Chapter 59: The King of Hell’s Wedding
After saying that, Jian Yuntai didn’t even pause to see Cui Yu’s reaction. With a quick “pop,” he kissed him lightly on the forehead—then immediately turned and ran excitedly toward the Record of Soul Contracts.
He inspected it carefully.
Behind him, Cui Yu seemed completely frozen in place. The breeze swept through his hair, lifting the smooth, silken white strands slightly before letting them fall again.
The temple was utterly silent.
Curious ghost officials craned their necks to look. They saw their usually cold, detached Chief Judge, now with ears flushed and lips tightly pressed, struggling to contain the stirrings of delight on his face.
Everyone exchanged glances, realizing once again: Cui Yu had genuinely fallen this time.
And he had fallen willingly, savoring it.
The livestream chat was more festive than New Year, scrolling with astonishing speed:
“Wife might not be straight, sob… but even if he isn’t, I love him—he’s just too handsome (dog head emoji).”
“Hahahahaha Jian Dadan, be honest—would you kiss Fatty like that? I declare you two must get married on the spot!”
“F*k, that kiss was too fast. I didn’t even react in time! Someone screenshot this, share it, benefit the people!”
“Got it, got it, I recorded the screen 233333.”
Amid the cheerful comments, a few worried voices slipped in:
“Yikes… a little worried about Jian Dadan. He’s not going to repeat Lin Fuxue’s mistake, right?”
“Don’t even mention Lin Fuxue, thinking about it makes me want to cry.”
“Who’s Lin Fuxue?”
“Lin Fuxue is a tear of the times… he was a veteran livestreamer in the team, now retired. Three years ago when the livestream team was just starting, few people had faith. Lin Fuxue carried the first broadcast controversy and changed most people’s opinions… but just two months after the premiere, he retired. If he were still around, the newcomer king record wouldn’t belong to Monkey He—Lin Fuxue gained followers way faster than him back then.”
“Why did he retire?”
“He fell in love with an NPC in a B-level instance, disobeyed the team’s arrangements by repeatedly entering the same instance, clashed heavily with the livestream superiors, and submitted his retirement. Nobody knows if he’s dead; no news has come since.”
After hearing Lin Fuxue’s story, many viewers stopped joking when looking at Jian Yuntai on screen.
“Jian Dadan wouldn’t end up like Lin Fuxue, right?”
“Don’t scare yourself! Their personalities are quite different… I guess not?”
Rustle—
The sound of pages turning.
Unlike the viewers lost in speculation, Jian Yuntai wasn’t thinking that far. He cautiously leaned closer to the Record of Soul Contracts.
The Record floated before him, its gentle glow flickering, just bright enough not to hurt the eyes. At this moment, it had opened to two unfamiliar names.
【A thousand years ago, Yan Luo and Cui Yu fought a great battle, mistakenly releasing countless souls into the Sea of Life and Death. Heaven’s punishment descended, ending the unending lives of the underworld dead, and Cui Yu knelt at the Southern Gate of Heaven, refusing to rise.】
【Obtained the Record of Soul Contracts.】
【Player needs to use the Record of Soul Contracts once.】
Jian Yuntai reached toward the cover, his fingertips not yet touching the pages.
The Record seemed alive—suddenly the pages flipped backward and forward several times. After nearly half a minute, it stopped. The characters on the cover trembled slightly but became clear: black text on white background, strikingly contrasted.
Cui Yu’s name was first, followed by Jian Yuntai’s.
Use it once?
Jian Yuntai thought for a moment, then turned and approached Cui Yu, asking, “The soul-reaping brush… it can only erase bonds, right?”
“Hm?” Cui Yu lowered his eyelids slightly, confused.
Jian Yuntai asked bluntly, “I want to use the soul-reaping brush on our names—to make them darker, deepen them a little.”
“…”
Cui Yu paused for several seconds, then let out a soft, incredulous laugh. “The names on the Record cannot be darkened.”
Jian Yuntai frowned slightly, troubled.
If he couldn’t deepen the bond, then using the Record would only weaken it. And erasing their names entirely with the brush? Forget it—Cui Yu would never agree.
While he was lost in thought, Cui Yu studied the expression on his face for a moment, his gaze softening. “If that’s truly your intention, the thought itself is enough. I’ll have someone fetch an ordinary ink brush—you can write, if you want.”
