After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

The wedding hall was silent.

 

After a long time, He Wanbai murmured, “No, it’s impossible… How could someone as powerful as him die?” The faster she spoke, the more she stared at Chu Banyang, “And who are you? How do you know all this, are you trying to deceive us?!”

 

More and more blood tears gushed from her eyes, making her face paler.

 

This ghost’s temper was quite volatile, and she was extremely emotional in an instant.

 

Seeing that she was just talking well one second, and the next second she was about to pounce on Chu Banyang, Lu Yingjiu threw out a talisman!

 

The talisman paper floated lightly onto the female ghost’s forehead again, stopping her movement.

 

He Wanbai could only stare at Chu Banyang fiercely, unable to move, and said, “I hate liars like you the most! All of you are untrustworthy! All of you are full of lies! Where is the evidence, I want to see the evidence!”

 

Chu Banyang was unmoved.

 

He slowly patted his shoulder, brushed off some grass foam from climbing the mountain, made sure his image was perfect, and then said, “There is no evidence, even if there is, I have no obligation to show it to a ghost. Believe it or not, but I personally attended his funeral.”

 

He paused, and added, “That was 14 years ago.”

 

He Wanbai was stunned for a moment.

 

Her mouth opened and closed silently a few times, but no sound came out.

 

Chu Banyang said to her, “So your obsession is unrealistic and impossible to achieve. Either you dissipate yourself obediently, or I will have to help you.”

 

It was unknown if it’s Lu Yingjiu’s illusion, but he felt that Chu Banyang was now in a very bad mood.

 

The female ghost still couldn’t speak.

 

She stared blankly at Chu Banyang.

 

For some reason, her agitated emotions suddenly calmed down, and she returned to the slightly gentle expression when she was talking with Lu Yingjiu.

 

After a long time, she suddenly said, “You look a bit like him… like Chu Qianju.”

 

Chu Banyang: “…”

 

Chu Banyang said, “We are all from the Chu family, so of course there will be similarities. You don’t need to find comfort in this.”

 

He Wanbai’s eyes dimmed.

 

She asked, “Where was Chu Qianju buried in the end?”

 

“A faraway place,” Chu Banyang replied, “According to his wishes, half of his ashes were scattered in the deep forest, and the other half in the sea. You can’t get too far away from the object of your obsession, so you definitely can’t see it.”

 

“…Okay,” He Wanbai nodded, “I understand, I understand. Do you have any photos of him, or anything at all? Let me see him again.”

 

Chu Banyang then took out his wallet and pulled out a photo from the inside.

 

Lu Yingjiu raised an eyebrow—

 

He didn’t expect that Chu Banyang would carry Chu Qianju’s photo in his wallet. It seemed that their connection was probably closer than imagined.

 

He had inadvertently opened Jing Xian’s wallet before.

 

There was a lot of money inside.

 

More than the money, there were his photos, almost filling the wallet. If a passerby found it, they would definitely think Jing Xian was a big pervert.

 

Chu Banyang turned the photo around to show He Wanbai.

 

The old photo was slightly faded.

 

In it, two people stood side by side under an old banyan tree.

 

The man had a handsome face. He was expressionless, his eyebrows showing a hint of indifference, as if he didn’t care about anything.

 

His hand was on the shoulder of a child.

 

Judging from the child’s eyebrows, it was Chu Banyang when he was young, probably in middle school.

 

Chu Banyang had always been aloof in photos since he was a child. Paired with Chu Qianju’s indifference, the effect of this photo was not very good. It didn’t capture the joy and harmony between the two, but rather looked like an ID photo.

 

He Wanbai stared at the photo for a long time.

 

She said, “…I see.” She paused, “I have one last question, how did Chu Qianju die?”

 

“No comment,” said Chu Banyang.

 

He Wanbai was silent.

 

Her wish, like a balloon, was punctured, and her mood instantly fell, as if she had lost all her strength.

 

She said, “Then… then I know the situation. Let me go see where I died, and then I’ll tell you where my object of obsession is.” She gave a sad smile, “I knew it, Xiao Chu shouldn’t be the kind of person who breaks promises. But now, I’d rather he just broke the promise.”

 

Chu Banyang took back the photo and said indifferently, “Everyone has their own fate. Sometimes the person you think is very important is just a passerby.”

 

After saying this, he glanced at Lu Yingjiu.

 

That look was like sunlight passing through water and glass, shining, but very winding… it was really very winding.

