After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

The location Chen Xiaoling mentioned was in Jinfang City.

 

Lu Yingjiu had only been resting for a few days before he had to set off again.

 

Before leaving, he returned to the bar. Ah Mei had decorated the bar even better, and Ye Feng was still working hard to learn how to mix wines. The two of them were much more invested in the bar business than Lu Yingjiu, seemingly intending to make it their main business and exorcism as sideline.

 

Fortunately, Yao Gou came along and somewhat brought the atmosphere back to normal.

 

Yao Gou was working hard to network with local exorcists, promoting the office everywhere, and even took on a small commission – the kind where you look at the Feng Shui of someone else’s house.

 

“Don’t worry!” Yao Gou assured Lu Yingjiu, patting his chest, “When you come back, there will definitely be a few more potential interns waiting for you to give them the nod to join. I’m really good at recruiting people.”

 

Lu Yingjiu wanted to say, ‘you’re indeed quite good at fooling people’.

 

He had seen Yao Gou recruit people, hyping up their office to the point of being out of this world, claiming that they were going to challenge the peak, kick the four major families, and then dominate the world… Anyway, it was nothing like this small bar.

 

The young man listened in a daze.

 

Then he heard about Lu Yingjiu’s reputation, his eyes lit up immediately, saying he would definitely come.

 

But no matter what, it’s great that Yao Gou was willing to recruit people. Lu Yingjiu didn’t have any other worries, so he packed his bags and prepared to go to Jinfang City with Jing Xian.

 

Unexpectedly, on the way to the airport, Chen Xiaoling called and said she was coming too.

 

She heard Lu Yingjiu’s situation, knew it was urgent, and said it would be good for her to go along. She knew quite a few people locally and could take the opportunity to meet them.

 

Lu Yingjiu tried to dissuade her.

 

But Chen Xiaoling insisted, “Xiao Lu, if it weren’t for your help before, my family might not be here anymore. At such a critical juncture, you have to let me repay this favor, right? If not, I’ll just treat it as a vacation.”

 

——Lu Yingjiu met her because of an exorcism.

 

That day, Lu Yingjiu had just finished his work and was walking home at night when he suddenly felt a chill.

 

The chill was coming from the same house.

 

Seeing that the household was about to suffer a disaster, he quickened his pace to go there, drove away the ghosts from Chen Xiaoling’s parents’ house, and took the two frightened old people to the hospital. He posted talisman papers and gave them protective talismans, and only left after Chen Xiaoling arrived with tears in her eyes.

 

Afterwards, the two got to know each other and gradually became familiar.

 

They cooperated happily: With the help of her prominent parents and her own talents, Chen Xiaoling had a huge network of relationships. For some things that the Green Lantern Association would find inconvenient to do, Lu Yingjiu would ask her to inquire privately. And Chen Xiaoling would do whatever he asked, with the price being very low, basically just a token gesture.

 

Once, Chen Xiaoling half-jokingly and half-seriously said, “In ancient times, a life-saving grace could not be repaid, either by being a cow or a horse, or by offering oneself – you saved my parents, which is also considered a life-saving grace to me.”

 

“Oh.” Lu Yingjiu shook the newspaper in his hand and elegantly took a sip of coffee, “Don’t talk about yourself like that, you are much more useful than cows and horses.”

 

Chen Xiaoling: “…”

 

Is that the point?!

 

At the moment, Chen Xiaoling still said seriously, “You are in such a dangerous situation now, I am not at ease with you alone.”

 

Lu Yingjiu was quite moved in his heart and answered her, “Actually, I am not going alone.”

 

“What?” Chen Xiaoling said, “Are you still taking your big demon with you?”

 

It took Lu Yingjiu a few seconds to react, and he realized that the “big demon” referred to Jing Xian.

 

He said, “Yes, it’s him.”

 

Chen Xiaoling: “…”

 

Chen Xiaoling then said, “Xiao Lu, have you bought your plane ticket yet? I am the highest-level VIP of all airlines, and I can send you the first-class ticket directly? It’s free, but there are only two free tickets.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “No need, thank you. The big demon said he chartered a plane, you just come to the airport.”

 

Chen Xiaoling: “…”

 

Her thick and long false eyelashes blinked in anger, and she hung up the phone.

 

Jing Xian, who was driving the car and listening to this conversation, was simply overjoyed and relaxed. While waiting for the red light, he kissed Lu Yingjiu again.

