Chapter 18 - 11(I): The Mountain’s Locked Ancient Temple, The Forest of Hanging Corpses
The female ghost had an oval face with a pair of arched eyebrows. She really was extremely beautiful. Although her beauty may have alluded to hints of heroism before, now, it only bled unconcealed resentment, as if all her hatred had been concentrated into a confined space where no light could be shed. As she knelt on the ground, the part of her bridal dress below the knee looked threadbare and ragged. It was now obvious how the rumours had started.
The two of them stared in silence for a moment before Xie Lian finally spoke, "Xuan Ji?"
It seems it had been many years since someone had called her by this name. It took awhile for the resentment reflected in the female ghost's face to faintly scatter; replaced by a light that flashed across her eyes
She spoke, "...He sent you to come find me, didn't he?"
This 'he'...Xie Lian guessed, certainly must be referring to that General Pei.
Xuan Ji then proceeded to ask, "What about him? Why didn't he come see me himself?"
When she spoke, her face held such a fervent, hopeful and anticipatory expression that it made Xian Lian feel it be best not to reply with a "No, that isn't the case". Seeing Xie Lian's silence, Xuan Ji suddenly collapsed and sat onto the floor.
She leaned against the statue of the handsome and tall Martial God, as her crimson bridal attire spread across the earth not unlike that of a massive bloodstained flower. With her hair in disarray, face contorted with pain, it was as though she was subjected to great torment. Xuan Ji asked, "...Why does he not come see me?"
This was yet another question Xie Lian could not answer, thus he could only remain solemn. Xuan Ji raised her head and gazed up at the God Statue, before she mournfully cried, "Pei Lang...oh Pei Lang. I betrayed my kingdom for you, I abandoned my everything and turned into this. Why won't you come see me?"
With both hands, Xuan Ji yanked at her own hair and continued to question, "Pei Lang, is your heart made out of iron?"
Xie Lian silently observed her. Upon hearing these lines, he inwardly pondered: Xuan Ji said she betrayed her kingdom for General Pei...could it be that this General Pei took advantage of their intimacy to deceive secret military intelligence from her, which led to Xuan Ji's kingdom's defeat in war?