After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

The screams filled the air as the roller coaster, shaped like a giant snake, ran wildly on the track, rushing through ten loops in a row.

 

Lu Yingjiu thought of the suspension bridge effect.

 

The so-called suspension bridge effect was when two people cross a suspension bridge with trepidation, their hearts would beat faster, and they would mistake this heart palpitation caused by external forces as liking for each other.

 

From this point of view, the amusement park was indeed a good place for a date. There were many thrilling and exciting projects that could easily make people’s hearts beat faster.

 

But here comes the problem.

 

He was not afraid of roller coasters, and things like roller coasters and drop towers would not make his heart beat faster.

 

After getting off the roller coaster, Lu Yingjiu was still staring at the sky.

 

He thought: the sky is really blue.

 

Jing Xian couldn’t wait to go to the next project.

 

The Yunxiao Amusement Park was very large and had all kinds of projects.

 

Before playing the rapids, they bought raincoats, but neither of them fully tightened the raincoats. When they dived down, the water poured down the gaps in their clothes. Just out of the project, Lu Yingjiu couldn’t bear it, found a corner and patted a talisman on himself and Jing Xian, drying their clothes.

 

Then, they ran to play the rotating swing and the drop tower, the windmill in the sky and the mine roller coaster… So all the scary projects, for them, were just a breeze, looking at the scenery in the distance.

 

But it’s definitely not boring.

 

In fact, Lu Yingjiu found it very interesting.

 

When he was a child, he hardly played these things, and later he didn’t have much time. Now it’s his first time to stroll leisurely in the amusement park, and according to Jing Xian’s expectation, he experienced every project once.

 

There were always many first times in life.

 

These novel things seemed to make up a little bit for his past.

 

There were many people on weekends, and they played like this until the afternoon when they arrived at the project that Jing Xian was most looking forward to.

 

The Haunted House.

 

Lu Yingjiu stood in front of the haunted house named “Halloween Horror Night”, looking at the various pumpkin, bat, and ghost decorations at the entrance, and said, “Are you sure we’re going to play this?”

 

“Why not?” Jing Xian said, even reaching out to touch the fluffy head of the ghost at the door, “Look how interesting this ghost looks, silly and naive, there must be werewolves and vampires inside.”

 

“Oh,” Lu Yingjiu suddenly understood, “It’s your favorite imported ghost, right?”

 

Jing Xian had said that he liked watching zombie movies, or vampire-themed movies, because those species were all “imported ghosts” to him, he had never seen them, and found them novel.

 

From this perspective, he understood where Jing Xian’s interest lay.

 

They started to line up.

 

This haunted house was quite famous, compared to other projects, the queue was only longer. They followed the queue slowly, chatting casually, and it took forty to fifty minutes before it was their turn.

 

This haunted house was entered in groups of ten.

 

The staff held a loudspeaker and shouted precautions at them. “Pregnant women and tourists with heart disease and high blood pressure are prohibited from entering, flammable and explosive materials, controlled knives and lighters are prohibited, photography and video recording are prohibited, damage to props in the haunted house is prohibited, assaulting staff is prohibited…”

 

The first few sentences were nothing.

 

When he heard the last two, Lu Yingjiu poked Jing Xian and said in a low voice, “Listen.”

 

“What?” Jing Xian’s attention was completely on the werewolf model at the door, and he couldn’t move his eyes away.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Damage to props is prohibited, assaulting staff is prohibited.”

 

“Okay, okay, definitely no problem.” Jing Xian promised, “I’m not the kind of ghost who will hit people randomly.”

 

After the precautions were finished, the ten of them lined up and began to enter under the guidance of the staff.

 

As soon as they entered, it was pitch black, with only a little green light flickering in the distance.

 

There were green arrow signs on the ground, and everyone walked forward carefully.

 

They hadn’t walked a few steps when the music sounded. It was the sharp wind and the whispering whispers, which were extremely realistic and had surround sound. There was a cool breeze under their feet, scratching their ankles coldly, making people think of the foggy hills and the wandering wild ghosts in the distant forest.

 

This haunted house was famous for a reason.

 

Just this opening sound effect was stronger than many other haunted houses.

 

Immediately, several people were scared and tightened each other’s hands.

 

This bit of darkness was nothing to Jing Xian.

 

So he clearly saw the others holding hands, and immediately leaned over to hold Lu Yingjiu’s hand.