“Okay!” Jian Yuntai repeated “okay” several times, practically overflowing with joy.
After waiting a moment, a ghost official brought down ink and brush from the ghost carriage. Jian Yuntai had learned quickly; after following Cui Yu that morning to write two characters, he now could roughly handle a brush.
The characters weren’t pretty, but that didn’t matter—this was an instance, after all.
He took the brush, full of energy, leaning over the temple platform to carefully trace the names, dipping in ink from time to time and splattering it around, flustered yet earnest.
Cui Yu watched quietly for a while, then asked, “Why do you want to trace the names in the Record?”
“Huh?” Jian Yuntai didn’t even lift his head, replying casually, “Then why have you traced names in the Register of Life and Death all these years? You’ve traced Lord of Dawn and Moon Goddess so many times.”
Cui Yu answered plainly, “I wanted to guide them to the afterlife, so they could be happy sooner. You?”
Jian Yuntai laughed softly. “Guess.”
“…”
Cui Yu’s eyes flickered for a long moment before settling. He smiled faintly, his gaze never leaving Jian Yuntai’s profile.
The ghost officials all bowed, whispering among themselves:
“What’s there to guess? Lord Xiao Jian clearly likes Chief Judge Cui! Look at how happy he makes him—”
“This is just a little gesture. Cui Yu didn’t point it out anyway. Tracing probably doesn’t really work, but in the mortal world, there are all sorts of love locks. Legend says if you lock a love lock on a bridge, the couple will stay together for life. Complete nonsense.”
“Then why trace it if it doesn’t work?”
“It’s all about the ritual.” Viewers in the livestream discussed: “From Cui Yu’s perspective, this is basically proof that Jian Dadan likes him too!”
“Jian Dadan is probably just completing a mission. When Cui Yu asked, he said ‘guess.’ Watching this livestream long enough, you can see he’s good at lying. He could’ve said ‘me too’ to make Cui Yu happy.”
“But he didn’t say it, probably because he didn’t want to deceive Cui Yu. Jian Dadan may have feelings for Cui Yu, whether romantic or friendship—he might just not want to keep lying.”
“This is actually better. Compared to sweet lies, the fact that Jian Dadan refuses to lie shows he’s truly opening a little piece of his heart to Cui Yu.”
“OMG… do you guys need to overanalyze like this? I’m dumbfounded. Honestly, when Jian Dadan said those words, he definitely wasn’t thinking this much.”
He traced the names over and over, three or four times, but every time the ink touched the page, it lasted only a few seconds. After that, the Record of Soul Contracts would return to its original state.
By the end, Jian Yuntai even wondered if this counted as using the Record at all—was all his effort going to waste?
That worry proved unnecessary.
Soon, the background sound of the instance echoed in his ears:
【Congratulations, player, for completing the side quest】
【STEP3: Three Taboos of Yin Officials】
【Do Not Speak of Secret Treasures】
【You have gained a fifteen-day survival time reward】
【You have gained 50 soul contract points】
【Your current soul contract value is 162. You need 38 more to complete the side quest.】
Click.
Jian Yuntai set the brush down.
“Finished tracing?” A soft, husky voice came from beside him. Jian Yuntai turned and saw Cui Yu watching him steadily, his gaze gentle and warm, eyes unblinking.
Jian Yuntai nodded. “Finished.” He said it aloud, but then looked back at the Record of Soul Contracts.
This thing… the last time he had seen it was in the King of Hell palace during the first round. That day, the King of Hell had intercepted the wedding and summoned the Record directly to the main hall.
King of Hell had tried to provoke Cui Yu by forcibly dragging Jian Yuntai in front of him. For some reason, the names of Jian Yuntai and Cui Yu on the Record had gradually faded, as if their bond had been weakened.
Of course… later, when Cui Yu rescued him during the wedding, the names returned to normal.
These memories flashed through his mind, and Jian Yuntai asked, puzzled, “Under what circumstances would names on the Record of Soul Contracts fade?”
The question sounded casual from him, but the ghost officials behind felt suffocating pressure.
This, by all rights, was classified information. Such secrets could never be casually revealed; the Record of Soul Contracts was far too important.
Cui Yu’s breath caught slightly. His gaze toward Jian Yuntai seemed filled with complicated emotions… yet somehow also empty.
