After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

Before leaving the temple, Yao Gou respectfully bowed in front of the Peacock God, somehow producing two apples and a pear, all of which he placed on the altar, muttering under his breath, “Please bless me well.”

 

Then, he reluctantly left with Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian to continue towards the back mountain.

 

On the way to the wedding hall, Lu Yingjiu saw various temples of different sizes.

 

Unlike the temple of the Peacock God, these temples looked ancient, probably built many years ago, and were smaller in scale.

 

Lu Yingjiu casually entered a couple of them and found that they all worshiped different gods and spirits, such as Di Ting, Sun Travel God, Night Travel God, Black and White Impermanence, etc…

 

The statues were lifelike.

 

Jing Xian looked at the statues for a while and was quite satisfied. “These statues are quite realistic, not randomly made.”

 

It’s not easy to get Jing Xian’s approval.

 

After all, he really knew these gods.

 

Lu Yingjiu went into every temple along the way.

 

Some gods or strange beasts have big names, like Impermanence, Pixiu, etc., and their incense was very strong. Even if the temple was empty now, one could see offerings and traces of frequent cleaning.

 

Some gods were unknown, the temple was full of dust and cobwebs, some roofs were directly leaking, a beam of sunlight straight down, with more dust flying in the air.

 

Obviously, the competition in the ghost world was also very fierce, and only a few could become famous.

 

Jing Xian saw him enter every temple and asked, “What, do you still want to find out why the Peacock God’s dream shattered?”

 

“Yes,” Lu Yingjiu nodded.

 

But in fact, this was just one of his goals.

 

Every time he entered a temple, he had to stand in front of the sculptures of ghosts and gods and secretly observe Jing Xian’s expression.

 

If Jing Xian really encountered his own statue, he would definitely not be indifferent.

 

After walking all the way, there was no anomaly in the dream of the Peacock God, and Jing Xian’s expression was also normal.

 

It seems that no one really worships Jing Xian.

 

However, Lu Yingjiu thought that if Jing Xian was a priest of slaughter, it would be normal not to be worshiped. After all, a small village just wanted peace and joy, family and prosperity, without so much intense love and hate in it, and there was no need to set up a temple specifically for the god of slaughter.

 

But since he was a god, he should still want to be worshiped and to be offered sacrifices.

 

Lu Yingjiu said to Jing Xian, “Do you know that the Supernatural Affairs Department has team building funds?”

 

“I know.” Jing Xian was stunned.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “After we go back, I can allocate some funds to buy some paper money and ingots to burn for you, and also light some incense for you.”

 

Jing Xian was stunned.

 

He looked back at the many temples in the back mountain, none of which had his name, and finally understood why Lu Yingjiu said that.

 

While Yao Gou was walking ahead, humming a song, he hugged Lu Yingjiu’s waist and whispered in his ear, “I don’t care about those things, they are just incense, I have plenty of money, just waiting for you to marry in.”

 

Lu Yingjiu looked straight ahead, his face unchanging, “I’m seriously talking to you. To compensate for not paying you a salary all the time, and to prove that I am a good boss, I decided to pioneer a new project in the office, which is for us to burn paper money together.”

 

“Salary…” Jing Xian remembered this, and then laughed, “If it’s a salary, you have to pay me with interest.”

 

“Of course,” Lu Yingjiu seriously calculated, “6000 a month, now it’s been more than two months…”

 

Before he finished speaking, he was kissed on the face by Jing Xian who was holding his waist.

 

Lu Yingjiu: ?

 

It was unknown if it’s because of this period of time, Jing Xian had been more hands-on with him, hair, face, neck were all disaster areas, and he had already achieved preliminary desensitization effects on this level of kissing.

 

So he just looked in the direction of Yao Gou, and then whispered, “What’s wrong with you? There’s no one here that can make you jealous.”

 

Jing Xian said, “How can a salary be paid like this. Of course, it has to be paid to me in other places, with both principal and interest.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

He suddenly felt that the future was full of danger.

 

The phrase “principal and interest” sounded too ominous.

 

Then he was forcibly pressed by Jing Xian and gnawed on his neck several times.

 

It took a long time to separate, Lu Yingjiu didn’t know what his mood was, both helpless and speechless, his face was a little hot, but he couldn’t help but laugh and say, “If I go bankrupt one day and really can’t afford to pay your salary, I’ll sell you to a nightclub. With your face and figure, earning a hundred thousand a month is not a dream.”

 

“More than a hundred thousand,” Jing Xian was full of confidence, “That’s too little for ten thousand a day, come on, give me another kiss, I won’t charge you.”

