IMMFBCG Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Encountering Ghosts on a Night Path

A few days later, Master Bai finally returned.

Ye Xue asked him about the statue.

Master Bai replied that he had already ordered the statue from a professional a couple of days ago. Once it was finished, it would be transported here, and then they could move it for their master.

Upon hearing this, Bai Liu immediately asked with curiosity, “Is the master going to have new clothes to wear soon?”

Master Bai had originally wanted to say something to Ye Xue, but being interrupted by Bai Liu’s nonsensical question made him want to scold someone. However, upon reflection, it didn’t seem wrong; reforging the statue was indeed like giving their master a new outfit. He glared at his son but said nothing further.

When Ye Xue was offering incense to their master, she noticed that the incense burned particularly quickly, with smoke rising steadily. Even the flames seemed much brighter than usual, almost as if they were cheering.

In her heart, she silently thought that it seemed the Three Pure Ones were quite happy about having new clothes to wear.

While Master Bai was teaching Bai Liu the Taoist arts in the side hall, Lu Xuezheng arrived again.

He had come with Lin Yichun to thank Ye Xue and Xu Zhou and had even brought some extra money for incense.

When Ye Xue saw them, she looked at their hands and smiled, asking, “Didn’t you say you were going to give me a banner?”

Lin Yichun looked confused at Lu Xuezheng and said, “Why didn’t you tell us we were supposed to prepare a banner?”

Lu Xuezheng hadn’t expected that either!

He let out a small “Ah?” and weakly asked, “Can I bring it to you in a couple of days? How about I write ‘Boundless Magic’ on it?”

This time, Ye Xue genuinely laughed. She smiled and said, “I was just joking.”

She had noticed their serious expressions and thought it would lighten the mood.

Lu Xuezheng was speechless: “You really can’t tell when you’re joking or being serious sometimes.”

Ye Xue then asked them, “So why are you here? Did you want to introduce some business to me?”

Lu Xuezheng shook his head, “Not at the moment.” But soon he added, “However! If someone around me encounters a ghost, I’ll have them come find you right away!”

Ye Xue joked, “Sure, I’ll give you a friendship discount then.”

Lu Xuezheng was overjoyed: “Really?”

Seeing their conversation drift further away, Lin Yichun quickly tugged at Lu Xuezheng’s arm.

Ye Xue noticed their small gesture and raised an eyebrow with a smile, saying, “Oh, so there is something going on?”

Lu Xuezheng scratched his head and replied, “Well, it’s not exactly like that. I heard that after that thing happened, people tend to be unlucky for a while. Since someone got scared, and no one else has time to come out, we thought we’d come to the temple and ask.”

Lu Xuezheng was so frightened that he didn’t even dare to say the word “ghost.”

Ye Xue said, “Didn’t I give you two talismans? After using pomelo leaves to cleanse the dormitory and drive away the negative energy, there shouldn’t be any problems. However, you must never play games like ‘spirit writing’ again. This time, you were lucky to encounter a ghost that doesn’t harm people, but if you accidentally summon a vengeful spirit or something similar, you might not live long enough to ask for help.”

Ye Xue wasn’t trying to scare them; similar incidents had occurred before. When she was in middle school, she heard her master mention that a student in a dormitory wanted to play ‘spirit writing’ for fun and inadvertently summoned a malicious ghost. Even after performing a farewell ceremony, they couldn’t successfully send the ghost away, resulting in the deaths of everyone in the dormitory.

In the end, the school noticed something was wrong and called her master to subdue the malevolent spirit, preventing further tragedy.

After hearing this, Lu Xuezheng and Lin Yichun shook their heads repeatedly. They didn’t dare to try again; dealing with just one non-harming ghost was enough to cause them trouble, almost giving them PTSD. If they didn’t need to use a pen, they feared they wouldn’t want to see one again.

However, Lu Xuezheng still felt a bit uneasy, so he asked, “Do you have any spare talismans? Can you give me a few? We brought money and can pay you through WeChat!”

Even if he wanted to pay, Ye Xue didn’t have WeChat.

Moreover, the talismans at the temple had all been used up, and Ye Xue hadn’t learned any new ones yet; she couldn’t just hand out talismans randomly.

But seeing their anxious expressions, Ye Xue suggested, “Why don’t you offer incense to the master?”

Of course, Lu Xuezheng had no objections; the Three Pure Ones were revered figures in Taoism.

So Ye Xue dug out a few sticks of incense from the box to give to them but soon realized that the temple was so short on funds that they were running low on incense. It seemed she would have to go shopping in the afternoon.

While lighting the incense in the main hall, Lu Xuezheng was quite surprised: “Wow, why does your incense burn so quickly here?!”

When he offered incense at other temples, it had never burned this unusually fast. There had to be something going on, right?

