19: Chapter 19 Her and His City

"It really is a ghost..."

Zhuge Jinyu's eyes widened as she watched the two figures dancing gracefully.

"Mister, what should we do?"

Su Chen actually had no experience dealing with Ghost Domains; all of his theories came from the data transmitted to him by the System.

"Don't worry. When he attacks, I'll see if I can split this place open with one strike."

That said, the System told him that his internal energy levels were down to eighty percent.

There were still many fierce battles ahead, so he needed to conserve his energy.

However, something unexpected happened to Su Chen and Zhuge Jinyu.

After waiting for a long time, the man did not erupt in violence as expected; instead, he remained exceptionally calm.

He turned around to face the two of them, a smile of relief playing on his face.

Perhaps it was a mutual resonance between soul bodies.

Su Chen felt that the man could even sense his presence.

Of course, the man's soul power was extremely weak and posed no threat to him at all; Su Chen could wipe him out with a single thought.

So, Su Chen did not strike immediately.

The man spoke slowly.

"This young lady of the Prime Minister, and that... Mister in the mirror,"

He nodded slightly.

"You guessed correctly. This Ghost Domain was indeed manifested by me."

He looked tenderly at his wife, who was still dancing infatuatedly, his eyes filled with endless pity and guilt.

"I am a native of this Jiangting Prefecture. I learned some rustic martial arts as a child and managed to become a Vice General of the garrison within the prefecture."

Zhuge Jinyu nodded.

She could see that this man was just an ordinary sword cultivator with only an Early Golden Core Stage cultivation.

He was by no means a great cultivator.

The man continued his story.

"She... is my superior, and also the Chief General of this Jiangting City. She is the one I love."

"A dozen days after the city fell, here in the North City, we were ambushed while resisting the rebels."

"I protected her as we fought and retreated, but eventually my strength failed, and I was hacked to pieces by the rebels right here."

"My only thought before I died was for her to live on."

"I never expected that my obsession would be so deep that my soul would not dissipate. Instead, it drew in the grievances and baleful aura of the entire city, forming this Ghost Domain."

"In my muddled state, my only clear thought was that I couldn't let her find out I was dead."

Having said that, the man gave a bitter smile and glanced at the large pot where the meat was boiling.

"Her cultivation plummeted, and without food, she wouldn't be able to survive either."

"To keep her alive, I blurred the perception of this place, making her eat the flesh from my own legs as stored rations, just to hang onto her thread of life."

Hearing this, Su Chen had already guessed most of what happened next.

"Later, you realized that your corpse alone wasn't enough to sustain your wife indefinitely."

"So, you chose to use the aroma of your own corpse's meat to lure those rebels. Anyone who ate the meat became nourishment for the Ghost Domain."

"Then, you transferred the power you gained to your wife to maintain her life, right?"

The man nodded with some surprise.

"You are indeed knowledgeable, young man."

"This afternoon, when the female Prime Minister said 'not to take a single needle or thread from the people' and her troops maintained strict discipline without harming anyone,"

"I knew then that the Royal Army she had been waiting for had truly arrived."

"You will surely save her, and this Ghost Domain manifested from my obsession should also dissipate."

"Is that so..."

Su Chen shook his head.

"Have you ever thought about one thing?"

"Why is it that your wife hasn't finished eating one of your legs and one of your feet after several months?"

"And how could the soul power converted by this Ghost Domain after devouring rebels possibly feed a living person of flesh and blood?"

The man was no fool. Now that Su Chen had put it that way, how could he not guess?

"You... what do you mean?"

But he still looked like he couldn't believe it, his moon-white soul body trembling incessantly.

Before he could finish his sentence, a sudden change occurred.

The woman, who had previously looked dazed with stiff movements, suddenly jerked. The cloudiness in her eyes vanished, replaced by a burst of sharp light.

Her hunched body instantly straightened, and a majestic military aura soared into the sky.

The faded cloth clothes she wore seemed to transform in everyone's eyes into a tattered but still awe-inspiring set of black general's armor.

The wooden spoon she used to stir the meat soup also turned into a blood-stained tasseled spear.

"You fool..."

The woman spoke, her voice sonorous and filled with endless pain and tenderness.

"Did you think... you were the only one who turned into a Ghost Domain?"

Under the man's astonished gaze,

The woman—no, the female general—

Walked slowly up to him.

Her body also began to turn ethereal.

She reached out her hand, and this time, she finally touched his face as she had wished.

"Do you remember the day the city fell, when I blocked a blade for you?"

"I... I remember... You told me later that it was just a minor injury."

The man's voice trembled.

"Stupid. My left chest was pierced through; how could that be a minor injury?"

The woman's tone was somewhat reproachful.

"But even though I had passed away, I still couldn't let go of you, and I certainly couldn't let go of the people of this city who trusted and followed me."

"My soul had already turned into a 'Ghost Domain' covering the entire city one step ahead of you."

"I quietly led the tens of thousands of surviving citizens underground for protection, and I created the illusion that I was still 'alive,' masking your perception."

At this point, Su Chen finally understood.

There were surviving citizens in Jiangting City.

Those people were protected by the woman's Ghost Domain, which also blocked them from others' perception.

Forget the rebels; even Su Chen himself hadn't discovered any survivors when he first entered Jiangting City.

"I knew your temperament was fierce. If you knew I was also dead, you would surely turn into a vengeful ghost and your soul would scatter, leaving no hope for a next life."

"I had no choice but to pretend to be dazed, eat the 'meat' you gave me, and accompany you in this boundless hell to perform this long and desperate play."

"My only wish was to wait for the true Royal Army of Great Qian to come and end this nightmare."

"To let the people under my command live and work in peace, and to let you and me finally be free."

"So... so that's how it was."

The man's soul body trembled as he looked at his lover, who had regained her heroic bearing.

He used himself as bait and manifested a domain to protect her life.

But he didn't know she had long since died and manifested a domain to protect his soul, and even more so, to protect tens of thousands of citizens.

"Mister, so that's where the ghost fires come from..."

Zhuge Jinyu saw two round droplets fall from the "corners of the eyes" of the man.

The outlines of ghost fires flickered within the tears.

"We were both... too foolish..."

The female general smiled through her tears, a smile that was poignantly beautiful.

She tried to reach out again.

This time, the two of them truly held hands tightly.

The female general glanced at Su Chen and Zhuge Jinyu.

"You two, now that the Royal Army has returned, the two of us must also depart."

"After our Ghost Domains dissipate, the people in the city will reappear. We implore you to treat them well; we shall thank you from the underworld."

The man nodded and contentedly held his wife's slender waist tight.

"Farewell, you two."

"Our Ghost Domains were stationed here, making us something of local experts. If there's anything else to warn you about..."

"Be sure to watch your backs, and..."

"Little Prime Minister in white, do not personally go onto the battlefield again."

"Be cautious with the Northern Expedition!"