My Husband’s Ascension C60 (Part 2)
Chapter 60.2 Fabrication
As dusk deepened and night fell, the Ghost King’s wedding banquet finally began.
Yet Yao Ling had no interest in the celebrations, her mind still on Xie Lanshu’s words.
“Those words you previously mentioned…were they just words of deception, or were you speaking the truth?”
Xie Lanshu, eyes fixed intently on the wedding proceedings, answered without turning, “What do you think?”
Yao Ling studied his profile in the candlelight. Even under the warm orange glow, he resembled a piece of jade that could never be warmed: at first glance lustrous and smooth, yet in truth cold and unyielding.
“You’d better be lying,” Yao Ling said casually, though her tone carried an edge. “Otherwise, Master will never forgive you.”
Xie Lanshu merely smiled faintly, offering no reply.
…
The Ghost King’s wedding banquet was to last ten days in a continuous feast. Though they did not intend to stay so long, they would have to reside in the palace like the other guests until they obtained the materials for the longevity pill.
Before going to bed, Yao Ling and Rong Yu, who had snatched up a roaming soul from some unknown place, burst into Xie Lanshu’s chamber and demanded that he hand over his spirit-storing pouch.
Xie Lanshu cast them a cold glance. “I’ve already mentioned before, my room is not to be entered at will.”
Rong Yu, who had sneaked in several times and even peered into his dreams, shifted guiltily.
Yao Ling was bolder. She spread her hands and demanded, “If we didn’t have business here, we wouldn’t come at all, alright? Just give us Master, we want to talk to Master!”
“I’ve also mentioned this countless times,” Xie Lanshu replied to the two children, showing no effort even for a polite smile. “When your cultivation surpasses mine, then come ask me for her.”
This time, Yao Ling was far from stifled. She lifted her chin proudly. “Your room is right next to ours, don’t tell me you can’t sense the slightest stir. Stop making excuses. Master doesn’t even want to talk to you; a forced melon never tastes sweet, don’t you understand?”
“….”
Moments when Xie Lanshu had no words were few and far between; Yao Ling’s tail was nearly raised to the sky in smug delight.
Zhao Zhao, meanwhile, had no objection to anyone speaking. Whoever it was, she didn’t care, so long as it was clear that under no circumstances would she allow Mount Ling to be spared.
Her gaze shifted to the wandering soul that Yao Ling and Rong Yu had brought along.
“Tell them: Mount Ling must be destroyed. No matter what conditions they propose, they must not be allowed to corrupt or compromise with them.”
The soul, still resembling a young girl, lifted her eyes to Zhao Zhao and then gave a smile that was strangely inscrutable.
“Miss Immortal Tanzhao has spoken.”
Yao Ling immediately asked, “What did she say? Does she want to be with us now, no longer stuck to that annoying man?”
Xie Lanshu’s face turned icy as he swept his gaze over Yao Ling.
“No,” the girl’s soul shook her head, her tone calm and measured. “She said she wishes to speak privately with this esteemed Demon Official about today’s matters.”
Zhao Zhao’s eyes widened.
No!
That wasn’t what she had said!
“…Very well,” Yao Ling let out a disappointed sigh before glaring at Xie Lanshu. “But that doesn’t mean Master likes you. She only cares for the world’s people and wants to reason with a lunatic like you. Don’t get any ideas.”
Xie Lanshu smiled faintly, ushering them out of the room and closing the door with a decisive click.
Turning back, his gaze darkened as it settled on the nearly translucent girl’s soul hovering in midair.
“Continue.”
Zhao Zhao soon came to a realization and sharply interrogated.
“You were spying on us the moment we stepped into Ghost City, weren’t you? Roaming spirits cannot enter the palace grounds, so you must have been deliberately sent by the veiled Wu-Shaman to be caught by Yao Ling and Rong Yu. What are you plotting?”
The girl put on a look of patient attentiveness. After a moment, she spoke to Xie Lanshu. “She said she is in great pain. Though this spirit-storing pouch is made from the finest materials, she cannot bask in sunlight, nor can she absorb sufficient wood qi. Each day, she lives in agony, as though on the verge of drowning. She has no way to tell those two children, so she can only tell you.”
…Utter nonsense!
While there were indeed aspects of the pouch that made her uncomfortable, her cultivation had been advancing far more quickly than it ever had on Mistflow Peak. That slight discomfort was entirely bearable.
And even if she truly were suffering, she would never tell him. This was obviously fabricated!
