New Year's Eve is always the most lively time of the year. Countless fireworks bloom in the night sky of Nandu, and every household is decorated with lights and colorful decorations. Fang Xianye's mansion is a little deserted because there are few people. He and his servants decorate the mansion together. Who knows that when they are hanging lanterns at the door, a cluster of fireworks rises in the distance, lighting up a beautiful scene.
Fang Xianye looked up at the fireworks for a while, and when he lowered his head, he unexpectedly saw Duan Jingyuan standing at the door. She was wearing an orange plush cloak, her face was flushed and she was a little out of breath. She looked up at him. Her maid stood behind her carrying a lacquered wooden box.
Fang Xianye came down from the ladder, bowed to Duan Jingyuan and said, "Miss Duan."
Duan Jingyuan bowed, glanced at him awkwardly, and said, "Master Fang... We made some extra dumplings at our house. I thought you didn't have any family in Nandu, so I came to give you a bowl."
The maid beside her handed the food box to He Zhi. Fang Xianye opened the lid and looked at the bowl of steaming dumplings. He looked at Duan Jingyuan in surprise, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Duan Jingyuan thought he didn't believe her and was ready to reject her kindness. She opened her eyes wide and puffed up her face, picked up a dumpling and ate it herself, blowing air because of the burn, and said vaguely: "Look... I ate it myself, I didn't poison it."
Fang Xianye was stunned for a moment and then couldn't help laughing. He closed the food box and said to Duan Jingyuan, "Why would I suspect it was poisonous? Thank you Miss Duan for your kindness."
The fireworks in the distant sky illuminated Duan Jingyuan's face. Her eyes sparkled. She avoided his gaze and said embarrassedly, "What kindness... It's just that our family made a little more."
After saying that, she simply turned around, took her maid, got on her sedan chair, and went back home. Fang Xianye watched her go away, smiling and shaking his head.
He Zhi held the food box and asked curiously, "Why would Miss Duan send dumplings to you, sir? Doesn't she hate you?" After a pause, he continued, "And Miss Duan clearly came in a sedan chair, why is she still panting?"
Fang Xianye took the lunch box and said to He Zhi with a smile, "You can hang the lanterns yourself."
After saying that, he walked in carrying the lunch box.
Why was she so out of breath? The Duan residence was quite a distance from the Fang residence, and the dumplings were still hot. She must have been in a hurry to put them in the lunch box right after they came out of the pot, and ran all the way out.
Fang Xianye couldn't help but smile as he thought about it, thinking that this New Year had been pretty good and hoping that next year would be even better.
On the bustling New Year's Eve, Yan Ke was tied up with a rope, with his hands twisted behind his back and kneeling in the palace hall. This rope was a treasure given by He Jia Fengyi, and he finally made up for his mistake and caught Yan Ke.
All the palace masters who had just obeyed He Simu's order to serve the king were here. The interrogation and questioning had already ended. Yan Ke was naturally executed, and it would only be a matter of time to deal with his remnants.
Now, only He Simu and Yan Ke were left in the hall. He Simu stood up from the throne, slowly walked down the steps and stood in front of Yan Ke. She leaned over and looked into his angry eyes, and said calmly: "Yan Ke, you are defeated after all."
Yan Ke gritted his teeth and said, "If you try to flay your soul alive and merge it with the Ghost King's Lamp, the lamp will be destroyed and your soul will be injured. I'm naturally not as cruel as you."
"In your eyes, the Ghost King Lamp is your precious treasure, a supreme sacred object. In my eyes..." He Simu pointed to the silent locust wood throne inlaid with silver on the high platform and said, "It is no different from that seat, just an artifact."
From Yan Ke's life to his death, his five attempts to rebel all failed. So, if one's desire is too deep, one will chase after it in life and seek it in death, which will trip one's own feet. The more one seeks, the less one can obtain it.
Yan Ke lowered his head, then raised his eyes to look at He Simu. There was still anger in his eyes, but his voice was trembling a little: "Since when did you know... that I killed your father?"
"I suspected it from the beginning, but it was finally confirmed when Bai Sanxing was exiled to the Nine Palaces Prison."
"At that time you... So? For the past three hundred years, your dependence, trust and closeness to me... Was this all fake?"
