IMMFBCG Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Tang Monk’s Flesh

 

After Ye Xue hung up the phone, she sent him a text explaining everything and mentioned that she would go to the mass grave to pay respects to the wandering spirits, so Bai Liu wouldn’t have to wait in vain.

Having learned from her previous mistake, this time Ye Xue double-checked the message multiple times before sending it, confirming it was addressed to Bai Liu before hitting send.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bai Liu, exhausted after reciting some spells, decided to unwind and take a break.

He turned on his computer and sat at his desk to play some games.

Behind him, his phone’s screen lit up and quickly went dark again.

Since the phone was on silent, and Bai Liu was focused on his game, he didn’t notice.

Ye Xue waited for a while but didn’t receive a reply, so she decided to call.

She held the phone and listened to the ringing, finding it odd.

All she could hear was Bai Liu’s ringtone, but no one was picking up.

Puzzled, Ye Xue hung up. Just as she was debating whether to call again, a luxury car quietly pulled up beside her.

A voice softly called out, “Ye Xue, over here.”

Ye Xue followed the voice and met the gaze of a young man with dark eyes.

Yu Qi sat in the backseat, looking a bit pale but with warmth in his eyes. It was clear he was in a good mood.

The driver had already opened the back door with a smile, saying, “Miss Ye, sorry for the wait.”

Ye Xue got into the car, casually placing her phone in her bag, and shook her head, saying, “No, I didn’t wait long.”

It felt like she had just hung up the phone when they arrived.

The temperature inside the car was quite cool.

As the air conditioning blew over her, Ye Xue turned her head uncomfortably.

The weather had been unpredictable lately. It was warm in the morning, but by evening, the temperature had dropped significantly.

With the cool air inside the car, Ye Xue felt enveloped by the cold.

Noticing that she was lightly dressed, Yu Qi furrowed his brows and turned to the driver, saying, “Uncle Wang, turn up the air conditioning.”

The driver cheerfully complied, glancing at the situation in the rearview mirror. Yu Qi looked at Ye Xue, seemingly wanting to say something, but then changed his mind.

Uncle Wang had always seen Yu Qi as composed and confident, so it was rare to see him acting somewhat restrained.

He chuckled to himself, thinking that Yu Qi must have met someone very important.

As soon as Yu Qi received Miss Ye’s call earlier, he immediately put aside his work and asked Uncle Wang to navigate to the movie theater.

Seeing the current situation, the driver was genuinely happy for him. If the late Madam and Master could see this, they would be pleased as well.

While Yu Qi was caught up in his thoughts, Ye Xue glanced at her phone and turned to him, asking, “Is there a store nearby that sells incense and candles? I’d like to buy some offerings.”

Earlier, Ye Xue had released the wandering spirits bound by the red net.

The spirits hadn’t harmed anyone, but they were abandoned in the wilderness, unable to find peace. After their deaths, they were exploited by vengeful ghosts to scare students.

The spirits hadn’t eaten since their deaths and were in a pitiful state. Since they had helped in catching the vengeful ghosts, Ye Xue had promised to bring offerings the next time she visited the mass grave.

Yu Qi was taken aback. He didn’t usually pay attention to such details, so he looked to the driver for an answer.

Uncle Wang quickly responded, “In about ten minutes, there’s a street in the city that sells incense and offerings.”

Ye Xue nodded. She glanced at her phone again, and since Bai Liu hadn’t replied, she decided to leave it be.

Thinking about the earlier mix-up, she looked at the young man beside her and, a bit embarrassed, called out, “Yu Qi.”

Her voice was soft, and the warmth of her breath was close.

Yu Qi instinctively straightened up, feeling a bit flustered.

They were sitting quite close, and he could feel his earlobes heat up. Trying to ignore the strange sensation, he nodded slightly, “I’m here.”

Ye Xue had initially wanted to explain the mistake of calling the wrong person earlier, but seeing the expectant look in his eyes, she suddenly felt it wasn’t necessary.

Instead, she said, “I’m going to the mass grave later to burn offerings for the wandering spirits…”

Yu Qi understood and nodded. “Shall I go with you?”

“Huh?” Ye Xue was surprised.

She had originally planned for them to drop her off near the bus stop, but Yu Qi’s offer caught her off guard.

When Ye Xue didn’t respond immediately, Yu Qi lowered his gaze, realizing his offer might have been too forward.

But Ye Xue’s eyes lit up, and with a cheerful smile, she said, “Sure! You’re so kind! I thought it would be too much trouble for you…”

“No trouble at all,” Yu Qi quickly interrupted, sounding almost anxious.

Ye Xue looked at him in slight surprise.

The young man awkwardly avoided her gaze and cleared his throat, explaining, “I’m just curious about how to pay respects to spirits, so it’s no trouble.”

He spoke earnestly.

Ye Xue didn’t know that Yu Qi was already knowledgeable about these things and thought he was genuinely interested, so she replied, “Next time there’s a ritual at the temple or another memorial for the wandering spirits, I’ll invite you along.”

Yu Qi smiled and agreed, “That sounds good.”

