Chapter 2208: Old Friend
Chapter 2208: Old Friend
Zu An froze up.
Is this woman trying to overthrow the Big Dipper?!
As such, he increased the offensive to assert his dominance.
Sure enough, Chu Chuyan was no match at all. She continued to moan and beg for mercy. But she knew that such pleas in the ears of men were no different from bugle horns signaling to attack.
Soon after, she also started getting into it. She even daringly moved closer and bit on his ear, asking, “Who is better, me or my master?”
Zu An’s breathing immediately quickened.
This woman really shows an entirely different side sometimes!
He naturally wouldn’t answer this question straightforwardly and court death. Instead, he replied with a big smile, “If you want, we can call over big sis Yan and have a competition together.”
“Hah, keep dreaming! You’re so annoying!” How could Chu Chuyan compare to him in shamelessness? She immediately couldn't take it anymore.
Look at this guy. He got more worked up as soon as I mentioned master.
Hmph, what master? I’m going to have Xuehen serve me tea next time. I want to see just what kind of expression she has then...
...
After a long time had passed, Chu Chuyan lay in Zu An’s arms. Her body trembled from time to time. There were still strong emotions in her expression. Her cheek was pressed up against Zu An’s chest, her finger drawing circles gently on him. She felt really sweet and fulfilled inside. She had thought that she would need to spend an eternity here alone. How could she have known that she would still be able to experience such bliss...
The two of them continued their romantic mumurings for a while, as if they had endless things to say. However, Chu Chuyan suddenly realized something and said, “Ah Zu, your physical body is still outside, right? Hurry and go back so that nothing bad happens!”
Even though she knew that he was the underworld emperor and that he could continue to stay here even if he died, she still wished for her lover to be safe and sound, and to continue living.
Zu An knew that leaving his body outside was indeed dangerous, and that it would bring Shang Liuyu danger. He had just obtained the Netherworld Book of Life and Death and reunited with Chuyan too, so he definitely didn’t want all of these happy things to be suddenly followed by tragedy.
When he realized that, he didn’t waste any more time. He put on his clothes and said goodbye to Chu Chuyan, saying, “Then I’m going first. Wait here for me, and I’ll come back once I’ve finished all the busywork.”
Even though he was in a soul form, things like clothes worked more or less the same way as they did for ordinary people. There were so many souls, and all of them still needed to remain dressed, after all.
“There’s no rush.” Chu Chuyan gently helped him sort out his clothes. “You can just visit me once a month. The Pure World Icelotus is quite special, and I need to sleep a lot to recover. If not for the broadcast of the struggle for the authority of the underworld, I might not even have woken up.”
Then, a sweet smile appeared on her lips. “It was also thanks to this that I was able to reunite with you.”
Zu An gave the lotus beneath them a look. This Pure World Icelotus really was special; just a portion of its intent was already this powerful. If it were the real thing...
But he didn’t feel completely at ease. After thinking about it, he set up a restriction around the Naihe Oblivion River to have the surrounding waters flow past Chuyan to either side. At the same time, the water ghosts wouldn’t be able to disturb her anymore. It wasn't too difficult; when Zu An was still a Naihe Oblivion River Ferryman, he had already been able to control the river, let alone now when he was the underworld emperor. He also set up a lot of protective restrictions to ensure Chu Chuyan’s safety.
He knew it would actually be fine even if he didn’t do these things, since the river was the best defense in and of itself. Everyone stayed far away from it. But he still couldn't feel at ease. After setting up everything, he reminded her, “Chuyan, call for me if anything goes wrong. The entire underworld is now under my management, and I’ve set up all kinds of protection for you. If you call for me, I'll come immediately.”
“Alright, alright. When did you become such a nag? Hurry and return to your body so nothing bad happens.” Chu Chuyan pushed him away, but she had a big smile on her face because she could sense how much her lover cared about her.
“Okay, then I’m going first.” A vortex appeared in front of Zu An. He was about to leave, but he was still a bit worried. He scanned the underworld again to see if there was something else he had missed.
