Finale
At midnight, the streets were almost deserted, with only a few cats and dogs moving around. The sky was thin and sparse with clouds, carrying a hint of gray as though marking a dividing line.
Lu Congxing lifted his head, looking up. He stood at the very top of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, the closest point to the gate of the ghost realm. The original location had been carefully chosen, as this place could guard the Gate of the Underworld, and unless it was the Ghost Festival, the gate could not be opened.
Because of this, the Heavenly Law rarely appeared. It only used the Heavenly Eye to observe when the Gate of the Underworld was open.
He and He Zhouyan stood at the top, their clothes fluttering in the wind, while below them stood the high-ranking demons, all worried about them.
The high-ranking demons had prepared themselves. Though they were not afraid of the Heavenly Law, they could not harm it. If the Heavenly Law truly wanted to attack the cub, they could only risk their merits in a desperate fight.
Yet, none of the demons retreated. All of them focused their eyes on the cub at the very top, whose presence was calm, whether in their original form or human form.
It wasn’t until a gentle touch on his palm that Lu Congxing realized he had been trembling slightly.
He Zhouyan, with endless patience, whispered in his ear, “It’s okay, I’m here.”
“I’m always here.”
Gradually, Lu Congxing relaxed. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, including about his father, whose memories had been forcibly erased from his mind.
When the minute hand struck midnight, the clouds in the sky suddenly thickened, so dense they completely blocked out the moon.
When they dispersed again, where the moon had been, a giant eye, silver in color, had replaced it.
Ordinary humans couldn’t see it, but only the demons and a few sensitive small animals felt the gaze on their hearts.
This was the Heavenly Eye of the Heavenly Law, capable of observing all things and every detail.
Lu Congxing clenched his fist tightly. Mysterious fiery patterns began to creep up his face, extending from his cheek down his neck and all the way to his waist.
With the fiery patterns, ghostly fire also climbed up his shoulders, enveloping most of his body in flames. The flickering fire brought a deadly beauty, and his eyes grew increasingly cold.
A massive stone door appeared in mid-air, bringing with it a chilling aura. Two three-headed hounds stood at the entrance, baring their teeth. Eerie green light spilled from two large white paper lanterns at the door, accompanied by the sound of wailing. The stone door slowly began to open.
Even though it was only a small crack, countless ghostly hands reached out, struggling to escape. Malevolent ghosts howled, some squeezing their heads through the crack, even if their seven orifices bled. They stared greedily at Lu Congxing, grinning with hunger.
This kind of gaze had followed him since he was young. He didn’t understand why back then, but now he did.
He was the next Heavenly Law, and to these malevolent ghosts, he was no different from walking “Tang Monk’s meat1.”
Having experienced so much life and death, learning the truth didn’t bring him the joy he had imagined. Instead, he felt a complicated mix of emotions.
He ignored the malevolent ghosts that screamed to devour him, but those around him suddenly moved.
He Zhouyan tossed a golden bell into the air and struck it directly with a surge of spiritual energy.
Ripples radiated from the bell suspended midair, one layer after another.
The malevolent ghosts crowding the doorway seemed to encounter something utterly terrifying. They didn’t even have time to scream before disintegrating into black ash.
The sudden destruction instantly stunned the ghosts that followed. They crouched cautiously at the entrance, none daring to move forward. Instead, they began trying to push others out in front of them.
The cold, malicious stares vanished all at once. Lu Congxing opened his eyes and stared blankly at the man beside him.
He Zhouyan leaned in and gently kissed the corner of his eye, a smile playing on his lips. “It looks good.”
He was referring to the blue flame marks on Lu Congxing’s face.
Lu Congxing’s face flushed slightly as he muttered, “Why are you a flirt no matter where we are…”
The Gate of the Underworld, which had opened halfway, was forced to halt because He Zhouyan’s bell was still hovering midair. Even the two hellhounds sensed danger and tucked their tails between their legs. The Heavenly Eye finally turned its gaze toward them. Its silver pupils held nothing, emanating a faint divinity that made one want to submit to it.
