After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

This scene was a classic trope in ghost movies.

 

The next second, a little boy or girl would inevitably appear, asking in a clear voice, “Big brother, can you help me pick up the ball?”

 

Then, the protagonist of the ghost movie would bend down to pick up the ball…

 

Oh no, it’s over.

 

Then the ghost would definitely say, “Hehehe, brother, come play with me~~” and then forcefully drag the protagonist into a game, the kind where they die if they lose.

 

Lu Yingjiu had seen this routine many times.

 

He didn’t bother thinking too much about it every time. After all, he’s bold and talented, so he just picked up the ball and played with them, which was even better for forcing the ghosts to reveal their true forms.

 

He planned to do the same this time.

 

Just as he bent down to pick up the basketball, Jing Xian beat him to it and picked it up.

 

Lu Yingjiu: ?

 

Jing Xian bounced the basketball in his hand, gave it a light shake, and the basketball spun on his index finger, steady and light. He raised an eyebrow at Lu Yingjiu, “How about that, cool right? When can we play basketball together?”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…Please don’t play with haunted items, thank you.”

 

Jing Xian complained, “We only had fun that one time at the amusement park, we haven’t had any other dates.”

 

“Alright, alright, we’ll go on a date after this matter is resolved, wherever you want to go,” Lu Yingjiu said, “Give me the basketball first.”

 

He reached out to take the basketball from Jing Xian’s hand, but Jing Xian raised his hand, taking advantage of his height to make him miss.

 

Jing Xian took the opportunity to hug him, “Give me a kiss and I’ll give it to you.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Jing Xian, you’re not even as mature as a high school student.”

 

Jing Xian: “Hmm.”

 

Not ashamed but proud.

 

Lu Yingjiu was speechless.

 

After half a second, taking advantage of Jing Xian’s relaxed vigilance, Lu Yingjiu suddenly made a small side jump, swung his hand and knocked the basketball out of Jing Xian’s hand, catching it firmly!

 

Then he turned around and said, “You still lack practical skills. Is this your first time touching a basketball? With that posture, anyone could easily snatch the ball from you.” After saying that, he also bounced the basketball and laughed, “At least I played basketball in high school.”

 

Jing Xian had his ball stolen and was not regretful, saying that they should go play basketball together, and Lu Yingjiu could teach him.

 

Then he shamelessly asked for a kiss again, but was firmly rejected by Lu Yingjiu on the grounds of focusing on the supernatural case.

 

Jing Xian then said, “It’s just a little ghost, give me the basketball and I’ll help you find it.”

 

“Really?” Lu Yingjiu was skeptical.

 

“Really.”

 

Lu Yingjiu gave him the basketball.

 

Jing Xian held the basketball and looked towards the end of the corridor.

 

The end of the corridor was still empty, with only the dilapidated classrooms and the brilliant sunshine.

 

Jing Xian looked towards a certain corner.

 

Then he casually threw the ball in his hand.

 

——This “casual” was just on the surface.

 

When the basketball flew out, it carried a piercing wind!

 

The corridor’s glass vibrated by the gale it brought up, almost shattering, and the curtains swayed wildly, as if a typhoon had passed. Lu Yingjiu had no doubt that this ball could punch a big hole in the wall, or directly break someone’s neck!

 

Bang!

 

“Ouch!!”

 

The ball really hit someone!

 

A faint phantom appeared at the end of the corridor, looking like a high school boy. He covered his head that was hit by the ball, gritted his teeth, and shouted, “How can you throw the ball like that! Aren’t you afraid of killing someone!”

 

Lu Yingjiu thought to himself: indeed not afraid, you don’t even have a shadow.

 

Besides, a normal person would be half crippled if not dead after taking such a hit, how could they be as vigorous as you?

 

The high school student touched his head again, glared at Jing Xian fiercely, picked up the basketball and ran away.

 

The entire corridor quieted down again.

 

Jing Xian said, “See, didn’t I find the ghost for you?”

 

“You’re too violent…” Lu Yingjiu held his forehead, “Anyway, the ghost here is indeed students from back then.”

 

He was just about to drag Jing Xian to continue looking for the high school student when he heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

 

The noise came from the school gate. Lu Yingjiu looked out from the corridor and saw Yao Gou tightly grabbing a stranger, and the two were arguing!

