Chapter 98: Little He at Eighteen (1)

On the night of their wedding, Tan Xueci had a little too much to drink. He Xunye carried her home on his back, but she still fussed and refused to sleep, saying she wanted to watch the stars in the yard. He Xunye had no choice but to set her down on the steps.

Tan Xueci raised her hand to admire the big diamond ring on her finger. The more she looked at it, the more she felt she had found a complete sucker.

He Xunye had bought her a big diamond ring before, and this time for the wedding he bought another, plus a plain band. So now her little lamb paw wore three rings.

He Xunye hugged her and kissed her a few times, then went inside to make her a late-night snack to bring out later.

Because his little lamb loved to eat anything, their wedding banquet was lavish, with many dishes. That evening, Tan Xueci ate bite after bite, her belly round and full. Normally, He Xunye would not have let her eat more, afraid she would upset her stomach.

But a wedding was a tiring affair. On the way home, Tan Xueci, with teary eyes, said she was both tired and hungry. She wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck and accused him of mistreating her, of starving his little lamb. He Xunye had no choice but to make her some supper.

Even though he was already dead, every day with Tan Xueci made him feel more alive than before he died. His heart uncontrollably wanted to beat, his blood pressure rose day by day, and the bulging veins on his arms seemed to move, as if he might come back to life at any moment.

Tan Xueci still did not know her husband might be revived by sheer anger. Once He Xunye went to make her supper, she stopped crying. Her nose was still red, and she sniffled softly as she sat on the steps, chin in hand, waiting.

She looked up at the moon. In the past, it would make her feel lonely. The more beautiful the moonlight, the more she felt like a pitiful little rat. But now she felt no trace of loneliness at all.

Seeing such moonlight only made her want to burrow into her husband’s arms and murmur, “Husband, I saw a big, round moon.”

Then He Xunye would blindly pull her into his arms, pat her head, and praise her, “Little Snow is so amazing.”

Though the moon being big and round had nothing to do with her at all. It was not as if she had kneaded it into shape.

The courtyard gate was not closed. There were still people in the house who had not returned, and just like the He family’s old mansion, the layout incorporated many feng shui and mystic arts, so no thief or ghost would dare trespass.

Tan Xueci squinted, when suddenly she saw a white figure standing by the gate. She thought it was some bold little ghost that had dared to barge into their home.

With her husband not around, her little tentacles, like black mist, shot out, hurtling toward the figure to twist its head off.

But before they touched it, she froze.

An eighteen-year-old He Xunye stood outside the gate, dressed in a white monk’s robe. The youth’s long black hair hung loose, and his pale face was frowning deeply. His robe was stained with a lot of blood, especially around the abdomen, and a few beads on his prayer beads were cracked as he surveyed the courtyard.

He had been killed by He Xunye in He Wuling’s illusion, but when he opened his eyes, he was here.

It looked like the He residence, yet somehow different, and in the yard there was a white plague ghost, hands clasped behind its back, walking over to him with curiosity, but not approaching.

The plague ghost now lived in the He residence but often went to the Xilian Temple to listen to sutras. It had gradually remembered that it was once Grandpa Wang and Grandma Wang, and also knew that touching people would make them sick.

So it had asked the abbot of Xilian Temple for something like a protective talisman. Not to protect itself, but to protect others.

But it could only guarantee staying in the He residence. As long as it stayed far enough away, it was fine. Too close, and it would still make people sick.

The plague ghost looked at He Xunye, seeming puzzled why there was another dead spirit.

Tan Xueci was also stunned. Wasn’t this her second husband? Could it be that second husband was not dead?

She had clearly seen second husband beaten to death by her first husband, tortured and humiliated. And if He Xunye had not died, she never could have left He Wuling’s illusion.

Tan Xueci’s head spun as she ran over to He Xunye.

The youth had lost too much blood; his skin appeared especially pale under the night sky, his eyes pitch-black. When he looked at Tan Xueci’s confused, upturned face, his tense body relaxed almost imperceptibly.

At first, Tan Xueci did not dare touch He Xunye. She looked timidly for a while before carefully reaching out to touch He Xunye’s arm. It was real, not a ghost.

The youth pressed his lips together, about to speak, when a low voice suddenly came from behind Tan Xueci.

“Little lamb.”

Tan Xueci snatched her hand back, not knowing why she felt guilty. She turned to look at He Xunye.

The youth’s thin lips pressed together again. He looked down at the hand Tan Xueci had pulled away, but said nothing.

The evil ghost’s dark, gloomy eyes also fixed on his eighteen-year-old self, a hint of red flickering in their depths. He smiled and said to Tan Xueci, “It seems something dirty has come into our home.”

Tan Xueci’s eyelids twitched. She had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second, cold, black-red flames burst into life in He Xunye’s palm, as if he wanted to kill.

