"What?"Lin Wu was instantly stunned and he mumbled, "Netherworld marriage? That means..."
Li Luyao sighed and said softly, "Didn"t I say it? Based on the original trajectory, you should have gotten into a car accident yesterday afternoon. Because you"ve died, your novel hasn"t gotten any new updates."
"I... died?" Lin Wu subconsciously touched his face and then looked at Li Luyao. "Then what about you? The two of us got into a netherworld marriage. You were dead as well?"
"No, I was alive." Li Luyao looked at him. A hint of insuppressible grief and pain flashed in her eyes, and she said in a slightly depressed voice, "I was married to you when I was alive."
Lin Wu was stunned for a moment and he asked, "This means that you, a living person, married to me, who was dead?"
Li Luyao nodded silently.
"A living person marrying a dead person?"
Lin Wu appeared a little surprised. He was unable to imagine how things were like, for a living girl to be married to someone dead.
When other people"s wives called their husbands "dead ghost [1]", it would just be in a playful tone.
But the "dead ghost" Li Luyao used, was really referring to someone dead!
"Oh, didn"t you say that I... did that to you?" Li Luyao suddenly looked at Li Luyao speechlessly. "Since I had already turned into a ghost, how did I do the deed with you?"
Li Luyao"s countenance changed, as if she had recalled a terrible experience. She bit her lips tightly but didn"t say anything.
"What"s the matter?" Lin Wu couldn"t help but feel perplexed. "Was I very terrifying after my death? That"s strange. I"m such a nice guy. Even if I were to die, I should be a cowardly ghost. Why do I have the feeling that you seem to be very scared of me?"
Li Luyao threw a glance at him, also feeling a little perplexed. "I did find that a little strange as well. You only died from an ordinary car accident. By right, you shouldn"t have any strong obsessions or resentment. But when the matchmaker introduced you, she said that you"re the most terrifying vicious ghost in the world..."
"Huh?"
Lin Wu couldn"t help but feel a little stunned. He pointed to his nose and asked, "Me? The most terrifying vicious ghost? I have never encountered anything that was especially terrible in my life, nor do I have any great grievances. Why would I be a vicious ghost? Moreover, the most terrifying one of them all?"
"I have no idea either..." Li Luyao shook her head slowly and then said softly, "But after I entered a netherworld marriage with you, every time I was with you, I would be extremely terrified. The feeling you brought me is a lot scarier than the matchmaker."
"Is the matchmaker very scary?" Lin Wu asked curiously.
Li Luyao nodded a little anxiously. "I heard that the matchmaker had existed since forever, from the ancient times to the modern days. Her obsession is very terrifying. All the couples that she had tied the knot to each other must be together, regardless if they are humans or ghosts. Otherwise..."
She suddenly s.h.i.+vered.
"Otherwise?" Lin Wu looked at Li Luyao.
"I just experienced it yesterday..." Li Luyao said softly, "The pain of having my neck strangled by the matchmaker"s red string... I really don"t want to experience the same thing for a second time."
"Red string..."
Lin Wu saw her painful expression and tried to change the topic. "Oh, right, why did you want to enter a netherworld marriage with me?"
Li Luyao inhaled deeply and explained, "Based on my original trajectory, my family had offended a vicious ghost, and all of my relatives pa.s.sed away in turn. We"ve hired a bunch of people who claimed to be experts in exorcisms, but they were all scammers. We spent a lot of money, but in the end, even my parents were..."
Although she didn"t finish her words, Lin Wu understood what had happened to her parents.
Li Luyao sighed and continued saying, "I was really left with no other choice, and I also wanted to seek revenge for my parents. I received the guidance from someone that you"re the most terrifying vicious ghost in the world, and thus I decided to get the matchmaker to act as a go-between, for me to enter a netherworld marriage with you."
"What happened after that?" Lin Wu looked at her.
Li Luyao slowly lowered her head. "It"s true that you were very terrifying. You soon sought revenge for me. The price I had to pay was to stay alive and accompany you for three years, and then forever be with you after I die..."
Lin Wu nodded and said, "It seems that our life after marriage wasn"t too harmonious. It"s no wonder you don"t have much feelings for me."
Li Luyao bit her lips. She didn"t think that such jokes were funny at all.
"I have a general understanding of it now." Lin Wu a.s.sessed Li Luyao, stroked his chin, and said, "Because of the matchmaker, you have no choice but to get married to me. However, you don"t wish to get married to a ghost, so you helped me to avoid the car accident. Is that right?"
"... Yes." Li Luyao sighed.
Lin Wu remained silent for a while before asking, "But in your heart, you aren"t really willing to do this, right?"
Li Luyao only looked at him silently, not giving a reply.
However, her gaze had made it clear that she was unwilling to accept this and also felt sad about it.
