95

Afterwards, the representatives from the spiritual association of the Human Realm mentioned many events which had occurred recently and took the chance to make more suggestions.

Throughout their negotiation, the expressions on every living person at the scene apart from the dark-haired youth was one of incredulity, as if they'd met a ghost. Actually, it was a fact that they had.

The Ghost King sitting at the top had a cold face and didn't speak much but that wasn't the point. The point was that he'd accepted every single request made by the other party as long as it wasn't overboard. During the whole process, they kept hearing this person agree, or rather, say "Okay" in his cold and monotonous voice.

It was incredibly smooth sailing. If only all future negotiations with the Ghost King would become as easy as this, they could even laugh about it in their sleep.

There was bound to be a turning point towards the end. The negotiations this time round, which should have been a high risk matter, concluded successfully till the end, when the ghost sitting at the top, who hadn't taken the initiative to state his own requests, finally opened his mouth.

"I can agree to all that you have requested from us, but I have one condition." His fingertips brushed lightly across the youth's palms. When Xie Lan spoke, his face was devoid of emotion as usual.

"…" The originally calm atmosphere in the room suddenly tensed, especially, the hearts of the divination masters who had intended to return to their world.

Sure enough, things wouldn't progress as smoothly as they'd hoped. He'd been biding his time.

"What condition?" They had managed to reap many benefits from their discussions earlier. As long as the other party's request wasn't too excessive, Grandmaster Lin would consider it.

Silence filled the room for several seconds and the brows of those present sank. The Ghost King's fingers which had been carressing the youth's palms paused and their hands intertwined, locking together.

He wanted this person to stay, but…

This alternate space where the Ghost City resided in wasn't as fascinating as the Human Realm. It was gloomy and boring, no human would enjoy living here.

With his right hand unable to move, Gu Yan felt cold especially since the other person didn't have the warmth of a living person.

After experiencing three different worlds, if Gu Yan was still unable to tell what his lover was thinking of, he was probably unfit to be called his lover. Therefore, he pulled his hand out from under and flipped it around to press down on the other person's palm instead.

He should give some form of acknowledgement. The Qiuqiu in this world had spent a long time waiting for him because of a hazy and fragmented memory. Now, that they'd just met, Gu Yan hadn't even had the chance to soothe his ruffled fur yet.

The distinct warmth of the finger poking at the centre of his palms caused the pale and handsome man, who initially had a gloomy expression, to raise an eyebrow. With some strength, he tightened his grip and prevented the hand in his hand from moving. Then, under the gaze of everyone present, he turned towards the dark-haired youth sitting beside him.

He wanted this person, he was-

"Ah Yan." Searching through his dispersed memories, even if it brought him incredible, stabbing pain, Xie Lan still clearly uttered his name.

He refused to forget, no matter what, even if this person's name had changed. After this, he intended to complete all the paintings in his study. Even though he had found this person, those paintings should be preserved.

Hearing the cold voice say his name in a heavy tone, Gu Yan's expression couldn't help becoming complicated.

In the last world, his lover's identity had been of the lightbrain. Wanting to obtain information on a player was simply too easy for him. But, in this world, Qiuqiu didn't have this advantage of knowing who he was. This meant his lover had to rely on his own ability to remember his name…

"The condition is that he must stay."

Those who were unfamiliar with him would think these words were spoken with careless indifference. However, in reality, the coldness in his voice was inherent. The Ghost King's subordinates couldn't be any clearer on this fact and they could clearly hear the irrefutable implication in his voice.

Once their boss used this tone, it meant that… no matter whether this person agreed or not, this 'condition' would definitely become a fact.

The difference was that if they agreed, this matter would be a wrap but if they refused, they could only throw their lives away. If their spirits were unable to disperse after their death, the future that awaited them was even more cruel. They would have to spend every minute of their life in the 18th level of hell for a long time and this form of torture was something even they, as ghosts, couldn't endure. If a newly formed ghost was to go through it, they would definitely go crazy.

En… Hopefully, these humans were smart enough to agree.

Although they'd been ghosts for several hundred years, working under an unfathomable boss whose mood changes faster than they could blink, and had already lost any compassion as the second and third most powerful ghost in the city, there was still a faint trace of mercy left in them, under such a situation.

Hearing the pale complexioned Ghost King raise such a condition, the faces of the divination master from the spiritual association changed.

It wasn't as if they hadn't witnessed the entire situation from earlier. This ghost had held their lucky charm quietly, extremely obedient. However, that was the Ghost King who sat atop the throne of the Ghost City for thousands of years. How could this be his true face?

