After Marrying the Lord of the Underworld

Chu Banyang had gone out of town for a commission and wouldn’t be back for two or three days.

 

Lu Yingjiu sent him a message, saying that he had something to discuss with him.

 

Chu Banyang replied after a while, indifferently: [Oh.]

 

During the two days waiting for his return, Lu Yingjiu once again sorted out the formation in his hands.

 

The day when the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade begins would be when the Yin energy was the most dense.

 

Because this was a punishment from the Heavenly Way, it would expose itself when it used its power. That day would also be the most suitable day to find the contaminated spot of the Heavenly Way.

 

The design of “Kan” was very ingenious. It complemented the formation of going to the ghost world, one in the mirror and one in the real world. The formation’s eye of the latter was also the formation’s eye to activate “Kan”.

 

In other words, on the day of the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, they have to summon the Spirit Monkey in Yunshan Port, summon the Li Snake in Mt. Gassan Nursing Home, summon the Di Ting in Kangli Bridge, and summon the Peacock God in Shangyang University City. Lu Yingjiu and Jing Xian would go straight to the place where the ghost gate was opened and activate the formation.

 

The problem was that no one knew when the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade would start.

 

It could be in a month, it could be in three or four months, or even one or two years later.

 

People would be in fear, and everything couldn’t be settled down.

 

The atmosphere of Lujiang City had quietly changed. Ordinary people still didn’t feel it, but the exorcists had already started to move.

 

Some were setting up formations on the edge of the city, some were posting talisman papers in various corners, and some were distributing protective talismans from house to house.

 

The Green Lantern Association and the aristocratic families joined forces to organize large and small exorcist organizations, arranging them to patrol, investigate potential danger zones, and disperse Yin energy in an orderly manner.

 

The Hundred Ghosts Night Parade was always accompanied by storms.

 

Before, the relevant departments used the excuse of natural disasters to start a wide range of curfews, fully cooperating with the actions of the exorcists. This time the routine had not changed, they issued a notice, reminding that extreme weather was approaching, hoping that citizens would stock up on supplies.

 

Now when Lu Yingjiu walked through the streets, he occasionally felt the fluctuation of talisman papers.

 

Just like the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade a few years ago, the atmosphere before the war was extremely depressing.

 

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Chu Banyang returned from out of town.

 

Jing Xian sent Lu Yingjiu to the Green Lantern Association to find him. Before getting off the car, Lu Yingjiu was about to close the car door, suddenly stopped the action, turned around and kissed Jing Xian.

 

Jing Xian raised his eyebrows, “Why are you so proactive today?”

 

“In case your vinegar jar inexplicably overturns again.” Lu Yingjiu said, “This is based on experience, to be prepared.”

 

He entered the building of the Green Lantern Association, met Xiao Li in the elevator, Xiao Li had a large handful of talisman paper in his hand, unknown what he was muttering, and didn’t even see Lu Yingjiu.

 

Lu Yingjiu took the elevator to the top floor and knocked on the office of the chief.

 

He hadn’t been back to this office for a long time.

 

The room had turned into Chu Banyang’s flamboyant style, with exquisite carpets, gorgeous paintings, and every pen on the table was a gold-plated limited edition.

 

Chu Banyang was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

 

He had just returned from out of town, but from his hairstyle to his clothes to his shoes, he was meticulous and very appropriate.

 

Seeing Lu Yingjiu, he put on a subtle expression. “What’s the matter?”

 

Lu Yingjiu didn’t feel strange, sat on the sofa, and repeated the set of words to Ye Feng. “There is something related to the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade and my life, but there is a great danger after knowing it, and you may even die. Do you still want to know?”

 

Chu Banyang was silent for a while.

 

This silence was a bit subtle and a bit unexpected.

 

Lu Yingjiu thought that probably Young Master Chu wanted to save face and couldn’t find a way to refuse gracefully.

 

Just as he was about to give Chu Banyang a step down, he saw Chu Banyang look at him, with a bit of disbelief and… surprise, and asked. “Lu Yingjiu, are you, are you asking me for help? For the first time in history.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

How could it be this reaction!!

 

He honestly answered. “Yes, I can’t do it alone, I need your help.”

 

Chu Banyang’s eyes clearly lit up.

 

He walked over quickly in a seemingly indifferent manner, sat down opposite Lu Yingjiu, coughed, and pretended to be calm. “Let’s hear it.”

 

Lu Yingjiu confirmed again, ‘had he thought about it?’

 

Chu Banyang said. “Not to mention you, this matter is related to the Hundred Ghosts Night parade, I have to manage it no matter what.” He leaned forward slightly, “Besides, this kind of opportunity is hard to come by.”

 

Chu Banyang had always been ambitious and pursuing the peak.

 

Lu Yingjiu knew this.

 

An opportunity to prevent the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade and save Lu Yingjiu, probably only once in a lifetime… The temptation was too great, Chu Banyang simply couldn’t refuse!

 

Lu Yingjiu thought to himself, Chu Banyang is still Chu Banyang after all.

 

He didn’t hesitate anymore, and carefully explained the whole thing to Chu Banyang.

