Official Zhao said that the bleeding from the seven orifices was due to the body being unable to withstand the suddenly awakening War Ghost power. The War Ghost clan all experience a power awakening at the age of twenty-five, and many clan members die because their physical bodies cannot endure the immense power.
Lu Qianqiao was currently in this extremely dangerous stage.
“So—Miss, for you to be willing to stay during this special period, choosing to remain devoted to the General for life, my admiration for you is truly like the rolling waters of the Yangtze River, endless and unceasing…” Official Zhao shed tears of emotion, gripping Xin Mei’s hand and refusing to let go. “Rest assured! Even if I exhaust all my energy, I will write you both a moving, earth-shattering, ghost-weeping classic theatrical piece! Do you prefer the two main characters to die together? Or one dies and one goes mad?”
Xin Mei pulled her hand back: “…Can’t they both live happily ever after?”
“That wouldn’t be heart-wrenching or moving!” Official Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Go be heart-wrenching and moving yourself!”
Si Lan could bear it no longer and dragged him out, slamming the door shut with a bang, then heavily sat down beside Xin Mei, gazing silently at Lu Qianqiao, whose face was deathly pale on the stone bed. He was no longer bleeding, but had yet to awaken—this was already the third day.
He turned to look at Xin Mei. The General had been unconscious for three days, and she had sat by his bedside for three days as well. She didn’t display any expression of heartbreak, just stared blankly at the person on the bed, her brow tightly furrowed.
“You…” Si Lan deliberated for a moment, then finally spoke. “Your feelings for the General… if they haven’t reached that stage yet, you don’t need to do this. I know the marriage was bestowed by the Emperor, perhaps you and your family couldn’t oppose it… but with the General in this condition… some things can’t be treated as child’s play. Go back, none of us would blame you.”
Xin Mei looked at him in confusion: “…What do you mean by haven’t reached that stage yet?”
“The kind of bone-deep, soul-stirring love…” Si Lan felt somewhat uncomfortable. “You little girl clearly haven’t awakened to such things yet. If you feel you must repay the General because he’s been good to you, that’s completely unnecessary. I think the General himself is willing… and… he definitely wouldn’t want you to see him in such a pitiful state, let alone have you suffer any consequences because of him…”
“I don’t care about that. I want to stay.” Her answer came very quickly.
“That’s exactly what I mean!” Si Lan was exasperated. “Do you love the General so deeply? I can’t see it at all! The General… he could have let go originally, but you had to interfere, making him kindle hope again… of course, this isn’t necessarily bad, but…”
She remained silent for a long time, then said quietly: “I don’t know.”
She didn’t know what bone-deep, soul-stirring love was. Things like living and dying together she had only seen in theatrical pieces—she had never experienced them once in her entire life.
“You mean I should hold him and wail dramatically, then find a river to jump into for a tragic love suicide?”
That’s how it seemed to be performed in theatrical pieces, wasn’t it?
Si Lan felt the veins on his forehead about to burst: “Who’s asking you to do such nonsense!”
Her father must be filled with blood and tears of memories to have raised her so smoothly to this age!
“Actually, I want to leave too!” She frowned, looking very troubled. “These past few days I’ve often wondered whether I should go home. You know, being a widow definitely isn’t pleasant, though I suppose I could remarry… well, that’s not the point. Every time I tell myself to go home, I feel like there’s something I can’t let go of, like being hungry but unable to find anything to eat! How could I possibly let myself go hungry!”
…What kind of ridiculous reasoning was this!
“I don’t know what you mean by bone-deep love.” Xin Mei took out a wet cloth to gently wipe Lu Qianqiao’s face. “Anyway, I know Lu Qianqiao won’t die. I won’t leave.”
“You… where on earth does this confidence come from…”
“It’s not confidence… it’s that I’m willing to believe.” She turned to look at him, her gaze clear. “I believe he definitely won’t die. As for everything else, we’ll talk about it later.”
Si Lan retreated under her aura of absolute certainty: “Well… never mind… take good care of the General. I think he’ll be very happy that the first person he sees when he wakes up is you…”
He closed the door. Official Zhao was still leading a group of little demons, crouched by the door eavesdropping, but Si Lan slapped them all away with one palm.
What was bone-deep love? What was love to the point of madness?
Xin Mei propped her chin on her hands at the bedside, thinking left and right. Such things seemed inseparable from tears, falling petals, silk rain, and the like. But here there was only the gloomy underground palace, and a general lying on a stone bed who wouldn’t wake up—no wonder she couldn’t brew such lingering emotions.
Lu Qianqiao on the bed suddenly moved slightly. His long eyelashes lifted, revealing the blood-red eyeballs beneath, staring blankly at the tomb ceiling.
“…Si Lan, why isn’t the lamp lit?” His voice was hoarse as he asked quietly.
Xin Mei started slightly and hurriedly brought the candlelight closer: “Lu Qianqiao, I brought the lamp over. How do you feel now? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
He didn’t move at all, only his eyelashes trembled like falling leaves. After a long while, he said: “Xin Mei, you’re still here?”
“Mm, I stayed to take care of you.”
He was definitely going to be moved to tears, right? Official Zhao said her behavior seemed very noble—usually male protagonists would be moved to tears and pledge their lives in gratitude… but looking at his expression, he seemed quite calm, showing no signs of being moved at all!
Lu Qianqiao closed his eyes, his expression somewhat weary: “…I want to sleep a bit more. You can go out if you have nothing to do.”
Huh?
Xin Mei was slightly surprised. How come Official Zhao was never right about anything!
“Then… would you like to drink some water or something…” She placed the candlestick on the table and carefully poured a cup of warm water. “You haven’t had any water after sleeping for several days. You must be very uncomfortable, right?”
He said nothing, just hesitantly reached out his hand to take it. The teacup lightly settled in his palm, but unsteadily tipped over and fell onto the stone bed. The crisp sound of shattering left both of them stunned.
“Oh, it’s nothing… I’ll get another cup.” Xin Mei quickly swept the fragments to the floor and got another cup to pour water.
“No need.” He shook his head. “My eyes… I…”
This time it was blindness in both eyes. Next time it might be deafness, then perhaps muteness, and finally becoming a living corpse who had lost all five senses—this was the process of War Ghost power awakening. So humiliating, so pathetic, yet it had to be exposed before her. This was more despairing than death itself.
“Drink the water.”
She seemed completely oblivious, putting an arm around his shoulders to help him sit up and bringing the teacup to his lips.
He didn’t move.
What should she say at a time like this? Xin Mei pondered anxiously for a while before stammering: “Well… that is, I don’t mind… you don’t need to take it to heart. Oh right! In my heart, you’ll always be the most capable and greatest!”
This was the right response, wasn’t it?
He squeezed his eyes tightly shut and said nothing.
How could this be happening?! Xin Mei was at a loss. She gently helped him lie back down, sat by the bedside rubbing her hands together, and hesitantly said in a low voice: “Lu Qianqiao, I’ve never encountered this kind of situation, so I… I don’t know what to say either. That sentence just now, I was wrong—I shouldn’t have spoken so carelessly. Not being able to see… it must be very hard to get used to, right?”
He showed no reaction whatsoever.