Chapter 136

As soon as the familiar voice reached his ears, Qin Cheng quickly raised his head and looked to see where it came from. With just a glance, Qin Cheng saw a man making his way through the crowd.

‘ Jingmo…. ’

With this name echoing in his mind, Qin Cheng could hardly believe what he was seeing. Nevertheless, Qin Cheng raised his feet and pushed his way through the crowd,  urgently rushing to where that person was.

As there were too many spirits around, as well as people moving against the current, Qin Cheng stumbled and fell. But he soon got up again, once again running forward with no intention of stopping.

‘ Jingmo, is that Jingmo?! ’

As he ignored the curses directed towards him from the angry spirits surrounding him, Qin Cheng centered all his thoughts on Su Jingmo, who was no longer that far away. As he got closer and closer to the man he had longed for for so long, Qin Cheng hurried even faster. The moment Su Jingmo was right in front of him, Qin Cheng opened his arms and embraced him, who had also been desperately running towards Qin Cheng.

Qin Cheng was immensely surprised. After all, the man he once thought he had lost forever, was now suddenly standing in front of him. Brimming with joy, Qin Cheng used all the strength he had left to hug Su Jingmo as tightly as he could, squeezing him in his arms.

“Jingmo, are you really Jingmo?” It was hard for Qin Cheng to contain himself, as he had finally found the man he thought he had once lost. With his beloved now firmly sheltered in his arms, and his familiar scent filling his nostrils, Qin Cheng’s voice became hoarse as he said: “I had given up hope of seeing you again! I thought that for the rest of eternity, I would never ever be able to hug you again…..”

“Jingmo…. I couldn’t forget you. No matter what may happen, I will never be able to forget about you….”

Qin Cheng’s voice was somewhat choked up from crying, which made Su Jingmo’s eyes instantly become filled with small, suppressed tears. When Su Jingmo closed his eyes, the tears fell and slid down his cheeks. Su Jingmo thus stood upright again, held Qin Cheng by the neck, and took the initiative to kiss him on the lips.

“I’m sorry…”

As soon as their lips met in a kiss, Qin Cheng clung to Su Jingmo even tighter, wrapping his arms around the Emperor’s waist. Amidst all the pain, concern and overwhelming joy present in their hearts, Qin Cheng bit down hard on Su Jingmo’s lips, tentatively exploring the familiar taste of the person in his arms with his tongue. When Su Jingmo actively responded to this new intimacy, the kiss deepened.

This kiss carried a deep intimacy that was never-ending. So much so, that even though both of them were still surrounded by spirits, who by this point were watching them closely, neither of them was willing to separate from the other.

“Qin Cheng, you are mine. You belong to me, Su Jingmo, alone.” As he kissed the tears from Qin Cheng’s eyes, Su Jingmo asked: “Did you say that you couldn’t forget me?”

“Yes, I couldn’t forget you.”

“Do you understand that I’m a ghost?”

“I know, but…”

Before Qin Cheng could finish speaking, Su Jingmo interrupted him by asking: “So, do you know what will happen in the future if you were to ever provoke me?”

“What’ll happen?”

“I was an Emperor when I was alive, and thus, I have always gotten everything I desired to obtain. Likewise, I never shared what was mine with others.” With one hand clutched around Qin Cheng’s neck, and the other grasping his wrist, Su Jingmo fiercely said: “Even if the Heavens arrange another red thread of marriage for you, I’ll do my best to tear it apart. In all your lives to come, you shall love only me. Not a single hair of yours shall belong to anyone else.”

“There’s no one else for me.” Qin Cheng kissed the corner of his beloved’s lips. While feeling a slight bittersweet sensation in his heart, Qin Cheng remarked: “From the beginning to the end, you have always been the only one for me.”

“No regrets?”

“I’m completely willing.”

With their gazes glued on each other, Su Jingmo was able to see the utter sincerity in Qin Cheng’s words. As well as the overflowing love Qin Cheng had for him.

“Qin Cheng.”

“Yes?”

With his arms still wrapped around Qin Cheng’s neck, Su Jingmo’s lips curved into a smile. At that moment, Su Jingmo’s heart was filled with a warm feeling, causing his cheeks to flush slightly: “I don’t think I’ve ever said this to you.”

“What thing?” Mesmerized by Su Jingmo’s smile, Qin Cheng asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

“I love you.”

Although these were three simple words, they made Qin Cheng feel dumbfounded and stunned to the brim, leaving him unable to work out how to react or even respond. Once Qin Cheng managed to come back to his senses, and was about to reply, Su Jingmo interrupted him by saying with a smile: “Qin Cheng, kiss me.”

