IMMFBCG Chapter 60

Chapter Sixty: Fate

Bai Liu received a death glare from Ye Xue and wisely decided to keep quiet.

He changed the subject and said to one of the female ghosts, “It’s almost time. Come with me.”

Upon hearing this, the ghost who had brought her here showed a reluctant expression, but the ghost named “Xuan Xuan” said, “Wait a minute, let me finish my milk tea!”

Only then did Bai Liu notice that both ghosts were holding cups of milk tea. Judging by the packaging, it was from the popular local milk tea shop. He couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat. “Alright, hurry up,” he urged.

Ghosts couldn’t directly consume food, but they could absorb the essence of it.

Ye Xue watched as Xuan Xuan closed her eyes, sipping from the milk tea several times, and then threw away the empty cup into a trash can. She turned to Bai Liu and said, “Alright, I’m done.”

The group continued walking toward a secluded, dimly lit corner.

At some point, an unfamiliar path had appeared in the hospital, one that didn’t seem to belong. As they walked, the light gradually dimmed, and the surroundings grew foggy and heavy with mist.

Ye Xue paused slightly and glanced at a stone tablet nearby. It read, “Naihe Bridge.”

No wonder Wei Xingteng would come and go without a trace, with no fixed direction when returning. It turned out that everywhere could be part of the road to the underworld.

An old woman appeared in the middle of the road, holding a ladle and serving a bowl of soup.

Xuan Xuan walked over, took the soup from the old woman, and drank it.

She turned and smiled at everyone, seemingly saying “goodbye.”

The female ghost who had brought Xuan Xuan here wiped her face with a handkerchief, sobbing, “Goodbye, Xuan Xuan—”

Ye Xue was about to comfort the ghost when she suddenly heard her sadly say, “When will it be my turn to reincarnate? I’m so tired of the male ghosts in the underworld. There isn’t even a handsome guy who can fight!”

Ye Xue hesitated, “…It will happen.”

After a thick mist cleared, the surroundings returned to their usual brightness.

Ye Xue looked around and realized they were back in the hospital’s underground parking lot.

The female ghost, who wasn’t used to being around the ghost officers, quickly slipped away after bidding Ye Xue and Bai Liu farewell.

Ye Xue followed the signs out of the parking lot. Bai Liu, still talking to her, said, “Hey, Master, didn’t you find Naihe Bridge surprising? When I first saw it, I nearly reached out to touch it! That’s the legendary Naihe Bridge!”

Bai Liu kept babbling, but Ye Xue remained silent, occasionally glancing at the road.

After a while, Bai Liu noticed Ye Xue wasn’t responding to him and asked, “Master, why aren’t you talking?”

Thinking there might be someone else nearby, he looked around but saw no one. Confused, he asked, “Isn’t anyone here?”

Ye Xue smiled gently and replied, “After all, I’m someone who’s going to win an Oscar.”

Bai Liu: “…” How could he forget that his Master was quite vengeful!

After returning to the hospital lobby, Ye Xue went to the service desk to confirm the floor where Lu Xuezhen’s room was, then went with Bai Liu to the fourth floor.

Just as Ye Xue pressed the elevator button, she heard someone outside calling, “Hey, wait! I need to get in!”

Hearing the familiar voice, Ye Xue paused and reached out to press the door open button.

A girl in a black cotton jacket ran in, holding a bag in one hand and a phone in the other. She first said to Ye Xue, “Thank you!” then continued talking to the person on the phone, “Bro, I’m almost there. I’ll talk to you later. I’m getting on the elevator now.”

Just as the girl hung up, she heard someone call, “Si Qi.”

He Shiqi looked up and saw the familiar, beautiful face in the elevator. She smiled broadly and said, “Ah Xue! What are you doing here?”

Ye Xue smiled back and said, “I’m here to visit a friend. What about you?”

He Shiqi replied, “My sister-in-law is giving birth, so I came to check on her.”

Ye Xue was slightly stunned. What a coincidence!

She subconsciously glanced at Bai Liu beside her.

