GRMFBS CH258

Zhan Yan quickly began scrolling through the gossip tags.

…Earlier, his sister made a wish for their brother, blessing whatever he was currently busy with to go smoothly.

Because of their sister’s blessing, their brother completed his matters on the Ghost Festival exceptionally smoothly. Then, in a moment of inattention, he promised Xingxing to take him out to play, and after various coincidences like this and that—chiefly under the influence of the misfortune brought by the interdependence of good and bad luck—their brother chose to come play the Eighteen Sights of the Underworld…

Yet the Wan Yan kitty happened to be here too… So their brother’s misfortune was running into the Wan Yan kitty while holding Xingxing? But he and Xiao Gu were here too! Why did their brother’s misfortune have to drag the two of them into it as well?!

Right now, he and Xiao Gu were playing under a couple identity in the game. If his brother bumped into them, no matter how dense his brother was, there was no way he wouldn’t realize what was going on! This couldn’t be explained away with “we’re just classmates” at all—what kind of normal roommates would choose to draw couple identity cards when going out to play a game?!

No way, no way, he had to clear the stages as quickly as possible. Bumping into his brother was already unavoidable, but they absolutely, under no circumstances, must cross paths inside the game!

Let him think about how many stages were left…

After the Mirror of Karma Platform came the Three-Lives Stone, and after the Three-Lives Stone was the final stage, the Reincarnation Platform.

The final stage, the Reincarnation Platform, was a settlement stage and could be cleared relatively quickly. He only needed to clear the Mirror of Karma Platform before his brother cleared Naihe Bridge, and then clear the Three-Lives Stone before his brother cleared the Mirror of Karma Platform, and he could guarantee that they would miss each other the entire way through the game.

Yet of all stages, he was stuck right now on the Mirror of Karma Platform! The key prop had to be retrieved by their teammates, and sitting here, he couldn’t help out in the slightest…

Actually, that wasn’t entirely true. He and Xiao Gu were answering questions below the Mirror of Karma Platform; getting them right proved that the two were genuinely in love and that everything was just spicy roleplay, unrelated to unlawfully restricting personal freedom.

For every question answered correctly, they could obtain a bottle of “Sin-Cleansing Sweet Dew.” The “Sin-Cleansing Sweet Dew” could be used to redeem clues for their teammates.

He and Xiao Gu had only gotten one question wrong, so they could get their hands on most of the clues.

Zhan Yan looked at the Judge with sparkling eyes, urging:

“How is it? How many questions are left?”

The Judge: “One more question.”

Ox-Head asked Zhan Yan: “What does he want to do most right now?”

Wasn’t this a freebie? Gu Jiancheng wrote down the answer with absolute confidence.

Both sides synchronized with the exact same answer: “Meet the parents.”

Looking at the identical answer, Zhan Yan felt no joy from their tacit understanding; instead, a trace of melancholy welled up.

Sigh, Xiao Gu, you’re about to meet Parent No. 2 right this instant. And I don’t even know how to help you farm my brother’s favorability points yet…

Zhan Yan urged the Judge: “All the questions are done, right? Can the clues be sent over to them now?”

The Judge: “No more questions. The Sin-Cleansing Sweet Dew has already been sent over. Our Underworld runs on high-efficiency office work nowadays; since you two have proven your innocence, the Sin-Cleansing Sweet Dew naturally descended.”

Understood. The digital backend system processed it, and props were distributed in real time.

How was their teammates’ progress coming along? Keep it up—

Zhan Yan split his attention to check their teammates’ progress in the Gossip System.

Their teammates were busy shipping him and Xiao Gu as a couple.

“Another bottle of Sin-Cleansing Sweet Dew arrived? Which bottle is this?”

“Holy crap, the big bosses’ answers are so accurate. This tacit understanding is insane.”

“It takes 10 bottles in total to redeem all the clues, and we’ve already gotten 9 of them.”