“Hm? Alright.” However, before Qin Cheng could even get close enough to kiss him, Su Jingmo beat him to it and kissed him first instead. Qin Cheng’s mind once again seemed to have fallen into a whirlpool as he tightly hugged Su Jingmo, kissing him back with the same amount of intensity.

These intimate, affectionate kisses, the entanglement of their lips glued together, and the tongues exploring each other…. were all seen by the Ghost Official accompanying Su Jingmo, whose face was now all flushed. However, since the blockage and chaos the two created by the Naihe Bridge had caused the spirits to be unable to move forward, the Ghost Offical had to interrupt the long-awaited reunion between the two lovers.

“Umm, it would be better for you to clear out from the riverbank of forgetfulness first, or else….” The Ghost made a gesture pointing towards the chaotic scene around, the meaning of the unspoken words evident.

By the Naihe Bridge, Meng Po, witnessing such a scene, said to the Night Wandering God beside her: “That Emperor over there must be the person that ‘he’ has been waiting for all this time.”

“It must be.” The Night Wandering God, floating in the air, crossed his legs and nodded. “Looks like he won’t have to wait any further in the years to come.”

“Hahahaha, that’s a good thing.” Meng Po laughed merrily. “Otherwise, we would have to keep putting up with all those who see him waiting by the bridge and choosing to imitate him.”

Whatever the deities on the other side said, Su Jingmo paid no attention to it. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the weak ghosts surrounding them. After all, since Su Jingmo had been a ghost for over 1600 years, there were probably not many ghosts in the Underworld who could even compare their ghostly qi to the amount he possessed.

Upon noticing that the weak ghosts were so frightened of him that they immediately lowered their heads when he turned to look at them, Su Jingmo distanced himself a little from them.

“Let’s get out of here first. When Yama, the King of Hell, returns, there are some things I must still request from him.”

Although Qin Cheng didn’t know what Su Jingmo wanted, he would do whatever Su Jingmo wished. Thus, without complaint, Qin Cheng went along with him. Moreover, Qin Cheng still had many things he wanted to ask Su Jingmo, as well as many things he wanted to tell him.

‘ But…. ’

When Qin Cheng saw his hand tightly held by Su Jingmo’s hand, he smiled. ‘ I’ll take it easy. As long as I have Jingmo by my side, no matter where we are, we still have plenty of time to talk in the time to come. ’

In the Underworld, just as in the Human World, there were many residences for spirits and deities to reside in. The only difference, however, was that these residences retained the same appearance from several thousand years ago.

The Magistrate of the Underworld arranged for the both of them to be in one residence, and before the King of Hell returned, Qin Cheng took the opportunity to tell Su Jingmo many things. Among them, he included the revelation that the great Mausoleum in Ninghua Village was nothing more than an empty tomb housing only funerary objects, since Su Jingmo’s corpse was actually in the Concubine’s Mausoleum.

“All I knew about the formation was that it required an individual to willingly sacrifice their flesh and blood in order to seal the tomb, thus locking my soul inside. That way, neither Immortals nor Deities could get in or out. If the tomb were to be destroyed, my soul would be destroyed as well.” Su Jingmo sat down next to a table and tapped it lightly with his fingertip. “Or perhaps, this is the Venerable Xuyun’s way of providing me with a way to come back to life.”

“Then, if your body is still there, couldn’t you use the Taowu bones to return to life?” Qin Cheng asked excitedly, sitting down together with Su Jingmo with obvious cheerfulness.

Su Jingmo looked at Qin Cheng for a moment, then asked: “What if it doesn’t work?”

“It won’t work?” Qin Cheng asked, surprised.

“That’s right. If it won’t work out, what will you do then?” Su Jingmo sighed lightly as he slowly leaned over Qin Cheng’s arm. “After all, I’ve been dead for such long years, how could my bones remain intact after all this time?”

As he held Su Jingmo in his arms, Qin Cheng lowered his head, looked at the person leaning on his arm and whispered softly: “But that’s not a problem. Anywhere you are, I’ll be there too. If staying in the Underworld is what you want, then I will stay here with you. If you want to reincarnate, then I will reincarnate with you. We simply…. will not drink Meng Po’s soup.”

Qin Cheng’s words made Su Jingmo smile. Straightening up, Su Jingmo looked Qin Cheng straight in the eyes and said: “Don’t you care about your parents? The kindness of being raised by your parents is greater than the blessing of the Heavens.”

“Well….” In reality, what Su Jingmo said was something Qin Cheng didn’t dare to think about. Although Qin Cheng couldn’t forget his parents’ upbringing…. without Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng didn’t feel like living any longer….

“Even then, I’m already dead now. So it’s not like I can make a decision….”

