Love Beyond the Grave - Recap Ep 23-24 - She's a Jerk (affectionate)
Previous recaps by Ep 1-4, Ep 7-8, Ep 9-10, Ep 11-12, Ep 13-14, Ep 15-16, Ep 17-18, Ep 19-20, Ep 21-22
Novel fan translation:Â Love Beyond the Grave
Main characters: He Simu, alias He Xiaoxiao, Sovereign of Spirits
Duan Xu, courtesy name Shunxi, cult name Seventeen
Ep 23: Duan Xu gets to learn about He Simu's childhood from Jiang An. Then He Simu takes Duan Xu to her 24-former-boyfriend graveyard and breaks up with him (unique sentences).
For some reason I am so happy they kept in Duan Xu complaining about He Simu to a tree, it's such a funny moment:
But of course He Simu actually isn't heartless, so she is very sad about the breakup. She wants Duan Xu to have a normal life, which he won't have if he's with her.
Yan Ke is plotting whatever, stupid ghost.
Duan Xu left He Simu a map of the Void, specifically what it looks like to a mortal. This is the best gift ever in the history of the universe and none of us will manage to top it in our lifetimes so we all should give up.
Bai Sanxing is back and killing ghosts. Jiang An lets him get away (maybe?). He Simu figures out that he has escaped. Like Jiang An, I want to play with an abacus while Yan Ke speaks
Duan Xu appears before the emperor, but is stripped of his position as general instead of rewarded.
This is the face of a man with PLOTS
Ep 24: The Dudes are Evil ghost is sucking power out of other ghosts, and tries but fails with Ban Sanxing. Duan Xu returns home and brings Xue Chenying. His sister is very cute and sweet.
Yan Ke is invisibly investigating Jiang An's place. She has great abacus decor once again
He Simu is dragged over to Jiang An and Yan Ke fighting. Yan Ke is all annoying about He Simu and she's cold with him.
Duan Xu's father wants him to stay home, get married, and make grandbabies (this is not his plan!). Duan Xu says his father was in love with someone else and so was his mother before they married, how did that go? His father is like, "No worries, if you like someone you can just take them as a concubine" as if that worked out so well for him (I'm sure the Ghost King would be into that)
Anti-Dude Ghost explains how she went rogue and Ban Sanxing out of prison. She thinks Yan Ke should kill He Simu and take the throne. He's not impressed. She's like, "Let's rule the galaxy Void together!" Yan Ke agrees, but I don't trust him.
He Simu! Look how sad you made the fox boy! This is crimes, He Simu!
Jiang An tells the Anti-dude Ghost that He Simu is all injured and weak (I doubt!). He Simu fights the real Ban Sanxing in the throne room, but knows that he's being controlled. It looks bad...
These ghosts, they are always underestimating He Simu.
Here is the speech from He Simu in the novel, it's almost word for word, or probably just translation choices:
In all the terrifying illusions, nightmares, or before enemies, he was always confident, determined, and arrogant, with a kind of self-destructive toughness. But only in front of her, when calling her name, he seemed like a wild beast offering its neck, exposing its belly. He Simu still remembered when he finally regained consciousness in the illusion, calling her name over and over. He said, how wonderful, He Simu has come to get me.
His voice was weak yet certain as if He Simu had become a spell for him, replacing “Duan Xu,” capable of awakening him from layers of illusions.
The day he raided the enemy camp, sitting on the ground covered in blood and reaching out his hand to her, she saw that he seemed to be yearning for something, but she didn’t understand the meaning of that yearning—perhaps he didn’t understand it either at the time. Now she gradually realized that he wasn’t just reaching out his hand to her; he was offering his heart.
That heart, broken and riddled with holes, which he had collected the pieces of and glued back together, beating fervently with countless old scars. He had placed this heart in her hands.
Since then, his gaze toward her always seemed to say: you can hurt me easily, I’m giving you that power.
Jiang Ai had asked her, you’re so good to him, why not accept him, what are you afraid of? She had just realized that she was indeed afraid. She feared she couldn’t hold this heart properly, that it would fall from her hands and shatter—which was almost inevitable.
This young man was the most special, unique mortal to her in this world. She wanted to protect him from the sufferings of the human world, to prevent this heart from acquiring new scars. The best life for a mortal is to achieve scholarly success, have a joyful wedding, be surrounded by children and grandchildren, and fulfill ambitions—not to be entangled with evil spirits. She needed to return this heart to him intact.
Posted Apr 7, 2026, 11:02 AM UTC