Extra Chapter: My First Meeting with Little Shen Laoye (9)

The next morning, when Shen Qingze was helped out of bed by the maids, he thought he had misheard.

A few rays of sunlight leaked in through the window, falling on the carved patterns on the floor, illuminating the floating dust dancing in the beam of light.

The ghost aunt stood by the bed, holding a plain long gown in her hands, and her tone was unusually gentle.

"Your Majesty ordered me to take you for a stroll on the street."

She paused and tapped his wrist with her fingernails.

I don't know when a silver ring appeared there. The morning light fell on the ring, reflecting a cold light.

"But don't even think about running away. This ring is holding your vital points."

Shen Qing touched the cold silver ring on his wrist and looked at his haggard self in the bronze mirror.

The glazed tiles glow light green in the sun, like a piece of jade soaked in water.

He suddenly laughed softly, the sound hitting the mirror and then bouncing back into his ears, with a hollow sound that sounded a bit self-deprecating.

Admit it...at least I can get out and get some fresh air.

Shen Qing followed the ghost aunt out of the bedroom.

The wisteria under the corridor was in full bloom, and the purple flowers fell like a waterfall, sweeping across his shoulders with morning dew.

When passing by the hall of the ghost house, Shen Qing looked in the direction of the throne. Yeluweisi was sitting there reading the files.

The bronze pen holder on the desk reflects the morning light.

He noticed Shen Qingze's gaze, looked up at him and curled the corners of his lips.

That smile fell into Shen Qingze's eyes, like wisteria petals blown by the wind.

It gently sweeps across the tip of my heart, bringing a bit of a tingling sensation.

A psychotic lunatic.

-------

The bluestone road was shining from the footsteps of ghosts as they passed by. Shen Qing followed the ghost aunt as she walked down the street.

There was a lingering earthy smell lingering at the tip of my nose, mixed with the scent of cosmetics sold by street vendors, which strangely gave off a hint of the worldly air.

The lanterns of the shops on both sides swayed and hung down, reflecting the fluttering of the banners with the words "Ghost Market".

A little kid in a coarse cloth shirt ran by carrying a candied haws on his shoulder.

What was strung on the bamboo sticks was not hawthorn, but crystal white soul beads.

"Madam boss, how much is this jade hairpin?"

The ghost aunt picked up a jade hairpin with a snake-like shape spitting pearls carved on the top, which glowed faintly under the lantern.

The female ghost selling jewelry opened the bead curtain and walked out of the shop.

With delicate makeup on her face, she smiled immediately when she saw the ghost aunt.

"Aunt Qing is here! You have a good eye. This is made of the finest ghost jade. I'll give you a discount of fifty ghost coins."

"Fifty?!"

The ghost aunt raised her eyebrows and scraped the hairpin with her fingers.

"I came to ask a few days ago and they only wanted thirty. Do you think I don't know the value of the goods?"

She turned and winked at Shen Qingze.

"There are plenty of these dark jades in our underworld. She just wanted to rip me off because I was well-dressed."

Shen Qingze's eyes swept across the items on the stall -

A handkerchief embroidered with the pattern of the afterlife, a glass bottle filled with the water of the River of Oblivion, and a bone tablet engraved with the date of birth.

He said "hmm" nonchalantly, and watched the flower seller push his cart past.

The daturas piled on the car were in full bloom, and the edges of the petals were glowing with a cold white light.

"How much do you say?"

The lady boss didn't get angry, she asked with a smile,

"Thirty-five. One point more and I'll leave."

The ghost aunt was about to put down her hairpin as she spoke.

"Okay, okay, I'll sell it to you."

The proprietress sighed in pretended distress.

"Who told you to be from the Lord's house?"

She wrapped the hairpin with red paper and handed it to Aunt Ghost.

"Is this bought for the little maid in the mansion? Aunt Qing really loves her servants."

"That's natural."

The ghost aunt took the hairpin and put it into her sleeve pocket, then picked up the bone bracelet.

"What about this?"

"This is cheap, twenty ghost coins."

The lady boss introduced enthusiastically,

"This is made from the finger bones of a hundred-year-old ghost. Wearing it can calm your mind."

Shen Qing was attracted by their conversation.

The ghost aunt was still rambling on about the division of the four cities of east, west, south and north. She said that the tree spirits who had been cultivating for a thousand years lived in the east city, and that new ghosts were always appearing in the mass graves of the west city.

He was staring at two old men playing chess on the side of the road.