“Out of 10 questions, they only missed one. How is this a domineering CEO and his runaway canary? This is true love playing with bedroom spice!”

Shipping the couple didn’t slow them down either. With the boost from the prop clues, the teammates quickly found the “Tower of Merit” and were rushing back as fast as they could—the game background setting was truly wicked, claiming that while they were taking action, the accused criminal was currently enduring torture and interrogation.

Even though they knew it was just a game and couldn’t possibly do anything to the players, under the eerie background music, chilling lighting, and environmental atmosphere, people still involuntarily grew tense.

Gu Jiancheng: “If there are no other questions, remove the screen.”

The Judge: …Removing it, removing it. Let you two meet.

Upon returning with the prop, the other teammates saw that both big bosses were locked up. How did they go from victim to fellow convict as the game went on?

Zhan Yan bounced up in a flash: “Awesome, you came to save me! Let’s go, let’s go, off to the next stage!”

His brother had already cleared Naihe Bridge and was walking toward the Mirror of Karma Platform. Any later, and they would crash right into each other!

His teammates looked suspiciously at the Judge, Ox-Head, and Horse-Face: What did you do to our big bosses?

The Judge, Ox-Head, and Horse-Face: …Why are you looking at us? All we did was choke on dog food!

“Uh… is one Tower of Merit enough?” a teammate asked. “We don’t have to find another one, do we?”

The Judge: “Enough, enough, go, go, go!”

They had eaten more than their fill of this dog food.

“Be a good person in your next life, and don’t fall into my hands again!”

Ghost King Wan Yan, on the other hand, was having a grand old time.

In this fake Underworld arranged by mortals, nobody policed him. He could splash around in the Yellow Spring however he liked, leap onto the Judge’s desk, and play with his giant calligraphy brush. There was no Ming He River to stop him, and nobody ran off to tattle to Tie Lao. It was so much fun!

When Zhan Yan called out to leave, the Wan Yan kitty hopped directly into the tote bag Zhan Yan used to hold the pit balls, poking a little cat head out over the rim, twitching his ears and whiskers.

Onward, onward, he wanted to see what was in the next stage!

Just as Zhan Yan and Gu Jiancheng reached the next stage, the Three-Lives Stone, together with their teammates, Zhan Jinli arrived at the Mirror of Karma Platform holding Xingxing alongside his teammates.

Watching them miss each other by a hair’s breadth on the map, Zhan Yan let out a quiet breath of relief.

Not even the entire Eighteen Sights of the Underworld game had given him such a heart-pounding, thrilling experience.

The Three-Lives Stone was a stage tackled separately according to identity cards: single identity cards cleared it solo, while paired identity cards cleared it together.

Thank goodness. That way, they wouldn’t hit a bottleneck like the previous stage, where they were trapped and could only count on their teammates to take action.

Carrying the Wan Yan kitty, Zhan Yan said to Gu Jiancheng: “Let’s go, time to rush the stage!”

The Wan Yan kitty’s pupils widened. Scrambling out of the pit ball bag, he bounded excitedly onto Zhan Yan’s shoulder: “Meow-aow!”

Rush the stage!

Although he didn’t know why Zhan Yan had suddenly become so full of fighting spirit, Gu Jiancheng followed without hesitation. But could that wretched cat get off Yan Yan’s shoulder first?! You’re not even a real cat!

The single guy assigned to clear the stage on the other side continued sending messages to his buddy: [We’ve already cleared the Mirror of Karma Platform stage.]

[Where are you guys at?]

[Two more stages and we’re totally done.]

His buddy: [We just reached the Mirror of Karma Platform.]

[You guys took forever on that stage, hahaha.]

[We’re only one stage behind you now.]

[Your big bosses aren’t cutting it.]

The single guy: [Not necessarily.]

[The Mirror of Karma Platform stage is pretty luck-dependent.]

His buddy: [Gotta go.]

