Vindicated After a Wrongful Death - Chapter 45

Gu Congxu was more bewildered than he had ever been in his life.

He was just… staring at the bruise on that ankle. When on earth did he actually reach out and grab it?!

The pure-hearted dragon had absolutely no memory of doing so.

He stood frozen, not knowing how to react, while the hammer swinging toward his dragon head didn’t pause for a second. The sound of it whistling through the air was sharp enough to tear the atmosphere as it lunged straight for Gu Congxu’s skull.

Xiang Zhongjing finally snapped to his senses. Forcing back the strange sensation coming from his ankle, he delivered a sharp kick to Gu Congxu’s shoulder, sending the dazed dragon reeling backward and just barely avoiding the meteor-like iron hammer that would have flattened his head.

With a thunderous crash, Tie Haitang’s hammer shattered the newly built reception hall into splinters with a single blow.

Wood shavings turned into a snow-like powder, dancing wildly in the ghostly wind.

Driven by embarrassment and anger, Xiang Zhongjing kicked away Gu Congxu’s claws—the dragon was still persistently clutching his ankle even after being kicked—and stood up, clutching his disheveled robes in a pathetic state. The peach blossom branch in his hair shifted slightly, and a bedraggled blossom fluttered down listlessly onto his shoulder.

His mind felt as if it had been forcefully stirred into a mess by the hand Gu Congxu had wrapped around his ankle. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to scold Gu Congxu first or deal with Tie Haitang.

What Xiang Zhongjing didn’t notice was that although the entire hall had been pulverized and even the floorboards had turned to dust, the specific patch of ground beneath his feet remained perfectly intact, without so much as a crack.

Gu Congxu had fully come to his senses. Instinctively shielding Xiang Zhongjing behind him, he turned a fierce gaze toward the person who had launched the sneak attack.

Tie Haitang was livid. Her ghostly eyes glared chillingly at Gu Congxu as she shrieked, “Get lost!!”

Gu Congxu thought Tie Haitang intended to kill Xiang Zhongjing as well. He turned to Xiang Zhongjing and said, “See? I told you her unprovoked kindness was suspicious. She’s finally showing her true colors.”

Xiang Zhongjing’s embroidered shoes were nowhere to be found. He stood barefoot, the flush on his face yet to fade. Struggling to maintain a serious expression, he said, “Miss Tie, my apologies. It was indeed wrong of me to deceive you with a disguise. I hope you.”

Xiang Zhongjing’s polite and distant words made the hand Tie Haitang used to grip the chain of her hammer tremble violently, and she looked at him in terror.

Xiang Zhongjing had never been this embarrassed in front of a woman before. Combined with the fact that he needed a favor, his tone was exceptionally gentle.

Yet before he could even finish his apology, Tie Haitang suddenly burst into a loud “waah” of crying. Dropping the hammer as if it were a hot potato, she turned and bolted.

This time, she was truly crying.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

While Xiang Zhongjing and Gu Congxu stood staring at each other, the woman in white arrived with an “I’ve seen it all” expression to clean up the mess. She sent vengeful ghosts to rebuild the hall and offered every possible pleasantry, asking Xiang Zhongjing to wait there once more.

Xiang Zhongjing had managed to find his wood-shaving-covered shoes. He shoved them onto his feet without a look and pulled his black cloak down to cover everything from the knees down.

Only after his ankles were hidden did he cast a dark, lingering look at Gu Congxu.

Gu Congxu, only just realizing the gravity of what he had done, didn’t dare look at Xiang Zhongjing. He didn’t dare flee back to the sea of consciousness either. He stood rooted to the spot, body stiff and fists clenched tight, allowing Xiang Zhongjing’s blade-like gaze to carve into him.

After a long silence, Xiang Zhongjing’s gaze settled on Gu Congxu’s beet-red face. He asked slowly, “My ankle… did it feel good to touch?”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Gu Congxu was nearly dead from shame. He wanted to defend himself, but his words came out as a jumbled mess; he didn’t even know how to exonerate himself.

After all, he really was the one who had proactively reached out to touch it, and Xiang Zhongjing hadn’t said a single provocative word.

Gu Congxu’s dragon horns sprouted, and faint dragon scales appeared on his neck. However, this appearance didn’t look terrifying like his demonized state; instead, it looked like the entire dragon was being steamed alive.

Seeing Gu Congxu in such a state, Xiang Zhongjing’s earlier embarrassment slowly dissipated, and his usual unbridled, playboy demeanor returned.