 

At the airport, Chen Xiaoling, dragging a silver suitcase, dressed in black spicy clothes, stepping on high heels, walked into the private lounge that Jing Xian had booked, full of charm and allure.

 

The lounge was filled with the aroma of desserts, and the floor was covered with a soft red swan velvet carpet, and the flowers in the vase were extremely charming.

 

Seeing the two people on the sofa from a distance, Chen Xiaoling put her sunglasses on her forehead and shouted, “Xiao Lu ah…”

 

Her words got stuck.

 

Jing Xian took a piece of chocolate biscuit and was feeding it to Lu Yingjiu. Lu Yingjiu was looking down at his phone, didn’t even raise his eyes, and subconsciously turned his head to bite it, slowly chewing.

 

——Obviously, he was very familiar with this kind of thing.

 

Chen Xiaoling: ?!?

 

Chen Xiaoling: ???!!!

 

Chen Xiaoling was stunned, thunderstruck, and her face turned pale.

 

Lu Yingjiu then noticed her, looked up and said, “You’re here…why are you making that face?”

 

Chen Xiaoling threw the luggage handle in her hand, walked over quickly and said, “I haven’t seen you for just over two months, and you’ve really been bent by the big demon?!”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

What does this “bent” mean?

 

Chen Xiaoling looked at them over and over again, extremely shocked, and finally murmured, “A woman’s intuition can never be wrong, I felt something was wrong with the big demon the first time I saw him…indeed, he has ill intentions towards you, indeed, he is coveting your body.”

 

She grieved for a few seconds, then her expression changed, and she gently touched her exquisitely made-up face: “No wonder I hinted at you so many times, but you didn’t have any feelings. It turns out that it’s not that I’m not good-looking, but that my gender is the problem–Say, I’m so good-looking, who wouldn’t like me?”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…..”

 

He really wanted to argue for his originally straight sexual orientation, but this was a long story and would only make things worse, so he chose to remain silent.

 

An hour later, the plane took off from the airport and spread its wings towards the blue sky.

 

After asking for a blanket, Chen Xiaoling also asked for a bunch of snacks and drinks, and ate them relentlessly.

 

When the food was almost finished and the plane was about to reach its destination, she finally accepted the fact that cabbage had been taken away by the demon.

 

The good thing about her was that she was decisive and never dragged her feet. By the time she got off the plane, she had successfully moved on and thought that the newly met junior brother was not bad.

 

However, she held Lu Yingjiu’s hand and said, “Xiao Lu, if you are wronged, you must return to your mother’s house, I will help you.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Uh, thank you?”

 

“You’re welcome.” Chen Xiaoling sighed, “I’m going to start soaking up the junior brother, he is my new white moonlight.”

 

The three of them took a car from the airport and went to the place Chen Xiaoling mentioned.

 

It was a long street.

 

It was a bit narrow, a bit difficult in the center of Jinfang City, but there were quite a few shops open on both sides of the road.

 

Before coming here, Lu Yingjiu checked it out. This should be a very popular tourist spot in Jinfang City. It was convenient for transportation, and there were all kinds of food, drink, and entertainment on the street. There were also a lot of homestays around, which would be fully booked every peak season.

 

Now, even on weekends, there weren’t many people on the long street. There were only a few tourists, and many shops have closed their doors directly. The cold iron gates kept them out.

 

Chen Xiaoling pointed to the distance and said, “There is a museum at the end there, themed around ‘mental illness’, called the Rainy Day Museum. It’s for popularizing knowledge related to mental illness. Its founder is from the Zhang family, and the last curator was named Zhang Chengzhou. He resigned two years ago and has been missing since.”

 

She added, “This is the most recent active member of the Zhang family that I could investigate. All the others seem to have evaporated from the world.”

 

The decline of the Zhang family had left them with nothing more than the name of an aristocratic family.

 

At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before they were directly removed from the list.

 

Lu Yingjiu said in his heart, no wonder they have been trying to find him, to return to the Heavenly Way, to complete the ceremony of that year – without external help, this family is bound to perish.

 

But what does their extinction have to do with him? Those aristocratic families owe him enough already.

 

The only thing he needs to worry about is the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade that exists in the divination.

 

After they put their luggage in the hotel, they set off directly for the Rainy Day Museum.