[We’re about to start.]

His buddy turned off his device, brimming with confidence. What luck? Just watch the cat-holding boss brute-force them through!

The cat-holding boss drew the accused lot.

The boss sat on the judgment chair without saying a single word.

The teammates: …

The Judge along with Ox-Head and Horse-Face: …

The drowned ghost NPC: …

Oh no, they forgot this boss doesn’t speak.

Zhan Jinli: Why does a stage where you are forced to talk even exist, and why is he the only one on it?!

Zhan Jinli looked down at the cat.

Xingxing looked up at him: “Meow.”

What, do you expect me to talk or something?

…

Thanks to the cat-holding boss dropping the ball, Zhan Yan and Gu Jiancheng smoothly reached the final step of the Three-Lives Stone stage.

As long as they placed their hands on the Three-Lives Stone together, they could unlock the final stage, the Reincarnation Platform.

Beside the Three-Lives Stone, a red-robed staff member said to them: “Only by gathering the power of fifteen Soul Fires can you break through the shackles of the Reincarnation Platform and return to the living world.”

Understood. No wonder the stone in front of the Ghost Gate was engraved with: Cross the Ghost Gate, nine out of ten never return. Ten people per group, with thirty Soul Fires in total. In other words, throughout the entire game, only if everyone lost not a single Soul Fire could two people successfully return to life. If they played a bit worse, perhaps not even a single person could return.

Both Zhan Yan’s and Gu Jiancheng’s Soul Fires were completely full, but over the course of the game, their teammates had lost several Soul Fires.

Right now, they should wait for their teammates to clear their trials and join them, so everyone could discuss how to allocate the remaining Soul Fires and choose who returned to the living world.

Zhan Yan was in a hurry to clear the game: “We won’t return to life; let’s leave the Soul Fires for them.”

“Are you certain?”

Zhan Yan took Gu Jiancheng’s hand: “Even if we pooled them together, it’s only enough for one person to return. There is no way I’m abandoning my canary to return to the living world alone.”

He turned to Gu Jiancheng, deadpan: “Are you still going to run?”

Gu Jiancheng played along perfectly: “Not running.”

After enduring life and death, the domineering CEO and his canary decided to remain together in the Underworld.

Zhan Yan placed his hand upon the Three-Lives Stone, and Gu Jiancheng placed his hand over his. Seeing this, the Wan Yan kitty immediately hopped onto the Three-Lives Stone, placing his paw on top as well.

Me too, me too!

Gu Jiancheng: …

Who the hell wants to walk three lifetimes hand in hand with you?!

Wan Yan couldn’t care less. He planted one front paw on the back of Gu Jiancheng’s hand, looking thoroughly disgusted, then shifted his paw, slipping his toe beans between Gu Jiancheng’s fingers to rest against Zhan Yan’s fingertip.

Zhan Yan shuddered involuntarily, his gaze going blank for an instant.

The incomplete pattern in his mind seemed to flicker. Those mysterious lines scattered in a split second into a star chart; within that star chart flashed countless scenes, and deep voices buzzed in his ears.

A dark, oppressive court, a golden scale, trembling shadows, strained breaths.

“It will pass…”

“It will all pass…”

He seemed to hear Xiao Gu whispering, the voice low and chillingly cold, as if it could be extinguished at any moment, yet also as if it could erupt at any second.

“It won’t win…”

“Yan Yan?”

Zhan Yan snapped back to reality and met Gu Jiancheng’s worried gaze: “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Zhan Yan said, only realizing how terribly hoarse his voice was after speaking. He cleared his throat: “Nothing, I just zoned out.”

“You’re trembling.” Gu Jiancheng wrapped one arm around his shoulder, supporting his arm with the other.

The Wan Yan kitty stopped flicking his tail as well, looking up at him with deep concern.

