Married to the Grim Reaper Against My Will

A confession with fish balls

　Ji Mian had reached an agreement with the three ancestors: she would continue attending school like a regular high school student, but she couldn't reveal anything about the Yunxiu Heavenly Palace. She didn't need to stay at the Heavenly Palace during the week, but she had to return on weekends.

Although life was moving in an unknown direction, she had gradually accepted the reality before her and was able to face it with a positive attitude. Life seemed to have become warm and beautiful again.

Moreover, the three ancestors were much more kind and open-minded than she had imagined; she would always be grateful for allowing her to go to school.

Everything seemed to be getting better, except for one thing: Xuanyang Jun. Although it was somewhat despicable, Ji Mian had secretly prayed that he wouldn't return; she really didn't know how to face him.

Of course, if he did return, she would try her best to overcome her fear and nervousness and act according to the rules.

On a weekend afternoon, Ji Mian prepared to return to the city, and Xiang Shu offered to go with her.

She came out of the Zhengyang Hall and saw Xiang Shu waiting outside. He was impeccably dressed in a suit and tie, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking every bit the social elite.

She opened her mouth slightly, her surprise barely concealed.

Xiang Shu smiled gently, his gold-rimmed glasses making him appear even more refined. "So surprised? The Heavenly Palace doesn't exist in the void; it requires a lot of money to maintain. This is a society governed by law; to earn money, you can only rely on your own efforts."

Ji Mian now understood what Xiao Zhi meant when she said Lord Xiang supported the entire Heavenly Palace.

Ji Mian was surprised and impressed: "You support the entire Heavenly Palace all by yourself?"

Xiang Shu smiled subtly, explaining as they walked: "I was born alongside the God-King; my purpose is to serve the God-King."

Although Ji Mian's life wasn't luxurious, even somewhat miserable as a dependent, the modern mindset she received from childhood made her inherently independent, completely unable to accept the idea of ​​someone being an appendage of another.

She asked from the bottom of her heart, "But you're not an object, don't you feel wronged?"

Xiang Shu paused, his smile freezing. But only for a moment, then his smile deepened, his tone tinged with amusement, "Madam, I serve you and the Divine Lord, are you going to try and turn me against you?"

Ji Mian: ...

Ji Mian opened her mouth, unsure what to say. "Madam, don't you want to know what Lord Xuanyang does?"

"I know, the Grim Reaper." Ji Mian answered casually, then, as if remembering something, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Xiang Shu. "He's the Grim Reaper, so can he help me see my parents?"

"I'm sorry, that's probably impossible." Xiang Shu paused, then explained, "The lineage of the Grim Reapers is like a hub between the underworld and the human world, responsible for handling souls that cannot return to the underworld. Just like I am the hub between the Heavenly Palace and humanity. We may be different from ordinary people, but we are still living beings, while your parents are already souls. Once their souls return to the underworld, you will never see them again."

Ji Mian's eyes dimmed, but she still smiled. "It's alright, it was never going to happen anyway, I was just being willful."

"Do you know why you became the God Lord's bride?" Perhaps to change her mood, Xiang Shu started another topic.

Ji Mian, who had never understood why she had been chosen, was immediately intrigued. "Why?" she asked.

"This happened a long time ago. Back then, the Witch Clan still existed..."

Eight hundred years ago, the Death God lineage was weak, while the Witch Clan was at its peak. To avoid extinction, Lord Shouxiang made an agreement with the Witch Clan: the Witch Clan would assist the Yunxiu Heavenly Palace, and each Death God had to marry a woman from the Witch Clan to strengthen the clan. The Witch Clan feared that the Death God lineage would renege on their promise after gaining power, so they placed a curse on the Death God lineage: those who did not marry a Witch Clan woman would die young.

"So I'm a descendant of the Witch Clan?" After receiving confirmation, she asked curiously, "Do I have any special talents? Or abilities?"

Xiang Shu chuckled. "No, the Witch Clan has been extinct for a long time, and their secret arts have long been lost. Many abilities aren't purely innate; they require practice. Without practice, they naturally degenerate. Even if some are talents, the Witch Clan bloodline has been mixed with mortals for so long that it's negligible."

