Crown Prince and Ghost King

Chapter 6

The ghost bore a handsome oval face, features exceedingly beautiful despite the chillingly white complexion true to a dead body, and was kneeling on the ground, the bridal robes tattered and frayed under her knees. The fabric wasn't even red anymore where it constantly touched the ground, instead being a filthy brown smeared with green.

Xie Lian could see the reason why General Pei fell for the woman, but her original beauty exuded resentment, giving her appearance an eerie feeling that could only be described as fear-inducing. No wonder people were so terrified.

He stared at her for a while, taking in what he was seeing, then tentatively called her name. Who knew how many years had passed since anyone called her by that name, so Xie Lian wasn't surprised when she took a while to react. Not too long after, some resentment faded away, and her dead eyes shone with light.

«Was is he who sent you to find me? Why won't he come see me himself?».

Naturally, she was referring to General Pei. Confirmation wasn't needed when the subject of her questions was so obvious, but Xie Lian couldn't help the thought that maybe it was better for him to be there instead of Pei Ming. The ghost, Xuan Ji, spoke with a passionate voice, an hopeful tone that sent shivers down Xie Lian's spine.

It wasn't a voice able to convey those pure feelings of love and longing he was used to hear when Hua Cheng talked to him, or about him. Hers was a voice intoning trepidation and unhealthy yearning, a craving far from what could be considered the romantic ache of a lonely heart.

Behind the glass, Xie Lian could see deep feelings of anger and disbelief, the burning sensation of loss and betrayal. Bringing Pei Ming to her would have meant shattering the glass, and letting all those emotions pour out at once.

Seeing that Xie Lian hesitated to respond, Xuan Ji slumped to the ground, her ruined bridal robe spread around her like a pool of freshly spilled blood. Her face was filled with agonizing torment, as if she was suffering an extreme misery.

Even her voice, when she spoke up again, asking why her beloved didn't come to see her, was completely broken.

Faced with that question, Xie Lian could only stay silent once more. Close to him, unmoving but alert, Hua Cheng never raised his gaze from the figure sitting in layers of fabric. E-Ming, at his side, was visibly shaking.

«Pei dear, I've betrayed my kingdom for you, abandoned everything and became like this. Why won't you come see me anymore?».

She pulled at her own hair, sorrowfully moaning: «Could your heart be made of iron?».

She sounded so pitiful and broken, but Xie Lian didn't react to any of it. Her words made the gears in his brain start spinning, though; if she betrayed her kingdom, could that mean that General Pei tricked her into spilling enemy secrets, as to get an advantage during the war? Not only that, her broken legs were definitely something that happened long after the start of the war, because there was no way a general like her would cross a battlefield while crippled.

As vulgar as Xuan Ji resentment was, profound to the point of harming innocent lives, the Crown Prince had to wonder; was General Pei the cause of her undignified conditions? How much had he been involved, to make things escalate so quickly, and so badly?

Before he could give a reason to that messy line of assumptions, an unfortunately familiar voice started screaming bloody curses from behind him. With Hua Cheng focused on protecting Xie Lian, he probably called back the butterfly keeping the mob boss unconscious, and now he had come back to his senses. Being hot-heated and foolhardy, and with the immense luck of having the real Ghost Bridegroom in front of him, he planned to jump forward and drag her down the mountain to collect his bounty.