He beckoned Gu Congxu with a finger. “Come over and sit.”

Gu Congxu didn’t know whether it was worse to go or stay. After a long hesitation, he walked over with his eyes closed and his limbs moving in stiff unison, only to be yanked down into a seat by Xiang Zhongjing’s grip on his sash.

Xiang Zhongjing was naturally the type of person who believed that “as long as the other person is more embarrassed than me, then I’m not embarrassed at all.” Seeing the dragon looking like he was practically begging to be bullied, he laughed so hard the peach blossoms in his hair wobbled.

He stopped being precious about hiding his ankles. Instead, he pulled back the black cloak and stuck a toe out to kick Gu Congxu’s foot, calling out with a smirk, “Sange.”

Gu Congxu, who was trying to be a stone pillar, was touched by the foot that still bore a ring of bruising. He nearly launched into the air and crashed through the ceiling.

The dragon was uncharacteristically submissive. He didn’t snap at Xiang Zhongjing like he usually did when teased. Instead, as if seeking atonement, he whispered, “Hmm?”

With eyes full of mischief, Xiang Zhongjing said deliberately, “I think I put my shoes on the wrong feet. Can you help me swap them?”

Gu Congxu: “…”

Gu Congxu had been desperately averting his gaze, not daring to stare at Xiang Zhongjing’s ankles like some lecher again. This request left him in another daze.

The flush on Xiang Zhongjing’s face hadn’t faded, making him look as if he were intoxicated. His eyes were curved into crescents, carrying a seductive charm he hadn’t even noticed himself.

“Hmm?” Seeing Gu Congxu acting like a statue, Xiang Zhongjing found it even more amusing. He rested his foot on Gu Congxu’s knee and slid his toe slowly down the dragon’s shin, teasing the dragon until the tip of his tail almost popped out.

He pressed on: “Will you? Hmm? It’s very uncomfortable wearing them like this.”

Gu Congxu: “…”

If it were the usual Gu Congxu, he would have snapped at Xiang Zhongjing to change his own shoes. This time, perhaps because his brain was scrambled by the shock, he stared blankly at Xiang Zhongjing for a long moment before giving a small nod. “Okay.”

This time, it was Xiang Zhongjing’s turn to be stunned. “…”

Xiang Zhongjing always kept his emotions hidden. No matter how upset he was, his face usually wore a smile that revealed nothing. Being flustered by Gu Congxu touching his ankle earlier had made the proud Xiang Zhongjing feel a great sense of shame. He had been determined to make Gu Congxu twice as “embarrassed” to balance the scales.

He thought that using his feet to tease Gu Congxu again would make the dragon turn into a red mess, howling and yelling about how shameless he was. That would have satisfied Xiang Zhongjing’s “twisted” pride.

But of all the things he calculated, he never expected Gu Congxu to actually intend to help him change his shoes.

Xiang Zhongjing stared at Gu Congxu. He thought the dragon was just bluffing and held onto a final hope that he’d see Gu Congxu transform into a dragon and fly around the room in a fit of shyness.

And then… Gu Congxu expressionlessly took hold of his ankle and slowly slid off the reversed embroidered shoe.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Xiang Zhongjing looked at Gu Congxu in shock, even his toes trembling slightly. The golden bells hanging at his ankles swayed gently; had there been clappers inside, they would be jingling incessantly from his shaking.

But since things had reached this point, Xiang Zhongjing had only himself to blame. Even if it felt unbearable, he had to force himself to endure it.

Gu Congxu’s movements were very slow, as if he were afraid of hurting him. But it was exactly this sluggishness that allowed his cool palms to brush against the skin of the ankle over and over again, taking every possible advantage.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

The tingling sensation from his ankle spread up his long legs to the sea of his marrow, forcing him to raise a hand to cover his mouth, his breathing becoming shallow and refined. His eyes were slightly red, terrified that Gu Congxu would notice anything unusual.

After what felt like an entire sixty-year cycle, Gu Congxu finally finished swapping the shoes. He looked up, peering at the man tentatively. “I… I’ve finished.”

The dragon thought he was making amends, but in reality, his behavior was a thousand times more excessive than before.

Before Gu Congxu could see Xiang Zhongjing’s expression, he received a kick to the palm and saw the man pull back his hand in a hurt manner.

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t care if he felt hurt. He had been thoroughly taken advantage of and couldn’t say a single word about it. He could only curl into a ball with his back to Gu Congxu, doing his best to hide his reddened face.

