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"Did I... say something wrong?" Chu Fan chuckled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“I used to hate her so much. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have this life. I would rather have died at the stake back then than have gone through all this. But now that I think about it, I may not have only lost and not gained anything. You’re right, since death is the final outcome, I can also choose its meaning.”

Chu Fan had seen that look in his eyes before, almost exactly the same as when Jiang Nan shielded him from that fatal blow.

"Could it be... that he said in the palace that day, 'That's not the time for you to die yet...' You... are one of the twelve palaces? 'The Fading Lover'? 'The Jackal'? He... would kill you?"

Mu Yan smiled and shook his head. "No one can destroy this body except Hell Rock, not even myself."

The atmosphere suddenly took on a somber tone. Although Mu Yan smiled, a rare and precious smile appeared on his face, Chu Fan still had a vague feeling that there was something wrong with what he said.

Since that conversation, Mu Yan has disappeared for two whole days. He wasn't in his room at the inn, and the innkeeper knew nothing about him. Asking him on the road yielded no results either; it was as if he had vanished into thin air.

Chu Fan was on tenterhooks for two days, fearing that what he thought was true, and then he would be finished.

On the third night, as soon as the door was pushed open and he saw a familiar figure, he immediately rushed over excitedly, wiping his snot and tears on the other person.

"I thought you'd been arrested, but I was also afraid something had come up and you didn't have time to tell me, so you didn't dare leave the inn. Thank goodness you're back, thank goodness, thank goodness..."

After finishing his tearful account, Chu Fan sniffed before looking up at the person.

His dark eyes were bloodshot, his gaze was weary, and his pale face was filled with exhaustion.

Noticing the other person swaying, Chu Fan immediately changed from lunging to supporting them, asking, "Aren't you feeling better yet?"

Mu Yan's steps were unsteady, and he shivered involuntarily. Chu Fan helped him to the bed, closed the door and window, poured him a cup of hot tea, and served him tea.

Mu Yan silently crawled into bed, not even making eye contact with Chu Fan.

Chu Fan turned to put down the teacup, muttering to himself, "What's wrong? Why won't you talk again?"

Tucked the blanket in, Chu Fan helplessly told her to "get some rest" and prepared to leave, but her sleeve was grabbed. She turned her head and soft lips pressed against hers, carrying a slight coolness, prying open her teeth and entwining with hers.

Chu Fan was stunned for a moment, still pondering what was going on. His body, far more honest than his reason, kissed him back first, pressed him back onto the bed, and licked his teeth. Instinctive desires entwined the two of them until they were breathless.

Chu Fan propped his head up, looking at the lovely woman beneath him with her red lips slightly parted as she breathed in fresh air, puzzled. "Why?"

Mu Yan swept a lock of hair that was obscuring her vision to one side, met the other's questioning gaze, and asked calmly, "You like me?"

Chu Fan awkwardly turned his head away. When did this person become so direct?

Mu Yan slowly narrowed his deep eyes and smiled.

"Let's do it..."

The surprised 'ah' was still forming in his mouth when it was blocked back down.

One of the teaching principles of the new century is to be honest and trustworthy. There is also a term called "self-deception" to implement this principle. In contrast, if you have any pain, cramps, or discomfort in your body, you will definitely tell you the truth without hesitation.

Chu Fan chose to be an honest child.

So, they did it.

The consequence of choosing honesty was that when Chu Fan woke up the next day, he was so ashamed that he wanted to bang his head against the wall. He covered himself completely under the covers and refused to get out of bed. Mu Yan called him three times, but he just pretended to be asleep.

Hearing a faint sigh, Chu Fan's face burned even more.

Other people weren't bothered by that, but he himself became embarrassed about this and that, losing face to the point of being utterly ashamed.

"I know you're awake. It's okay. I just want to say one thing. You can stay in bed and listen to me."

Mu Yan's voice was so calm and even that it didn't have a single inflection. The content of his words made Chu Fan tense up and hold his breath to listen carefully.

The air circulation inside the blanket was already impeded. After Mu Yan said this, there was a long silence. Chu Fan held his breath until his eyes turned red. Finally, he couldn't help but take a breath. As soon as he inhaled the air, the rest of the conversation began outside the blanket.

“I was perfectly sober last night.”

Then there was another period of silence. Chu Fan was still pondering the subtext of those words when another question came to his ears.

Do you...believe me?

What do I believe in you? Do I believe that what you just said came from the bottom of your heart? Do I believe that you were very, very clear-headed last night?