 

Lu Yingjiu slapped a talisman on his forehead, and his body instantly became light, directly jumping over the railing of the corridor.

 

The height of 4 floors seemed terrifying, but it was nothing to him.

 

He landed lightly as if he had little weight, and quickly walked to the gate.

 

Seeing him, Yao Gou’s eyes lit up, “Ah, come over here! I caught a thief!”

 

The strange man cursed, “Damn it, I’m not a thief!”

 

“Then what are you sneaking around our car for!” Yao Gou glared, “Don’t think you can lie in front of this Master Gou!”

 

The two tangled up again.

 

Lu Yingjiu pinched his hand, and a talisman flew out lightly, sticking to the stranger’s back.

 

The man immediately lost strength in his hands and was immediately subdued by Yao Gou.

 

Yao Gou gasped, “I’ll let you be arrogant!”

 

The man cursed, “Damn it!”

 

“What about my mom!”

 

“Your mom…” The man seemed to want to curse “your mom is dead”, but he choked it back, and after a long time he cursed, “Your mom… the price of groceries will definitely go up when your mom goes shopping!”

 

Yao Gou was shocked, “Damn! You’re so vicious! Aren’t you afraid of running out of toilet paper when you go to the bathroom?!”

 

Seeing that the argument was going in a pointless direction, Lu Yingjiu quickly interrupted, “Stop, stop, both of you stop. Yao Gou, tell me what happened?”

 

Yao Gou finally stopped, gasping for breath, “Ah, don’t even mention it! Wasn’t I at the gate, waiting for the lock to melt? Then I felt a chill behind me, like someone was staring at me.”

 

“I turned around and saw this guy sneaking behind your car. He must be a car thief, seeing that we drove two luxury cars, he came to steal!”

 

“Damn it, I’m not!” The man’s neck was red with anger, “I was looking at you! What looking at the car?! What stealing the car?! I haven’t said anything about you guys yet, sneaking into the school and even burning the lock on the gate!”

 

“We’re doing official business!” Yao Gou glared, “What about you, what are you doing in this wilderness for no reason!”

 

Just as they were about to argue again, Lu Yingjiu timely interrupted and looked at the man, “So, you want to see why we’re going into the school?”

 

“Yes!” The man’s tone didn’t seem fake, mixed with anger and grievance, as well as suspicion towards them.

 

Lu Yingjiu rubbed his temples, beckoned with his fingers, and the talisman on the man’s back obediently came down.

 

The other party regained his strength, immediately shook off Yao Gou, and retreated several steps, rubbing his sore wrist.

 

He glared at Yao Gou and said, “This is my alma mater, why can’t I come back and take a look?”

 

Lu Yingjiu raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise and asked, “You’re a student here?”

 

“Yes.” The man was indignant, “So the suspicious ones are you.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “Then you must know that this place is haunted, right?”

 

The man was stunned.

 

Lu Yingjiu continued, “You better go back first, don’t go into the campus. We’ll talk when it’s safe here.”

 

The man was still stunned, and after a long time, he said, “Wait, you guys are exorcists, right?”

 

Lu Yingjiu nodded.

 

The man’s face showed a hint of surprise, “Then, then have you really seen a ghost here?”

 

His attitude was quite peculiar, making it hard to figure out.

 

“Yes, we have seen it.” Lu Yingjiu said, thinking that the man seemed quite expectant, “We’re not sure if they’re aggressive, so please leave first.”

 

The man rubbed his hands and said, “Actually, actually, I came back specifically to find the ghost.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Hmm?”

 

The man looked at Lu Yingjiu and Yao Gou again, seemingly considering whether to tell the whole story.

 

Although Yao Gou had just fought with him, there was always a trustworthy aura about Lu Yingjiu.

 

Just looking into his brown eyes, calm and gentle, could make people feel at ease.

 

So he began to speak. “Since you are here, you should know… know that something happened to a class in this school before, right?”

 

What he was referring to must be the incident where the school bus fell into the sea.

 

“We know.” Lu Yingjiu nodded.

 

The man said, “My name is Wu Runzhi, I…” He paused for a few seconds before gathering the courage to say, “I am the only survivor of that class.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was slightly surprised.