As they chatted, the car came to a stop, and Uncle Wang had to interrupt, “Mr. Yu, Miss Ye, we’ve arrived.”

Both Ye Xue and Yu Qi got out of the car.

As soon as they stepped outside, the evening breeze hit them, and the temperature continued to drop.

Ye Xue regretted not bringing a jacket.

The driver stayed in the car, smiling as he said, “I’ll find a place to park. Just call me when you’re ready.”

He didn’t want to intrude on the young couple’s moment.

The two continued walking toward the incense street, but as they walked, Yu Qi’s pace gradually slowed. He looked worriedly at the girl beside him.

Even though Ye Xue hadn’t said anything, her face looked very pale.

Yu Qi frowned as he glanced away, intending to take off his jacket. But when he looked up, he noticed a specialty shop not far ahead.

Ye Xue, lost in her thoughts, suddenly realized that there was no movement beside her.

Yu Qi was gone.

She turned around and called out, “Yu Qi?”

Just then, a white jacket was draped over her shoulders.

Yu Qi lowered his gaze, buttoning the collar for her before stepping back a little.

The cold from the evening breeze that had chilled her was immediately replaced by warmth.

Ye Xue grasped the buttons tightly, feeling a warmth in her heart as well, and gratefully said, “Thank you.”

Yu Qi’s voice was soft, “No need.”

However, Ye Xue noticed a slight tremor in his voice. Looking up, she saw that the tips of his ears had turned red and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you hot?”

Yu Qi looked at her, puzzled as if he didn’t understand what she meant.

Ye Xue touched her ear and smiled as she explained, “Here, it’s red.”

Her slender, fair fingers brushed her ear, the contrast of white skin against black hair making her hands look as delicate as jade.

Yu Qi stared at her fingers for a moment before lowering his eyes and mumbling, “…A little.”

Seeing his ears turn even redder, Ye Xue exclaimed in surprise, “It’s getting even redder!”

Was she the only one feeling cold?

Yu Qi, feeling awkward, touched his ear instinctively, trying to hide it. But as he faced her pure, dark eyes, his ears only felt hotter.

Meanwhile, Bai Liu, engrossed in his game, didn’t realize it had already turned to evening.

Suddenly, a blue-green glow appeared on the wall, and Wei Xingteng rushed over with his soul-harvesting rope, ready to take Bai Liu’s soul. “Come on, come on! I’m taking you to a new place!”

Bai Liu was caught off guard and nearly lost his soul.

Dodging the soul rope, he jumped up, waving his hands. “No way! I’ve already promised Shishu that I’d buy gold paper and candles to pay respects to the spirits. You’re making me stand him up!”

Hearing Ye Xue’s name, Wei Xingteng pulled back his rope and casually said, “Oh, got it. In that case, I’ll wait with you and talk once the Daoist returns.”

Bai Liu, who had been prepared to lose his free time, relaxed when he saw Wei Xingteng sit down with a book. He sighed with relief and resumed his game. However, as the sky darkened, he began to wonder why Shishu hadn’t returned yet—it was already late afternoon.

…

While walking, Ye Xue heard a nearby shopkeeper advertising his goods and turned her head to look.

The store had a variety of items on display. In addition to lucky beads and yellow talismans, there was a neatly arranged row of swords on the table.

When Ye Xue got a closer look at the swords, her expression tightened, and she walked into the shop. “Boss, are these also Demon-Slaying Swords?”

The shop owner didn’t catch the subtle emphasis on “also,” but seeing that Ye Xue recognized the sword instantly, he smiled and enthusiastically said, “Young lady, you’ve got a sharp eye! This is indeed the Demon-Slaying Sword from Master Zhang of Longhu Mountain.”

As he spoke, he pulled one out for Ye Xue to inspect.

Ye Xue examined it closely.

The sword appeared unremarkable, without any spiritual energy—it was just an ordinary replica.

But the strange thing was, it had been forged to resemble the real Demon-Slaying Sword almost perfectly, down to the chipped hilt of the female sword.

The attention to detail was so precise that only someone who had seen the real sword could make such a convincing counterfeit.

Ye Xue felt something was off. She had once asked Bao Wenxuan, the fortune teller, about his sword, and he’d said it came from a shop, two for twenty yuan.

Now, there were numerous counterfeit Demon-Slaying Swords.

Why were there so many fake swords? What was the person who stole the female sword trying to achieve?

Seeing that Ye Xue was lingering in the shop, Yu Qi walked in after her.

He noticed the items on display and asked the shop owner, “Where did you get these swords?”

“Haha, well…” The shop owner chuckled nervously, clearly trying to brush off the question.

Yu Qi had already taken out a card and placed it on the counter, his tone calm as he said, “I’ll take everything in the shop.”

Ye Xue hadn’t expected this and widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have a lot of money?”

Yu Qi was momentarily stunned by her question, not realizing what he might have done wrong.

The shop owner, having never seen such a generous customer, beamed with delight. Worried they might change their minds, he quickly started packing up the items for them.

Leaning in, he whispered to the two of them, “I don’t know who that guy was. He wore a black cloak and brought me some items to sell. Besides the Demon-Slaying Sword, there were also some talismans. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but later I found out the yellow talismans he gave me were very effective. Customers who bought them had nothing but praise. But he only came by that one time, dropped off the stuff, and never came back for his money.”

