Death Knocks on Hell’s Door Chapter 73

Chapter 73 True Form

Yanluo gazed at the youth in front of him, his eyes darkening slightly as he remained silent for a long time.

Thanatos grew increasingly uneasy at the lack of response. Unable to resist, he stole a glance at Yanluo.

The youth’s eyelashes and irises were both silver-white, like rare and exquisite pearls. He quietly raised his eyes, met Yanluo’s obscure gaze, and then hurriedly lowered his head again.

Yanluo’s lips curved in an almost imperceptible smile.

So beautiful, so cute.

From the moment he had seen the little reaper’s bone structure, Yanluo had known that Thanatos wasn’t bad-looking. But in reality, he was far more beautiful than he had imagined.

Yanluo had never placed much value on appearances. Whether clad in a black robe, concealed as a skeleton, or revealed as this stunning silver-haired young man, it made no difference. His fondness for the little reaper remained unchanged.

Beauty alone could not earn Yanluo’s favor. But because it was him, such beauty made Yanluo even more amazed.

“Come inside,” Yanluo said gently, his tone as calm as ever.

The familiar warmth in his voice made Thanatos relax slightly.

He had long been accustomed to hiding his face beneath his black robe. Now, standing exposed under someone’s gaze, he found the feeling foreign, leaving him completely at a loss.

This was Thanatos’ first time entering Yanluo’s bedroom. The moment he stepped inside, his movements stiffened slightly.

Yanluo poured him a glass of water, hoping to ease his nervousness.

But when Thanatos took the cup, his hands were trembling.

Who knew how long he had stood outside the door, mustering the courage to knock, remove his black robe, and reveal his true face?

It wasn’t until he had drained an entire glass of water that he felt even slightly more at ease.

Amused, Yanluo asked, “Would you like another?”

The little reaper nodded.

And so, Thanatos proceeded to gulped seven consecutive glasses.

Yanluo: “……” The poor thing must have been parched.

Just as he was about to pour an eighth, Thanatos whispered, “No more, thank you.”

Yanluo picked up his own cup and chuckled. “I’ll drink this one myself.”

Watching the little reaper chug water had made him thirsty too.

In the past, whenever the little reaper ate and drank, all that could be seen was the food disappearing into a black hole. Now, as he watched the boy held the cup with both hands, his eyes lowered as he took small sips, crystal-clear droplets clinging to his rosy lips, his pale face and ears tinged with red, how could Yanluo not feel thirsty?

So this was what the little reaper looked like when he ate.

He had truly missed out on too much before.

Thanatos, hearing Yanluo’s words, flushed an even deeper shade of red.

Yanluo teased him again, “I never thought I’d see your face before your skeleton. Your features are just as beautiful as your bone structure.”

If Thanatos had been drinking water, he would have spat it out on the spot.

……Why bring up his skeleton again?! Was this never going to end?!

His face couldn’t get any redder. After a long struggle, he finally managed to stammer, “Please, don’t say such improper words.”

“Improper?” Yanluo, the well-mannered scholar, looked genuinely puzzled. “But wasn’t I complimenting you?”

Thanatos: “……”

He suddenly realized that this might be a cultural difference.

Blushing furiously, he explained, “My skeleton is my body.”

The rest was simply too embarrassing to say aloud. Thanatos could only leave it to Yanluo to figure out on his own.

Fortunately, Yanluo was intelligent. Although he hadn’t immediately reacted, the little reaper’s shyness and hesitation made him pause and think.

Thanatos’ skeleton was his body. And skeletons didn’t wear clothes. Asking to see his skeleton was essentially the same as asking to see his unclothed body……

Yes, that was indeed quite improper.

Yanluo cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t careful and offended you.”

Thanatos murmured, his voice barely audible, “I-it’s fine.”

But before he could fully recover, Yanluo’s next question nearly made him wish for the ground to swallow him whole.

While sipping his water, Yanluo kept glancing toward Thanatos’ black robe, his gaze lingering so intently it was as if he might bore a hole through the fabric.

Thanatos shivered under the scrutiny. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Yanluo hesitated for a moment before finally voicing the question in his mind. “Do you have any clothes on under your robe now? If you don’t…… ahem, I can give you a few pieces.”

Since Thanatos had only ever worn a black robe as a skeleton, there was a possibility he wasn’t wearing anything beneath it in human form either……

The thought of the little reaper knocking on the door late at night, possibly wearing nothing under his black robe…… Yanluo’s throat went dry. He quickly took a large gulp of water to cool himself down.

Too heated. Must drink more water.

