After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

Buzz, buzz, buzz–

 

Buzz, buzz, buzz–

 

At six o’clock, the horizon was a hazy layer of fish belly white.

 

The phone vibrated next to the pillow. Lu Yingjiu, with his eyes closed, fumbled for a while before picking it up. “…What’s the matter?”

 

“Chief Lu, when can you come to the association? Can you come now?” The person on the other end was a bit flustered, “A new commission just came in, that ghost has killed three or four people in a row, they are all waiting for you to come and handle it.”

 

“I know.” Lu Yingjiu still had his eyes closed, “I’ll come right now.”

 

After hanging up the phone, he sat up with his eyes closed, skillfully put on his slippers, and went to the bathroom to wash up.

 

His sleep quality was not good, so he was used to taking every opportunity to catch up on sleep.

 

By the time he washed his face with cold water, the sleepiness had dissipated a bit. He changed into a new set of clothes, turned on the living room light, and prepared to find a piece of bread from the fridge and go out.

 

The cow cat was sleeping in the living room. Seeing the light on, it meowed twice.

 

Lu Yingjiu grabbed a cold toast in one hand and scratched its chin with the other, causing a purring sound.

 

“Keep sleeping.” He said with a smile.

 

Without time to heat up the bread, he took a few bites in the cold, changed his shoes, and prepared to turn off the living room light.

 

When he turned off the light, he paused.

 

On the white wall directly opposite, there seemed to be a crack and protrusions.

 

Was it a water leak somewhere that caused the wallpaper to peel off?

 

Lu Yingjiu was about to take a closer look, but in the blink of an eye, the crack disappeared.

 

The wall was clean.

 

He frowned slightly, thinking he was really too sleepy.

 

He went to the basement, drove his second-hand Honda to the Green Lantern Association.

 

The streets were almost empty early in the morning, and the journey was smooth. By the time he parked the car and walked to the entrance of the Green Lantern Association, the sky was already very bright.

 

A few anxious exorcists came up to meet him and quickly explained the situation:

 

The general situation was that an old man named Cai had been living in the old building for over thirty years, but suddenly there was a ghost in the building.

 

Not only that, but the ghost had killed four tenants in a row.

 

The other tenants had all run away early, only the old man held on there.

 

“Old man Cai said that his wife hasn’t come home yet, so he absolutely can’t leave, afraid that his wife won’t be able to find him and will be scared.” Xia Ping’an told him this.

 

Xia Ping’an was Lu Yingjiu’s assistant.

 

Lu Yingjiu asked, “So where is his wife?”

 

Xia Ping’an replied, “She’s been dead for ten years. That old man Cai is crazy, he doesn’t remember this anymore. I just consulted the president, his idea is, see if we can forcibly take the old man out. What do you think?”

 

“I’ll go to the scene and see.” Lu Yingjiu said.

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

“…What’s wrong with you?” Xia Ping’an’s voice came from afar.

 

Lu Yingjiu came back to his senses. “I’m fine.”

 

“Eh, I was talking to you just now, it seemed like you didn’t respond…”

 

Lu Yingjiu rubbed his brow bone. “I might be too tired, you say it again.”

 

“Oh, okay.” Xia Ping’an began to recount the events.

 

Five minutes later, Lu Yingjiu and several others were in the car.

 

Xia Ping’an drove, quickly taking them to Yihedong Road, where several dilapidated old houses were on the side of the road.

 

One of them was roped off with yellow and black caution tape, and there were police guarding it.

 

Everyone crossed the caution tape and went upstairs.

 

The stairwell was full of graffiti and small ads, and there was also a gloomy and faint smell of blood.

 

Several bloody handprints were slapped on the corner, which was particularly creepy.

 

The door to the sixth floor was wide open, and an old man in a sweatshirt was sitting in a recliner, mumbling something.

 

Lu Yingjiu knocked on the door. “Hello?”

 

The old man didn’t respond.

 

Xia Ping’an whispered, “You can just go in, he doesn’t pay much attention to people.”

 

So Lu Yingjiu went in and saw that the old man was holding a wedding photo in his hand.

 

Old man Cai’s face was pale, his eyes were cloudy, and he looked a bit scary with his listless and indifferent demeanor.

 

Lu Yingjiu said again, “Hello, I’m from the Green Lantern Association…”

 

Thud!!

 

A box in the corner fell.

 

Lu Yingjiu looked over, a black cat with crimson eyes glanced at him and disappeared under the sofa in a flash.

 

“Strange.” Xia Ping’an muttered, “No one said he had a cat before.”

 

But Lu Yingjiu frowned slightly.

 

He heard a chirping sound coming from the bedroom.

 

He opened the bedroom door, and a large group of things poured out.

 

Ragdoll cats, white rabbits, hamsters.

 

Canaries, monkeys, puppies.

 

Even a red snake and a small peacock.

