The rental room was so small that the dozens of clothing bags took up half the space once brought inside.

The man pulled out all the clothes and clumsily folded them according to the steps he found online, then stuffed them into the small wardrobe. He gathered the bags together and casually grabbed a little ghost, giving it some yin energy as payment to take away the trash.

Just as he finished organizing the clothes, the person showering in the bathroom came out, surrounded by steam.

The youth wore summer sleepwear—a short shirt and shorts ending just below the knees—which was very thin. He must have washed his hair without drying it much before coming out. Water dripped from the ends of his hair, sliding down his neck and dampening the collar of his shirt.

Xuan Qi found a clean towel from the wardrobe and gently started drying the youth's hair.

The youth sat on the bed with his back to him, exposing his fair, soft nape. He lazily asked, "Was that the clothes delivery just now?"

"Mm," Xuan Qi replied, "I put them all in the wardrobe."

The youth's hair wasn't long. Using his powers, Xuan Qi slightly heated the towel. After just a few minutes of drying, the black hair became fluffy.

Reaching out to ruffle the youth's hair and confirming it was completely dry inside, he tossed the towel accurately onto the desk. Lowering his head, he firmly kissed the back of the youth's neck, his curled lips pressing down on a few strands of hair.

He Yan glanced out the window and slightly struggled, "Don't mess around, I need to take care of something first."

It was only a little past six o'clock, not dark yet. Going to bed now would be too decadent.

Besides, he really did have something to do.

Opening the newly purchased laptop and testing it out, He Yan first logged into a hacker forum, planning to take on a few more jobs to add to his plan of buying a house to put his partner in as soon as possible.

But he had barely been online for two minutes when he received a message from a friend.

A Man With a Cat: The big shot is finally online QAQ!!!

Pitch Black: Mm.

A Man With a Cat: Taking jobs? Taking jobs? There's a big one here. If you're considering it, I'll email you the details?

Pitch Black: Send it.

After being rejected, the man clung to the youth like a heavy shadow, his long arms encircling the youth's slender waist. His muscular chest lightly pressed against the youth's back as he rested his chin on the youth's shoulder, watching his series of actions with lowered eyes.

Looking at He Yan's username on the screen, a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes. He tilted his head, his tall nose bridge nuzzling the youth's earlobe like he was acting spoiled, and cautiously asked, "That username, does it have any special meaning?"

He Yan: "Look in the mirror."

Xuan Qi's expression became even more puzzled: "...?"

Did the youth think he looked dark?

But no matter how you looked at it, he couldn't be considered "dark", not even down there...

Could it be that his partner preferred him darker?

Thinking this, his arms around the youth's waist unconsciously tightened.

If his partner liked it, actually, he could make his skin tone a bit darker. Mm, of course, that part too...

However, the youth's next words interrupted his wandering thoughts: "Take off your human skin and look again."

The man paused, and after realizing the meaning behind the youth's words, he couldn't help but heavily kiss the youth's cheek.

With his human skin removed, wasn't that his true form? His true form was a mass of pitch-black resentment, as dark as could be... Realizing the meaning behind the youth's username, whenever he saw those two characters on the screen, the man couldn't help but feel his ears grow hot.

The youth's head tilted from being kissed. He stopped him with a mix of laughter and tears, "Don't bother me, be good. I'll keep you company in a bit."

The email from the client had already arrived. He Yan logged into his anonymous email and looked at the requirements and payment in the email, happily deciding to take the job.

Although this job was a bit more complex, the pay was equally generous. If he succeeded, it would definitely be more than enough for the down payment on the future house for supporting his partner.

With his partner's identity, he definitely couldn't be kept in an ordinary apartment. It had to be at least a small villa, and the down payment would be very frightening.

Moreover, the price this person offered was higher than the average on the hacker forum, probably because of his fast turnaround speed. In their line of work, time was often money, so He Yan was very satisfied with the client's understanding.

Pitch Black: Took it.

A Man With a Cat: Thank you big shot, take your time. Within a week is fine!

Pitch Black: Okay.

Actually, under normal circumstances, this was a job that would take at least two weeks. However, He Yan estimated he could finish it within two days, which was far from the one-week time limit, so the urgency didn't matter.

The man leaned on his shoulder, quietly watching their chat record for a long time, and suddenly said in a muffled voice, "I have money." So you don't need to work so hard to earn money.

Having lived for countless years, not to mention anything else, just his "collection" alone would be an unimaginable amount if converted into the wealth of this world.

In addition, they also received salaries in hell. He had been the Court of Ghost Prison's chief for so many years, and the accumulated salary was also extremely considerable, completely able to satisfy all the youth's material needs.

In response, He Yan replied without turning his head, "I know, but I'm making money to support you."

After a pause, he added in a flat voice, "Of course, by the same token, your money is also used to support me. Any objections?"

Hearing this, the man's body stiffened. He hugged him even tighter, burying his face in the crook of his neck and rubbing against it. After a long time, he said hoarsely, "No, no, it's all yours."

He Yan's neck felt ticklish from his nuzzling, and he slightly shrugged his shoulders. Exiting the hacker forum, he logged into the occult forum.

According to the Court of Ghost Prison's usual efficiency, the punishment announcement regarding Fu Shanming's case should have already been released by now.

Although he was not usually one for gossip, this case was personally handled by him and his partner, so it was only right to pay attention to it both emotionally and rationally.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the metaphysics forum, He Yan saw a yellow sticky thread on the homepage.

Posts about forum rules were all marked in red, while announcements were all marked in yellow, manually stuck on the homepage for three months before being moved to the announcement section.

The title was very concise and to the point, completely in line with the Court of Ghost Prison's usual cold and indifferent style: "Announcement of Punishment Regarding Fu Shanming's Serious Violation of the Court of Ghost Prison's Criminal Laws"

Poster: [Administrator] Court of Ghost Prison Public Relations

The posting time was 4:00 pm today, when they were still wandering around the computer mall.

Below the posting time, there was a line of gray text representing the number of replies.

He Yan glanced at it casually: 16689.

Wait... sixteen thousand???

According to the traffic of the Metaphysics Forum, it was a bit too shocking to have this many replies in just a few hours, right?

Although announcements from the Court of Ghost Prison were indeed a once-in-a-century occurrence compared to other courts, it wasn't like there hadn't been similar announcements before, and the highest number of replies had never exceeded ten thousand. What was going on today?

When He Yan clicked in with a head full of confusion and carefully read through the main post, he finally understood the reason for the explosion in replies.

The content of the punishment announcement was all normal. According to the Court of Ghost Prison's regulations, Fu Shanming's crimes this time were extremely heinous, and he was sentenced to immediate deprivation of all his yang lifespan, suffering in the 29th level of the Abyss Prison for two hundred years, and being reincarnated as an animal for thirteen lifetimes.

Although the sentence was really a bit heavy, thinking about the things he had done, directly targeting the Underworld's rules, it was equivalent to directly stepping on the face of the Court of Ghost Prison, so these judgments couldn't really be faulted.

What really caused a sensation was the signature of the handler on this punishment announcement.

The Court of Ghost Prison had strict rules, and this strictness was not only directed at the judged ghosts, but was also thoroughly implemented in its internal management. Every case handled by the Court of Ghost Prison had to be recorded in the case files in great detail, including the position and name of the Underworld official who judged the case, so that it would be easy to hold them accountable if something went wrong afterwards.

And at the end of this punishment announcement, just like the Court of Ghost Prison's usual practice, the position and name of the handler were noted.

-- Director of the Court of Ghost Prison, Xuan Qi.