“But Qu Zhiwen will save you.” Su Jingmo interrupted Qin Cheng’s words and continued: “Before I vanished, I integrated the Taowu bone into your body, and made a deal with Qu Zhiwen. In exchange for saving Jiang Ping for him, Qu Zhiwen will save you so that you would not die.”

Qin Cheng was stunned. After all, Qin Cheng had thought that since he was already dead, there was nothing more to do and therefore he wouldn’t have to worry about anything anymore. He just wanted to be with Su Jingmo, even though Qin Cheng knew this would be a very selfish and cruel thing to do to his parents, who raised him with so much love. But now that Qin Cheng had been told that he would return to life….

“But I would rather die…. I….”

“Don’t say that. To repay the kindness of your parents’ upbringing, you shouldn’t take your life so lightly.” Su Jingmo raised an eyebrow and continued: “Since I love you, naturally, I won’t let you suffer….”

“No, I will not let you go!” Thinking that Su Jingmo was suggesting that he would let him live alone, Qin Cheng hurriedly grabbed Su Jingmo’s hands and said: “I don’t agree!”

“Fool!” Knowing that Qin Cheng had misunderstood, Su Jingmo chuckled through his teeth. “Since I’ve decided to be with you, naturally, I won’t leave.”

“But this is….”

“What does it matter if I can’t come back to life? Since I have existed as a ghost for thousands of years, why can’t I just continue as a ghost for a few more decades?” Su Jingmo said. “Unless you don’t want a ghost following you around?”

“I do!” Qin Cheng hugged Su Jingmo and said: “How could I not want to? I’m just afraid this will make you feel wronged….”

“Do you really think that I would let myself be wronged?”

Qin Cheng glanced at Su Jingmo speaking and didn’t reply.

“It’s alright, I have my own plans.” Su Jingmo said.

Upon seeing the dumbfounded expression on Qin Cheng’s face, Su Jingmo couldn’t help, but wonder: ‘ In order to be able to record historical events and become the world’s best historian, it’s clear that this man wasn’t stupid. So how come this man always looks like a fool every time he is with me? ’

“You really are…” Su Jingmo lowered his head and laughed softly. “You always have the same gaze when you look at me.”

‘ No matter if it’s thousands of years ago, or in the present day…. ’

Qin Cheng snapped out of his thoughts, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, Qin Cheng thought that his obvious gaze had made Su Jingmo uncomfortable, so he tried to look away. However, since Qin Cheng didn’t want to let it go either, he sighed and asked: “What kind of gaze….?”

After a moment’s thought, Su Jingmo reached out and gently lifted Qin Cheng’s chin with his finger. With a teasing tone, Su Jingmo said: “As if you like my appearance.”

“I like you.” Su Jingmo’s teasing left Qin Cheng at a loss for how to respond. Hence, Qin Cheng could simply choose to be direct and say: “I just like you.”

“Mmm.” The bottom of Su Jingmo’s eyes filled with smiles. With his gaze still glued to Qin Cheng, Su Jingmo said: “I just thought of something. When your soul inadvertently traveled a thousand years into the past, and we performed the marriage ceremony, did you do something else afterwards?”

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“Something else?” Qin Cheng was momentarily puzzled, but quickly recalled the intimate encounter that night. ‘ I originally thought it was nothing more than an illusion, so…. ’

Qin Cheng recalled Su Jingmo’s behavior that night. Every scene was engraved in his mind, just as the image of Su Jingmo’s passionate expression was engraved in his heart….. Suddenly, Qin Cheng’s heart skipped a beat, his face turned red, and a warmth began to slowly build up downward…..

Suddenly, Qin Cheng stood up and began to stutter, not being able to say anything in the end.

“That night, did you really not do anything?” Su Jingmo smiled and took a step forward.

“I….” Qin Cheng swallowed saliva and took a step back.

Su Jingmo, upon seeing that Qin Cheng was avoiding his proximity, naturally knew why it was. Su Jingmo’s eyes sparkled with a broad smile, and intentionally stepped even closer. When he saw Qin Cheng take another step back, Su Jingmo chuckled and said in a low voice: “Were you really able to resist when I was lying in front of you, defenseless?”

When Su Jingmo said this, how could Qin Cheng not know what he was referring to? Clearly, Su Jingmo knew everything. Taking a deep breath, Qin Cheng looked at the beautiful face in front of him, his peach blossom eyes slightly curved into a genuine smile.

Slowly, Qin Cheng’s eyes darkened as he took two steps forward. Once near Su Jingmo, Qin Cheng lifted him up and embraced him in his arms. With a hoarse and slightly trembling voice, Qin Cheng replied honestly at last: “I couldn’t resist.”

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