The Past

Ill-fated, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable was forced by morality and the commands of her parents to finally don her bridal reds on an auspicious day and marry into the home of Butcher Zhang.

On their wedding night, the guests were merry, and after seeing off his friends and family, Butcher Zhang drank himself into a stupor.

He felt like the luckiest man alive, believing the heavens had been far too kind to him.

To be able to marry such a beautiful, flower-like bride was a blessing earned over ten lifetimes.

Inside the bridal chamber, the moment Butcher Zhang lifted the bride's veil, a flash of cold light streaked through the air.

The beautiful Azure Sky Ghost Venerable had long since prepared a dagger by her side; she thrust it toward her own heart, intending to surrender her body to Butcher Zhang while giving her heart to her true love.

She chose to commit suicide on her wedding night as a silent act of defiance against this unjust fate.

However, Butcher Zhang had always been a man of robust health, and despite appearing dead drunk, he reacted instantly, his large hands gripping the cold, gleaming blade with a death-defying hold.

The sharp dagger sliced through Butcher Zhang's large hand, the wound deep enough to reveal bone.

Droplets of blood fell like rain onto the bride's red wedding attire, appearing utterly eerie.

Though Butcher Zhang was a rough man, he understood the reason behind all of this.

He swore a solemn oath that from this day forward, he and the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable would share only the name of husband and wife, never the reality, and he would never coerce her into doing anything she did not wish to do.

This man of iron-willed integrity touched the proud, aloof heart of the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable for the very first time.

Without a word, Butcher Zhang departed.

On their wedding night, he drank alone under the moonlight until he lost consciousness.

Had things continued in this manner, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable of later days would never have come to be.

Three years later, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's lover, that Scholar Li, had indeed made something of himself; he placed first in the imperial examinations, bringing glory to his family name and returning home in fine silks.

Upon learning of her beloved's return, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable, who had not smiled once in three years, felt her peerless beauty remain entirely unchanged.

That day, her beloved took advantage of Butcher Zhang being away and came to the Zhang Mansion, seeking out the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable.

These two had once sworn oaths of eternal love.

Like dry tinder meeting a raging fire, the two of them saw that barrier between them broken.

After the intimacy, Scholar Li looked at the smear of crimson on the bed in disbelief, remaining silent for a long time.

The Azure Sky Ghost Venerable also harbored complex emotions in her heart.

For these three years, Butcher Zhang had treated her with the utmost courtesy and respect, yet at this moment, she still held the title of Butcher Zhang's wife while having committed such a shameful act with Scholar Li.

Since the deed was done, it had to be resolved.

After much painful reflection, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable asked Scholar Li if he intended to give her an answer and fulfill the promises he had once made to her.

Scholar Li was moved inwardly, but he remained calm on the surface, nodding in agreement before quietly taking his leave.

In the days that followed, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's initial anticipation transformed into deep suspicion.

Scholar Li's treacherous heart remained unchanged; he met with her in secret several times, but whenever she brought up the matter, he would offer perfunctory excuses before slipping away.

This was because Scholar Li had become the County Magistrate's assistant and married the Magistrate's daughter, and the tale of the scholar and his beautiful wife spread throughout Azure Heaven County.

At this moment, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable was stunned.

She looked at the meal Butcher Zhang had prepared for her on the table, but it felt like a lump in her throat; she could not swallow a single bite.

Furthermore, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable discovered a terrifying truth: her monthly cycle had stopped, and she was pregnant.

This realization left the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable even more anxious; on one side was the polite and respectful Butcher Zhang, and on the other was her childhood sweetheart, the man with whom she had sworn eternal vows.

She had to find a way.

However, when she arrived at Scholar Li's doorstep, she was intimidated by the servants and could not even catch a glimpse of him.

By now, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable realized she had been played.

Yet, the quick-witted Azure Sky Ghost Venerable devised a scheme; she sent someone to deliver a message to Scholar Li, claiming she had a great secret to tell him that would help him rise in rank, and she expressed deep understanding and concern regarding his marriage to the Magistrate's daughter as a matter of necessity.

