Chapter 52: The King of Hell’s Wedding (32)
Zhang Zhiyan’s face went pale; his lips moved several times, but he couldn’t get a single word out.
Cui Yu’s voice was cold: “Go to the Tongue-Pulling Hell to receive your punishment.”
Behind the door, numerous ghost officials stood silently. At this, their hearts froze in shock—Tongue-Pulling Hell? The Underworld officials were all people who had borne guilt in life and had come to atone. They were very different from ordinary ghosts. If a normal ghost descended to the Eighteen Levels of Hell, they would only endure some limited tortures. But if an Underworld official went, the torment was truly upon the soul itself.
Even if Zhang Zhiyan drank the water from the Sea of Life and Death after this descent, it would likely take years to recover fully.
Clearly, Cui Yu was absolutely furious.
Meeting the terrified gazes of everyone present, Cui Yu’s five fingers clamped around Jian Yuntai’s wrist and forcefully dragged him toward the exit. Jian Yuntai was slightly startled; it felt as if his wrist had been locked in a heavy shackle, one that continuously tightened. Within moments, a full circle of mottled red marks appeared around his wrist. He struggled slightly, but the “shackles” suddenly constricted, sending sharp pain through his flesh as if a thousand needles were piercing him.
“Hiss—” Jian Yuntai gasped sharply.
Cui Yu paused and released his hold. They stopped within the main hall, where countless destined officials and players sat uncomfortably, heads bowed, too afraid to meet their eyes. Jian Yuntai knew he had stepped on a landmine—probably the largest in Cui Yu’s entire life. Unease churned in his heart as he glanced over.
Cui Yu didn’t look at him. He simply turned slightly to the side, lips pressed thin, and his brow lowered, his eyes radiating wild rage. The pressure was almost tangible, making many destined officials in the hall turn pale and feel their hearts constrict as if they couldn’t breathe.
Just as everyone felt completely lost, urgent footsteps echoed from a side room. Zhang Zhiyan seemed to have just realized something; he hurried out, raising his voice: “Chief Judge, you shouldn’t punish me!”
“!!!”
Though no one knew exactly what had happened in the side room, that didn’t stop everyone’s imagination from running wild. No matter what, Cui Yu was enraged! Was Zhang Zhiyan trying to get himself killed? He was practically running into the line of fire!
Cui Yu’s pupils darkened further as he slightly turned toward Zhang Zhiyan, lips parting: “I shouldn’t punish you?”
Zhang Zhiyan was upright and straightforward; he said plainly: “I have not committed dereliction of duty and should not be punished by being sent to the Tongue-Pulling Hell.”
“…………”
Cui Yu stared at him coldly.
Zhang Zhiyan continued: “Besides, Lord Xiao Jian will find out about this sooner or later. I was only—”
Before he could finish, Cui Yu coldly raised his hand. Zhang Zhiyan felt as if a heavy object struck him from afar; his body flew backward like a kite with its string cut. Bang, bang! Several loud crashes sounded as he overturned numerous desks before finally coming to rest.
Before he could even get up, something in his arms was flung through the air, tracing a parabolic arc before landing in Cui Yu’s hands.
—A Ghost Soldier Jade Token!
A destined official whispered in shock. This object controlled the Underworld’s army authority and had originally been managed by Cui Yu. He had voluntarily handed over control to Zhang Zhiyan, who had managed it flawlessly for over a hundred years. And now… it was seized?!
The destined officials exchanged stunned glances, shaken. The players present looked over ten times more terrified—last round, Cui Yu had used this during his coup attempt, right? No way… not again, right?! Was he planning another rebellion?
The hall was deathly silent. Zhang Zhiyan sat pale, stunned on the ground, and asked dazedly: “You’re going to seize my army authority?”
“Destined Official Zhang Zhiyan has committed a taboo. Punishment: descent to Tongue-Pulling Hell, confiscation of army authority, suspension pending investigation. When you realize your mistake, you may return and ask for this Ghost Soldier Jade Token.”
Cui Yu’s overwhelming rage was forcibly suppressed, his gaze returning to a chilling calm. But this calm was like a bottomless black hole—anyone who met his eyes felt their very souls being drained. Every person in the hall dared not look directly at him.
[Player: Jian Yuntai]
[Soul Contract Value -3]
[Soul Contract Value -3]
[Soul Contract Value -6]
“……” Jian Yuntai’s vision went black. He had been thinking that if Zhang Zhiyan’s path failed, he could at least directly ask Cui Yu about his Do Not Speak of the Past. That thought was completely gone. Why even ask now? He didn’t want his Soul Contract value to drop even more, did he?