 

But he saw Wu Runzhi took half a step towards him and continued, “I came here today because I’ve been having strange dreams lately, and many exorcists couldn’t solve it.”

 

“What kind of dreams?” Lu Yingjiu asked.

 

“About the school,” Wu Runzhi said, “I always dream that I go back to the time when I was in senior year, attending classes with my classmates.”

 

Yao Gou muttered, “What’s so strange about dreaming about the past? I often dream about the time when I was as thin as a bolt of lightning.”

 

Wu Runzhi glared at him, then continued to speak to Lu Yingjiu, “At first, I didn’t find it strange. I thought it was because of the high pressure at work and mental tension.”

 

“But this dream has lasted for two or three months, and it’s very clear. I remember exactly what the teacher wrote on the blackboard, what my deskmate said, as if… it was something that really happened.”

 

“Other exorcists couldn’t help me figure it out either. They just said that I might have some unresolved issues and suggested that I come back here to take a look.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “So you came back?”

 

“Yes,” Wu Runzhi nodded, “I actually work out of town and am very busy, basically unable to spare any time. I had been hesitating for a long time, and what really prompted me to come back was the dream I had the day before yesterday.”

 

The night before last, he dreamed of his senior year classroom again.

 

The bright sunlight outside the window poured in, illuminating the curtains and the podium. The teacher was explaining the key points of the exam on the stage, and the students below, some were writing notes vigorously, some were sneaking snacks, some were dozing off, staring blankly at the green grassy playground.

 

In the dream, Wu Runzhi was also taking notes. Various chemical formulas made his head dizzy, he was drowsy, sodium hydroxide was singing in his ear, and potassium permanganate was dancing around him.

 

While he was writing, he was nudged by someone.

 

He looked to the left and saw his good friend raising his eyebrows at him, whispering, “Do you want to play basketball after class?”

 

“Tomorrow is the mock exam, and you still want to play?” Wu Runzhi whispered, “Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the teacher?”

 

“The weather is so good, it would be a pity not to play.”

 

“No.”

 

“Come on, I’ll treat you to a Coke.”

 

Wu Runzhi: “…Okay, let’s go after class.”

 

His friend laughed so hard that his mouth was about to reach his ears, patted his shoulder, and teased, “You’re not firm in your stance…”

 

Wu Runzhi also laughed, turned his head, and saw the girl on his right.

 

The girl’s name was Jiang Ruoyun.

 

Wu Runzhi had been secretly in love with her for a long time, but he never dared to confess.

 

Jiang Ruoyun was twirling the pen in her hand, flicking the loose hair by her ear, and her eyes were curved when she smiled.

 

A ray of sunlight just fell on her side face, swaying with the curtain, so bright that Wu Runzhi’s heart was moved.

 

Jiang Ruoyun smiled and said, “It’s been so long, why haven’t you come back to see us?”

 

Wu Runzhi was startled.

 

Then, he woke up from the dream.

 

Wu Runzhi told Lu Yingjiu, “I feel that those dreams must be them urging me to come back and see them.” He pointed to the corner of the street, “I brought flowers and fruits here, if it weren’t for this fat guy stopping me, I would have put them up already.”

 

Yao Gou was still indignant, “I’m not fat! I’m sturdy!”

 

Wu Runzhi glared at him again, and then really took the flowers and fruits from the corner of the street and placed them at the school gate.

 

He said, “Since you said there are ghosts, it means that they are really giving me dreams.”

 

“Um,” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “Your guess makes sense.”

 

“What should I do now?” Wu Runzhi asked, “Should I go directly back to the classroom to find them? Will they be in the old classroom?”

 

“Possible.” Lu Yingjiu said, “But I must remind you that many times ghosts can’t control themselves, even if they don’t mean to harm you, they may unintentionally hurt you. In principle, we won’t encourage people who don’t know exorcism to get close to ghosts like this.”

 

He paused, “Of course, this depends on what you think.”

 

Wu Runzhi said, “It’s okay, I’m prepared.” He rubbed his face and showed a complicated smile, “Maybe I don’t really believe they will harm me. Our class had a good relationship, and I’ve been thinking about them since the incident…”

 

Just as they were talking, Chu Banyang also came down.