The temple remained utterly silent. Clouds drifted across the sky, covering the full moon and casting a vast shadow. The entire temple seemed swallowed by a cold, desolate emptiness.
After a long moment, Cui Yu spoke, his lowered gaze carrying a subtle hope: “Can I trust you?”
“…………”
Jian Yuntai’s heart suddenly jumped violently. He parted his lips slightly and looked back, unsure what to say.
※※※
At the Chief Judge’s residence, Sun Bin only learned the devastating news after finishing his meal—Jian Yuntai and Cui Yu had gone on a date!
“Ahhhhhhh, how could this happen?” Sun Bin ruffled his hair into a wild nest, pacing hopelessly around the guest room, occasionally peeking out at the ghost officials: “Have they returned yet?”
The ghost official replied, “The two masters have not yet returned.”
Sun Bin’s paranoia flared. He checked under the bed, then out the window. If he saw anything suspicious, he would immediately rush out to intercept it.
No matter what, he refused to come down.
—Jian Yuntai had definitely forgotten him, sob!
There was still a random ghost in the side quest. If he wasn’t near the Yin Law Division or a destined official, Sun Bin would become a walking target for various ghosts.
Being scared was one thing, but encountering even one random ghost would drop his soul contract value by 2 points.
His soul contract value was barely over 200, just enough to let the Boss carry him through the instance. He couldn’t afford any scares.
Time passed, minute by minute. The two traveling in the dead of night had yet to return. In just two hours, Sun Bin’s emotions had cycled from shock—irritation—anxiety—fear—to accepting life and death… His mood was like a rollercoaster, and by now he could sit cross-legged, cracking sunflower seeds.
“Why aren’t they back yet?” Sun Bin spat out a seed, gossiping eagerly. “What did the two of them go out to do?”
The ghost official shook his head stiffly. “Subordinates dare not speculate.”
Sun Bin: “Could it be… they went wild in the fields?”
“……” The ghost officials stiffened, their pale faces flushed faintly. They shook their heads again and again. “Subordinates dare not speculate.”
“Then they must have gone wild in the fields.” Sun Bin rubbed his hands excitedly, thinking that when Jian Yuntai returned, he had to observe how this person walked.
It must be… indescribably special.
Just as he thought this, a ghost official came running anxiously from a distance, shouting, “Lord Sun…”
“Have Jian Yuntai and the others returned?” Sun Bin’s eyes lit up. He immediately threw away his sunflower seeds—forget the seeds, the live gossip was happening now!
He took two steps toward the gate, but the ghost official continued: “It’s not them. The two masters have not returned yet. Destined Official Zhang from the Yin Law Division is here to see you.”
“…………”
Sun Bin froze mid-step, his whole body stiff. He slowly turned his head back, clinging to a sliver of hope, and asked hesitantly, “This Destined Official Zhang… it can’t be Zhang Zhiyan, right?”
“Exactly!” The ghost official smiled broadly, delivering the crushing news. “Destined Official Zhang wants to see you. He’s already here.”
“…………” Sun Bin went completely pale, panic surging. He tried to climb a nearby tree, but after two steps realized he couldn’t. He darted to the corner of the courtyard.
Huff huff—
A female ghost in white leapt out. Sun Bin lost 2 soul contract points.
In that moment, his fear of Zhang Zhiyan instantly overpowered his fear of ghosts. He panicked, shouting, “Don’t block my way!” and shoved the ghost aside, scrambling behind a rock formation.
“Jian Yuntai… Jian Yuntai…” Huddled behind the rocks, Sun Bin shook like a leaf, palms pressed together in frantic prayer. “Hurry back, Jian Yuntai! If you don’t come back, I’m done for, sob sob sob…”
※※※
“You can… trust me.” Jian Yuntai had almost forced the words out of his throat, forcing himself to not look away midway.
He stared steadily at Cui Yu and repeated, “You can trust me.”
“Then I will trust you.” Cui Yu smiled softly.
The clouds drifted away, and gentle moonlight once again filtered into the temple, lightly touching everything. He seemed to glow from within; his white hair shimmered with a soft radiance, like the most beautiful lantern fish in the depths of the ocean.
Jian Yuntai felt somewhat humbled standing before him.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Cui Yu suddenly raised his hand, placing his cool palm over Jian Yuntai’s eyes.
