Evil As Humans

Chapter 244 Chapter 244: Two Rings

“Why didn’t you keep the Evil Dog Spirit of Yin Village? You saved it in the first place, so why not keep it by your side?”

A few days after the Evil Spirit black dog was sent away, Zhong Chengshuo asked Yin Ren this question.

While Zhong Chengshuo asked, he was making egg pancakes in the kitchen. With the weather turning cold, Yin Ren himself remained nestled in the bed; not even the freshly cooked youtiao could make him leave.

But Zhong Chengshuo could coax him out of bed.

At this moment, the Great Celestial Master was hugging Zhong Chengshuo from behind, occasionally smelling the aroma of the egg pancakes and sometimes the scent of his beloved.

“It’s a dog. It likes to protect its family members and needs a lot of time for companionship.” Yin Ren buried his face in Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder. “We don’t need its protection, and we don’t have that much time to spend with it… It’s happiest living in a human family.”

Yin Ren had actually considered Zhong Chengshuo’s parents, but the elderly couple was already in their old age, and it wouldn’t be suitable.

From the current situation, the former divine dog seemed to be doing well. In the photo sent by Lu Xiaohe, there was a soft dog bed beside her parents’ bed. The black dog was happily lying inside, wagging its tail and leaving blurry shadows.

Yin Ren took out Dog Thing and couldn’t help but open the photo album to look at the dog. He had just admired it for a few seconds when a phone call came in.

“Hello?”

“It’s me, Fu Xingchuan.” Fu Xingchuan’s voice carried a hint of resentment. “The identities of all the missing people have been determined and settled. Among them, the one you were looking for, ‘A’Shen’, isn’t among them. I also looked at the police records of Hu Tao’s family murder case. He has been missing all along—this kid either died on the Other Side or is living in hiding.”

Yin Ren’s smile faded slightly. “Well, thank you for your hard work.”

After saying that, he hung up the call directly.

“Should we go and find him?” Zhong Chengshuo said as he picked up a small piece of egg pancake with his chopsticks and held it near Yin Ren’s mouth.

“Let’s go find him.” Yin Ren took a bite of the egg pancake.

Afterwards, he took a bite of Zhong Chengshuo’s ear. “I want to find him together with you; just the two of us. If he’s still alive, we should definitely hand him over to the police.”

Yin Ren looked at the empty living room, and his tone became heavy.

“But before that, I want to know the truth of what happened back then. If that guy wasn’t simply driven mad by corruption…” He needed to make him suffer a bit more.

Yin Ren stopped speaking meaningfully.

Zhong Chengshuo turned his head slightly, and his pitch-black eyes widened. He smiled gently. “I understand.”

Comrade Xiao Zhong cautiously scooped the egg pancake onto a plate and took out a spare mobile phone from his pocket, opening the Nightwalkers forum.

[yamaglad: Hello, everyone.]

[No Head: ?]

[My Name is Little Red Riding Hood: Wow.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: It’s King Yama! Hahaha, I told you King Yama is fine!!!]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: I confirmed the ID. It really is King Yama, not that idiotic fake.]

[Sister Xu Spicy Hot Pot—Grand Opening, 20% off: Oh, it’s true. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.]

[Favorite Sky: But King Yama never greets.]

[yamaglad: @yamagald is my beloved, and from now on, we will undertake missions together.]

[yamaglad: Accepting tricky tasks, limited to evil spirits. Two-way choice, please don’t bother with trivial matters. Mission locations that have beautiful scenery, and those with a deep culinary culture will be given priority.]

[yamaglad: Interested parties, please private message. The deadline is one minute from now.]

[BOOS Supreme Evil Emperor: ??????????]

[Xinxin Dog Kennel: ……]

[Old Zhang Jianbing Guozi 028: Ah? King Yama has a wife.]

[Xingwang Repair Station (come here for all household and spiritual appliance repair): He might be getting married.]

……

Instantly, the Nightwalkers chat group went crazy with messages. Zhong Chengshuo put away his phone, satisfied. “With this, we’re officially recognized as partners.”

“You don’t need to explicitly mention our personal relationship.” Yin Ren rested his chin on Zhong Chengshuo’s shoulder while his eyes were fixed on the screen.

“It’s different. A beloved is the best partner, but the best partner isn’t necessarily your beloved.” Zhong Chengshuo corrected seriously.

“That makes sense.” Yin Ren sighed deeply.

His gaze went beyond the screen filled with frenzied messages and landed on the hamster phone pendant that Zhong Chengshuo had. It was battered, with much of the gold paint faded, looking rather forlorn.

The one that belonged to Yin Ren was destroyed, but Zhong Chengshuo insisted on keeping this one. Perhaps because it was the first gift he had ever given him, Yin Ren always felt that this item was lonely and carried a bad omen.

