โพสต์ในอนาคตจะถูกเผยแพร่ใน 2026-10-13 17:50:50
Chapter 6 The Other Shore Hall is not holding a funeral today
Lu Yanshen first learned of the existence of “The Other Shore Hall” when Fan Wujiu shoved a venue layout diagram in front of him.
That morning, he had just come out of the police station.
Wearing a black shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, still holding a half-finished cup of coffee.
Fan Wujiu was standing beside a pillar in the parking lot.
Black shirt.
Black pants.
Looking all business.
Yet holding an absurdly large floor plan.
Lu Yanshen stopped in his tracks.
“What now?”
Fan Wujiu unfolded the diagram.
“Venue.”
“What venue?”
“For the parents’ meeting, the betrothal ceremony, and the wedding banquet preparations.”
Lu Yanshen stared at him.
“You underworld folks work this fast?”
“The Lord said since the betrothal gifts are settled, there’s no need to drag it out.”
“Where is she?”
“In a meeting.”
“Another meeting?”
Fan Wujiu said matter-of-factly.
“She’s the chairman.”
“So I’m getting married while she’s in a meeting?”
“You’re at work too.”
Lu Yanshen: “……”
He actually had no comeback for that.
Fan Wujiu pointed at the diagram.
“The Other Shore Hall.”
Lu Yanshen looked down.
The layout didn’t look like a banquet hall at all.
More like an international summit venue.
High ceiling in the center.
Viewing seats on both sides.
A massive banquet area at the back.
Even a note beside it:
Divine Realm Guest Passage.
Lu Yanshen’s frown deepened.
“What was this place used for before?”
“State banquets, Divine Realm receptions, large-scale ceremonies of the Underworld.”
“Now holding a betrothal?”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t it too big?”
Fan Wujiu looked at him.
“You’re marrying the King of Hell.”
“……”
“The Lord felt anything smaller would look unimpressive.”
Lu Yanshen was silent for two seconds.
“I’m not marrying her.”
Fan Wujiu replied without changing expression.
“You’re marrying into her family.”
“Shut up.”
---
Afternoon.
The highest-level conference room in the Underworld.
In front of Xie Bi’an lay the wedding checklist.
Fan Wujiu sat beside him.
On the other side of the table sat several ghost messengers from the Wedding Affairs Office.
A group of dead people seriously discussing living-world wedding customs.
The scene was absurdly solemn.
“Next item.”
Xie Bi’an read aloud.
“童男童女.”
Fan Wujiu looked up.
“Flower boys and girls?”
The Wedding Affairs ghost messengers nodded.
“Probably.”
Another ghost messenger added:
“One boy, one girl, dressed festively.”
Xie Bi’an frowned.
“So arrange two?”
“Two should be enough.”
Someone was already taking notes.
Si Zhao happened to push the door open.
Heard the last sentence.
“Arrange what?”
Everyone stood up at once.
“My Lord.”
She walked to the main seat and sat down.
“Continue.”
Fan Wujiu looked at the list.
“童男童女.”
Si Zhao raised an eyebrow.
“Still a thing in the living world?”
Fan Wujiu nodded.
“Flower children.”
Xie Bi’an also nodded.
Si Zhao looked at them for a few seconds.
“Are you sure?”
The whole table fell silent.
No one dared to be the first to confirm.
Si Zhao took the list.
Glanced at it.
“Who checked this?”
The ghost messenger at the far end slowly raised his hand.
“This subordinate.”
“Source?”
“Compilation of Old Living-World Wedding Customs.”
“Which year?”
The ghost messenger lowered his head.
Softly.
“1947 edition.”
The conference room went silent.
Fan Wujiu closed his eyes.
Xie Bi’an lowered his head.
Si Zhao’s face was expressionless.
“What year is it now in the living world?”
No one wanted to answer.
Finally Fan Wujiu said:
“2026.”
Si Zhao put down the old material.
“You’re using sixty-eight-year-old data to plan a modern wedding?”
The ghost messenger shrank his neck.
“The content looks similar.”
