not let you harm a single hair on our young master’s head!”
Meng Wan’s fiery, righteous speech left He Simu speechless. She just felt as if she had been unjustly accused.
However, Meng Wan’s words reminded her of the hand that had given her the handkerchief. A hand with neatly trimmed nails, white and slender, yet full of scars.
It looked like a hand used to holding a pen, not a hand that belonged on a battlefield.
Hearing Meng Wan call the young general “young master,” it seemed they had known each other before he became a general.
“Listening to your story, it seems the General’s fate has been quite unfortunate, hasn’t it?”
“Don’t pretend…”
Just as Meng Wan was about to speak, a loud rumbling stomach sound was heard. They both turned their heads and saw the little boy on the bed beside them, who knows since when he had woken up and was staring straight at the two of them—or more precisely, at the food container between them.
Xue Chenying, who had slept for a day and a night, was awakened by the smell of food.
He Simu looked at the little boy devouring his dinner in front of her, and comforted him, “Eat slowly, no one is snatching it. You said you’re eight years old, your name is…”
“Xue… Chen Ying…” The child mumbled unclearly with his mouth full of rice.
“Ah, then I’ll just call you Chen Ying.”
“Okay… Sister, who are you… where did my father go?”
He Simu thought for a moment, not having the heart to ruin his appetite, and said, “My name is He Xiaoxiao. As for your father, finish your food first, and I’ll tell you later.”
Chen Ying nodded and buried his small face back into the rice bowl.
He Simu rested her chin on her hand, thinking that this child really had no guard up at all, and was very attached to food.
Meng Wan was busy with military affairs. After issuing her threat, she left, leaving a few people to guard the courtyard. Chen Ying only cared about food. As soon as Meng Wan left, he immediately slid off the bed and ran to the table, asking He Simu if he could eat the food.
And so, he was now busy devouring his meal. He Simu rested her chin while looking at his sparkling eyes, and asked casually, “Does it smell good? Is it delicious?”
“Smells good! Delicious!” Chen Ying’s mouth was full. He took the opportunity to glance at He Simu, who was randomly stirring the food in her bowl, and asked, “Sister… don’t you like it?”
“Ah… you can’t say I like it, you can’t say I dislike it…” He Simu scooped the food in her bowl occasionally, as if completing a task.
After all, evil ghosts had no sense of taste, so they couldn’t taste anything. Of course, human flesh and soul fire weren’t delicious either; they were just to fill the stomach.
Come to think of it, being a ghost was quite miserable.
Chen Ying finally filled his stomach completely. He put down the bowl, let out a loud burp, and looked at He Simu with his big, blinking eyes.
“Thank you, Sister Xiaoxiao, I’m full. Where is my father?”
He Simu observed him from head to toe. This child wore coarse cloth clothes covered in ugly patches. His family must have been very poor, and the rough stitches on these patches were probably sewn by his father. If so, his mother had most likely passed away.
Although thin and weak, fortunately, this child had quite well-proportioned features; a small round face and round eyes that made him look a bit silly but adorable.
“Besides your father, do you have any other relatives in this world, like a mother, grandparents on your father’s or mother’s side, aunts, uncles, or anyone else?” He Simu asked.
Chen Ying shook his head honestly. He lowered his head and said, “Most of my relatives are gone, it’s just me and my father depending on each other.”
He Simu rubbed her forehead. This child seemed to have complete soul fire; why did his bad luck fall upon the one who had lost his soul fire instead?
“Then do you still remember what happened before you fainted?”
Chen Ying was stunned. He seemed to refuse to recall the scene, and his face turned deathly pale. He held He Simu’s hand and said, “Bad people… bad people kept killing people… my father… my father he… got stabbed in the stomach… he bled a lot…”
He finally remembered.
He Simu let him hold and shake her hand, then said calmly and seriously, “Your father has passed away. Tomorrow I will take you to bury him.”
Hearing the word “passed away,” Chen Ying’s eyes immediately widened, then he pouted, his tears falling one by one in panic and sorrow.
“Really? Sister, please think of a way… can my father still come back to life? Before, my father also got hurt by a sickle, there was a big cut on his leg, he bled a lot… but then the doctor came… he stopped bleeding… and could work in the fields again… When my mother was alive, she said that small wounds are okay… everyone gets small wounds sometimes…”
The more panicked he became, the more the child talked. He cried while speaking, and spoke while crying, as if his mouth couldn’t be controlled and the words kept pouring out. Starting from his father, then to his mother, his grandparents, as if he had to rack his brains to find a way to prove that his father wouldn’t die even though his stomach was stabbed.
He Simu just watched him quietly, neither speaking nor moving, merely watching him cry bitterly, speaking nonsense, his voice getting softer and softer.
Finally, Chen Ying stopped talking, took a deep breath, and said hoarsely, “My father said… dead people can’t come back to life, is that true?”
This time He Simu finally spoke. She nodded and said, “It is true.”
Chen Ying’s eyes trembled; he stopped crying, looking only confused.
“Then who is this Sister?”
“Your father gave me food; since you have no relatives, I will take care of you for a while and entrust you to a good family.”
Chen Ying shook his head listlessly, then nodded. For some reason, he whispered, “My father said I always cry, not like a man at all.”
He Simu rubbed his head and said, “When my father and mother died, I made a huge scene. If I could cry, I would definitely cry louder than you. You are already stronger than I was then.”