Tan Xueci was startled and quickly blocked him. “Wait!”

He still looked injured. Being beaten to death a second time would be too pitiful. She felt a twinge of sympathy.

He Xunye paused. Though violence brewed between his dark brows, the flames in his hand gradually died out.

He Xunye walked over to her, took her wrist, and pulled her into an embrace. He said, “Didn’t Little Snow promise to wear it for me?”

Tan Xueci’s face suddenly flushed red. She looked at He Xunye, stammering, unable to speak.

They had worn suits for the wedding, but she had promised He Xunye that tonight she would wear a wedding dress with him.

Her dead ghost husband always liked to see her in various kinds of dresses. She was already used to it, but talking about such things in front of others felt strange, even if second husband was not exactly an outsider.

It was so strange. She could not stand it.

He Xunye’s brows darkened. Without waiting for Tan Xueci to speak, he took her wrist and led her away.

Tan Xueci quickly looked back at her second husband, still standing outside the He residence gate. It seemed He Xunye planned to ignore his second husband’s fate, letting him sleep under a bridge.

The dead ghost always wished he would die outside.

The youth stood in the night, watching her. His pale, thin hand pressed against his abdomen, as if the wound from being disemboweled by He Xunye still hurt. But he just watched silently as Tan Xueci left with He Xunye, not saying a word from start to finish.

Tan Xueci’s heart unexpectedly softened. She steeled herself and grabbed He Xunye’s hand, stopping.

“…”

The expression on the evil ghost’s pallid face turned even colder than before, but at least he listened to his wife. He also stopped.

Seeing that He Xunye was willing to compromise, Tan Xueci quickly beckoned to her second husband, afraid the other might leave. The youth raised his head to look at her, but instead of leaving, he walked toward them.

The others in the house returned one after another. They all sat in the front hall, curiously staring at the eighteen-year-old He Xunye.

Especially He Pinglan, who could not resist reaching out to pinch the youth’s face. He Xunye dodged coldly.

He Pinglan’s eyes grew nostalgic. He Xunye at this age was much more fun, rigid and proper. Later, he became more and more frivolous, annoying to look at.

After dying, he only thought about his wife’s mouth.

Tan Xueci sat to the side, slurping her midnight snack. Her husband had cooked her a bowl of noodles with a lot of meat sauce and chili oil.

A moment ago, she had checked her second husband and found that though his monk’s robe was covered in blood, his body did not seem to have any injuries. She felt relieved.

The youth dodged He Pinglan’s hand, twirled his prayer beads, and moved closer to where Tan Xueci sat. He frowned, on edge with everyone, not wanting to engage with them.

Yu He also stroked his chin, studying He Xunye curiously. To be honest, he had almost forgotten what He Xunye used to look like. Compared to now, he seemed much more innocent.

Just as he was about to speak, He Xunye turned his head to look at him. The youth frowned, his long black hair falling loose. Even sitting in the lively front hall of the He residence, he looked like he was sitting before the ancient Buddha, finally speaking his first sentence: “How did you get so old?”

Yu He: “…”

What was the dead ghost saying.

The wedding had ended very late. By the time Tan Xueci finished her midnight snack, it was almost midnight. The old folks in the house could not hold out any longer. He Xunye did not continue to torment them.

After the chaos, many people in the He family had died. There were not many old folks left. They had better wish to live a long life so he could count their contributions and let them leave. Otherwise, if they died now, who would play with his little lamb?

Then he would have to drag their souls out of hell, condemning them to eternal damnation, forever stuck in the He residence.

Everyone went to sleep. Tan Xueci’s eyes were bright and sparkling, no different from a child whose best friend had finally come to visit. Though her first husband’s face was dark and gloomy, like a big black dog, she still could not resist reaching out to touch the youth.

She even arranged for him to stay in the room next to theirs, so that if anything happened, second husband could come find her.

The youth had no objections. After he went in, Tan Xueci lingered by the door, whispering softly to him.

Only when He Xunye looked truly displeased did Tan Xueci reluctantly leave.

The youth did not know why he had appeared here, but he was always steady and did not panic over such things.

Tan Xueci rummaged through He Xunye’s wardrobe and found some monk robes from his younger days.

The youth bathed, put on a robe, then lay stiffly on the bed, hands neatly folded over his stomach, fingers entwined around the prayer beads. He closed his eyes.

But before he could fall asleep, he heard banging from the next room. He could not tell what was happening.

The youth’s dark eyes opened again. Frowning, he sat up.

The He residence had good soundproofing, being a mystic sect with its own methods, but for some reason, this room had poor soundproofing. The noise from next door was very loud. He could hear Tan Xueci crying.

