"Who says I don't like you?"
Ouyang Qinglin's eyes held a smile as he quickly got up from the ground and sat on the peach tree.
The peach tree swayed with the weight.
Pink peach blossoms fluttered from the branches, creating a beautiful scene.
Lu Shangshang had never seen such a sight before. "It's so beautiful, thank you."
She rushed forward and hugged Ouyang Qinglin tightly.
Ouyang Qinglin intended to push her away, but for some reason, he found himself immersed in it, unable to extricate himself.
"Tell me your story."
He held Lu Shangshang in his arms and then carefully settled her onto a peach tree branch.
"Do you really want to hear it?" Lu Shangshang asked again.
"Naturally."
"Okay! I only tell it to those I like."
She was the daughter of a military family, born amidst battlefields. Even as an infant, the only sounds she heard were the clashing of swords.
Her life was intertwined with matters of life and death.
Her parents raised her exceptionally well. Despite the battlefield setting, they ensured she lacked for nothing.
Chapter 639
She enjoyed ample familial affection from a young age. As she grew, she fell in love with a scholar, a scholar who treated her exceptionally well. That person was her husband, Mo Tongyu. Later, when the imperial court conscripted soldiers, all the men in her family went to war. Her husband was not initially supposed to go.
However, someone informed the court that her husband was skilled in military strategy and well-versed in various tactics. Upon learning this, the court sent people to their home to pressure her husband to accompany her father on the campaign.
Under the pressure from the imperial court, her father had no choice but to take her husband with him on the expedition.
After three years of military turmoil, someone returned to inform the families that her father and the men of the household had all died.
Her husband had also gone missing under unclear circumstances.
At that time, she discovered she was pregnant. To protect her child, she didn't go searching for her husband. Instead, she entrusted her relatives who were serving in the army to inquire about her husband's whereabouts.
Later, even after she had given birth, her husband still hadn't returned. Subsequently, the entire village began to suffer from a strange illness. This peculiar sickness caused the elderly to age rapidly and those with weaker constitutions to die instantly.
During that period, because she was pregnant, for reasons unknown, her appearance and the appearance of all the children in the village remained unchanged.
In the following year and more, the village was struck by an epidemic.
She and her child did not survive that plague. Everyone in the village perished.
Their bodies were thrown into mass graves by the imperial authorities, with no one to claim them. Afterward, their souls arrived here.
In the Nine Layers of Hell, their lives were much the same as they were in the village. Everyone was harmonious, helping one another.
They were all friendly, but... she didn't understand why the ghosts living here could never leave.
They had lived in this place for a hundred years, never venturing elsewhere. Until one day, a spiritual elixir fell from above.
This elixir glowed in the darkness. Initially, everyone regarded the elixir as a divine object, but such a divine object was of no use to them.
Just as they were discussing whether to hand over this divine object, they discovered that it could reduce the malevolent energy in the Nine Layers of Hell and protect them from outside malevolent spirits bullying them, ordinary ghosts.
However, a strange phenomenon occurred: only she, apart from others, could touch this divine object. Therefore, after this incident, the elixir was entrusted to her safekeeping.
Upon hearing this.
Ouyang Qinglin remained silent. He looked at Lu Shangshang and finally asked, "You don't want to hand over this Origin Elixir, which is why you're telling me all this, aren't you?"
Lu Shangshang fell silent.
"I'm sorry! Earlier, I deliberately made things difficult for you, forcing you to marry me, a ghost. I know that if I hadn't said it like this, this Origin Elixir would have been lost. I can also see that you are all very capable people, but... can I beg you to spare us, to spare everyone here? If you insist on taking this item, I can only offer my life as a price to prevent you from harming our people."
"I know my personal abilities are poor; I am just a woman, unskilled in martial arts, unable to protect them. But even so, I will do my utmost to protect them. They are my family, and this divine object is meant to protect us. If you take it away, it's equivalent to letting us be devoured by the malevolent spirits outside."
"Therefore, I cannot hand over the divine object to you."
Saying this, Lu Shangshang leaped down from the tree.
Ouyang Qinglin used his lightness skill and followed her down.
"Wait a moment!"
As Lu Shangshang was about to leave, Ouyang Qinglin called out to her.
"If I choose to stay and protect you all, can you then hand over this Origin Elixir?"
"What?"
Lu Shangshang turned around, looking at Ouyang Qinglin with a shocked expression.
Before, when she heard Ouyang Qinglin say that, she had thought they were trying to trick her out of the divine object by saying such unrealistic things.
And this handsome young man before her, from the moment they entered, she knew who this young man truly liked.
She and her husband had been deeply in love for several years; she understood matters of affection quite well.
"I'm serious, I'm not lying to you, please believe me."
Ouyang Qinglin's demeanor was solemn, and his words were earnest.
"You... you really intend to stay? But... do you know the consequences of doing so? All of us here are ghosts, and you are human. We ghosts are ageless and deathless, while mortals like you, even with spiritual energy protecting your bodies, will still experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. Moreover, can you truly bear it, truly bring yourself to stay?"
Lu Shangshang walked towards Ouyang Qinglin. "Can you bear to let go of the person you've held in your heart for years?"
Ouyang Qinglin stiffened.
He looked up at Lu Shangshang in disbelief. "How could you possibly know?"
"I'm not foolish. My husband and I are deeply in love. I can see the way you look at that person, your silent devotion, your constant concern. I think not only I, but even your friends around you, can see how deep your feelings are for her."
"So what? Her heart is already taken. What can I do?"
A bitter smile touched Ouyang Qinglin's lips. "Now, the only thing I can do is to do my best to help her achieve her wish. She wants this Origin Elixir to save Bai Xianhua, so I will lend her a hand. This is the only thing I can do for her, isn't it?"
Seeing Ouyang Qinglin's deep devotion, Lu Shangshang couldn't bear to leave him there alone. "Then are you content? To watch the person you deeply love fly away with the one she loves, while you have to stay here with us ghosts, constantly risking your life? Is this the outcome you desire? Are you truly content with this?"
Picking up a fallen leaf from the ground and holding it in his hand, Ouyang Qinglin's eyes misted over. "It doesn't matter. As long as she is well, my heart is content."
"What if I am not well? What would you do?"
From behind the tree, a woman in red walked out.
Upon seeing her, Ouyang Qinglin froze. "Qianying... you... how..."