 

****

 

Half an hour later.

 

The four of them and a ghost stood next to a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner of the village.

 

The villagers who were attacked in the wedding hall had already been taken away by the ambulance. With such an incident, the villagers fled or hid, and there was not a single person on the large road, which was convenient for their actions.

 

There was something under the pile of miscellaneous items, with a strong aura of yin, but it was tightly covered by the steels, wooden boxes, furniture, and other items on top.

 

It seemed that the people here were very wary of this place and wanted to keep it closed forever.

 

After they moved the miscellaneous items, a small mound appeared underneath, about half a person high and half a person wide.

 

The female ghost floated lightly around the mound for a circle and said, “This used to be a well… it’s the well next to Yan Hao’s house.”

 

“Yan Hao”.

 

It was the man who bought her and imprisoned her for three whole years.

 

Mentioning this name, the anger in He Wanbai’s eyes was still burning.

 

She committed suicide in this well.

 

He Wanbai flew around the mound a few more times and said, “My object of obsession is under here. Once you find it, you can send me away.”

 

Lu Yingjiu asked, “Do you have any other wishes?”

 

“No,” He Wanbai answered readily, “but now that you mention it, I do remember something.”

 

She fished around in the torn pocket of her clothes and pulled out a stack of papers, distributing them to everyone.

 

Lu Yingjiu took a look.

 

It was a drawing of Chu Qianju and the Peacock God kissing sweetly and intimately.

 

He Wanbai was indeed skilled in drawing, having worked at a tattoo shop. The drawing was vivid and lifelike, with a similar style to the murals in the temple.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…?”

 

He turned his head to look at the drawings in the hands of the others. The main characters were all Chu Qianju and the Peacock God, entwined and cuddling together… Most of them were warm and sweet, but a few had a large scale and were quite stimulating.

 

Chu Banyang: “…Did you draw all of these?”

 

He held the one with the largest scale in his hand, where the two were almost naked, staring at each other with fiery eyes.

 

“Of course!” He Wanbai said confidently, “Chu Qianju told me some stories about the Peacock God, which shocked and inspired me. I drew three pictures overnight! Even if I go to the ghost world, I can’t lose this thing. You guys have to keep it safe for me!”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Your way of repaying your benefactor is really special.”

 

“Xiao Chu obviously likes it too,” He Wanbai said, “I showed him, and he said my drawing was good. Otherwise, should I draw one for you too?”

 

Jing Xian’s eyes lit up, and he was about to speak, but was pushed back by Lu Yingjiu’s elbow.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “…No need, thank you.”

 

Yao Gou squinted his eyes and studied the pictures for a long time before suddenly exclaiming, “Ah! I always thought you liked Chu Qianju! How did you suddenly ship him with someone else?”

 

“What nonsense!” He Wanbai scolded him, “I always knew he had an official partner. How could I go and steal him? He’s just a pure benefactor to me.”

 

Yao Gou scratched his head hard, “Oh, so it’s like that.”

 

He Wanbai spun around on the dirt pile and said, “Okay, I’ve given you the drawings. I really have no other wishes this time.”

 

So, Lu Yingjiu summoned hairball.

 

Hairball bounced and jumped around him, desperately rubbing against his ankles. Then Lu Yingjiu grabbed it by the nape of its neck and placed it on the dirt pile, saying, “Dig.”

 

Hairball got the message and frantically dug with its short claws on the ground.

 

It may look round and chubby, but it’s actually very efficient, probably due to the speed it developed from digging holes and burying bones underground. Its short legs continuously threw out soil, and in just a few minutes, it had dug a large hole like a whirlwind.

 

As it continued to dig deeper, it finally found something at the depth of the water level in the well.

 

It picked up the object, climbed back up the mound with agility, placed it at Lu Yingjiu’s feet, and wagged its tail continuously.

 

Lu Yingjiu patted its head as a reward, and it immediately howled with joy.

 

The object on the ground was almost rotten, emitting yin energy, and it could barely be seen as an embroidered shoe.

 

It was part of a wedding ceremony, and it should have carried joy and hope, but now it has become like this.

 

The bright colors had faded, the fine stitches had cracked, and the gorgeous exterior had broken to reveal the ugly truth—Yan Hao had bought a wife, and the family was naturally overjoyed. The joy could not cover the rotten, stinking evil that had seeped into the bones and soul.

 

He Wanbai looked at it and said, “I used to hope that I could marry a good person and live a stable life.”