Lin Wu frowned and asked, "As long as you get married to me, then the matchmaker won"t look for you again, right?"
"Yes. Are you willing?" Li Luyao asked nervously.
"Of course, I can"t leave you in the lurch, right? Moreover, you"re considered to have saved my life as well." Lin Wu nodded like this was something natural.
"Thank you." Li Luyao"s expression became more relaxed, and she heaved out a sigh of relief, wearing a thankful expression. "Don"t worry, I won"t let you down. Compared to the ghost you, the current you is much better. I"m already very satisfied."
Lin Wu was speechless.
It was no wonder that Li Luyao had said that she was very satisfied with him when they had just met.
Uh... Compared to a ghost, it was true that a living person was much better.
"Then... We"ll go register our marriage tomorrow?" Li Luyao asked carefully.
Lin Wu nodded. "I"ll go back home to get my household register tomorrow."
Li Luyao bit her lips as she looked at this guy, feeling a mix of emotions. She didn"t know if she should be feeling thankful, happy, or melancholy.
However, at the very least, she could stay far away from the matchmaker"s torment.
"Lin Wu."
Li Luyao looked at this man who was going to become her fiancé and suddenly spoke out in a soft voice. "I"ll do my best to get myself to like you. We can slowly nurture our feelings. Can you give me some time?"
"There"s no need to force yourself." Lin Wu shook his head. "Even if you have no feelings for me, it"s fine. There isn"t any need either. You"re still free."
"Huh?" Li Luyao was stunned, and she asked, feeling a little nervous. "Are you planning on getting a divorce after we"ve gotten married? That won"t do. The matchmaker said that marriage affinities that are tied together can never be separated. Once they are, I"ll be..."
"I"m saying that we can have a marriage in name."
Lin Wu shook his head and said, "Based on what you"ve said, we had a netherworld marriage before you got reincarnated, but you don"t have much feelings for me. Did the matchmaker look for you because of this?"
"This..." Li Luyao was slightly stunned.
"Based on what you"ve said, I reckon that as long as we can prove that we"re husband and wife, the matchmaker won"t care about other things." Lin Wu said casually, "So, we can just have a marriage in name. I don"t wish to restrict your freedom. If you really don"t like me, even if you wish to go out with another person, I won"t care either."
Li Luyao remained silent for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "It"s not as simple as that. The matchmaker is probably a vicious ghost that had existed since ancient times. Although we"re now in modern times, her perspectives are still more inclined toward the traditional way. I once heard before my reincarnation that another woman who had gotten into a netherworld marriage with you had... an extramarital affair, and ended up tortured to death by the matchmaker with her red string."
Lin Wu"s countenance changed. "This matchmaker must be a nutcase. She even interferes with these things?"
Li Luyao sighed, shook her head, and said, "This is how the obsessions for vicious ghosts are. So, don"t go saying such things in the future."
"Alright, then we"ll just slowly get along with each other."
Lin Wu nodded but suddenly asked, feeling perplexed, "Hmmm? You mentioned earlier that there"s another woman that had a netherworld marriage with me? Does that mean that you aren"t the only one?
Li Luyao threw a glance at him and then nodded, saying, "It"s true that there are many of them. Almost all of them had come to look for you to seek protection. After getting help from the matchmaker to tie the knot, they got into a netherworld marriage with you."
Lin Wu was stunned. "Then wouldn"t that mean that I"ve committed the crime of bigamy?"
"You are already a ghost in the future, yet you"re afraid of going against the law?" Li Luyao felt a little speechless.
"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, the rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, friends.h.i.+p..."
Lin Wu went through the list of core socialist values in his mind and then looked at her again. "So what if I was a ghost? I don"t regret being born in China in this lifetime, and I"ll still want to be born into a Chinese family in my next life! [2]"
Li Luyao had nothing to say to this and could only put her thumbs up in response.
"But if this were the case, it can"t be that I"ll really have to commit the crime of bigamy, right?" Lin Wu couldn"t help but say. "Since more than one person had gotten into a netherworld marriage with me, then what if the matchmaker were to force the other women to come and look for me to get married as well? How are we supposed to register our marriages? I can"t possibly need to change my nationality, right?"
Li Luyao threw a glance at Lin Wu speechlessly.
Although this guy appeared very anxious and in self-reprimand, it was clear from the smile in the corner of his eyes that he was probably starting to feel antic.i.p.ation and excitement.
Hmph, men.
He had just decided to enter a marriage with her for life, but was already thinking of enjoying a life with multiple partners.
Li Luyao smiled coldly and then said indifferently, "Who told you that they are definitely humans? There are a lot more female ghosts that have gotten into a netherworld marriage with you than living women."
"Huh?" Lin Wu was dumbfounded