Chapter 238: Wedding Preparation
As Yu Guang picked up his sixth bowl of rice, he felt a twinge of helplessness.
Sure, his other younger brothers had gotten angry before, but none of them had been quite like Youngest—nor were they this hard to deal with.
Yu Yin was practically draped over his shoulder, his voice echoing incessantly in Yu Guang’s mind, full of dissatisfaction and grievances.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Big Brother? Turning your back on me—don’t want to look at me?”
Yu Guang shifted his shoulders uncomfortably, thinking how Youngest usually cared about cleanliness. Now, though, he didn’t seem to mind at all.
He was covered in sweat and grime from days spent at the bottom of the mine, with layers of sweat drying and rewetting on his skin, not to mention the dust and dirt clinging to him—and yet Yu Yin insisted on sticking so close.
“Youngest, move over. Sit somewhere else,” Yu Guang said, trying to sound firm.
“Fine, fine,” Yu Yin retorted sharply. “Don’t want to look at me, don’t even want me touching you now, huh?”
If Yu Yin had been ‘speaking’ with his tongue instead of directly in Yu Guang’s mind, Yu Guang might have stuffed something in his mouth to shut him up.
Unable to bear it anymore, Yu Guang turned back around, facing Yu Yin once again. “Enough, Youngest. Keep this up, and Big Brother will have to hit you.”
Yu Yin gave a soft huff, propping his chin on his hand as he begrudgingly moved back to his original seat.
The two brothers finally calmed down, and Wu Jin, along with the other two who had been pretending to be busy nearby, sat down. It was finally their turn to show concern for their big brother.
However, the big brother felt there was nothing to worry about and instead asked them about the current situation outside.
“The situation outside… uh, there’s really not much going on now,” Wu Jin said with a dry laugh, glancing at Yu Yin.
In Chazhou City, anyone who wanted to cause trouble and had the ability to do so was already working in this mine.
As for those not in the mine, they had been scared stiff by Yu Yin. Now, Chazhou City was unbelievably peaceful.
Although Wu Jin spoke hesitantly, and Mu Yi deliberately avoided the details, Yu Guang could more or less guess what Yu Yin had done.
Everyone, including Yu Yin, pretended not to care, but they all sneaked glances at Yu Guang’s expression, curious to see how he would react.
Yu Guang showed no reaction. He simply nodded to show he understood, then continued eating. After finishing, he wiped his face with a cloth.
“Why are you all looking at me like that?” Yu Guang asked, puzzled.
“Oh, nothing, nothing!” Wu Jin laughed awkwardly.
Holding the cloth, Yu Guang walked outside, planning to find some water nearby to wash up.
Yu Yin followed him and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Now that you know what I did, don’t you have anything to say, Big Brother?”
“Although your methods were a bit harsh, the situation was special, so I understand,” Yu Guang said, crouching by a pool of water and splashing water on his face.
“You don’t like killing. I thought you’d be angry at me for killing those people.”
Yu Yin lowered his head and gently ran his fingers over the scratches on Yu Guang’s shoulder caused by a stone.
As he washed the dirt off his face, Yu Guang replied, “Everyone has their own way of doing things. I’ve never demanded others handle things the way I do.”
And indeed, he never had. It was just that those around him admired and looked up to him so much that they couldn’t help but emulate him.
His way of handling things came from his previous life, a world where laws were well-established, and most people understood that killing was a crime. It wasn’t like here, where human life was trampled on so casually and frequently.
This world was different from the one he came from. Yu Yin, born and raised here, handled things differently. That didn’t mean he was wrong.
“Youngest, my only request of you has always been not to kill the innocent. I just hope you stick to that bottom line.”
Beyond that, there were no further demands.
After all, demons were fundamentally different from humans. They often had an innate tendency toward evil.
Because of this, even when Yu Guang occasionally sensed the faint stirrings of dark thoughts in Yu Yin’s heart, as long as he didn’t act on them, Yu Guang chose to ignore it.
He could tell that Wu Jin and the others were worried he might be angry at Yu Yin for his actions, but in truth, Yu Guang felt a sense of relief.
When he was trapped in the depths of the mine, he had considered the possibility that, without his oversight, an enraged Yu Yin might lose control and lash out at everyone indiscriminately.
But according to Mu Yi, Yu Yin had carefully investigated each person’s wrongdoings before dealing with them and hadn’t harmed any innocent individuals.