Only then did Zhan Yan realize he was shaking. Washed over by memories and emotions that did not belong to him, he trembled from the overly intense experience: “I’m fine, I…”

A staff member dug a piece of candy out of a cabinet hidden who-knows-where and rushed over frantically: “Is it low blood sugar? Is it hypoglycemia? Here, here, take a bite!”

Gu Jiancheng peeled the wrapper, and before Zhan Yan could fully recover his wits, a candy was popped into his mouth.

It was shaped like the Three-Lives Stone, and the grape flavor was quite tasty.

“It’s fine, I probably just had sudden low blood sugar.” Zhan Yan had stopped trembling. The previous sensation receded.

He blinked slowly with the candy in his mouth.

Just now… were those Xiao Gu’s memories and emotions? Why had he suddenly experienced that? There were still things he hadn’t seen clearly…

However, now wasn’t the time to scrutinize it. Zhan Yan split his attention to open the map. Ahhh, his brother had already started moving! As the final checkpoint, the Three-Lives Stone was the hardest; in the brief time they were delayed, his brother’s team had already cleared the Mirror of Karma Platform stage.

No, they had to leave immediately!

Gu Jiancheng collided with his train of thought from another angle: “Let’s hurry up and clear the stage so we can grab food.”

Zhan Yan: “Okay.”

They thanked the staff member.

“Are the candies you brought out just now for sale?” Zhan Yan asked.

The candy was shaped like the Three-Lives Stone; one look and it was clearly merchandise.

“Yes, yes, they are,” the staff member smiled warmly. “They’re all fruit flavors.”

Carrying a large bag of fruit candies, Zhan Yan and Gu Jiancheng stepped into the Reincarnation Platform with their front foot just as Zhan Jinli and his teammates entered the Three-Lives Stone stage right on their heels.

The two of them were the first in their group to reach the Reincarnation Platform; the others were still back in the Three-Lives Stone trial.

The single guy and his buddy, who had been split across the two teams all along, finally crossed paths.

The single guy: “You guys caught up? But I’ve already passed this stage, hehe. Only the final stage left, you won’t catch up.”

“Pfft, who’s to say we won’t catch up in the next stage?” His buddy pointed discreetly toward Zhan Jinli. “See that? The cat-holding boss I told you about. He was trapped in the previous stage, which is why we were stuck for so long. We’ll catch up to you in the next stage!”

The single guy: “Wanna bet?”

His buddy: “Whoever loses calls the other Daddy!”

Eight minutes later, at the Reincarnation Platform.

The single guy: “Daddy.”

Damn it, how did he forget that this time was a separately cleared stage!

Their group hadn’t fully assembled yet, but his buddy and the cat-holding boss had already arrived.

While those two were exchanging “Daddy”s, Zhan Yan had already locked eyes with Zhan Jinli across the room.

Zhan Yan froze on the spot, holding the bag of pit balls in one hand—Wan Yan had become obsessed with curling up inside the bag to play.

Zhan Yan’s internal voice began to scream.

Ahhh, he had been distracted earlier by unexpectedly catching a glimpse of Xiao Gu’s memories, and forgot that the previous stage didn’t need to be cleared together!

The single guy from their group was still pointing this way: “Look, I didn’t lie to you, our team has a cat-holding boss too.”

Zhan Jinli raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Why was his younger brother here?

Oh, right. His brother was out on a trip, and seeing the promotions around here, coming over to play was completely normal.

Gu Jiancheng noticed the commotion; Xingxing was currently perched on Zhan Jinli’s arm.

He whispered to Zhan Yan: “Your older brother?”

Ah, am I finally going to successfully meet another family member? Thinking about it was actually a little exciting. This was the first family member he was meeting after handling Rong Sui…

The single guy’s buddy was still craning his neck: “I see the person, where’s the cat?”

Wan Yan slowly poked his head out from the bag.

