IMMFBCG Chapter 4 V1

Chapter 4: Even the Ghosts Are Acting

No matter how reluctant the people from Tianyi Temple were, they still cared about their reputation. Since they had promised to pay the ransom and medical expenses, they didn’t delay too long and soon delivered the money.

They brought cash—packed in a box that the young Taoist from Tianyi Temple carried in with clear reluctance, muttering under his breath, “This is two days’ worth of incense money.”

Upon seeing this, Bai Liu couldn’t help but say, “Wow, they’re trying to humiliate us with cash! Even if they didn’t want to write a check, couldn’t they use WeChat to transfer the money at least?”

Ye Xue stared at the box, and it no longer seemed like a simple container to her. It radiated the sweet aroma of wealth from every corner.

Unable to resist, she sighed, “If possible, I’d love to be humiliated like this every day.” After all, who could ever have too much money?

Bai Liu nodded in agreement, feeling she made an excellent point. “Great minds think alike.”

Ye Xue eyed the box thoughtfully and asked, “How much money do you think is in here?”

Bai Liu sincerely shook his head. “No idea.”

After a moment, as if a thought struck them both, they simultaneously turned to look at Xu Zhou.

Caught off guard by their stares, Xu Zhou hesitated before saying, “Uh… it should be the market rate, I guess.”

“Oh, the market rate,” Bai Liu nodded as if he understood, only to reveal his ignorance with the next question: “And what’s the market rate?”

“…” Xu Zhou was speechless. After a pause, he explained, “Usually between 100,000 and 200,000.”

To confirm their guess, Ye Xue opened the box. When she saw the stacks of crisp, red bills inside, she had the overwhelming urge to dive in and roll around on the money.

Ye Xue had never seen this much cash in her life!

Bai Liu’s eyes sparkled as he rushed to the box, eagerly rubbing his hands together before starting to count the bills.

“One for Shishu, one for me; one for Shixiong, one for me; one for Dad, one for me; one for Shishu, one for me…”

Ye Xue’s lips twitched at his antics. She turned to Xu Zhou and instructed, “Nephew, beat him up!”

Xu Zhou smiled warmly, though with a hint of menace in his eyes. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Seeing the two of them approaching with smiles that promised trouble, Bai Liu’s alarm bells went off, and he yelled, “Hey, hey, hey! I was just kidding! Ahhh! Dad, save me!”

“What’s going on?!” Hearing the commotion, the temple master rushed out from the back. Upon seeing the situation in the main hall, he froze for a moment.

Ye Xue had easily lifted Bai Liu by the back of his collar, and as he was held helplessly, he looked pathetically toward his father, pleading for help, “Dad, you can’t just stand by and do nothing! Are you going to watch them bully me?”

The temple master responded righteously, “Of course not!”

Just as Bai Liu sighed in relief, his father covered his eyes and added, “I’ll just close my eyes!”

“Shimei, disciples, I didn’t see anything. Carry on!”

Bai Liu: “…”

Is this my dad?!

Ye Xue smiled sweetly. “Now, let’s see what tricks you have left. Go ahead, scream all you want—no one’s coming to save you.”

Bai Liu immediately turned on the dramatics, flailing exaggeratedly while shouting, “Save my throat! QAQ”

“Pfft!” Xu Zhou, who had been trying hard to hold back his laughter, finally couldn’t contain it and burst out laughing.

After the playful banter, they moved on to the more serious task of dividing the money.

Since the younger generation had earned it, the temple master, Bai Ziang, didn’t take a share and left it for them to split.

Bai Liu and Xu Zhou didn’t take much either, giving the larger portion to Ye Xue.

Ye Xue counted the money a few times, thought for a moment, and then pulled out half, handing it to the temple master.

The gesture moved Bai Ziang to the point of tears. Before he could say anything, Ye Xue glanced toward the main hall and, in a deep voice, said, “Shixiong, take this money and use it to repair the statues.” She had always felt that the statues of the Three Purities in the temple seemed to be in a sorry state.

The temple master blinked in surprise. “Huh?”

Following her gaze, he looked at the statues in the hall and realized that the gold paint on the Three Purities statues had almost completely worn off.

The previous temple master hadn’t had the money to cast proper gold statues, so to create a false sense of prosperity, he’d had them coated with gold paint. After years of wear and tear, the statues had lost their luster and appeared somewhat sad.

If it weren’t for Xu Zhou regularly cleaning the statues, they might even have gathered cobwebs by now.

No wonder the incense offerings were dwindling. The temple was not only in a remote location, but it was also falling apart.

The temple master slapped his forehead, “Right, I’ve been meaning to save up enough money to properly refurbish the statues for the Three Purities, but we’ve been too poor to make it happen.”

Seeing Ye Xue’s thoughtfulness in remembering the temple’s deities, he accepted the money with gratitude and said, “Thank you, Shimei.”

With the thought of finally being able to restore the statues of the Three Purities, the temple master felt a weight lift off his heart. He took the bundle of cash Ye Xue handed over and was about to put it away…

“Huh?”

It didn’t budge.

Master Bai and his junior sister exchanged a glance. Seeing her reluctance, he almost blurted out, “Maybe you should just keep the money.”

After a brief hesitation, Ye Xue reluctantly let go of the money and handed it to Bai Ziang.

Meanwhile, Bai Liu was still counting the cash, delighted with each bill he added to his pile, while Ye Xue turned and went to her room.

When she came back, she had changed into a white, flowing dress embroidered with graceful cranes. Her long hair cascaded down her back, and she looked even more like a celestial being—elegant and aloof.

Ye Xue zipped up her backpack and turned to the people at the Xuanzhen Temple, saying, “I’m heading out.”

“Junior sister, where are you going?” the temple master asked. “Do you need your nephew to accompany you?”

After all, she was new to the area and unfamiliar with the surroundings.

“No need, I’ve got GPS.” Ye Xue smiled, her grin clean and bright, even a little joyful. “I’m going to send some money to my master.”

Although she wasn’t sure if the amount was enough to fix the roads, it could at least buy a lot of bricks for the village.

With that thought, her mood lifted. Before anyone could respond, she was already striding out of the temple with a light step.

Master Bai sighed, “Some people, by the age of 18, are already sending money home. And some others…”

He glanced at Bai Liu, still engrossed in counting the cash, and smacked him on the head. “You’re 22 and still freeloading!”

“Ouch!” Bai Liu winced, rubbing his head in pain.

Why am I getting caught in the crossfire for no reason?

What a disaster!

Grumbling to himself, he looked up with a mischievous grin and said, “Dad, I’m just one bill short of an even number. Can’t you help me out a bit?”

“I’ll give you nothing!” Bai Ziang coldly refused.

Seeing that this approach wouldn’t work, Bai Liu turned his pleading eyes to Xu Zhou.

But the mature and composed senior brother turned his back on him, clutching the money tightly and looking up at the ceiling. “Hmm, what a sunny day.”

Bai Liu: “…”

If you can see the sun through the ceiling, I’ll give you my head.

Despite not being familiar with the area, Ye Xue quickly found the bank thanks to her GPS.

She arrived early, and since there weren’t many people there, she swiftly completed the transfer.