Chi Wang Chuan smiled faintly, placing the pear into a dish beside him. The uncovered half of his face displayed a trace of disappointment as he spoke slowly, “Let’s say you’re right. What will you do about it?”
Xuan Ye said nothing, but Yue Ying answered for him. The blade left its scabbard in a burst of light, cutting through the orchard’s oppressive gloom.
Chi Wang Chuan lowered his head, brushing his hair aside. He didn’t flinch. Instead, he stretched out a hand, tracing a symbol in the air.
Immediately, the space around the tree filled with an overpowering fragrance. The discarded pear peels began to writhe, releasing tendrils of greenish smoke laced with a hint of crimson. The smoke coiled and advanced, not rushing but closing in deliberately. Chi Wang Chuan murmured an incantation, his lips barely moving.
Under the cold moonlight, Ban Xia took a step closer, her eyes widening as she saw Xuan Ye’s pupils suddenly flush red.
Yue Ying remained in his hand, raised high—but instead of aiming at Chi Wang Chuan, it turned toward Xuan Ye’s own chest. The greenish-red smoke danced around him, its tendrils tightening their hold. Xuan Ye’s clarity was fading fast. The curved blade tore through his clothing, carving a bloody line across his chest.
Ban Xia gasped and lunged forward. With a yell of “Xuan Ye!” she struck his back with the iron sword.
She remembered what the modern-day Master Qi had once told her: When someone’s soul is at the brink of being overtaken, calling their name might bring them back.
It seemed to work. The crimson in Xuan Ye’s eyes subsided slightly. Glancing at Yue Ying, he grasped the situation immediately. Summoning his strength, he sent the blade flying toward Chi Wang Chuan.
To break the curse before succumbing to its full control, the only solution was to kill the caster. It was his last hope.
The Yue Ying blade cleaved through the air, clashing with the dense, swirling smoke. For a moment, the two forces were evenly matched.
Chi Wang Chuan laughed, his voice brimming with disdain. “You took her blood curse onto yourself and then came to my domain to provoke me. Truly, you are as foolish as an ox.”
Xuan Ye panted, the pain from his fingernails and chest unbearable. Still, he gritted his teeth and replied, “Call me what you want, but I won’t let a woman suffer or risk her life because of me!”
Chi Wang Chuan’s expression flickered, as if the words had struck a chord.
The smoke thickened, curling up from the roots of the pear tree, but Chi Wang Chuan no longer chanted. Instead, he merely held his ground, watching.
“In my domain, you’d need a hundred moves to defeat me. And within a hundred moves, the blood curse will fully take hold. You have no chance,” Chi Wang Chuan declared.
Xuan Ye didn’t answer, though he knew Chi Wang Chuan’s words were true.
“I respect you as a man. I’ll offer you a wager,” Chi Wang Chuan said suddenly, withdrawing the smoke entirely. His tone turned almost cordial. “If you win, I’ll lift the curse and fight you on even ground.”
This proposition gave Xuan Ye pause.
Chi Wang Chuan continued, “Summoning me with blood drawn from one’s brow is already a gamble.”
He sat down beneath the pear tree, speaking slowly. “All the women who summon me have one wish: to regain their youth and win back their lover’s heart.”
“And your condition?” Xuan Ye prompted.
“There’s only one.” Chi Wang Chuan’s smile turned venomous.
“True love,” Xuan Ye answered evenly, his voice steady.
Chi Wang Chuan laughed bitterly. “Every one of them swears they are true of heart, but only one ever passed my test.”
“And those who fail? You use the blood curse to control their minds, forcing them to kill themselves?” Xuan Ye asked sharply.
“Breaking promises and betraying vows—death is only just,” Chi Wang Chuan replied with a dismissive shrug.
“What’s your wager?” Xuan Ye pressed, his gaze unwavering.
“The questions are hers. The consequences are mine,” he said, extending his hands, palms down, offering his fate to Chi Wang Chuan.
And thus, the trial began.
“Would you love him, regardless of his position or whether he is right or wrong?”
This question lingered in the mist of the forest as Ban Xia's heart wavered.
When she first met Qin Yue, he was already a ghost, but his appearance remained intact.
With slanted brows reaching his temples, clear jade-like eyes, and a smile tinged with melancholy, he often rested his chin on one hand, silently gazing at her.
Though Qin Yue might not match Xuan Ye in looks, his appearance was unquestionably charming, belonging to the refined and reserved type.
In the bustling, not-so-lonely days at the funeral home, many ghosts had come and gone, yet Ban Xia had fallen for him. Could it be simply because of his exterior?
To put it another way—if, one day, Qin Yue revealed his true form, resembling a zombie or a walking skeleton like in horror movies, would she still sit beside him by the crematorium, knees hugged to her chest, and share comic stories with him?
Ban Xia hesitated.
“Indecision is the same as saying no,” Chi Wang Chuan declared firmly.
Deftly, he produced a pair of tweezers from his sleeve and clamped them onto Xuan Ye's left pinky nail.
Without hesitation, he dug the tweezers beneath the nail plate, and with a brutal tug, pulled the nail free from its root.
Xuan Ye bit his lip hard. Though prepared for the pain, his body betrayed him, pitching forward. A muffled cry escaped his throat, restrained into a stifled groan that dissolved into beads of sweat trickling down his brow.
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