Ji Mian was slightly disappointed. She said "Oh," then remembered something and asked, "After marrying me, will the curse be lifted? Or... or..."

Or must they share a bed?

She couldn't bring herself to ask. But this was important. If it was just a wedding ceremony, then Xuan Yang Jun's curse would be lifted, and they could go their separate ways. But if they had to share a bed... Ji Mian didn't dare to think about it. "I don't know for now." Xiang Shu, understanding her meaning, didn't spell it out. "Because since the curse appeared, neither Xuanyang Jun's grandfather nor father met a woman from the witch clan. They married others and died young, so no one knows how to break it."

The phrase "died young" evoked endless regret. Ji Mian imagined teenagers dying in their teens or twenties, and felt a pang of pity, murmuring, "Died young?"

"Yes, they didn't live past three hundred."

Three hundred years… excuse me, I'm not worthy of such an honor.

Seeing her speechless expression, Xiang Shu smiled and explained, "His Highness the Divine Lord is almost two hundred years old; he doesn't have much time left."

"But Lord Xuanyang seems rather stubborn," Ji Mian described the ill-tempered Lord Xuanyang euphemistically, "I guess he'd rather not live past three hundred than submit to this marriage?"

"Yes, so on their wedding night, the ancestors broke his legs."

Ji Mian looked up at him, her eyes wide with surprise, noticing his subtle smile; he was probably joking.

After changing out of his ancient attire and leaving the Heavenly Palace, Xiang Shu seemed less strictly bound by the old rules. He spoke to Ji Mian much more warmly, like a friend.

"The Divine Lord is indeed rather stubborn; I wonder how far this matter will ultimately go," he sighed slightly. "You saw the lightning that night too."

Ji Mian nodded, remembering the thunder and lightning that had raged all night, her heart pounding with fear; she was even more afraid of this Divine Lord now. He was fierce-looking, had a bad temper, and was incredibly capable; when he got angry, the entire world would change.

"Don't be afraid. The Heavenly Palace needs your help right now. Even if you burned down the Zhengyang Palace, the ancestors wouldn't blame you. You can live peacefully in the Heavenly Palace."

Humans fear the unknown most. Having unveiled the mysteries of the Heavenly Palace, Ji Mian was indeed less afraid. Her only fear now was Xuanyang Jun; the gazes on the blue stone tablet had left a deep shadow on her.

As they spoke, they walked to a boundary marker. Xiang Shu waved his hand, and the scene before them suddenly changed, from the magnificent Heavenly Palace to an ordinary courtyard house.

This courtyard house was located at the foot of Xiushan Mountain. Xiang Shu had told her that if she returned to the Heavenly Palace on Friday night, she should come directly here, and someone would take her back.

Xiang Shu, or rather the people of the Heavenly Palace, were far more capable than Ji Mian had imagined. During her two days at the Heavenly Palace, Xiang Shu had already arranged accommodation and a caregiver for her, and even offered to help with her aunt's family matters.

Ji Mian, clutching the slip of paper with the address and the key, subconsciously asked, "How will you handle this?"

"We have a way, of course. We'll also help you get your parents' inheritance back. You just need to focus on your studies."

Ji Mian sincerely thanked him, "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. You need to get used to being the wife of the Divine Lord and to us serving you."

Ji Mian nodded, looking at the address in her hand, and said, "I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm at school during the day, I only go back to stay at night. There's no need for such a fuss about finding someone to look after me."

"That's fine, but if anything happens, call me immediately."

Xiang Shu handed her a business card; it was from the owner of the famous Tong'an Group in Jiang City! No wonder he could support a Heavenly Palace.

Ji Mian took the business card and thanked him again. “Madam,” Xiang Shu said, a hint of helplessness in his voice, tinged with amusement, “Serving you is my duty, and also my honor.”

Ji Mian: …

“If you thank me again next time, I’ll keep talking to you like this.”

Ji Mian: …

The two prepared to return to the city. An assistant arrived in a luxury car to pick up Xiang Shu, but Ji Mian didn’t want to go with him, preferring to take the bus herself to familiarize herself with the route.

Xiang Shu didn’t insist, but turned back before leaving.