Zhang Zhiyan truly lived up to Cui Yu’s appraisal of him as a “man of upright character.” Even when no one dared to speak, he still opened his mouth in frustration: “I have done nothing wrong!”
Even Sun Bin wanted to rush forward to cover his mouth; if the destined person died, the players would die too. Zhang Zhiyan had no intention of surviving—but he still wanted to live!
However, Sun Bin was timid and dared not move. Thus, no one could stop Zhang Zhiyan from speaking: “Chief Judge Cui, you may fool people for a moment, but can you fool them forever? The mistake wasn’t yours back then; I don’t understand why you have concealed it for so many years. Lord Xiao Jian will find out eventually, and what will you do then?”
Instantly, the livestream exploded:
“Zhang Zhiyan, you’re a real man, I swear.”
“Damn, he’s surely dead today. First time seeing someone redefine the word ‘suicide’ this impressively.”
“Zhang Zhiyan probably went through this mess himself and saw Sun Bin didn’t discriminate against him. So he wants Cui Yu to try it too? But your Do Not Speak of the Past aren’t comparable. You only failed to save your mother and were tricked; Cui Yu committed matricide and was punished by Heaven!”
“Oh my god, trying it means death!”
“…………”
It seemed even the air in the hall could not circulate. Not only did Jian Yuntai’s vision go dark, but other players and destined officials also saw nothing but black, their minds shaken, wanting only to escape this terrifying place immediately.
Cui Yu’s eyes did not blink as he stared at Zhang Zhiyan, his gaze full of murderous intent. The players panicked—they could not let Cui Yu kill Zhang Zhiyan! If Zhang died, Sun Bin would die too. Their C-level instance run would be a total disaster, a complete loss.
Despite the urgency, no one dared to move. They could only watch as Cui Yu slowly, step by step, approached Zhang Zhiyan.
Tap. Tap.
Tap. Tap.
Only the sound of footsteps echoed through the hall, terrifying everyone.
At that moment, Jian Yuntai’s gaze hardened, and he sprinted forward. Fatty’s face turned pale behind him; he didn’t even have time to grab him. Jian Yuntai had already covered several meters.
“……” Damn.
Everyone could only think this word. They stared, breathless, as Jian Yuntai’s unwavering back barreled forward. To them, it was like running to cover a machine gun with his own body—a breathtaking act.
They watched as Jian Yuntai reached Cui Yu and suddenly spread his arms, blocking him.
“……”
Cui Yu stomped his foot, face freezing. The chaotic Soul Contract value alerts blaring in Jian Yuntai’s ears stopped. He exhaled, but his expression remained serious.
Tentatively, Cui Yu moved a few steps closer. He did not act, merely looking down at Jian Yuntai with a blank expression. Jian Yuntai, unsure of himself, forced his courage and reached out.
Under the admiring gaze of everyone, he grasped Cui Yu’s hand, interlocking their fingers slowly but firmly.
Into the cold palm, a warm “little sun” seeped in. The finest skin of their hands touched, the thin calluses rubbing gently, and heat spread between them.
“I’m hungry.” Jian Yuntai slightly raised his eyes, a hint of anticipation in them. “Let’s go back, okay?”
“……” The players present nearly dropped to their knees on the spot.
No!!! Boss, say that again!!
That excuse was way too lousy. You had just finished eating! Were you treating Cui Yu like an idiot?!
Everyone’s faces were filled with fear. Just as their hearts clenched tighter and tighter, the atmosphere suddenly fell into a strange silence.
They saw Cui Yu pause for a full several seconds. Then his expression actually softened considerably. He gave a slight nod and said, “Alright.”
“???” The players were instantly dumbfounded.
So the idiots had been themselves?
After the two of them left and quite some time had passed, the main hall seemed to thaw like early spring. The entire atmosphere suddenly became lively again.
“Was Jian Yuntai just helping us out of that situation?” One player looked grateful. “I didn’t expect him to be so kind-hearted.”
“Yeah! It really took a lot of courage to rush up like that.”
“He didn’t look that old… Sigh. I never thought I’d be outdone by a teenager more than ten years younger than me.”
“A person’s face reflects their heart. Look at how handsome he was—and he was kind too. No wonder he was from the Livestream Zhao’an Team. People backed by the Alliance really did carry righteousness in their hearts, willing to sacrifice themselves for others!”
The veteran players whispered among themselves.
The streamers, however, had their lips twitching wildly.
“They didn’t know Jian Yuntai came out of the Xiang’an Team?”