“Very different.”
She tapped her fingertips on the table.
“Re-check it.”
Fan Wujiu still didn’t quite understand.
“So 童男童女 isn’t flower children?”
Xie Bi’an had already pulled up new data.
After a few seconds.
His expression turned subtle.
“Apparently not.”
Fan Wujiu leaned over.
“Then what is it?”
Xie Bi’an paused.
“Dowry servants.”
The air went still.
Fan Wujiu: “……”
Si Zhao: “……”
The Wedding Affairs ghost messenger silently crossed out the “arrange one boy and one girl as flower children” he had just written.
Fan Wujiu leaned back in his chair.
“That’s illegal in the living world now, right?”
Si Zhao looked at him coldly.
“What do you think?”
Xie Bi’an pushed up his glasses.
“Then change it to the legal modern version.”
“How?”
“Private butler.”
Fan Wujiu added.
“Lifestyle assistant.”
Another ghost messenger said:
“Driver.”
“Housekeeping staff.”
“Security.”
“Living-world special duty.”
The group kept adding more.
Finally Xie Bi’an looked at the list.
“One private butler, two lifestyle assistants, two drivers, four housekeeping staff, eight security personnel, eight Underworld living-world special duty officers.”
Fan Wujiu stared at the numbers.
“Is he getting married or taking over the police headquarters?”
Si Zhao finally looked up.
“Too many?”
Fan Wujiu immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“Then it’s settled.”
Xie Bi’an silently noted it down.
No one raised any more objections.
Because everyone in the Underworld knew.
When Si Zhao said “it’s settled,” she meant it.
Really settled.
---
The day before the betrothal.
Lu’s mother was formally received into the Underworld for the first time.
She had said she wasn’t nervous.
Really.
She was still calm before leaving the house.
She even changed into a clean but understated deep-red top, combed her hair neatly, and asked Lu Yanshen:
“Is this too casual?”
Lu Yanshen glanced at her.
“No.”
“She’s such a big chairman.”
“Mom.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t treat her like a company chairman.”
“Then what should I treat her as?”
Lu Yanshen paused.
“The King of Hell.”
Lu’s mother: “……”
That didn’t make her feel any more relaxed.
Before leaving she turned back to look at Lu’s father’s memorial tablet.
Softly said:
“Your son is now taking me to the underworld to meet our daughter-in-law.”
Lu Yanshen stood beside her.
“Mom.”
“What?”
“No need to make it sound like we’re all dying together.”
“Peh peh peh.”
She immediately smacked him.
“Nonsense.”
Fan Wujiu stood at the door.
Couldn’t hold back a laugh.
---
When the passage opened.
Lu’s mother’s first reaction was to grab Lu Yanshen’s arm.
Second reaction: close her eyes.
Third reaction —
“Are we there yet?”
Lu Yanshen looked down at her.
“Not yet.”
“How much longer?”
“Ten seconds.”
“Then you should’ve said so earlier.”
“I thought you weren’t scared.”
“I’m not scared.”
“You’re about to pinch my arm purple.”
Lu’s mother looked down.
Realized she really was gripping hard.
Quickly let go.
“I was just afraid of falling.”
Fan Wujiu led the way ahead.
Shoulders started shaking again.
Lu Yanshen gave him a cold look.
“Laugh again and you’re done.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“You are.”
“Really not.”
Lu’s mother couldn’t hear Fan Wujiu.
She could only see her son giving the empty air a cold face the whole way.
She was already used to it by now.
---
After truly entering the Underworld, Lu’s mother was stunned instead.
She had thought the underworld would be gloomy.
Dark.
Ghost fires everywhere.
At least some fog.
But no.
Excessively modern.
High-rises.
Light rails.
Black-gold glass curtain walls.
In the distance, ghost messengers in suits were even swiping cards to enter office buildings.
Lu’s mother watched for a long time.
“Yanshen.”
“Hmm?”
“This is even prettier than your company.”
Lu Yanshen was silent.
“I work at the police station.”
“Oh.”
“No company.”
“Anyway, prettier than your place.”
