CH 7

“Get up.” The Grim Reaper’s voice held not a tinge of emotion.

“Don’t wanna.” The boy’s face was thicker than expected.

The Grim Reaper extended a single finger, prodding Chi Jiayan in the forehead, trying to get him away. Somehow, although he couldn’t see the expression of the Grim Reaper, Chi Jiayan still knew that the face hidden behind the mask must be the one called “disgust”.

Chi Jiayan was already thirteen. What kind of gossip and looks of disgust hadn’t he already heard? Because of his character being that of a heavenly fiend lonely star, people avoided him like the plague.

He suddenly remembered that he was not a popular person, so he felt very ashamed of his impulsive actions. His face started to burn.

“Sorry…” Chi Jiayan muttered, apologizing. His unrestrained enthusiasm from just now was like a snail’s antennae, retreating into his shell in the blink of an eye. The Grim Reaper didn’t think there was anything wrong. After all, the last time he had seen Chi Jiayan, Chi Jiayan was still an energetic little dumpling.

Chi Jiayan was still currently vexed over his actions. Before he could say more, a giant black wolf jumped down from the tree branches overhead, circling around him. The ink-colored wolf even had a bird in its mouth. It opened its jaw, and the poor bird was swallowed whole.

Chi Jiayan wasn’t really afraid of this enormous, truck-sized wolf called Cang Feng. He even thought it was rather cute.

Cang Feng dug its claws into the ground, assuming a downwards posture. Chi Jiayan reached out a hand and petted its ear.

“Let’s go,” the Grim Reaper said.

Chi Jiayan obediently climbed the back of the wolf. The Grim Reaper took another seat in front, and the two rode atop the wolf out of the villa area.

Newborn calves really weren’t afraid of tigers. Chi Jiayan was the first human to ride alongside the Grim Reaper.

This certainly caused an uproar among the ghosts of Chunnan City.

They rushed about in a flurry to spread the gossip. It didn’t take long for oil and vinegar to get added to the mix, causing there to be about twenty different variations of the tale.

One wiser ghost who had doubts was puzzled. “That can’t be right. I just saw the lord over in Huashu District. How could he be in two places at the same time?”

Another ghost quickly agreed. “Yes, yes, yes, I can testify. There was a gas leak that caused an explosion like the Big Bang over there, and a whole floor of people died. I saw the lord with my own two eyes. He was busy beyond belief.”

“It can’t be that there was an impostor.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, there could be…”

They looked up at the road as they chattered, happening to make eye contact with the steely gaze of the Grim Reaper passing by by chance. The ghosts scattered and fled in every possible direction.

One ghost was so frenetic that they forgot to go through the wall. They hit the wall with a “bang”, a big lump forming on their head. They stood there dumbly, shaking in their boots.

Cang Feng prowled down the street. With one sweep of its tongue, a glimpse of every one of its fangs could terrify people. By the way, it only took two bites for it to devour and swallow that reckless ghost.

Not a peep could be heard out of all the other ghosts.

Plop, plop, and each one fell to their knees.

Chi Jiayan’s hands holding onto Cang Feng’s fur were shaking. He understood that this was not just some unnaturally large pet, but a beast worthy of being called terrifying. He became a little scared, his face gradually paling. His eyes subconsciously sized up the person in front of him.

It was only now that he came to a realization. That man in all black, gloomy and cold, gave off a thick and eerie aura of death.

The Grim Reaper sensed his gaze. “What’s the matter?”

Chi Jiayan lowered his head. “Nothing.”

What the ghosts saw was the Grim Reaper from the natural timeline.

Whenever there was an abnormally large-scale scene of death, the Grim Reaper would appear in person, and none of the dying souls would be able to escape. Singular deaths or natural deaths were often missed by soul-devouring beasts, to the extent that many ghosts lived in fear of being caught and brought to justice.

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They were all citizens of the underworld. They had no heartbeat or body temperature. Like the ghosts Chi Jiayan had seen in the past, they were very different from living humans. Chi Jiayan felt a little bad for the ghost that was eaten, but he also felt inexplicably close to this gege, so his emotions fluctuated for a while.

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They soon arrived in front of Chi Jiayan’s house. He slid off Cang Feng’s back and said with a smile, “Gege, you should come to my house to play.”

The Grim Reaper looked down at him condescendingly. “You guessed it.”

But Chi Jiayan pretended he didn’t hear. He took his hand and walked upstairs. “Let’s go, I’ll host you well!”