 

This time Lu Yingjiu was prepared, his body dodged and he easily avoided, leaving only Jing Xian who was still unsatisfied.

 

In this way, the three of them went up the mountain.

 

The back mountain was not high, they quickly reached the top, and they could see an old house with a black roof in the distance, which should be the wedding hall Yao Gou mentioned.

 

The roof of the house was broken in several places, and several tiles were missing. The corner was overgrown with weeds, the red paint on the door was mottled, the windows were all nailed shut with wooden boards, and the front door was wrapped with a ferocious big lock chain.

 

It looked like a standard haunted house.

 

Yao Gou took a breath, drank most of the bottle of water, and sat on the stone in front of the wedding hall for a long time before he recovered.

 

He pointed to the old house and said, “This is it.” He wiped his sweat with the back of his hand and continued, “You asked me why the wedding hall is on the mountain. I can tell you now: because this village used to have the custom of ghost marriage.”

 

“Ah, you say how scary this is, I haven’t seen a few ghosts that look normal, if not fierce and evil, then missing arms and legs. Those who are good and upright are dragged to marry a ghost, how can there be true love?”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Feelings implied. (TL:the words were not directly said to be offensive, but the words contained the meaning of insulting others.)

 

Jing Xian: “…”

 

Wants to kill.

 

Yao Gou, who had dealt with people a lot, saw their expressions and immediately knew that there was a problem with what he had just said.

 

But even if he realized it, he couldn’t figure out the problem.

 

He would never think that the two people in front of him were professional ghost marriage practitioners.

 

Anyway, Yao Gou laughed and quickly passed the topic, and continued to say, “Ah, don’t talk about this, anyway, they are doing ghost marriages, they don’t invite exorcists, they just mess around by themselves, thinking that marrying the girl out can exchange for the blessing of the ghost.”

 

“But as you can imagine, it has no effect at all. The ghosts they summoned are all wandering ghosts, what kind of magic power and supernatural powers do they have? At most, they blow a cold wind in the wedding hall and scare people.”

 

“After so many years, the village has not been destroyed by any fierce ghost that was summoned, I think they’re too lucky.”

 

Lu Yingjiu knew that if it wasn’t for the situation, normal exorcists would not allow ghost marriages.

 

Moreover, the village was full of ordinary people, dealing with this stuff, it was inevitable to attract strange things, and it would harm the life of the married person.

 

So he said, “Fortunately, this wedding hall has been abandoned.”

 

“Yes.” Yao Gou nodded, “It’s also thanks to the exorcist who came to the village – he told the villagers to stop the ghost marriage immediately, and then built the temple of the Peacock God.”

 

“Is it the same surnamed Chu exorcist?” Lu Yingjiu asked.

 

Yao Gou also nodded. “Yes. He can definitely be considered a great benefactor of the village. In my opinion, the village should also build a temple for him.”

 

He shook his head and continued. “Unfortunately, he is incorruptible and does good deeds without leaving a name. He stayed in the village for so long, but no one knew his real name, just calling him Master Chu.”

 

Lu Yingjiu thought to himself, that’s quite strange.

 

He usually kept a low profile and often didn’t leave his name, but if he stayed in this village for a year or two and no one knew his name, it would indeed be abnormal.

 

Yao Gou had rested and stood up. “Let’s go, let’s go in.”

 

He took the lead, took out a rusty key given by the village from his waist bag, and fiddled with it on the lock.

 

After a few seconds, the lock fell to the ground, and the sound of metal hitting the ground came. Yao Gou fiddled with the lock chain again, and it all fell down with a clatter, and finally opened the door.

 

Squeak–

 

The wooden door was opened with a shriek, Yao Gou coughed a few times, and pointed to the house. “Take a look, this house is not big.”

 

Lu Yingjiu nodded, and the three of them walked into the house.

 

Yao Gou brought a flashlight, one for each person, and shone it into the house.

 

The first thing they saw was the place for the wedding ceremony. The surroundings were originally decorated with red gauze, but because of the long time, they all fell to the ground dirty and broken. In addition, there was a heaven and earth table covered with old red cloth, and an empty red candle holder.

 

The windows next to it were sealed.

 

When Lu Yingjiu looked over, he could vaguely imagine that every time the bride bowed deeply, the cold wind would violently crash into the window, lift the curtains, and then blow out the bright red candles in the room, leaving only the cold and darkness.

 

Yao Gou said excitedly. “Wait for me to let them clean up here, and then we can do the marriage ceremony.”

 

Lu Yingjiu asked him, “So, what is the specific reason for you to hold a wedding?”