Bai Liu flipped through a notebook, nodded, and said, “The family where she’s going to reincarnate is called He.”

He Shiqi couldn’t see Bai Liu and, seeing Ye Xue in thought, curiously asked, “What’s wrong, Ah Xue?”

Ye Xue snapped out of her thoughts, smiled, and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”

Soon after, He Shiqi’s phone rang again. She picked it up, and upon hearing the news, she joyfully said, “Ah, that’s great!”

He Shiqi hung up the call, beaming with joy. “My sister-in-law gave birth! It’s a healthy little girl, weighing seven pounds!”

Ye Xue sincerely said, “Congratulations.”

The elevator arrived quickly.

They went their separate ways; He Shiqi’s room was on the sixth floor.

Ye Xue waved her hand to say goodbye as He Shiqi left the elevator.

Lu Xuezhen was in a regular hospital room.

When Ye Xue entered, he was playing a game, swearing, “What kind of person is this? I can’t even beat this crap with my feet. Damn, I died again!”

Lu Xuezhen was playing games to the point of isolation.

Ye Xue cleared her throat.

The boy heard the noise, hurriedly shoved his phone under his pillow, and looked up to see Ye Xue. He sighed with relief. “Oh, it’s you, Big Boss! I thought my dad had come back!”

Lu Xuezhen’s leg was in a cast, elevated high.

Ye Xue looked at him helplessly. “It’s almost time for the college entrance exams. Are you still playing on your phone? Didn’t you say you wanted to go to Haicheng University?”

Lu Xuezhen gave a sheepish smile. “Gotta balance work and rest.”

He stretched his hand out, trying to get some fruit to give to Ye Xue.

Ye Xue stopped him, worried he’d fall and injure himself further. “It’s fine, you don’t need to bother. If I want something, I’ll get it myself.”

Ye Xue looked at Lu Xuezhen’s injury and asked, “How did you get hurt?”

Lu Xuezhen sighed. “I was playing a game during the New Year and accidentally fell down the stairs. I broke my bone.”

“…Alright, take good care of yourself,” Ye Xue said.

Lu Xuezhen obediently nodded, then asked, “By the way, Big Boss, isn’t the hospital full of Yin energy? Can you check if there’s any of that around here?”

Ye Xue smiled and asked, “’That’ energy, what’s that?”

Lu Xuezhen whispered, “You know, that energy! My good bro!”

Ye Xue looked at the new soul in the bed next to Lu Xuezhen, not yet realizing it was already dead. She shook her head lightly. “Nope, there’s none. Besides, you’ve got the Three Pure One’s talisman. With the Patriarch’s protection, what do you have to fear?”

Ordinary ghosts wouldn’t dare get too close to Lu Xuezhen.

Lu Xuezheng relaxed, then couldn’t help but say, “But at night, I keep hearing the sound of marbles. There aren’t any kids on these two floors, so do you think it’s the Black and White Impermanence coming to collect souls?”

Bai Liu thought for a moment. “A couple of days ago, Wei Xingteng came by to collect a ghost.”

But when Ye Xue heard this, she replied, “That’s not the case, and besides, the sound of marbles already has a scientific explanation, right? It could be caused by thermal expansion and contraction, or mold growing where the steel beams meet the cement. Also, even if someone were throwing marbles upstairs, you wouldn’t be able to hear it.”

Lu Xuezheng paused for a moment, then replied sluggishly, “Oh? Is that how it works?”

He was convinced.

Ye Xue, with a righteous tone, continued her explanation, “So, stop jumping to conclusions about supernatural events. As socialist successors, we need to rely on science for everything. How can we be so superstitious?”

Lu Xuezheng frowned, “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate for you to say that to me?”

After all, Ye Xue was the least scientific person around here.

At that moment, Bai Liu had already used a soul-binding chain to capture the ghost.

The cold chain touched the soul, and the new soul showed no reaction, obediently following Bai Liu as he stood up.