But He Zhouyan wasn’t impressed. He didn’t retract the bell and instead locked eyes with the enormous Heavenly Eye. His suit was impeccably neat, and his gaze sharp like shards of ice—cold and disdainful, as if he were staring not at Heavenly Law, but at garbage. The air buzzed with a violent energy.
Invisible black lightning flickered in the clouds above, like a taut string on the verge of snapping.
Lu Congxing could now perceive what he couldn’t before—countless starlights appeared, representing the fate governed by Heavenly Law.
Just as he felt the urge to move forward, a warning rang out from Yingying in his Qiankun space.
“Watch out!”
He Zhouyan didn’t hesitate. He wrapped his arm around Lu Congxing’s waist and pulled him close.
A blast of resentful energy struck the spot where Lu Congxing had just been standing, punching a hole straight through the sturdy ceiling of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how painful that would’ve been if it had hit him directly.
Lu Congxing frowned and looked up—only to see an unexpected figure at the Gate of the Underworld: the mirror ghost.
The moment he saw him, a fierce wind howled from the Gate of the Underworld. The mirror ghost, who had been drooping his eyelids, lifted them. His gaze was obsessed and intense. “We meet again.”
By the time Lu Congxing sensed the danger, it was too late. He hadn’t been pulled into a mirror or a painting like before—this time, he was directly dragged into the ghost realm.
But this time, He Zhouyan held tightly onto his hand and didn’t let go, so the two of them entered the ghost realm together.
The Gate of the Underworld slammed shut behind them.
The powerful high-ranking demons watching below were stunned into silence, glancing uneasily at one another.
Zhu Yin said, “This… this won’t turn into a disaster, right?”
Taotie rubbed his nose. “With that old monster around, what’s there to be afraid of?”
Though none of them liked He Zhouyan, everyone acknowledged his combat power. Their tense hearts eased slightly.
Elsewhere, Lu Congxing now stood face-to-face with the mirror ghost.
The once decadent mirror ghost had transformed into someone completely unfamiliar. As soon as they entered the ghost realm, even Yingying—usually terrified of He Zhouyan—emerged from hiding. It stared at its former friend and asked, “What are you planning to do to my master?”
But the mirror ghost didn’t look at it. His eyes remained locked on Lu Congxing, a chilling smile on his face. “I remember now. I remember everything.”
Lu Congxing remained calm. When he took in the mirror ghost back then, he’d known that once its memories returned, it would eventually escape the mirror. What he hadn’t expected was that those memories were about him.
He had no recollection of ever interacting with the mirror ghost, so this had to be Heavenly Law manipulating things again.
He could feel the gaze of Heavenly Law fixed on him from somewhere, but this time, being watched didn’t shake him. He could sense that he had grasped something—something important.
The Lu Congxing who had entered the ghost realm was no longer the same. The inheritance of the newly reborn Heavenly Law had surged into his mind all at once.
His composure only enraged the mirror ghost further. It opened its mouth and roared, “Everything I am is because of you! My entire existence revolves around you!”
He was completely absorbed in his own delusion. “I was created with only one purpose—to kill you.”
This was the first time Lu Congxing had ever met someone who made a death threat sound like a love confession.
No wonder, back when he moved to the house opposite Bai Ze’s, the amnesiac mirror ghost, despite instinctively fearing the auspicious beast, still stubbornly followed him.
Everything had been orchestrated by Heavenly Law.
Even with his memories restored, the mirror ghost was still trapped in a pre-written script—inevitably walking toward his destined demise.
“The one who created you is Heavenly Law,” Lu Congxing said flatly. “You can’t beat me.”
It wasn’t said to intimidate or boast. It was just a simple, unembellished fact. Though Lu Congxing didn’t know what the mirror ghost had gone through during his absence to become the leader of a hundred ghosts, he could still clearly sense the vast difference in their strength.
