IMMFBCG Chapter 17

Chapter 17: “The Nurturing of Love”

When Ye Xue called her master to talk about the red-dressed ghost woman from the previous night, Ye Yangyun found it rather curious.

This world is vast and full of strange occurrences.

If there are ghosts that force people to commit evil deeds, it stands to reason there could also be ghosts that compel people to do good.

But he never expected there to be one that forces people to study.

However, even though the ghost’s hobby was summoning students’ souls to give them lessons, it didn’t pose any real harm to their bodies. At most, they would feel a bit tired when they woke up the next day—probably from overworking their brains.

It was like having a bad dream at night; you might wake up feeling fatigued as if you hadn’t gotten enough rest.

Because of this, Ye Xue didn’t do anything to the red-dressed ghost. She was even considering helping her dispel the negative energy surrounding her.

Lacking the necessary experience, Ye Xue mentioned this specifically when she called her master.

Her roommates were all out, so it was just Ye Xue alone in the dorm at the time, meaning she could speak freely with her master.

Ye Xue directly asked, “Master, do you know how to help a ghost pass on?”

She had flipped through her master’s notes earlier but found no records of such a situation. Anyone dressed in red was usually a vengeful spirit that had lost all reason.

The case of the ghost in the science building, who could still think clearly, was rather rare.

After a moment of thought, Ye Yangyun replied, “That red-dressed ghost likely harbors a deep obsession, unresolved inner turmoil, which is why she lingers. Once you untangle her obsession, it’ll be much easier to help her move on.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Xue’s brow remained furrowed. She responded with some concern, “But master, her obsession is making people do exercises…”

After thinking it over carefully, she still couldn’t figure it out and asked, “I mean, I can’t just let her start a tutoring class in the afterlife, right?”

That would dispel her resentment, sure, but the number of reincarnation slots in the underworld might start filling up at an alarming rate.

Cough cough. Ye Yangyun choked at his disciple’s words, laughing with a hint of helplessness. “How would you know if you don’t try? You can ask her about her true obsession. If that doesn’t work…”

Ye Xue nodded while listening, waiting for her master to continue. She then heard Ye Yangyun say, “If that doesn’t work, just cut her down. Sometimes, the unruly need to feel what it’s like to be swept away by the ruthless autumn wind.”

Ye Xue choked too. “Master!”

Ye Yangyun came back to his senses. “Yes, well, you should always try to reason first. But remember, A-Xue, a red-dressed ghost is still a red-dressed ghost.”

Ye Xue paused in surprise.

Ye Yangyun continued, “Even though she’s still rational now, she died in red, and as time passes, even if she doesn’t want to, her sanity will eventually be eroded by the dark energy, turning her into a real vengeful spirit.”

“When that time comes, if you still can’t help her move on, you’ll have to use the Sword of Evil Banishment.”

Ye Xue frowned slightly, nodding seriously with a heavy expression. “Understood, Master. I’ll find a way to help her pass on.”

There was no time to waste.

After hanging up, Ye Xue decided to head to the science building and find the red-dressed ghost right away.

She sent a message to her roommates, telling them she had something to do and would be back later, then made her way toward the building across the way.

It was barely seven o’clock, and she occasionally passed by students heading back to their dorms. However, the science building, 404, remained as deserted as ever.

As Ye Xue approached, she saw the ghost woman still wrestling with the difficult problem from last night.

The ghost was biting the tip of her pen, her whole face scrunched up, clearly still unable to figure out the solution.

Seeing this, Ye Xue couldn’t help but chuckle. She had encountered many ghosts before, but this was the first time she had seen one so studious.

The ghost heard footsteps and looked up, seeing it was Ye Xue. In a faint voice, she asked, “Taoist, why are you here again? I didn’t bring anyone over to do exercises this time.”

After all, she hadn’t even finished her exercises yet.

To think that a top student like her could be stumped by calculus—she was determined to redeem herself.

Ye Xue sat beside her, eyeing the pens on the table, each marked with clear teeth marks. She couldn’t help but find it amusing.

The ghost still looked rather normal when she wasn’t hostile, so Ye Xue’s tone was casual as she remembered why she had come. She then asked the ghost, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask if you have any unfulfilled wishes.”