It felt like an instant… and yet like many years.
Jian Yuntai only felt a layer of darkness cover his eyes, as if a thin sheet of ice had been placed over them. Before he could fully savor the chill, Cui Yu withdrew his hand.
When he opened his eyes again, Jian Yuntai looked at him, puzzled. “What did you do?”
“Cleared your visual obstruction.”
Cui Yu’s voice was calm and gentle: “Look at the Record of Soul Contracts again.”
Jian Yuntai obeyed, turning his gaze. The moment he did, his heart skipped a beat—there, suspended above the Record, hovered a sharp blade!
The blade hung like the sword of Damocles, just a decimeter above the Record. Wherever the Record moved, the blade followed.
Jian Yuntai was certain it hadn’t appeared suddenly. He had been leaning over, tracing names for quite some time—there was no way he could have been so blind as to not see even a dagger.
It had been there all along.
He simply hadn’t noticed it before.
Looking more closely, he saw that the blade was inlaid with lustrous jewels. A massive emerald spun within the hilt, while the blade itself was like smooth silver ice, reflecting Jian Yuntai’s face and the gentle moonlight around him.
Outside the temple, the ghost officials were both amazed and panicked—they hadn’t expected Chief Judge Cui to reveal this to Jian Yuntai.
This was a matter that could affect the fate of the entire Underworld!
Amid the crowd of anxious and uneasy stares, Jian Yuntai tilted his head and asked, “What is this dagger for?”
“When the Buddha gifted me the Record of Soul Contracts,” Cui Yu said, “he also gave me this dagger. Few in the world know of it. In the entire Underworld, only Yan Luo and I could see it… until now, you as well.”
He paused briefly, then continued, “The soul-reaping brush can erase names on the Record, but it only temporarily conceals destiny. Only by carving names with this dagger can one truly sever the threads of fate.”
Whoooosh—
Whoooosh—
The wind howled outside the temple, rustling leaves at the treetops. The ghost officials ducked their heads lower, sensing the gravity of the words.
Cui Yu’s voice remained even and light, yet each word pressed heavily against Jian Yuntai’s straightened spine, thudding relentlessly.
Thud after thud.
Beat after beat.
Jian Yuntai’s face betrayed no emotion, but inside, a storm raged.
—Sever the threads of fate?
In the instance, “severing fate” was the term used. In the real world, it would mean cutting the connection between a player and their destined person.
If it were severed… what would happen?
As he pondered, the livestream viewers’ thoughts completely diverged:
“Back in the first round, King of Hell must have used this to fade Cui Yu and Jian Dadan’s names. Then later, when Cui Yu rescued Jian Dadan, he used the dagger to carve the names back in?”
“No wonder! That’s why the names faded one day and deepened the next. So back then, only Yanluo and Cui Yu could see the dagger!”
“Now Jian Dadan can see it too. Waaaa, Cui Yu really trusts Jian Dadan—he even told him about something so important.”
“Since Jian Dadan showed up for the meeting, Cui Yu has completely trusted him. He probably never trusted anyone like this in his life—so good, sob sob sob.”
Jian Yuntai didn’t think much of the dagger or the Record, casually saying, “I thought the Record was unshakable.”
Cui Yu shook his head calmly. “Nothing in the Underworld is truly unshakable. Not even Yan Luo. He may be the King of Hell, but he has weaknesses.”
Jian Yuntai quickly asked, “What weaknesses does Yan Luo have?”
“You ask so directly.” Cui Yu chuckled, lightly tapping Jian Yuntai’s forehead with his knuckle. With a slight push, Jian Yuntai tilted his head back, startled. “What are you doing?”
“His head.” Cui Yu didn’t elaborate, lowering his eyes and speaking in a flat tone: “Yan Luo’s weakness lies in his head.”
With that, he turned and walked outside.
A thousand years ago, Yan Luo had pierced Lord of Dawn’s heart with a single sword, only to be knocked unconscious and drift in the river for days. By the time he woke, it was all over.
Yan Luo was then punished to the Underworld. He didn’t even know how that little incense fairy—Yan Xiang—had died. After he was unconscious, Yan Xiang had been struck down by Lord of Dawn’s sword. Yet for all these years, Yan Luo had always believed it was Cui Yu who had killed Yan Xiang.