 

Xia Ping’an was dumbfounded. “Is this like a zoo in his house? This is too outrageous. It’s okay to have kittens and puppies, but even peacocks?! Is this snake poisonous?! Stay away from me!!”

 

He hid in the corner in fear.

 

The animals rushed to old man Cai, climbing on his legs.

 

The scene was incredibly chaotic for a moment, with dog barks and cat meows mixed together, and several birds flying around in the air.

 

It wasn’t until then that a smile appeared on old man Cai’s face.

 

This was obviously a breakthrough in communication.

 

Lu Yingjiu asked accordingly, “Are these all your pets?”

 

This time, old man Cai finally turned his head to look at him. “Yes, I’ve been raising them for many years.”

 

Lu Yingjiu sat down on the sofa again. “Where do you usually buy food for them?”

 

“Right nearby!” Old man Cai patted his thin leg, “I can’t walk far, so I usually go to the nearby pet store! Young man, do you also like animals?”

 

“I quite like them.” Lu Yingjiu nodded with a smile, “I have a cat at home.”

 

Old man Cai immediately warmed up, picked up the peacock with a blue-green body, and said, “I like this the most, its name is Chu Banyang.”

 

“Chu Banyang?” Lu Yingjiu was taken aback, “Is your spouse’s surname Chu?”

 

“What?” The old man hummed, “Her surname is Wen.”

 

“So why would you give it such a name?” Lu Yingjiu tilted his head slightly.

 

Old man Cai was stunned for a moment.

 

Some kind of confusion overwhelmed him.

 

But he soon said, “No reason, because that’s its name.”

 

Lu Yingjiu didn’t dwell on it too much, and pointed to the red snake and asked, “What’s its name?”

 

“Ye Feng.”

 

“And this?” He pointed to the monkey.

 

“Chen Zheng.” The old man answered, and then patted the puppy’s head, “This one is Zhang Shuwan.”

 

Lu Yingjiu laughed, “They all have human names.”

 

“Of course.” The old man still hummed, “They are all my family, of course they have names.”

 

Thud!!

 

Something fell in the corner again.

 

The black cat knocked the remote control down, and from half a living room away, it stared at Lu Yingjiu with red eyes.

 

“And it?” Lu Yingjiu pointed to the black cat and asked, “What’s its name?”

 

This time the old man thought for a long time, and it was unknown how long after, he hesitated to answer, “It seems to be…it seems to be surnamed Jing.”

 

“Jing Xian?” Lu Yingjiu asked.

 

“Ah, right!” The old man slapped his thigh happily, “How did you know?!”

 

Lu Yingjiu was also stunned.

 

Then he laughed and said, “It’s nothing, I was just guessing, I didn’t expect to guess it right.”

 

— His conversation with the old man was quite fruitful.

 

Old man Cai felt a connection with them and revealed everything: for instance, the screams from the neighbor’s house in the early morning; who was present when blood seeped in the corridor; and the victims all mentioned that they had heard knocking in the middle of the night.

 

In the end, the old man was still holding his wedding photo, muttering words.

 

The new ghost exorcist was horrified to hear this, while the experienced ones were calm.

 

After the questioning, they left old man Cai’s house. Xia Ping’an came up and asked, “What do you think? How should we kill this ghost?”

 

“That ghost is probably his deceased wife,” Lu Yingjiu said, “Follow me, I have an idea.”

 

Xia Ping’an trusted Lu Yingjiu unconditionally: in every commission, Lu Yingjiu had won his admiration.

 

This time would be no exception.

 

However, after two days of surveillance, the female ghost couldn’t hold back and started to appear and kill again.

 

Blood crazily seeped from the corridor and ceiling. Lu Yingjiu, expressionless, moved through the crimson scene, dispersing the screaming female ghost. That day, all the residents of the old building returned, filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.

 

Only old man Cai was crying inconsolably in his room, shouting, “She can’t come back… She can’t come back… She can’t come back…”

 

A group of animals surrounded him. They understood human nature and did their best to comfort him.

 

“Live on,” Lu Yingjiu told him, “Do it for them.”

 

The old man nodded through his tears.

 

But in the next moment, he reached out with a strange agility and tightly grabbed Lu Yingjiu’s wrist – the strength was immense.

 

His murky eyes filled with tears, staring intently at Lu Yingjiu.

 

He said, “Lu Yingjiu, your time has come.”

 

“…” Lu Yingjiu frowned, “What do you mean?”

 

“Do you like them?” Old man Cai didn’t answer him, nor did he let go, “Do you like them? Don’t you want to take them home?”

 

Lu Yingjiu smiled, “I do like them, but you raised them, how could I take them away.”

 

“…Yes, you’re right. They know where home is,” the old man was still staring at him, cracking a smile, revealing a few shriveled and yellow teeth, “But you don’t.”

 

The peacock beside him gently pecked at his clothes.

 

“It has something it wants me to tell you.” The old man patted Lu Yingjiu’s hand.

 

“It says you should hurry home before it gets dark, or it will be too late.”

