A Ghost’s Plea and a Startling Revelation

“No, why are you crying? Surely, I’m the one who should be weeping?”

“You’re merely a nascent spirit, having only just attained your current form. I never truly intended to harm you; it was a completely spontaneous impulse, simply because I found you so beautiful and endearing.”

Watching Bai Wanwan’s tears fall, Liu Hanzhi found herself beginning to weep as well. Bai Wanwan’s sorrow stemmed from the loss of her five hundred yuan, while Liu Hanzhi mourned the impending scattering of her soul, just as she had finally broken free from her seal, before she could fulfill her desires or exact her revenge.

“My origins were humble, and later I was caught in the throes of war, eventually sold to a warlord to serve as his concubine.”

“Yet, before I could even pass through his gates, that warlord perished on the battlefield. Those who vied for his inheritance, seeking to reduce the shares, unfairly laid the blame for his death squarely upon my shoulders.”

“They branded me a harbinger of doom, claiming I was the one who cursed the warlord to his demise…”

Liu Hanzhi recounted the tale of her life before death, her voice thick with tears. Bai Wanwan listened intently, momentarily even forgetting the sting of losing her five hundred yuan.

“But I had never even met the warlord; how could I have cursed anyone to death?”

“They buried me alive, demanding my life as recompense for the warlord, decreeing that my inability to reincarnate would secure his prosperity in the next life.”

Liu Hanzhi’s cries intensified, her body trembling with what appeared to be genuine emotion. Yet, Bai Wanwan merely listened, nodding with a detached air.

‘It seems my analysis was correct. From the era of warlord conflicts to the present day, it has indeed been more than several decades since his death.’

Bai Wanwan had no inclination to listen to Liu Hanzhi’s tragic backstory. Who, after all, would believe the words of a ghost? ‘Ghost words’ were, by definition, utter nonsense. It was no different from a masseuse claiming she was returning home to marry, take civil service exams, pursue postgraduate studies, and care for her ailing parents after her current shift. One could listen, certainly, but to believe it would be the height of folly. This Liu Hanzhi, only moments ago, had attempted to deceive her with the false name Liu Ruyan. Had Bai Wanwan not possessed the skill to draw an Immortal-Binding Talisman, Liu Hanzhi would likely have already transformed her into a mere plaything, confined to her domain in the Underworld.

“Alright, you can stop talking for now.”

Bai Wanwan rose and approached the dressing table. There, conspicuously displayed, was a blood-stained marriage contract, bearing two names: Bai Wanwan and Liu Ruyan. Bai Wanwan reached out and gently wiped over Liu Ruyan’s name, which, with startling clarity, transformed into Liu Hanzhi. This tactic was undeniably ingenious, akin to finding a scapegoat. Liu Hanzhi was the one truly bound in the ghost marriage with Bai Wanwan, but should anyone in the Underworld perceive an irregularity and come investigating, it would be Liu Ruyan they sought, not Liu Hanzhi, who had so cleverly employed a false identity.

‘Even as a ghost, you possess quite a cunning mind.’

Bai Wanwan gently tore the marriage contract, but in the very next instant, it reappeared on the dressing table. The name “Bai Wanwan,” emblazoned in blood-red script, remained glaringly prominent.

“Hm? What’s happening?”

Bai Wanwan tried again, but the marriage contract persistently rematerialized on the dressing table. No matter how Bai Wanwan attempted to destroy it, the contract would invariably return, perfectly intact, to its place.

“I… I forgot to tell you. The paper effigy you burned earlier was, in essence, yourself. You offered yourself to me through that burning, so we are now husband and wife.”

Liu Hanzhi confessed hesitantly.

“What? Are you saying… I married a female ghost?”

Bai Wanwan’s voice instinctively rose several pitches, her tone startling the young ghost, Liu Hanzhi.

“Yes… yes, that’s how it is.”

Liu Hanzhi mumbled softly. Frankly, her timid, cowering demeanor stood in stark contrast to Bai Wanwan’s bold and uninhibited presence. One might easily mistake Bai Wanwan for the formidable female ghost.

“If you’re not pleased, I can try to find a way to annul our marriage, as long as you don’t make me vanish into thin air…”

“Please, I beg you.”