 

Like Ye Feng, Chu Banyang was also incredulous after hearing it.

 

The difference was that Ye Feng’s shock was all written on his face, his mouth was open and he couldn’t close it, while Chu Banyang barely managed his expression.

 

He said, “In other words, in order to find the Heavenly Way, I need to go to Shangyang University City to invite the Peacock God when the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade starts.”

 

“Right.” Lu Yingjiu said, “In theory, that’s the case, but you are likely to be obstructed by ghosts and servants.”

 

“…I see.” Chu Banyang nodded, “I will find someone in the Chu family to go with me. According to what you said, I won’t tell them the truth to avoid misfortune, but there will be people who are willing to trust me unconditionally.”

 

Lu Yingjiu said again, “Once I find someone in the Chen family, we need to go and scout the location together, which may take half a month.”

 

“Okay.” Chu Banyang said, “I will let the association know.” He hesitated, then asked awkwardly, “The ghost world… the environment is probably very bad, right?”

 

It was obvious that he was curious about the ghost world, but he could only ask indirectly.

 

Lu Yingjiu smiled and told him. “The environment in the upper ghost world is very good, and the River of Forgetfulness is not as stinky as we thought…”

 

He talked about his experiences in the ghost world, and Chu Banyang listened attentively.

 

When he finished speaking, the light of the setting sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling window, and the sunset was as red as fire.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “There’s nothing else, I’ll go first.”

 

Chu Banyang nodded. “Okay.”

 

Lu Yingjiu added. “Thank you.”

 

No matter how many times, Chu Banyang was not used to Lu Yingjiu’s straightforward expression of emotions. He awkwardly looked away and replied. “I’ll walk you out.”

 

“No need.” Lu Yingjiu waved his hand, “I’ve been here for so long, there’s no need to escort me.”

 

But Chu Banyang still followed him. When he was about to open the door, he called out. “Lu Yingjiu.”

 

Lu Yingjiu turned to look at him.

 

The orange-red light fell on Chu Banyang’s shoulders and hair tips, outlining his upright figure and handsome face.

 

This scene was somewhat familiar.

 

It was like… the last time they had a chat on the rooftop of the school, it was the same sunset, the same fiery clouds, and the same vast sky.

 

What did they say at that time?

 

Chu Banyang looked at him and said, “Lu Yingjiu, I have a question for you.”

 

“What is it?”

 

The two stared at each other for a long time.

 

Lu Yingjiu couldn’t see any expression on Chu Banyang’s face, but his eyes were clearly turbulent. After a while, Chu Banyang asked, “If I had answered ‘yes’ that day, what would have happened?”

 

Lu Yingjiu remembered: On the rooftop of the school, after Chu Banyang finished telling the story of Chu Qianju and himself, he was asked by him. “Chu Banyang, do you like me?”

 

At that time, Chu Banyang left a sentence “How could it be possible” and hurried away.

 

Lu Yingjiu asked, “Why did you suddenly bring this up?”

 

“I just want to know the answer.” Chu Banyang said in a muffled voice, taking half a step forward, “If, I mean if, my answer was affirmative?”

 

Lu Yingjiu was silent for half a second.

 

At this point in the conversation, they both understood each other’s intentions.

 

He showed a very light and beautiful smile. “Nothing would happen.”

 

Chu Banyang: “…Nothing would change?”

 

“Right.” Lu Yingjiu nodded, “Nothing would change. I have someone I like, if you say ‘yes’, I would reject you.”

 

There was another silence.

 

After a long while, Chu Banyang relaxed as if he had lost all his strength, and smiled. “As expected, you are still you, always so hateful.”

 

He didn’t say anything more. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you downstairs.”

 

When they went outside, coincidentally, the elevator was broken.

 

Two maintenance workers were blocking the door, sweating profusely, saying that it would take more than half an hour to fix it. There were also exorcists constantly pasting talisman paper next to them.

 

Lu Yingjiu wondered. “How can this elevator break three times?”

 

As soon as his voice fell, a teary-eyed Xiao Li rushed out of the stairwell. When he saw Chu Banyang, he rushed over. “Master, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!!”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

When he came up, he did see Xiao Li holding a talisman paper, but he never expected that things would turn out like this.

 

Chu Banyang’s eyebrows twitched. “What did you do?”

 

“I, I, I, I accidentally used a talisman paper in the elevator just now.” Xiao Li was about to cry, “As a result, a ghost flew out, kept spitting blood and making ghost faces in the elevator, and broke the elevator! Now the ghost is caught, but the elevator is broken, what, what, what should I do, will they make me pay, will they fire me! Wuwuwu Master——”

 

He was crying his eyes out, his tears and snot threatening to stain Chu Banyang’s custom suit. Chu Banyang, frustrated, pointed to the office, “Wait for me in there.”

 

“Okay, okay, wuwuwuwu——” Xiao Li collapsed and went into the office.

 

The surroundings quieted down, and Chu Banyang turned to Lu Yingjiu. “Shall we sit for a while longer? We can wait for the elevator.”

 

“No need.” Lu Yingjiu shook his head, “I’ll take the stairs. Someone else is waiting for me.”