Recently, Lu Xuezheng had been on edge, feeling suspicious of everything around him.

Ye Xue glanced over and casually said, “Oh, it’s nothing; the master is just happy.” After all, he would soon have new clothes to wear.

“???” Lu Xuezheng looked at her in horror and exclaimed, “You saying that is even scarier!”

However, after visiting the temple and hearing Ye Xue’s reassurance, Lu Xuezheng and the others felt much more at ease. Since Ye Xue said everything was fine, and they had offered incense at the temple, they could go back and report that all was well.

Before leaving, Lu Xuezheng playfully turned back to Ye Xue and said, “I’ll bring the banner over in a couple of days!”

Ye Xue paused for a moment, only to hear Lu Xuezheng laughing, “Haha, I was just joking!”

Ye Xue was speechless: “I think you’re just asking for trouble.”

After Lu Xuezheng and the others left, Xu Zhou finished preparing the dishes for the evening and came out of the kitchen.

Master Bai was furious with his son and came out of the side hall to cool off. Ye Xue mentioned to him that they were running low on incense and oil for the temple.

Just then, Bai Zi’ang realized that their other supplies were also running out. He gave Xu Zhou some money and asked him to take Ye Xue out to buy some more and have dinner outside. They could also stroll around Haicheng together.

As for Bai Liu, he stayed behind at the temple until he learned how to draw talismans.

Bai Liu poked his head out of the window, raising his hand to volunteer, “I want to go too! I can help my master carry things!”

While saying this, he was also giving Ye Xue suggestive looks.

Ye Xue replied, “There’s no need; I can carry it myself.”

Bai Liu was momentarily taken aback.

Xu Zhou fell silent, clearly recalling the heavy snake-skin bag she had carried when she first arrived.

Master Bai scolded him, “If you don’t hurry up and learn, I swear you won’t have learned anything by the time I die!”

Bai Liu drooped his head.

But he had been cooped up in the temple for many days. He wasn’t called during the last ghost-exorcising incident and was nearly bored to death. He looked at Ye Xue with pleading eyes.

Ye Xue didn’t want to interfere in her senior brother’s teaching of his son, so she pretended not to see.

In the end, Master Bai could no longer bear to watch and urged, “Go on, get out of here! You’re just a body here without a soul!”

Bai Liu, fearing that Master Bai would change his mind, quickly grabbed some money from his room and ran out.

To avoid drawing attention, Bai Liu and Xu Zhou didn’t wear their Taoist robes but changed into regular clothes. Ye Xue wore sportswear for convenience, tying her hair up into a bun. She looked fresh and pretty, giving off a different vibe from her usual demeanor.

The group first went to the incense shop to purchase supplies, and then had dinner. During this time, Xu Zhou asked Ye Xue if there was anywhere else she wanted to go, but Ye Xue inquired, “Are there any part-time job openings nearby?”

Xu Zhou was puzzled: “You want to work part-time, Master?”

Bai Liu said, “Forget it! If my dad finds out we let you go work, he might just kill us!”

Ye Xue laughed and replied, “Well, you can just pretend you didn’t see anything, right?”

Xuan Zhen Temple was currently running at a loss. If it weren’t for the influx of devotees from Tian Yi Temple and the money Ye Xue and the others earned recently, they wouldn’t even have enough funds to replace the master’s clothes, let alone afford incense.

Ye Xue was now in a position where one job could support two families, so she was even more eager to earn money.

But Bai Liu and Xu Zhou insisted she not pursue it further, so Ye Xue dropped the subject, deciding to wait until school started to see if any opportunities arose there.

When they reached the vicinity of the welfare center, Bai Liu said to Ye Xue and the others, “You guys wait for me; I’ll be back soon!”

Xu Zhou seemed to have anticipated where he would go and didn’t ask further, simply stopping in place.

Ye Xue watched as Bai Liu dashed toward the welfare center, speaking to the security guard at the entrance. The guard appeared to be familiar with him, smiling when he saw Bai Liu and waving him in.

Noticing her gaze, Xu Zhou explained, “Bai Liu and I are orphans. Bai Liu was abandoned by his parents at the door of the welfare center, and it was our master who took him in. Later, our master said he had a father-son bond with Bai Liu and helped him find a way to adopt him. Don’t be fooled by his usual silly demeanor; he donates all the money he saves to the welfare center.”

He had been luckier than Bai Liu, as he had been taken back to the temple as a baby and hadn’t suffered much hardship. In contrast, Bai Liu faced a lot of isolation during his childhood because of his ability to see spirits.

Ye Xue remained silent and nodded.

She had long noticed that Master Bai’s face showed signs of a solitary fate, having no children or relatives. At first, Ye Xue thought it was her lack of skill that led her to misread the signs, but now, hearing Xu Zhou’s words, it didn’t seem surprising.

