CH 48.1

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Since they had already found the information they needed, there’s no need to continue wasting time at the conference therefore, Xie Jianwei was now on his way to pick up Little Skeleton whom he purposely sent away before.

“Don’t you…  need to find Lifael?” Lorren asked, still used to calling the demon’s old name.

“If I go look for him now, will he be willing to give me his blood?”

Lorren thought for a moment, and figured that Lifael would probably end up hiding  Xie Jianwei  in the deepest part of the Demon Realm, locking him in there where he couldn’t even see the light of the day.

“Let’s just leave and return back first.” Xie Jianwei said.

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Little Skeleton was carefully taking notes, holding the book with one hand and jotting down on the writing pad with the other. Because it was something arranged by Xie Jianwei, he was working extra hard.

Lorren looked at the busy skeleton, “He’s quite a good guy, isn’t he.”

Xie Jianwei quickly answered, “Of course.”

He sounded pretty much the same as usual, but those familiar with him could still tell that there’s a hint of pride in his voice.

Lorren laughed and scolded him teasingly, “You’re crazy.”

Xie Jianwei did not refute. Maybe he really was crazy, but that didn’t matter as long as Lu Li continues to love and adore him no matter what he becomes. Having someone in your life that’s enamored with you to the deepest of their bones is a very fortunate thing.

Little Skeleton who felt his arrival looked up in a hurry, with tiny clouds floating around his head.

“How is it? Can you understand?” Xie Jianwei asked in a gentle voice.

Little Skeleton shook his writing pad. Xie Jianwei asked him to try memorizing a specific spell, but he couldn’t understand how to activate it so he wrote it down.

Xie Jianwei glanced at the writing board and said, “Wait till we get back. I’ll teach you.”

Little Skeleton wasn’t interested in spells, but was extremely enthusiastic about Xie Jianwei teaching him.

Since Lu Li was happy, Xie Jianwei was also happy.

Seeing that the small clouds around him became small hearts, Xie Jianwei felt his heart getting tickled, and so kissed Little Skeleton on the cheek.

Lorren: “…” Damn, such a poisonous sight. It’ll take a lot of time to get used to this picture of a beauty and a skeleton being all lovey dovey.

They left the conference, and both Xie Jianwei and Lorren didn’t mention the matter of restoring Little Skeleton’s body again since in regards to Lifael, Xie Jianwei always held the mentality of If-there’s-no-need-to-meet-him-then-don’t. After all, even though he managed to take revenge for what happened back then, that doesn’t mean he had already let the entire matter go.

While Lorren was busy with his thoughts that Xie Jianwei was running away from the problem they had at hand, the person himself was busy making other calculations.

If he wanted demon Lu Li to willingly give his blood, he should first understand how the latter thinks and acts but at present, Xie Jianwei had no knowledge of the past and knew too little about him to even attempt doing such a thing. That’s why he wanted to know what happened back then and then prescribe the right ‘medicine’. Only then could he start hoping for the demon Lu Li to offer them his blood.

As for the present situation, he was pretty much clear about it now:  Little Skeleton was indeed the master of the current dreamscape, which he deduced from the fact that he was able to find a way of recovering his body during the conference. So his main objective was to appease and comfort  Little Skeleton and the way to do that was to truly convince Little Skeleton that their feelings of love were mutual. But in order to achieve such a goal,  he had to restore his body first otherwise,  even if he said he loved him a hundred times, Little Skeleton wouldn’t believe him.

After all, Little Skeleton was really insecure about the fact that he’s made of nothing but white bones…

Therefore, restoring his body is a must.

And in regards to demon Lu Li … He’s the key figure to unlocking the start of Xie Jianwei’s plans.

Since if the lock remained sealed, Xie Jianwei wouldn’t be able to execute anything.

Yan Ke, who had been holding in his doubts, couldn’t help but put out his guess, [My Lord… are you really sure that he’s also the Lord Marshal?] He was talking about the demon Lu Li.

His skepticism was quite normal since Xie Jianwei had always been able to recognize Lu Li at first sight to the point that even though he became a skeleton, Xie Jianwei was still able to feel that it was him.

[Is it possible that… the great demon was made by “that thing”? After all, “it” is attached to the Lord Marshal’s main soul, so it shouldn’t be difficult for “it” to produce a replica of the Lord Marshal.] Yan Ke added.

Xie Jianwei replied, [If that’s all there is to it then it would have been okay.]

His light-hearted words made Yan Ke’s heart thump, [You mean to say …]

Xie Jianwei said what he had been thinking about for a long time, [What I’m worried about is that if the demon Lu Li is really another personality of  Lu Li and “it” is attached on him. ]

Yan Ke’s eyes widened, [If that’s the case, then how are we going to get rid of “that thing”? Killing it would mean killing the Lord Marshal.]  Following that thought, if demon Lu Li dies, this personality would also disappear, leading to a whole lot of trouble. Do we have to give up this dream? Yan Ke thought anxiously.

[If there are two Lu Li in this dream world, doesn’t that mean there are also two of “it”?] Xie Jianwei pondered.

Hearing that question, realization hit Yan Ke!

Xie Jianwei continued, [So where’s the other one hiding?]