Suddenly, his expression froze. After he bid Chuyan goodbye, his figure flickered and he appeared in another place.
...
Meanwhile, Tragedy City was a place full of souls that had died tragically without anyone to care about them. They couldn't reincarnate, nor did they have any money for traveling expenses. They were all hungry ghosts who were poor and alone.
A particular headless ghost sat on a rock in a daze, holding his head in his hands.
Several other souls ran over and said, “Headless ghost, come and play soccer with us.”
“I’m not going!” The headless ghost coldly refused.
“Tsk, look at you not seeking out any bit of joy in Tragedy City. How are you even going to survive here? We’re just trying to help you socialize,” the other souls said while laughing. 𝖋𝔯𝔢𝔢𝔴𝖊𝔟𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑.𝔠𝔬𝔪
The headless ghost harrumphed. “I trusted you bastards last time, but you all just ended up using my head as a ball to kick!”
The souls roared with laughter. They were about to say something else when they sensed something. They immediately lay on the ground. Not a single one of them dared to raise their heads.
That headless ghost also sensed a pressure aimed at the very soul. He also quickly kneeled down in fear. He didn’t know who it was, but every single cell in his body was trembling.
However, a pair of hands supported him and asked, “Brother Gao, why are you here?”
Then, the surroundings calmed down. The cold, roaring winds of Tragedy City were nowhere to be felt, nor were there any more ghostly wails. The powerful pressure also disappeared without a trace.
When the ghost heard that familiar voice, he was immediately so moved that his eyes were brimming with hot tears. “Brother Zu!”
It turned out that this headless ghost was Gao Ying! He'd had his head chopped off in the chaotic battle of the capital, which was the very definition of a tragic death. Furthermore, because of what had happened to the Liu clan, there was no one to clean up his corpse. When his identity was ascertained, he had thus been sent straight to Tragedy City.
When he saw the tears pouring out of the head held by that body, Zu An reached out his hand. Gao Ying’s head flew up and landed on his neck.
“It’s useless. No matter what I do, it just won’t stay... Huh?” Gao Ying had tried all kinds of ways to replace his head, but it would always fall off no matter what he did. It had been as if there was something invisible at his neck that prevented his head and body from reconnecting. But midway through his sentence, his eyes opened wide. He discovered that his head had actually reattached itself! Even though his neck had rejected his head at first, immediately after, there was another wave of even more powerful force that suppressed the rejection, and thus the two parts were successfully attached.
Zu An was now the underworld emperor and naturally understood the laws of the underworld. Someone like Gao Ying who had been beheaded when he was alive would be subjected to natural laws by the underworld that prevented him from being able to connect it again. Until he was reincarnated, he could only continue to live as a headless ghost. But those weren’t some especially strong laws. With Zu An’s current ability, it wasn’t too hard to change that at all.
With a wave of Zu An’s hand, a table and chairs appeared. He poured some tea for Gao Ying while having him sit down and rest.
Gao Ying was immediately overwhelmed by the favor. “Brother Zu... No, you are now the underworld emperor. How should I...”
He had been cheering for Zu An the entire time the fight was being broadcasted, so he naturally knew who Zu AN was now.
Zu An said with a chiding laugh, “Brother Gao, we're good friends in the world of the living, so how can you treat me as such a stranger now?”
Gao Ying was also someone who didn’t let these kinds of things bother him too much. When he recalled their past friendship, a smile gradually appeared on his face. “You can’t blame me for that. As a soul, I carry a natural fear toward someone in your powerful position.”
“Let’s just continue the way we were before. Unless you think I would think differently of you just because I became the underworld emperor? What kind of person would I be then?” Zu An continued in consolation.
“I guess you’re right. Brother Zu has always been full of righteousness. I was the one worrying too much for nothing.” Gao Ying gradually calmed down as well. He picked up his wine cup and drank it in one gulp. “It has been so long since I’ve tasted alcohol. The fact that I can even reunite with you again really is a joyous occasion. It seems like the heavens are still treating me quite well.”
Zu An poured another cup for him, and then he asked, “Brother Gao, how did you end up like this?”