TMWTGD CH46

Loren had a hole pierced through his chest. If he were human, his heart would likely be chilled all the way through, but fortunately, he was a Reaper. So, although the injury looked severe, as long as he returned to the Black Domain, it wouldn’t take long for him to be alive and kicking again.

After settling him down, Xie Jianwei didn’t linger any longer, taking the little skeleton and leaving.

As the two of them walked along the way, many Reapers cast sidelong glances at them.

They were primarily looking not at him, but at the black-robed figure beside him.

They all assumed this was Xie Jianwei’s newly acquired familiar, making them incredibly curious.

However, the little skeleton had hidden himself well. If he revealed his face, probably no one would think he was a familiar anymore.

After all, signing a contract required fresh blood. How could a skeleton with no flesh at all have any blood?

Xie Jianwei brought the little skeleton back to his room. His room was exquisitely decorated, featuring heavy curtains, a soft carpet, fluffy cushions on the chairs, and an elegant tea set.

Xie Jianwei pointed at a chair nearby and said, “Sit.”

The little skeleton looked at the squishy thing and didn’t dare to sit.

Xie Jianwei smiled, “It’s not like you have thorns growing on your backside.”

The little skeleton paused, then slowly walked over and sat on the soft cushion.

Evidently, this comfortable sensation greatly pleased him, as little flowers seemed to bloom in the air around the expressionless little skeleton.

Finding it amusing, Xie Jianwei asked him, “Where have you been all this time?”

The skeleton Lu Li wrote, “I don’t know.”

Pondering for a moment, Xie Jianwei continued asking, “Do you know what your name is?”

The skeleton didn’t write anything, simply shaking his head.

Looking at him, Xie Jianwei said, “Let me give you a name.”

The little skeleton nodded hurriedly. The bobbing motion was so exaggerated it made one worry he might shake loose a few bones.

“Lu Li,” Xie Jianwei said. “Do you like this name?”

Mr. Skeleton couldn’t distinguish good from bad. He merely felt that anything spoken from Xie Jianwei’s mouth sounded like a magnificent symphony; the only word left to describe it was ‘beautiful’.

“I like it.” He wrote down these three words.

Xie Jianwei explained to him, “Li means separation, but Lu Li has nothing to do with separation.”

His explanation was a bit convoluted, and Mr. Skeleton nodded with partial understanding.

Xie Jianwei continued, “Lu Li means brilliantly colorful.” He smiled faintly, his eyes turning soft as he looked at the little skeleton. “Lu Li, you are my sun.”

Mr. Skeleton sat upright and proper, taking in every single word to heart. It was as if, along with his melodious voice, something began to beat slowly within his hollow chest devoid of internal organs.

The sun?

He was his sun; just a single smile was enough to illuminate his grim and dark existence.

Xie Jianwei’s previous mission had failed, and the corresponding Death Points were deducted from his scythe. Success granted points, while failure deducted them. Of course, even if all his Death Points were depleted, Xie Jianwei wouldn’t drop from a Five-Star Reaper to a Four-Star Reaper; it would just be highly humiliating.

Moreover, he was clearly supposed to be promoted to Six Stars, so being forcefully pushed a step back was truly displeasing.

Was the Greater Demon beside Yan Ke truly Lu Li?

Xie Jianwei couldn’t be certain for the time being, but there was no need to rush. Whether it was Lu Li or not, he would definitely come looking for him again.

Because the gears of the plot had already begun to engage.

Before the storm arrived, Xie Jianwei was accustomed to enjoying this rare moment of peace.

Mr. Skeleton was especially fun—innocent, earnest, and extremely intelligent.

He learned the things Xie Jianwei taught him with flying speed, mastering them completely after just one run-through.

Xie Jianwei felt as if he were raising a young Lu Li, every moment brimming with boundless joy.

Because he didn’t remember anything, Mr. Skeleton possessed a heavy curiosity.

Xie Jianwei favored a type of yellow fruit. Although its flesh was delicious and sweet, it had a thick shell, like an iron ball without the slightest seam. Moreover, this fruit was an anti-magic entity, meaning it naturally repelled spells. If opened with magic, the flesh inside would rapidly change flavor, turning into a mushy, rotten mess.

To eat it without using magic, there were only two methods: one was to find an extremely sharp weapon to break the shell, and the other was to smash it directly.

