94

It was impossible for Xie Lan to remember how many years it had been since his consciousness developed. It was roughly about the same time as when he first sat on the throne in the Ghost City.

Although the time he'd spent was extremely long, there wasn't anything interesting. The only person who could make his heart beat violently wasn't here and the only purpose of the long time he'd spent here was probably to wait for him.

He was waiting for that person, whose figure he could barely remember in his mind, the owner of that voice, to find him…

As for why he could wait so many years despite not knowing if that fragment of memory was merely an illusion; Xie Lan himself did not know why. He was merely following his heart, even if his heart had died a long time ago.

"Qiuqiu has been patiently waiting." A human's body heat was extremely warm when compared with ghosts. When stuck close together, it felt as if a fire was ignited, the flame licking at his skin. The pale Ghost City's master tightly embraced the dark-haired youth he'd met for the first time; their bodies pressed tightly against each other, not allowing even the slightest gap to separate them.

This flame seemed to hold an irresistible temptation for him, to the point that he would happily endure the pain of being burned alive by this violent fire. Not to mention, he was incapable of feeling pain.

The hole in his heart was filled by the youth in his arms and the immense satisfaction he gained brought him an uncontrollable thrill.

This wasn't pain. Lowering his head to rest against the youth's shoulder, Xie Lan narrowed his eyes as he tried to distinguish what this feeling was.

This feeling was satisfaction. It was the satisfaction and immense sense of appeasement of having obtained him after waiting for this man for so many years.

Being held tightly wasn't comfortable, but he could feel that the person holding him was trembling. With the words spoken in a low and hoarse voice beside his ear, Gu Yan's heart had already become muddled.. Where would he have the energy to care if it was comfortable or not?

The Qiuqiu in this world seemed to retain a small portion of his memory. From how he remembered the words Gu Yan had spoken in the previous world, it was clear to see that he must have waited for him for an extremely long time.

"Qiuqiu has been good…" Not caring about the gazes of those around them, Gu Yan raised an arm to embrace his ghost and even touched his head.

The youth's voice was extremely soft, most likely in consideration of their surroundings. But from the close proximity, Xie Lan could clearly hear these words.

He finally understood the words that had been missing from his memories. With half-narrowed eyes, Xie Lan felt the youth's touch and loosened his hold around his waist. He did so to allow the youth to feel more comfortable but he didn't have any intention of letting him go.

He had been waiting patiently and now, he'd finally finished waiting. No matter what, he couldn't let this person go.

This problem was too complex!

No matter if it were ghosts or people who came from the Human Realm, everyone present shared the same mentality. They all wanted to know what was the answer to this question that had appeared in front of them.

Unfortunately, the master of the Ghost City seemed to have entered a state of tranquility upon hugging the person in his arms and awaited his pats. This left all the onlookers completely speechless.

The only thing to be thankful for was the Ghost City master's subordinate. As his right-hand man, Xu Qiu was a ghost who had seen all kinds of storms.

Bearing the risk of being crushed by his boss, whose mood he never seemed to be able to read or differentiate between anger and joy, Xu Qiu deliberately gave a low cough. In the end, he wasn't surprised to see his boss's eyes narrow even further.

The glance that his boss threw at him carried a certain sense of danger. The deputy of the Ghost City instantly stiffened.

Fuck. He should not have tried to act brave…

However, just as this thought crossed his mind, the sense of crisis he felt instantly dissipated the moment the dark-haired youth opened his mouth to speak. It completely disappeared without a single trace.

The hearing ability of ghosts were much better than humans and therefore, this deputy once again, clearly heard the dark-haired youth tell his lord to 'be good'. And from what he could see, his lord evidently didn't have any resistance towards such words and in fact, seemed rather pleased.

A ferocious beast could not be trapped by a mere cage. However, this existence who was the epitome of violence in the eyes of the masses was currently resting his forehead on the youth's shoulders. His demeanor could simply be described as gentle and meek, and even gave the illusion of a harmless creature.

"Let's talk business." Gu Yan couldn't just allow them to continue being the center of attention. After coaxing the ghost leaning on him, he spoke softly.

Knowing that the other person was anxious, he would stroke his lover's fur after they finished dealing with serious matters. No matter how long it took, he would be able to appease him.

Hearing his words, the pale but beautiful Ghost King frowned. In his eyes, the negotiation between the Human Realm and the Ghost City was evidently not serious business. At most, it was a waste of time.

If it wasn't for him having considered the possibility that the person for whom he was waiting may be a human, he would have already released the restraints on the evil spirits in the Ghost City. Then, they would wage war on the Human Realm. Otherwise, why would he bother to make any sort of agreement with the spiritual association of the Human Realm?