 

Although Lu Yingjiu couldn’t see clearly, as soon as Jing Xian leaned over, he knew what Jing Xian was going to do. He withdrew his hand and said in a low voice, “What are you doing?”

 

“Everyone else is holding hands, wouldn’t it be out of place if we didn’t?”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Your reasons are really strange, what reasons have you used along the way?”

 

He recalled and added, “What ‘Lu Yingjiu, I think that tree is so beautiful, so let’s hold hands’, what ‘The dog in front looks so much like hairball, so let’s hold hands’… It’s outrageous, do you have a magnet on your hand that must be attracted to me?”

 

Jing Xian just chuckled a few times. “Isn’t this just a ghost with a never-dying heart?”

 

“You are very accurate in your positioning.” Lu Yingjiu also laughed.

 

Seeing that he was unwilling, Jing Xian gave up holding hands.

 

Lu Yingjiu took a few more steps, and suddenly felt a weight on the back of his clothes, as if someone was pulling him.

 

Lu Yingjiu: ?

 

He turned his head and was speechless: Jing Xian was actually holding the corner of his clothes.

 

The two of them now looked like elementary school students on a spring outing, one pulling the other, sticking together tightly.

 

Lu Yingjiu said in a low voice, “What are you doing again, don’t pull my clothes, only elementary school students would do this.”

 

“Oh.” Jing Xian listened to him very much, and changed the position of his hand, this time grabbing the collar of Lu Yingjiu’s back.

 

Unexpectedly, he was strong, and when he pulled it, he couldn’t control his strength. Lu Yingjiu felt as if his neck was being strangled by a hanging rope!

 

He was forcibly stopped by Jing Xian, and his whole body leaned back half a step.

 

Jing Xian was shocked and quickly supported him.

 

Lu Yingjiu coughed softly, “Jing Xian, are you trying to murder me?”

 

“Absolutely not, absolutely not.” Jing Xian panicked, “My love for you is everlasting, as solid as a rock, as clear as the sun and the moon, and unchanging until death.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Lu Yingjiu was amused, “Your progress in idioms is quite fast.”

 

“Of course.” Jing Xian gently patted his back, “I have studied hard.”

 

As they chatted, they had already walked out more than ten meters, and the crowd in front suddenly screamed!

 

Only a small bunch of red light was suddenly projected on the wall in the pitch-black front. The wall was stacked with red bricks, and as soon as they approached, blood began to seep out of the brick seams!

 

This corridor was very narrow, they must pass by this wall to reach the next area.

 

The blood was dripping all over the floor, bright red and dazzling, the music sounded loudly, and there was a cold wind under their feet.

 

The people in front immediately stood still, not daring to move.

 

Fortunately, there was a brave guy who took the lead and walked up.

 

He stuck to the wall and slowly moved his feet.

 

At first, nothing happened, and he quickly walked halfway, only to hear a sharp laugh!

 

A part of the red brick wall in the middle broke open, and a pale hand reached out!

 

It twisted in the air, each inch of bone bending at a non-human angle, fingers deforming, wrist twisting. The big brother screamed and rushed forward.

 

Jing Xian’s eyes lit up and asked Lu Yingjiu, “Is that a witch? I think her bracelet looks like it.”

 

“I don’t know.” Lu Yingjiu looked for a few seconds, “I can’t tell, it might just be made casually, there’s no specific type.”

 

Jing Xian was slightly disappointed.

 

The props were very realistic and the atmosphere was great, but Lu Yingjiu’s heart was undisturbed.

 

When they walked past the wall, Jing Xian even reached out and gently touched the back of the ghost’s hand – looking at his expression, it was like shaking hands with a fan at a fan meeting.

 

After passing this hurdle, they suddenly arrived at the front of the queue.

 

The first big brother to go past was really brave and quickly disappeared from sight.

 

Then, what appeared in front of Lu Yingjiu was a huge pot of soup, the soup was emitting green fluorescence, making a gurgling bubble sound, and skulls and broken bones were constantly being stirred inside. Lu Yingjiu felt a chill behind his head, and a sharp scream erupted in his ears.

 

He turned his head and saw a witch’s face hanging upside down!

 

The face was full of blood, and the eyeballs were popping out, trembling.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Lu Yingjiu’s first reaction was to call Jing Xian, “Jing Xian, come and see your witch.”