“Is that so…” Xie Lanshu let out a slow breath, his brows knitting faintly. “I thought the spirit-storing pouch would be more beneficial to your cultivation, but if it causes you such pain… was that why you lost your temper last time?”
Zhao Zhao shouted, “Of course not!”
She steadied herself. Shouting would achieve nothing, she had to stop this girl from continuing to speak in her name.
Just as she had when they first entered the Ghost City, Zhao Zhao lunged straight at the girl, swinging her fist.
Yet the other party seemed to have anticipated this. Her figure vanished in an instant, only to reappear at the opposite side.
“…She also said,” the girl continued calmly, “that although remaining in the spirit-storing pouch is very painful, if you still believe it necessary to conquer the Ghost Realm first and then exterminate Mount Ling, she is willing to endure.”
Zhao Zhao swung her fist again.
She would never say such things!
Xie Lanshu’s fingers lightly brushed over the spirit-storing pouch, and the girl’s figure appeared behind him.
“Also… she asked me to tell you, she misses you greatly.”
Xie Lanshu’s fingertips paused.
“She said she knows you blame yourself for her death, and that for decades you’ve defied the Cultivation Realm, striving in the Demon Realm just to revive her…”
Zhao Zhao seethed, wishing she could seal this girl’s deceitful mouth forever.
Yet the girl’s form was mist-like, ethereal, drifting beyond Zhao Zhao’s reach, clearly more adept at acting in a soul-bound state.
“…She has forgiven you.” The girl’s slow, coaxing voice whispered at his ear. “She said, if she could live again, she would try to accept you once more, to be your wife again, never to be parted.”
Zhao Zhao watched Xie Lanshu’s expression and knew no matter if she crushed this girl into nothing, it would be useless.
He truly believed her words.
Zhao Zhao’s gaze hardened on the female spirit. The cunning of Mount Ling was not overstated; perhaps precisely because they could not cultivate like ordinary practitioners, they had to devise such sly, insidious tricks.
Zhao Zhao cast one last glance at Xie Lanshu, who still held the spirit-storing pouch.
She had no way of knowing what stirred in that man’s mind, whether it was guilt or something else entirely, and she did not care to pry.
She could no longer rely on him. To truly defeat Mount Ling, she would have to find another way.
Under the pale chill of moonlight, Zhao Zhao’s soul drifted quietly out of the slightly ajar window. The girl glanced once toward the window, then quickly withdrew her gaze, standing motionless like a lifeless puppet.
Xie Lanshu did not miss that brief glance. “Has she gone?”
The girl suddenly lifted her head.
On the table rested the celadon jade vase cradling Zhao Zhao’s branch. Though it could no longer be restored, Xie Lanshu carried it with him nonetheless.
His thumb and forefinger gently rubbed the leaves at the tips of the branch, movements so delicate it was as if he were caressing the soft cheek of a beloved.
In that instant, the atmosphere shifted, heavy and charged, as though the room itself had inhaled and held its breath.
The girl sensed something amiss. She cast a quick glance toward the window and was just about to make a desperate escape when, at the instant her figure wavered, a talisman slammed down and pinned her hard to the ground.
“That figures,” Xie Lanshu began softly. “After hearing all your nonsense, she must be furious.”
As though the scene had already taken shape in his mind, the corners of his lips curved faintly.
The wandering soul struggled to defend herself. “I wasn’t lying! She really did say all of that to me! If you don’t believe me, then when Miss Immortal revives, you can ask her yourself—”
“If I couldn’t even tell such an obvious fabrication apart,” Xie Lanshu interrupted calmly, “that would be a poor excuse for a husband.”
The hem of his black fox-fur cloak brushed across the floor as he bent down, his voice still gentle. “You should not have tried to deceive me with words like those tonight.”
Pinned beneath the talisman, the girl trembled so badly her teeth chattered.
“Wh–Why…? You love her, don’t you? If she said such things, what could possibly be wrong with that…?”
Xie Lanshu did not answer.
Had Zhao Zhao spoken those words herself, he would naturally have been overjoyed.
But because they were relayed through another’s mouth, he became acutely aware of one thing:
At the very moment he heard them, no matter how hard he tried to persuade himself otherwise, he could not bring himself to believe them, not even for an instant.
He knew it well: Zhao Zhao would never cry out in pain in front of him, nor would she ever be moved by those acts of self‑gratification he cloaked as devotion.
She would not forgive him.
And she would never ever say to him:
that she wished to become husband and wife with him, to remain together, never to part.
TL Note: At least in this aspect, he’s pretty clearheaded lol
