Inside the coffin, it was as dark as ink, pitch black, with not a hint of light.

Chu Hanjin groped around the damp inner walls. The coffin was quite deep, large enough for someone to half-stand, spacious and seemingly a grand coffin fit for someone of noble lineage.

The lump beneath him was uncertain; it could be a corpse. The sensation at his fingertips was cold and slippery, almost the same temperature as the stone walls beside him.

The coffin was too dark.

Chu Hanjin wanted to light a flame.

But just as a spark flickered at his fingertips, a gust of wind blew it out.

He tried again, only for another gust of wind to extinguish the flame once more.

Chu Hanjin stared at the talisman in his hand, momentarily confused.

This coffin was sealed shut, so where was the wind coming from?

At that moment, he heard a soft sigh, like a whisper at dusk.

It came from behind him.

Just as he was about to turn around, a pair of cold hands crept up, snake-like, swiftly slithering over his body. Two icy fingers, as cold as iron clamps, gently pinched the back of his neck.

The palm was cold and rough, rubbing against his pale skin, creating a strange tingling sensation.

“Who?”

A voice, low and soaked in icy water, echoed with a mocking chill.

Chu Hanjin called out, “Yue Lin?”

“Who?” The low voice repeated the question.

Chu Hanjin felt the grip on his neck loosen slightly.

Finally, he managed to light the flame.

The orange light outlined the figure’s face, pale skin, and handsome brow partially obscured by bandages. His long lashes fluttered as his eyes, slightly closed, seemed to squint in the dim light, as if afraid of the brightness.

It was indeed Yue Lin.

But his skin was paler, marked by fish-scale-like patterns, and blood-stained scabs seeped through the white gauze, staining his skin a striking red and white. He looked like a corpse that had lain in the coffin for years.

His gaze shifted as he placed a hand on Chu Hanjin’s waist, pulling him close.

“…” Chu Hanjin found himself pressed against the coffin lid.

His spine stiffened slightly.

The space inside the coffin wasn’t that wide. Chu Hanjin had just been sitting on Yue Lin’s legs, and now he was lying on his chest.

The cold, shallow breaths brushed against his neck, making him suspect that the person beneath him was a corpse.

Was this still an illusion?

Where were they exactly?

Before Chu Hanjin could voice his questions, Yue Lin’s long fingers began to stroke him lightly through his clothes.

Chu Hanjin pushed his hand away. “What is this place?”

Perhaps because of the strange position, with Chu Hanjin straddling Yue Lin, he could clearly feel the breathing against his ear growing heavier, the arms persistently wrapping around him, even after being pushed away.

Push.

Wrap again.

Push away.

Yue Lin let out a soft, pained breath, seemingly hurt by the blow.

“…”

So what exactly was going on now?

Chu Hanjin called again, “Yue Lin.”

He heard a low chuckle. “They told me they would bury me with a beautiful companion. Turns out, it’s you?”

Chu Hanjin: “?”

What script was he following now?

Yue Lin examined his face. “You look quite handsome.”

Chu Hanjin remained expressionless, silently wondering if this was another illusion or a spirit trying to mess with him. At the same time, he reached out, searching for a way to escape the coffin.

But while he was preoccupied, Yue Lin’s hand slid up, forcefully gripping Chu Hanjin’s chin and turning his head. In a fleeting moment, Chu Hanjin felt something cold press against his lips.

A light kiss, tinged with the faint taste of blood.

Chu Hanjin was completely stunned. Despite having done many things with Yue Lin in their dreams, this was the first time they had actually been so physically intimate.

He could no longer tolerate it and was furious.

Yue Lin caressed his jaw, his tone playful. “Such a fiery beauty. Spring nights are short, we shouldn’t—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Hanjin chopped him with his palm.

Yue Lin let out a low gasp of pain.

“…”

He was clearly weak right now.

But that didn’t stop him from gazing at Chu Hanjin and teasing, “Fiery temper, huh? I like it.”

Chu Hanjin, without hesitation, knocked him out with a swift palm strike.

Feeling the sudden silence around him, Chu Hanjin was grateful for his decision.

He reached up, brushing against the coffin’s damp cracks, and tried to channel his energy to push upwards. Sure enough, he opened a small gap.

But no light shone through.

Perhaps there was another layer of the coffin outside?

After some thought, Chu Hanjin gathered his strength and shattered the coffin lid. To his surprise, fresh air rushed in, but outside, there was nothing—

A pitch-black inner chamber. The walls were lined with candles, though long neglected, they had melted into wax puddles. Spider webs and dust filled the corners, with a few broken bricks scattered here and there, giving the place a gloomy and desolate atmosphere.

