Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 577 Fan Zhonghong

Seeing that this guy's girlfriend, whom he'd known since childhood, was going to marry some strange person for some weird reason... and that person's name didn't even sound like a human being, Zheng Fan, as a fellow man, offered him a cup of hot coffee out of basic sympathy.

Hong Yijia asked curiously, "What does 'death' refer to? Is it a code name?"

“The world of the dead,” Fan Zhonghong explained, “is not a specific person, but a world.”

Hong Yijia looked puzzled: "Does this world even exist?"

Zheng turned around and picked up the phone to speak: "No?"

"If it's a fantasy like hell or the underworld, then yes, it exists. But as for one of the multiple worlds that actually exists, I've never heard of it," Lin Yilin said.

"You've never heard of it?" Zheng Fan was surprised.

“Although the concept of ‘death’ exists and can indeed be exploited through certain means, I’ve never heard of anything as grand as the ‘world level.’ Generally speaking, the ‘world of death’ might be similar to human imagination, but if it were truly a place like the underworld, it’s unlikely that it would remain unobserved by most people,” Lin Yilin said, her tone somewhat complicated.

“There’s a ‘dead prince’ serving in the central Prism Unit, but he only facilitated this matter; he’s not Miaosheng’s marriage partner,” Fan Zhonghong said weakly.

"It sounds like an insult. Does this mean that little sister Miaosheng is going to marry the dead emperor?" Zheng Fan joked.

Fan Zhonghong couldn't laugh, and Lin Yilin naturally wouldn't laugh at a joke that wasn't even a pun.

Since it involves an old friend, it's best to be serious.

"Hahahaha! It's true, putting this family together means 'the whole family will die'!" Hong Yijia's mouth was so big it looked like it was about to dislocate, she had no regard for her image at all.

"Die your whole family? That's too hellish! But we're from the 'world of the dead,' so a bit of hellishness is normal. Let's have Yama and Satan laugh with you. I wonder if these two have their whole families die." Zheng Fan laughed along.

"You two..." Lin Yilin said helplessly.

"Damn it." Fan Zhonghong cursed under his breath. Lin Yilin looked over and was about to say something when she saw Fan Zhonghong covering his mouth and trembling, struggling to suppress his laughter.

We're feeling sad about your situation right now, so don't actually laugh along with other people's silly jokes!
The office was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, which made Lin Yilin somewhat want to kick Hong Yijia and Fan Zhonghong out.

Fortunately, the mindless joy didn't last long, and Fan Zhonghong stopped laughing and returned to his original dejected state.

But Lin Yilin no longer trusted this guy.

Fan Zhonghong said, "The Death Prince is the result of research by a group of people in the Pure White Society. He was originally a lamplighter, but he was given the power of the 'world of death'. After that, he claimed to have received some kind of revelation and called himself the Death Prince."

"The Pure White Society's business scope is too broad, isn't it?" Zheng Fan said.

"They're just a bunch of crazy people who have nothing better to do than use their talent and good conditions to cause trouble everywhere. The Pure White Lighthouse group is already the most respectable part. I can easily name a few other underworld topics, such as 'The Possibility of Unconditionally Infinitely Proliferating Individuals,' 'How to Create Naturally Omnipotent Beings,' 'Ninety-Nine Possibilities for Destroying the Capital: From Theory to Practice'... Oh, and the last one seems to have a collaboration with the End Society?" Hong Yijia waved her hand and said.

Zheng Fan sipped his coffee: "That sounds really interesting."

"Even such outrageous research topics can secure funding from most universities."

"I can suddenly empathize with the feelings of most central banks not allocating funds to them."

The two of them, singing in unison, gave Chunbai a good scolding.

Although it sounds a bit outrageous, upon further reflection, since most top research organizations would plan to rob banks when they are short of funding, these research projects don't seem so far-fetched after all.

They are not aloof or superior; in fact, they are quite "approachable."

"They even rob banks?" Fan Zhonghong originally wanted to steer the conversation back on track, but when he heard that Chunbai had learned to plan a bank robbery, his attention was diverted.

"Hmm?" Then, at Lin Yilin's icy gaze, he shrank back.

He cleared his throat and continued, "Although I don't know the details, if I'm not mistaken, the Crown Prince and Miaosheng are related by blood."

