Chapter 15

King Yama had thought about it all night and had trouble falling asleep due to overwhelming joy. He got up early in the morning, wore an apron, and made breakfast.

Little Black didn’t sleep well last night either. His night was filled with chaotic dreams. In his dream, Little White was dead and lay bloody by the lake. He also had a dream that he had grown a pair of wings and flew in a white world. When he woke up in the early morning, he found that Little White was sleeping soundly with a pillow on another single bed next to his. Little White’s pajamas were messy, his belly was exposed, which was quite adorable. Little Black wiped the saliva from the corner of Little White’s mouth, helped Little White to sort back his pajamas, and then staggered downstairs. On the stairs, with one foot in the air, Little Black rolled down the stairs when he saw King Yama rushing in and out with a cute bunny apron! He was finally awake now… ‘What happened? Why did Boss Yan suddenly change his gender?!’

Cang Qiong also happened to be back from the grocery store, carrying a lot of fresh fishes, fruits, and vegetables. King Yama rushed up with a single stride, “Qiong Qiong, Kong Kong, hurry up and have breakfast.”

Whether a human or a ghost, whoever saw the current King Yama would also be shocked. Even Cang Qiong, who knew the inside story, wasn’t an exception. However, he quickly calmed down, “I have eaten outside.” After speaking, he quickly entered the kitchen.

Kong Kong didn’t mind eating a little more, so he happily sat down at the dining table. However, after a bite, he immediately regretted it… The food made by the King of Underworld was really not suitable for living people to eat, eww…

‘As a father, I must care about my son’s life. Even though it is a bit late, the good thing is that everyone is an Immortal. We have plenty of time to cultivate this father-son relationship.’ King Yama followed Cang Qiong closely to the kitchen and asked with a smile, “Little Qiong Qiong, when is your birthday?”

‘Little Qiong Qiong?’ Cang Qiong shuddered; goosebumps suddenly erupted on his skin, “Please call me Cang Qiong, or, just like how my godfather calls me, Qiong Qiong. Don’t call me ‘Little Qiong Qiong’. You are such a tall and vigorous man. Don’t you feel disgusted calling me like that?”

“Well, that’s fine…” King Yama was embarrassed that the other side ignored his action of showing fondness. But looking at his “only son,” who was in front of him, he still bravely moved forward, “Qiong Qiong, your birthday is…”

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“Wya yoyu, sd Ubakpvxyp.” Uydt Cksdt tzydnle yv bkx yde vssj swv y zyatl rklnl sq rsaj vs ralryal qsa nssjkdt.

“Ubakpvxyp…” Mbyv oyp qya yoyu qasx dso. “Rv okzz cl vbl Yke-Gwvwxd Wlpvkhyz kd y qlo eyup. Ebu esd’v R tkhl usw y Yke-Gwvwxd Wlpvkhyz tkqv!”

Uydt Cksdt tzydnle yv bkx ytykd, “Ls dlle, vbydj usw qsa uswa nsdnlad.”

“Mbld obyv vaswczlp es usw byhl alnldvzu? Mlzz xl ycswv vblx, zlv xl blzr usw pszhl vblx…”

“Tlblbl…” Uydt Cksdt zlv swv y zsdt plaklp sq qyjl zywtbp, “Zsw alyzzu vbkdj usw yal yd sxdkrsvldv nlzlpvkyz tse.”

“R’x dsv sxdkrsvldv, cwv R yx y nlzlpvkyz tse.” Ikdt Zyxy vsze vbl vawvb.

“Uaynj!” Uydt Cksdt pzypble esod y ckt pryalakc okvb vbl jdkql! ‘Tl kp dsv yd sxdkrsvldv tse cwv yd kdnsxrlvldv qalyj. Ebyv kp bl vaukdt vs es? Ohld vbswtb R yx bkp psd, bl eslpd’v byhl vs ts vbkp qya, aktbv?’

Uydt Cksdt pvsrrle nbsrrkdt yde zssjle yv vbl qalyj sq y Ikdt Zyxy, “Zsw ypjle xl ycswv xu vaswczlp?”

“Yes.”

“Prices of pork have risen again!” ‘A group of guys who eat and drink for free are here! Well, now, there are two more!’