The difficulty of the former was that such weapons were hard to find. A weapon that was incredibly sharp yet lacked any magical fluctuation was truly rare. The problem with the latter was that smashing it turned the flesh into mush; not only did the taste suffer, but it was also quite frustrating to eat.

But these problems were nothing to Mr. Skeleton.

With a single swipe of his fingertip, regardless of whether it were copper walls or iron bastions, it would split cleanly in half.

Furthermore, his finger bones carried no magic, which proved just how incredibly strong and tough his bones were.

He peeled one, Xie Jianwei ate one, enjoying himself immensely.

The more Xie Jianwei loved eating them, the more enthusiastically Mr. Skeleton peeled, wishing he could peel all these fruits—as long as Xie Jianwei wanted them.

While the two were lounging in the room chatting and eating fruits, a knock came from the door outside.

Xie Jianwei stood up and said to Lu Li, “Wait for me for a bit.”

Mr. Skeleton nodded.

Xie Jianwei threw on his cloak and went out. Standing outside was a sprite familiar.

This sprite’s original form was likely a rabbit. A pair of large ears flapped about, its eyes were bright red, and combined with a tiny mouth, it possessed a naturally adorable face.

“My Lord, these are the documents you requested.”

Its master was also a Five-Star Reaper who had some ties with Xie Jianwei and Loren. Since Xie Jianwei currently had some trouble, he naturally sought him out.

Xie Jianwei said, “Thank you. Give my regards to your master.”

“Will do,” the rabbit sprite said, bending its ears. “If there is nothing else, My Lord, I will take my leave.”

Xie Jianwei replied, “Mm.”

The materials in his hands were meant for dispelling the restriction placed upon him.

Yan Ke’s rope from earlier likely bore some kind of curse, which was why Xie Jianwei still hadn’t regained his magic since being bound.

Fortunately, Reapers had studied demons extensively and knew some methods for breaking curses. Originally, asking Loren would have been the most convenient, but since Loren was currently in such a pathetic state, trying to get a few words out of him would probably require waiting a while.

After Xie Jianwei went out, Mr. Skeleton continued peeling fruits earnestly. His finger bones were so handy that his peeling efficiency was incredibly high; in no time at all, he had piled up a small “fruit mountain.”

Xie Jianwei still hadn’t returned, yet he had already finished peeling this batch of fruits.

After sitting blankly for a while, the little skeleton looked at the fruit that had been bitten in half.

This was the fruit Xie Jianwei had left unfinished just now. Its golden-yellow flesh was crystal clear and bright, and having a bite taken out of it actually made it look even more appealing.

Mr. Skeleton’s mind was completely filled with the image of Xie Jianwei eating fruits. His lips were soft and tender, a pale shade of pink, turning a bit deeper and glossy when stained with fruit juice. Occasionally, he would lick them with the tip of his tongue, an inadvertent action that made the little skeleton’s entire body of bones go soft.

Truly beautiful, truly sweet.

He didn’t know what sweetness felt like, but looking at Xie Jianwei’s lips, he felt it must be incredibly sweet, so sweet it made one itch.

When Xie Jianwei entered the room, he saw a rather comical scene.

Mr. Skeleton carefully pinched a piece of fruit with his finger bones, then brought it to his mouth.

Xie Jianwei’s sharp eyes noticed that the fruit was the one he had taken a bite of.

Seemingly hearing the sound of the door opening, the little skeleton panicked and stuffed the fruit into his mouth, and then… clatter, rattle, it tumbled right down.

Xie Jianwei burst out laughing.

The little skeleton looked awkwardly at the fruit on the floor, torn between picking it up or leaving it be.

Xie Jianwei smiled, “Do you want to eat it?”

The little skeleton lowered his head and didn’t make a sound.

Xie Jianwei leaned in closer, his eyes full of amusement, lowering his voice considerably. “Or perhaps… you want to kiss me?”

The little skeleton jerked his head up. It was a pity his eyes were just black holes, otherwise one would definitely have seen his nervous, flickering gaze.

Xie Jianwei cradled his cheeks and looked at him earnestly.

Lu Li dared not move, nor did he dare meet his eyes.

Xie Jianwei’s gaze, however, fell entirely on his mouth.

Without skin or flesh, the mouth was reduced to nothing but teeth.

Xie Jianwei leaned in gently, pressing his warm, soft lips against his teeth, asking softly, “Do you like it?”

The little skeleton liked it so much he wanted to fall apart.