 

After walking on the long street for five minutes, they saw a low building in the distance. It was about two stories high, deliberately made to look like a European-style old house. The black roof matched the snow-white walls, and the opaque windows looked gloomy, which was quite atmospheric.

 

A black sign was posted at the door, reading [Rainy Day Museum].

 

The ticket office marked “150 yuan per person, not recommended for children under 8”.

 

An old man was sleeping soundly behind the glass at the ticket office.

 

Lu Yingjiu knocked on the glass, and he woke up with a start. “Buying tickets?”

 

“Yes,” Lu Yingjiu said, “Three tickets, please.”

 

The old man took the money, leisurely tore off three tickets for them. “Go in.”

 

Lu Yingjiu took the tickets and asked, “Do you know Zhang Chengzhou?”

 

The old man was stunned for a moment. “Curator Zhang? He’s not here anymore.”

 

“Do you have his contact information?”

 

“I used to have his mobile number, but no one answered.” The old man said, “Maybe he changed his number.” He looked at the three of them again, “You guys aren’t reporters, are you?”

 

“No,” Lu Yingjiu shook his head, “Thank you, we’re going in now.”

 

The three of them entered the museum.

 

Like the street outside, there weren’t many people in the museum. As soon as they entered, they saw a sign that read [Take you into the world of the mentally ill.]

 

The interior of the house was divided into different small areas. They walked into the first small room, and the big words [Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder] appeared on the wall.

 

There was an introduction next to it: [Patients with this disease are troubled by intrusive thoughts, and compulsive ideas and behaviors repeatedly appear in their lives… (Note)]

 

The first exhibit was a loosely locked wooden door.

 

The lock looked very old, and it could definitely be pushed open with a strong push.

 

A line of text read [I always go back and forth to see if the door has been locked.]

 

[At first it was every 10 minutes, then every 5 minutes, and finally I wanted to check the door lock every 2 minutes. Even if I confirm over and over again that the door has been securely locked, I will think: What if ‘locked’ is just my imagination? So I start checking again.]

 

[It’s as if there’s a door in my heart that can never be locked.]

 

The next exhibit was a washbasin.

 

[If I don’t wash my hands properly, my hands will be full of bacteria, right?]

 

[The whole world is full of bacteria, multiplying on my hands every second. If I don’t wash my hands, I can’t do anything.]

 

[Washing hands, washing until the skin turns red and breaks…]

 

The next exhibit was a flight of stairs.

 

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5…]

 

[Huh? Did I just miss a step? I have to walk it again, count it well, the numbers absolutely cannot be wrong.]

 

Then there were many more exhibits.

 

[On my desk, all things must be arranged according to size…]

 

[When undressing at night, it must be clothes, socks, pants in this order, cannot be chaotic.]

 

[Those memories are running wild in my mind, I must go through them completely in my mind once, cannot be interrupted.]

 

[I always can’t help thinking, why is the earth round, not square? Does 1+1 really equal 2?]

 

[….…]

 

“This museum is quite interesting.” Chen Xiaoling looked around, “I originally thought they were charging 150 to scam money, but I didn’t expect them to put so much effort into it.” After saying that, she took out her phone and took a few photos.

 

Lu Yingjiu nodded, agreeing with her point of view, and moved on to other rooms.

 

The other rooms introduced [Schizophrenia], [Bipolar Disorder], [Anorexia], etc. The exhibits were all very exquisite, and there were also patients’ self-reports.

 

[It’s so annoying, why can’t this phone call be hung up!]

 

[He must have poisoned my water!]

 

[Someone is watching my life…]

 

When they walked into the room in the center of the first floor, their view suddenly opened up.

 

This was a hall, occupying the distance of two floors, and layers of faces hung on a whole wall.

 

Those were all face paintings, at least a hundred of them.

 

To be precise, they should be self-portraits of the patients.

 

Unlike the realistic portraits of the Four Hole Slaughterhouse, their lines were mostly rough and simple, and the difference in painting skills was very large.

 

Some could outline the lines of the face, and even be described as lifelike, with vivid expressions, while some were just a mess, and nothing could be seen.

 

Some had a weird smile, some had tears gushing out. One person painted his face yellow and drew a halo, probably thinking he was a sun. One person gave himself angel wings, and another person drew a vortex in his eyes, with cats swimming in the vortex and centipedes with long legs.

 

The museum framed them with black frames and hung them neatly.

