GRMFBS CH171

Zhan Yan saw a streak of white flash past behind him, shooting straight toward his older brother.

Before he could react, his brother had already raised a hand and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck in mid‑air.

Only then did Zhan Yan realize that the one pouncing at his brother was Wan Yan Ghost King.

Zhan Yan: …

He rushed over at once.

Big bro, let go, quick!

That’s not our Xing Xing, that’s a mentally unstable ghost king we can’t afford to offend!

But why was Wan Yan kitty pouncing at his brother?

Zhan Yan reached out, intending to take that cat out of his brother’s hands.

Ten‑Thousand‑Manifestations kitty: “Meow! Mrrrow meow!”

Lin Yuan! Mrrrow, Lin Yuan!

Zhan Yan suddenly froze where he stood.

??!

Dangling by the scruff, Wan Yan kitty flailed all four legs in mid‑air. “Mrrrow mrrrow mrrrow meow meowww!!!”

Zhan Jinli’s face was expressionless, and he looked very calm, but his mind was completely blank.

Crap.

If he’d known, he never would’ve given that black iron fish its eyes.

What now?

Was he going to be harassed by this lunatic all over again for the rest of his life?

What now?

Could he reincarnate again and start over?

What now?

Zhan Jinli didn’t understand cat language—but besides Zhan Yan, there was someone else here who did.

Xing Xing wriggled out of the car, baring his teeth at Wan Yan kitty in extreme displeasure.

Where had this ugly white cat come from, daring to keep yowling “my fish, my fish” at his household’s lowest‑ranking litter‑box‑cleaner!

Wan Yan kitty spotted the little tabby, Xing Xing. His eyes went round, and after pausing for a few seconds, he exploded: “MRAAAOOOO!!!!”

You’ve got another cat now?!!!

The two cats were about to tear into each other.

Zhan Yan, with great effort, forced his rational mind back online—whatever was going on, first he had to protect Xing Xing.

This little guy was nowhere near a match for Wan Yan kitty.

He hurried over and scooped Xing Xing up.

Xing Xing struggled, thoroughly unconvinced. “Mreee‑owww—”

He had to protect his lowest‑ranking litter‑box‑cleaner from that shameless ugly white cat!

Wan Yan kitty was even angrier. “Mrowrr‑iii—”

Where did this little mangy cat come from, daring to seduce his exclusive chef!

Zhan Yan wrapped Xing Xing in his coat, holding him with one arm and pressing down on his head with the other. “Xing Xing! Xing Xing, don’t fuss! I’ll handle this! Don’t fuss, be good, be good, Xing Xing is a very very good little kitty, right?”

Xing Xing was barely soothed and started muttering low “mrrrp” insults at the ugly white cat.

Wan Yan kitty bristled all over. “Hrr—”

Zhan Jinli clamped a hand over the cat’s head and stared him down. “Make trouble again and I’ll throw you out.”

Ten‑Thousand‑Manifestations kitty: “…mew.”

The kitty wilted with grievance, small ears flattened tight, refusing to acknowledge anyone.

Silence finally fell. Zhan Yan and Zhan Jinli looked at each other, both with awkward, confused expressions and absolutely no idea what to do.

Zhan Yan: Oh my god, did Wan Yan Ghost King… mistake him? Could he have mistaken him?? Is my brother really the Lin Yuan Ghost King??? I might have accidentally screwed my brother over…

Zhan Jinli: What do I do if my little brother just caught Wan Yan coming to find me? Ah, but right, he shouldn’t understand, so he probably thinks it’s just some stray cat randomly pouncing on me, right? Not a big problem, not a big problem, right?

Zhan Yan said, “Uh… that white cat… is a stray from my school. I’ve fed it a few times.”

Zhan Jinli nodded silently.

“I… I don’t know why it pounced on you.”

Zhan Jinli kept nodding silently.

“Um, should we go back first?”

Zhan Jinli nodded silently again.

Having a silent, socially anxious persona was really convenient!

