Chapter 20: You’re Just a Weakling

After Ling Yiran entered the dream, he found himself in a pitch-black forest.

The surroundings were eerily quiet, and everything seemed frozen in place. He couldn’t walk too far; if he exceeded the boundary of the dream’s area, he’d be bounced back. That’s how dreams work.

Ling Yiran glanced around and called out softly, “Xing Han?”

No one answered him.

But since he had entered Xing Han’s dream, the main character must be nearby. He just didn’t know why Xing Han would dream of a dark forest.

“Xing Han?” Ling Yiran called out again. Seeing no response, he took a step forward.

Suddenly, a figure jumped out from behind, wielding a dagger aimed at Ling Yiran.

Ling Yiran sensed movement behind him, his expression tensed, and he quickly turned to grab the attacker’s wrist.

The attacker was incredibly agile. In the instant he was grabbed, he tossed the dagger to his other hand and struck again, kneeing towards Ling Yiran’s vital area.

Ling Yiran quickly blocked the attack with his hand while sidestepping to avoid the dagger. He kicked out to create some distance between them and saw the familiar sharp eyes. He quickly said, “Xing Han, it’s me, Ling Yiran.”

“Ling Yiran?”

Due to the dim light, Xing Han could only vaguely see the outline of the other person. He cautiously stepped forward to confirm it was indeed Ling Yiran before lowering the dagger. He asked in a serious, hushed voice, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to find you.”

Unaware he was in a dream, Xing Han frowned and said, “This is dangerous. You should leave immediately.”

Ling Yiran teased him, “Oh, you want me to leave now? Aren’t you afraid I’ll run into bad guys and get killed or captured to threaten you?”

“…” Xing Han thought he had a point and quickly pulled him into the bushes. He removed his defensive gear and put it on Ling Yiran. “When we move later, stay hidden. Don’t come out unless I come for you.”

Ling Yiran felt both amused and warm at his serious protection. He whispered, “You gave me your bulletproof vest. What about you?”

“I can protect myself.”

Ling Yiran asked, “Are you on a mission?”

“Don’t talk.” Xing Han’s eyes were like an eagle’s, sharply watching the surroundings.

Ling Yiran couldn’t just obediently listen. Seeing the bullet holes on Xing Han, he asked, “You’ve been shot? Doesn’t it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Xing Han only realized he was shot after he said it. He touched his wounds, found they didn’t hurt at all, and pulled out a bullet with his fingers. His stern eyes showed rare shock. “How come I don’t feel pain with such severe injuries? And how am I not dead after being shot so many times?”

Ling Yiran didn’t expect Xing Han to have such a cute side and couldn’t help but chuckle. He quickly stifled his laughter and said seriously, “Actually, you’re already dead, so you don’t feel pain.”

Xing Han: “…”

“Haha.” Ling Yiran couldn’t hold back his laughter at Xing Han’s indescribable expression.

Xing Han quickly covered his mouth, angrily saying, “Idiot, are you trying to attract the enemy with your loud laughter?”

Ling Yiran stopped laughing, looking at him with a smile. His clear starry eyes curved like a crescent moon, filled with laughter, shining brightly in the dark.

Xing Han was momentarily dazed and quickly withdrew his hand.

Ling Yiran told him, “I was just kidding. You’re actually in a dream.”

Xing Han’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. “A dream? I’m dreaming of you again.”

Ling Yiran hummed, “You’ll dream of me often in the future.”

Xing Han was puzzled, “If it’s a dream, why does everything feel so real?”

“The deeper you sleep, the more real the dream feels.”

Xing Han touched his wound again. Not feeling any pain, he fell silent. After a while, he said, “The you in the dream is so different from the you in reality.”

Ling Yiran was curious, “Aren’t they the same person? How are they different?”

“The real you is just a weakling,” Xing Han said honestly. After all, it was a dream, so even if he said it, the real Ling Yiran wouldn’t know.

Ling Yiran almost choked on his own yin energy. “Weakling? Me?”

To think he, a dignified second-class ghost officer, was called a weakling?

Damn, dare to take a hit from his soul-reaping scythe, and you’ll know what it feels like to wish you were dead.

“Yeah.”

“…” Ling Yiran recalled fainting the first time they met. To avoid checks, he claimed to have a frequent shock condition. Later, to hide his fear of the sun, he lied to Xing Han about being allergic to UV rays. A man with so many issues, no wonder he was called a weakling.

“Then what am I like in the dream?”

Xing Han said, “Very skilled, trained. A man should be like that.”

Ling Yiran blurted out, “Do you like the real me or the dream me?”

After asking, he regretted it. Why did he care which version Xing Han liked?

Xing Han was about to answer when suddenly, the enemies in his dream appeared and shot at them.

With a bang, Ling Yiran’s vision blurred, a sign Xing Han was waking up. His soul consciousness was bounced back into his body.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a face similar to his own, enlarged, startling him to sit up quickly.

Ling Zhen excitedly sat by the bed and asked, “Little Ancestor, how did it go?”

Ling Yiran glared at him, “Why were you so close to me just now? You almost scared me to death.”

“You’re a ghost officer; how could you be scared to death? Tell me, what did you and Major Xing do in the dream?” Ling Zhen grinned mischievously. “I saw you smiling in your sleep. Did you do something indescribable in the dream?”

