"Husband, I didn't frighten you, did I?"
The ghost bride's soft, tender voice seemed filled with a thousand shades of shyness and boundless apology. Like a startled fawn, she released her arms from around Long Ji.
The corners of Long Ji's lips rose slightly as he said softly:
"Not at all. We are already bound in ghost marriage. Why would I fear you?"
His words brushed over her like a spring breeze, carrying tolerance and understanding, and the unease in the ghost bride's heart gradually melted away like ice and snow.
Long Ji continued:
"Let's sit down and talk first."
With an elegant bearing, he moved toward a nearby stool as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water, then settled onto it.
Seeing this, the ghost bride followed his every movement and sat on the stool beside him.
Long Ji gazed at the ghost bride and continued:
"I can only blame my own meager strength for being unable to pull out all the Seven Baleful Soul-Pinning Nails in your body."
Long Ji's tone held boundless helplessness, almost a lament.
The ghost bride hurriedly replied:
"How can you say that, husband? Being freed at all is already a heaven-sent blessing. How could I dare ask for more?"
A joyful smile blossomed across her face like spring flowers, as though she was already perfectly content with her present circumstances.
"Stop calling me husband at every turn. My name is Long Ji. I have yet to ask my lady's name."
Long Ji chuckled, his voice clear and pleasant as an oriole emerging from a valley.
Yet at the mention of her name, the ghost bride's expression dimmed slightly, like a sky obscured by dark clouds. She said softly:
"I have no name yet. Please bestow one upon me, husband."
Long Ji considered