Rebirth

On the day Xia Ran was to be married, a resentful ghost cursed her.

It wanted her to help it return to life.

The emperor of Great Yan believed in ghosts and gods. To turn the tide after a string of military defeats, he arranged for a princess to marry a young general from an enemy kingdom.

Snow fell like a death sentence as the wedding sedan struggled forward. A raging fire blazed, and white funeral paper scattered through the air.

She thought that by marrying him, she could protect a stretch of land and its people. She accepted her fate.

She never expected to be thrown over a sheer cliff, sedan and all.

By some miracle, she survived, only to find herself among a heap of corpses. Blood stained the battlefield red, and resentful ghosts clawed at the air. The beautiful princess had been sacrificed to the soldiers of Great Yan who died in battle, to calm their fury.

A chill wind lifted her veil, and a blood curse appeared on her wrist.

A young general stood before her, his clothes mottled with scorch marks. He wore a black gauze hat, a broken long sword at his waist, and held an urn of ashes in his hands. He gave her a sinister, almost radiant smile.

"I've found you."

Ji Changyan, a gifted young general from an enemy kingdom who had died in battle ten years ago.

She had seen his imposing portrait, displayed in the halls of Great Yan after his death, where it was subjected to endless mockery.

The blood curse on Xia Ran's wrist was connected to his ashes.

The young man was a resentful ghost that had lingered for years.

He told her, "I saved you, and I cursed you."

"Help me return to life, and I'll grant you one wish."

If he lived, she lived. If he died, she died.

It turned out she was close to death too. The young man was the only thing keeping her alive.

He wanted to find the cause of his death and kill his enemies. She wanted to vent her rage and take revenge. They were in perfect agreement.

Xia Ran accepted. "Take me back. I want to kill them all."

On the day her great revenge was complete, Xia Ran's last breath faded with her unfulfilled obsession.

Once again, snow blanketed the road ahead. Ji Changyan returned to life, but found himself holding a lifeless body. He regretted it. He regretted cursing her and preventing her from passing on.

*

The day she dreamed of returning to ten years earlier... Gongs and drums thundered, white funeral paper filled the sky, and people said Great Yan would sacrifice a princess to calm the ghosts.

She was thrown over the cliff, and a chill wind lifted her veil.

He stood before her, holding her ashes, and said with delight, "I've found you."

She knew him. She had seen his portrait hanging in the halls of Great Yan.

The young man said to her, "Marry me, and I'll grant you one wish."

"Take me back. I want to kill them all."

--"Ranran, kill me, and we can both return to life."--

A red bed led the way, a coffin brought up the rear. Through a lifetime of life and death, the whole journey unfolded over ten miles.

A princess sacrificed in a political marriage x a young general from an enemy kingdom who died in battle

A brooding ghost pretending to be a sunny young man

One-on-one, both virgins, happy ending

2025.3.17

Theme: Moving forward together