This letter, filled with such genuine emotion, sent Scholar Li into a frenzy of joy.

He thought this Azure Sky Ghost Venerable was truly his lucky star—how could such a wonderful thing exist?

That night.

Under the guise of visiting her parents' home, the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable met Scholar Li at the foot of a mountain outside the county.

Faced with the Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's questioning, Scholar Li revealed his hideous true face, declaring that she was nothing more than a plaything to him. Furthermore, he claimed that since she had married another man only three years after he left, she was a woman of loose morals who had broken her word first—how could she expect him to keep his promise?

As for her pregnancy, Scholar Li told her to deal with it herself, threatening that if she dared to expose him by even a single word, he would use his connections to have her parents thrown into prison; he had a thousand ways to deal with a lowly commoner.

It was all utterly laughable.

The Azure Sky Ghost Venerable fell into despair; she realized that the clown in this story was herself.

At the same time, a deep sense of guilt and hatred surged within her heart.

She could not fight against this era, nor could she fight against these traditional human ethics; she had honored her parents' commands and kept herself pure, waiting all this time for her beloved, only to end up with such a fate?

Suddenly, a band of outlaws passed through the region, raiding a village outside of Azure Heaven County.

All the men were slaughtered, and all the women were taken captive.

In the bright moonlight, the band of horse bandits immediately spotted Scholar Li and Azure Sky Ghost Venerable.

The two of them were surrounded.

The appearance of Azure Sky Ghost Venerable stirred deep greed within these greedy and cruel bandits.

However, Scholar Li's next move left Azure Sky Ghost Venerable completely stunned.

He knelt on the ground to beg for mercy, claiming that Azure Sky Ghost Venerable was his wife, telling the bandits to take her as they pleased, provided they spared his life.

At the same time, Scholar Li offered up all the money on his person and swore a venomous oath that he would never report them to the authorities.

Scholar Li was greedy, lecherous, and cowardly; he had no intention of letting this chance to escape slip by.

All of this left Azure Sky Ghost Venerable utterly bewildered.

The bandits, disdaining to kill such a piece of scum, stripped him naked and left him at the foot of the mountain before dragging Azure Sky Ghost Venerable away.

Scholar Li returned to Azure Heaven Town stark naked, loudly proclaiming that he had been robbed by bandits and that it seemed Butcher Zhang's wife had been abducted as well.

This scheme was truly venomous.

Scholar Li not only ruined Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's reputation but also cleverly framed the bandits for everything.

A woman who had been dragged off to a bandit den—surely no one would associate her with him, even if she gave birth to eight or ten children, right?

Butcher Zhang, burning with shame and rage, grabbed his butcher knife and charged up Great Green Mountain.

That night, Butcher Zhang fought like a madman.

It is said that the soft fear the hard, and the hard fear the desperate.

Though one of his arms was severed, he fought his way to the bandits' lair and killed three of their leaders.

Yet, two fists are no match for four hands; upon seeing Azure Sky Ghost Venerable, he threatened to slit his own throat, begging only for them to release her.

At this moment, watching her husband fight through a bloodbath, Azure Sky Ghost Venerable's tears flowed like a bursting levee.

She had already been repeatedly defiled by the bandits, yet her husband still threw himself into the fray, willing to die just to save her.

In this moment, she understood what love was.

It was laughable; the so-called love in her heart was as different from Butcher Zhang's love for her as the clouds are from the mud.

However, the bandits had no intention of agreeing to Butcher Zhang's terms; they were, after all, lawless men.

In the end, Butcher Zhang died under a flurry of blades, his eyes fixed firmly on Azure Sky Ghost Venerable until his final breath, his lips murmuring as if he wanted to say something, yet he never managed to get the words out.

He wanted to say that he loved her, and that one day he would move her heart.

Regrettably, he would never have the chance to speak again.

The bandits had gone mad; having lost half their brothers, they hacked Butcher Zhang to death and then vented their rage upon Azure Sky Ghost Venerable, that femme fatale.