The red-dressed ghost’s eyes lit up, looking at Ye Xue with hope as she said, “I want someone to study with me, to let me teach them. Can you grant me that wish?”

“…” Ye Xue couldn’t help but sweat. “That’s not possible. If you did that, they’d never get any sleep.”

Studying during the day was one thing, but forcing people to study at night while they were supposed to be sleeping was a bit too extreme.

The red-dressed ghost bit her lip, her gaze growing more mournful.

For some reason, her eyes fell on Ye Xue’s upright posture, and they suddenly brightened. Smiling, she said, “If no one else can, then you, Taoist…”

She had never had the chance to teach a genius like Ye Xue!

Ye Xue, however, placed the Sword of Evil Banishment on the table and smiled faintly as she asked, “Do I look like the kind of person who would sacrifice myself for others?”

The ghost, undeterred by the rejection, continued to persuade, “Well, didn’t Buddha once cut off his flesh to feed an eagle? That’s called compassion.”

“Oh…” Ye Xue drawled slowly, “But I’m Taoist. I don’t believe in Buddha.”

The red-dressed ghost: “…”

She pouted. “But I just want to teach students! I want to nurture the young minds of this country!”

Ye Xue burst out laughing and couldn’t help but tease, “Sister, this isn’t nurturing. You’re pushing them too hard.”

The red-dressed ghost clenched her pen in frustration, clearly unwilling to give up.

It seemed that unless she was allowed to teach, this ghost’s wish would never be fulfilled.

After a moment of thought, Ye Xue reluctantly offered a compromise. “How about this: if anyone fails their final exams, I’ll find a way to send them into a dream where you can tutor them. How does that sound?”

This way, the ghost’s wish wouldn’t go unfulfilled.

Failing exams was every student’s nightmare, and letting the ghost teach them would allow her to fulfill her wish while also giving them a taste of the top student’s dedication.

It would only be for one night, and when they woke up, they wouldn’t remember anything except the knowledge gained from the dream.

The red-dressed ghost still looked a bit reluctant, trying to haggle. “Final exams… but the semester just started. Can’t we…”

Before she could finish, Ye Xue stood up decisively, preparing to leave. “Oh, if you don’t want to, then forget it.”

“!!!” The ghost, seeing that Ye Xue was really about to leave, hurriedly stopped her. “Wait, wait, Taoist! We can negotiate!”

Ye Xue ignored her, continuing to walk away.

The ghost, gritting her teeth in frustration, finally gave in. “Fine! I agree!”

Ye Xue paused, turned to look at her, and said, “Deal.”

She had no intention of leaving for real. Hearing the ghost agree, she casually walked back and sat down again.

The red-dressed ghost stared at Ye Xue, stunned by how swiftly she had acted. After a moment, she suddenly realized—wasn’t this the classic bargaining technique?

How despicable! It turned out that people in the living world could pull off the same tricks as those in the underworld!

So, after a brief negotiation, the ghost and Ye Xue quickly agreed on the rules for the final exams.

Ye Xue promised that after the final exams, she would pull the students who failed but wanted to make up for it into their dreams; in return, the ghost agreed not to randomly pull students’ souls into her lessons in the meantime.

This agreement later became one of the top ten mysteries of Haicheng University that all freshmen would hear about.

“If you fail once, you’ll never want to fail again.”

In high school, the saying was, “If you don’t study to death, study until you almost die.” But at Haicheng University, it was, “Fail once, and you’ll be studying in your dreams.”

As a result, all the students put in extra effort during class, determined to achieve excellent grades in the final exams. This also led to an increase in the university’s pass rate, earning it the nickname “Haicheng University’s internal competition.”

After agreeing with the ghost, Ye Xue felt relieved and casually asked, “By the way, is there anything else you need help with?”

Seeing the eager look on the ghost’s face, Ye Xue quickly added, “Anything related to teaching, though, is off the table.”

“Daoist, do you take me for that kind of person?” the ghost replied, pretending to be righteous.

Ye Xue didn’t believe her for a second. Just moments ago, the red-clad ghost had been trying to tempt her into becoming her student.