Thanatos: “……”

What kind of question was that?

Was this what Yanluo was thinking about when he kept staring at his black robe just now?

The God of Death was extremely ashamed and indignant.

Determined to clear his name and prove he was not some shameless god who knocked on people’s doors unclothed, Thanatos straightened with a blank expression, undid his black robe, and neatly folded it away.

Beneath the robe, the silver-haired boy was adorned in elegant, regal Greek attire. Ornate silver jewelry decorated his neck, arms, wrists, and ankles, while a serpent-shaped silver ornament coiled around his pale calf. A slender silver belt cinched his delicate waist, accentuating his cold yet noble aura.

He stood by the window, bathed in moonlight streaming through the panes. His pearl-like eyes lowered slightly, radiating an air of sacred inviolability.

A divine being.

He was clearly a peerless beauty in this world, yet he insisted on hiding in the darkness, enduring countless ugly and malicious speculations.

Yanluo smiled. “You look stunning.”

Thanatos: “……”

That icy, pale youth quickly turned into a fully cooked shrimp.

Yanluo quickly realized that the little reaper was very easy to fluster. From the moment he had knocked on the door until now, he had blushed so many times that his face had barely returned to its original color.

Was he always like this?

The thought of Thanatos hiding beneath his black robe, outwardly composed and elegantly aloof, while actually burning red from head to toe at the slightest embarrassment, made Yanluo feel a tremor of fondness.

Better drink another glass of water.

Spending time with the little reaper was thirsty work. He got overheated far too easily.

“Thank you for considering me a friend,” Yanluo said with a warm smile. “I’m honored.”

For Thanatos to willingly remove his black robe, that meant he truly saw him as a friend.

A friend.

Thanatos lowered his head.

……That wasn’t quite right.

What he really wanted was for Yanluo to be his boyfriend.

But no matter what, he didn’t dare say that out loud.

Besides, he needed to figure out exactly what kind of relationship Yanluo had with the Jade Emperor.

If they had truly gotten back together, he couldn’t just barge in between them.

“What about the guest who came earlier,” Thanatos asked, trying to keep his tone casual. “Is he your friend too?”

He felt that his question was subtle enough, an indirect, offhand inquiry that wouldn’t give away his true intentions.

What he didn’t realize was that, given his typically withdrawn and distant nature, the very act of asking about a stranger was already out of character. The effort alone made it glaringly obvious that something was up.

Yanluo narrowed his eyes. Was the little reaper interested in the Jade Emperor?

No way. Thanatos couldn’t possibly have such terrible taste.

“No,” Yanluo answered immediately. “We’re not close.”

Thanatos hesitated for a moment, then pressed further. “Was he your former lover?”

Yanluo: “???”

“Why would you even think that?” The idea was so absurd that Yanluo didn’t know whether to laugh or be exasperated. What on earth was going on inside this little reaper’s head?

Of course, it was Granny Meng who had said so.

But Thanatos didn’t throw Meng Wan under the bus. After all, he had been the one to ask first. If Yanluo really investigated, he’d realize just how much Thanatos cared about him.

Yanluo, however, was sharp. “Who told you?”

The little reaper was pure and straightforward, with a simple view of relationships. He wouldn’t normally think about things in such a complicated way. The only ones who would gossip like this were his subordinates.

Meng Wan was his primary suspect.

Thanatos didn’t answer.

Yanluo’s expression turned serious. “Don’t listen to other people’s nonsense. If you want to know something, just ask me. For the record, the Jade Emperor and I are completely clean, nothing between us whatsoever.”

That ancient, irrelevant history was something Yanluo never thought needed revisiting.

But if the little reaper had misunderstood and thought there was something between him and the Jade Emperor, that was unacceptable. He had to clear things up immediately.

And so, from Yanluo’s own lips, Thanatos heard a very different version of the story.

Tens of thousands of years ago, Yanluo had been one of the highest-ranking gods in the heavenly realm, the strongest of all the innate gods. Respected and feared, he was powerful beyond measure, distant and untouchable, never forming close ties with any other gods. The entire pantheon revered him.

Yanluo appeared cold and detached, but in truth, he held deep compassion for the world.

At that time, the human world was ravaged by constant natural disasters. Ordinary people, powerless against these calamities, struggled in endless suffering. In the face of destruction, some turned to looting, killing, and committing heinous crimes, while others chose kindness, sacrificing themselves to help those in need.