“They probably didn’t. A lot of people here had already been trapped inside before Jian Yuntai was even captured.”
“Forget it. We’d better not tell them. If we said it, it would definitely scare them.”
※※※
Inside the ghost carriage, it was completely quiet.
Sun Bin didn’t want to sit inside the carriage. He wanted to hang outside instead— even if he had to be battered by the cold wind, it would have been better than staying in here.
He was truly on the verge of breaking down inside—Dad, I wanted to go home, boohoo. I’d never dare enter a C-level instance again!
The Yin Law Division only worked in the morning; in the afternoon, the Yin officials could handle matters from home. Jian Yuntai flipped through the pages of the book in his hands and felt Cui Yu’s gaze lingering on him the whole time.
The moment he looked up, Cui Yu withdrew his eyes.
After this repeated several times, Jian Yuntai finally couldn’t stand it anymore. He snapped shut the little yellow book filled with various suggestive poses and asked, “Do you have something you want to say?”
Cui Yu’s eyes flickered slightly. After a long while, his voice came out hoarse. “You… don’t think I’m despicable?”
Jian Yuntai was taken aback. “Despicable in what way?”
Cui Yu said, “Matricide.”
Jian Yuntai: “……”
—That’s it? That’s it?
The corner of Jian Yuntai’s eye twitched. He was truly speechless. Just a few hours earlier, he had thought it was something huge. He had even imagined all sorts of melodramatic scenarios.
Falling in love with the same person as the King of Hell, a substitute lover running away while pregnant… He had even briefly wondered whether it involved incest between brothers, but then decided that was too bizarre and stopped thinking further.
To be honest, matricide had indeed been horrifying before the world’s distortion. But after the world changed, corpses could be seen all over the streets of the slums, including bloody cases of relatives slaughtering their own kin. He had long since grown numb to such things.
Taking a step back—even just within the Xiang’an Team—something like matricide wouldn’t have attracted any attention at all. If an employee reported something like that, they would only have been met with countless eye rolls from their colleagues: A hacker went rogue, broke into the Alliance’s missile system, and bombed hundreds of thousands to death—and you were telling me about one person being killed?
Perhaps Jian Yuntai’s expression was too vivid. The livestream viewers burst out laughing.
“Jian Dadan’s expression is killing me hahahaha.”
“Cui Yu, little baby, you really underestimated Jian Dadan this time. He came out of the Xiang’an Team—he’s a real monster.”
“Jian Dadan has seen it all in the slums. This is probably small stuff to him.”
Countless thoughts flashed through Jian Yuntai’s mind in a few seconds. His expression gradually softened. It was the first time in this instance that he spoke so openly from the heart.
“I’ve never thought anyone was despicable. In desperate situations, everyone struggles to survive. Wanting to live is normal. I’m not you—how would I know what you went through back then? How could I criticize you from a position of comfort?”
“You just don’t know.” Cui Yu fell silent for a moment before saying, “If you understood the full story, you wouldn’t think that way.”
“Then let me understand.” Jian Yuntai straightened slightly, his spirit lifting. “My tolerance is much higher than you imagine.”
“……”
Another silence filled the carriage.
Finally, Cui Yu raised his eyes and looked directly at Jian Yuntai.
The young man sat beside him, encouragement flickering in his beautiful eyes. His gaze was gentle—like warm sunlight in winter, something one couldn’t help but linger in.
A wave of warmth suddenly surged through Cui Yu’s heart.
He pressed his lips together tightly. That hollow place deep inside him, which had always felt empty, seemed to be slowly filling up.
It was as if a voice whispered in his ear:
Say it. Say it out loud.
If you say it, he can accept it.
He will accept it.
“Chief Judge Cui could hide it from him for a while—but could he hide it for a lifetime?” Zhang Zhiyan’s stern questioning still echoed in his ears. Layer upon layer, those words pressed down on him. Cui Yu seemed to gather immense courage—
His thin lips parted. He was just about to speak.
Knock, knock—
Two light taps suddenly sounded from outside the carriage.
A ghost official called anxiously from outside, “Chief Judge, something has happened!”
Cui Yu stood up. “What is it?”
“…………” Jian Yuntai and Sun Bin looked at each other, both seeing the exact same heart-attack expression on the other’s face.
This ghost official had come at the worst possible moment!
“It’s Destined Official Diao Shan. The matter of him hiding his ex-wife’s corpse under the bed has been discovered by his destined person!” The ghost official spoke extremely quickly. “His destined person despised him on the spot and began vomiting blood, even coughing up organs in succession…”
The amount of information in that single sentence was overwhelming.