 

Although he asked this way, after understanding the situation, Lu Yingjiu probably also understood Yao Gou’s thinking:

 

First, originally, things of great joy and great sorrow are very likely to attract ghosts, and weddings naturally fall into the category of great joy;

 

Second, different ghosts have different ways to deal with them. For example, if a baby dies prematurely and turns into a fierce ghost, if it does not appear for a long time, the exorcist will set up ceremonies like a hundred-day feast. Or, at midnight, let the baby’s mother stand on the top of the mountain and call the child’s name loudly…

 

In short, doing things closely related to ghosts is the best.

 

Since He Wanbai was deceived into getting married, the wedding is also somewhat related to her. Maybe it can provoke her and make her appear.

 

“Oh,” Yao Gou replied, “I was thinking, she was sold here. If we show her a happy marriage, she will definitely be very moved and immediately repent.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…?”

 

Lu Yingjiu held his forehead and said, “No, no matter how you think about it, she will be provoked. You can’t use human thinking to guess ghosts. Almost all ghosts, as long as they have resentment in their hearts, will be jealous and angry when they see others’ joy.”

 

“No!” Yao Gou immersed in his own world, “You and Master Jing are so loving, so perfect, if it were me, I would definitely be moved! Then I would consciously go to the ghost world to reincarnate!”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Lu Yingjiu once again deeply realized the unreliability of the Big Dog, who was simply complicating simple things.

 

He sighed silently and said, “Actually, it’s not necessary to go to the trouble of a wedding. Give me some time, and I can find her. You don’t have to let the villagers clean up the wedding hall, it’s not necessary.”

 

“No.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was stunned and looked at Jing Xian.

 

The firm “no” just now came from Jing Xian.

 

Jing Xian looked at him and said firmly again, “No, I think his idea is very good, the wedding suggestion is very good.”

 

Jing Xian’s heart, Lu Yingjiu knew all.

 

He said softly, “What are you messing around for, this matter can be easily solved.”

 

“No.” Jing Xian did not give in, “I think this idea is impeccable!”

 

Yao Gou rarely received such a high level of recognition, his eyes lit up, “Wow, this is the first time I have seen someone highly recognize me! Master Jing, you are really amazing! In your opinion, how should this wedding be done to make it better!”

 

Jing Xian was about to speak, but suddenly stopped.

 

He looked back at Lu Yingjiu and said softly, “Listen to him.”

 

Lu Yingjiu saw the inexplicable pampering feeling of “our wedding, our house, our decorations are all up to you” on his face.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “If you listen to me, don’t do it.”

 

Jing Xian said again, “No.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Didn’t you say you would listen to me?”

 

Jing Xian said, “Can listen, but only part of it.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

He was desperate.

 

Whether it was the real Big Dog or the fake Big Dog.

 

At this point, facing the two excited people – although the two were excited about completely different things – he seemed to have no room to refute.

 

Lu Yingjiu only felt a throbbing in his brow, and finally, under Jing Xian’s expectant gaze, he choked out, “Keep it simple.”

 

“Okay!” Jing Xian agreed readily.

 

Yao Gou was also very happy and immediately said that he was going to the village to urge people to continue cleaning the wedding hall.

 

Before leaving, he suddenly seemed to remember something and said to Lu Yingjiu, “Are you interested in the temples here? I see you’ve been walking in there.”

 

Lu Yingjiu replied, “Yes, I am interested.”

 

Yao Gou pointed to the back of the wedding hall, “I came here a few hours ago and walked around the area. There’s a small temple at the back, I don’t know who it worships, but if you’re interested, you can go and have a look.” He rubbed his hands, “Ah, but I’m just saying, the temple is really small, probably useless, you don’t have to look.”

 

“Let’s go and have a look.” Lu Yingjiu said.

 

He always had this habit, even the smallest details should not be neglected, maybe it would come in handy at a critical time.

 

So Yao Gou led them to walk towards the back of the wedding hall.

 

Sure enough, just out of the dilapidated back door, not far away was another small temple.

 

Although it was small, from the eaves to the corners, it exuded a unique sense of delicacy. The red walls and green tiles, clean corners, and the flower clusters near the main entrance that were obviously well cared for, the tiles under the sunlight were simply sparkling, filled with transparency and crystal clear, dyed with unknown colors.

 

When Lu Yingjiu stepped in, he also smelled the scent of incense.

 

The candles and oil lamps in the temple were all lit, and an old woman from the village was hunched over, adding oil to the lamps.

 

Unlike other temples, there were no statues in this temple, only a huge mural.