 

Chu Banyang: “……I’ll walk you down.”

 

Lu Yingjiu thought that Xiao Li was really good at causing trouble for his master. He wanted to stop Chu Banyang, saying it was unnecessary, as it was dozens of floors.

 

But Chu Banyang had already pushed open the stairwell door first.

 

The two of them walked one after the other in the stairwell, their footsteps echoing, and the emergency lights illuminating the long corridor.

 

After walking a few floors, Lu Yingjiu spoke. “You mentioned Chu Qianju before. You said that because you could never surpass Chu Qianju, you couldn’t let go.”

 

Chu Banyang nodded. “That is indeed my problem.”

 

Caring about everyone who was better than him.

 

Lu Yingjiu: “Then… then you naturally care about powerful people, and you might pay too much attention to them.” He didn’t know how to phrase it delicately, “I was thinking, is it possible that you misunderstood this ‘excessive attention’ as other emotions?”

 

“You just simply care too much about me, and mistake this feeling for liking.”

 

This was something he had just thought of.

 

Chu Banyang’s liking for him might not essentially be liking.

 

It might just be the persistence of wanting to surpass him over the years.

 

——Because he was always watching him, thinking about him day and night, unable to restrain himself from paying attention to his every move, so he had the illusion of “Do I like this person?”

 

Looking at Young Master Chu’s appearance as an industry elite and workaholic, Lu Yingjiu wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t understand subtle emotions.

 

Chu Banyang didn’t answer.

 

The two of them descended nearly ten floors in silence before Chu Banyang started talking about other topics. “This is quite similar to our last commission.”

 

“Yes, it is.” Lu Yingjiu said.

 

Among the few commissions they had worked on together, the two of them had been to a high-rise building that had lost power.

 

It was also such a long staircase, dim emergency lights, and running up and down dozens of floors. Lu Yingjiu walked in front, Chu Banyang followed him closely, and the two of them finally drove away the ferocious ghosts in the building.

 

“It’s been a long time ago.” Chu Banyang added, “After such a long time, we are going to act together again.”

 

Lu Yingjiu smiled.

 

Chu Banyang said, “At that time, you were walking in front of me, and I was always looking at your back. Do you know what I was thinking?”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…If you push me down, you can be the first place?”

 

Chu Banyang: “…”

 

He was so angry that his eyebrows twitched. If it weren’t for his good upbringing, he would have cursed.

 

He took a deep breath to calm his mood. “I was looking at you, thinking about when I could surpass you. I’ve been looking at your back for too many years.”

 

“Oh.” Lu Yingjiu said.

 

“But that day, I also thought about other things, like what should I do after surpassing you?” Chu Banyang said, “I thought about it, and I still felt that I couldn’t find any other goals. So there was a moment when I felt that it would be nice to always be like this.”

 

——That staircase was too long and too dark, as if there was no end.

 

Lu Yingjiu and him had flashlights to light the way, going down floor by floor.

 

Chu Banyang looked at his white shirt, his soft hair tips, his white and slender neck, and suddenly felt:

 

It would be nice to keep going like this forever.

 

For the first time in his life, his innate competitiveness and unchangeable perfectionism were defeated.

 

Lost miserably.

 

If he keeps going like this, he will never get the first place, and there will always be a goal to pursue.

 

But Lu Yingjiu will always be in front of him.

 

Hearing this, Lu Yingjiu raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Second place, unexpectedly you would have this kind of thought? This doesn’t match your character.”

 

Chu Banyang didn’t say another word.

 

Their movements were quick, and they soon reached the first floor. Pushing open the door of the stairwell, the sunlight outside was brilliant.

 

Chu Banyang sent him to the front door and lit a cigarette.

 

Lu Yingjiu said, “I thought you didn’t smoke.”

 

“Rarely,” Chu Banyang held the cigarette in his hand, “I rarely smoke.”

 

“Smoke less.” Lu Yingjiu said, “Shall I go first?”

 

Chu Banyang nodded.

 

When Lu Yingjiu had walked a few steps away, he said again, “You got one thing wrong.”

 

“I really don’t understand subtle emotions, but I can distinguish between ‘persistence’ and ‘liking’. In this life, you are the only defeat I willingly accept.”

 

Lu Yingjiu: “…”

 

He turned back to look at Chu Banyang, seeing the man standing at the door in his suit and leather shoes, still as proud and spirited as when they first met.

 

He was staring at Lu Yingjiu, saying, “Everything will go smoothly, the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade will end, the contamination of the Heavenly Way will be resolved, the curse of Chu Qianju and the Peacock God will disappear without a trace, and I will make a name for myself through this opportunity. When all this is over, I will still try my best to surpass you, so you better be careful.”

 

Lu Yingjiu smiled, “Okay, I will.”

 

“But before that, you have to survive.” Chu Banyang also rarely showed a smile.

 

——It was as if he had finally let go of something, his eyebrows relaxed, and his heart was calm.

 

Lu Yingjiu nodded, waved his hand, “Goodbye.”

 

“Goodbye.” Chu Banyang said, “My first place.”