Since King Yama was about to make a comeback, as King Yama’s beloved and partner, it would be better to give him a better gift—something convenient to carry as a new token of their love.

He had the timing all figured out.

Less than a month remained until New Year’s Eve. The day before New Year’s Eve was the birthday Zhong Chengshuo had given him, so he would definitely prepare a birthday gift for him. When the time came, he would take out his gift and exchange it. It seemed like an interesting idea.

“I’m going to Shian.” Yin Ren finally let go of Zhong Chengshuo’s back, and he swallowed the youtiao in one bite.

“Okay,” Zhong Chengshuo said without suspicion, continuing to make pancakes.

……

Peaceful days always seemed to pass by quickly.

Day after day went by, and information about the Other Side and the Primordial Elementals was gradually made public. At Yin Ren’s strong request, Shian didn’t publicly disclose his identity as a “God” or the “Great Celestial Master”.

After all, Yin Ren hoped that Unit 9 would function normally and not be disbanded. Although some people had voiced their doubts about Unit 9’s rapid rise from C-level to A-level within six months, they fell silent in the face of the terrifying achievements of Unit 9.

Half a month passed, and it was soon the day before New Year’s Eve.

Preparing for his birthday!

Yin Ren wrapped a wooden box in bright red paper and tied it with a black ribbon, hiding it in the staff locker. Today, it would finally be put to use, and he carefully placed it in his backpack.

However, Zhong Chengshuo seemed abnormally normal today, as if he had forgotten the birthday he had personally announced.

Yin Ren felt a pang of sadness. If Zhong Chengshuo had truly forgotten, he would give him this knife next year.

Yin Ren despondently found an ice cream shop and ordered a deluxe set. He decided to subtly hint to Zhong Chengshuo by taking an hour-long stroll. If that guy still couldn’t remember, he would… he would invite Zhong Chengshuo out for a birthday feast and confiscate the wing pillow for the night.

The bored Great Celestial Master absentmindedly opened his Moments.

[Ten Thousand Taels: Sometimes I feel that being alive is really great.] The photo was a toast with Ding Lizi at a bar.

[Ear Person: Still training hard today! ]

[Milky Way: Half of the beef dumplings I made at home were eaten by the dog. Who is really the biological child?] The photo showed a black dog lying on the couch, watching TV.

[Self-Seeking Many Talismans: Can’t stand it anymore. Some people really prioritize romance over friendship. They don’t even invite me for hot pot!] Below, Li Nian and Meng Huai both liked the post.

[Let Me See Your Heart: The net of justice is wide, but it won’t let any leak through. Such terrifying people… [news link]]

The link contained news about the capture of the culprit in the Hu family massacre case.

The article briefly introduced the Hu family massacre in the Ping’an Community and the fact that the culprit had come forward thousands of miles from Haigu to confess more than 20 years later. The article stated that, in front of a crowd, the culprit cried and begged the police to arrest and sentence him. The specifics of what happened were still unknown.

Yin Ren absentmindedly liked the post.

Scrolling further down, Unit 7 wished for promotion to the A-level Investigation Team in the new year, while Unit 8 prayed for more year-end bonuses. Liang Shan shared safety tips for the end of the year, and Gao Mengyu showcased the cats she raised at home… For some reason, there was a pitch-black image mixed among the pictures.

Everyone seemed happy, but he felt anxious.

Yin Ren finished his ice cream with one last spoonful. Just as the sky transitioned from dark blue to blackish blue, a message arrived from Zhong Chengshuo.

[Final Fruit: Let’s eat at home tonight. It’s inconvenient to eat outside.]

[Fruit Knife: Huh? Why?]

[Final Fruit: Taking the cake out will make it easy to spoil.]

[Fruit Knife: Oh]

[Fruit Knife: You actually remembered! ]

[Final Fruit: I marked it on the calendar as soon as we agreed.]

[Final Fruit: Remember to buy some spring onions when you come back.]

[Fruit Knife: …]

Yin Ren wrapped his scarf tightly and carried a handful of spring onions back home. This was his first time celebrating his birthday in the human world. Yin Ren didn’t even take the elevator to deliberately create a sense of ceremony with every step he took.

This feeling of anticipation was truly wonderful.

Finally, with a creak, the door opened. Warm air rushed in.

The room was still bathed in comfortable, warm light. The floor had just been cleaned and was slightly damp. Among the lush green plants, there were freshly trimmed roses. The sofa had recently been replaced with a deeper and more comfortable model, and a cozy blanket was placed on top.

Yellow Millet was buried in the blanket, almost flattened like a pancake.

Before seeing the dining table, Yin Ren smelled the dishes he usually loved and the aroma of his favorite chocolate.

“I’m back!” Yin Ren greeted happily.