At first, Cui Yu denied it. Later, Yan Luo refused to listen, stubbornly believing that Cui Yu had killed Yan Xiang to avenge Lord of Dawn.
So, immediately after being punished to the Underworld, Cui Yu and Yan Luo fought fiercely, summoning heavenly punishment. One aspect of the punishment affected all officials of the Underworld, ending the lives of countless souls. Another aspect targeted Cui Yu and Yan Luo themselves.
Their hearts’ blood was forcibly exposed, creating deadly vulnerabilities as a warning. In any future conflict, Yan Luo would hesitate, unwilling to clash head-on with Cui Yu.
After all, both knew the other’s weakness intimately.
…
Cui Yu walked slowly, as if deliberately waiting for Jian Yuntai to catch up.
Sure enough, Jian Yuntai dropped the brush and hurried after him. “Does everyone have a weakness?”
“Yes.” Cui Yu nodded calmly.
Jian Yuntai tilted his head, secretly studying Cui Yu.
Both of them had been exiled from the Heavenly Court, yet the difference between them was stark. Yan Luo radiated a grim, oppressive aura, his eyes almost unable to contain their wildness when observing others. Cui Yu, in contrast, retained the ethereal, aloof elegance he had possessed in the Heavenly Court, like a banished immortal.
It seemed he was simply himself, whether in the Heavenly Court or the Underworld.
Jian Yuntai couldn’t imagine that someone so divine could have a weakness.
If Yan Luo’s weakness was his head, what was Cui Yu’s?
Such a question was one Jian Yuntai would never dare ask outright—at least, not while his mind was still functioning normally.
Perhaps his “sneaky glances” had been too obvious. Cui Yu slowly turned his eyes toward him and smiled faintly: “You’re curious about my weakness?”
“Not especially curious…” Jian Yuntai cleared his throat, walking alongside Cui Yu. The halo of the Record of Soul Contracts behind them cast soft light across the side of his face, shadows and radiance dancing together.
It was beautiful—especially now, having completed the second taboo of the Yin Officials, Jian Yuntai’s mood was light. His brows and eyes carried a smile, drawing several ghost officials into dazed admiration.
“I’m just a little curious.” After saying this, he immediately added, with strong self-preservation instincts: “You don’t have to say—uh, it’s probably better if you don’t…”
Before he could finish, a soft laugh came.
Cui Yu’s eyes shimmered with scattered starlight, as if a crescent moon had fallen into his pale pupils, inviting the stars as companions.
He stepped over the temple’s high threshold. “You didn’t rest well tonight. Take a proper rest tomorrow. If you’re still curious, I’ll show you my ‘Kong Cave’ the day after—that will be my weakness.”
After saying this, there was a long silence from behind.
Cui Yu stepped forward, then, sensing something, turned to look back. He saw Jian Yuntai standing frozen at the threshold, motionless, his face drained of all color.
He simply stared blankly.
The high threshold—like a heavenly ladder or a stone bridge—seemed to sever the two of them completely.
The livestream viewers erupted instantly. The bullet comments scrolled rapidly, and many jumped to their feet:
“Holy crap!!! How is this happening?!”
“Ahhhhhh I really did not expect this at all, how could it be like this wuuu…”
“I’m already feeling scared in advance, oh god, I’m so worried about Cui Yu, what will he do 55555”
“Sisters, it’s still late at night, many have gone to sleep. I feel like tomorrow during the day, when more people see this, it’s going to explode. Everyone’s going to be curious about the third taboo of the side quest.”
“When they wake up tomorrow, they’re definitely going to be shocked.”
After a long silence, the temple was utterly still.
Cui Yu lowered his gaze to Jian Yuntai, his smile unchanged, but his eyes now filled with a trace of puzzlement: “What’s wrong?”
【Player side quest updated】
【STEP4: Three Taboos of Yin Officials】
【Do Not Speak of Weakness】
“………” Jian Yuntai’s face froze. A chill rose from his feet, and he was so stiff he couldn’t utter a word. He couldn’t describe what he felt—only that goosebumps crawled up his arms, little by little.
The cold, impassive side quest background sound hit him like a thunderclap from the heavens, catching him completely off guard:
【Player must find Cui Yu’s weakness—】
【And break it】
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