After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

The villagers were extremely efficient. By the next day, the wedding hall was almost cleaned up.

 

The dilapidated roof couldn’t be repaired in time, so it was temporarily covered with wooden boards. The dust inside the house was cleaned up thoroughly. Soft red silk hung from the four corners of the roof, layer upon layer, surrounding the central character for “happiness”. The candlesticks were replaced, the boards on the windows were removed, and new glass was installed, shining brightly in the sunlight.

 

For this wedding, Lu Yingjiu repeatedly told Jing Xian to “keep it simple”.

 

Originally, the situation wasn’t that complicated. Given some time, he could wander around the village and would almost catch the female ghost. The absurd wedding could still exist, entirely due to his indulgence towards Jing Xian.

 

Jing Xian agreed with a series of nods.

 

The next morning, at seven o’clock, Lu Yingjiu’s alarm clock rang.

 

He didn’t sleep well last night, half-dreaming and half-awake. The latter half of the night was better, and he slept quite soundly—

 

Except for a strange dream.

 

He dreamt that Jing Xian sneaked into his bed in the middle of the night, cuddled him to sleep, and even rubbed his black hair contentedly a few times.

 

When Lu Yingjiu woke up, his first reaction was to look at the side of the bed.

 

The bed was clean and cool to the touch, making him doubt what had happened.

 

Could it be his illusion?

 

Lu Yingjiu was skeptical.

 

Until he went to the bathroom to wash up and found himself with a few stubborn messy hairs sticking out in all directions, and a couple of suspicious red marks on his neck.

 

…He concluded that Jing Xian must have been a pervert last night.

 

Lu Yingjiu hung up his towel and prepared to give Jing Xian a piece of his mind.

 

But when he went out and walked around the house, he didn’t see Jing Xian anywhere.

 

Lu Yingjiu thought this was unusual.

 

Normally, Jing Xian would have prepared breakfast and enthusiastically called him to eat.

 

It seems that Jing Xian really felt guilty for being a thief and ran away early. It’s rare to see him show a thin face.

 

As Lu Yingjiu was thinking about how to reprimand Jing Xian when he caught him, he opened the door—

 

“Bang! Bang bang!”

 

“Clang——clang clang!”

 

“Bang bang bang bang bang!”

 

“Clang clang!”

 

Then there was the loud, penetrating sound of the suona. A group of people dressed in bright red were jumping lively below, especially those playing the gong and cymbals, who were jumping three feet high.

 

Before Lu Yingjiu could react, he heard them cheer in unison!

 

A piece of red cloth spun in the air, flying directly from the first floor to the second floor, accurately covering his head.

 

Lu Yingjiu: ???

 

His vision was dark red, and just as he lifted a corner of the red cloth, he heard the people below shout in unison. “We’re here to pick up the bride!”

 

Two more people ran over, holding long firecrackers in their hands, crackling. The suona played even more joyfully, the drums beat faster, and the surroundings were filled with a happy and joyful atmosphere.

 

If it weren’t for the fact that the person holding the firecrackers had no shadow, the suona player had three heads and six arms, and the drummer was spurting blood wildly behind him, it would have been a lively scene of a wedding.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Even using his hair to think, he knew whose handwriting this was.

 

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the group of ghosts retreated. At the end of the road, a handsome man holding a flower came. The umbrella fans opened together, and behind him were eight tall and strong men, slowly carrying a red curtain and a sedan chair embroidered with goldfish and lotus flowers.

 

A group of villagers gathered on the side, all craning their necks to watch the excitement. Seeing Jing Xian, the groom, appear, they immediately burst into applause like a tide.

 

“Good!” They cheered.

 

Just as Jing Xian walked downstairs and looked up, the flower hadn’t been raised yet—

 

His vision went dark.

 

Lu Yingjiu directly threw the red veil downstairs, accurately covering Jing Xian’s head, and then turned around and went back to his room without looking back.

 

Jing Xian: “…”

 

Ten minutes later.

 

Jing Xian stood outside the bedroom door, with the red veil still loosely hanging around his neck.

 

He knocked on the door, saying, “I was wrong, I really was.”

 

Inside the room: “…..”

 

Jing Xian said again, “But I did listen to you: I kept it simple. I didn’t even dress us in wedding clothes, and I didn’t send invitations to people we know. I just hired a palanquin and a band, nothing special.”