Zhan Yan was solely focused on making sure Xiao Gu didn’t drop his disguise, whispering: “Yes, that’s my brother. Don’t say anything for now, he doesn’t like verbal communication with people…”

No matter how quietly he spoke, his brother would definitely hear it; this excuse would keep Xiao Gu from blowing his cover.

Gu Jiancheng nodded. It didn’t matter, typing worked for meeting the parents too! Older brother would certainly be easier to deal with than Rong Sui. Once he handled his brother, the progress bar for meeting the parents would be halfway done. Marriage! Honeymoon! Traveling!

Just as Zhan Jinli was about to walk toward his brother, he suddenly noticed a cat head popping out of the bag his brother was carrying.

He couldn’t help holding his breath: ! Why is Wan Yan here too?!

Xingxing had already locked eyes with Wan Yan.

Both cats’ eyes widened.

Xingxing looked in shock at Wan Yan packed inside the bag, then looked at Zhan Yan holding the bag.

You didn’t take me along when you went out to play, and instead you brought this bad cat to play!

Wan Yan looked in shock at Xingxing nestled in the person’s arms, then looked at Zhan Jinli holding Xingxing.

Didn’t you say you’d rather die than own a cat? Why are you holding this wretched cat?!

“Mee-oww-aow!”

“Meow-aow-wuu!”

Wan Yan leaped out of the bag, lunging straight for Zhan Jinli.

Xingxing jumped down from Zhan Jinli’s arm. Just as he was about to charge, Zhan Jinli reflexively grabbed him by the scruff of his neck mid-motion.

Zhan Yan’s eyes widened too: Oh no, oh no! Xingxing is here too, ahhh!

He instinctively reached out to scoop up Wan Yan.

He missed. Ghost King Wan Yan’s reaction speed was far too quick; with a forceful kick, he tore right through the bag, pouncing forward like a streak of white light.

His brother’s hands moved like lightning, already grabbing Wan Yan by the scruff of his neck with his other hand.

Both cats paddled their four legs in midair, hissing and spitting curses at each other.

Zhan Yan shoved the bag into Gu Jiancheng’s hands and rushed over to break up the fight: “Ge! Wait, Xingxing… ah, kitty… don’t fight, don’t fight…”

Gu Jiancheng caught the bag, unable to keep from inhaling sharply at the sight before him.

He couldn’t understand cat language, but he knew the little white cat was Ghost King Wan Yan.

Zhan Yan’s brother could pluck Ghost King Wan Yan right out of midair… Damn it! What kind of situation is this?! Is Zhan Yan’s brother not an ordinary person either? Rong Sui never mentioned this! Did she not know, or did she do it on purpose?

What kind of person is Yan Yan’s brother?

Zhan Yan didn’t dare take Wan Yan; once Wan Yan threw a fit, he wouldn’t be able to hold him down. He reached out to take Xingxing instead.

Xingxing turned around and began scolding him, his big eyes glaring with immense grievance: “Meow-aow-wuu! Aow-wuu! Aow-wuu!”

You left me at home for ages and ages, just to come out and play with another cat! I’ll never like you again! You two-timing big liar!

Hanging in midair, Wan Yan also glared at Zhan Yan in sheer disbelief: “Mee-oww! Mee-ow! Mee-ow!”

I ran all this way specifically to find you, and the second you see this wretched cat, you go hug him! Aren’t we best friends?!

Zhan Yan: …Save me!

Zhan Yan: “Um, Xingxing…”

Wan Yan: “Mee-ow!”

Zhan Yan hurried to look at Wan Yan: “Kitty, I didn’t mean…”

Xingxing: “Aow-wuu!”

The single guy: “Holy crap, what’s going on here?”

His buddy: “A cat battle royale?”

“Do the bosses’ cats know each other too?”

Gu Jiancheng instinctively wanted to step forward and help, but froze. For the first time, the top-tier boss who had conquered Infinite felt his mind completely scrambled.