At first, he did not understand what they were doing, since he had no experience. He had only shared a few kisses with Tan Xueci and licked her once. At that time, Tan Xueci had not cried much, just whimpered softly.

But tonight she was crying loudly, like a little boiling kettle going “wer, wer.” It made his eyebrows jump.

He thought something was wrong.

After all, that man looked bad-tempered. Maybe he treated his wife harshly and violently.

Tan Xueci had not expected to be overheard. She was not very thoughtful to begin with, and tonight she was dead drunk.

As soon as she entered the bedroom, she saw a big, poofy white backless wedding dress piled on the bed. She was not reluctant; they had agreed. Blushing, she changed into the dress.

Actually, she felt there was no difference whether she wore it or not, because He Xunye would just lift the skirt and bunch it on her stomach. Her pale, taut belly was slick with sweat, the fluffy skirt making her waist look especially slender.

Beneath the skirt, she was completely naked, kneaded and posed like dough by He Xunye.

The youth frowned and decided to get up and take a look.

But just as he reached the door of the bedroom next door and raised his hand to knock, Tan Xueci’s sobbing suddenly changed pitch. It was no longer “wer, wer” but became soft and trembling.

The youth was startled. His face darkened as he finally realized what they were doing.

Tan Xueci was still whimpering softly. Through the door, he could even hear her calling “husband” in a tearful voice.

That man must have said something comforting while holding her, because Tan Xueci shyly raised a hand to cup the other’s face and kissed him.

Her little cries sounded like a cat in heat. The youth’s brows were heavy, the tips of his ears flushed red with shame and anger as he turned and left.

The crying did not stop until late into the night.

Tan Xueci woke up early the next morning, clinging to He Xunye and letting him wash her face and hands. Then she ran off to find her second husband, afraid he might suddenly disappear.

The door opened. The youth stood behind it, his monk’s robe white, but there were faint dark circles under his eyes.

He looked down at Tan Xueci. Tan Xueci’s pajama collar was crooked, revealing several mottled red hickeys on her neck, and her lips were swollen and red from being bitten.

Tan Xueci leaned in close and noticed the youth looked very tired, as if he had not slept all night. Frowning, he asked, “Did you not sleep well last night? Why?”

She thought about how her dead ghost was afraid of the dark. Her second husband probably did not like the dark either. Maybe that was why he could not sleep.

She did not dare tell He Xunye she wanted to accompany second husband, though He Xunye indulged her in everything. Even if she did say it, He Xunye probably would not get angry. But she knew He Xunye would be unhappy, and she did not want her first husband to be unhappy.

Tan Xueci felt a little troubled. She felt like she was in a two-child family: hard to console the elder, and the younger one was also a handful.

The youth did not know why he had appeared here, but last night he had seen Tan Xueci in a suit, and that evil ghost had mentioned a wedding dress. Probably last night was their wedding.

Logically, it should also have been his.

Though he did not want a wife, he was shut out, with no wife sleeping beside him, and he even had to listen to his wife’s cries without being able to open that door.

Tan Xueci sidled up to the youth and chatted with him for a while before running off to eat breakfast.

The school had given He Xunye marriage leave. They had already gone on a honeymoon before the wedding, traveling for a long time, so after the wedding, He Xunye would go back to school.

Even though He Xunye was dead, with the chaos of yin and yang in the past, the rules of the living had also become more flexible. They were still issued a real marriage certificate.

Now they were husband and wife in every sense.

He Xunye kissed his wife’s little face, hesitating as if wanting to say something. Tan Xueci guessed what he wanted to say and looked at him pitifully, promising, “I definitely won’t fool around with him.”

Only then did the evil ghost smile and say, “What is Little Lamb talking about? Husband was just asking what you want for dinner tonight.”

Lu Qi had arranged a new drama for Tan Xueci, but she still had about ten days before starting work. She would be home during that time.

He Xunye brought her delicious food every night.

Tan Xueci hummed softly, not understanding why he was pretending to be generous. She saw He Xunye to the door, watched him leave for work, then ran back to find her second husband.

The youth said he had no appetite and had not gone down for breakfast.

Tan Xueci worried he was sick. She leaned in to look, but could not tell what was wrong. The youth turned his face away, ignoring her. Tan Xueci moved to the other side to look again.

She had promised He Xunye not to fool around, but she felt hugging and touching should be fine. The dead ghost could not be that petty. So she wrapped her arms around the youth’s waist and looked up at him.

She did not realize that from this angle, her face looked especially small and her eyes big. When she was not *“wer-wer”*ing, she looked just like a kitten.

The youth pressed his lips together. Being hugged did not seem to please him; in fact, his expression grew colder.

Just now, he had seen the evil ghost leave the He residence, and only then did Tan Xueci dare come find him. Completely the behavior of a man henpecked by his wife.

What was this? It made him feel like a concubine.