‘Price of pork? Is this the trouble of Little Qiong Qiong? How can I help him solve it?’ King Yama walked out with serious thought. Cang Qiong looked at his serious and hilarious back, shook his head helplessly, and returned his attention to the chopping board.

In fact, King Yama really took this matter to heart. He returned to the basement and immediately ordered 100,000 souls that were supposed to be reincarnated into mosquitoes to instead reincarnate into pigs. ‘If there are more pigs, the price of pork will drop, right? I don’t know if it is feasible to use this method to carry out macro-control. However, for the sake of my son, I’ll try it first anyway!’

This morning, the curtains in Pan Pan’s room were drawn tightly, and the dim room was glowing with bright green light. Everyone looked at the little child lying on the bed.

Xu Dian was hypnotized. Pan Pan was examining his soul balls one by one, but the expression on Pan Pan’s face didn’t look very optimistic.

Chang Mu was originally full of excitement and anticipation, but when he saw the expression of Pan Pan, he couldn’t help but ask. “How is it? Are the other soul balls damaged?”

“No, everything is fine.”

“Then why are you frowning?”

“Well…” Pan Pan pursed his lips and seemed a little unwilling, and checked again.

“What’s the matter?”

“Mu-er, you know that the three souls are the main soul, vegetative soul, and seneive soul; seneive soul is responsible for people’s memory…”

“I know. So what?”

“There is a flaw in the soul rebirth method. If the seneive soul disappears, the newborn seneive soul will not have the original memory… the soul that Xu Dian lost… It happens to be the seneive soul that is responsible for memory… …”

“And then?”

“I can make up his spirit souls, but…he has no memory of the past, just like an ordinary child…”

This sentence was like a thorn which pierced Chang Mu’s heart. ‘What does it mean… no memory of the past?’

Kong Kong asked earnestly, “If Xu Dian will change back to a normal child now, will he think of Mu-er as his father?”

“It’s very likely.” Little Black leaned against the wall, foolishly expressing his opinion, but was stomped by Little White on his foot. Not reconciled to being trampled on, he still pointed out, “Is there something wrong? Even if Xu Dian wouldn’t think Chang Mu is his father, he will still think Chang Mu is his elder brother!”

“Idiot! Can’t you say fewer words?” Little White fiercely dragged the mindless Little Black out of the room.

Pan Pan looked helplessly at Chang Mu who was silent and felt distressed. ‘He has waited for more than ten lives and ten incarnations, but that was the result he had been waiting for; he must be crestfallen…’ When Pan Pan recalled how these two lovebirds flirted and teased each other in the old days, a series of grief overwhelmed his heart.

“Mu-er, whether Xu Dian becomes an ordinary person… It’s up to you to decide.”

“Em, I know…” Chang Mu took Xu Dian into his arms and kissed his forehead, “I just…want to be alone for a while…to ponder over it.”

“Alright. In any case, when you need me, anytime or anywhere, I’ll be there. Lunch is almost ready. Take Xu Dian to eat later.” Pan Pan gently pat Chang Mu’s head as his elder.

After Pan Pan and Kong Kong went out, Chang Mu looked at Xu Dian, took his tender little hand, and gently rubbed it…

“What a small palm; what a small finger; what a small fingernail, Little Ma. I almost forgot the feeling when you twisted my ears with your hands… In the future, it probably won’t happen anymore…”

Chang Mu pursed his lips and said to himself, “I’ve waited so long to have your soul finally restored, but you will forget your poor little Mu-er. I think you must be reluctant. This imperfect ending is not what I want. Although you have a sad and unpleasant memory in your past, maybe that memory made you cherish it more, the relationship that we both had. Without it, it may not be a good thing… And, you change back to a normal person. If you started your life as a child, I can’t do whatever I want to…”

Xu Dian felt itchy, his eyes opening. Seeing Chang Mu by his side, he smiled foolishly, “Mu-er…”

“Are you awake?”

“Um.”

“Great, let’s go down and eat!” Chang Mu picked up Xu Dian, put on a smile, and walked downstairs.

In the kitchen.

“Get out of here—!!” It was Cang Qiong, roaring for the nth time and resisting not to add the words “Go Away!”