This was where Xie Jianwei’s scruples were. It’s easy to figure out the things that were on the surface— what they should be worried about  the most were the things hiding in the depths while concealing breaths,  making you forget about its existence.

Yan Ke’s heart jumped in shock, [Then what are we gonna do? There are traps everywhere. Everything could go haywire  with one wrong move.]

[…Or  just give up?] He couldn’t resist adding.

[What kind of nonsense are you saying.] Xie Jianwei smiled.

In fact, Yan Ke knew that he was wrong after saying those words. What’s the use of giving up this dreamscape besides adding two more of the Lord Marshal’s personalities? Worst case scenario, “That thing” would realize that attaching to the Lord Marshal’s personality’s soul would make it safe and thus, “it” would do such a thing repeatedly in the future. If that happens, how were they going to clear the other dreamscapes?

However, Yan Ke still couldn’t think of a solution at all. He felt like they encountered a dead end.

Fortunately, the man in front of him was the best at solving this type of problem

[Don’t worry, we’ll be able to solve this.] Xie Jianwei said as a light flash through his eyes. He must hold onto Little Skeleton, their trump card.

Even if another part of “that thing” was lurking in the shadows, as long as Little Skeleton manages to get a body, “it” wouldn’t be able to sit still.

Therefore, Xie Jianwei’s top priority now was to unlock the first lock, and demon Lu Li was the crucial figure.

Yan Ke felt that his brain cells were seriously insufficient so he simply stopped talking.(t/n: same lmao)

Xie Jianwei’s plan was to first know what happened in the past to find a way in coaxing the demon Lu Li. As for how to know about the past? Slowly getting it out from Lorren was not an option. He needed to grasp about what happened before in a more accurate and clear view.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

After coming back to the Middle Realm, Xie Jianwei’s days became idle again.

He had no plans on being promoted to seven stars therefore after rising to six stars, he was only required to complete a set amount of tasks: reaping two souls a month. It’s a mission not even worth mentioning because he could finish it with a raise of a hand.

Xie Jianwei gave Little Skeleton a lecture on the black magic he recorded when they attended the conference

Little Skeleton had the unorthodox power that could destroy the heavens and earth if he wanted to, but the truth was that he couldn’t even use the simplest technique of “voice transmission” that’s why he used his writing board everyday.

Although Xie Jianwei thought that Little Skeleton writing on his board was cute, not being able to talk wasn’t really good. He’s already feeling inferior with his body being made up of only bones, there’s a chance that remaining a mute when there’s really other ways to communicate would make his insecurities worse. In short, if it’s something that could make Little Skeleton gain a little more confidence, Xie Jianwei would do it.

Little Skeleton learned things quickly so Xie Jianwei had an easy time teaching him, “You’re doing great. You might have forgotten everything, but your ability to learn is still on the higher-end.”

Little Skeleton bubbled with joy.

Xie Jianwei calmly added, “You also wanted to learn spells from me before, but unfortunately you wouldn’t be able to use it even if I teach you.”

Little Skeleton could now speak, but he still used the writing board out of habit, <Why?>

“You were a Holy Knight, and your allegiance belongs to the Light side. You’re someone who can use the purest light magic, so no matter what I teach you, you won’t be able to use it.”

Previously, Xie Jianwei was unaware of the Little Skeleton’s past, so they rarely discussed it.

Little Skeleton also didn’t ask, but in fact he was curious too.

Now that Xie Jianwei started to talk about it,  he immediately asked, “Holy Knight? Then how did we meet?”1 

Xie Jianwei’s eyes softened as he explained, “I was just a four-star Grim Reaper at the time, and when I was doing a task, I encountered a great demon. The soul I was about to collect was on the verge of being swallowed by the said great demon, but then, you arrived and  helped me save the soul.”

Little Skeleton was obviously interested, “And then?”

“Then you said something to me.” Xie Janwei whispered, “Do you know what it is?”

Little Skeleton shook his head, “What did I say?”

Xie Jianwei’s face turned red, “You said my scythe was the most beautiful you have ever seen.”

Pink bubbles immediately popped out around Little Skeleton, and the words <Your sickle is really the most beautiful.> were also written on the writing board.

Xie Jianwei glanced at those words then looked away, but the blush on his face spread to the tips of his ears.

The souls of Grim Reapers manifest on their scythes thus, being praised for its beauty was tantamount to flirting.

It was like the human version of being complimented for having an exquisite body when bare.

Few people would praise death scythes because it’s considered an intimate gesture, but Lu Li blurted out his admiration in an astounding sincere and straightforward tone. It wouldn’t offend anyone and instead could make anyone’s heart start pounding.

Little Skeleton became increasingly curious about his past with Xie Jianwei, feeling that he was sitting in a soft cloud, wrapped in a rainbow made of candy, while listening to their story akin to that of a fairy tale.

Xie Jianwei gave a brief account of a sufficiently lovely “past” for him2.

After listening, Little Skeleton couldn’t help saying, “It’s a pity that I don’t have any recollection of it.”

Xie Jianwei’s eyes dimmed and he said with loss, “Yeah, you forgot.”

His tone made Little Skeleton’s bones shiver, and he said in a hurry, “I’ll be able to remember all of it when I recover my body…”