 

Chen Xiaoling subconsciously touched her arm. “This is a bit creepy at first glance… Fortunately, we didn’t come at night. Although if you look closely, there are quite a few paintings that are quite cute. Like a child’s drawing.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

He didn’t find it scary.

 

He just looked at Jing Xian next to him, thinking that Jing Xian’s self-portrait would definitely be a stick figure.

 

Throughout their journey, they didn’t encounter any other tourists, not even staff members.

 

Lu Yingjiu asked Chen Xiaoling, “Have you heard any rumors about this place? It’s the peak tourist season, there shouldn’t be so few people.”

 

“There are some,” Chen Xiaoling replied, “A year ago, a guesthouse on this street caught fire in the middle of the night, killing five or six tourists. It was a big deal at the time and made the news for several days. So, the popularity here has plummeted this year, people are still a bit scared, and there are even rumors that this place is haunted.”

 

She laughed, “But, it’s true that we’re the only ones in this museum. It’s so empty, which is a pity considering how exquisite the exhibits are.”

 

Just as she finished speaking, footsteps could be heard.

 

A group of brightly dressed tourists arrived.

 

Leading them was a tour guide, holding a small red flag. He paused when he saw the three of them and asked, “Where is the exit of this museum?”

 

The museum wasn’t large, but the rooms were quite winding, so getting lost wasn’t surprising.

 

Chen Xiaoling pointed them in a direction, “If you go to that room, turn left and then right, you should see the safety exit sign. Just follow the signs.”

 

“Oh, okay,” the tour guide said, “Thank you.”

 

He led the group of tourists away.

 

Chen Xiaoling asked Lu Yingjiu, “Shall we go up to the second floor?”

 

“Let’s go and have a look,” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “If we meet other staff, we can ask about Zhang Chengzhou’s situation. It would be even better if we could get his phone number and address.”

 

They ascended the marble staircase to the second floor.

 

The first few rooms on the second floor introduced phobias and autism.

 

[I’m afraid of enclosed spaces]

 

An old elevator stood in front of them, with a human model hugging its head, hiding in the corner.

 

[I’m afraid of spiders]

 

A spider model was mounted on the wall, its eight eyes staring at the tourists, every hair on its body was incredibly clear. Chen Xiaoling frowned upon seeing it, even refusing to take out her phone to take a picture, feeling it would pollute her album.

 

Jing Xian, on the other hand, was staring at it intently.

 

Lu Yingjiu poked him and whispered, “Don’t feed it to hairball.”

 

[Children with autism are also known as children from the stars…]

 

Just as Chen Xiaoling was about to say something, footsteps could be heard again.

 

A group of people turned the corner, and it was the same guide from before.

 

The guide saw them and was taken aback, “How… hey, pretty girl, I followed the path you told me, how did I end up back here?”

 

Chen Xiaoling said, “The path I pointed out to you was correct. Besides, this is the second floor, how could you get lost and end up upstairs? The exit can’t possibly be upstairs.”

 

“This is the second floor?” The guide scratched his head hard, “Did we go up the stairs?”

 

The group of people behind him were also whispering to each other, all with bewildered expressions.

 

A chill ran down Chen Xiaoling’s spine.

 

Although she wasn’t very good at exorcising ghosts, she could tell something was wrong with this situation. Could it be that these people were experiencing the ghost hitting the wall?

 

She instinctively looked back at Lu Yingjiu.

 

But Lu Yingjiu wasn’t looking at her, instead, he was staring at one person in the group.

 

It was a middle-aged man in white clothes, who looked particularly anxious, constantly looking in the direction of a corner. Following his gaze, Chen Xiaoling saw a locked door in the corner, with the words: [Internal Personnel Passage] written on it.

 

Why was he looking at this? Chen Xiaoling was a bit confused.

 

But since Lu Yingjiu was paying so much attention to him, there must be a reason.

 

The guide muttered to himself for a while, then raised his little red flag, ready to lead everyone to continue looking for the exit.

 

Chen Xiaoling wanted to stop him, saying that they wouldn’t be able to get out if they were experiencing a ghost hitting the wall, but was pulled back by Lu Yingjiu.

 

Lu Yingjiu looked at her and gently shook his head.

 

Chen Xiaoling stood still.

 

The group of people passed by them, complaining. Chen Xiaoling heard the man in white clothes mumbling something, looking increasingly anxious.

 

She pricked up her ears to listen carefully.

 

The man was mumbling, “Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked? Is that door locked?”