The chess pieces in their hands were actually made of finger bones, and they made a hollow, crisp sound when they were placed.

"Isn't that strange? A few days ago, the City God of North City was competing with the Earth God for incense offerings."

The ghost aunt pushed him, and Shen Qingze came back to his senses.

I saw her holding the bone bracelet in her hand, looking at it against the light.

"This thing is cool to wear, perfect for Xiaotao and the others."

He walked along with the crowd, listening to the laughter and chatter around him.

A group of little ghosts gathered in front of the paper-making shop, clamoring to make a moving paper horse.

A little ghost girl with twin buns bumped into him and said "I'm sorry" in a hurry, her eyes shining like obsidian dipped in water.

"I'm fine, are you okay?"

Shen Qing smiled at her.

"Brother, are you new here? I haven't seen you before."

The little ghost girl looked at him curiously.

"You have a very special aura."

"I……"

Just as Shen Qingze was about to speak, he was pulled away by the ghost aunt.

"Don't talk to strangers."

The ghost aunt whispered a reminder,

"Your Majesty does not like people around him to casually hook up with others."

Shen Qing touched the arm that was hit.

Suddenly I felt that this place was no different from the temple fairs on earth, except that there was always a lingering chill in the wind.

“Isn’t that Meng Po?”

The ghost aunt suddenly pulled him towards the Naihe Bridge.

The stone bridge spans the Forgotten River. The water is rippling with inky waves, and there seem to be countless hands waving at the bottom of the river.

Meng Po was sitting on a bamboo bench at the end of the bridge, scooping up soup from a pottery jar with a wooden spoon.

The coarse cloth apron she wore was stained with medicine. When she saw the ghost aunt, her eyes narrowed into slits with a smile.

"Aunt Qing, what a rare guest! Who is this..."

Her eyes fell on Shen Qingze and suddenly stopped.

"Little Shen!"

"Mrs. Meng."

Shen Qingze felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by her, and touched the tip of his nose.

The wind from the Forgotten River blew up his clothes, carrying a faint smell of medicine.

"I'm glad you're okay."

Granny Meng put down the wooden spoon, took Auntie Gui's hand and started to talk.

"I have found the mind-calming incense you asked me to find a few days ago. I will ask me to send it to you later."

She turned around and handed Shen Qingze a bowl of water.

"Try it? The water from the Forgotten River will help you feel better."

"Meng Po, how is your soup today?"

The ghost aunt asked with a smile.

"It's OK, but there aren't many new ghosts today."

Granny Meng sighed.

"A few days ago, a scholar came and refused to drink Meng Po soup no matter what. He insisted on remembering his wife. In the end, he was forced to drink it by the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons. Alas."

Shen Qing took the bowl and looked at his face reflected in the water.

Suddenly I remembered that when I first met Granny Meng, she had advised me to drink the Meng Po soup to be reborn.

He took a sip of water, and the coolness flowed down his throat.

I heard Granny Meng and Auntie Ghost talking about which family's ghost officer married the Painted Skin Ghost, and which family's red spider lily bloomed early.

I just feel that time passes by so quickly.

---------

When night fell, Shen Qing was taken back to the bedroom.

As soon as Yeluweisi's fingers touched his waist, he held his wrist.

The candlelight flickered in Yeluweisi's eyes. He pinched Shen Qingze's chin and stroked his red earlobe with his fingertips.

"Did you have fun today?"

"Um."

Shen Qing lowered his head, his voice a little muffled.

"Outside... it's quite interesting."

He hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Yeluvis, his eyelashes fluttering like a frightened butterfly.

"Will you be able to go out later?"

Yeluvis chuckled, leaned over and bit his lips.

Shen Qingze was kissed until his whole body went limp, his back pressed against the cold wall, his wrists pressed against his head.

Until he ran out of breath, Yeluweisi let him go, and rubbed his nose against his.

"Take good care of me, and I'll let you go wherever you want."

His hand slid down along Shen Qingze's waistline, hooked his fingertips around the belt and gently pulled.

The sound of the brocade spreading out was particularly clear in the silent hall.

Shen Qingze's face instantly turned red. He tried to close his legs, but Yeluweisi blocked them with his knee.

“Your Excellency… Your Excellency…”

His voice was trembling, but was swallowed up by the other party's deeper kiss.

"Call me by my real name..."

"Um, Yelu...Weiss~"

The days that followed were surprisingly peaceful.