 

On the mural, a man was dressed in ancient white clothes, with pendants hanging from his wrists and neck. The pendants were either colorful like gems or black like the long night, they were ancient exorcism runes.

 

All around him were dark, green-faced and ferocious fanged fierce ghosts, all rushing towards him, as if to plunge him into the abyss.

 

But he held a burning talisman with his slender fingers. The intense color spread from the talisman, golden and brilliant, red and rich, green like cat’s eye gemstones, surrounding him vigorously, like a tide.

 

The color repelled thousands of fierce ghosts.

 

His whole body was upright and peaceful, no evil could invade.

 

Lu Yingjiu was stunned for a few seconds.

 

This temple, it turns out, worships an exorcist.

 

Unfortunately, the face of the exorcist was deliberately erased for some reason, and only half of the fair neck and the long earrings hanging from the ears could be seen.

 

Looking at the altar, there were no copper coins, fruits or meat, only large bunches of beautiful flowers, clustered together, so lively that people couldn’t take their eyes off them, they must have been carefully selected by the worshippers.

 

The flowers dissipated much of the solemn atmosphere of the temple, and perhaps because it was a person being worshiped, without the solemnity and majesty of the ghost and gods itself, the atmosphere in this temple could be described as gentle and soft.

 

…just like the person in the mural.

 

Even though the face of the exorcist was not visible, once one stepped in, one couldn’t help but be attracted to him and feel good about him.

 

–This must be a very powerful person.

 

Looking at the mural, Lu Yingjiu had a subtle feeling in his heart.

 

He couldn’t say where this subtlety came from, and looking at the white clothes again, he felt even more familiar, he must have seen it somewhere.

 

His memory went back to the dream he had after drinking the divine water.

 

The dream was full of wind and snow.

 

The white clothes he was wearing at the time, the sleeves rustling, and the exorcism bracelet on his wrist were all the same as the person in the painting.

 

Therefore, a thought emerged in Lu Yingjiu’s mind.

 

The thought was absurd and incredible, even Lu Yingjiu himself found it funny.

 

But somehow, he really felt that the person in the painting seemed to be himself.

 

Next to him, Yao Gou was still chattering, “…Ah, this is the temple I told you about, isn’t it really small? It is said that this was also built by the exorcist named Chu in the village. I just don’t understand who this exorcist is. Anyway, I heard from the villagers that the one surnamed Chu…”

 

“Master Chu has instructed us that no matter what, the fire in this temple cannot be extinguished.”

 

A hoarse voice sounded.

 

The three of them looked over.

 

They saw that the old woman had finally added the last bit of oil.

 

Her face was full of wrinkles, probably in her seventies, but her voice was steady, and her hands adding oil did not tremble, she seemed to be in good health. A unique scholarly aura spread over her, reflected in her unhurried tone.

 

She continued slowly, “This temple is dedicated to an exorcist that Master Chu admires the most. The master often stays here for several days, and usually does not allow too many people to set foot here. He told us to change the flowers on the altar every three days, and not to offer incense or money, saying that the person does not like those things.”

 

Lu Yingjiu asked, “Do you know who is worshiped here?”

 

The old woman shook her head.

 

Lu Yingjiu felt regretful.

 

But it’s understandable, that surnamed Chu exorcist probably wouldn’t casually tell an old woman who didn’t know how to exorcise ghosts about this.

 

But the old woman spoke again the next second, “I knew before, but I forgot.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “……”

 

The old woman tapped her head and regretted, “When people get old, their memory gets worse day by day.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…Indeed, I can see that.”

 

“However,” the old woman said again, “he said that that person will come here one day, so this temple must be kept.”

 

This sounded really mysterious, quite like the trick of a street performer, saying that fate will take you somewhere.

 

Lu Yingjiu asked again, “Do you know the name of this ‘Master Chu’? This… you should still remember, right?”

 

“I remember.” The old woman said, “His name is Chu Qianju.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was stunned.

 

For a moment, his mind was filled with thoughts.

 

Could it be that the legendary curse is true?

 

From hundreds of years ago to the present, has Chu Qianju really been in reincarnation forever? He came to this village more than a decade ago, built a temple for the Peacock God, stopped the villagers from having ghost marriages, cleaned up the feng shui in the village, and then quietly left for an unknown destination.

So,

 

Where is Chu Qianju now?

 

The old woman looked at the mural, where the exorcist in white was floating, embraced by colors, surrounded by fierce ghosts, yet romantic and gorgeous.

 

She said, “Before Master Chu left, he also said a sentence. ‘May we meet again in the same long cycle of reincarnation and short life.’”