“……”
Fan Wujiu finally couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud.
---
The Other Shore Hall was located in the central banquet area of the Underworld.
When the door opened.
Lu’s mother stopped in her tracks.
The high domed ceiling stretched upward.
The black-gold space held no trace of gloom.
A massive crystal chandelier hung like an inverted river of stars.
Bian An flowers spread along both sides of the staircase.
In the center stood an outrageously large main banquet table.
Lu’s mother looked around.
For a long time.
“This is just for meeting the parents?”
Lu Yanshen looked at Fan Wujiu.
Fan Wujiu nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then what about the wedding?”
“Also here.”
Lu’s mother looked around again.
“How many people can sit here?”
Fan Wujiu thought for a moment.
“Depends on the mode.”
Lu Yanshen frowned.
“Banquet halls have modes?”
“Regular banquet, state banquet, Divine Realm full seating.”
After hearing this, Lu’s mother only caught the last three words.
“Divine Realm full seating?”
Lu Yanshen also looked at Fan Wujiu.
“What does that mean?”
Fan Wujiu replied without changing expression.
“Just more immortals.”
Lu’s mother: “……”
She suddenly started worrying that her outfit today was too plain.
---
Si Zhao didn’t arrive particularly early.
Nor particularly late.
When she walked in from the other side of The Other Shore Hall, she wasn’t wearing anything that looked like mythological drama costumes.
Instead, she wore a sharply tailored long black dress.
Paired with a suit-style short jacket.
Her long hair tied low.
Only simple gold drop earrings.
Nails still the familiar wine-red.
She didn’t look like she was here for a betrothal.
More like she had just come from a board meeting.
In fact.
She really had just come from a board meeting.
The first time Lu’s mother saw her.
She went completely quiet.
Si Zhao approached.
First glanced at Lu Yanshen.
Then looked at Lu’s mother.
Her demeanor much gentler than usual.
“Auntie.”
Lu’s mother paused.
Immediately stood up.
“Hello, hello.”
She clearly didn’t know what to call her.
Calling her “miss” felt wrong.
Calling her “King of Hell” was too formal.
Calling her “daughter-in-law” was premature.
In the end she said simply:
“You look prettier in person than in the photos.”
Lu Yanshen: “……”
Si Zhao also paused for a second.
“Thank you.”
Lu’s mother looked at her again.
Couldn’t help asking:
“Really over four thousand years old?”
The entire hall fell silent.
Lu Yanshen closed his eyes.
“Mom.”
“I was just asking.”
Si Zhao didn’t seem displeased.
“Mm.”
“You’re so well-preserved.”
Lu Yanshen: “……”
Fan Wujiu turned around on the spot.
Shoulders shaking.
Xie Bi’an also lowered his head to整理 documents.
Si Zhao’s lips actually moved this time.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Seeing her smile, Lu’s mother relaxed a lot.
Even took the initiative to pull her down to sit.
“Stop calling me Auntie.”
Si Zhao looked up.
Lu’s mother said naturally:
“We’re getting married soon.”
“Just call me Mom.”
Lu Yanshen jerked his head up.
Si Zhao also clearly paused.
Fan Wujiu immediately whispered from behind:
“Fast progress.”
Lu Yanshen glared at him.
“Shut up.”
---
Discussing the betrothal was actually simpler than Lu Yanshen had imagined.
Because everything that could be discussed had already been settled days ago.
Bride price.
Gold.
Groom’s property.
Mother-in-law red envelope.
Now only confirmation remained.
Xie Bi’an placed the list on the table.
Seeing the string of numbers, Lu’s mother couldn’t help asking again:
“Those houses really aren’t paper offerings, right?”
Si Zhao looked up.
“No.”
“Cars aren’t either?”
“No.”
“Gold is real too?”
“Real.”
Lu’s mother finally felt completely at ease.
“That’s good.”
Lu Yanshen leaned back in his chair.
“Mom, why are you so obsessed with paper offerings?”
“It’s the underworld.”
“So?”
“Otherwise how would I know what you use as currency.”
