It was unexpected that after Baili Xiao and Wu Si, she too would be informed of her death beforehand…
"Is there any way to break this curse?" Bai Ran asked the elder standing before her.
The elder stood with his hands behind his back, his indifferent gaze falling upon her before he slowly spoke, "There are thousands upon thousands of cultivation techniques in the world, each with its counter… "
Bai Ran's eyes dimmed slightly. It was natural that there would be countermeasures, but ultimately, some people would never find them in their lifetime.
The elder had lived for over a thousand years, witnessing the rise and fall of the Ghost Clan. He must have long pursued a method to lift the curse.
"However… this old one is also powerless to help…"
The elder's voice was ancient and desolate. He gazed at the sea of gravestones, a mournful glint in his clouded eyes.
"Child, do you hate Fang An and the others?"
Bai Ran pursed her lips, recalling their actions over the past two days. "Before today… yes."
From their very first meeting, they had made their stance clear, refusing to acknowledge Bai Ran as their queen and treating her with disdain and contempt.
'A delicate little girl… spoiled… faints at the sight of blood… '
All sorts of unbearable mockery and sarcasm were openly directed at Bai Ran, and they even unhesitatingly challenged her to a trial of strength.
In the beginning, Bai Ran had thought the same, believing Fang An and the others were too presumptuous, too malicious. After all, no matter how hard she tried, some people would always resent her success.
But today, she had sensed something amiss with them.
The elder turned his head, his gaze fixed on the distance, as if looking at something unseen. "Those three are my disciples… and they know of the curse…"
As long as she remained this Ghost King, Bai Ran was doomed to die. She would perish miserably on her twentieth birthday, just like every Ghost King before her, only to be forgotten by the world…
"Although they were foolish in their acting, their intentions were good," the elder lowered his eyes, shaking his head with a sigh of helplessness.
Fang An, Meng Xuan, and Yi Wenhao were originally the personal guards of the previous Ghost King, not the current commanders of the Undead Army.
The elder's voice slowly rose. He himself might not remember, but the words clearly etched upon the gravestones were enough to tell the story.
"The previous Ghost King was an extremely responsible and cheerful man…"
His name was Tian Yi. Barely eighteen, he inherited the position of Ghost King and took charge of the entire Ghost Clan.
At that time, Fang An and the other two were newly arrived souls. Because they were meticulous in their work and stronger than ordinary souls, Tian Yi took notice and promoted them to his personal guards.
Zhong Zi and Dong Ling were still under the elder's tutelage and could not spare the time to protect the King, so Fang An and the other two served Tian Yi diligently every day.
Tian Yi was cheerful and unpretentious. In just two years, Fang An and the others developed a deep bond with him.
They would roast spirit meat in the snow, release kites in early spring, share wine on lonely nights, and discuss their future in the long corridors.
Their relationship held both the restraints of master and servant, and the attentive care of close confidants.
"Tian Yi also came to the mausoleum, but he was stopped by that bronze mirror and did not see this old man…"
Therefore, he had no way of knowing that his death was imminent, that his end was near. He simply lived each day without a care in the world.
He harbored no grand ambitions, nor any deep-seated hatreds.
He merely managed the Ghost Clan well, ensuring that every citizen lived in peace and prosperity.
But beautiful moments are always fleeting. All banquets must eventually end, and that day finally arrived…
On Tian Yi's twentieth birthday, Fang An had long since gone to pick the freshest flowers to brew floral wine.
Meng Xuan, who was always obsessed with swordsmanship, gifted him his most treasured sword on this day.
As for Yi Wenhao, he prepared an entire room filled with prayer lanterns, waiting for nightfall to release them into the sky.
The moon climbed above the treetops, casting its gentle radiance, as if draping everything in the courtyard in a thin veil.
The birthday banquet was filled with laughter and joy. But just as the feast concluded, when Tian Yi stepped into the courtyard and saw the prayer lanterns scattered everywhere, disaster struck.
He collapsed, and once he fell, he never rose again…
"This old one remembers that night, Fang An and the other two knelt before the mausoleum, kowtowing repeatedly, crying and begging this old one to save Tian Yi…"
But… the elder was also willing but unable…
The mausoleum was filled with intricate traps. As long as he did not leave the mausoleum, Fang An and the other two, with their strength, would not be able to enter.
That night, they kowtowed until their blood flowed, their limbs trembling, yet he still did not step half a foot out of the mausoleum…
Finally, as the sky turned the color of fish belly, and the sun rose from the eastern horizon, the three finally ceased their kowtowing.
For at that time, they had lost all memories of Tian Yi…
Tian Yi turned to ashes, completely vanishing from heaven and earth, as if he had never existed…
It wasn't until one day, when the elder summoned them, that Fang An and the other two learned everything, learned about the person with whom they had shared wine and felt as if they had known each other for ages…
What swept over them was an immense sorrow and suffocation, crushing their hearts to pieces.
At that time, the three had said: 'Never again will we be personal guards for others…'
From then on, Fang An and the others became the guardians of the mausoleum, and the new commanders of the Undead Army.
Their harshness and sarcasm towards Bai Ran were merely because they did not want to experience such loss again…
'If they drive her away, she won't die, will she…'
'No one else can disappear because of this…'
'Losing someone… hurts so much…'
And so, they staged the first play of their lives, doing everything to drive Bai Ran away, to prevent her from losing her life in vain.
After hearing the elder's story, Bai Ran took a long time to calm her emotions.
"Child, after hearing this story, has your choice changed?" the elder turned, his clouded eyes looking towards her.
Bai Ran met his gaze, silent for a long time. Four years… If she insisted on this path, she would only have four years left.
Revenge for her mother was enough, refining the Three-Marked Pure Spirit Pill was enough, even accomplishing more was enough…
But she would never be able to grow old with Long Jinhan…
"If you give up, this old one can still remove the ghost energy from your body…"
"No."
The elder looked up, seeing Bai Ran with her head bowed, her fists clenched, her expression unreadable.
"I am unwilling to give up."
She raised her head, her eyes firm and radiant. "I will definitely find a way to break the curse."
Bai Ran would not die like this. She wanted to live, to live and accomplish all that remained undone.