I held the book between us. "It's about a girl who fell in love with a dashing young man. They whispered sweet nothings, their fingers intertwined, vowing never to betray each other, their foreheads pressed together in tender whispers. Then, the young man went off to wander the world with his sword. The girl waited for him at the pavilion. People came and went, sunrise and sunset, many lingered in the pavilion before leaving. Ten years later, the girl had grown old. Suddenly, she couldn't wait any longer and left."
On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the young master and his wife paused for a moment as they passed by the pavilion.
Peonies bloomed in profusion beside the pavilion. He seemed to remember personally pinning a peony in a girl's hair, but that was a long, long time ago.
Lou Xiyue put down her book, frowned, and looked at me calmly.
He wiped my face with his sleeve and whispered, "Silly girl, how long are you going to wait..."
Main text [Part Two Three] Wolf Venom Killing (Part Two) -- Incomplete
Traveling by day and resting by night, Lou Xiyue and I arrived at the border of Yanmen County. (8 9 Literature Network)
The moon is waning and the stars are sparse; a fierce wind whips up yellow sand; the night is desolate, and a misty fog rises.
Looking up, the city gate tower stood prominently in the cold night, making one recall the battles of the past.
Jin Lang led an expedition to the east and won nine battles out of nine. However, in the battle of Yanmen County, his army suffered a crushing defeat, with the corpses of his soldiers piling up like mountains and Yanmen being ravaged by bloodshed.
Now, this place is desolate and dilapidated, and it is unknown whether the lonely ghosts of that time still linger here.
I said, "Lou Xiyue, there looks like there's a human head on that city gate."
Lou Xiyue looked up and said, "Hmm, sticking out its tongue."
I said, "You actually believe that?"
A faint sobbing sound seemed to be heard, crawling inch by inch in the still night like a wisp of silk, its eerie color gradually devouring one's heart.
I stopped in my tracks. "Lou Xiyue."
No one answered.
I looked back. The night was very dark, and I seemed to hear the sound of a Qiang flute. The moon was hidden in the shadows, and I couldn't make out its expression.
I said, "Lou Xiyue, say something."
Lou Xiyue's voice was as cold as water, "There's someone behind you."
I said, "No way."
He remained silent.
A chill crept up my shoulders and tightened around my throat.
I turned and lunged at Lou Xiyue, clutching his sleeve tightly, and cried out with my eyes closed, "My God, a ghost!"
Lou Xiyue responded with a soft "Mm".
I said, "Hurry up, beat him to death."
Lou Xiyue coughed lightly.
I pressed on, asking, "How many ghosts? Male and female? Headed or headless?"
"A female ghost with a cloth covering her face."
A faint laugh came from above me. I opened my eyes and saw Lou Xiyue looking down at me with a smile in her eyes.
I originally thought that I was pulling hard on his sleeve, but I didn't realize that I was actually taller than I thought, and I was currently lying on his chest, trying to pull at his collar.
Lou Xiyue said, "Are you planning to replenish your yin by absorbing yang energy?"
I said seriously, "If it's a female ghost, then I'll sacrifice you. If it's a male ghost, you'll have to reluctantly sacrifice yourself again."
He said calmly, "It's not a ghost; someone is performing a ritual to help the souls of the dead find peace."
I turned my head and saw figures in the distance through the mist, along with scattered firelight. A mournful melody accompanied the wisps of smoke swirling in the night.
I paced back and forth, hesitating whether to move forward. Right now, someone was burning paper money to summon ghosts. If Lou Xiyue and I were to run into a vengeful ghost with insatiable desires, we would fall into the cycle of reincarnation and have to start cultivating again from the animal realm.
But my worldly ties are not yet severed, my lifespan is not yet over, my great undertaking is not yet accomplished, and I am still unmarried.
Lou Xiyue and I thought it would be more virtuous of us to stand at a distance and quietly watch them, and pray for their safety.
In fact, the people of the East are very feudal and superstitious.
Previously, during the sacrificial ceremony in Wenlai, the emperor, accompanied by his family, swaggered from the main hall to the altar. If such a thing happened in the Central Plains, it would directly mean that the emperor had been killed, and the people could go to sleep.
In general, uncivilized areas tend to be more feudal and superstitious, with poor people placing their hopes on demons and gods instead of working hard to cultivate the land and become wealthy. This is the evil consequence of a lack of culture.
So we waited from midnight to 1 AM, and the fog gradually dissipated, the moonlight grew heavier, and people in the distance were still having a serious and tense conversation between humans and ghosts.
A sacrificial table was set up by the roadside, with an incense burner containing three sticks of incense. Some old women were burning paper money while crying and accusing God of being blind, saying that even God would grow old if He had feelings, and so on.
Lou Xiyue said, "They are ferrying the people from the East who died in the battle of Yanmen County back then."
With a heavy heart, I thought, "Our army also suffered heavy casualties, losing a great general. The grief is overwhelming."
I asked him, "Jin Lang is so mighty and invincible, how come he lost so badly in Yanmen County?"
He shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.
I said with some excitement, "Actually, when I was a child, Jin Lang, a great general with a heart of iron and loyalty, was the hero and the object of admiration in the hearts of many girls. Dressed in fine clothes and riding a spirited horse, he was a man of great talent and ambition, a peerless hero."
Lou Xiyue looked up. "Oh?"
I said, "But there's only one hero, and thousands of people like him. Many girls just silently give up."