Jian Yuntai sat upright. Sun Bin leaned forward out of sheer curiosity to listen more closely.
The livestream chat exploded with “holy shit”:
“Holy shit 66666, I don’t even know what to say besides 6!”
“Who? Hurry up and say who Diao Shan’s destined person is. If it’s a streamer, I’m going to go watch.”
“This is way too bizarre hahahaha… Hiding your ex-wife’s corpse under the bed—no wonder the destined person despised him.”
“Vomiting blood and organs? Probably because the disgust showed too clearly on their face, hurt the Yin official’s feelings, and caused the soul contract value to plummet.”
“I just want to know who it is hahahaha.”
The ghost official did not reveal the destined person’s name. Instead, he added something even more bizarre.
“Diao Shan’s ex-wife was actually his biological younger sister. His destined person probably doesn’t know that yet.”
Jian Yuntai and Sun Bin exchanged another glance. This time, their expressions were once again perfectly synchronized.
Unbelievable. Completely shocking.
“How is Diao Shan now?” Cui Yu asked.
The ghost official rubbed his head in frustration. “His destined person has a very strong temperament. The moment Diao Shan approached, the destined person nearly vomited on the spot. During the struggle between them, the destined person accidentally injured Diao Shan. They are both seriously wounded now and have been sent to the ghost doctor.”
“Damn, that intense?”
“So who is it already? Sorry, I just want to laugh hahahaha. Why is everyone’s moral bottom line lower than the last?”
“Frontline report! I went to take a look—it’s Fatty!”
“Fuck? It’s actually Fatty?!”
“It was obvious he tried hard to keep it together, but he just couldn’t suppress the disgust in his heart. In the end, he completely lost control.”
“Jian Dadan, your roommate’s in trouble!”
Jian Yuntai had no idea what was going on. He was still sitting in the carriage marveling at the situation, thinking to himself how thrilling it was.
Who was that unlucky? He wanted to go watch the drama too.
Cui Yu lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and stepped out. The moment his foot touched the ground, a cluster of ghostfires gathered beneath him. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly paused and glanced back at Jian Yuntai.
Jian Yuntai: “?”
A faint smile flickered through Cui Yu’s eyes, gone in an instant. Then he leapt down from the ghost carriage.
Jian Yuntai: “???”
While he was still confused, Sun Bin said enviously from the side, “Honestly, Cui Yu is really good-looking. He looks even better when he smiles. I used to think he couldn’t smile at all.”
Jian Yuntai asked, “Why did he smile at me?”
Sun Bin froze for a second, then perked up immediately. After nearly twenty loops through this instance, he could analyze things with confidence. “Because you surprised him!”
The carriage curtain fell back into place, blocking out the midday breeze. Sun Bin picked up the little yellow book Jian Yuntai had been flipping through earlier and casually opened it. The moment he glanced inside, he tossed it away like it was some monstrous beast. Damn it. Jian Yuntai had been reading it so seriously, like he was studying academic material—Sun Bin had thought it was something proper.
After steadying himself, Sun Bin looked at Jian Yuntai with a complicated expression and asked, “You two aren’t actually planning to practice this stuff tonight, are you?”
“……” Jian Yuntai stared at him blankly.
Sun Bin immediately stopped joking and said seriously, “All the Yin officials and destined officials in the Underworld are people who committed serious crimes while alive. After death, they couldn’t reincarnate and were sent to hell to atone. I don’t know what exactly your man did, but everyone here thinks they’re utterly despicable.”
“You’re only on your second loop now, so Cui Yu hasn’t really darkened yet. Once the loop count increases…” Sun Bin’s pupils shrank, and fear appeared on his face. “When the number gets high, even if you just do something small, he might start doubting and suspecting you. On one hand, he’ll fear you’ll leave him. On the other, he’ll want to keep you. He’ll use all kinds of even more disgraceful methods, desperately trying to imprison you.”
After a long pause, Sun Bin asked, “Are you afraid?”
“……” Jian Yuntai’s gaze was steady, his tone calm. “If he dares to imprison me, I’ll dare to kill him.”
The moment Sun Bin met his eyes, he instinctively shrank back. Suddenly, he felt that the boss in front of him wasn’t any better than Cui Yu. These two were basically lunatic versus lunatic—perfectly matched.
“It hasn’t come to that yet.” Jian Yuntai leaned back slightly against the carriage wall and looked out the window into the distance. “Didn’t he smile just now? When I saw him smile…” He had actually felt happy too.
“When you saw him smile, then what?” Sun Bin pressed curiously.