He tried to nod but feared bumping into Xie Jianwei. He wanted to write with his hands but couldn’t find the writing board. Thus, he could only mobilize the aura around him, pop pop pop, causing a cluster of little bubbles to emerge.

Xie Jianwei was immensely amused by him. “A-Li, you are too adorable!”

The little bubbles turned pink.

Xie Jianwei had never expected himself to be so charmed by a little skeleton. There was no helping it; this was Lu Li. He loved him, and he loved him back, so everything became so beautiful.

Yan Ke had also never expected that even with the Lord Marshal turning into this state, the couple could still madly scatter dog food. Honestly, aside from barking ‘woof woof woof’, what else could he do?

Breaking the curse required specific materials and someone to cast the spell.

As for materials, Xie Jianwei had them in his private stash; the person to cast the spell would naturally be Mr. Skeleton.

After preparing for a day or two, Xie Jianwei had gathered all the materials. Following the instructions in the curse-breaking book, he added the materials in order, heated and boiled them for a while, and then poured everything into a bathtub.

Because the curse covered his entire body, he needed to be in direct contact with the materials.

Once prepared, Xie Jianwei asked the little skeleton, “How is it? Are you confident the spell will succeed?”

Logically, standard spells required incantations, but the little skeleton’s abilities defied the heavens… Well, it might also be that the cheat code he gave himself was too thick; not only did he not need incantations, but his success rate was also one hundred percent.

The little skeleton nodded exceedingly earnestly, indicating no problem!

Xie Jianwei began to undress.

Wearing a dark outfit that wrapped him up tightly, unbuttoning it one by one was truly somewhat troublesome.

Especially since the clothing in this dreamscape was complicated and excessively long. After undoing the buttons and untying the sashes, it took a long time just to take off the top.

He was just about to take off his pants when he noticed that the little skeleton across from him was nearly drowning in red bubbles.

Xie Jianwei looked at him in amusement. “What’s wrong?”

The little skeleton held up the writing board: “So white.”

Beautiful skin, long silver hair, paired with those exquisite features—the man before him was so beautiful he didn’t seem mortal.

Actually, Mr. Skeleton hated the color white, because he himself was “white” enough. However, unlike his ghastly pallor, Xie Jianwei’s skin was fair and radiant, like milk flowing under the sunlight, enticing one to reach out and touch it.

A gleam flashed in Xie Jianwei’s eyes as he asked, “Do you want to touch?”

The little skeleton was so nervous he made a crack sound.

Xie Jianwei walked toward him. “Come, try it.”

He was bare-chested so openly: a slender neck, sexy collarbones, and a touch of cherry red atop the beautiful curve of his chest that left one’s mouth dry.

The little skeleton reached out, trembling as he drew close, but just before touching, he jerked his hand back.

Xie Jianwei grabbed his hand and pressed his palm against his own body.

This warm, smooth sensation hit him directly. Mr. Skeleton was about to heat up into a roasted giant bone!

Xie Jianwei’s voice was tender and lingering, “How does it feel?”

The little skeleton: “…”

Xie Jianwei guided his hand to move slightly, “Is it what you imagined?”

Mr. Skeleton wrote on the writing board with his other hand: “Thank you.”

Xie Jianwei smiled, “What is there to thank me for? If you like it, you can touch it every day from now on.”

The word on the writing board rapidly changed to: “I like it!”

That giant exclamation mark was enough to prove how excited he was.

Xie Jianwei smiled suggestively, “You can also give it a kiss.”

Yan Ke couldn’t help but remind the Military Advisor, “Um… My Lord, if you tease him any further, Lord Skeleton is going to explode into fireworks in the sky.”

In fact, rainbows had already started poof poof poof emerging behind him.

Xie Jianwei truly couldn’t hold back anymore. He cradled his face, kissed him, and said, “Let’s break the curse first.”

What did “break the curse first” mean? What about after the curse was broken?

Could he kiss him? Could he go bit by bit, starting from the forehead, kissing his beautiful eyes, his straight nose, his alluring lips, and this exquisitely beautiful body?

Thinking of this, the little skeleton felt the power within his body surging wildly like a boundless ocean. He… he could break ten thousand curses right now!

Everything proceeded extremely smoothly. By the time Xie Jianwei stepped out of the bathtub, his power was restored.

Mr. Skeleton stared at him longingly.

Xie Jianwei took his hand and said, “Let’s go into the bedroom.”

Mr. Skeleton basically floated into the room after him.