“Okay, okay. I’m getting out. I’m getting out.” King Yama shyly withdrew from the kitchen, which was mocked by Little White ruthlessly, “Boss, don’t do things beyond your power. Don’t try to get something that doesn’t belong to you.”

“What do you mean?” King Yama thought, ‘I just saw that all of you were concerned about Xu Dian, and no one was helping Cang Qiong cook, so I decided to do some housework to lighten the load.’

“‘What do you mean?’ You go ahead and figure it out for yourself. Hahaha…” Little White sat at the dining table, laughing wickedly. Suddenly there was a “bang” which startled him —— It was a big bowl of soup, placed on the table. Cang Qiong brought over the last spare ribs soup, smiled, and politely said to Little White, “Doesn’t belong to you either.”

“You…you are an unfilial descendant!” Little White gasped in anger. He pouted aggrievedly and pinched Little Black’s thigh, twisting the skin in frustration. Poor Little Black thought he had done something wrong, so he just swallowed his grievance..

“Who did you say is a descendant of yours? You’re just a sideline character. A distant relative is like a place that is 3,000 miles away.. The distance between us is like a far-off skyline. You must not rely on your surname Cang to act like my ancestor in front of me.” Cang Qiong had the gift of gab. His words were forceful and eloquent.

‘Well said! Well said!’ King Yama was very proud when he heard it from Cang Qiong. A smile appeared on his aged-old face. But honestly, his smile didn’t look good.

Little White was incredibly frustrated, pointing at Cang Qiong’s nose with trembling fingers, “Wait and see. I will find my elder brother and teach you, you unfilial thing, a lesson!”

“Ha! Then take your time to find him!” Cang Qiong didn’t take it seriously at all. He turned around and went into the kitchen to prepare the tableware.

Little White roared: “I will definitely find him!”

Seeing that Little White was angry, Little Black wanted to help. “Little White, let me help you find him.”

“You? Save it.” Little White muttered in his heart: ‘I’ve searched for thousands of years without success. If you could find him, would the world be turned upside down?

During their meal, Pan Pan explained the situation of Xu Dian to King Yama. King Yama without hesitation told Chang Mu that: “You don’t have to hesitate. Let Xu Dian recover his mind first, and then talk about the future. Don’t call yourself a ‘heart breaker.’ No matter how incestuous the relationship is, you can still get him, even if he will be a son or a brother. Besides, he was your stepmother before, was your Little Ma once, and you will be seen as his father once. You’re even.”

Oh, it turned out that King Yama knew how to comfort people. Chang Mu smiled weakly and said, “It sounds right… But everyone has different ideas. I always feel that it’s a bit lonely to relive my memories alone…”

“However, it’s almost impossible to get back Xu Dian’s soul ball now, so restoring his mind is the best result, isn’t it?” Little White interrupted.

“Yes… Please give me a few days to think about it, I need to do some mental preparation.”

“How long do you need to think about it?” Cang Qiong asked bluntly, “Don’t tell me you will think about it forever and live in my house forever?”

In his mind, Chang Mu really wanted to beat up this cavalier brat. How could he be so impolite?! Although he really wanted to live here, and there were many people who could help take care of the child, he couldn’t say it directly. “Uh… can you allow me to stay here until I find a job?”

“Are you looking for a job here?!” Everyone was surprised!

“Yeah, I quit my job as a university lecturer and want to become a primary school teacher in this seaside city.  I want to live in a quiet town with Xu Dian.” Chang Mu smiled brazenly at everyone, “I originally came here for an interview at the nearby Seashore Elementary School, and everyone happened to be here. We will live in the same town and take care of each other in the future.”

“Since this is the case, Qing Qing should start restoring Xu Dian’s mind in the afternoon. So as not to prolong the delay or more problems could occur,” King Yama said.

Just as Chang Mu was about to refuse, Cang Qiong rushed ahead and said, “No, Chang Mu is still a little unwilling. After a few days, when his unwillingness gradually fades away, it won’t be too late to start the process.”

‘This kid is so smart.’ Chang Mu patted Little White’s shoulder and said, “Just as expected as the descendant of your family. The offspring surpassed the ancestor.”

Little White smiled with satisfaction, “That’s right, the children of our Cang family are all smart and cunning. This is genetic in the family.”

