Ch41 - The Grim Reaper Has Come

On a highway in the western suburbs, a new Mercedes-Benz car drove in the night.

The street lamps on either side of the road flew by quickly. Lightning flashed in the sky, followed by thunder. It looked like heavy rain was about to fall.

Lai Chengshan sat in the backseat, mobile phone in hand as he scrolled through Weibo. When he thought about what had happened in the apartment building, he felt like he couldn’t maintain his face anymore.

To think that he had debuted for so many years, whose existence was always worshipped and admired everywhere he went. Nearly everyone felt that he was a Master, even he started to think so too.

However, today’s business had taken off his mask. Lai Chengshan would inevitably feel uneasy.

What if the production crew was displeased, and wanted to air this situation everywhere? Wouldn’t everything he had struggled so hard for only vanish in the end?

No!

Absolutely not!

There was a voice in Lai Chengshan’s heart that was screaming crazily. So he had thought that he should act first in order to have the upper hand.

Rather than waiting for the production side to expose him, why not create some ruckus to draw some attention. The bad blood had already been created, there was nothing else to worry about anymore.

That was what Lai Chengshan was thinking, so he searched up ‘Birth of an Idol’, and he just so happened to see Lu Xu’s fans @-ing his Weibo.

“Hehe, he still wants to walk a flowery path? I think the path to the underworld is more suitable,” Lai Chengshan’s lips twisted as he opened his mouth to complain venomously.

That little white face did look good, and also had a look of wealth and honour, but what use was there in simply looking good. Even if he could be popular, he still had to live to enjoy it, no?

These were Lai Chengshan’s thoughts, and he couldn’t stop himself from replying to the fans, stating plainly that Lu Xu didn’t have long to live.

Seeing his own name get tied together with Lu Xu’s on the trending searches, Lai Chengshan was in a pretty good mood.

Although this boy was quite annoying, he could help him gain some popularity which was good. Anyway, he was going to die sooner or later, what was wrong with predicting it?

When he saw a group of netizens lighting candles for Lu Xu, Lai Chengshan couldn’t even stop himself from laughing. A person who was still alive was having candles lit for him. Just thinking about it, it was obvious that the other party would be in an explosive mood right now.

And what about it?

He had just predicted something that would happen in the future. Everything was within an area permitted by the law. It was his own Weibo, so he could post whatever he wanted to post, and no one could do anything about it.

As the saying went, “When the mountains are tall and the rivers winding, there is another village in the light”.

At first, he was still concerned about whether his reputation would be ruined, but now he saw that it was bringing him popularity instead. Even if Lu Xu or the production crew came out to say something now, the netizens would just think that it was out of revenge.

Speaking of, the gains from today were much more than that.

When he thought about Ji Xiunian accepting his red talisman, Lai Chengshan felt excited. Never mind the rest, he could live at least another twenty years without a problem.

He leaned back in his seat and was more pleased the more he thought about it, his heart simply joyful.

However he looked at it, he was getting older, and after sitting for so long, he felt his waist and back aching.

“Why are you driving so slow today?” He watched the trees and lights that sped past quickly. Lai Chengshan suddenly felt a bit impatient and opened his mouth to complain about the car’s speed. “Xiao Liu, what’s going on with you, how long have we been driving already?”

The driver Xiao Liu had been driving the car quietly but was now breaking into a cold sweat.

When he arrived, the road had still been familiar. According to the GPS, they should have already gotten off the winding road. But after driving for so long, never mind that they were still on the highway, just based on that road sign, he had seen it four or five times already.

In the beginning, it could have been a hallucination, but now he could essentially confirm that they had run into a ghost hitting the wall.

Xiao Liu shyly told Lai Chengshan of his discovery, and when he saw the road sign appear again, he felt like he was on the verge of a breakdown. “Master Lai, this is the fifth round already…”

Ghost hitting the wall?

“You’re sure?” Lai Chengshan never thought that there would be a day he would run into a ghost hitting the wall.