Zhan Yan: …

He’d forgotten his big brother’s whole “man of few words” persona. Oh right, that was because of the Lin Yuan Ghost King’s Blessing Bound to Curse… but wasn’t the Lin Yuan Ghost King a savory‑food lover? His brother clearly had a sweet tooth. Could Wan Yan have mistaken him…

His thoughts spun in chaotic circles as he held down the wriggling Xing Xing and climbed into the passenger seat. He still had to give directions to this big brother whose identity was in question—but if he wasn’t the Lin Yuan Ghost King, who else could grab the Wan Yan Ghost King that smoothly? Even if a normal person had practiced the “cat‑scruff grab” on Xing Xing, they should never have reacted fast enough to catch Wan Yan’ speed…

Zhan Jinli sat down in the driver’s seat, still holding Wan Yan kitty by the scruff, and realized he couldn’t both hold the cat and drive.

Zhan Jinli: …

His gaze slowly shifted to his brother.

Zhan Yan: …

Big bro, don’t tell me you want me to hold both Wan Yan and Xing Xing at the same time??

But Zhan Jinli didn’t think there was anything wrong with hugging this lunatic.

He stuffed Wan Yan into Zhan Yan’s arms and said very succinctly, “Behave.”

The kitty turned away in wounded silence, refusing to look at him.

Zhan Jinli: That’s how he usually coaxes cats. Should be fine, right?

Zhan Yan: …

Big bro!!!

He scrambled to hold back the bristling Xing Xing. “Don’t fight, don’t fight! I’ll make you something good to eat when we’re back!”

Both cats paused—then yelled at him in unison: “Who are you making good food for?!”

Zhan Yan: …

“Bro, please drive faster, I’m begging you.”

The car instantly whooshed up to top speed.

Zhan Jinli: … Blessing Bound to Curse just got triggered. I can’t lower the speed at all.

His brother’s heartfelt sincerity was too strong.

Zhan Yan was slammed back into his seat by the inertia, the two cats rolling into a ball in his arms.

Zhan Yan: … There is just no way I can associate my brother with the calm, austere Lin Yuan Ghost King.

The good part about driving fast was speed; the bad part was not having enough time to give directions.

“At that intersection up ahead… missed it, missed it. Next turnoff, turn right and loop back. Xing Xing—Xing Xing, don’t squirm!”

“Mree‑iii‑mrow—”

“Not that road, turn back, turn back—yeah, yeah, that way… and you two, keep your claws in!”

“Meow… gurgle, mrrp—hrrp!”

“Stay on this road and go straight, take the middle lane—ignore the side roads…”

Fortunately, His Lin Yuan Majesty’s driving skills were solid. He sent birds and dust flying everywhere along the way but didn’t harm any human or small animal.

Only Dr. Mi Man at the roadside got blasted full in the face by slipstream, one hand clutching her hat as she muttered, “Who the hell is that? Drag‑racing through the village?”

The route twisted all over the place, but they finally arrived. Thankfully, Zhan Yan had a good memory and no sense of direction problems, managing to “human‑GPS” them back onto track every time they went wrong.

His legs felt like jelly as he climbed out of the car. Both cats were dizzy from all the swaying—Xing Xing genuinely carsick, and Wan Yan confused by the coat and the wildly flailing Xing Xing—so for the moment, they stayed quietly bundled in his arms.

Zhan Jinli parked the car. Seeing his brother trying to stuff Wan Yan back into his hands, he immediately stepped back, grabbed the things he’d brought for his brother from the car, and filled both hands so he couldn’t take the cat.

Zhan Yan: …

“Bro—”

He really couldn’t hold both cats and keep them from fighting at the same time!

Once they were inside, he forcibly shoved Wan Yan back into his brother’s arms. “They need to be separated.”

Zhan Jinli: … Fine.

If it’s fortune, it’s not disaster; if it’s disaster, you can’t dodge it anyway.

Seeing his brother’s “I’ve lost the will to live” expression, Zhan Yan started to feel guilty.

But his brain was still foggy; the shock had been a bit too much.

He opened his gossip system and dragged the two keywords “Lin Yuan Ghost King” and “Zhan Jinli” together.

