Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 17 Part 1

Chapter 17.1 Storm

After coming out of the sea, they quickly used a cleaning spell to dry their drenched bodies. Fan Wujiu bought two ice creams, handing one to Xie Bian. Sitting side by side on the beach, they gazed at the ocean, occasionally shooing away a few women who tried to strike up a conversation or ask for their contact details.

Fan Wujiu ate with gusto, finishing his ice cream in just a few bites. Xie Bian, on the other hand, was much more refined, eating like an elegant cat. He licked his ice cream slowly, taking small, careful licks. The ice cream nearly melted, yet he hadn’t even finished the top scoop. The melted cream dripped down his long fingers, and for a moment, it was hard to tell whether the milk-white ice cream or Xie Bian’s hand was whiter.

Seeing the melted ice cream about to slide down to his wrist, Fan Wujiu couldn’t help but remind him, “The ice cream is dripping.”

He turned to rummage through his bag, pulling out a tissue and handing it to Xie Bian. “Wipe it off.”

Xie Bian glanced down, furrowing his brow, but he didn’t take the tissue. Instead, he switched the ice cream to his other hand and carefully licked the milk-white drips off his fingers, cleaning them thoroughly.

Although an immortal like him was beyond the reach of dirt and germs, this was certainly not something the usually fastidious Xie Bian would do. His sudden deviation from his usual behavior made it impossible not to interpret his actions as a deliberate attempt at seduction.

Fan Wujiu’s throat went dry as he watched, feeling an overwhelming urge for another ice cream to cool down. The tissue in his hand wasn’t entirely useless, though it wasn’t used to wipe the ice cream from Xie Bi’an’s fingers. Instead, it was pressed to Fan Wujiu’s own nose, stemming the flow of blood that had begun to trickle……

It must have been the heat, the intense sun, and the dry air making him feel overheated.

It was definitely not because he had a craving for Xie Bian’s body. He wasn’t that shameless.

Xie Bian cleaned his fingers and handed the half-eaten ice cream to Fan Wujiu. “I can’t finish it.”

Fan Wujiu took the ice cream, glancing around in search of a trash bin. “I’ll throw it away.”

Xie Bian shook his head. “We must not waste food.”

Hell had eighteen layers, and the twelfth layer was the Hell of Mortars and Pestles, where those who wasted food or squandered grains when they were alive were punished. As a ghost official, one must set an example and not break the law.

If it had been another ghost official, they might not have cared about such a thing. But Xie Bian was a man of strict discipline. Even in the past, when he couldn’t finish his food, he would force himself to eat it. Now that he had Fan Wujiu, this big eater, and their relationship had become more intimate, he felt no hesitation in letting him finish it.

Fan Wujiu resigned himself. “Fine, I’ll eat it.”

He looked at the ice cream in his hand, feeling a bit conflicted.

It wasn’t that he was repulsed by Xie Bian’s saliva. It was just that he had seen the way Xie Bian had delicately licked the ice cream. Fan Wujiu couldn’t shake the feeling that eating the part Xie Bian had kissed was like receiving an indirect French kiss from him.

Although, not long ago, he had actually kissed him for real.

As long as his heart was stirred by Xie Bian, it didn’t matter how many times he kissed him. Whether directly or indirectly, each kiss, in any form, was enough to set his heart racing.

Once his heart became unsettled, his mind inevitably wandered into dangerous territory, conjuring up thoughts that were far from appropriate.

Love knows not where it begins, yet once it does, it grows ever deeper. Such profound feelings are the hardest to control. If kept hidden within the heart, one might still deceive the eyes of others, but once the slightest hint emerges, it can no longer be concealed. Fan Wujiu had been able to suppress his feelings before, but as this trip unfolded, he seemed to lose more and more control over himself. He was no longer content with watching and guarding Xie Bian from a distance. He found himself uncontrollably wanting to cross boundaries, wanting to kiss him, wanting to possess him. The thread of his rationality was stretched taut, and the kiss that night had been a dangerous signal.

He had become greedy and uncontrollable.

The only thing holding him back was one reason. He could never take advantage of Xie Bian when his mind was clouded.

He no longer had a clear conscience, but at least he couldn’t sink that low.

Fan Wujiu pushed his chaotic thoughts aside and slowly began to enjoy the ice cream, savoring it as though he was relishing each bite. His pace was hardly faster than Xie Bian’s, a far cry from the lightning-fast way he had devoured his first ice cream.