The ghost glanced up at her and, with a hopeful and serious tone, asked, “Can I have some spicy hot pot from the second cafeteria of Haicheng University?”

Ye Xue was stunned. “Spicy hot pot?”

She almost thought she had misheard.

But the ghost seemed to remember something sad and began crying while explaining, “I heard their spicy hot pot is delicious! I chose Haicheng University for my college entrance exam because of the good food! Lots of other universities called my parents, begging me to attend, but I didn’t go! But before I could eat much from the cafeteria, I died. My life is so tragic, Daoist!”

Ye Xue noticed the red in the ghost’s dress growing darker and quickly said, “Stop, stop! Don’t cry! I’ll go get it for you.”

The ghost immediately stopped crying and added, “Oh, and I want two tea eggs, too.”

“…Got it,” Ye Xue replied.

Thankfully, Ye Xue had recently earned quite a bit of money from ghost hunting, or she wouldn’t have been able to afford this.

She bought the spicy hot pot and brought it back for the ghost.

The ghost took it eagerly, deeply inhaling the aroma before digging in with a satisfied smile.

After handling the red-clad ghost’s situation, Ye Xue returned to her dorm, leaving behind the ghost, who was reluctant to see her go.

When Ye Xue arrived, her two roommates were already back.

She was still holding the bag with the spicy hot pot that the ghost had eaten, intending to throw it away downstairs, but she had gotten distracted and forgotten.

Just as she was about to open the door, Wei Caineng heard her footsteps and rushed over to open it. Upon seeing the bag in Ye Xue’s hand, she cheerfully exclaimed, “Ah, you’re back with the food so soon!”

Wei Caineng took the bag from Ye Xue’s hand, saying, “You didn’t reply to my message, so I thought you didn’t see it.” She began unpacking the bag and asked, “How much was it? I’ll send you the money.”

Ye Xue blinked, suddenly remembering her phone. She took it out and saw that fifteen minutes ago, Wei Caineng had sent her a message asking her to pick up some spicy hot pot on her way back, as she was starving after a long study session.

But this was the hot pot the ghost had already eaten!

Ye Xue instinctively tried to stop her. “Caineng, wait—”

But by then, Wei Caineng had already taken a few bites.

After chewing on two fish balls, she grimaced and spat them out into the trash. “Oh my god, this is awful! Did they forget to season it?”

Fuming, Wei Caineng declared, “We are never ordering from this place again!”

Then, she looked at Ye Xue. “Where did you get this from, anyway?”

Ye Xue couldn’t let the restaurant take the blame, so she averted her eyes from her friend’s trusting gaze and awkwardly mumbled, “Uh… I forgot?”

Wei Caineng blinked, confused. “Forgot?”

Ye Xue nodded, more firmly this time. “Yeah, I forgot!”

Just then, Gao Lan came out of the bathroom after her shower and, smelling the food, smiled brightly. “Oh, that smells amazing! I’m starving. Let me have a bite!”

Before Ye Xue or Wei Caineng could stop her, it was too late.

A minute later, there was one more victim in the dorm.

Ye Xue quickly picked up the spicy hot pot and said hurriedly, “I’ll go throw this out!”

Without waiting for a reply, she dashed downstairs.

＊

On the weekend, Ye Xue bid farewell to her roommates and returned to Xuanzhen Temple.

Bai Liu had nothing to do at the moment and didn’t need to perform any tasks for the afterlife, so he stayed at the temple, lying down to rest.

Meanwhile, since Ye Xue’s professor had assigned a short essay, she brought over a desk and started working on her homework nearby.

When Master Bai came out, he saw Ye Xue seriously writing her assignment, and next to her, his lazy son, sprawled out like a corpse.

Glaring at Bai Liu, his anger flared as he pointed at his son and scolded, “Look at your shishu (teacher), and then look at yourself! I’ve never seen anyone so lazy. Would reading a few books kill you?”

Bai Liu rolled over and looked at his father, trying hard to defend himself. “Dad, I just finished 30 calculus problems a couple of days ago! My brain’s nearly fried; can’t you just let me rest for a bit?”

Master Bai raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Thirty problems? I find that hard to believe. Drawing one talisman looks like it’s killing you, so if I had you do thirty math problems, you’d probably head straight to the underworld!”