How was he supposed to help Yan Yan? Who on earth was Yan Yan’s brother?

Ghost King Wan Yan lunged forward the instant he saw Yan Yan’s brother… That momentum, that gaze like catching a cheating scumbag… There was only one well-known object of Ghost King Wan Yan’s obsession…

No way, no way… Could Yan Yan’s brother actually be Lin Yuan Ghost King? Wait, no, doesn’t Yan Yan’s brother run a bakery? Lin Yuan Ghost King reincarnating into the mortal realm to open a cake shop? No matter how you looked at it, that made zero sense!

Seeing his younger brother’s pitiful state, Zhan Jinli tucked Wan Yan into his chest and said softly: “Stop causing trouble.”

“You remember everything now, don’t you? Don’t get jealous over a little kitten.” His voice was so quiet it was nearly inaudible.

Wan Yan’s ears twitched, turning his head away to ignore him.

Hmph! I don’t care about fish anymore! You’re not my friend anymore!

Gu Jiancheng heard it too.

…Damn it!

It really was Lin Yuan Ghost King!

Lin Yuan Ghost King’s divine ability “Interdependence of Fortune and Misfortune” had developed an issue, so he couldn’t speak casually or listen to others speak casually; Yan Yan’s brother had extreme social anxiety, disliking talking to people and disliking listening to people talk to him.

Twenty-seven years ago, Ghost King Wan Yan began running all over the place trying to find Lin Yuan Ghost King; Yan Yan’s brother happened to be twenty-seven years old this year.

Everything matched up!

Gu Jiancheng began recalling his relationship with Lin Yuan Ghost King, his eyes involuntarily glazing over.

Zhan Yan was doing his utmost to pacify Xingxing. This task was monumental, because Wan Yan was listening right beside them, and he could understand…

“I didn’t lie to you, and I didn’t leave you at home on purpose without bringing you along. I only ran into him after I left.”

The more he comforted, the weaker he sounded; no matter how he listened to it, he felt like he was delivering a classic scumbag monologue.

Xingxing felt wronged beyond belief, and began scolding Zhan Jinli at the same time.

It was obviously that weird cat who suddenly charged in to attack his bottom-ranked pooper-scooper back then, and he had fought to protect his bottom-ranked pooper-scooper!

Yet now, Zhan Yan was playing with that cat without him, and the bottom-ranked pooper-scooper was holding that cat as if they were great friends.

Villains! You’re all villains!

Using paws with claws fully retracted, Xingxing pushed hard against Zhan Yan and leaped off him.

Hmph! It’s not like he couldn’t find someone else!

Xingxing darted toward Gu Jiancheng and sprang up with all his might.

Gu Jiancheng caught Xingxing on reflex.

Zhan Jinli’s gaze followed immediately.

Gu Jiancheng: …

He instinctively flashed an innocent, gentle smile as a drop of sweat slowly rolled down.

Damn it! He must absolutely, under no circumstances, drop his disguise right now! He had pushed Lin Yuan Ghost King far too hard before…

Zhan Yan was extremely nervous as well: “Uh, Ge, he’s my classmate.”

Zhan Jinli inhaled and looked down.

Wan Yan was biting his wrist again!

Wan Yan was unhappy.

When that wretched cat cursed at you, you didn’t react at all! You’re playing favorites!

With a deadpan expression, Zhan Jinli began prying the cat off.

Wan Yan: “Meow-wuu-aow!”

Who cares about you! See the pit balls on the floor? They were all bought for me!

Xingxing whipped his head around, glaring at Zhan Yan in disbelief.

Wan Yan cast him a provocative look.

Xingxing: “Mee-oww-wuu-aow!”

I have my little red plaque too! Who cares about your pit balls!

Wan Yan spotted the little red plaque; it wasn’t easy to hold, so Zhan Jinli had tied it around his arm.

Both cats began glaring at their humans at the same time.

“You actually bought toys to hunt for him!”