Ever since entering the ghost realm, his inherited power had fully awakened. In just a few minutes, his strength had surged to a terrifying peak. The flame marks on his body were a testament to the sheer force of his spiritual energy.
Not to mention He Zhouyan stood behind him, eyes cold and fixed on the mirror ghost like a predator waiting to pounce. The moment the mirror ghost made a wrong move, he would be torn to shreds without mercy.
The mirror ghost’s expression darkened sharply. Behind him surged a wall of howling, wailing ghosts, all stretching out their hands and baring their teeth, forming a massive wall of flesh.
Even just standing there, waves of chilling wind slashed through the air like blades.
Any ordinary person would be shredded bloody within a minute, but Lu Congxing remained completely unharmed by He Zhouyan’s side. Even the fierce winds avoided this fearsome being, veering away unnaturally.
No one knew who made the first move—but with a deafening crash, the mirror ghost was suddenly pinned beneath Bai Ze, who had revealed his original form.
Now a Ghost King, the mirror ghost was far more cunning than before. His right hand abruptly dissolved into a black mist, transforming into a spectral claw that clamped onto Bai Ze’s forepaw.
The resentment instantly turned a patch of Bai Ze’s pristine white fur pitch-black.
But Bai Ze didn’t seem to feel any pain. He lowered his head and sank his fangs viciously into the mirror ghost’s neck. His original aim had been the head, planning to bite it clean off—but when the mirror ghost dodged, Bai Ze settled for the next best thing. He bit down hard on the neck and flung the ghost upward with a violent jerk.
The mirror ghost was completely shrouded in black mist. Midair, its limbs and neck suddenly twisted, wrapping tightly around Bai Ze’s back.
Like a mighty lion being persistently pestered by a despicable bug, Bai Ze flicked his tail, flinging the mirror ghost off his back. Then he stomped hard on its chest, with such force it could have crushed its entire ribcage.
At this moment of crisis for the Ghost King, the other malevolent ghosts finally reacted. They surrounded Bai Ze and lunged toward him.
Though each one was weak individually, their overwhelming numbers made up for it.
Above them, Bai Ze’s golden bell rippled out layer upon layer of waves, trying to hold off the flood of incoming ghosts—but it was growing harder to withstand their endless onslaught.
Just as the first ghost stretched out its two-meter-long neck to bite into Bai Ze’s fur, a faint blue light suddenly burst from the center of the formation. What followed was a searing flame that made all the ghosts feel as though they were being scorched alive.
Lu Congxing stood at the very center, blue fire dancing at his fingertips. He smiled innocently and said, “Did you all forget I was here?”
Reflected in his pitch-black pupils was the blue flame as he expanded the radius of the ghostly fire.
Screams and wails broke out instantly. The malevolent ghosts stared in terror at the flame-marked youth, as if they were looking at the harbinger of the world’s end.
The Ghost King’s last card had failed. Unwilling to accept defeat, the mirror ghost reached a hand toward Lu Congxing, its eyes filled with stubborn obsession.
He Zhouyan, with pace icy-blue eyes fixed on the Ghost King, stretched out his claws and tore him apart completely.
With the newborn Ghost King gone, the malevolent ghosts that had been summoned scattered like mice fleeing from a cat. The slower ones were burned to ashes, and the entire ghost realm fell into misery and wailing.
Sigh.
Lu Congxing heard a sigh, distant and hollow.
There were two Heavenly Eyes—one in the world of the living, and one in the ghost realm.
Following the sound, Lu Congxing looked up at the eye suspended in the sky.
Unlike the first Heavenly Eye, which radiated divine compassion, this one was murky and filled with malice. The eye outside was the true Heavenly Eye—emotionless and just. The Heavenly Law should never have emotions like cruelty or rage.
The Heavenly Law was meant to embody impartiality for all living beings.