After leaving the orphanage, Bai Liu still looked carefree and relaxed. He suggested to Ye Xue, “Master Uncle, how about we go to the amusement park for some fun?”

Having grown up in the mountains, Ye Xue had never been to an amusement park before. After some thought, she nodded in agreement.

Xu Zhou’s opinion didn’t hold much weight; the two young people happily discussed buying tickets for the amusement park.

Xu Zhou sighed helplessly, following behind and handing money to the ticket seller, “Thank you.”

After all the commotion, by the time they finished and returned, it was already quite late. They had missed the last bus back to Xuan Zhen Temple and could only opt for a taxi.

Fortunately, Ye Xue and the others didn’t wait long by the roadside before a taxi arrived.

Bai Liu was the first to open the door and get in, turning to Ye Xue and Xu Zhou and saying, “Master Uncle, Master Brother, hurry up! It’s almost midnight!”

Xu Zhou looked at him and retorted, “You know it’s almost midnight, yet who was it that insisted on having Master Uncle Ye Xue stay to ride the carousel until the end?”

Bai Liu wanted to ride it himself but was afraid of losing face, so he pulled Ye Xue along to accompany him.

Bai Liu, knowing he was in the wrong, shrank his neck and fell silent.

However, Ye Xue and the others were only joking and didn’t mean to blame him.

After that, Ye Xue got in first, followed quickly by Xu Zhou.

Throughout the ride, the driver hardly spoke.

Xu Zhou gave the address for the city center plaza.

The car couldn’t go into Xuan Zhen Temple, so they could only get out at the plaza.

Soon, the taxi drove away.

Ye Xue, accustomed to sleeping early, felt a bit drowsy and lacked energy, while Bai Liu generously patted his shoulder, offering it for her to use. Ye Xue rolled her eyes at him.

The three of them joked and played around. After about ten minutes, Xu Zhou realized the driver was taking the wrong route. He looked out the window and saw they were veering further off course; this was not the way to the city center.

“Excuse me, sir, are you driving the wrong way? We’re supposed to go to the city center,” Xu Zhou reminded him.

Bai Liu peeked out as well and couldn’t help but accuse, “Seriously? Are you trying to take us the long way?”

But the driver didn’t respond to their inquiries, remaining silent.

An eerie silence filled the car.

It was then Xu Zhou finally realized that the driver hadn’t spoken a single word from the beginning.

“Oh my, no way,” Bai Liu murmured.

Were they so unlucky that they encountered a ghost right after stepping out?

With this thought, the two instinctively looked at Ye Xue, who was rubbing her eyes, appearing to be in a daze and hadn’t heard what they were saying.

Perhaps the atmosphere inside the car was too quiet, the driver suddenly stopped the vehicle, leaning against the roadside, and emitted a “kekek” laugh, seemingly satisfied with the dead silence around them.

He turned his head, his body unmoving, but his head twisted 180 degrees, staring directly at them.

Bai Liu nearly blurted out an expletive but quickly calmed down, thinking about Ye Xue next to him. He instead looked at the driver with sympathetic eyes, mixed with a bit of schadenfreude.

Seeing they were not afraid at this moment annoyed the driver; he was there for revenge and expected some respect.

The driver then chose to ignore them and focused his gaze on Ye Xue. The girl surrounded by two boys looked pale and dazed, appearing quite frightened. He chuckled ominously and revealed his ghostly form.

His face was covered in blood, his expression ferocious, and he spoke in a ghostly tone, “I died a terrible death…”

At this, Bai Liu and Xu Zhou’s sympathetic looks deepened.

The driver was bewildered, wondering why they weren’t reacting.

Ye Xue’s face turned increasingly pale as she took a deep breath and clenched her fists tightly.

The driver continued in a whisper, “I died so… ah!”

His voice was abruptly cut off.

In an instant, a horrific scream echoed throughout the car.

The one in distress was the driver, and the one who screamed was Ye Xue.

The driver touched his battered face, nearly having one of his eyes pop out. He looked at Ye Xue in horror, clearly shocked by the turn of events.

Ye Xue, after dealing with the ghost, wasn’t done yet. She felt her heart racing and reached into her bag, saying, “Damn it, where’s my sword? Let me stab him with it!”

Seriously, did he have to look so terrifying? Couldn’t he show some decency, and learn from the spirit of the pen fairy?

If she didn’t take out the sword of evil-slaying and beat him into a pulp, she wouldn’t even be called Ye!

The driver realized he had bitten off more than he could chew and hurriedly shouted, “I, I, I! I’m a certified avenger; you can’t kill me, ahhhh!!!”

Upon hearing this, Bai Liu was taken aback and quickly grabbed Ye Xue’s hand, trying to dissuade her. “Forget it, Master Uncle, just let it go.” Ye Xue didn’t reply but nodded.