I Know the Ghost King, He's Just My Dead Husband

[Scheming, Dark King of Ghosts Top x Crazy, Teasing Beauty Bottom]

[Work is a little too busy at the end of the year, so updates will be irregular. I won't abandon this story!]

Please check out my upcoming novel, "You're My Husband, So Who's He?" The blurb follows this one.

Chi Yu'an had a husband who died young.

While they were alive, a marriage contract made them a miserable couple.

They belonged to opposing factions and spent their whole lives trying to outdo each other.

Only when Feng Jinyan died did Chi Yu'an stand in the mourning hall and say, "You were eliminated early. That doesn't count as my victory."

Chi Yu'an thought that after all the wicked things he'd done, he was bound for the deepest level of hell when he died.

But the ones who came to collect him weren't the Black and White Impermanence. Instead, a paper effigy bearing a bowl of Meng Po's soup awaited him, along with a ghostly bridal sedan.

He climbed into the sedan, but secretly poured out the soup.

Forgetting his past would be so boring.

When the sedan stopped, a familiar voice came from outside. "My dear, it's time to get out."

That voice! Wasn't it his husband, who had died young?

*

Feng Jinyan: "Don't be afraid. I'm your... beloved from the mortal world."

One bowl of Meng Po's soup, and the past is forgotten.

He would weave a beautiful new story for Chi Yu'an. In that story, they'd be a devoted couple forever.

Chi Yu'an took Feng Jinyan's hand and pretended to be confused. This was a brand-new contest between them.

And he intended to be the winner.

As it turned out, Chi Yu'an's acting had reached perfection.

Feng Jinyan: "An'an, I brought you some pastries. Try them and see if you like them."

Chi Yu'an beamed. "Wow, thanks, big brother! I love them!"

Then, as soon as he turned around, he dumped every last pastry in the trash.

The next day, Chi Yu'an, who had never cooked before, tied on an apron and grabbed a spatula. He somehow managed to make a whole table of dishes, including soup simmered with finger bones, tiger-skin human hands, and blood tofu. "Big brother, I made these just for you. Try them and see if you like them."

Compared to normal food, an evil spirit should prefer these.

Perfect. He'd won this round by a landslide.

Feng Jinyan introduced him to his colleagues at the Underworld Office. "He'll be working here from now on, so please look after him."

His colleagues broke into applause.

Chi Yu'an suddenly understood: being loving also meant standing up for your partner.

The next day, he withdrew ten billion from the afterlife bank card Feng Jinyan had given him and handed it out to Feng Jinyan's secretaries. "Thank you all for working so hard. Here's a little something from me."

The whole office erupted.

"Wow, my family has never burned this much money for me!"

"No wonder he's the King of Ghosts' husband. So generous!"

Chi Yu'an had successfully won over all the secretaries with money. As he was leaving, they held onto him, reluctant to let him go. "An'an, come visit again!"

The results were better than Feng Jinyan's by a mile.

Chi Yu'an was thoroughly satisfied. He'd won again.

*

But he discovered that not everyone in the underworld was nice. For instance, why did ghosts keep trying to bite his head off?

In that case, he had no choice but to twist their heads off first.

Chi Yu'an gazed almost pityingly at the evil spirit in his hands as it begged for mercy. "How pitiful. But putting your head back on would be such a hassle. Wouldn't it be better to just make your soul scatter?"

After pretending for so long, sometimes he forgot that he hadn't really fallen for Feng Jinyan.

Chi Yu'an hummed as he headed home, wiping away the traces of the evil spirit's struggle from his fingers. He had to get back and cook for Feng Jinyan.

Just outside the gate, he threw himself into Feng Jinyan's arms. "Big brother! You came to pick me up after work!"

But this time, Feng Jinyan didn't hug him back like he usually did.

The evil spirits that had been disappearing one after another from the Underworld Office had left him with no choice but to suspect his "fragile" husband.

"Chi Yu'an, you never drank that bowl of Meng Po's soup."

Chi Yu'an slowly lowered his arms. His gaze turned cold, with a hint of regret. "Oh. I was actually enjoying this game. Well, then... the game's over."

But Feng Jinyan grabbed his wrist. Golden chains wove together, one after another, forming an invisible cage.

"Let's play by different rules. Our game isn't over yet."

Upcoming Novel

[Gentle, Domestic Husband Bottom x Crazy, Obsessive Top]

Also known as: "What Should I Do When My Husband's Shadow Falls in Love with Me?"

In this world, Xu Lanshu was someone who never drew attention.

He was always gentle and accommodating, and he made his husband three meals a day on schedule. Wherever he went, people described him as kind and mild-mannered.

But his husband never gave him a second glance.

Xu Lanshu didn't mind. All he wanted was a stable marriage, so as long as his other half had a handsome face, that was enough.

But one day, Xu Lanshu realized something was off about his husband.

In the middle of the night, Pei Wang knocked on his bedroom door.

Pei Wang: "Honey, can I come in? I'm scared of the thunder."

Xu Lanshu was silent for a long moment. As a gentle partner, he had no reason to turn away his husband's sudden episode.

They each took one end of the large bed. In the night, Pei Wang's eyes gleamed darkly.

"Honey, can I sleep beside you?"

Xu Lanshu's heart raced. Pei Wang was acting especially strange today, as if someone had possessed him.

He wasn't used to being physically close to others, so all he could do was pretend to be asleep.

There was a rustling beside him. Before long, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him into a firm embrace.

A fuzzy head rubbed against the back of his neck. "Honey, pay attention to me. I know you're not asleep."

This was so strange, so strange. Xu Lanshu squeezed his eyes shut. He waited until the person beside him was breathing evenly and deeply, then slipped out of the room as quietly as he could.

But when he passed Pei Wang's room, he noticed the door was ajar.

A vague silhouette lay on the bed.

Xu Lanshu pushed open the door with a trembling hand. His husband was lying on the bed, fast asleep!

If Pei Wang was sleeping here, then who was in his bed?

From that day on, strange things began happening around Xu Lanshu more and more often.

Whenever it was dark, he would sometimes feel someone stroke his hair, tug at his clothes, or hook a finger around his.

And every night, "Pei Wang" would knock on his bedroom door without fail and ask, "Can I come in?"

But whenever Xu Lanshu woke up in the morning, "Pei Wang" would have disappeared without a trace. It was as if everything had been a dream.

But Xu Lanshu knew it wasn't an illusion. It seemed he really had gained another lover.

Reading Guide:

1. Both leads are each other's only partner, and this is a one-on-one romance. They're each other's first love.

2. The top is a shadow in the early part of the story.

Theme: Love isn't a game. There are no winners or losers.