Seeing that he wouldn’t speak, Gu Congxu asked hesitantly, “Are… are you still angry?”

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Xiang Zhongjing was nearly fuming with rage, but since he was the one who had asked Gu Congxu to change the shoes, he couldn’t even scold him. He could only grit his teeth and squeeze a few words through his smile.

“I. Am. Not. Angry.”

Gu Congxu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as he wasn’t angry.

With his back to Gu Congxu, Xiang Zhongjing was nearly grinding his molars to dust, his heart filled with unprecedented frustration and shame.

Even when he lost his first sword match as a child by a half-measure, he hadn’t felt this humiliated.

What are you afraid of? Xiang Zhongjing convinced himself expressionlessly. He’s just a dragon so pure he could be a saint. You have a thousand ways to make him die of shame.

With that thought, Xiang Zhongjing finally exhaled, intending to turn the page—after all, he moved on from embarrassing moments faster than one flips a book.

The entire room was deathly quiet, save for the sound of their breathing.

Finally, having composed himself, Xiang Zhongjing turned around and said with feigned calm, “I remember who Tie Haitang is.”

Gu Congxu asked, “Who? An old acquaintance?”

Xiang Zhongjing nodded.

Before the Sandu Secret Realm opened, Xiang Zhongjing had been pestered by vengeful spirits, leaving his soul unstable for a period.

At that time, he was a loner who had left the Quyi Sect to travel. He didn’t even know how long his soul had been unstable; he only had a groggy memory of wandering through the wilderness.

When he finally regained consciousness, he was woken by the scent of locust blossoms.

It was another year of blooming locust flowers. Tie Haitang was crouching beneath the tree, looking sorrowfully at a pile of bones on the ground.

Those were her remains, which had been exposed to the elements for ten years.

She crouched there with a vacant expression, trying day after day to scoop up the nearby earth to bury the bones, but she could never touch a thing.

Tie Haitang wondered blankly: What evil did I do in this life, or what malice did I commit in my last, to deserve this?

In her mind, she must have done something wrong to be punished like this by the heavens. Otherwise, how could she convince herself that being abused to death and left unburied was her natural fate?

She crouched there in a daze, repeating the motion of burying the bones like a possessed person.

She had done this millions of times over the last ten years, to the point of numbness.

Until suddenly, a hand reached out gently, holding a scoop of soiled earth and covering her bones with it.

Tie Haitang froze for a long while before raising her head blankly to look at the newcomer.

The person before her had a cold, clear expression and carried a crisp scent of locust blossoms—strangely, even as a ghost, Tie Haitang could smell the scent on him.

This person looked like a celestial being, making Tie Haitang feel as if she were in a trance.

Had she finally gone mad and started seeing such hallucinations?

As she stared in a daze, the man murmured, “If the bones aren’t laid to rest, one becomes a wandering ghost.”

Tie Haitang froze before nodding.

Xiang Zhongjing gave a soft smile and muttered to himself, “I’ll still have to pay a visit to the Funeral Pavilion.”

Tie Haitang was mesmerized by the smile.

Xiang Zhongjing set aside his sword—the one adorned with good-luck charms—and continued to cover the bones with dirt. After a while, he suddenly let out an “ah” and asked Tie Haitang:

“Are you cold?”

Not knowing what he meant, she replied blankly, “Yes.”

I’m so cold.

Xiang Zhongjing gave an “mm.” He pulled a sandalwood box designed for spiritual tools from his storage space and, without the slightest hesitation about the filth, picked up her bones and placed them inside.

Tie Haitang didn’t know how to react. After a long moment, she said with a trembling, tearful voice, “Immortal, there’s no need for this! You… you only need to cover me with dirt.”

Xiang Zhongjing didn’t speak. He finished picking up the bones, stood up to pluck a pure white locust blossom to place in the box, then closed the lid and buried it under the tree.

Tie Haitang watched him and wept. Even though ghosts cannot produce tears, some unknown source allowed them to flow down her face uncontrollably.

“Good girl.” Xiang Zhongjing reached out to stroke her hair, his voice gentle. “Go into reincarnation.”

Tie Haitang shook her head through her sobs. “They all say I have a cursed fate. Even if I reincarnate, I won’t escape a tragic end.”

Xiang Zhongjing paused for a moment before laughing softly. “What is your name and your birth details?”

Tie Haitang wiped her tears and told him everything.