"Yes, they are all fake."
Yan Ke's hope was ruthlessly shattered, but he still choked and said, "But you appointed me as the right chancellor and asked me to implement the "Golden Wall Law"..."
"You are indeed very capable, and you really enjoy seeing the various palace masters obeying your orders when you enforce laws as the prime minister, don't you?" He Simu squatted down, smiled lightly and said, "I have to give you some sweet treats. There is a saying that goes, make the best use of everything."
Under the light of the candle and the night pearl, her eyebrows were deep, and when she smiled, it was very light, with something indestructible in her eyes. She was still so beautiful, just like when he first fell for her.
Just like the first time he was cheated.
Yan Ke's eyes were dark, and his body was filled with ghostly aura. He roared and tried to get closer to He Simu, but he was firmly tied to the spot by the Immortal Binding Rope, unable to move. His furious shouts echoed in the hall, one after another.
He Simu didn't dodge either. She blinked her eyes and even smiled and said, "You look very painful, but it's good to be in pain."
In order to make the evil ghost who cannot feel pain suffer, she spent a lot of thought and more than three hundred years. She set Yan Ke up, and in the future, after Yan Ke left, she would find an evil ghost to fill his power vacancy to avoid chaos. So after Feng Yi made a magic weapon that could control Bai Sanxing, everything was ready.
Her finger touched Yan Ke's forehead. Yan Ke's eyes trembled, and he finally revealed a confused and sad expression. He said, "If I hadn't killed the previous king, would things between us be... different?"
"If you can do that, you won't become a ghost." He Simu said in a calm tone.
He whispered, "I like you. I really like you."
He Simu smiled.
"I know."
His love for me is real but shallow, but his desire for power is deep and long-lasting.
"You obviously don't want to be the Ghost King."
"I don't want to do it, but I won't give the world to someone I hate."
The Ghost King Lamp on He Simu's waist emitted a blue light, and blue flames ignited at her fingertips, burning from his forehead all the way to his shoulders and torso, and he was completely submerged in the flames.
"Goodbye, Yan Ke."
He Simu stood up and said goodbye to him.
Yan Ke gritted his teeth and refused to cry out in pain. He stared at He Simu through the firelight, as if he could see him being torn apart by cars on the street a thousand years ago. The pain and unwillingness, ambition and aspirations left him along with his limbs and life.
He hated it so much. He hated it so much. He was just one step away from success.
The blazing flames devoured everything in him. At the end of the excruciating pain, he suddenly thought, was it really just a little bit? Was that really success? Would he be happy if he got what he had been pursuing for thousands of years
He went too far and lost the chance to start over.
The obsession that was imprisoned in this world regains its freedom when it turns to ashes.
He Simu looked up at the thin ashes on the ground, waved her hand and opened the palace door, the wind swept the ashes away quickly, flying to the farther sky and earth. The bright moonlight passed through the palace door and fell at her feet. He Simu stared at the night sky outside the window and slowly walked into the light.
There is no moon, but we can still see moonlight.
She turned into smoke in the moonlight, and when she appeared again, she was already standing on the top of Xusheng Mountain, in front of the two tombstones of her parents.
She squatted down and looked at her father's tombstone. She reached out and wiped the dust off the tombstone and said, "Dad, Mom, Happy New Year. I have avenged you. Are you happy, old man?"
What's the point of calling her old man? In fact, she is already older than her parents who are buried here.
She was silent for a moment, then smiled gently: "You may have another neighbor in the future. When he gets old and dies, I plan to bury him next to you. He is a very interesting person, and you will definitely like him."
"When you left, I had already made a decision. I never want to be abandoned again. I want to be the first to leave. But Duan Xu..." He Simu was silent for a while, and whispered: "I plan to give him this right, give him the right to leave me first. I think one day, I will be sad because of this."
“There’s nothing we can do about it, right?” She stood up and looked at the vast sea of stars above her head, surging with silver light.
Why do you want to be the ghost king? When will a better evil ghost appear who can be the ghost king
—These mortals love their relatives, lovers, friends, and this vast world. If you allow them to love and be loved safely, then every bit of this love will be related to you.
—Maybe they don’t know you, your name, or even your help, but they love you.