The home was no different from how it was eight years ago, only now, the furniture was very old, and there was an air of decay. It wasn’t cleaned up too well; clothes were scattered all over the place, and books and homework were strewn across the table. The bowls stuffed in the sink were god knows how many days old, and the instant noodle cups on the dining table hadn’t been thrown away yet.

It was a house with no elders.

The Grim Reaper remembered the yellow magnolia necklace hanging around Chi Jiayan’s neck from when he was five. At that time, his parents had been alive, but now he was alone. Only now did the Grim Reaper feel that time had passed for a long while. He felt a sense of reality between the two consecutive space-time jumps.

When Chi Jiayan entered the door, he threw his key into a small bowl on the cabinet, acting happy and unaffected. He shouted, “I’m back.”

Nobody replied.

He was already used to it. It was just that with these words, it felt less lonely.

“Gege, come in.” Chi Jiayan turned around with a grin. “No need to be courteous!”

The Grim Reaper…didn’t really want to go in.

He didn’t like uncleanliness or filth.

For that reason, the Grim Reaper’s black robes were always clean. His leather shoes were also spotless, and even Cang Feng’s fur was soft and tidy.

On the sofa was a chocolate-colored plushie. It was shaped like a rabbit or something, about a meter long, missing one of its eye buttons. When Chi Jiayan finished inviting the Grim Reaper inside, he continued to walk around customarily, seemingly talking to himself. “There’re guests here! Tony, aren’t you happy? I’m so happy!”

The Grim Reaper: “…”

Chi Jiayan went into the kitchen. There was the sound of running water, and soon he came out with a plate of fruit.

The Grim Reaper saw it and scrunched up his eyebrows. First of all, he didn’t like sweet food. Secondly, the fruit was probably spoiled; who knows where it had been bought from. The rotten parts were cut out by Chi Jiayan, but the Grim Reaper could still smell the aura of death on them.

“Do you not eat food?” Chi Jiayan asked curiously. “It’s like…in movies, it’s always like that…”

He picked up a piece of fruit with his damp fingers and held it up to the Grim Reaper’s nose. “I think ghosts just use their sense of smell?”

A completely black cat popped out of nowhere, catapulting itself like a cannonball onto Chi Jiayan.

Chi Jiayan caught the cat, softly petting its head. “Xiao Hei! You came!”

The Grim Reaper had been disgusted since he set foot inside. “Why is there a cat?”

That cat noticed the Grim Reaper. The fur on its back bristled, and it bared its fangs to let out a menacing cry.

At the same time, Cang Feng’s gigantic head appeared by the window. With its height, it was quite easy to appear in a location three stories high. It was even more exaggerated than Xiao Hei’s reaction, growling in its throat, baring its fangs, and almost squeezing into the window to try to bite Xiao Hei to death.

Chi Jiayan didn’t expect them to react so strongly to the cat, so he quickly explained, “Gege, this is Xiao Hei! The Xiao Hei we rescued together! He’s very obedient!”

The Grim Reaper had a headache.

Why did this child have so many issues?

“Try petting his fur. It’s very comfortable!” Chi Jiayan looked at him expectantly.

Because he kind of wanted to stop the shenanigans, as well as wanted to clear up the young boy’s misconstrued fantasies about him, the Grim Reaper decided to get straight to the point.

“That’s enough.” The Grim Reaper’s cold voice resounded loudly.

Both the cat and the wolf became quiet at the same time. Due to the aura of the Grim Reaper, even Chi Jiayan put away the smile he used to pretend he was strong.

Chi Jiayan was very smart.

Things were so obvious, so what didn’t he understand?

“Am I going to die?” Chi Jiayan hugged the black cat. The color contrast made his complexion look whiter. His almond eyes also seemed to be exactly the same shape as the black cat’s. “Gege, am I going to die? Are you here to take me away?”

The Grim Reaper was very tall, giving people a sense of oppression. There was also that chill emanating from his body, which was bone-chilling even during the dog days of summer.

“…Yes.” Under the expressionless white mask, the eyes of the Grim Reaper were as cold as ice. “This time is your death warning. In your next death instance, I will take you away.”

The sockets of Chi Jiayan’s eyes slowly filled with tears, his nose turning red. “Oh…so it’s like that.”

“That’s why I’m not your guardian angel,” the Grim Reaper said. “And I’m not your friend. I’m a grim reaper.”

The boy’s beautiful wish was shattered to pieces. It was like one could hear the sound of glass breaking.