Whose tomb was this?

Chu Hanjin walked up to the gravestone, finding the name deliberately erased, leaving only a few scornful words such as “guilty of heinous crimes, impossible to list them all.” The gravestone bore signs of fire damage, indicating that the owner of this tomb had many enemies.

As Chu Hanjin continued to explore, he observed the structure of the tomb. The owner had certainly been a figure of considerable power during their lifetime.

A long staircase led to the surface, with twisted runes painted along the way, layer upon layer, densely packed. The further Chu Hanjin walked, the more he felt an intense chill crawling up his back.

These runes… one to suppress spirits, another to curse the tomb owner to never be reborn, extremely malicious.

Just how great was this grudge?

Chu Hanjin made his way to the tomb’s exit. Outside, he saw nothing but barren, desolate mountains. Under the moonlight, he surveyed the terrain. Indeed, this was a highly inauspicious “feng shui treasure land,” at the bottom of a valley, without support from any surrounding features. The burial site was off-center, and towering trees grew over the grave.

Whoever was buried here had either been an extraordinarily wicked person or had greatly offended someone.

Chu Hanjin scanned his surroundings before returning to the tomb.

He lit the candles along the walls, filling the chamber with a warm glow, and walked back to the coffin.

Yue Lin’s hands were folded across his chest, still unconscious.

Chu Hanjin lowered his gaze, looking at his pale face, and thought: You were in so much pain back in the village, and now you’re like this. Who are your enemies, and what are you hiding from me?

A sense of exhaustion crept over Chu Hanjin. There was hardly any clean space to rest inside the tomb, and after a closer look, it seemed the only place clean enough to lie down was inside the coffin.

Share a bed with Yue Lin?

Chu Hanjin lowered his lashes, feeling conflicted.

Yet, at the same time, he suddenly felt a wave of nausea rising up.

He held onto the edge of the coffin, lightly covering his mouth, his expression tinged with shame.

…Perhaps the child was missing his father.

Thinking of this, a faint blush crept up behind Chu Hanjin’s ears. Without changing his expression, he solemnly returned to the coffin and lay down beside Yue Lin, his face composed.

It wasn’t his intention, it was the child’s.

He repeated this in his mind three times.

After some self-consolation, Chu Hanjin turned to face the sleeping Yue Lin, shifting slightly closer.

But the discomfort in his stomach didn’t subside.

Chu Hanjin was beginning to feel a headache coming on.

Recalling how Yue Lin had comforted him that night, Chu Hanjin decided to give it a try. He slowly guided Yue Lin’s hand, placing it gently on his belly.

Through the fabric, he could feel the outline of Yue Lin’s fingers.

Still nauseous.

Chu Hanjin took both of Yue Lin’s hands, lightly gripping them, and mimicked a gentle stroking motion on his own abdomen.

The action felt humiliating.

But the child instantly calmed down quite a bit.

“…”

Ridiculous.

If Yue Lin woke up, this would definitely be awkward.

Exhausted and too sleepy to think further, Chu Hanjin soon succumbed to sleep, the warmth from Yue Lin’s body in the cold, damp tomb lulling him into slumber.

In his drowsiness, he felt someone gently caressing him, the touch skillful and familiar, moving from his clothed shoulder down to his arm, and gradually sliding to his abdomen.

Chu Hanjin let out a soft, questioning hum.

When he opened his eyes, the tomb was slightly brighter than before. Yue Lin’s face was close to his, his narrow, golden eyes half-open, staring intently at him.

Waking up to such a pleasant sight was indeed nice.

But Yue Lin remarked, “Why is the lady they buried with me pregnant?”

Chu Hanjin: “……………”

Why was he pregnant?

Chu Hanjin pushed him away. “Ask yourself.”

Just as he got up to leave, Yue Lin hooked his hand, pulling him back down, pinning him beneath him. Yue Lin’s arm lightly restrained Chu Hanjin’s wrist, while one long leg draped over him, holding him firmly in place. He stared directly into Chu Hanjin’s face.

After a moment of thought, he seemed to understand. “Ah, I get it. You don’t want to leave a trace of me in the world.”

“…”

Chu Hanjin was at his limit, but just as he stood up, his stomach grumbled.

He was hungry.

Turning back, he saw Yue Lin looking relaxed. “Don’t expect me to get food for you and your child.”

“……”

Something was definitely off here.

Either Yue Lin was possessed by the tomb’s spirit, or he had lost his memory!