"I believe you, of course I believe you." Chu Fan blurted out, jumping out of bed, but the scene before him nipped that happiness in the bud. "What... what are you going to do with that thing? Swords don't have eyes. It's okay if you hurt me, but it's not good if you hurt yourself."

Towards the end, his voice even started to tremble.

Pah, pah, pah! What do you mean it doesn't matter if I get hurt? This attitude is clearly aimed at me.

"Mu Yan, what's wrong with you?... What are you doing?" Chu Fan retreated to the corner of the bed, unable to understand why the dagger in that fair hand was pointed at him.

"You said you believed me."

"Trusting you is one thing, but your actions now are another. What's wrong with you?" Chu Fan's gaze lingered between Mu Yan and the dagger.

Mu Yan's behavior was truly baffling to him. Even if someone could turn on you like flipping a book, it shouldn't be this extreme. The two of them had just spent the night together last night, and they were still passionate lovers just a moment ago. How could he want to kill him now?

Approaching the bedside, pressing down on the trembling man, and stabbing him with that knife, Mu Yan's eyes did not stir a ripple, as if the body gradually cooling in his hands was no different from those of the previous ones.

Chu Fan had completely forgotten what 'dodging' meant. Even at the last moment, he never thought that Mu Yan would actually kill him.

The phrase "dying with eyes wide open" is a bit of an exaggeration.

The moment the white knife pierced his heart, Chu Fan closed his eyes in pain, never to open them again. He lost his sight first, and then he couldn't remember the order of what happened next. In any case, he lost his hearing last, vaguely hearing a sentence.

"...Rather than let you be ruined by him, I'd rather do it myself..."

Endless darkness rushed towards him... Chu Fan felt frustrated as his consciousness drifted away from him.

This is such a perfect explanation, such a good reason, such a helpless decision, such an expression of love, such a... psychopath!

So, upon arriving in the underworld without any explanation, Chu Fan's first words were a curse: "Damn it—what is all this???"

Chu Fan turned around and saw Yuan Cuiwei standing by the Bridge of Helplessness, seemingly having come specifically to find him. This wasn't their first meeting, and Chu Fan didn't stand on ceremony with him. "Based on the development of the plot throughout history, the author must have sent you to explain the whole story to me..."

Yuan Cuiwei coughed. "Jiangnan was abducted from the eighteenth level of hell by Ji Yu. I'll tell you the details on the way. Come with me first."

Before Chu Fan could even say "oh," he suddenly felt light on his feet and was being carried along by Yuan Cuiwei.

As far as the eye could see, it was utterly desolate, without a single ghost in sight. Could it be that the underworld has national holidays?

"When Ji Yu abducted Jiangnan, she released all the fierce ghosts of Hell. The Underworld hadn't seen anything like this in tens of thousands of years, and it was in complete chaos. Anyone who could lend a hand was sent away on missions," Yuan Cuiwei explained.

Chu Fan responded with an "Oh".

“Two days ago, we encountered Mu Yan up there and learned the whole story. We suspect that Jiang Nan is probably the ‘Fallen Lover’ among the twelve palaces. We've also guessed the last one pretty accurately. Ji Yu’s conspiracy is outside the jurisdiction of the Underworld, but Jiang Nan’s soul, as well as the vengeful ghosts imprisoned and tortured in Hell, cannot be taken away. Our task is only to capture the escaped ghosts and hold Ji Yu accountable for trespassing into the eighteen levels of Hell. If Ji Yu’s conspiracy succeeds, his life and death will no longer be controlled by the Underworld, but will be directly decided by the god with whom he made a pact. The matter of trespassing into Hell and releasing vengeful ghosts will be dropped, and the Underworld’s reputation will be completely ruined.”

So it was all about saving face... Chu Fan remained silent, his expression not one of deep thought, but rather one of complete ignorance as to how the old man's words had anything to do with his cause of death.

"arrive."

Before the cause of death could be determined, Chu Fan landed on his feet.

The place was shrouded in mist; if it weren't for the high temperature and rising steam, it would probably look like a fairyland. To the right stood a stone tablet with the four large characters "Hell's Rock" inscribed on it, followed by a line of smaller text: "Danger Zone, Unauthorized Personnel Prohibited, Otherwise You Will Be Reduced to Ashes, and You Will Bear the Consequences."

"...A volcano?" Chu Fan blinked.

Yuan Cuiwei, knowing his confusion, kindly explained, "It's not the 'rock' of rocks, but the 'rock' of magma."