Chi Jiayan nodded, tears dripping onto the floor. “I know now.”

The Grim Reaper expected the boy to despair, to sob in agony, to bitterly beg for his life—but Chi Jiayan did none of the above. Maybe it was due to the years of loneliness and neglect, causing Chi Jiayan to face the concept of death with a different eye.

The Grim Reaper didn’t know and didn’t care, but he was just a bit curious.

It had already been a long time since he’d come across someone who wasn’t afraid of death.

“I’m actually a little bit happy.” Chi Jiayan wiped his eyes dry. “I can finally see my parents again. I don’t have to be alone anymore.”

How ironic.

He was also the one who had a strong desire to survive in the swimming pool just earlier, and it was also he who happily accepted his death warning right now.

The Grim Reaper didn’t quite understand the structure of the young man’s brain. Human emotions were too complicated for him to understand, so he remained silent.

“You’re probably the best grim reaper, right?” Chi Jiayan looked up, his eyes glistening. “Last time you bought me ice cream, this time you took me home. Before the next death instance, can’t you become my friend?”

The Grim Reaper had never come across anyone with this line of logic.

“…I can’t,” said the Grim Reaper.

“Okay.” Chi Jiayan hung his head. “I guess you’re heartless after all…”

Just as he finished saying this, outside downstairs, Cang Feng let out a howl. It was high-pitched and melodious, carrying to the sky.

The two people turned their heads. Outside the window was someone else wearing a white mask and black robes, exactly the same. On his clothes was a beast totem embroidered with gold thread, which was the appearance of Cang Feng before he transformed.

Chi Jiayan’s mouth fell agape. The Grim Reaper’s eyes darkened. He took a step forward to calmly block him.

“How did you come here.” The Grim Reaper’s voice was ice cold.

The black-robed man was half levitating, half balanced on the windowsill. He walked leisurely on long legs into the room.

The house was even colder.

The two people were the exact same black-robed figures, the exact same Grim Reaper.

“What about you, where did you come from.” The other black-robed man asked. Even their tone of voice was exactly the same.

“I’m from the future,” said the Grim Reaper.

“What a coincidence. So am I,” said the black-robed man.

Hearing this, the Grim Reaper frowned. He’d expected it to be his past self from this original timeline. He didn’t expect it to be his future self.

The black-robed man didn’t see the Grim Reaper’s expression. Turning to Chi Jiayan, he beckoned him closer. “Jiajia, come here.”

Chi Jiayan couldn’t process what was happening, already in a stupor. He walked towards the black-robed man without thinking.

But the black-robed man stretched out a pale hand, grabbed Chi Jiayan’s neck, and lifted him up!

There was immediately a terrified gasp, and blood rushed to Chi Jiayan’s head, his legs kicking helplessly in mid-air. If the black-robed man exerted more force, Chi Jiayan would surely die. He sneered, “Ling Xiao, things have changed. I came from the future to help you correct the mistakes you made today.”

The Grim Reaper flashed, instantly snatching back Chi Jiayan.

Chi Jiayan gasped for breath, coughing uncontrollably. Being on the verge of death twice in one day was certainly considered an adventure!

He subconsciously grabbed onto the Grim Reaper, shaking and calling out, “Gege, Gege……”

“He can’t die yet.” The Grim Reaper supported the back of Chi Jiayan’s head. He barely recognized that he was comforting him by doing this.

The black-robed man didn’t continue fighting over the boy, acting as if he had expected this kind of action from his past self. Instead, he said indifferently, “Really. You’re lying to yourself. Chi Jiayan needs to die early. We should finish this ahead of time.”

The Grim Reaper said, “The next time will be the perfect death instance.”

“Tomorrow is still tomorrow.” The black-robed man said, “Doesn’t my appearance already explain the problem?”

The two faced each other, and each saw the determination in the other’s eyes.

The black-robed man was defeated first. He massaged his temple and said, “Forget it. You are me, and I am you. How could I expect you to be more thorough than I am now.”

The Grim Reaper asked coldly, “What happened?”

The black-robed man shook his head. “Since I seem to be incorrigible, I can’t tell you the future.”

After saying this, he rotated the watch on his wrist.

He was leaving.

After adjusting the time, the black-robed man wordlessly stood on the windowsill and fell straightaway. The gold embroidered totem on his body immediately turned into another Cang Feng to jump up, firmly catching the black-robed man. The black-robed man circled around outside the window, causing Xiao Hei to yowl again.

Then, they disappeared in a ray of golden light.