"Because they love me." He Simu murmured.
And the person she loves is both black and white, red and yellow.
It is the sum of all colors in the world.
For the sounds of nature, for the ice river, for the heat, for the aroma of wine, for the delicacies.
In the end, my body was buried three feet in the mud, and my heart was four inches long.
When He Simu returned to the palace, Duan Xu had just woken up. He leaned against the bed, holding the medicine bowl and talking to the ghost servant. A smile spread across his pale face, a familiar fake sincerity and cunning expression. Seeing He Simu coming, the ghost servant was as if he had been pardoned. He trotted to He Simu and said that this living person refused to drink the medicine.
Duan Xu looked at He Simu with an innocent face. He Simu waved his hand to let the ghost servant leave, then sat down beside his bed.
She asked, "How long have you been vomiting blood?"
Duan Xu knew he was in the wrong, so he cleared his throat and said, "Two and a half years..."
"Two and a half years. When did the first attack occur?"
He Simu's tone was too calm, exactly the same as the day they parted, and Duan Xu became nervous.
"It's because you want to give me my five senses, right? Why didn't you tell me?" Seeing that Duan Xu didn't answer, He Simu confirmed it on his own.
Duan Xu hesitated for a moment, and thought it would be better to be honest at this time, so he said: "If I tell you, you will not exchange your five senses with me anymore, then you will not be able to perceive colors, temperature, smells, and tunes anymore, which is a pity."
He Simu was silent for a moment, then sneered. Duan Xu was pressed down on the bed by He Simu while the world was spinning. The medicine bowl fell to the ground with a crisp sound, and the bitter smell of medicine filled his face.
He Simu slowly lowered his body to look down at Duan Xu, and said almost sarcastically: "What am I in your eyes? A villain who squeezes your five senses and walks away? Even if you die, I don't care at all? Duan Shunxi! Do you think I won't be sad? Don't I have a heart? "
She punched Duan Xu in the face. Duan Xu stared at He Simu's eyes in a daze. Her pupils trembled. If ghosts could cry, she would probably be crying now.
She was always calm and composed, and kept her joys and sorrows buried so deeply that at this moment her sadness broke through the dam and burst out.
Duan Xu opened his eyes and looked at He Simu, seeing the deep sadness in her eyes. He said, "You are a kind and gentle devil, so you will not squeeze out my five senses. But that is your wish, not mine. I have never thought about living a hundred years, and living a hundred years is short compared to you. The five senses are just five senses to me, but they are the whole world to you."
"What do you mean by just five senses? Duan Xu, this only happens once in my life, and it also only happens once in your life. Your five senses are also your world! Do you understand... you are... to me..."
She didn't say anything else. After a pause, He Simu smiled sadly and suddenly changed the subject: "Why do you think I left you?"
"… It's because you used the Ghost King Lamp to exchange for the antidote for me, which violated your principles." Duan Xu guessed.
He Simu shook her head slowly. She leaned over to his ear and whispered, "It's because I suddenly realized that I like you too much, so much so that I can't accept that one day I have to watch you leave me."
Duan Xu's eyes gradually widened, his voice a little hoarse, and he murmured: "Birth, aging, sickness and death, aren't you used to seeing it?"
He Simu chuckled: "Yeah, I'm used to it, I'm tired of it, I'm unmoved by it, I don't want to watch it anymore! But for you, I still... can't accept it..."
Even though she is gifted, invincible, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting without any five senses, and is the master of all ghosts, there are still things she is not good at.
After four hundred years, she still hasn't learned to accept separation.
She never wanted to say goodbye to anyone again.
She was far away from everyone. If she was close, she would leave first. The temperature was just not too cold, like the residual heat of ashes that would not burn again.
Duan Xu, the fox, teased her, begged her, tempted her with unprecedented liveliness, and said he wanted to warm her. But he was a blazing fire, igniting her with an irresistible burning heat.
"You will eventually die out. Just like my aunt and uncle, my parents, you will disappear completely and leave me alone in this world." He Simu stroked the side of Duan Xu's face, and she whispered, "I know you've always been afraid that I will forget you. I... I'm afraid too, and I don't want to forget you either. I want to remember you."
Always like this moment, when I think of you I will remember your face, your smile, your breath and color.