As soon as King Yama heard the word “genetic,” a dissatisfied expression appeared on his face.

“Not at all,” Cang Qiong deliberately looked puzzled. “Our Cang family has been known for being honest and kind. My nature has nothing to do with genetics.”

“Yes, yes!” ‘My son is right!’ King Yama nodded again and again, but the more complacent he became, the more hateful Little White felt.

Kong Kong leaned on Cang Qiong and said sweetly, “But I think you are honest and kind, gentle and considerate.” In fact, his eyes were fixed on the prawn in Cang Qiong’s hand.

“Only applied under special conditions. Come here and eat a shrimp.” How could Cang Qiong not know what Kong Kong meant? He stuffed the freshly peeled prawn into Kong Kong’s mouth. His godfather, sitting opposite of him, was so jealous.

Pan Pan gave King Yama a secretive and expectant look. Chang Mu understood Pan Pan’s intention at a glance so he immediately peeled a shrimp to feed Xu Dian, “Dian Dian, eat this shrimp.” However, an adult feeding a child was justifiable so it didn’t attract King Yama’s attention.

Little White decided to sacrifice himself. He peeled a shrimp and asked Little Black affectionately, “Do you want to eat shrimp? I peeled one for you.”

“Huh?” Little Black opened his mouth, before he understood the situation, LIttle White threw the shrimp into his mouth.

However, what a pity that someone was still unresponsive. ‘A stupid piece of wood!’ Pan Pan was vexed; he poked King Yama and said angrily, “Hey! I want to eat shrimp too.”

“Ah? Oh!” King Yama put a prawn into Pan Pan’s bowl. “This table is quite big. Tell me what else you can’t reach.”

Pan Pan stared at the shell of the shrimp and suppressed the anger in his heart, “I don’t want the fishy scent on my hands. Can you peel it off for me, okay?”

“Oh, ok.”

Seeing that King Yama agreed without hesitation, Pan Pan felt a little gratified in his heart: ‘Ziwen is a brainless man, but it didn’t matter. I can teach him little by little.’ Seeing that King Yama was almost finished peeling the shrimp, Pan Pan leaned over and lightly parted his tender lips. But halfway through opening his mouth, he saw that King Yama threw the shrimp into his bowl.

“Hohoho…!”, “Hahaha…!” Little White and Chang Mu couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Little White sneered, “If boss’ son is as dumb as him, he would be helpless!” This showed that the cunning Cang Qiong has nothing to do with him at all.

Pan Pan’s face was as red as a monkey’s butt. King Yama’s expression was severe. He continued eating his meal as if he didn’t get it.

After the meal, King Yama and Pan Pan walked down the stairs to the Underworld office. Seeing Pan Pan was still mad at him, King Yama finally stepped forward to apologize.”Qing Qing, I’m sorry. I know you’re dissatisfied that I didn’t feed you shrimp…”

“Yo? You know?” Pan Pan was a surprise.

“Yes, I’m aware. But they are all our subordinates, our juniors. Acting lovey-dovey in front of them, I can’t do it. It would be disrespectful if we acted like that. You are the judge, and I’m the King of the Underworld. You should set an example and not lose your dignity and…”

“Fuck that dignity!” Pan Pan kicked King Yama with his foot. He felt his heart was blazing in anger that he even viciously swore.

The King of the Underworld rolled downstairs and fell on his back.

“Master King Yama, Master Shi, you are back!”

Ox Head and Horse Face suddenly appeared below. Pan Pan was shocked and immediately ran down the stairs to help King Yama. With a gentle voice, Pan Pan worriedly asked, “Sir, are you all right? Why did you get drunk after only drinking a little? I advised you earlier not to drink at noon!”

“No, it’s all right…” King Yama didn’t dare to say anything and allowed Pan Pan to help him walk back… After walking far, he said softly: “Look at yourself, pretending to be nothing in front of Ox Head and Horse Face. Why are you blaming me!” The implication was that he had to pretend in front of Little White and Little Black too.

“Little Black and Little White are different from Ox Head and Horse Face!”

“What’s the difference?”