 

****

 

Back in the car, Xia Ping’an asked, “Chief Lu, shall I drop you home on the way?”

 

“Okay.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, lowered the seat to take a nap, “You can drop me off at the bus stop.”

 

He closed his eyes.

 

In the distance was a huge setting sun, falling to the end of the city, the crimson light filled the world.

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

That heartbeat sound appeared again.

 

His entire soul was trembling with it.

 

Lu Yingjiu thought to himself, he really needed a good rest.

 

The car moved silently, and when there was still a bit of light on the horizon, it stopped at the bus stop.

 

Lu Yingjiu got up and got out of the car, leaning on the door and saying, “Thank you.”

 

“You’re too polite.” Xia Ping’an laughed, “Shall I go then?”

 

“Mm.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, then suddenly called out to him, “Ping’an.”

 

“What’s up?” Xia Ping’an looked ahead, his face half-covered by a thick shadow.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Didn’t you die two years ago?”

 

Xia Ping’an didn’t answer him.

 

There was a rustling sound from the back seat, a small red snake was hissing, silently coiling around his neck, like a bloody ribbon.

 

This was the pet snake from old man Cai’s house, it had followed them into the car.

 

The little snake hissed a few more times.

 

Xia Ping’an reached out and touched the snake’s head, “It says, you don’t have much time left, remember the way home.”

 

Lu Yingjiu wanted to say something else.

 

But that heartbeat sound swept over him again.

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

Thump, thump, thump–

 

It was incredibly heavy, almost frantic.

 

He frowned in what seemed like pain.

 

When he came back to his senses, he was the only one left on the street.

 

Perhaps because of old man Cai and Xia Ping’an’s reminders, Lu Yingjiu really quickened his pace on the way home.

 

He arrived home just as the daylight completely disappeared.

 

As soon as he entered the house, the cow cat came up to him with its tail raised, meowing.

 

Lu Yingjiu unconsciously smiled, and turned on the living room light.

 

The bright light filled the house.

 

The cow cat was very well-behaved, even if he wasn’t home for a few days, it didn’t cause any destruction.

 

Lu Yingjiu looked around, and suddenly, his gaze stopped on the wall directly opposite.

 

The crack in the wall had appeared again.

 

Meow meow–

 

A cat’s meow sounded behind him.

 

Lu Yingjiu then remembered that he hadn’t closed the door. When he turned around, a black cat with blood-red eyes was sitting at the door.

 

“How did you follow me here?” Lu Yingjiu said, “Your name is…Jing Xian?”

 

The black cat flicked its tail, stood up, and elegantly stepped into the doorway.

 

It didn’t consider itself an outsider…or an outside cat.

 

Suddenly having an unexpected guest at home, it seemed like it couldn’t be driven away. Lu Yingjiu smiled helplessly, closed the door, took off his shoes, and started pouring cat food for them to eat.

 

The cow cat was eating heartily, while the black cat was uninterested, just standing by and flicking its tail.

 

While they were eating, Lu Yingjiu looked at the wall again.

 

The crack had disappeared again.

 

He thought to himself, he must really be so tired that he was hallucinating, he really needed to take a break afterwards.

 

But the black cat paced over to the wall and started scratching it vigorously.

 

“You can’t do that.” Lu Yingjiu quickly picked it up.

 

But there were already a few claw marks on the wall.

 

“Meow–” The black cat called out, still trying to stretch its claws towards the wall.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “How can you cause damage? You’ve only been here for ten minutes and you’ve already scratched my wall.”

 

“Meow.” The black cat bit his hand.

 

It didn’t use force, but it still left a shallow tooth mark.

 

“Why are you biting people?” Lu Yingjiu frowned slightly, “You’re quite a handful.”

 

But the black cat bit him gently again, showing its sharp claws towards the white wall.

 

As if hinting at something.

 

This time, Lu Yingjiu followed its gaze.

 

There was a bright spot on the wall.

 

It seemed…there were a few cracks?

 

The cracks were finer than spider silk, and if one didn’t stare hard, one wouldn’t see them at all.

 

After Lu Yingjiu noticed the cracks, the black cat broke free from his arms and started scratching the wall with its claws.

 

This time Lu Yingjiu suddenly understood, “You want me to open the wall myself?”

 

“Meow–” The black cat raised its tail.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…Is there something behind the wall?”

 

The black cat didn’t respond, just looked at him with its blood-red eyes.

 

Lu Yingjiu always trusted his intuition: there was definitely something wrong with this wall.

 

But this was his home, what could be in the wall?

 

He found some tools, screwdrivers, drills, and hammers, and laid them out neatly.

 

After some tinkering, Lu Yingjiu knocked off a few pieces of wall skin with a small hammer – they shattered on the floor, and the cow cat came over to sniff curiously, then walked away.

 

When the last piece of wall skin fell off, he leaned in to look.

 

There was nothing behind the crack, no cement, no bricks, nothing.

 

Just an eye.