Bai Liu nodded earnestly. “It’s true! You can ask shishu. I did them at her school!”

Though he had been forced to, he still did them!

Master Bai turned to Ye Xue. “Shimei, is this rascal telling the truth?”

Ye Xue, facing her nephew’s pitiful gaze, helplessly nodded. “Yes, it’s true.”

Bai Liu immediately grinned proudly. “See, Dad? I told you I wasn’t lying.”

Master Bai was reluctantly satisfied. “At least you’ve got some ambition.”

Feeling triumphant, Bai Liu boasted, “If I had more time, I could keep going for another 500 years!”

“Really?” Ye Xue raised her head from her book, intrigued by his claim.

Bai Liu, oblivious to her hidden intent, continued to act all ambitious in front of his father. “Of course! I love learning, and learning loves me!”

Master Bai snorted but said nothing more, turning to explain the meaning of talismans to the followers with Xu Zhou.

Bai Liu was still bragging when Ye Xue patted him on the shoulder. “Keep it up, young man. I’ve got high hopes for you.”

With that, she took her book and headed to her room.

Bai Liu, however, didn’t catch her meaning. Scratching his head in confusion, he muttered, “What did Shishu mean by that?”

Later that night, as Bai Liu slept, he found himself face-to-face with the red-clad ghost in his dream. Suddenly, her earlier words made perfect sense.

The ghost appeared with a stack of exam papers and textbooks. After giving Bai Liu a critical once-over, she finally sighed and said, “Fine, even though you’re not very bright, at least you’re willing to learn. Don’t worry, I’ll tailor a study plan just for you. We’ll make sure you score over 80 in every subject.”

What?

Bai Liu backed away in terror. “???! Don’t come any closer!”

The ghost, displeased with his attitude, threw a piece of chalk at him and sternly said, “No talking during class!”

Bai Liu thought to himself, “Oh my god, how did this vengeful ghost get into Xuanzhen Temple? Didn’t the ancestral master zap her with lightning?”

And thus began Bai Liu’s nightmare.

From his room, the sound of the ghost’s disdainful voice could often be heard: “Are you brain-dead? You can’t even solve a simple 3D geometry problem?”

This was usually followed by Bai Liu’s tearful complaints: “Sister, please, spare me! I can’t study anymore!”

But the ghost was firm. “No way. Didn’t you say you could keep going for 500 years? Let’s start with 500 minutes first.”

Bai Liu, on the verge of a breakdown, cried out, “I was just bluffing! Haven’t you ever bluffed? When I was a kid, I said I wanted to get into Haicheng University, but I never made it!”

The ghost coldly replied, “If you pay attention to my lessons, I guarantee you can get into a top-tier program.”

Bai Liu was in despair. “No, I don’t want to take exams! I don’t!”

The ghost cut him off with a frosty “Silence!”

While Bai Liu suffered, the other three people at Xuanzhen Temple were having a peaceful time.

Master Bai sipped his tea contentedly, thinking to himself, “Finally, the brat is showing some ambition.”

Passing by Bai Liu’s room, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but laugh when he overheard his disciple’s desperate cries.

As he heard footsteps, he looked toward the sound and saw Ye Xue coming out of the main hall with a stern expression.

She had almost been driven to distraction by the ghostly wailing outside, making it impossible to focus on her essay.

Grabbing a lantern, she stormed outside, ready to scold. “Are you ghosts looking to die? How dare you cause such a ruckus at this hour? Want to come in and study too?!”

But when she raised her lantern, she froze.

In the shadowy corner stood a black-haired young man, his face emotionless, surrounded by wild ghosts eyeing him like prey.

Yet whenever any ghost dared approach him, they were immediately repelled by the power of the Five Sacred Mountains Talisman on his wrist.

Frowning, he hesitated, unsure whether to move. Just then, he noticed the glow of the lantern and looked up.

His eyes met Ye Xue’s.

Ye Xue glanced at him, then at the lurking ghosts around him, and smiled. “Soul wandering again?”

Startled, the young man found his irritability from the ghosts’ howls dissipating as he looked into her calm black eyes.

He nodded. “Yes.”