Remember the fireworks and bright lights, the scent of flowers and wine, the blood and wedding dresses, polo and sunshine, your breath, temperature, pulse, fragrance, smile, wild words and whispers, begging for mercy and acting coquettishly.
I don't want to be forgotten, I don't want everything to return to the silent dust, like water disappearing in the long river. I don't want to become dust disappearing in the soil, I don't want to become water disappearing in the long river.
He Simu chuckled and said, "But I will have to do this in the end."
Her journey through life was filled with other people's graves without any tombstones.
Duan Xu looked at He Simu without saying anything.
His eyes were wide open, round and bright, with a thin layer of water vapor, as clear as water jade. The water vapor trembled, gradually dyed red, and began to spread from the eye sockets.
He Simu's throat choked for a moment, and she whispered, "Why are you crying?"
Duan Xu curved his eyes and smiled, and the moment he smiled, tears flowed down the corners of his eyes and sank into his hair.
"I'll cry for you." His voice trembled a little.
He cried for the person he loved, who loved him as much as he did; he cried for the loneliness that the person he loved would eventually endure.
He reached out his hands to hold her back, which was cold and stiff, standing very straight. He patted her back and said, "Simu, our Lord Ghost King, why are your bones so hard? Relax, relax, I'm here."
He Simu froze for a moment, then gradually loosened his strength and followed his strength to lie on his chest.
"What are you doing?" she asked in a low voice.
Duan Xu then hugged her back with both hands. He was quiet for a while, chuckled and said, "Hold you to warm you up."
Although he deliberately avoided thinking about those things, he also knew that his life was actually full of disappointments and would continue to be so in the future.
But when he held her in his arms, he remembered the verdict that would turn misfortune into fortune.
Will she be the one at the end of all these hardships
She? Will she be the luck in his rough life
Even when he was rejected, left behind, angry and sad, he still felt it was worth it. Regardless of the ending, if he could do it again a thousand times, he would still hope to meet her? Every time, a thousand times.
"Do you regret meeting me? If you could do it all over again, would you want to know me?" Duan Xu asked softly.
He Simu was silent. She closed her eyes and lay on his chest. She sighed deeply and hugged him.
"need."
No matter how many times she did it, she would hold his hand on that New Year's Eve and pull him up from the ground. She would also hug him at this moment and decide to spend this short life with him.
She will be sad, but she will never regret it.
They are exactly alike in this respect, and perhaps that is enough.
Duan Xu laughed softly and said, "What you just said was only said once, including the first sentence?"
"What?"
"You said you like me." Duan Xu said, "This is the first time I heard you say you like me."
He Simu raised her head and looked at him. She said, "You didn't ask, so I thought you didn't want to hear it."
"I want to listen. How could anyone not want to listen?"
He Simu was silent for a while, then slowly hugged Duan Xu's shoulders, lowered his eyes and said, "I like you. If you want to listen more, you must live a hundred years."
Duan Xu hugged her back and whispered, "Okay."
Duan Xu was weak due to excessive blood loss, so Jiang Ai's chef prepared a lot of food to replenish qi and blood. He Jia Fengyi also sent some elixirs, and said that Duan Xu's illness was related to the five senses spell, and that doctors in the world might not be able to find the problem, so he asked the senior brother from Xingqing Palace who was proficient in medicine to come and see Duan Xu in a few days.
Duan Xu drank the medicine under He Simu's coercion and frowned as he said, "Simu, I have stayed in the ghost world for too long. I don't know what the situation is in Nandu. I have to go back."
"You vomited so much blood and fainted. You just woke up not long ago and you are still staggering when you walk. What can you do even if you go back?"
The winter sun was warm that day, and they chatted casually. It was a good time in the world. He Simu leaned against Duan Xu, half of her body was warmed by him, she held the ghost book and turned to a new page, her eyes followed the page to read. When she saw a line of text, she suddenly froze, and reached out to wipe the new records, as if she couldn't believe it.
Duan Xu looked over with some surprise: "What's wrong?"
Then I saw the line of words that her fingers had stroked.
Xue Chenying was born in the second year of Tianyuan and died on the third day of the first month of the first year of Xinhe, in Youzhou.