Originally, Bai Liu wasn’t supposed to be in charge of collecting souls today, but since he encountered this one, he decided to send it back to the underworld to save it from wandering around the hospital.

Bai Liu turned to Ye Xue and said, “Master, I’ll take him back to the underworld first.”

Ye Xue gave a barely noticeable nod.

As soon as Bai Liu sent the ghost out the door, Wei Xingteng hurried over. Upon seeing the new soul, he said, “Ah, I was wondering why I couldn’t find him in 505. Looks like he’s wandering around here.”

Bai Liu handed the soul over to him, intending to leave. “Since you’re here, I guess I’ll…”

Wei Wuchang grabbed Bai Liu’s shoulder and blocked his way. “Oh, what a coincidence. Since you’re so free, why don’t you come help me out? There was a chain collision on the road a while back, and there are quite a few souls to collect.”

“…” Bai Liu nearly wanted to hit him. “I think you’re just trying to find an excuse to make me work!”

Wei Xingteng smiled slightly and didn’t deny it. “What can I say? It’s all about understanding.”

A moment later, Lu Xuezheng’s father returned with a lunchbox.

When he saw Ye Xue in the hospital room, he froze for a second, then smiled, “Daoist Ye, you’re here.”

Ye Xue smiled and nodded, “Just came to visit him.”

Lu Qing placed the food on the table, glanced at his son, and asked, “You weren’t playing on your phone just now, were you? I told you, your workbook isn’t finished. If you don’t study, you won’t even get into a second-tier university!”

Lu Xuezheng sheepishly shoved his phone further under his pillow. “I know, Dad.”

Ye Xue comforted Lu Xuezheng for a moment, urging him to study hard, then decided not to linger and prepared to leave.

Lu Qing grabbed his car keys and said, “Daoist, let me give you a ride. The city hospital is a bit far from the temple.”

Ye Xue didn’t refuse, “That’s kind of you, thank you.”

The two of them just exited the elevator when Ye Xue received a call from Yu Qi. “Yes, I’m not at the temple. I’m at the hospital.”

Ye Xue couldn’t help but laugh and reassured him, “No, I’m not sick. I’m just here visiting a friend.”

She continued, “Alright, you can come. I’m at the city hospital.”

After hanging up, Ye Xue smiled apologetically at Lu Qing. “Mr. Lu, there’s no need to trouble you. My boyfriend will come pick me up later.”

Lu Qing smiled knowingly. “No problem.”

They waited for a while outside the hospital, and after a few minutes, a luxury car slowly pulled up.

Ye Xue immediately recognized it as Yu Qi’s car. After saying goodbye to Lu Qing, she ran toward the car.

Lu Qing watched the car approach and felt like he had seen it somewhere before.

Before he could figure out where the person in the car had already gotten out and opened the passenger door for Ye Xue.

When Lu Qing saw the person’s face, he was completely stunned.

The “boyfriend” Daoist Ye mentioned was Yu Qi?!

Lu Qing was initially shocked, but after recalling the events at Jin Xin, he felt everything made sense now.

It seemed like Yu Qi had fallen for Ye Xue at first sight.

Back at the Xuan Zhen Temple, Ye Xue placed the cotton doll back in its room in the side hall. She then drew a talisman on its little bed to help it absorb more of the essence of the sun and moon.

Yu Qi had the chef prepare some of Ye Xue’s favorite pastries and brought them to her.

They fed each other and chatted for a while.

Later, Xu Zhou came to find Ye Xue, and she went out for a bit.

Only Yu Qi and the cotton doll remained in the room, still basking in the sun.

Suddenly, the cotton doll spoke in a tiny, serious voice, “I have a very serious question for you…”

Yu Qi turned his head, his tone patient since the cotton doll was a creature Ye Xue cared for. “Go ahead.”

He thought it might ask about Ye Xue and him, and was already thinking of how to answer.

The cotton doll’s voice grew more serious: “I want to ask you…”

Yu Qi patiently waited, “Mhm?”

The cotton doll asked with utmost seriousness: “Do you know what I’m made of?”

Yu Qi: “……?”