However, the rules of the jungle in the Ghost City was such that no ghost could disobey this person's orders. Having considered this point, it was clear to see that this man had sufficient ability and power.

Therefore, for a ghost to retain a living person in the Ghost City, there was no way he had good intentions. If they agreed, wouldn't it be akin to pushing the dark-haired youth they'd brought along into the pits of hell with their own hands?

Moreover, the youth was a normal human being, a person whom they should be protecting. This person had faced immense risk to help them on this mission, how could they allow him to sacrifice at such a time—

From the expressions of the divination masters present, Gu Yan could tell that the pit in their brains must have grown bigger and they were probably thinking of a bunch of nonsense. He opened his mouth but closed it again. This matter was rather difficult to explain.

How could he speak of the matter of travelling through different words? Moreover, there was no reason to. Therefore, he merely lowered his head and broke the deadlock between both sides, "I'll stay behind."

"No…"

Not giving the short-tempered Grandmaster Luo the opportunity to finish the words 'no way', Gu Yan already threw out the words he'd said earlier along with a little amendment, "I'm willing to stay behind."

These were his true feelings, without the slightest hint of reluctance. Xie Lan could hear it which was why his icy-cold countenance warmed up a little. The rigid eyebrows slightly relaxed, seeming rather at ease, and the corner of his lips curved.

He was very happy…

Ever since he laid his eyes on the youth in front of him, his heart beat had become erratic, not pausing for even a moment. Now, it seemed to be jumping out of his chest.

The dark-haired youth's figure was clearly reflected in the pair of pitch-black pupils. The more he looked, the stronger the urge Xie Lan felt to push this person down. To kiss and taste every inch of his body, and leave his mark thoroughly inside and out.

It was a forceful desire that arose due to his intense emotions for this person. During the long and painful time he'd spent waiting, he'd never felt this way towards anybody else. There wasn't anyone in the past and there wouldn't be anyone else in the future, either.

"Ah Yan." Ignoring the conflicted emotions of the divination masters, the pale Ghost King narrowed his eyes, like a large beast who'd been tamed. When he spoke the youth's name, his voice carried immense satisfaction.

Even though he'd said he was willing and his tone carried sufficient sincerity, in the eyes of these divination masters with a great hole in the brains, it appeared as if he was sacrificing himself for the greater good of mankind, which was the reason why he was staying behind… At this moment, the gazes of all the divination masters directed towards him, changed.

It couldn't be… What's up with their expressions, as if they were seeing their saviour…?

Gu Yan's eyes twitched. He could guess that these divination masters must have been thinking of nonsense. However, the fact was that he himself had chosen to stay behind.

Returning to the Human Realm after soothing his family's Qiuqiu's ruffled fur wasn't a difficult matter. When that time came, he would bring this man along with him and hopefully, they wouldn't scare this bunch of divination masters.

"The portal to the Human Realm will close in a few hours. Esteemed grandmasters shouldn't miss this chance to return. Otherwise, you will have to wait until the next month to leave." The ability to observe and adapt to any situation was an extremely important skill. Noticing that his boss didn't have any intentions of acknowledging this bunch of humans any further, the second-in-line, Xu Qiu, habitually began to wrap up the scene.

At this time, Gu Yan let out a low cough and repeated the words he'd spoken earlier, "I'm willing to stay behind. Seniors should leave quickly."

As if they were saying their eternal farewells, every person who stood up from their seats wore a grave expression. Gu Yan could almost hear their inner voices, as though they were speaking to their own son, saying 'take care' before looking back at him silently and turning away to leave helplessly.

Gu Yan, "…"

Wait, he was really staying behind of his own free will!

When all the people in the room apart from the dark-haired youth finally left, Xie Lan didn't have to give his subordinates any orders because these ghosts who'd been dead for several hundred years had enough self-awareness. Xie Lan brought him to his study, maintaining the silence between them the whole way.

The moment Gu Yan stepped inside the most secure location in the entire Ghost City, he immediately saw the numerous paintings which covered the room. The main subject of the paintings was a human but in every one of them, the person in it was either missing a face or a pair of eyes.

"You've waited very long." Gu Yan's words didn't contain an inquiry because this was a fact that couldn't be any more obvious.

"Mmn." With a low voice, Xie Lan's pale and beautiful brows dipped. At the same time, he reached out to hug the dark-haired youth's waist and lowered his head, pressing his face against the youth's neck.

Now that he'd finally gotten hold of this person, he wouldn't let go. The pain of losing him after waiting an eternity was unimaginable. He could endure everything else, except for this.

Gu Yan didn't resist his lover's embrace and instead, lifted a hand to touch the other person's head. This time, he had to properly soothe his fur..