Especially when he had pretended in the apartment building, saying he had sent away a few ghosts. Who could guarantee whether the ghost had stayed in the building or if it had followed him and come out…

When Lai Chengshan thought about it, he felt his entire body become uncomfortable. He urged Xiao Liu to drive quickly. “Don’t think about these useless things, hurry up and drive down the mountain, that’s the right thing to do.”

When Xiao Liu heard Lai Chengshan’s words, he nearly wanted to cry. “Master Lai, I also want to quickly drive down the mountain, but I can’t even drive out… This is all definitely pointing towards a ghost…”

“Bah! What ghost! Don’t talk nonsense in the middle of the night.”

Lai Chengshan was really starting to panic. He was afraid that there really was that kind of thing beside him. He could only thicken his skin and not think about it.

However Xiao Liu couldn’t endure it, and quickly noticed something else that was strange. “Master Lai, look at our surroundings, doesn’t it look like there aren’t any cars around…”

The empty winding road was endless.

When looking into the distance, other than them, there weren’t any other cars.

But everyone knew how congested the traffic in Dongcheng was. Even if it was on a winding mountain road, there should be other cars around.

Xiao Liu was already sure that they had met a ghost, no doubt about it, and couldn’t help but discuss with Lai Chengshan about what they should do next. “Master Lai, can you send them away? Or, should we find a place to stop and rest…”

“Stop, my ass!” Lai Chengshan had absolutely no thought of stopping the car in a place like this. With nothing in front and nothing behind, who knew what terrifying situation would happen if they stopped.

“But…” Xiao Liu was afraid and unsettled, subtly feeling like something was about to happen.

Just as he was at the limit of his panic, he suddenly saw a car that was following behind them in the rearview mirror.

“It looks like there’s a car!” At this moment, Xiao Liu’s happiness at seeing traces of other people was obvious.

However, he wasn’t happy for long. That car quickly caught up to them and kept pace.

Xiao Liu unconsciously tilted his head to see what was on the other side, but in the end, he was seriously frightened––

That chair was completely empty. There was no driver at all!

When it had been far away, he couldn’t see the car model clearly. Now that it was closer, Xiao Liu noticed that it was actually a hearse!

Meeting a ghost hitting the wall in the deep of the night on a mountain road, fine. Now there was also a driverless hearse playing at drifting along with them…

“Master Lai, look over this side…”

“What?” Lai Chengshan quickly scanned the outside and was shocked to a standstill.

Xiao Liu sped up, the hearse also sped up. Xiao Liu slowed down the car, the hearse also slowed down accordingly––

It was as if it was dependent on them, following them closely.

Xiao Liu was really frightened, and couldn’t help but want to brake. “Master Lai, do you want to stop and let it pass…”

“No. Drive quicker, quicker… Ah…”

With the sharp screeching of the brakes, the rest of Master Lai’s words were put to a stop.

No one knew how the accident happened. It was as if the steering wheel had just gone wild. The car seemed to roll down the mountain like it was out of control.

“Fuck!” When Lai Chengshan opened his eyes again, he was already standing at the foot of the mountain.

The smoking thing in the distance was his car. It seemed as if it was so damaged that there was no need to repair it.

“What rotten luck.”

“Meow…” Before Lai Chengshan could think of how to deal with this situation, a soft and cute little cat’s meow came from behind him.

He had never liked cats and turned his head around in annoyance to shoo it away, but what he saw was a familiar cat’s face.

Soft fur covering a rotund body, along with a pair of huge cat eyes that looked like contact lenses. Lai Chengshan immediately recognised it as that fat cat from the building.

“Go away!” Seeing the helmet-wearing kitty sitting on top of his car, Lai Chengshan’s first reaction was to shoo it away.

But before he could make a move, he caught a glimpse of the blood-covered, wounded image of himself in the back seat. Lai Chengshan was immediately stunned—

Wasn’t he right here? Then who was the person in the back of the car?!

“Lai Chengshan, male, 72 years old…”

The sound of steady and unhurried footsteps came from behind him. Lai Chengshan turned around to see a young boy wearing a black, hooded cloak. Half of his face was hidden under the hood. His beautiful jawline moved slightly and the corners of his mouth lifted gently.