 

A faint voice came from inside the room, “Jing Xian, first reflect on what you did yesterday.”

 

“Yesterday, I didn’t do anything yesterday.” Jing Xian said.

 

Inside the room: “..…”

 

Jing Xian thought for a moment, “Does this count? I accidentally fed your hairball a mountain ghost—but it was a very small mountain ghost, I promise it didn’t choke.”

 

Inside the room: “…What else?”

 

Jing Xian said, “Alright, I did urge them to clean up the wedding hall, and I invited the villagers to the wedding, but I think these are minor things.”

 

Inside the room: “…What else?”

 

Jing Xian thought for a moment, and finally confessed with gritted teeth, “I’m sorry, I hid some private money behind your back. It’s under my pillow, a total of 50 yuan, which I planned to use to buy a small zombie doll to put at the front door. I confessed, now come out, let’s not miss the auspicious time.”

 

There was no movement in the room.

 

Jing Xian started knocking on the door again. Halfway through, the door suddenly opened with a swoosh. Lu Yingjiu looked at him expressionlessly, pulled open his collar, revealing his delicate collarbone and a large area of fair skin.

 

Jing Xian unconsciously rolled his Adam’s apple.

 

Lu Yingjiu pointed to two reddish spots on his neck, which were obviously kiss marks, and asked, “Then what’s the story here?”

 

Jing Xian: “…”

 

Jing Xian said, “There are so many mosquitoes here! I’ll light a mosquito-repellent incense for you tonight!”

 

Lu Yingjiu slapped him, “I’ll kill you, you big mosquito.”

 

Although Jing Xian was beaten, he managed to coax his wife out and happily led Lu Yingjiu downstairs.

 

Downstairs, the sedan chair was still waiting for them.

 

Jing Xian made a “please” gesture, indicating for Lu Yingjiu to get on.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Do you think I would possibly get on?”

 

“I put a lot of effort into bringing the sedan chair to this village,” Jing Xian emphasized, “Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

 

The sedan chair was indeed very finely made. The curtain was elegant and silky, the embroidery was delicate and gorgeous, the whole thing was lightweight, and there was a faint fragrance. It was unknown how long the craftsmen in the ghost world took to construct such a perfect sedan chair.

 

Lu Yingjiu took a deep breath, “If you think it’s beautiful, why don’t you sit on it? There’s an old saying, ‘Do not do to others what you do not want to be done to yourself’, you don’t even want to get on.”

 

“Who said I don’t want to.” Jing Xian immediately retorted, “I want to, I really want to.”

 

After saying that, he lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, took a step with his long legs, and climbed in himself.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Jing Xian lifted the curtain again and reached out to him, “Come on, get in with me.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Are you crazy? Two people sitting in a bridal sedan chair together?”

 

“What’s wrong with that, this bridal sedan chair is mine, if you want, we can carry the bridal sedan chair together.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was speechless, and once again refreshed his understanding of Jing Xian.

 

However, when Jing Xian leaned over to pull him, he couldn’t help but smile at the corners of his eyebrows and subconsciously took that hand.

 

——That hand pulled him up forcefully, and he got on the sedan chair steadily.

 

The space inside the bridal sedan chair was quite large. The two men actually sat together, and it wasn’t too crowded.

 

However, Lu Yingjiu inevitably ended up close to Jing Xian, intimately so.

 

The sedan chair trembled slightly, and then it was lifted by the eight fierce ghosts, steadily heading up the mountain.

 

As they got closer, the cold fragrance from Jing Xian became more apparent.

 

It seeped into Lu Yingjiu’s thoughts, strand by strand.

 

He remembered the story Jing Xian had told: in the middle of the abyss where ten thousand ghosts dared not tread, there was a tree forever in bloom and withering with white flowers. That was the place of Jing Xian’s birth.

 

Although he had never seen the white flower, he thought that it must have the same pleasant cold fragrance.

 

His gaze moved upward, the light outside the window shone through the curtain, outlining Jing Xian’s perfect side profile, and the red veil on his neck.

 

Lu Yingjiu stared at the veil for a few seconds, finally unable to bear it. “Can you take this thing off? Are you using it as a scarf?”