Xiang Zhongjing pulled a good-luck charm from his sword, closed his eyes, and whispered a mantra. A flame suddenly reduced the charm in his fingertips to ash.

In the next heartbeat, Tie Haitang looked down at her hand in shock.

A single good-luck charm lay quietly in her pale palm.

Her eyes widened in awe. As she looked up, she saw Xiang Zhongjing pressing a hand against the trunk of the locust tree, his eyes downcast as he whispered, “I will come back to get you.”

She didn’t know who he was talking to, but Tie Haitang instinctively knew it was someone incredibly important, or his expression wouldn’t be so sorrowful.

After speaking, Xiang Zhongjing looked back at Tie Haitang with a smile before slowly walking away.

Tie Haitang had forgotten to even ask his name.

“He was… ahhh! Like an immortal! An immortal, do you understand?!” Sixty years later, Tie Haitang—now a powerful ghost cultivator of the three realms, was rolling around on her bed clutching a soft pillow, screaming with the excitement of a teenage girl. “How can someone’s hair have such perfect curls?! Tell me, tell me! Ooh, he’s the death of me, even though I’m already dead… Qin-niang! Qin-niang, you tell me, isn’t he perfect? Isn’t he an immortal?!”

The woman in white—Qin-niang, watched her with an expressionless face, as if looking at an idiot.

Tie Haitang continued to roll around, alternating between screaming and suddenly wailing. “But what did I just do in front of him?! I called myself his ‘grandma’ and tried to slaughter someone in front of him—though that man deserved to die! How dare he touch the Sovereign’s foot?! Qin-niang, Qin-niang, tell me, shouldn’t he die?!”

Qin-niang: “…”

Qin-niang said coldly, “Grandma, if you don’t change into more ‘behaved’ clothes and go back out there, your immortal Sovereign is going to get tired of waiting and leave.”

Tie Haitang: “…”

Tie Haitang: “!!!”

***

A moment later, Tie Haitang gracefully pushed open the door and walked back into the hall. It was as if the violent person from before had never existed as she gave a gentle, lady-like bow.

“Greetings, Sovereign.”

Knowing Tie Haitang was an old acquaintance, Gu Congxu no longer had reservations, and he didn’t care about the hammer she had swung at him earlier—after all, he felt he had acted like a lecher and deserved the beating.

He walked out through the open back door to the veranda, pretending to be uninterested in their conversation while looking at the sea of flowers. His ears, however, remained perked up, sourly intending to hear what kind of past these two shared.

Xiang Zhongjing smiled. “My apologies, I didn’t recognize you just now.”

Tie Haitang froze, then said excitedly, “The Sovereign still remembers me?”

Xiang Zhongjing: “Vaguely.”

Even a “vague” memory was enough to fill Tie Haitang with joy. She wanted to dash over, but caught herself and walked over with elegant, measured steps. She knelt respectfully beside Xiang Zhongjing, her eyes shining as she looked at him.

Xiang Zhongjing knew very few female cultivators, and Tie Haitang’s gaze was as bright as sunlight, something he wasn’t used to handling at all.

He gave a dry cough, not knowing how to make small talk. Anything he thought of felt awkward.

Tie Haitang had no intention of letting her immortal Sovereign be uncomfortable. She said submissively, “Has the Sovereign come here to find me because there’s something you wish for me to investigate?”

Xiang Zhongjing breathed a silent sigh of relief; skipping the small talk made him much more comfortable. “Indeed.”

“Please, speak.” Tie Haitang was about to pat her chest in a promise like she usually did, but remembered to be feminine. She made a graceful hand gesture and said softly, “Anything the Sovereign wishes to know, Haitang will find it for you.”

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Xiang Zhongjing felt something was slightly odd, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Nearby, Gu Congxu’s eyes were turning green with jealousy.

This woman… is actually flirting with Xiang Zhongjing!

Gu Congxu wanted to let out a roar to warn her not to have any delusions; Xiang Zhongjing didn’t like ghost cultivators!

After the thought surfaced, he froze. A realization hit him: Wait, Xiang Zhongjing is being flirted with, why am I so nervous?!

Irritated for no reason, he grabbed a handful of Yellow Springs flowers and crushed them into dust with an expressionless face.

Xiang Zhongjing noticed nothing and continued with the serious business.

“I want to know about the Immortal Lord and the evil dragon from the Sandu Secret Realm a thousand years ago.” Xiang Zhongjing recalled that even the fearless Song Youqiu didn’t dare look into this. He looked at Tie Haitang hesitantly. “Is that possible?”