Something like a peace treaty was only an option if the two sides were on equal grounds. However, humans simply didn't have any ability to demand peace from them. Weaklings didn't have any rights to speak but for the sake of finding that person, Xie Lan was willing to compromise and give them a chance. But of course, this chance could be revoked at any time.

"Okay." Although a frown hung on his face, Xie Lan still agreed to the request of the youth in his arms.

The Ghost King reluctantly released the arm around the youth's waist and finally settled him in a seat at the side before returning to his original seat.

Since the youth wished for him to discuss 'serious business', he would comply.

On the row of seats which should have belonged solely to the ghosts, suddenly sat a human. Moreover, this human was someone who originally belonged to their party, the lucky charm whom they brought along on this dangerous mission… the hearts of the grandmasters of the spiritual world present were extremely complicated and so were their expressions.

When this matter was settled, they must, at all cost, ask the other person for a clear explanation on what this was all about. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to sleep with their stomach full of doubts.

On the other side, the ghosts weren't any better off than them. However, they were still ghosts who had remained dead for over a hundred years, so they were more experienced in controlling their expressions.

Even when their lord, who was currently facing those humans with an expressionless face, secretly played with the dark-haired youth's fingers underneath the table, this group of ghosts acted as if they couldn't see anything. No matter how fast their hearts were jumping in their chests, they remained calm and collected.

"Recently, the frequency of evil spirits passing through the passage and into the human realm has increased by more than one and a half times than in the past. The agreement we had last time between the Ghost City and the Human Realm clearly stated that 'the Ghost City is obligated to restrict the evil spirits entering and leaving the Ghost City'. With the events that occured recently, we hope you'll provide a reasonable explanation for it." The other party involved in this agreement had not upheld their end of the deal. It was impossible for these divination masters who had been so busy with all the incidents lately to not be angry. No matter how much he'd tried to suppress his anger, the representative sent by the Human Realm couldn't help but convey some of his fury and accusation in his tone.

By the time he finished speaking, it was already too late when he realised his tone was not quite right. Therefore, the representative merely hardened his expression.

He wasn't ignorant to the fact that when it came to comparing humans and ghosts, the former was in a much weaker position. However, some things couldn't be compromised because once they allowed it to happen, no one knew how many people would lose their lives as a result. Of course, the worst thing that could happen was for the Ghost City to one-sidedly go against their treaty. When that happened, the Human Realm would most likely fall into a sea of chaos and destruction—

"We failed to uphold our promise so we'll take responsibility and capture the remaining ghosts residing in the Human Realm. This won't happen again in the future." Xie Lan's hands didn't return to the table top and instead, continued playing with the dark-haired youth's long and slender fingers. After successfully capturing the other person's hands, he intertwined their fingers together while giving his answer in a cold and detached voice.

Once his words fell, not only were the divination masters from the spiritual association shocked, even the ghosts from their side couldn't maintain their expressions.

So easy… If it wasn't for the clear aura of coercion present in the air, the ghosts present would suspect their boss had been swapped. Of course, that was on the premise that there was someone strong enough to swap their boss out for someone else.

The divination masters who had originally expected to exhaust their mouths in order to force logic, were even prepared for the possibility of a fall-out with their lives at stake.

However, this outcome was completely unexpected. Having managed to achieve their goal with ease, these divination masters couldn't keep calm.

Moreover, the words at the end, 'It won't happen again' held great implications. If taken at face value, it would mean that the other person had promised there wouldn't be ghosts in the Human Realm ever again…

The long and winding preaching had lost its use in an instant and as the representative, Grandmaster Lin choked on his words for a while before he finally moved on to more important matters. "Also, I hope that the number of ghosts passing through the gates between the Human Realm and the Ghost City every year on the fourteenth of July when it opens is limited. Too many spirits would cause an imbalance in the world's yin and yang. So, even if it's just one day, it has great consequences."

The fourteenth of July was an extremely special day. It was the only time when there wasn't any restriction on the number of ghosts passing through the gates connecting the two realms. This was also the cause of what Grandmaster Lin had mentioned. Every year, after the fourteenth of July, the divination masters of the spiritual association would simply be tired to the point of death as they worked to the brink of exhaustion for over a month in order to return the world to its equilibrium.

"Okay." Enveloping the other person's hands with his own and locking them together, the cold and aloof Ghost King used his fingertips to lightly trace over his warm palms. This time, his answer was even more direct.

He could agree to any requests as long as the dark-haired youth by his side was happy. Or perhaps, this was something he wished for.