 

Jing Xian turned his head and came over to look, studied it carefully, and commented, “This model is quite cute.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “You have some underworld aesthetics.”

 

Then he thought about it, and the aesthetics of ghosts and goblins should indeed be called “underworld aesthetics.”

 

The two of them walked down like this, just like wandering in the mountains and water.

 

Lu Yingjiu’s natural ghost-attracting physique seemed to be fully demonstrated in the haunted house. All the ghost models, all the trigger mechanisms and sound effects, were all aimed at his face, while Jing Xian didn’t encounter any.

 

Every time he encountered a new species, he would call Jing Xian.

 

“Come here, there’s your werewolf.”

 

“Here come three more witches.”

 

“These are all potions of the alchemist, they are making immortality elixirs.”

 

“There are many more zombies ahead, don’t stand here and admire, there are many new species…”

 

Jing Xian was deeply attracted by a little bat zombie. The little zombie screamed desperately, flapping its wings to scare passers-by, and he stared at it, his eyes full of affection.

 

Lu Yingjiu tried to drag Jing Xian, but he wouldn’t budge.

 

Seeing the other tourists, who were trembling with fear, about to overtake them, Lu Yingjiu had no choice but to directly reach out and pull Jing Xian.

 

Unexpectedly, with just a gentle pull, it seemed to trigger some magical mechanism, and Jing Xian suddenly became willing to move forward.

 

His gaze was still stuck on the bat zombie, trying hard to twist his neck to look back, but he obediently followed Lu Yingjiu, allowing him to lead him forward.

 

In this way, Lu Yingjiu managed to lead Jing Xian through that area.

 

Jing Xian was still not satisfied, saying, “Let’s put one of these in our house in the future.”

 

“No,” Lu Yingjiu immediately vetoed, “What are you thinking?”

 

“Anyway, you’re not afraid of it, isn’t it cute to put it at the door as a decoration…”

 

“No,” Lu Yingjiu said, “Absolutely not. I won’t allow such a thing in my house.”

 

Only then did Jing Xian give up.

 

–He gave up so quickly, largely because Lu Yingjiu was still holding his hand.

 

He was afraid that if he said a few more words, Lu Yingjiu would react and stop pulling him.

 

As they walked forward, Jing Xian had his fill of watching the imported ghosts, saying that if he had the chance, he would definitely introduce some imported ghosts into the ghost world to increase species diversity.

 

Lu Yingjiu just rubbed his forehead, saying, “Not to mention whether it can be successful or not, haven’t you heard of the term ‘invasive species’?”

Jing Xian said it didn’t exist, but the language barrier might indeed be a big problem.

 

They also admired the chainsaw maniac and the scissor killer, as well as countless legs spinning in the air.

 

There were real NPCs in the haunted house, holding a big chainsaw making a buzzing sound, suddenly killing from a corner, chasing them.

 

The tourists screamed and ran forward.

 

Lu Yingjiu was too lazy to move, and wanted to walk slowly, but the other tourists ran so fast that only the two of them were left here, which seemed a bit disrespectful to the staff.

 

So he symbolically jogged a few steps, pulling Jing Xian, and turned several corners in the piercing roar of the chainsaw, bypassing the blood-stained walls, the grabbing ghost hands, and various witches and werewolves…

 

At some point, the view in front of them suddenly opened up.

 

The bright sunshine was shining on them, the cold atmosphere disappeared, and there were boiling voices all around.

 

The gloom and horror of the haunted house were swept away, and the tourists who escaped were all relieved, then joked with each other, mocking their companions’ reactions just now.

 

The light was dazzling, and Lu Yingjiu squinted his eyes for a while before he got used to it.

 

Seeing so many people, he realized that he was still holding Jing Xian’s hand.

 

He didn’t notice it in the haunted house just now.

 

Fortunately, he had been leading him all the way, otherwise Jing Xian would definitely be hooked by some zombie or werewolf again.

 

Jing Xian must have been satisfied with this trip to the haunted house.

 

Lu Yingjiu let go of his hand and asked Jing Xian, “Where to next?”

 

Jing Xian spread out the map and pointed, “The Ferris wheel.”

 

****

 

Looking down from the Ferris wheel, there were heads everywhere.

 

Fortunately, it was close to mealtime, and there were a lot fewer people.

 

The two of them arrived at the base of the Ferris wheel.

 

The sky was getting dark, and most of the daylight had been swallowed by the distant mountains. The Ferris wheel was slowly rotating, and each glass window reflected a touch of crimson, each a setting sun.