Yu Guang could guess that over the past few days, Yu Yin must have been agitated and angry because of what happened to him. Yet, despite that, Yu Yin had shown patience and restraint in handling things, which genuinely surprised him.
If it had been the Yu Yin from his previous life, Yu Guang was certain he wouldn’t have shown such self-control.
After this incident, however, the next steps would be much simpler.
In Zhuzhou City, someone capable of managing affairs could be temporarily selected. Perhaps the weaker faction of the Divine Academy here could be supported, and even Du Village might step forward to take a role.
As Yu Guang poured water over his head and body, scrubbing himself clean, his thoughts drifted away from Yu Yin and onto other matters.
Yu Yin, whose expression had turned complicated after hearing his brother’s words, reached out and placed a hand on Yu Guang’s back.
Suddenly, Yu Guang turned his head and said, “Youngest, do you have nothing better to do? If you’re free, go take care of Xiao Shi.”
The little girl appeared weak and timid, but after all, she was the Locust God, who could eat anything. Given the unstable situation, aside from him, only the Youngest could control her.
“I’ll have Ming Yu and Mu Yi go to Du Village and the Chazhou Divine Academy to invite people over to discuss the follow-up actions for Chazhou City. I’ll take Wu Jin to clean up the remaining issues with the families in Chazhou. You’ll take care of Xiao Shi these next few days,” Yu Guang instructed.
Yu Yin’s previously softer expression immediately darkened again.
Yu Guang was about to remind him not to b*lly children, but then he noticed the black spider threads wrapped around his arm.
He raised an eyebrow and met Yu Yin’s eyes. “You think you’ve improved again and want to see if you can beat your big brother now?”
Yu Yin didn’t argue. He traced his fingers over Yu Guang’s body, leaving two marks. “Big Brother has weakened quite a bit. Can you still suppress me?”
Yu Guang didn’t waste time on words. He reached out and grabbed the black threads.
From the increasingly sturdy spider threads, Yu Guang could gauge Yu Yin’s progress.
After devouring the Dragon Lady, Yu Yin had indeed become much stronger.
Yu Guang gave him a deep look, then gripped the threads tightly. His palm bled slightly, but the spider threads snapped in response.
Turning around, Yu Guang stretched his body, the bones in his joints popping as he became more focused. “Alright, let’s go. Today, Big Brother will train with you properly.”
But Yu Yin stepped back, not like before, ready to fight him.
Countless thin threads seemed to appear from nowhere, wrapping around Yu Guang out of thin air.
These new spider threads were even thinner than the black ones, and their color was a bright red.
Yu Guang frowned, confused for a moment, but quickly reacted. He reached out to grab the red threads, attempting to tear them apart.
Once he got a hold of the red spider threads, Yu Guang immediately sensed something strange about them. They weren’t any tougher or sharper than the black ones; in fact, they were more fragile, almost like real spider silk. They even had a sticky quality, and the moment he touched them, they absorbed the blood from his palm.
Just as Yu Guang was about to tear the red threads apart, Yu Yin’s calm voice echoed in his mind.
“These are made from my own life force. If you break them, it will severely damage my vitality.”
Yu Guang paused and loosened his grip, looking at him disapprovingly. “What are you trying to do?”
“Big Brother isn’t going to pull anymore?” Yu Yin smiled the moment Yu Guang let go, though there was a hint of regret in his expression.
Earlier, Yu Yin had thought that if his brother couldn’t bear the provocation and wanted to teach him a lesson, then he wouldn’t have to keep holding back.
But as expected, Yu Guang chose to let go. It was a little more than he had anticipated—his brother seemed to care more about him than he had expected.
Yu Guang ignored the red threads crawling on him, his gaze sharp. Despite being soaked and dripping wet, he exuded an imposing presence as he sat by the pool. “Tell me, what exactly are you trying to do, threatening me with your own life force?”
Yu Yin picked up the cloth he had discarded earlier, dampened it, and began wiping down the areas on Yu Guang’s back he hadn’t cleaned yet.
“I’m not trying to do anything. I just want Big Brother to calm down and rest for a bit longer.”
“Stop always thinking about how to arrange things for others. Think about what you need to do next.”
“Big Brother just came out of the mine—aren’t you tired?”
Yu Guang stared at him in disbelief. “Is that the reason?”
