Zhou Chen gained sentience from a brush and became a brush spirit. After being plotted against, she died and her spirit dissipated.
As she lay dying, she heard a woman in the snow, hoarse from shouting, accusing Heaven of injustice. Every member of the General's household had been loyal and true, yet the whole family died under the stain of treason.
Zhou Chen knew her. She was Ming Shu, the General's legitimate daughter and the sole survivor of the massacre. But now, she too was close to death.
Zhou Chen wanted to live. So, with all her remaining strength, she made her way to the woman.
"Give me your body, and I'll avenge you."
"Are you a demon or an immortal?" the woman asked, looking at her.
Zhou Chen replied, "I was once a spirit. Now I'm a ghost."
"All right. I agree."
In the tenth year of Shunde, a violent snowstorm raged.
Outside Dayuan Temple, under the Buddha's witness, Ming Shu, the General's legitimate daughter, died, and Zhou Chen survived.
Later, a painting studio quietly opened in Chongxian Ward, Baijing. Its owner was a young woman with astonishing skill. Her paintings were so lifelike that looking at them felt like stepping into a mirror. Countless people rushed to admire her work, and nobles and aristocrats alike offered fortunes for a single painting.
But in a hidden corner, danger was quietly drawing near. Shang Huai, the head of the Prison Suppression Bureau, had his eye on her.
● This blurb was written on August 12, 2025, and a screenshot has been posted to Weibo.
● In this story, the gods and immortals are dead.
● Before her death, the female lead was a spirit; after her death, she became a ghost. Even after finding a body to inhabit, she is still a ghost. Later, she will repair her own body and become a spirit once more.
Theme: Love can carry us through the long years.