Zhong Chengshuo, wearing an apron, came forward to receive the spring onions in Yin Ren’s hand.

“Wait!” Yin Ren hid the spring onion behind his back. “I also prepared a little gift for you.”

Zhong Chengshuo blinked, stopped in his tracks, and a hint of anticipation appeared on his face.

“Here, open it.” Yin Ren took out a gift box from his bag. “You always take that hamster out with you every day, aren’t you afraid it will get damaged? From now on, take this instead.”

Zhong Chengshuo sat down on the shoe-changing stool and carefully unwrapped the packaging.

The red paper blossomed, and the wooden box slid open. Inside the exquisite wooden box was a deep red velvet lining, and lying quietly on it was a dagger.

The dagger was entirely black, warm to the touch, and the same color as Yin Ren’s wings. However, its blade was adorned with intricate and exquisite crimson patterns that seemed to come alive, constantly changing. The red was incredibly beautiful, even more captivating than the original “Evil Fruit”.

Zhong Chengshuo held the dagger in his hands and felt that it looked somewhat familiar.

“This is the one I brought to the human world initially, and I got it back from Shian,” Yin Ren said with a cheerful smile. “Inside, there’s a living wing, and the blade is infused with my blood. It’s stronger than the Evil Fruit. The Karma Lantern is too ostentatious. If you want to continue your actions as King Yama, you need a handy weapon.”

“It can destroy everything, but not indiscriminately harm. You just need to hold it and greet it. When it’s not activated, it’s no different from an ordinary knife.”

Zhong Chengshuo stared at the dagger in a daze and then turned it a few times in his hand.

A very warm weapon.

“I’ll make a scabbard for it tonight,” Zhong Chengshuo said, holding the dagger tightly and refusing to let go.

“I knew it. Let’s eat,” Yin Ren proudly put down his backpack.

Zhong Chengshuo obediently stepped aside, revealing the full view of the dining table. The warm light illuminated the table, and the sumptuous dishes emitted steaming hot air. The most eye-catching thing on the table was a six-layer chocolate cake.

It stood tall like a tower, adorned with vibrant red berries and snowy white sugar frosting. At the very top of the cake sat a dark chocolate rabbit with disheveled features, just like the one in Yin Ren’s memory.

“This is also considered letting you have a taste of me,” Zhong Chengshuo explained seriously. “Back then, I didn’t really deny it.”

Yin Ren burst into laughter. “Alright, alright, I forgot. I’ll forget everything from our fight with Love from today onwards!”

He laughed for about two or three minutes before coming back to his senses. “Wait, this cake is too big, where did you buy it?”

It didn’t seem like a birthday cake style. It looked more like…

“Because it’s your first birthday, I wanted to make it special. But I didn’t know how to make it special, so I added some other meanings to it,” Zhong Chengshuo admitted candidly.

“Other meanings?”

“For you.” Zhong Chengshuo reached into his pocket and took out a small box.

The box was also rectangular but much smaller than the box used to store a dagger. Yin Ren sensed it but didn’t feel any special power. He shook it, but there was no sound inside.

He couldn’t guess.

Yin Ren decisively opened the box, and then all his jokes got stuck in his throat.

Inside were two rings.

The color combination was gold and red, just like the cheerful little hamster from before. On the pure gold ring bands, there was half an apple made of white diamonds and red enamel.

The right half apple ring was engraved with “Carefree”, and the left half apple ring was engraved with “From Beginning to End”*.

*Clarity: Carefree implies free from worries and troubles, while From Beginning to End implies commitment and perseverance. Combined, the meaning is like a life-long relationship without any worries.

Zhong Chengshuo eagerly pointed to the rings. “Look.”

Yin Ren: “Ah?”

He understood giving one ring. But two rings? He couldn’t quite grasp this person’s thought process.

“While we may not fit within human laws, I want to publicly form a family relationship with you,” Zhong Chengshuo explained affectionately. “If you’re willing, choose the one you like. If you’re not, take both rings, and you can wear them interchangeably.”

Yin Ren: “…”

Yin Ren: “You… Forget it!”

He took the ring with “Carefree” engraved on it and directly wore it on his ring finger. Zhong Chengshuo took back the box, and a hint of radiance appeared in his dark, glossy eyes.

He took two steps forward and kissed the corner of Yin Ren’s mouth.

……

“Yin Ren, can I use this dagger to cut the cake?”

“Well, I guess you can… but keep the rabbit for me. Give it all to me—”

“Okay.”

“By the way, have you ever thought about it? If I agree to your proposal, my gift would be half as meaningful.”

“Ah.”

“And we’ll have one less day to celebrate.”

“Ah…”

“Alright, stop freezing up. I won’t take back your dagger. So, let’s do this: I’ll finish this cake today!”

“I’ll think of another commemorative day.”

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