Tie Haitang replied instantly and firmly, “It. Is!”

Xiang Zhongjing was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to agree without asking any questions. He asked tentatively, “Will investigating this cause you trouble?”

Tie Haitang spoke as if chanting a slogan: “Not. At. All!”

If anyone tried to stop her, she’d just hit them with a handful of flowers; it was no trouble.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Things were going so smoothly that Xiang Zhongjing almost couldn’t believe it. He said dryly, “Then… thank you?”

Hearing this, Tie Haitang’s pupils nearly shrunk into one. She looked like she was having trouble breathing. Clutching her chest, she said with difficulty, “It’s… it’s no trouble.”

As if she truly couldn’t take it anymore, she spoke hurriedly: “The Sovereign only needs to wait for my news. I will send a ghost with word in three days.”

With that, she scurried away with tiny, quick steps.

Xiang Zhongjing: “…”

Hmm, does this Tie Haitang actually like me or hate me?

She rushed to kick me out before we even spoke for long?

Since he had been given his leave, Xiang Zhongjing didn’t feel right staying. He took the sulking Gu Congxu and left the locust tree’s small world.

Qin-niang saw them off with great respect.

Xiang Zhongjing tried several times to mention a reward, but Qin-niang cut him off every time, so he eventually gave up.

Once the black dragon had carried him away, Qin-niang returned slowly to Tie Haitang’s quarters and pulled back the red bed curtains. There, Tie Haitang was lying expressionlessly on the bed, silently weeping, looking like her heart had turned to ash. The bed was draped with good-luck charms identical to the ones on her hammer, which she seemed to have traced herself.

Qin-niang’s lip twitched. “What happened?”

“Just let me die,” Tie Haitang said.

Qin-niang replied, “You’ve already died once.”

“Ooh,” Tie Haitang clutched her chest and said with difficulty. “My chest gets so tight whenever I talk to him. Qin-niang, am I sick?”

Qin-niang: “…”

Qin-niang couldn’t comprehend the feeling of finally meeting someone one had admired for decades. She said coldly, “Your brain is certainly sick.”

Tie Haitang: “…”

Ooh.

As Tie Haitang lay there reviewing her embarrassing behavior for the day, she vaguely felt she had forgotten something.

She was almost asleep when a realization hit her. She shot up, her ghostly eyes filled with a terrifying chill as she ground her teeth and cursed, “That damn evil dragon!!”

Gu Congxu carried Xiang Zhongjing quickly back to the Funeral Pavilion.

Song Youqiu was waiting boredly with his chin in his hand. Seeing the two land in the courtyard, he stood up quickly and said happily, “Sovereign!”

After returning from a place filled with yin energy, Xiang Zhongjing felt cold despite the spring-like surroundings. He shivered involuntarily and said with a smile, “I’m back. Wasn’t bitten.”

Song Youqiu breathed a full sigh of relief seeing him unharmed.

Gu Congxu, who had been sulking, quickly supported Xiang Zhongjing as he saw him stumble. He noticed that the body that had been cold as ice under the locust tree was now burning hot.

Song Youqiu was about to ask if he had gotten anything from Tie Haitang when he noticed Xiang Zhongjing’s deathly pale face. He jumped in surprise and said hurriedly, “The Sovereign’s soul is unstable; going to a place full of yin energy was probably a bad idea. Quick, quick, go find Master Man!”

Xiang Zhongjing nodded. “I do need to find him.”

The Wujin Building was right next door. Xiang Zhongjing felt light on his feet, but he still pretended everything was fine as he strolled over.

Man Qiuxia was busy researching medicines. Seeing Xiang Zhongjing, he threw aside his pestle and said joyfully, “You’re back! Come, come, let me change you into another set of women’s clothes.”

Xiang Zhongjing gave a thin smile. He pulled the peach blossom branch from his hair and slammed it onto Man Qiuxia’s table. Raising an eyebrow, he said lazily, “I was recognized as a man the moment I walked in.”

Man Qiuxia froze.

Xiang Zhongjing’s throat felt itchy, and he turned his head to cough. Then, he spoke as if he couldn’t understand: “I really don’t know why you people always want to eat something every time you make a bet.”

Gu Congxu, who had previously bet that he would swallow himself starting from the tail, lowered his head in silence.

“Master Man.” Xiang Zhongjing traced a circle in the air toward the massive building. “This Wujin Building is so big. Where are you going to start eating?”

Man Qiuxia: “…”