"So, does that mean our 'may your whole family die' includes your partner too?" Zheng Fan looked at Hong Yijia with a strange expression. He'd made a ridiculous joke, only to find it had backfired on his own family.

Hong Yijia covered her mouth somewhat awkwardly, but quickly shifted the blame to Fan Zhonghong: "What are you looking at? You laughed too. I'll tell Miaosheng."

Fan Zhonghong was even more embarrassed, but he really couldn't hold back and was inexplicably tickled by the joke.

"Hey, how exactly did you two arrange this marriage in the first place?" Zheng Fan asked, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. "Your former rival seems pretty formidable."

“When Miaosheng was young, she wasn’t valued much, and her grandfather also wanted her to have more freedom for some reasons. My parents were in charge of liaison between the central government and the association at the time, and my grandfather hadn’t retired yet and was doing some administrative work at the central government. That’s how I met Miaosheng…”

Fan Zhonghong was somewhat lost in thought, but quickly regained his composure: "Although they are not a very powerful family, they are a good place for Grandpa Miaosheng to entrust Miaosheng with his affairs. Seeing that we got along very well after only a few short meetings, he made a verbal agreement. In reality, it has little effect and can be easily reneged on."

"Wow, with these conditions, you've already won against 99% of people in the capital," Zheng Fan couldn't help but say. "It's even more impressive than a quarrelsome wife."

"My family is still pretty powerful, okay!" Hong Yijia said indignantly.

Fan Zhonghong also shook his head: "It's just that we're close to the central government and do some menial work that can be replaced at any time. It can't compare to the Red Family, who are truly dedicated to the front line and risk their lives for Dadu."

"Hmph!" Hong Yijia snorted.

“It’s your parents and sister who are amazing,” Zheng retorted.

"Huh!?" Hong Yijia exclaimed in exasperation.

"Quiet."

Lin Yilin spoke again, and Hong Yijia remained silent.

“So now another secret has been discovered about Miaosheng, so he can’t marry you and has to be used for something else.” Lin Yilin concluded, but still had some doubts: “Why do you say marriage?”

“A ceremony,” Fan Zhonghong said in a low voice. “My teacher is in charge of hosting this wedding. Although I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be about, since he’s in charge, it must be a ceremony, and he’s just calling it a wedding.”

"You have a teacher? How many things did you hide from us back then?" Hong Yijia muttered.

“Not everyone likes to talk about their family matters everywhere, and normally no one would pry into the family background of classmates and friends who don’t take the initiative to talk about it,” Lin Yilin said calmly.

After speaking on behalf of Fan Zhonghong, she asked again, "Who is your teacher?"

"Xu Wenli."

Hong Yijia looked up: "This name... seems familiar?"

"Leonardo is a professor of applied ritual studies at Central University and a ritual master," Lin Yilin quickly stated the other person's identity.

"Yes, yes, yes! That's him. But ritual application studies? Aren't rituals impossible to teach?" Hong Yijia shook her finger in sudden realization, but then asked with a hint of doubt.

“He’s the one who started this course,” Lin Yilin explained. “Rituals can’t be taught or taught, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be guided. Professor Niu provided me with a lot of ideas when I was just starting out. And this Xu Wenli is trying to standardize this guidance, hoping to unify the fragmented inspirations of different ritual talents like us into a unified framework, such as the ‘charm drawing’ that he promotes. This way, it can ensure that talented people won’t be easily eliminated because they can’t grasp the knack, since there are many occasions where rituals are used, and ritual personnel are always in short supply. This course has developed quite well so far, and Leonard Central University has produced some decent ritual practitioners.”

As she spoke, Lin Yilin took out a talisman she often used and looked at Fan Zhonghong: "Speaking of which, I learned how to draw talismans from you. I didn't connect you with that person back then."

“An unworthy disciple like me wouldn’t dare to casually reveal my master’s name when I go out,” Fan Zhonghong said, bowing his head.

Lin Yilin put away the talisman: "So, you've come here just to catch up with old friends? Have you accepted this situation? Or..."

Fan Zhonghong slowly raised his head and looked at Lin Yilin.

"What are your plans?" Lin Yilin asked again.

(End of this chapter)