 

“Isn’t this good,” Jing Xian tugged at the veil, making it symmetrical, “I’ll cover you with it when we get there, so you won’t be shy.”

 

Lu Yingjiu held his forehead, his waist was once again taken advantage of by Jing Xian.

 

The sedan chair continued upwards, the eight ghosts had good strength, but it was estimated that it would take more than ten minutes to reach the wedding hall.

 

Lu Yingjiu heard, in addition to the sound of gongs and drums, there were lively voices near the bridal sedan chair, presumably the villagers who had come to watch the excitement.

 

Finally, when Lu Yingjiu pulled Jing Xian’s hand away from his lower back for the Nth time, the sedan chair descended, trembling slightly when it landed.

 

They had arrived.

 

Jing Xian was the first to get out of the bridal sedan chair, then he pulled Lu Yingjiu out.

 

The door of the wedding hall was wide open, and everything inside was brand new.

 

Yao Gou arrived before them, considering himself the master of ceremonies, he had already enthusiastically prepared everything.

 

The red candles were lit, the heaven and earth table was set, and the lanterns were hung neatly.

 

He stood at the door and called out, “Come, come, come, let’s welcome the bride and groom!!”

 

The surrounding villagers applauded again, “Good!”

 

Thinking that these villagers were all invited by Jing Xian, Lu Yingjiu was exasperated. He barely suppressed the urge to slap Jing Xian again, and entered the wedding hall with him.

 

Yao Gou said cheerfully, “Well then, let’s get the ceremony started…”

 

“Hold on.” Lu Yingjiu suddenly said.

 

Yao Gou was taken aback, “What’s wrong?”

 

Lu Yingjiu pointed to the back of the wedding hall and said, “Before the wedding, shouldn’t we have some time to prepare?”

 

Yao Gou said, “Actually, it’s not necessary. Everything is ready. Are you planning to put on makeup?”

 

“Just give us some time.” Lu Yingjiu pulled Jing Xian towards the back of the wedding hall.

 

He had noticed the last time he came that there was a small storage room behind the wedding hall. Sometimes the master of ceremonies and the priestess would rest there. Now, he walked down the corridor with Jing Xian, pushed open the storage room door, and went in.

 

Jing Xian was led by him, a little embarrassed, “Isn’t this inappropriate? Are we going to start the wedding night here? I was imagining a more luxurious room…”

 

Lu Yingjiu stopped, turned around, and in his hand was a red invitation.

 

The invitation was written in gold letters:

 

[Groom: Jing Xian

 

Bride: Lu Yingjiu

 

Happy Marriage]

 

At the end was a blue peony, blooming lively.

 

Originally, Yao Gou hadn’t thought of this part, it was prepared by Jing Xian himself.

 

Lu Yingjiu shook the invitation in his hand, “Not bad, who did you get to draw this flower?”

 

Jing Xian said, “Can’t it be me?”

 

“With your stick figure drawing skills, you’re a hundred years off.” Lu Yingjiu shrugged.

 

Jing Xian then admitted that it was drawn by a ghost painter he had specially found.

 

Lu Yingjiu nodded, and took out a gold pen.

 

With a few strokes, he crossed out the two names and rewrote:

 

[Groom: Lu Yingjiu

 

Bride: Jing Xian

 

Happy Marriage]

 

Then he looked up, his brown eyes filled with cat-like mischief, and asked, “What do you think of this?”

 

Jing Xian hesitated for less than half a second before agreeing with his wife’s opinion, “Good! Very good!”

 

No matter what, getting married is a good thing!

 

Lu Yingjiu reached out again, pulling off the red veil around his neck.

 

As the veil slid off, it felt delicate. Lu Yingjiu’s fingertips were slightly cold, when it inadvertently touched Jing Xian’s skin, it made his heart itch.

 

He lifted it lightly—

 

The red veil was securely placed on Jing Xian’s head.

 

Lu Yingjiu smiled with his eyes curved, slowly adjusting the position of the veil, and asked, “How about this?”

 

Jing Xian: “Good!”

 

Lu Yingjiu then said, “So it’s settled? Later, I’ll lead you through the door, lift your veil, and you’ll officially be married into the Lu family.”

 

Jing Xian: “Good! Very good!” His tone became increasingly excited.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

Lu Yingjiu couldn’t help but laugh, “Jing Xian, you really are…”

 

His tone was full of laughter and tenderness.