Yu Yin wiped his brother’s neck and chuckled softly. “What else can I do?”
“After you finish washing up, how about listening to me and getting some rest?”
The baffled Big Brother was still half-suspicious. “Alright, I’ll agree, but first, get rid of whatever blood threads you’ve tied around me.”
“Haha, Big Brother, take a closer look. Where do you see any blood threads on you?” Yu Yin laughed as he put his arm around Yu Guang’s shoulder.
Yu Guang looked down and realized that the blood threads he had felt earlier had indeed disappeared. He couldn’t recall when exactly the threads had vanished.
“Big Brother promised me, didn’t you? You’re going to sleep well now.”
At Yu Yin’s words, the moisture around the pool subtly thickened.
The once unnoticed sounds of insects also became more rhythmic and mechanical.
Yu Guang could hear people still working in the mining tunnels in the distance, but their voices seemed faint and far away.
Yu Yin gently continued to wipe down his brother’s back and shoulders, and Yu Guang suddenly yawned, feeling an undeniable wave of sleepiness.
He had eaten, taken a bath, and now the fatigue finally caught up with him.
Because the drowsiness arrived so naturally, his awareness of the surroundings dulled slightly.
“Alright, I got it. I’ll go sleep now, and when I wake up, I’ll get to work. Does that work for you?”
Yu Guang got up, dried his body, and walked with Yu Yin to the house where they had previously stayed.
He lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
“Right, sleep well.” Yu Yin’s voice no longer echoed in his mind but seemed to come from right next to him.
Something felt slightly off, but Yu Guang couldn’t fight off the growing drowsiness and fell into darkness.
…
Yu Guang opened his eyes, feeling as though he had slept deeply and for a long time.
The pillow under his head emitted the fragrance of wild chrysanthemums and cassia seeds. The window was open, and the breeze from outside was moving the notepad on his desk.
This was his room in the Exorcism Bureau of Zhuzhou.
Yu Guang sat up and heard footsteps and voices from outside. It was Ban Ying talking to Pei Wenjue.
“Tell them to stop fishing. There are so many fish already; we have enough for the banquet. The wedding of Big Brother and Yu Yin is still a few days away. If they keep fishing, are we going to serve fish for the whole wedding?”
“They’re just too excited. If they don’t fish, should we send them up the mountain to catch some rabbits instead?”
“Rabbits? Can they do something useful? Get the main hall cleaned up, prepare the tables and chairs, tie the red ribbons… There are still so many things to do!”
Ban Ying sounded flustered, as if she had her hands full. After sending Pei Wenjue off, she started calling for Wu Shan.
“Wu Shan? Where is he? Did he buy the wine I asked for? If he couldn’t find the right one, have him go to my house tomorrow and dig up the daughter’s red wine that my family buried for me before.”
Yu Guang sat at the edge of the bed, slowly processing the information he had just overheard.
Ban Ying and the others were busy preparing for his and Yu Yin’s wedding. He and Yu Yin were getting married.
Yes, that was indeed the case.
Yu Guang thought back and remembered that after they dealt with the matters in Chazhou and returned to Zhuzhou, Yu Yin had made a scene several times, pushing him into a corner.
One day, after drinking, he had loosened his guard and agreed to marry him.
Now, as he sat on the edge of the bed, Yu Guang realized how foolish he had been at that time. He had agreed to it too casually.
But now, it was too late for regrets. The wedding would begin in just a few days.
The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Yu Yin walked in, with his gray-eyed cat following at his feet.
He approached Yu Guang, reached up to touch his forehead, and his increasingly beautiful face wore a gentle expression.
“Big Brother, why did you sleep so long today?”
Yu Guang thought for a moment before replying, “I feel like… it doesn’t seem real.”
Yu Yin’s gentle expression immediately faltered, and he asked, “What do you mean ‘it doesn’t seem real’? You’re regretting it, aren’t you? You don’t want to marry me anymore?”
His tone, dripping with sarcasm, was the kind that usually made people want to give in right away.
Yu Guang didn’t bother with the whole “not real” talk. “No, I won’t regret it. Since I’ve agreed, I’ll stick to it.”
Hearing his assurance, Yu Yin cheered up again, sitting down beside him and taking his hand.
“Big Brother is my cage, destined to be with me for life. There will never be anyone else between us, so of course, getting married is the natural thing to do, right?”