“Your constant thanks gave me a headache; I almost forgot something important.”

“What?”

Xiang Shu raised his hand, pointing to her brow.

Ji Mian knew there was a drop of cinnabar there and instinctively covered her forehead. “Can you see it?”

“Yes, it’s the mark of a deity; ordinary people can’t see it.”

Ji Mian’s eyes widened, wanting to ask something. Xiang Shu smiled. "We can see it, it's beautiful. But I need to seal it away for you first, because..." Seemingly afraid of upsetting her, he hesitated, carefully choosing his words, "You already possess an unparalleled status, but you haven't gained the God-King's approval, so you lack the abilities to match your status, making it difficult to protect yourself."

Ji Mian understood. She was now like Tang Sanzang, powerless yet possessing something coveted by all. Ghosts and demons were all watching her, and her Monkey King wasn't even in position yet.

After the sealing was completed, Ji Mian followed the address Xiang Shu gave her, changing buses several times, and finally found Ting'an Residential Area. Xiang Shu was reliable; this residential area was very close to the Second Middle School, only three bus stops away.

It was nearing dusk, the light dim and hazy. The streets were filled with cars and people heading home from get off work—a truly tangible feeling of being alive. Ji Mian took a deep breath; the air was thick with exhaust fumes, yet it felt incredibly real. She wasn't in a hurry to go back. She walked around the neighborhood, wanting to familiarize herself with the surroundings and find a convenience store to buy something for dinner.

There was a ring of shops around the perimeter of the neighborhood, but they seemed to be struggling; several had closed, and the shops were all dark and closed. After walking for a while, she finally found a 24-hour convenience store near the south gate of the neighborhood.

Ji Mian ordered some oden, a sandwich, and a glass of milk. After heating them up, she took them to the counter by the floor-to-ceiling window and ate while observing her surroundings.

The south gate area wasn't on the main road; it was more secluded, and there were far fewer people. The streetlights and sycamore trees lining both sides looked somewhat forlorn.

Suddenly, six or seven tall, burly men approached from a distance. Their loud voices were hard to ignore.

The previously quiet street suddenly became lively because of their appearance.

A group of men walked past the convenience store, angrily shouting and cursing as they went. Ji Mian couldn't hear what they were cursing, but judging from their expressions, they were all filled with hostility and were not to be trifled with.

Ji Mian noticed that one of them was wearing a vocational high school uniform. But she didn't dare look too closely, glancing at them briefly before quickly lowering her head to silently munch on her meatball.

She knew these were the notorious thugs from the vocational high school. Although she didn't know them personally, she usually kept an eye out for those she shouldn't mess with, lest she run into them and not know how to avoid them.

She buried her head in her meatball, and Shi Man's words from Friday suddenly popped into her mind—find those thugs from the vocational high school to deal with Jiang Wang.

As if having a premonition, she suddenly looked up towards the south gate.

From the shadows, a tall, thin figure emerged. Jiang Wang, dressed in loose black clothes, with messy hair, hands in his pockets, walked lazily this way, his appearance particularly striking.

Before he even reached the convenience store, Ji Mian saw the colorful bruises on his face in the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows. He was already quite pale, and the black clothes made him appear even paler, making the injuries on his face all the more shocking.

This series of events clearly pointed to one conclusion—Jiang Wang, out of a sense of justice, spoke up for her, resulting in an enmity with his cronies and being targeted by a group of thugs from the vocational high school.

Rumors said Jiang Wang was a fierce and ruthless fighter, but those thugs were all heavily tattooed, muscular, and quite large, looking menacing. Jiang Wang, on the other hand, was tall but thin, and didn't seem particularly resilient. And even if he was strong, he couldn't withstand six or seven of them attacking together.

Ji Mian's gaze fell on his scarred and pale face, and her conscience finally broke. Without thinking, she jumped off the chair and ran out, calling out to the passing boy—

"Jiang...Jiang Wang."

"Hmm?" Jiang Wang stopped, glanced at her lazily, then smiled, "Confessing with fish balls? I won't accept that. It has to be roses, at least."

Ji Mian then realized that in her haste, she was still clutching a skewer of steaming oden.