 

Lu Yingjiu told him about the situation, and Chu Banyang nodded slightly and said to Wu Runzhi, “Then let’s go in.”

 

So, Wu Runzhi followed them, nervously entering the campus.

 

He pointed to the teaching building in front of him and said, “I’m from Class 2, it’s in this building.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “We just encountered a ghost here.”

 

“Um, it must be them then…” Wu Runzhi murmured.

 

When they reached the staircase, Wu Runzhi casually touched the railing.

 

Yao Gou suddenly exclaimed, “Huh?!”

 

The railing was originally full of dust, and the end was directly broken, with sharp edges at the break.

 

But as soon as Wu Runzhi’s hand touched it, the dust disappeared quickly, the broken end became smooth, and countless tiny metal fragments flew back to fill the gap.

 

The railing quickly became brand new, reflecting light, shiny.

 

“Holy crap!” Yao Gou exclaimed, “Your hand is kind of magical, how come things get better as soon as you touch them! Healing hands!”

 

Wu Runzhi was also surprised.

 

He put his hand on the wall again, and the damaged wall was renovated at a speed visible to the naked eye. All the damaged parts were repaired, and the entire light brown color brightened up. The ceiling also became beautiful, all white.

 

Lu Yingjiu felt that as Wu Runzhi stepped into this teaching building, a strong yin energy swept up, enveloping the entire campus, dragging all of them into it.

 

It could be said that this was no longer the normal world.

 

Those ghosts were indeed waiting for Wu Runzhi.

 

And because there were many of them, there were more than twenty ghosts gathered together, their power was great, and they even directly created an illusion.

 

Wu Runzhi was a little scared, and there was some indescribable joy. After repeatedly confirming with them, he continued to walk upstairs.

 

With every step he took, everything around him was being renovated, becoming bright and shiny.

 

The railing was repaired, and the wall was dust-free.

 

The classroom glass was clear and transparent, the desks and chairs were neatly arranged, and boxes of colored chalk were piled on the podium. The cobwebs on the door plate fell off, and the writing was clear. The flower bed in the corridor had moisture in the soil, fresh flowers appeared out of thin air, slowly blooming, delicate and charming.

 

The papers on the bulletin board were repaired, with notices in black and white. The names on the scoreboard were listed down, with colorful big words pasted on the side: “Good luck on the exam!”

 

Everything was slowly returning to more than ten years ago.

 

Back to the time when there were still students laughing and playing in the corridor.

 

Wu Runzhi was surprised and very touched.

 

These scenes must have evoked many of his memories.

 

By the time they reached the 4th floor, the entire teaching building had been completely renovated.

 

There were faint sounds of people.

 

[Thud! Thud! Thud!]

 

[Thud! Thud! Thud!]

 

The sound of a basketball came, and Wu Runzhi turned his head abruptly.

 

Just now, a high school boy was holding the ball and staring at him in a daze – his face and neck were still covered in sweat, and it looked like he had just returned from playing on the playground.

 

At this moment, tears came to Wu Runzhi’s eyes, and he called out with a cry in his voice, “Fang Yu!”

 

Fang Yu was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over, put his arm around his shoulder and said, “Yo! You’re finally back from your sick leave, and the mock exam is tomorrow! You still have more than a dozen papers to do.”

 

Wu Runzhi was stunned.

 

Lu Yingjiu looked into the classroom, and the calendar stopped at [March 21].

 

It seemed that this entire campus had returned to a certain point in the past.

 

Fang Yu didn’t know he was dead.

 

In his view, life was as usual, and it was Wu Runzhi who had taken a sick leave and finally came back.

 

Before Wu Runzhi could speak, a sharp bell rang!

 

Ding dong–, ding dong–.

 

It’s time for class.

 

Fang Yu nudged him, “Hurry up, hurry up!” and then led him to the classroom at the end of the corridor.

 

Wu Runzhi was still in shock, his lips trembling and unable to speak, and he didn’t resist, just followed him.

 

Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian exchanged glances and followed along with the others.

 

The closer they got to Class 2, the louder the noise became.

 

There were voices of conversation, laughter, and the harsh sound of chairs being pulled…

 

Standing at the door of the classroom, the classroom was full of students. Books and test papers were piled high on the desks, and the blackboard had just been wiped with a cloth, and was damp.