 

Lu Yingjiu was eating the small snacks Jing Xian had given him, while thinking about things.

 

He was not used to relaxing. As soon as he had some free time, he couldn’t help but let himself fall into deep thought.

 

At first, he was thinking about the information left by Zhang Nianyun and Chen Minlan.

 

Thinking about these things in such a cheerful atmosphere was inappropriate, and soon his thoughts diverged, thinking about the mango ice slush he had today, the blue sky he saw from the top of the roller coaster, and the cold water droplets that splashed on his face when he was playing the rapids.

 

One by one, vivid sensations swept over him, overwhelming those heavy thoughts.

 

After that, Lu Yingjiu just stared at the giant Ferris wheel.

 

He didn’t think about anything, just simply watched it turn.

 

After waiting for ten minutes, it was their turn to go up.

 

Once they were seated, the cabin slowly rose, and the door closed. Lu Yingjiu looked out the window and saw the crowd, the earth, and the small colored lights lit up at night moving away from them. A gust of wind came out, and several old trees rustled.

 

The Ferris wheel was very large and moved very slowly.

 

Having nothing better to do, Lu Yingjiu continued to eat the snacks in his hand, chatting with Jing Xian casually.

 

It wasn’t anything important, just talking about things from the past.

 

For example, the road he took before elementary school was lined with red cotton trees.

 

For example, when he had nothing to do, he would go around the streets catching ghosts to play with.

For example, how he met Ye Feng, and how they became good friends later.

 

As an exorcist, most of the time, Lu Yingjiu was playing the role of a listener.

 

Listening to the stories of the clients, listening to the wishes of the ghosts, listening to the truth of the matter…

 

And he himself was not a person with a strong desire to talk, he wouldn’t start talking non-stop to people he knew. Even in his few experiences of getting drunk, he just quietly fell asleep, never talking nonsense.

 

So, at this moment, on this slow, seemingly endless Ferris wheel, he rarely had the opportunity and interest to tell his own stories to others.

 

Jing Xian listened attentively, remembering every word he said.

 

It was as if he wanted to participate in Lu Yingjiu’s previous life in this way.

 

After Lu Yingjiu had talked for a while and felt tired, he stopped and looked out the window.

 

They were almost at the highest point, and the crowd below had become very small. Looking into the distance, the colorful lights of the amusement park spread out, forming a sea of joy.

 

And further away, on the horizon, there was still a touch of red glow above the mountains, gorgeous and dazzling.

 

From this angle, the roller coaster track was just in front of the setting sun. It became a silhouette in the dim light, its lines still ferocious, but the screams were too far away to hear.

 

A few seconds later, the cabin passed quietly and swiftly through the boundary of light and darkness. Sometimes it was illuminated by the residual red light, its metallic body shining brightly, and sometimes it plunged into the shadows, swallowed by darkness, as if shuttling between day and night, even time couldn’t catch up with it.

 

The two of them watched quietly for a while.

 

So quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Jing Xian, there’s something I want to ask you…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“It’s about Zhang Nianyun,” Lu Yingjiu said, “Although it’s not very good to bring up this topic now, I’ve been thinking about why she committed suicide in front of the stone tablet of worshiping the Heavenly Way.”

 

He continued, “Could it be that this matter is related to Heavenly Way or karma?”

 

“You once said that you could solve this problem. But if it involves these huge and complex rules, even the priests can’t get away unscathed.”

 

He looked at Jing Xian and asked, “So I want to ask you, will these rules really not hurt you? I don’t want you to pay any price for me, no matter what kind, I can’t accept it.”

 

“Oh, you’re talking about that.” Jing Xian leaned back and stretched his long legs, saying casually, “That’s a piece of cake, of course it won’t bother me. You don’t need to worry so much, it’s more practical to think about how to develop your bar.”

 

“…..Really?” Lu Yingjiu asked.

 

Almost instinctively, he felt that Jing Xian was lying.

 

He was very uneasy.

 

That unease was like a thick shadow, capturing him, engulfing him at this moment.

 

“Really.” Jing Xian swore, “Your husband is very powerful. But I’m very touched that you care so much about me.”

 

After saying that, he was about to hug Lu Yingjiu’s waist, but Lu Yingjiu dodged and laughed, “What are you up to again?”

 

The intuition disappeared.