 

“Of course,” she continued, “I still believe in love, Chu Qianju has already proven this to me.”

 

“Now that things have come to this, I won’t complain too much, I can only wish myself a happy next life.”

 

“Yes,” Lu Yingjiu said, “I wish you a happy next life.”

 

Then, the talisman was pasted on the embroidered shoe, and a small flame was ignited.

 

The shoe slowly disappeared in the red, and He Wanbai’s body gradually became transparent.

 

The yin energy dissipated.

 

She disappeared.

 

****

 

This commission was indeed as simple as Lu Yingjiu had predicted.

 

Chu Banyang had taken a walk around the village and came back.

 

He said, “I found the place where Chu Qianju used to live.”

 

So, everyone followed him to the south of the village.

 

The southern side was right against the back mountain. According to the villagers, Chu Qianju often ran to the back mountain and would be gone for two or three days.

 

Now thinking about it, Chu Qianju must have been staying in the temple.

 

Lu Yingjiu thought of the small temple behind the wedding hall again, where the mural depicted a ghost exorcist in white, which was himself.

 

Chu Qianju, until the end, could not fulfill his wish to see him.

 

On the way, he asked Chu Banyang, “Do you know Chu Qianju?”

 

Chu Banyang nodded slightly, “Hm, we’ve been together for a while.”

 

“What’s the deal with the curse he’s under?” Lu Yingjiu said, “That so-called reincarnation.”

 

Chu Banyang was stunned.

 

The Chu family had always kept a tight lid on Chu Qianju’s affairs. He didn’t expect that Lu Yingjiu even knew about the curse.

 

But he didn’t ask further, and answered frankly, “You should know, right? He has no afterlife, and each reincarnation lasts only twenty or thirty years.”

 

Lu Yingjiu asked again, “Does the Chu family know about this?”

 

“Hm.” Chu Banyang nodded, “They all know, they also know about each of Chu Qianju’s reincarnations, but they just keep it a secret from the outside world.”

 

He smiled, but there was little real smile in his eyes, “Your next question must be why keep it a secret. I’ll tell you straight: the Chu family needs Chu Qianju because he can suppress the out-of-control Peacock God.”

 

“The Peacock God is not always asleep…or rather, a sleeping Peacock God is advantageous for the exorcist.”

 

“On this point, Chu Qianju is the best candidate.”

 

Chu Banyang closed his eyes, and thought of the first time he saw Chu Qianju.

 

It was a dimly lit afternoon, and the leaves at the entrance of the Chu family were rustling.

 

The man with a blank face leaned against the wall.

 

His father held his hand and said, “This is Chu Qianju, Banyang, you should learn from him about exorcism, especially in the aspect of inviting gods.”

 

The young Chu Banyang looked up and met Chu Qianju’s gaze.

 

There was no emotion in those eyes.

 

It’s like an abyss that swallowed all light.

 

He had heard quite a few rumors about this man and knew about the curse Chu Qianju was carrying.

 

Each reincarnation of Chu Qianju was without memory, theoretically speaking, his psychological age was no different from ordinary people.

 

He was only a dozen or so years older than Chu Banyang, not even thirty. But that sense of indifference, the indifference of having seen through everything, seemed to be branded into his soul, taking root and sprouting, binding everything about him layer by layer.

 

Chu Banyang followed him for a while and never saw him laugh. He was cold as a dummy every day and highly disciplined.

 

Only when inviting the gods did Chu Banyang see his emotional fluctuations.

 

The Peacock God was still asleep, even if he was summoned by his old lover, he could not wake up.

 

But when he descended on Chu Qianju, the phantom of the peacock appeared in mid-air, spreading its wings elegantly.

 

The blue-green tail feathers flowed like a river, each golden eye spot was turning, disturbing the mind and confusing the intellect.

 

It looked down on everything in the world.

 

For thousands of years, the Peacock God had always been elegant, chic, and proud.

 

The only person who could make him fold his wings and stay gentle was always just one person.

 

Inviting the gods brought backlash, and also made Chu Qianju’s pupils quickly turn the same golden green, like a gem.

 

But Chu Banyang saw a bright smile in those eyes.

 

His consciousness returned to the present, and they walked side by side on the road to Chu Qianju’s home.

 

Chu Banyang continued to speak to Lu Yingjiu, “But, I didn’t tell her just now that Chu Qianju was killed by the Peacock God.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was stunned.