Si Zhao listened.
Replied very seriously:
“Living-world real estate and vehicles are registered under living-world names.”
“Gold is physical.”
“Mother-in-law red envelope is cash.”
Lu’s mother nodded.
“Much clearer now.”
Lu Yanshen looked at the two of them.
Suddenly had the feeling that he was the outsider.
---
When it came to the dowry personnel.
Lu’s mother was stunned again.
“Private butler?”
Xie Bi’an nodded.
“One.”
“Lifestyle assistant?”
“Two.”
“Driver?”
“Two.”
“Housekeeping?”
“Four.”
“Security?”
“Eight.”
“Living-world special duty?”
“Eight.”
Lu’s mother’s expression grew stranger with each item.
Finally she turned to her son.
“Yanshen.”
“Hmm?”
“Are you getting married or running for president?”
Fan Wujiu burst out laughing on the spot.
Lu Yanshen’s face darkened.
“I didn’t arrange it.”
Si Zhao sat beside them, tone calm.
“We can reduce it.”
Lu Yanshen immediately looked at her.
“Reduce it.”
Fan Wujiu: “My Lord.”
“Hmm?”
“You said yesterday there was no need to reduce.”
Si Zhao turned her head.
“I changed my mind.”
Fan Wujiu immediately shut up.
Lu Yanshen leaned closer to her.
Lowered his voice:
“You also think it’s exaggerated, right?”
Si Zhao’s expression didn’t change.
“No.”
“Then why reduce it?”
“You talk too much.”
“……”
Good.
The familiar Si Zhao was back.
---
Toward the end.
Lu’s mother suddenly grew a little quiet.
She looked around The Other Shore Hall.
Then looked at Si Zhao.
Finally her gaze landed on Lu Yanshen.
From beginning to end, what she truly cared about wasn’t the gold, houses, or cars.
She was only afraid her son would get into trouble again.
Afraid he would die a third time.
Afraid this wedding that sounded absurdly unreal was actually just another disaster.
She reached out.
Held Lu Yanshen’s hand.
“Have you really thought it through?”
This time.
No one laughed.
Lu Yanshen didn’t answer immediately either.
After a while.
He squeezed his mother’s hand back.
“Mm.”
“Not just because she saved your life?”
He paused for a second.
Looked up at Si Zhao.
Si Zhao was also looking at him.
Not urging.
Not answering for him.
Lu Yanshen finally said:
“At first it was.”
Lu’s mother didn’t speak.
“Now it’s not entirely that.”
Si Zhao’s eyes moved slightly.
Fan Wujiu silently lowered his head.
At times like this.
Better not to break the atmosphere.
Unfortunately Xie Bi’an had no such awareness.
He flipped a page of the document.
“Since it’s confirmed.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Then we can move to the next item in the betrothal process.”
Lu Yanshen frowned.
“There’s more?”
Xie Bi’an was calm.
“Exchange of tokens.”
Lu Yanshen looked down.
Glanced at the jade ring on his hand.
“Isn’t this it?”
“That was the bonding token.”
“……”
“Betrothal is a separate set.”
Lu Yanshen looked up at Si Zhao.
“You underworld folks really like repeating procedures.”
Si Zhao replied flatly.
“Living-world rules.”
“Again the living world?”
“You invented them yourselves.”
Lu Yanshen: “……”
Good.
This time he didn’t even have the right to complain.
Fan Wujiu laughed again.
“Son-in-law.”
Lu Yanshen turned his head.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Betrothal’s already here.”
“Not married yet.”
“Soon enough.”
“Fan Wujiu.”
“Alright alright.”
Old Black raised his hands in surrender.
Laughter returned to The Other Shore Hall.
Lu’s mother sat to the side.
Watching her son get teased by this group of dead people until his face grew darker and darker.
Suddenly smiled too.
At this moment.
She felt for the first time.
Maybe this marriage wasn’t as terrifying as she had imagined.
At least.
It was lively.
And her son looked.
Not unhappy either.
~~~~~Ongoing~~~~~~~