The eye slowly began to close. At the moment it shut completely, the ghost realm was plunged into boundless darkness—
As though he had fallen into the primordial black hole from the beginning of all things.
Lu Congxing should have felt uneasy being trapped in the dark, yet instead, an unexpected calm settled over his heart—like a baby returning to the warm embrace of its mother.
For a brief moment, he thought it wouldn’t be so bad to stay there forever. It felt… right.
Suddenly, He Zhouyan stirred the darkness with his paw, and a faint golden glow radiated from his body.
Though subtle, in that pitch-black void, it was the most prominent glow.
Without thinking, Lu Congxing grabbed his large golden tail. The moment he hugged it tightly to his chest, all the drifting thoughts in his mind vanished.
They were replaced by a stronger, louder desire—he wanted to stay with He Zhouyan forever. He wanted to always be with everyone at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs.
He opened his eyes and sheepishly patted the big fluffy form beside him.
He Zhouyan didn’t say a word, only nuzzled back in response.
The darkness around them began to recede like a tide.
From its deepest depths, a figure approached. One eye red, the other silver. His clothes shimmered like fireworks blooming in the night, completely untouched by the filth of ghostly energy.
He gently reached out and tapped the air. A warm breeze blew through, wrapping around the charred corpses of the malevolent ghosts—including the mirror ghost—and completely erased them from the world.
Through it all, his expression remained perfectly calm—neither joy nor sorrow.
Even though it was their first meeting, Lu Congxing felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
“Heavenly Law,” he murmured, letting go of the big fluffy tail in his arms.
Deprived of the soft embrace of his little cub, He Zhouyan irritably lashed his tail.
Each time he struck the ground of the ghost realm, it was severely damaged and a large crack appeared.
The Heavenly Law smiled. “You wanted to see me, so here I am.”
Lu Congxing felt nothing but disgust. “Why are you watching me? No—why are you planning my entire life?”
“My life?” The Heavenly Law echoed the words, still smiling. “That darkness just now—the one that surrounded you—it nurtured you. To be precise, it nurtures every generation of the Heavenly Law. I brought you out early from that place, so naturally, I’m responsible for you.”
Lu Congxing’s expression was cold. “Being responsible means treating me like a puppet on a string?”
The Heavenly Law looked at him like he was a naive child. “Too bad I failed. That Bai Ze by your side was the first misstep.”
Bai Ze lashed his tail again, hard. “What do you mean?”
With a flick of the Heavenly Law’s hand, a familiar rainy night appeared in the sky.
It was like a massive screen replaying everything from the past.
Lu Congxing’s pupils contracted—he recognized it immediately. It was the first time he had transformed from human to cub, and the first time he met He Zhouyan.
The memory felt unfamiliar to He Zhouyan. To him, it was just another unremarkable day in a long stretch of time, something he’d long forgotten.
But the moment he saw the drenched kitten in the rain, he recognized it as the prototype of the cub.
He watched his past self in the memory ignore the cub’s weak plea for help, stepping right past it.
A bitter ache spread in his chest. He Zhouyan lowered his head and looked at the silent cub. “Why didn’t you ever tell me this happened?”
No wonder the cub had tried to avoid him the first time they met.
Bai Ze’s ears drooped, like a wronged puppy. Lu Congxing patted him. “It’s not your fault.”
The Heavenly Law nodded from the side. “Your appearance there was unexpected. My plan was for Di Jiang to find him and bring him back to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. So I temporarily hid his presence.”
Under the Heavenly Law’s influence, what He Zhouyan saw back then was merely a rock he stepped around—not a half-dead kitten soaked in the rain.
Even so, Bai Ze still blamed himself. He gently licked the cub’s palm, casting a sidelong glare at the Heavenly Law that practically screamed he wanted to tear him apart.
The Heavenly Law showed no reaction, as if he were truly a being without emotional fluctuations. He spoke again: “I admit that my manipulation has existed throughout the trajectory of your life, but only he was an unexpected variable.”