A mysterious figure in a black cloak, skilled in talisman-making and Daoist arts…

Ye Xue fell silent for a moment.

After asking a few more questions and realizing the shopkeeper truly didn’t know anything else, they left the shop.

Ye Xue reported the information they had gathered to her master, her mind heavy with thoughts as she hung up the phone.

She sighed, “I hope we can find the female sword soon…”

Yu Qi glanced at her, knowing how important the Demon-Slaying Sword was to her sect. He was about to comfort her when he heard her mutter, “That’s three million! You could build a golden statue with that kind of money.”

Yu Qi stood there for a moment, stunned. He suddenly felt like laughing, unsure if he even needed to comfort her anymore.

When they returned to the car, the driver noticed Yu Qi carrying a large pile of items. He quickly got out to help, loading the bags into the trunk.

However, Yu Qi kept hold of one bag, avoiding the driver’s hand and softly saying, “No need.”

The driver looked over at Ye Xue, who was empty-handed and seemed to understand. He smiled knowingly and didn’t insist.

They parked the car nearby, as it couldn’t enter the burial grounds.

Yu Qi asked the driver to wait for them while he and Ye Xue headed into the cemetery.

The driver leisurely returned to the car, thinking about the scene he had just witnessed. His expression grew a little strange, and he shook his head with a sigh. “Other people go on dates to beautiful scenic spots, but these two… they go to a burial ground. I don’t understand young people these days.”

Ye Xue took the paper money Yu Qi handed her and wrote the names of the wandering spirits on the yellow talismans before burning them.

The spirits crowded together, devouring the incense offerings hungrily as if they had never been full. The graveyard was full of all sorts of wandering souls—some looked like ordinary people, without any signs of their tragic deaths, while others had missing limbs, and some even had their intestines spilling out.

Ye Xue couldn’t bear to look at them and quietly turned her gaze away.

It was the first time Yu Qi had been so calm in the presence of spirits.

He watched Ye Xue’s silhouette in the firelight as she focused on burning the paper money. The red glow illuminated her face like the soft hues of a sunset.

Suddenly, Yu Qi sensed the presence of a spirit nearby and turned his head.

A young male ghost, who looked to be around Yu Qi’s age, sniffed the air, drawn by Yu Qi’s energy. He stared at Yu Qi, drooling.

Yu Qi frowned and stepped aside.

When Ye Xue finished burning the paper offerings, she turned and saw the ghost staring at Yu Qi like a monster eyeing a feast. She scolded, “What are you doing?”

The male ghost snapped out of it, quickly wiping away his drool and apologizing, “Sorry, Daoist, the smell was just too tempting. I couldn’t resist.”

Although he didn’t want to eat anyone, he couldn’t help being drawn to Yu Qi’s flesh and blood.

“Smell?” Ye Xue, intrigued, leaned in closer to Yu Qi, sniffing the air to figure out what the ghost meant.

All she could smell was the fresh scent of cedar and a faint hint of medicinal herbs.

Curious, Ye Xue asked, “What does ‘Tang Monk meat’ smell like?”

Standing so close, Yu Qi could see her delicate features clearly and froze. He looked down at her.

Because she was so near, he also heard her mumbling to herself. Confused, he repeated, “Tang Monk meat?”

Ye Xue hadn’t realized he’d heard her. Embarrassed, she quickly laughed and covered it up, “I mean, you smell nice!”

Yu Qi’s eyes widened slightly, even more unsure of how to respond.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Wei Xingteng glanced at the clock, then out at the dark sky, and couldn’t help but ask, “Bai Liu, it’s already past seven. Has Daoist Ye not come back yet?”

Bai Liu, whose eyes were sore from playing video games, paused and replied, “I don’t know. We were supposed to go out together earlier. Let me check.”

He picked up his phone and saw four missed calls from Ye Xue and two text messages.

The last message told him she had gone to the burial ground and wouldn’t be back for dinner.

Bai Liu’s eyes widened. “Wait, what…?”

Wei Xingteng leaned over and saw the message too. He glanced at Bai Liu, his deathly pale face emotionless.

Taking a deep breath, Wei Xingteng calmly stated the obvious: “Bai family boy, I’ve been here for over two hours.”

Bai Liu frantically waved his hands, “No, really, I—”

Wei Xingteng shook his head with mild disapproval, “Young people these days. If you wanted to skip work, you could’ve just told me. Why use Daoist Ye as an excuse?”

Bai Liu was speechless, “No, wait, listen—!”

Wei Xingteng checked the time and decided not to argue. He summoned Bai Liu’s soul and said, “You’ve wasted enough time. Time for some overtime.”

Before Bai Liu could respond, Wei Xingteng dragged him away.

As Bai Liu was forcibly hauled off, tears of sorrow welled up in his eyes.

He struggled to explain, “Wait, I did make plans with Shishu!”

Wei Xingteng gave him a dismissive nod. “Mm-hmm, sure, I get it.”

Bai Liu: “…”

You don’t get it at all.