 

Wu Runzhi sat in his old seat, staring blankly at everything around him.

 

After many years, it felt like another lifetime.

 

All his friends were sitting around him, safe and sound.

 

It was as if the years had not passed, and he was still a senior high school student, complaining about the cafeteria, preparing for exams, and waiting for a basketball game after school.

 

At this moment, for all of them, tomorrow was within reach.

 

If that tragedy had never happened…

 

Click, clack, clack!

 

The sound of high heels came, and Lu Yingjiu turned his head.

 

A short-haired female teacher came over, dressed in a small suit, and adjusted her glasses. “You are…”

 

Before Lu Yingjiu could speak, Yao Gou opened his mouth. “Reporting to the teacher! We are new students!”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

No one would believe this.

 

The teacher nodded. “Oh, so you are new students. Your seats are at the back, go sit down quickly, class is about to start.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…?”

 

Is this okay?

 

Yao Gou’s fast-talking even works on ghosts, which was truly extraordinary.

 

Looking towards the back of the classroom, there were indeed four vacant seats.

 

The four of them looked at each other.

 

In the end, it was Lu Yingjiu who looked at Wu Runzhi, who was in tears, sighed softly, and said, “Let’s see how it goes.”

 

After saying that, he took the lead to walk to a seat, with Jing Xian following closely behind, immediately taking the seat next to him.

 

Chu Banyang was somewhat reluctant. After sitting down, he said to Lu Yingjiu, “This is a waste of time, there’s no need to play this act with the ghosts. After all, this is just Wu Runzhi’s past, we don’t need to participate.”

 

“Let’s take a look first.” Lu Yingjiu rested his head on the desk, “Didn’t you say that Chu Qianju taught here?If we’re in an illusion, maybe we can see him.”

 

Chu Banyang was stunned.

 

He wanted to say something, but didn’t open his mouth. In the end, he just said, “Waste of time, too inefficient…”

 

Yao Gou, on the other hand, was very interested and not afraid, looking around curiously.

 

The female teacher stood on the podium, tapped the podium with a ruler, “Quiet, quiet! Class is starting!”

 

The noisy students finally quieted down.

 

The teacher looked around and said, “Today we are going to elect class officers. Remember, only students who excel in both character and academics can do the job.”

 

Lu Yingjiu wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Chu Banyang seemed to sit up a little straighter.

 

The teacher wrote a few lines on the blackboard and said, “First, the cultural and entertainment committee member.”

 

Several students went on stage to give speeches.

 

As they spoke, Wu Runzhi cried in the audience, creating a rather peculiar scene.

 

Then it was time to vote.

 

Everyone tore off a small piece of paper, wrote a name on it, folded it, and placed it on the podium.

 

Lu Yingjiu didn’t know these ghosts, so he wrote a random name. However, he noticed Jing Xian peeking over to see what he wrote.

 

Lu Yingjiu pushed him away, saying, “Don’t you understand what confidentiality means?”

 

“I want to vote for the same person as you,” Jing Xian said.

 

“What’s the difference?”

 

“I want to vote for the same person as you,” Jing Xian repeated.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

He unfolded the paper, quickly showed Jing Xian, and then folded it again.

 

Jing Xian was satisfied and wrote down the same name.

 

The same thing happened for the sports committee member, life committee member, physics class representative, and chemistry class representative.

 

As Lu Yingjiu wrote, he thought that he and Jing Xian were simply disrupting the balance.

 

Chu Banyang next to him was still slightly frowning.

 

Ghost exorcists like Lu Yingjiu, who have the patience to listen to ghost stories, were after all a minority. Young Master Chu really disdained and had no patience to play house with ghosts. For him, efficiency was the first priority.

 

Then, the teacher said, “Let’s look at the study committee member. As I said before, the study committee member is different from other positions. You need to have good grades to lead other students to work hard, right…”

 

She talked a lot, and finally said, “The study committee member is the most important. The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. They have to take on the heaviest responsibility. Which student is willing to be the leader of our class?”

 

As soon as her voice fell, there was a “whoosh” sound.

 

Chu Banyang suddenly stood up, “Teacher, I am willing.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: ?

 

Lu Yingjiu: ???