“Lu Xu?” Lai Chengshan immediately recognised this face and was speechless—

This person took things too seriously, he had just talked about him for a bit on Weibo, and he had actually chased him all the way here?!

Just as he was about to warn Lu Xu that his safety was protected by the law, the other party laughed coldly. “Three metres tall, strong muscles… likes killing?”

Seeing that Lu Xu was coming closer, Lai Chengshan subconsciously backed away, his heart full of unease. “I don’t understand what you’re saying…”

“He also has a cat, covered in black fur. It’s a ferocious beast, a herald of death?”

“Meow.” Ba Mei waved its tail in clear protest.

With every sentence Lu Xu spoke, Lai Chengshang’s unease grew by another notch.

He looked at the sly smile on Lu Xu’s face and could only feel that this person was completely different from the person he had met at the building. His face carried a smile, but his gaze was cold. Thunder roared and lightning sparked the world on fire. Lai Chengshan suddenly had a guess, but he didn’t dare say it for sure. “What kind of ghost are you?”

Lu Xu smirked as he heard this. “Didn’t you say we were sworn brothers? What, did you forget so quickly?”

Everything Lu Xu had spoken were the lies Lai Chengshan had told to cheat them.

How had he said it at that time?

He had said that the grim reaper was his sworn brother…

“You’re the grim reaper…”

“Bingo! Congratulations on answering correctly. Your reward is a hundred-year tour of hell!” Lu Xu was not in the mood to chat idly with him, and merely tossed a coin he was holding between his hands onto Lai Chengshan’s face—

It was the item that had been inside the red charm the other party had given to Ji Xiunian. One could buy someone’s life with a piece. Lu Xu had been in the industry for so long and had never seen such a despicable thing.

“Lai Chengshan, 72 years old. You should have died in a car accident 20 years ago. You used a trick to steal someone else’s lifespan for yourself and sneaked into the mortal realm against the will of the heavens. Shao Tang and Shi Hongye’s lifespans were also stolen by you…”

The more Lai Chengshan listened, the more panicked he became. He didn’t think he would run into the scope of Lu Xu’s gun.

“Lu Xu… no, Master Grim Reaper! Can you please let me go just this once; I’ll give you whatever you want.” Lai Chengshan was absolutely frantic, trying to move Lu Xu with riches. “I have a lot of wealth in the mortal realm, I’ll give it all to you. Also, I have popularity. I can vote for you. I can call on everyone to vote for you…”

Lu Xu’s expression remained neutral. He merely calmly declared Lai Chengshan’s life events and crimes.

Seeing that he was still rambling on, Lu Xu didn’t want to listen to him anymore. “You should have died after the car accident last time. You’ve stolen 20 years of life. It’s time to pay your debt.”

“I’m begging you, Master, I don’t want to die, I can’t die…”

Lai Chengshan kept repeating those words over and over again, not stopping for a single moment.

Lu Xu became impatient and straightforwardly opened up the portal. He kicked him in the ass, all the way to the underworld.

There were already professionals on the other side waiting to interrogate Lai Chengshan as he deserved.

Lu Xu called an ambulance for the driver and brought Ba Mei back with him to the apartment.

In the second before he walked through the door, large raindrops pattered against the ground. First, a few drops, then it started pouring.

The storm that had been brewing all night, had finally come down.

Lu Xu held Ba Mei in his embrace and was caught in a bit of the rain. His drenched hair drooped against his forehead, taking away a bit of the edge from his killing intent.

He walked up from the storage room. He had just reached the second floor when he almost ran into the person walking over from the other side.

Lu Xu raised his head and saw a slightly distracted Ji Xiunian. He smiled cutely. “Good evening,  Nian ge.”

The youth in front of him had pale, clear skin. The broad black cloak made his entire figure seem somewhat gloomy, and his aura was different from usual. His clothes were clean but his shoes were muddy, as though he had just come in from outside.

Ji Xiunian looked at Lu Xu and felt that something was strange. He couldn’t help but ask, “Where did you go this late at night?”

nao: this is one of my favorite chapters in the novel :3 grim reaper shuai ge has finally come :3

Chunky: that was satisfying haaaa. :))))

cael: omg grim reaper gege