The familiar scene reappeared: the feed sagged open a blank gap between them as the threads beneath both tags interlocked tightly, white starlight and purple starlight merging together, proving that Wan Yan kitty hadn’t mistaken the person.

So… his brother was the Lin Yuan Ghost King.

The sweet‑tooth/savory‑tooth divide had just been a misunderstanding. His brother didn’t talk much and didn’t like listening to people because the Lin Yuan Ghost King’s Blessing Bound to Curse was temporarily out of control. His brother’s habit of squatting in “unknown dark corners” for hours was because he’d gone onto the ghost paths. His brother staying in that love‑hotel—oh wait, he hadn’t stayed there; at first he’d genuinely just wanted to run a normal boarding place, and only later used the tubs as soaking pools—

Bro, you’ve lived in the human world for twenty‑six years and didn’t know what a love‑hotel is?! Too pure!

But why was his brother the Lin Yuan Ghost King?

His dad was the Chongming Demon King of the Ten‑Thousand‑Demon Alliance, his mom was a Tianshi from the Abnormal Affairs Management Bureau, and his brother was the Lin Yuan Ghost King from Chaofu Mountain. Great—three major factions for one nuclear family!

Zhan Yan thought of his older sister. She… should be just a normal person, right?

He didn’t have time to keep spiraling, because Xing Xing, whose combat power was off the charts, had already stood up, arching his back and howling at Wan Yan kitty next to Zhan Jinli.

He had to protect his household’s lowest‑ranking litter‑box‑cleaner! That white cat was obviously not normal!

“Uh… bro, Xing Xing wants to protect you. How about you hold Xing Xing and I hold the white cat? You take Xing Xing to another room.”

He hadn’t thought of this earlier—the shock had scrambled his mind.

First separate his brother and Wan Yan. The kitty might be… a bit hyper at times, but he probably wouldn’t do anything to a completely clueless chef.

Maybe… maybe they could even find a chance to help his brother escape those evil claws again?

Zhan Jinli looked at Xing Xing. He hadn’t expected this little guy, who always complained about his cooking, to be this protective.

Forget it. He didn’t feel safe leaving this lunatic alone with his brother. And now that Wan Yan had recognized him, he couldn’t hide. Even if he ran, that cat could still track him home; better to deal with it now.

He pressed a hand on Wan Yan’ back and typed one‑handed with the other: “I’m taking the white cat to another room.”

Then he grabbed the cat and walked off.

Zhan Yan could only stare as his brother carried Wan Yan Ghost King off by the scruff.

Uh… maybe his brother really wasn’t as helpless against him as he’d thought?

Xing Xing’s legs went weak, and he tried to follow.

Zhan Yan coaxed him, “You rest here, my brother will be fine. Didn’t you see he already has him under control?”

Xing Xing didn’t believe it. Being grabbed by the scruff did not equal being subdued. He’d been hauled around by the neck plenty of times himself and had never once surrendered.

Zhan Yan: …

“Anyway, it’s fine. You rest here.”

After forcibly settling Xing Xing down, Zhan Yan opened the gossip system.

He was just as worried about his brother and Wan Yan as Xing Xing was.

If he’d known earlier that his brother was the Lin Yuan Ghost King, he never would’ve come up with the idea of using the Lin Yuan Ghost King to distract Wan Yan! What now… this is bad, this is really bad…

He pulled up the “live feed” from the next room.

[Lin Yuan Ghost King Zhan Jinli sets Wan Yan Ghost King down on a chair. Worried that Wan Yan Ghost King might start acting up, he decides to talk to him first, to ask what he wants and calm this lunatic cat down a bit.]

[Lin Yuan Ghost King Zhan Jinli asks Wan Yan Ghost King: “What do you want?”]

[Wan Yan Ghost King goes from wounded to furious.]

Zhan Yan: … Bro! That’s not how you soothe a cat at all!

That question was practically begging for a fight.

[Wan Yan Ghost King lets out a furious yowl and launches himself at the Lin Yuan Ghost King Zhan Jinli. The Lin Yuan Ghost King Zhan Jinli and Wan Yan Ghost King start fighting.]

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