“Indescribable your head.” Ling Yiran smacked his head. “Why are you in my room?”

Ling Zhen rubbed his sore head. “I came to see how your progress in the dream was going, to see how far you’ve gotten with Major Xing.”

This reminded Ling Yiran of his real purpose for entering Xing Han’s dream. He groaned in frustration, “I hadn’t even gotten to the main topic before he woke up. Why is his nap so short?”

Ling Zhen nodded vigorously in agreement, “Yeah, not even enough time for a quickie.”

“…” Ling Yiran wanted to smack him to death. “I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going back to the Underworld to study. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Little Ancestor, you haven’t told me how far you’ve gotten with Major Xing. Did you kiss?”

Ling Yiran didn’t want to respond, got up, left the Ling Family Home, and returned to the Underworld dormitory. Then someone called out to him, “Little Ling.”

He turned to see it was Old Yang, who was responsible for the daily records of ghost officers. He smiled and greeted, “Old Yang.”

Old Yang asked with a grin, “Did you just come back from the Human World?”

“Yeah.” Old Yang was one of the few who knew Ling Yiran had a yin marriage, so Ling Yiran didn’t hide it.

Old Yang looked envious, “Since the Underworld changed the rules, you can freely enter and exit. That’s great.”

Ling Yiran chuckled, “You didn’t just stop me to say that, did you?”

Old Yang laughed, “Little Ling knows me well.”

“Just say what you want.”

“I wanted to ask if you have time to help me buy some cigarettes and alcohol in bulk when you go to the Human World. You know, it’s expensive to have ghost officers bring goods during tasks, and retail prices are higher than wholesale. So, I wanted you to help me buy in bulk. Of course, I won’t let you do it for free.” Old Yang handed him a stack of ghost money. “This is your reward. I’ll also find a way to compensate for the yin energy lost from the sun exposure. You won’t lose out.”

Ling Yiran pushed the money back to Old Yang. “I don’t want it.”

“You…” Old Yang was surprised, thinking Ling Yiran would agree readily. He didn’t expect him to be so uncooperative.

Ling Yiran patted his shoulder, “Old Yang, we’re so familiar. Why be polite? It’s just bringing some goods back. I’ll help you, but you have to pay for the goods. I don’t have money to buy them.”

“Of course, I’ll pay for the goods.” Old Yang smiled happily, then hesitated, “Are you sure you don’t want any reward?”

“I said no, so no. But I’ll need your help in the future.”

Ling Yiran valued Old Yang’s vast network. Though Old Yang was just a ghost officer responsible for daily records, he had been dead for thousands of years. If not for past mistakes, he wouldn’t be stuck in the Underworld, unable to reincarnate. His strength earned him respect from ghost officers, and even the impermanence had to give him some face.

“No problem. As long as I can do it, I’ll help.” Old Yang handed him some human currency. “Thanks.”

Ling Yiran accepted the money. “No need to be polite. If there’s nothing else, I’ll go back to study.”

“Go ahead.”

Old Yang watched him leave with a smile. Once Ling Yiran was out of sight, he frowned and said, “How long are you going to hide?”

Two first-class ghost officers, Ling Yiran’s rivals Liu Mengqi and Ma Zhong, stepped out from behind a dead tree.

Ma Zhong scratched his head awkwardly, explaining, “Old Yang, we didn’t mean to eavesdrop. We were already behind the tree when you called Ling Yiran.”

They had actually hidden because they saw Ling Yiran looking like he had just returned from the Human World.

Old Yang snorted, “If you meant to, do you think you’d have heard everything?”

Liu Mengqi handed Old Yang some ghost money, whispering, “Old Yang, can you tell us why you said Ling Yiran can freely enter and exit the Underworld? Did he get some directive to work in the Human World?”

Old Yang glanced at the money, not intending to take it. “I don’t know.”

Liu Mengqi handed him more ghost money. “Do you know now?”

Old Yang frowned, remembering he owed Liu Mengqi a favor, and said, “He has a yin marriage with someone in the Human World.”

Liu Mengqi frowned, “When did this happen?”

“Almost a month ago.”

Ma Zhong didn’t believe it. “Isn’t it against the rules for ghost officers to fall in love with mortals? Why isn’t he punished?”

“I don’t know the details. Anyway, Little Ling isn’t breaking any rules, and the officials acknowledge it. I have things to do, so I won’t talk more.” Old Yang didn’t want to reveal too much about Ling Yiran, so he quickly found an excuse to leave.

“Hey, Old Yang, you haven’t told us who Ling Yiran’s yin marriage partner is.” Ma Zhong watched Old Yang walk away, then turned to Liu Mengqi. “Brother Liu, what’s the deal with Ling Yiran’s yin marriage?”

“How should I know?” Liu Mengqi got angrier the more he thought about it. “Damn, why does he get all the good stuff? Getting a yin marriage is one thing, but then the Underworld changes the rules, allowing ghost officers with partners in the Human World to freely enter and exit. Look at us, still struggling to become impermanence to have that freedom. It’s so unfair.”

Ma Zhong spat, “Yeah, it’s too unfair.”

Liu Mengqi thought for a moment and said, “Let’s delay our task tomorrow and see who Ling Yiran’s partner is.”

“Okay.”