"...Excuse me, what's the difference between these two 'rocks'?" Chu Fan suddenly remembered Mu Yan's words, "You, you, you, what are you doing here? I see you're always following that King of the Underworld. Even if you have a high position and great power, you can't treat human life so lightly." If even Mu Yan couldn't withstand this Hell Rock, let alone a mere mortal like him.

"You're already a wandering ghost, so where would you get human lives from?"

"Well, you can't just treat ghosts' lives like that... At least, at least find a clear-headed and articulate ghost official to tell me the whole story, so I can understand why I'm being obliterated?"

"Who are you saying is old, confused, and incoherent?"

"..."

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck, instantly splitting the stone tablet in two. At the foot of the smoke-filled volcano, three shadowy figures and several flashes of light could be faintly seen.

Yuan Cuiwei called out "Young Master" and rushed over. It would take Chu Fan a while to recognize him with his naked eye.

It wasn't until the four figures, leaping and bounding about, dispersed the fog and eleven orbs of light rose out of thin air, illuminating the view, that Chu Fan was finally able to identify these people.

Yuan Cuiwei was one of them, needless to say. The one standing next to him with a serious expression was Hades Yixuan. Their gazes were fixed on two figures, one black and one white. Chu Fan wanted nothing more than to pounce on the black figure and bite him to death; the white figure was held captive by the black figure and could not move.

"Hey, you surnamed Ji, let him go!" Chu Fan took a step forward and shouted with boundless pride, but no one paid him any attention; he was probably too far away. His entrance pose was useless; Chu Fan simply ran towards them.

He didn't expect that even though it was quite close, it had taken a lot of his energy. Even as a ghost, he might not be that powerful; he was not as good as his old body.

Arriving at their destination, panting heavily, Chu Fan bent over, inhaling deeply. One hand was on his hip, and the other pointed at the dark figure. "You...you surnamed Ji, you...you let him go."

This statement lacks any real conviction whatsoever.

"Oh no!" This exclamation came simultaneously from Mu Yan, Yuan Cuiwei, and Yi Xuan.

Chu Fan thought things were going to get much worse, but nothing happened. The five people just stared at each other in a standoff, and none of them took any further action.

Ji Yu looked at Chu Fan, who was still panting, with amusement. Chu Fan stared anxiously at the hand that was choking Mu Yan's throat. Mu Yan frowned and stared at Chu Fan, seemingly lost in thought. Yi Xuan and Yuan Cuiwei stood to the side, ready to pounce.

After a while, there was no movement.

Yuan Cuiwei suddenly spoke up, "Young Master, what is the last one of the Twelve Palaces?"

“‘Jackal’”.

After speaking, Yi Xuan and Yuan Cuiwei both looked at Chu Fan, scrutinizing him from head to toe, left to right, and right several times, before shaking their heads. Suddenly, their eyes lit up and they both looked at Mu Yan.

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

Coffin → Coffin → Greed

“‘Jackal’”.

After speaking, Yi Xuan and Yuan Cuiwei both looked at Chu Fan, scrutinizing him from head to toe, left to right, and right several times, before shaking their heads. Suddenly, their eyes lit up and they both looked at Mu Yan.

Suddenly, it dawned on me.

A cool sensation came from his chin, and Mu Yan was forced to open his mouth, as eleven orbs of light slid into it one after another.

Things progressed too quickly, so that by the time the other three reacted, the orb of light had already disappeared into Mu Yan's body.

Yi Xuan and Yuan Cuiwei remained calm, exchanged glances, and made a desperate gamble, as if using their last bit of strength, to bring Mu Yan back.

Mu Yan's expression was distorted, his heart was in turmoil, and it seemed as if something inside him was struggling to come out.

Chu Fan could only hold him and tremble with him, unable to utter a single word of concern.

Yi Xuan and Yuan Cuiwei stepped back in front of them. Yi Xuan glanced at the changes in Mu Yan and said in a deep voice, "There's no time."

Mu Yan struggled to stand up straight, leaned against Chu Fan, gave him a reassuring look, and then looked coldly at Ji Yu, "No one is a winner all their life, and no one is a loser all their life."

"Oh?" Ji Yu raised an eyebrow, slowly straightening her wrinkled clothes. "Are you saying I lost this time?"

"Isn't what you want the power of the Dark Palace? At its core, it's the power of the twelve human souls."

“Not bad,” Ji Yu affirmed with interest.