 

Chu Banyang said, “Like Chu Qianju, the Peacock God also has a curse. Every time he wakes up from his sleep, not long after, he will fall into a terribly uncontrollable state, posing a great threat to the Chu family, and even the entire mortal world.”

 

“The reason why the Peacock has not really lost control and hurt people until today is because Chu Qianju has suppressed him every time.”

 

“Their curses are almost synchronized: every time Chu Qianju reincarnates, after a decade or two, the Peacock God will wake up. Then Chu Qianju goes to see him, stops him, and makes him fall back into sleep – only the price paid is life.”

 

He closed his eyes, “I’m not sure what Chu Qianju thinks about this… He should know that he is just being used as a gun by the Chu family, but he doesn’t care.”

 

In theory, as the founder of “inviting the gods”, Chu Qianju should have a supreme status.

 

However, reincarnation after reincarnation, suppression of the Peacock God time and time again, gradually eroded this.

 

Others looked at Chu Qianju and thought of him as “a man who is destined to die”.

 

They took the suppression of the Peacock God as an obligation and threw it to Chu Qianju.

 

They also know that eternal reincarnation would not really kill Chu Qianju, which made them even more indifferent to his sacrifice.

 

–The curse is on both of you, so it’s only right that you stop him.

 

–After all, you will be resurrected, and death is nothing to worry about.

 

–After all, you seem to have no emotions, after all, there is always a next life…

 

Perhaps, Chu Banyang would have had the same idea originally.

 

But he always remembered the smile in Chu Qianju’s eyes when inviting the gods.

 

No matter what, the human heart is soft, how could it really be emotionless?

 

It’s just that some people hide it without leaking a drop.

 

Chu Qianju was like a cold stone.

 

Chu Banyang was fortunate to have seen the cracks in the stone, from which light seeped out.

 

Chu Banyang said, “The feathers of the Peacock God become sharp and hard like a blade when it is angry, no different from a dagger.”

 

“There were penetrating wounds all over Chu Qianju’s body. At first, we thought these were left by his fight with the Peacock God, but later I realized that this was not the case.”

 

“These wounds were because he embraced the Peacock God in the end.”

 

–Chu Qianju, also a proud son of heaven, understood the Peacock God to the extreme, and thus had the ability to fight with the ghost god.

 

In the final battle with the Peacock God, gorgeous blue-green feathers flew, the Peacock God was covered in blood, flowing down his body – he transformed into a human form, but retained all his own characteristics, including golden green pupils, and layers of feathers around his temples and body.

 

The bright red flowed over the delicate collarbone, dripped down the slender fingers, blending wildness and grandeur in the beauty, one glance could captivate the soul.

 

In the end, whether it was the raging Peacock God or the man full of wounds, they were all panting.

 

Chu Qianju turned the blade in his hand, faced the sharp feathers stabbing at him, and rushed forward.

 

The silver blade light cut through the air, cut off the emerald green, and finally splashed a curtain of crimson.

 

It pierced the Peacock God’s heart, twisted it fiercely, and then pulled it out decisively.

 

Ghosts and gods couldn’t be truly killed in the mortal world, but this was enough to severely injure the Peacock God and put him back to sleep.

 

And this decisive and ruthless blow left Chu Qianju no way to avoid another round of sword feathers.

 

In fact, he had no intention of avoiding it. He clearly knew that he had no strength left, and the only thing waiting for him was death.

 

He casually threw the short sword to the side, the blade vibrated with a clang, shaking off all the blood on the blade.

 

Then he faced the overwhelming, sharp-edged feathers coming at him, took a half step forward, and tightly embraced the Peacock God.

 

Allowing the feathers around him to pierce through his body.

 

Everything returned to silence, the ground was in a mess, feathers and blood mixed together, the ground was full of fierce scratches.

 

Despite their love for each other, they were trapped by the curse and could only fight to the death.

 

Reason returned to the pupils of the Peacock God.

 

In the last few seconds of life, Chu Qianju stroked his face, from his eyes to his temples, from his jaw to his neck, and finally bent down to deeply kiss his lips.

 

This was a kiss with the scent of blood and fire, yet it was gentle to the extreme.

 

Just like many years ago, when he picked up the injured Peacock God on the wasteland, he trotted through the misty drizzle, and his embrace was just as gentle.

 

“…Goodnight,” Chu Qianju said in his ear as the kiss ended.

 

“Little Peacock, see you in the next life.”