 

Jing Xian, whose vision was obscured by the veil, felt a softness in his heart. Although he couldn’t see Lu Yingjiu, he still wanted to reach out and hug him.

 

Before he could act, he heard Lu Yingjiu say softly, “…The exorcist that Chu Qianju worshiped in the temple, was it me?”

 

Jing Xian’s movement froze.

 

Seeing his reaction, Lu Yingjiu knew everything.

 

Lu Yingjiu then said, “Chu Qianju was cursed, with no afterlife, only a short life in endless reincarnation. Do I, too, share the same fate?”

 

The dust in the air danced, gently falling towards the old wooden box in the corner.

 

Inside the wooden box was an embroidered shoe.

 

Tattered and alone, it lay unclaimed in the wooden box, hiding an unknown story.

Jing Xian didn’t answer.

 

He just reached out, gently stroking Lu Yingjiu’s face. He couldn’t see, but he carefully traced every inch of his features with his fingers.

 

——For some reason, Lu Yingjiu felt that Jing Xian’s action was almost devout.

 

As if in countless long years, he had done this over and over again.

 

Not to Lu Yingjiu himself, but alone in front of those cold murals, those elusive illusions, tracing them over and over again.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Jing Xian, I’m telling you all this just to let you know…”

 

He paused for a moment before continuing, “I just want to tell you that no matter what, you are special to me. Before I met you, I never thought I would be with another man one day—or rather, I couldn’t imagine that one day I would have someone willing to spend a lifetime with me.”

 

“I’ve also struggled, doubted, and hesitated, but in the end, I found that from the very beginning, I had no bottom line with you. Perhaps in the depths of my heart, I never considered the outcome of us not being together.”

 

Lu Yingjiu looked at Jing Xian again.

 

The tall man in front of him was still wearing the veil he had personally put on, red and festive.

 

Because it was Lu Yingjiu who put it on, Jing Xian didn’t try to take it off at all.

 

Jing Xian didn’t care about anything.

 

He didn’t care who was in the bridal sedan, he didn’t care who the so-called bride and groom were, he didn’t care who led whom through the door, and who lifted the veil for whom…

 

Titles were empty, ceremonies were fake.

 

If one really wanted to argue, whether it’s the grand bridal sedan or the ten-mile wedding procession, they were all meaningless, just for a moment of joy. To talk about love, one have to wait for the long river of time, the end of life, wait for the sea to dry up and the rocks to rot, wait for the river to run dry, wait for the two to embrace each other every long night, wait for them to be covered in snow together.

 

What Jing Xian wanted, from beginning to end, was just to be with Lu Yingjiu.

 

Lu Yingjiu held Jing Xian’s hand and said seriously, “I don’t know what our past fate was, or what our previous relationship was like, but I can answer your question on the roller coaster now: at this moment, right now, I like you.”

 

Jing Xian’s hand tightened, firmly holding Lu Yingjiu’s hand, yet not daring to use too much force, his knuckles were almost white.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “You always say that you are confident in resolving my death and tell me not to worry. But I can’t ignore the unease in my heart. No matter what, I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”

 

“I’m lucky enough to have met you. Every day I live is a blessing, and I dare not ask for more. So, there’s no need to pay any more price for me.”

 

“Even if death is inevitable, in this short life, I also like you.”

 

Jing Xian: “…”

 

Jing Xian reached out and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him into his arms. The movement was so big that the veil slipped off halfway—but at this moment, no one cared.

 

The sunlight was cut by the wooden window, gently sprinkling on them. The two men embracing each other, one handsome and one chic, seemed to be made for each other. They should walk side by side, regardless of whether the road ahead was death or eternity, they would never part.

 

The wedding hall was the center of attention, the master of ceremonies was eloquent, but behind the lively scene, in a hidden corner, the red veil was half draped on Jing Xian, half on Lu Yingjiu’s black hair. It couldn’t hide their faces, their bright eyes, or their passionate, fervent affection.

 

Jing Xian whispered, “Can I kiss you?”

 

Lu Yingjiu looked back at him.

 

The familiar, cat-like mischief in his light brown eyes surfaced again.

 

He curved his eyes and smiled, “When I don’t refuse, it’s consent.”