After all, it carried Xie Bian’s flavor.

Fan Wujiu frowned as he thought to himself, I really am a pervert.

As the sun set, the tourists slowly dispersed, and the beach grew quieter. Eventually, only Fan Wujiu and Xie Bian remained. They leaned against each other, quietly watching the sunset until the last trace of the golden light disappeared below the horizon. Their faces, once bathed in the warm glow, were now shrouded in the dimming twilight.

Xie Bian spoke softly, “The sunset is when the goddess Xihe returns home. It’s truly beautiful.”

Xihe was the Goddess of Sun in ancient Chinese mythology. Her job was to drive the sun chariot across the sky. The sunrise marked the start of her workday, and the sunset was when she finished, passing the baton to the Goddess of Moon, Changyi, who would arrive to take over, draped in stars and moonlight.

Fan Wujiu, without a hint of interest, replied, “It’s tragic for the sun and moon goddesses. We still have the leisure to travel, but they work 365 days a year without rest.”

Xie Bian: “Actually, there’s something that’s been bothering me for a long time.”

Fan Wujiu was intrigued. “Is there really something in this world that even Xiao Bai can’t figure out?”

Xie Bian glanced at him. “I am Bai Wuchang, not Bai Ze. Although we both have the character ‘bai’ in our names, my wisdom is far inferior to his.”

Bai Ze was an omniscient and omnipotent divine beast, versed in all things past and present, with no mystery in the world beyond his grasp. Even though Xie Bian was incredibly intelligent, he couldn’t compare to Bai Ze. Yet, in Fan Wujiu’s eyes, love painted Xie Bian as the wisest deity in all the heavens and earth.

Fan Wujiu was curious. “What could possibly puzzle our Xiao Bai?”

Xie Bian voiced his long-standing confusion. “In the East, there’s the heavenly court and the underworld. In the West, there’s heaven and hell. In the East, there are gods of the mountains and seas, and in the West, there are gods of mountains and seas as well. These overlapping divine roles don’t conflict because they govern different regions. But celestial bodies, like the sun, the moon, and the stars, are unique across the entire world. Whether it’s the sun or the moon, all the people of the world see the same one. So, taking the sun as an example, who actually governs it? Is it the goddess Xihe, or is it the Western sun god Apollo? If they were to meet in the sky, would they fight over territory?”

Fan Wujiu chuckled. “……Pfft.” On the surface, Xiao Bai appeared to be a serene and unworldly figure, yet his mind was filled with such wild and imaginative thoughts?

He found it endearing.

Xie Bian spoke seriously, “I’m genuinely curious about this question. Unfortunately, the sun is too hot for me to get close to, and I have no connections with the gods of the sky, so I can’t ask for an answer.”

Although Fan Wujiu didn’t know the answer either, he was happy to join Xie Bian in making wild guesses. “I’d say, even if they did fight, the goddess Xihe would win.”

Xie Bian: “Why?”

“Although I’ve never seen either of them, I’ve heard that the Greek sun god Apollo drives a golden chariot pulled by four horses,” Fan Wujiu explained with conviction. “But Xihe’s chariot is pulled by six dragons. Four horses against six dragons, if they had a crash halfway through, it would be Apollo who gets knocked over, don’t you think?”

Xie Bian was left speechless.

“Have you also been influenced by King Yan’s way of thinking? Just because they share the same divine role doesn’t mean there has to be a competition. Maybe they could cooperate, with each taking a six-month vacation. Won’t that be a win-win?” Fan Wujiu’s thoughts were all about holidays. He really hated work.

Fan Wujiu continued, trying to make his point, “Take the God of Beauty for example. In the West, there’s Venus, and we have our own Goddess of Luo River, Consort Mi. Both are renowned for their beauty. I’ve seen the Goddess of Luo myself. She’s as graceful as a startled swan and as elegant as a soaring dragon. She and Venus each have their own charm, and it’s hard to say who’s more beautiful……”

Xie Bian responded coolly, “Oh, well, they’re both still prettier than me.”

Those two deities were indeed the embodiments of beauty in their respective cultures. Xie Bian had to admit they were more beautiful than him, but hearing Fan Wujiu say it out loud left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Fan Wujiu immediately shut up, realizing his mistake. He wanted to slap himself. Why had he brought up such a terrible example? Praising others’ beauty in front of Xiao Bai was bound to make him drink barrels of vinegar.

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