But in that era, before the cycle of reincarnation and the law of karma existed, good deeds held no meaning. There was no divine justice to reward the virtuous or punish the wicked. Yanluo had once witnessed a family take in a group of starving refugees during a severe drought, sharing their precious food despite their own hardships. But in the end, those very refugees, driven by greed, decided to seize everything for themselves. They slaughtered the family, believing fewer mouths to feed meant more food for them.

Tragedies like this happened far too often.

From that moment on, Yanluo resolved to create a new world, one where good would be rewarded and evil punished, even if this action went against the will of the heaven. At that time, he had yet to comprehend the true power of karma and could not implement his vision immediately. But he had already begun laying the foundation.

He knew in his heart that this was an act of rebellion against the heaven. Whether he succeeded or failed, he would never be able to remain in the heavenly realm. If he succeeded, he would step into a new world of his own making. If he failed, he would perish. Either way, the heavenly realm would need a new god capable of maintaining order in his absence.

Yanluo had always kept his distance from the other gods. As innate gods, they saw themselves as superior beings and felt no sympathy for mortal souls. Because of this, he could not entrust the heaven to any of them. Instead, he decided to descend into the human world to find a mortal, one he could nurture into his successor. A mortal-turned-god would understand human suffering and thus had compassion for all living beings.

During this time, a boy named Zhang Bairen lived among the mortals. He was brave, selfless, and righteous, risking his life to save an entire village during a disaster. Recognizing his extraordinary potential and pure heart, Yanluo brought him to the heavenly realm and granted him immortality.

Determined to shape him into a worthy ruler as quickly as possible, Yanluo devoted himself to Bairen’s practice, personally overseeing his cultivation. He spared no effort, even tossing him rare divine elixirs as if they were worthless, simply because he had plenty to give.

Seeing the ever-distant Yanluo suddenly take in a mortal boy, transformibg him into an immortal, and investing so much in his growth, the other gods couldn’t help but speculate. Gossip spread like wildfire. They claimed that Yanluo had fallen in love with the boy and that their relationship, though labeled as master and disciple, was in truth that of Dao companions.

Yanluo’s only goal had been to establish a new world and create the cycle of reincarnation as quickly as possible. His efforts in training Zhang Bairen were purely to cultivate a compassionate ruler for the heavens. Aside from teaching him cultivation and instilling the principles of benevolence, Yanluo also fulfilled his duties as a mentor in every aspect of daily life. He had done everything within his power.

And indeed, he had not misjudged Zhang Bairen’s talent. His cultivation aptitude was unparalleled. In just ten thousand years, he surpassed even the innate gods.

However, in his pursuit of power, Zhang Bairen chose the path of heartlessness, discarding his emotions to accelerate his progress. He lost the kindness that had once defined him, forsaking humanity and severing all attachments. He became even colder and more aloof than the innate gods, an unyielding enforcer of the heavenly laws, devoid of empathy.

Yanluo was disappointed that he had not lived up to his expectations. He had painstakingly trained a character for ten thousand years, and finally reached the max level, but the attributes turned out to be what he least wanted. Why had he even bothered? He might as well have picked one of the innate gods from the beginning.

Unfortunately, there was no time to start over. By then, Zhang Bairen had already become the most powerful god after Yanluo himself. Meanwhile, Yanluo had comprehended the power of karma and created the underworld. Zhang Bairen ascended as the Jade Emperor.

Before descending into the underworld, Yanluo severed their master-disciple relationship completely. He refused to acknowledge such a creation as his own.

“And that’s the whole story. No deep grudges, no tragic romance.” Yanluo felt that those gods who spread rumors were truly detestable, and even more so for causing the little reaper to misunderstand. “People who walk different paths cannot work together, that’s all. Those gossipy gods have nothing better to do than fabricate love affairs. As if romance is the only thing that exists in this world.”

Yanluo was mocking the gods who fabricated stories, but Thanatos felt as if he had been struck by an arrow as well.

……After all, he had fallen in love with Yanluo too.

A god like Yanluo, who carried boundless compassion, likely had room in his heart only for the countless living beings under his care, never for personal affections.

Thanatos, who had just been relieved to learn that Yanluo had no romantic ties to the Jade Emperor, felt a little lost again. His first love had ended before it could even begin.

Meanwhile, Yanluo was still complaining. “The rumor is absurd. They really forced a love story onto me. How could I possibly be interested in someone like the Jade Emperor, who doesn’t even want his seven emotions and six desires anymore?”

Thanatos muttered softly, “Mm.”

Yanluo, now fully immersed in his rant, added with a teasing smile, “If I were to like someone, it’d be our little reaper instead, so pure, yet so desirable.”

Thanatos: “Mm……”

Thanatos: “Mm???”

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