Chapter 64.1 The Underworld
“Xiao Bai, are you helping King Yan pursue a wife?” Fan Wujiu was surprised to see Xie Bian had typed so much. This was completely out of character for him, given his usual cold and detached personality.
“King Yan has been alone for tens of thousands of years. Having a kindred spirit would be quite nice,” Xie Bian said softly, lowering his gaze.
He could tell that his boss had taken an interest in the Western God of Death. However, from their conversations, Xie Bian noticed that Thanatos was reserved and reticent. He probably hadn’t responded to King Yan yet. Xie Bian speculated that King Yan wasn’t the type to play the victim, so he likely wouldn’t share his past feats with Thanatos. Instead, Xie Bian thought it would be better if he spoke on his behalf, hoping it would foster a better connection between them.
His own relationship with Lao Hei had flourished thanks to the efforts of Western little God of Love, Cupid. Sometimes, going with the flow often led to missing out on many opportunities. It was better to give fate a little nudge. Xie Bian truly hoped King Yan would no longer feel lonely. After all, the burdens he carried were far heavier than any of theirs.
“That sounds good. If King Yan and the Western God of Death can really get together, it would be a beautiful tale of East meeting West. We’d even have played matchmaker.” Fan Wujiu nodded thoughtfully. “We’d better continue building a good relationship with Thanatos. Not just for the million underworld coins or that ultra-prime property in the city center, but mainly because Thanatos is a great guy. He’s a perfect match for our King Yan.”
Xie Bian glanced at him.
Fan Wujiu: “……Alright, fine. The property is important too. Who wouldn’t want another wedding house? Speaking of which, we’ve already gotten our marriage certificates from both the underworld and the human world. When are we having the wedding?”
Xie Bian turned his head away. “Whenever.”
Fan Wujiu chuckled and leaned in to kiss him. “This can’t be ‘whenever.’ We have to pick an auspicious day.”
Xie Bian dodged twice but couldn’t escape, so he simply turned his head and met Fan Wujiu halfway. Fan Wujiu pressed down on his wrist, forcing him onto the bed, and Xie Bian’s phone slipped from his hand, landing on the bedside table.
The group chat had gone silent ever since the Black and White Impermanence sent that long message. No new messages appeared for quite a while.
Thanatos could never have imagined that these two chatmates would end up on the bed together. But it was normal for young couples to indulge in such moments late at night.
He stared at the words on the screen, reading them over and over again, as though he was meeting King Yan for the first time.
In his mind, King Yan had a sharp, refined face, and his temperament was one of elegance and grandeur. Yet, the moment he spoke, all of that would fall away. The man always teased him with a smile, his tone playful and flirtatious, but never disrespectful. Thanatos could never bring himself to respond harshly or draw his scythe to settle things. In the face of such teasing, Thanatos would often find himself blushing and speechless.
He had assumed that the King of Hell was just a carefree and unruly sort. But after reading the Black and White Impermanence’s messages, he was introduced to a completely different side of him.
In the West, there was no concept of reincarnation. Only through King Yan did Thanatos learned that in the East, people had a next life. He had assumed it was the Eastern Heavenly Dao that allowed reincarnation, but it turned out that wasn’t the case.
It was King Yan who granted them new lives.
In ancient times, people blindly worshiped gods, despite the fact that those high above never came to their rescue. King Yan had originally been the most powerful of the gods in the heavenly court, and all other gods would respectfully address him as “Supreme God.” He could have lived a life revered and worshipped by mortals, even without lifting a finger.
But he was the only god who saw the injustice in the human world, heard the prayers of the people, and descended to save them.
The laws of heaven forbade gods from interfering in the human world. But King Yan fell from heaven into hell, opened up the underworld, abandoned his status as a heavenly god, and became the King of Countless Ghosts. The Heavenly Dao did not allow all living beings to obtain their due, so King Yan took control of karma and retribution, created his own laws, and would rather suffer the burning of karmic fire than not enforce the law impartially.
In an era before humans had even developed writing, the deeds of the savior god went unrecorded. What later became known to every household and everyone, even terrifying three-year-old children in the human world, was the King of Hell.
No one knew how much he had changed the world of the living.
Thanatos was momentarily lost in thought.
King Yan, upon seeing the injustice in the human world, chose to change it. Even though doing so caused him to fall from a carefree, untroubled god, to being surrounded by lost souls, witnessing the world’s suffering. He took on burdens that were never his to bear, persisted in his duty for tens of thousands of years, enduring fear and misunderstanding from mortals. But through it all, he still maintained an air of carefree nonchalance. Compared to that, Thanatos wondered if his own escape and aversion to the world was too cowardly.
He wanted to ask King Yan how he managed to endure it all.
How could he have persisted for tens of thousands of years, and still love the human world so deeply?
Thanatos stood in the living room, unsure of what to do.
That fleeting impulse to seek King Yan’s guidance, to ask him about his struggles, vanished the moment Thanatos saw the closed door of King Yan’s bedroom.