“I say they are different then they are different…”

“…”

It seemed that Chang Mu and Xu Dian would also stay in Cang Qiong’s house. They couldn’t occupy Cang Qiong’s parents’ room. Little White and Little Black decided to move to the attic on the third floor.

The two worked hard all afternoon. The project was quite huge. The attic of the Cang family’s house was originally a utility room full of old useless stuff. Most of the things up there were used by Cang Qiong when he was a young child. Pan Pan’s habit of collecting garbage hadn’t changed for thousands of years. 

It took Little White and Little Black a long time to clear up the junk and clean the room. Little White rolled up the dusty curtains and went downstairs to scrub them. Little Black mopped the floor and wiped the windows. He was a hard worker, the busier he was, the happier he became.

‘Heh. The ancestor is visiting the household for a while but ends up staying in the attic.’ Little White leaned on the washing machine and smirked, thinking of the Cang family’s original riverside mansion, and now he didn’t know where it was…

After Little Black mopped the floor, he moved Little White’s and his belongings —- a heavy pile of stuff —- from the second floor to the third floor. Then, he made the bed. He shook Little White’s sheets and a glass bottle inside was shattered. A white feather inside floated out of the window, following the course of the wind.

Oops! Little Black rushed over to the window without thinking too much, and immediately jumped out, trying to grab the white feather. ‘That is Little White’s favorite item. If it gets dirty, I’ll be finished!’

“Someone jumped off the building!”

There was a sudden scream from the neighbor. Little Black was so frightened that he immediately turned stealthy. When he got distracted, he didn’t grab the white feather. It floated straight down and fell into a puddle next to a tree. A wild dog passed by, raised its hind leg, and urinated on it…

‘I’m done for’… Little Black coaxed the wild dog away, and picked up the dirty and smelly white feather. He didn’t know what to do with it. ‘Find a fake one! But is there a chicken farm nearby? Also, do roosters have such a long white feather? Yes, I can go to the zoo and look for cranes, cormorants or something!’

Little White heard the screams of the neighbors that someone jumped off the building. He hurried out of the door to see what happened. If a ghost happened to float out, he can hook him as a practice of his profession. In the end, he saw Little Black standing under the tree, looking at his hand, and was irritated.

“Little Black, what are you doing?”

As soon as Little Black saw Little White walking towards his direction, he hurriedly hid the feather behind him, “Nothing!”

“What’s in your hand?” Little White smiled mischievously.

“No–nothing…”

“Liar! Show me.”

Little White grabbed the feather from Little Black’s hand. After seeing it clearly, his smile instantly disappeared, “How did this happen?!”

“I– I was not careful…I…” Before Little Black finished his sentence, Little White turned around and ran away.

Little Black would rather have Little White severely scold him than see him run back to the house without saying a word. Aya! Blame himself for being so stupid! He promptly followed Little White into the house.

Little White lowered his head and gently rinsed the Heron’s feather. But even after the washing and drying, he couldn’t restore it to its original luster; it still looked messy. After all, it was an ancient item… Little White sat on the sofa, looked at this feather, and recalled the past. He recollected his elder brother’s smile and his big warm hand. Little White’s tears silently fell. It was easy to think back to the memories that were kept, but all things must come to an end…

Little Black was used to seeing Little White joke and scold, or when he genuinely laughs or fakes his cry. So when he suddenly witnessed Little White silently shed tears, he felt uneasy. He slowly walked up and muttered an apology: “Little White, I’m sorry…”

Little White pouted without looking at him, “What’s the use of saying sorry?”

“What kind of bird’s feather is this? I’ll find one to pay you.”

“This is what my brother left to me. What will you pay me with?”

“…” Silly Little Black stood quietly, not knowing what to say.

After a long time, Little Black shyly went back to their room. Little White muttered: “He is like King Yama, a piece of rotten wood.”

Surprisingly, the insensitive Little Black did something unexpected.

The next morning, a note was left on the table in the living room. It was discovered by King Yama, who got up early and tried to make a lovely breakfast for his son.

Little White

I know I’m stupid. I had asked Pan Pan if he had any medicine that would make me become smarter, but Pan Pan said no. He comforted me and said that Little White likes stupid fools. I am sorry for doing something to you yesterday and making you hate me. But I swear, I really didn’t mean to. I didn’t expect something like that to happen. I can’t make up for this mistake, and I don’t know what to do to make you forgive me, so I decided to go out for a while. With this, you won’t be angry every time you see me. I’ll return to the Underworld to work once vacation is over.