He was, of course, referring to Bai Ze.
From the moment they met, it was an accident, and from there, things unfolded naturally.
Lu Congxing said, “No wonder you’re a little scared of him.”
The Heavenly Law, accustomed to being the world’s consciousness, was particularly evasive when dealing with such unplanned entities.
Finally, the Heavenly Law’s expression shifted, no longer flat and unchanging. A trace of human-like complexity appeared in his gaze: “Actually, the first unplanned entity I encountered was you.”
“Me?” Lu Congxing’s voice rose slightly, tinged with sarcasm. “You even brought in the final actor for the curtain call. What else could possibly be beyond your plan?”
The “final actor” referred to the mirror ghost, as any well-done film should have a final antagonist, and the mirror ghost itself was created by the Heavenly Law.
The Heavenly Law brought up a seemingly unrelated topic: “Do you remember your father?”
The once vague memories surged back upon entering the ghost realm. Those childhood recollections, deliberately erased by the Heavenly Law, became clear as Lu Congxing’s awakening progressed. He had now remembered everything.
At this point, Lu Congxing might not lack the strength to challenge the Heavenly Law. The Heavenly Law had also completely lost his control over him, and the manipulations he had made on his memories had vanished.
This was why Lu Congxing hadn’t rushed to ask the Heavenly Law about his father earlier.
The Heavenly Law continued: “Perhaps you’ve already realized it, but the one who played your father was actually my clone.”
It was the only time the Heavenly Law directly intervened in Lu Congxing’s growth. Otherwise, he had remained a silent observer, manipulating everything from behind the scenes.
Lu Congxing asked, “Why did you leave behind the clue about Danghu?”
He had expected to feel angry, but in reality, his heart had already had a premonition, and he accepted it with calmness.
His memory of his father was that of an ordinary person, someone who, aside from occasionally revealing he wasn’t human, was just a father who loved his child—quite different from the Heavenly Law now before him.
He wouldn’t deny that past, for doing so would be like denying his own existence.
But he wouldn’t accept that the Heavenly Law of today was his father.
In his heart, he silently spoke to the father of his memories: “Do you see? Now I have so many people who love me.”
Not receiving the expected response, the Heavenly Dao felt a strange emotion rising within him. Had he been human, he would have understood this feeling as disappointment.
He had expected this little cub to be sad, angry, or shocked. What he hadn’t anticipated was that Lu Congxing showed no reaction at all. This stark contrast brought him an unfamiliar feeling—one he didn’t like, yet found himself greedily imagining over and over.
In his original plan, his clone was meant to accompany Lu Congxing for much longer. But his clone had developed feelings for the child—feelings of fatherly love—that began to overwhelm him. To prevent his clone from developing its own consciousness and causing unforeseen problems, the Heavenly Law forcibly retracted it, inheriting all its memories.
Despite the turmoil inside, the Heavenly Law’s expression remained as calm as ever. He answered Lu Congxing’s question: “I left the clue about Danghu so you would notice me. I didn’t expect you to figure out my existence so much earlier, nor did I expect Danghu to be foolish enough to cook himself for that human to eat.”
At this point, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. His gaze shifted to Bai Ze and Lu Congxing: “Your emotions are very similar to those of Danghu and the others.”
It was at that moment that the Heavenly Law’s mysterious and dangerous veil was completely lifted. Lu Congxing suddenly smiled slightly: “You’ve contracted the Heavenly Law’s greatest taboo. The Heavenly Law should not have emotions, but you have them. That’s why you brought me out early and left me in the human world.”
The Heavenly Law narrowed his eyes: “You’re really clever. To be more precise, what I first developed was desire. I am the only Heavenly Law who doesn’t want to abdicate. To avoid abdicating, I need to eliminate the new Heavenly Law, but since we are both world-consciousnesses, I can’t kill you. Instead, I had to make you develop emotions.”