……He still didn’t have the courage to knock.
Even if he knocked on the door and saw King Yan, it would still be difficult to ask the question. After all, it was too personal. Once the question was spoken, it would reveal his own inner thoughts as well.
His fear of social interaction ran so deep that when the moment came, he found himself wanting to retreat.
Thanatos stood in the living room for a while, then decided to return to his room and try to sleep.
Just then, Yanluo’s bedroom door opened.
Yanluo was wearing his long hair loose, tied back only with a simple band, looking relaxed and unbothered. Holding two teacups in hands, he looked at Thanatos with slight surprise. “Little Reaper, why are you still in the living room so late?”
The little reaper rarely left his room.
Thanatos was unable to come up with an excuse, so he chose to stay silent.
Yanluo quickly provided an excuse for him. “Are you thirsty and want some water?”
Noticing that Thanatos didn’t have a cup in hand, he added, “It’s fine, I have two cups. I’ll make you some tea.”
Thanatos wanted to tell him that plain water would suffice, but Yanluo was already swiftly preparing tea. Thanatos could only shut his mouth.
The two sat on the floor by the coffee table, and Thanatos quietly watched Yanluo brew the tea.
Yanluo’s tea-brewing process was precise, his movements graceful. His long, jade-like fingers held the white porcelain teapot delicately, slightly tilting it to pour hot water into the cups. The tea leaves swirled and settled. His long hair flowed loosely down his shoulders, while his faintly red lips and striking features were partially veiled by the delicate swirls of steam rising from the tea.
Apart from occasionally changing into modern clothes when going out, Yanluo’s usual attire consisted of traditional Hanfu. If he weren’t so teasing and playful with Thanatos at times, he could easily pass as an elegant, handsome man with distinct Eastern charm.
After brewing the tea, Yanluo pushed one cup toward Thanatos. “Please, have some tea.”
Thanatos took a sip, only to find it bitter. He quickly set it down again.
He decided he was better suited to plain water.
Yanluo, on the other hand, sipped his tea elegantly, his hand covering his face with his sleeve, every movement imbued with grace.
Thanatos stared blankly at the vase on the curio shelf.
“Looking at that vase? It’s Tang Sancai from the Tang Dynasty,” Yanluo said, noticing Thanatos’ gaze. As he finished his tea, he set the cup down and explained.
Thanatos asked, “What kind of flower is that?”
He had been curious about it for months, and finally found the courage to ask.
Yanluo raised an eyebrow, surprised that the little reaper had asked a question of his own.
He was more than happy to answer. “It’s called red spider lily, or more commonly, the flower of the other shore. Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Thanatos looked at the flowers in the vase and nodded.
“Would you like to see more red spider lily?” Yanluo asked. “A single flower is beautiful, but a whole field of them together is even more stunning.”
Thanatos nodded again.
Yanluo smiled. “Shall we go see them now?”
Go outside? Thanatos hesitated for a moment.
He withdrew his gaze and slowly shook his head.
“Not outside,” Yanluo said, pointing downward. “We’re going to the underworld. You’ve been here in the East for so long, but I’m sure you’ve never visited our Chinese underworld, have you?”
Thanatos’ curiosity was indeed piqued.
The underworld was not part of the human world, and although it was still an unfamiliar environment, it gave Thanatos much less sense of unease.
After a brief hesitation, he said, “Alright.”
Yanluo smiled. “Then close your eyes.”
Thanatos obediently shut his eyes, and the next moment, he heard Yanluo say, “Alright, open your eyes.”
Thanatos opened his eyes and found that Yanluo had transformed back into his appearance from their first meeting. Dressed in magnificent robes and a crown adorned with hanging beads, he exuded an aura of majesty. Between his eyebrows was a crimson mark, as red as blood. This was the true form of the King of Hell.
Thanatos hadn’t paid much attention to the red mark between Yanluo’s brows before. It was common for gods to have divine symbols on their faces. But now, for some reason, it caught his attention.
Yanluo suited white robes perfectly. He looked like a noble young master from a distinguished family. But when he donned this black ceremonial attire, he exuded an aura of imposing authority, the kind that didn’t need any display of intimidation. Every outfit he wore looked good, but this one exuded an unmatched elegance.
Thanatos, by contrast, was far simpler. From their first meeting to this moment, he had worn the same plain black robe.
Back then, when Yanluo had worn this same attire and come closer, Thanatos had only wanted to step away. But now, standing side by side at such close proximity, Thanatos didn’t back away. Instead, he stood frozen in place, almost lost in thought.
He had come to understand what this attire represented.
“Little Reaper, you’re not looking at the flowers, but only staring at me. What’s the matter?” Yanluo teased with a smile. “Am I more good-looking than the flowers?”
Thanatos suddenly snapped to his senses, and turned his head away in embarrassment and annoyance.
……No matter how views changed, Yanluo’s naughtiness had not changed at all.
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