Little Black

‘Is he running away from home? Unbelievable.’ King Yama ignored it and placed it back on the table. Then Cang Qiong and Kong Kong, who got up, saw the note. And then, Chang Mu who took Xu Dian saw the note. Pan Pan also saw the note. And finally, Little White, who got up the latest, saw the note. 

Little White frowned, ‘Why didn’t Little Black leave it in the room, but left it in the living room instead? Isn’t it obvious that you want everyone to see it? Humph!’

“What did he mean by he was sorry for doing something to you? Could it be that he…you…?”

Little White knew that others would ask this sort of question. Facing everyone’s doubts, Little White couldn’t be bothered to explain, he was originally in a bad mood.

Pan Pan was still the best. He took out the sky mirror and soon found Little Black who seemed to have run into a place full of ice and snow. “Little Black, where are you? Come back quickly. Little White is not angry with you anymore.”

Little Black was a little depressed and softly said: “Anyway, I’m on vacation. It’s embarrassing for me to stay in the Cang’s house. I want to wander around. When my vacation is over, I will go back.”

‘At least he has some conscience.’ Cang Qiong nodded in satisfaction.

Little White was furious. He rushed over to the mirror and said, “Where the hell did you go? Hurry and come back, okay? Otherwise, everyone will think that I have abused you!”

“No, Little White didn’t abuse me.” Little Black tried to explain.

“Anyway, come back!”

Little Black thought for a while and decided not to listen to Little White this time. He wanted to make decisions for himself, so he said, “Little White, I used to tell you about the dreams I had until you said your ears already have calluses, so I haven’t mentioned it again. But… I really often dream of you, and it hasn’t stopped for hundreds of years. You in my dreams are very similar to you now, but a little different. I often see you lying down in a place full of ice and snow, your beautiful eyes closed, motionless… I have asked Duke Zhou* to interpret those dreams, and the old man said that my dreams may lead me to a place, a beauty, or a regret. He said that I can only rely on my own intuition to wander around, trying to find the place in my dream…”

*Duke Zhou is known as the “God of Dreams”. In Chinese legends, if an important thing is going to happen to someone, Duke Zhou will let the person know through their dreams. 

‘This piece of rotten wood actually went out seeking those dreams! No! No! I can’t let him run around alone.’ Little White immediately asked Pan Pan: “Where is Little Black now? I’m going to find him!”

Pan Pan anxiously thought about it, turned to King Yama, and said, “Lend me your carriage, I’ll go find Little Black.”

“Which one?”

“The one with the tracking function!”

“But the tracking function of that carriage has long since stopped working!” Or King Yama would have driven it out to find Pan Pan twenty years ago.

“I broke it on purpose. You lend it to me and I’ll fix it.”

“Oh…” So it was because of that. King Yama was speechless. With a wave of his sleeves, an antique wooden-wheeled carriage with skeleton jade ornaments appeared in the living room. However, there were no horses pulling the carriage, only a few ghost fires floating around.

“Wow! What a miraculous carriage!” Kong Kong’s eyes widened, “I want to sit and try it too!”

“Handsome, right? This is the most luxurious ghost car in the Underworld.” Pan Pan hurriedly got into the vehicle and started repairing the tracking function, and it was done in a short while. “Come on, Little White, let’s go! Kong Kong and Qiong Qiong come with us too!”

“I’m going too!” Chang Mu swiftly jumped into the carriage; he had never ridden in this carriage of his boss in his life!

King Yama grabbed him and pulled him down, “It’s overloaded. Plus the driver’s seat, it can only take five people, and Little Black will occupy one seat later.”

Little White smiled apologetically at Chang Mu, “I’m sorry, senior.”

Cang Qiong popped his head out of the carriage and threw a sentence on Chang Mu: “Watch the door and take care of your child at home! Haha!”

‘Humph! One day I’ll beat him up!’ Chang Mu enviously watched as the door closed and the ghost flames, lining up in two rows, pulled the carriage until it disappeared into the air.