Actually, there wasn’t much they could do. With his body turned into this state, even normal kissing was impossible.

Yet, it was precisely because he had become like this that ordinary touches became so wonderful and precious.

A skeleton’s body had no flesh, so theoretically, it shouldn’t possess a sense of touch. However, Lu Li could feel it—he could feel this beautiful skin, feel this bone-melting heat, and feel this intoxicating scent.

This wasn’t a sensation originating from flesh, but from the soul.

Sharper, greedier, and more obsessive.

At night, the little skeleton wanted to go out, but Xie Jianwei said, “Stay.”

The little skeleton immediately stood up rigidly, overwhelmed with nerves.

Xie Jianwei patted the side of the bed. “Sleep with me.”

The little skeleton wrote on the writing board, “Leaning against me at night will be cold, plus looking like this…”

“It’s so hot; hugging you will be cool.” Xie Jianwei looked at him without dodging his gaze, smiling faintly. “What’s wrong with how you look? I think it’s very nice.”

Very nice… very nice… very nice, he thought he was nice!

Had anyone ever seen a physical manifestation of the phrase ‘bursting with joy’? Xie Jianwei was fortunate enough to witness it today.

“Hurry and come over, I’m going to sleep,” Xie Jianwei urged him.

The little skeleton climbed onto his bed, though he remained wrapped in thick clothing.

Xie Jianwei didn’t make things difficult for him. Snuggling tightly against him, he slept exceptionally soundly.

As the saying goes, paper cannot wrap fire, and there are no impenetrable walls in the world.

The news of Xie Jianwei keeping a skeleton by his side quickly spread throughout the Intermediate Realm.

Keeping a skeleton was no big deal. Even though contracts couldn’t be signed, subjugating such an undead creature allowed it to be used for one’s own purposes.

Yet, even if someone took a skeleton as a servant, they would absolutely never do what Xie Jianwei did—eating and sleeping together with a skeleton.

Although Reapers wouldn’t fear things like white bones, what the hell was with being so intimate with such an undead creature?

What kind of bizarre kink was this?

Fortunately, Reapers all minded their own business and weren’t highly gossipy. Otherwise, Xie Jianwei’s behavior would have made headlines, titled something like ‘The Perverse Habits of a Five-Star Reaper’…

Although it didn’t make headlines, it still blew up within a small circle.

Loren emerged from the Black Domain, and his little familiar hurriedly reported Xie Jianwei’s bizarre behavior to his master.

Loren had a vague impression. He remembered it was a skeleton that had saved them, so he didn’t take it too seriously, merely saying, “He’s a savior, I really ought to properly thank him. Speaking of which… how do you thank a skeleton?”

That was actually a bit tricky, Loren thought optimistically. He figured he should visit first. Regardless of what the skeleton liked, saying thank you was basic etiquette.

As a result, when he went to Xie Jianwei’s residence, he was stunned by the sight before his eyes.

His sprite familiar’s words still echoed in his ears, “Um… Lord Jianwei treats that Mr. Skeleton very well, exceedingly well, truly, truly well…”

Now Loren understood. This damn well was so good they were kissing!

Xie Jianwei frowned at him, “Entering without knocking, do you have any manners?”

Loren exploded, “You didn’t close the door!”

Xie Jianwei said, “Oh, I just got back and forgot.”

Loren didn’t want him changing the subject. He looked at the skeleton, looked at Xie Jianwei, thought about the eerie sight of a beauty kissing a skeleton just now, and couldn’t help asking, “You… what is going on with you two?”

Xie Jianwei introduced him, “He is Lu Li.” Then he said to the little skeleton, “This is Loren, also a Reaper.”

The little skeleton raised his writing board: “Hello.”

Loren froze, then cried out in alarm, “Lu Li??”

Xie Jianwei did it on purpose. He glanced at Loren and asked, “What is it?”

Loren predictably yelled, “He is Lu Li?”

Unwilling to let the little skeleton hear this, Xie Jianwei said to Loren, “I have prepared the materials for you. Let’s break your curse first.”

Without accepting a refusal, he dragged Loren outside.

Since Loren currently had no magic, he couldn’t resist. Although he was dragged out, his mouth didn’t rest. “Are you sick in the head, finding a skeleton to act as Lu Li? Have you been poisoned by Lu Li?”

Yan Ke: “Oh my, Admiral Loren, you’ve hit the nail on the head.”