Chu Hanjin climbed out of the coffin himself. By now, the morning light revealed that the tomb was located at the edge of a steep cliff, with a large river flowing below and endless forests ahead.

Chu Hanjin decided to find something to eat. The forest was dense with vines and greenery, and a large fruit tree stood among them, its branches laden with heavy, round fruits, their deep red skins exuding a fresh, woody scent.

Chu Hanjin picked a cluster of them. But just as he grasped one, it split open in his hand, dark juice spilling out.

These fruits were filled with some kind of dark energy, clearly not edible.

He continued walking around the forest, but most of the fruits were the same.

In the end, he had no choice but to go down to the river to catch fish.

As he passed by the tomb, he saw Yue Lin standing at the bottom of the stairs, half-leaning against the gravestone. “What are you doing?”

“Looking for food,” Chu Hanjin replied.

Yue Lin narrowed his eyes slightly. “You look so ethereal and aloof, but I didn’t expect you to be such a glutton.”

“…”

Try being pregnant yourself.

Chu Hanjin could tolerate hunger, but the child couldn’t.

Yue Lin’s eyes glinted as he said, “Do me a favor. Wipe off the runes in this tomb, and I’ll find food for you.”

These runes could trap the dead but not the living. Chu Hanjin paused slightly. “You can’t get out?”

“I can’t get out. I don’t know which bastard created these runes. Seven deadly curses, enough to kill any living person.” Yue Lin ground his teeth lightly and said, “Little Bodhisattva, help me out.”

Chu Hanjin raised his gaze. “What did you call me?”

Yue Lin: “Little Bodhisattva?”

Yue Lin used to call him that, too.

“Why call me Little Bodhisattva?” Chu Hanjin asked.

Was this really Yue Lin, or a fake?

Morning sunlight streamed into the tomb as Yue Lin walked into the cool, damp shade. He answered, “Because you’re so pale, with an air of noble elegance, like you were carved from jade.”

The same answer as before.

It probably was him.

Though, his mind seemed to be a little off.

Chu Hanjin descended the steps, wiping away the cursed runes inside the tomb. As he scanned the inscriptions, he realized that all the curses were aimed at ensuring the tomb’s owner would never have peace, not even in death. The curses condemned the owner to never reincarnate, to die horribly, and to be cast into the deepest hell.

“…” Chu Hanjin couldn’t help but glance sideways.

Yue Lin stood in the shadows behind the gravestone, his chin raised, scanning the entire tomb.

He clearly understood the nature of the curses in the tomb.

But his expression remained calm, as if he were an outsider, casually observing with no sign of anger.

Chu Hanjin couldn’t help but ask, “You’ve been trapped in this tomb the whole time?”

Yue Lin raised his eyebrows slightly. “Yes.”

“How long have you been conscious?”

Yue Lin looked up toward the sun, lowered his gaze thoughtfully, then walked to the gravestone near the steps, tapping the weathered stone base and brushing the dust off his fingers. “It’s been a few years, I think.”

Chu Hanjin: “How many years?”

Yue Lin’s golden eyes half-closed as he thought for a moment. “Eighteen years.”

Ever since he thought he had died, only to awaken and realize he was trapped in the coffin and tomb, day after day, for eighteen years.

Every day of those eighteen years, every month, every year, he had stared at the runes cursing his soul, the gravestone listing his unforgivable crimes, reliving every moment of his life.

At first, he might have been filled with rage.

But gradually, he must have begun to wonder why someone hated him so intensely.

Yet the hardest part of such long years was loneliness. Anger might fade over time, but loneliness and despair only grew longer with each passing day.

What must that have felt like?

Chu Hanjin had believed this was Yue Lin, but at this moment, he almost hoped it wasn’t him.

Chu Hanjin erased the final curse, his figure bathed in sunlight, his white robes glowing like frost under the moon. “You can come out now.”

As if he were seeing his savior, Yue Lin squinted at Chu Hanjin.

He sighed, “So beautiful.”

Then, with a disappointed sigh, he added, “But it’s a shame you’re pregnant.”

Chu Hanjin: “…………”

Yue Lin cautiously stepped outside, raising his gaze toward Chu Hanjin’s cold, angry eyes. His expression was practically icy as he glared at him.

Yue Lin raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?”

He chuckled lightly, his gaze drifting down to Chu Hanjin’s stomach. “Could it be… that this child is mine?”

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Next chapter will be supeeer dupeeer looooong (6K)~
Please brace yourself ᕦ(ಥ_ಥ)ᕤ