Jian Yuntai shook his head and changed the subject. “We were interrupted earlier. Now it’ll be harder to probe into those Do Not Speak of the Past matters.”
Strike while the iron was hot; hesitate, and the momentum fades.
Jian Yuntai felt a little regretful, but he quickly rallied himself. At worst, he’d just spend a bit more time.
As he was thinking this, Sun Bin sat across from him looking like he wanted to say something but didn’t dare. He was sweating nervously.
Jian Yuntai glanced at him. “Spit it out.”
Sun Bin choked at the bluntness and said, “Actually, you don’t have to ask Cui Yu directly. I’ve got an easier method.”
“What method?”
“Heh heh! Bet you didn’t expect this—most of the veteran players who cleared the First Taboo of Yin Officials did it thanks to me!”
“What method?”
“That’s all thanks to my Sinister Type. I’m a Sinister Ghost Type. Jealous? Hahaha, no need to be too jealous.”
“What method?”
“It’s precisely because I’m a Sinister Ghost Type with such a special skill that I entered this C-level instance. With a few Sinister Monster Type bodyguards arranged by my dad, it’s basically a sure thing… hey, hey?!”
Sun Bin had been talking animatedly when his entire body suddenly lifted into the air. Half of him ended up hanging out the carriage window. Like cured meat hung out to dry in winter, his upper body swayed wildly in the fierce wind.
“Ahhhhhhh—!” he screamed in terror.
Jian Yuntai held him by one leg with one hand, looked down at him, and curved his lips in a faint smile. “Your dad probably never told you there’s someone in the Livestream Team named Jian Yuntai. I’ve never had much patience since I was little.”
“I was just about to say it!” Sun Bin shrieked even more miserably. Sure, at first he’d thought about escaping the carriage and hanging outside—but that was just a thought!
Jian Yuntai had actually hung him out there.
This guy was way too evil, boohoo!
After the chaos, Sun Bin sat as far away from Jian Yuntai as possible, practically glued to the carriage wall. Like a little yellow flower battered by a storm, he trembled and said, “I’m a Sinister Ghost Type. My skill is dream entry. I can bring you into Cui Yu’s dream and let you see the part of his past he least wants to remember. It’s just that I’m not very skilled yet. The closer I am to Cui Yu, the more stable the dream world will be. Otherwise, it might collapse halfway through.”
He spoke extremely quickly. After finishing, Sun Bin shivered and peeked at Jian Yuntai with teary eyes.
The livestream viewers were laughing themselves to death.
“Hahahahaha so why did you waste so many words at first? Jian Dadan probably didn’t throw you out only out of respect for your political elite dad.”
“Sun Bin must be thinking: baby misses daddy qaq.”
“When he was rambling before, it was all emotion and no content. Now it’s all content and no emotion hahahaha.”
“Another poor, pitiful, helpless soul traumatized by Jian Dadan. Tragic, truly tragic.”
“This method really is much simpler. Maybe they can complete the First Taboo of Yin Officials without Cui Yu knowing. The problem is… it’s nighttime soon, right? When Cui Yu sleeps, there’s no way he’ll let Sun Bin stay in the room too, right?”
While the viewers racked their brains, Jian Yuntai thought for a moment and asked, “When you say dream entry, do you mean both of us enter his dream together?”
“No, no, no.” Sun Bin shook his head rapidly and waved his hands. “I’m not strong enough yet. I can only send one person into the dream. This kind of thing should be done by you, boss.”
“How close counts as stable?”
“There’s no fixed number. Anyway, the closer the better. How about tonight when you go to sleep, you arrange for me to stay in the next room? Even with just a wall in between, it’ll be fine—as long as the distance is close.”
“……” Cui Yu’s bedchamber had the bed placed against a wall, but on the other side of that wall there wasn’t a room.
It was an empty courtyard.
Jian Yuntai said, “Then tonight you’ll sleep with us.”
“……” Sun Bin’s mouth fell open in shock. He stood there dumbfounded for several full minutes. His eyes accidentally drifted to that book on the table—elegant-looking on the outside, explicit on the inside—and his mind instantly filled with nosebleed-inducing scenarios.
Seeing how delicate and attractive Jian Yuntai looked, Sun Bin blushed a little and decided, through great inner pain, that he should decline.
Before he could even say the words of refusal, Jian Yuntai’s voice came again.
“……???” Sun Bin felt dizzy, as if he might split apart on the spot.
He stammered, trembling, “W-what?”
Didn’t he hear clearly?
“I said,” Jian Yuntai glanced at him, stood up, and kindly patted his shoulder. In a gentle voice, he said, “You’ll sleep under the bed.”
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