 

Its disappearance was as swift as its arrival, almost making Lu Yingjiu think it was an illusion.

 

A few seconds later, the cabin finally reached the top.

 

Jing Xian, who had been making a fuss, suddenly said, “Let’s take a picture.”

 

“Why so sudden?” Lu Yingjiu was taken aback.

 

Jing Xian said, “Look, I’ve been here for so long, and we don’t even have a single photo!”

 

Lu Yingjiu thought about it and it seemed to be the case.

 

He was not a person who liked to take photos.

 

Most of his friends were also pure straight men, and their photography skills were simply…

 

Every time Lu Yingjiu clicked into the circle of friends, most of the photos he saw were life photos with novel angles. Those with girlfriends had a bit more, at least there would be a beauty… and the straighter ones would upload strange travel photos, such as making a “yeah” in front of a waterfall, the kind with a backlit face.

 

When he first joined the Green Lantern Association, there seemed to be some activity, requiring newcomers to provide life photos.

 

Lu Yingjiu didn’t have many photos. Ninety percent of his photos were on the phones of the girls in his class, and the remaining half percent were on his own phone, and the other half percent were on the boys’ phones.

 

At that time, he thought for two seconds, found one of his own… blue background ID photos and started uploading.

 

Fortunately, his looks were good, and even an ID photo looked good, not too abrupt.

 

Now Jing Xian suddenly said he wanted to take a photo, and he was really surprised.

 

Jing Xian said it and did it, and took out his phone on the spot.

 

Facing the camera, Lu Yingjiu was a bit uncomfortable, his face stiff, and the inherent coldness became a bit heavier.

“You smile.” Jing Xian laughed.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “I’m not used to taking photos, just leave it like this.”

 

“Hey, no, let’s take another one.” Jing Xian raised his phone again.

 

Lu Yingjiu still had a stiff face, and after a few seconds, he reluctantly hooked up the corner of his mouth.

 

He tried his best, but he was really uncomfortable in front of the camera. In the end, this smile was almost non-existent, but his expression was indeed much softer.

 

Click!

 

Jing Xian took another one.

 

The original lens of this phone was very deadly, the face was two circles fatter, any flaws could be magnified a hundred times, even if there was no double chin, it would make one out. Only the two of them dared to do so, in that frame, one was delicate and the other was handsome, still good-looking.

 

The screen freezes, and outside the window was a bustling and cheerful scene, the roller coaster roared past with great momentum, and the drop tower brought down people’s screams.

 

And they sat side by side in the glow of the sunset, sitting in the highest sky of the entire amusement park, with smiles in their eyes.

 

Jing Xian put down his phone, carefully appreciated it for a while, and was very satisfied. “Look, this one is not bad, it’s like a wedding photo.”

 

Lu Yingjiu laughed and said, “Where are wedding photos taken like this?”

 

“I said if it can be taken like this, it can be taken like this.” Jing Xian continued to admire, “It’s so beautiful.”

 

“You just said that the werewolf was good-looking,” Lu Yingjiu said lazily, “I will never trust your aesthetics again.”

 

When they got off the Ferris wheel, it was just as the last light of day disappeared, and the world fell into darkness.

 

One by one, the street lights lit up, illuminating the road.

 

The two were ready to go to the restaurant for dinner.

 

As they walked, they turned into a small path.

 

Jing Xian followed behind him and asked, “There’s no one here, can I hold your hand?”

 

Under the light, the skin on the back of Lu Yingjiu’s neck was smooth and fair, from his shoulders to his waist, all were beautiful lines like works of art, he looked at it and it was simply unbearable.

 

“No.” Lu Yingjiu walked forward.

 

“There’s really no one, no one will see, we’ll just sneak a hold, and let go at the door of the restaurant.”

 

“No.”

 

“Won’t you reconsider? I have a pack of your favorite macadamia nuts in my hand.”

 

Lu Yingjiu stopped.

 

Jing Xian thought he was angry and said, “Okay, won’t hold, I’ll ask you again in a few minutes…” After saying that, he stuffed the macadamia nuts into his hand.

 

Lu Yingjiu turned back to look at him, “Really let go at the door of the restaurant?”

 

Jing Xian was stunned, “Yes.”

 

Then Lu Yingjiu hooked up the corner of his mouth, a pair of beautiful brown eyes filled with teasing and laughter, and reached out to him, “Okay, let’s hold for a while then.”