Thus, Lu Congxing was born into the world.
The Heavenly Law spoke to himself, “The control I’ve exerted over your life has only been to guide you onto the path I’ve planned, to make you an emotional being. As long as you give up becoming the Heavenly Law, I will leave. The original plan was to have my clone as your father to awaken your emotions, but I never expected that Bai Ze would become the core of your emotions.”
He Zhouyan turned into his human form, his gaze filled with coldness: “Laughable. His emotions were never something you could give.”
There was a trace of subtle anxiety in his eyes.
He was afraid that the cub, who now knew the truth, would leave him.
Lu Congxing sighed, extending his hand as if to comfort him like a big dog: “What are you worried about? I won’t leave you.”
He Zhouyan, taking advantage of the moment, kissed his earlobe and whispered something into his ear.
Lu Congxing immediately blushed, glaring at him in surprise, as if he didn’t expect him to be so bold. In the end, he still nodded dizzily under his pitiful gaze.
Unaware of what terrifying thing he had just provoked.
The Heavenly Law vaguely heard words like “tonight” and “bed” and touched his chest.
A feeling called anger stirred within him.
Before he could say anything, he was abruptly interrupted by Lu Congxing.
The awakened successor to the Heavenly Law suddenly withdrew all his flames, and the fire patterns vanished with them.
His dark pupils reflected the current Heavenly Law like a mirror: “You succeeded. I truly have emotions now. I won’t compete with you for the position of Heavenly Law. You will remain the Heavenly Law. From now on, please don’t appear in my life again.”
At the end, he smiled, his grin carrying a hint of cunning: “Enjoy your loneliness.”
It was like a punch to a pile of cotton.
Even the Heavenly Law hadn’t expected someone to so effortlessly give up becoming the world’s consciousness.
The Heavenly Law froze, instinctively reaching out as if to stop something, but could only watch them turn and leave, feeling a strange emotion growing in his chest. Though he wasn’t physically hurt, the sensation was still unbearable.
So this is… emotion.
Why is it that he finally obtained the thing he desired most, yet still couldn’t feel happy?
. . . . .
As soon as they stepped out of the ghost realm, He Zhouyan pulled Lu Congxing into a kiss. The powerful high-ranking demons waiting outside, who were initially overjoyed to see them return safely, instantly turned furious.
In a flash, angry roars of “Bai Ze!” echoed everywhere.
Lu Congxing suddenly pushed him away. Although He Zhouyan had been kissing him fiercely, once pushed back, he looked completely lost. He didn’t dare to force himself closer, instead just stared at him with a possessive and sulky look in his eyes.
Face flushed from the kiss, Lu Congxing caught his breath. Then, under the stunned gazes of all the powerful high-ranking demons, he happily lunged forward again.
He leaned close to He Zhouyan’s ear and whispered, “This time, it’s my turn to kiss you.”
——End——
- In the Ming Dynasty fantasy novel ‘Journey to the West’ written by
Wu Cheng’en , Tang Sanzang’s previous life was the second disciple of Tathagata Buddha, Jin Chanzi, who was a Buddha . The Buddha is the highest level of Bodhisattvas, and is a state of immortality, with a life span equal to that of heaven and earth. Therefore, eating Tang Sanzang’s flesh can gain the Buddha’s ability to live forever. However, it must be cooked before eating to be effective. Therefore, many monsters did not eat Tang Sanzang raw after catching him, but cooked him into meat before eating. (source: Baidu) ↩︎
Taw’s note:
That’s it! It ended so abruptly… hahaha (＠_＠;)
So, this is the end of our journey together with our Xing Cub, Lu Congxing, and his dog (re: guardian demon), He Zhouyan. (◍•ᴗ•◍)✧*。
Thank you for the support, comments, and likes. Don’t forget to support the original author! ♡⸜(ˆᗜˆ˵ )⸝♡
You can check out other equally interesting BL novels at Wanderer Translation here. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
