Chapter Ten: The Renowned Celestial Master, Ye Xue
After Bai Liu intervened, Ye Xue no longer spoke of wanting to kill ghosts with a knife. Instead, she coldly smiled as she took out the Sword of Evil-Slaying, her beautiful eyes sizing up the driver as if considering where to strike first.
As soon as the sword appeared, the driver felt a powerful pressure. Bai Liu and Xu Zhou also sensed the surrounding Yin energy dissipating, making the atmosphere much more comfortable.
He couldn’t believe it—had it only been three years? In just three years, she had become this formidable?!
The black energy swirling around the ghost driver thinned out, and he felt a strong sense of danger emanating from the sword. If he were truly struck by it, he could very well perish.
If things continued like this, he might lose his life.
Thinking this, the ghost driver hurriedly exclaimed, “Someone stop her! You need to control her! Killing ghosts leads to eighteen levels of hell!”
Upon hearing this, Bai Liu thought to herself, “Wait, has the identity been swapped? Why is he trying to scare them when he should be asking these two victims for help?”
Xu Zhou couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity. He coughed lightly and reminded, “Um… sir, you might want to change your face back.”
Upon hearing this, the ghost driver, though still doubtful, recognized the situation and quickly transformed back to his appearance from life, abandoning the blood-soaked visage that was frightening everyone. However, the bruised and swollen face he now bore from Ye Xue’s blow looked a bit comical.
Seeing himself back to normal and still getting no reaction from the three in the car, he felt a sense of despair: “You don’t recognize me?” It had only been three years!
Ye Xue quickly calmed down, holding the Sword of Evil-Slaying in her arms, and gave him a cold glance, “Should we know you?”
When the driver spoke, Bai Liu remembered his earlier words and said, “You said you were seeking revenge, so show us your credentials! How do I know if you’re unlicensed? Show us your identification!”
Ye Xue raised an eyebrow, finally catching onto their conversation, “Seeking revenge with credentials?”
Fearing another beating, the ghost driver thought about how fate was against him—he wouldn’t be able to get his revenge this time. Nonetheless, he reluctantly pulled out a small black and gold booklet from his pocket and handed it over.
Bai Liu quickly took the document and glanced at it, noticing it had an official seal, and stated it was from the Underworld Office.
Seeing Ye Xue’s puzzled expression, Xu Zhou explained, “Generally speaking, ghosts can’t harm the living easily. Malevolent spirits that do harm are consumed by malice and turn into vengeful spirits. They either become lost souls unable to reincarnate or are taken by ghost officials to serve time in the eighteen levels of hell until they’ve paid for their sins. Of course, there are exceptions.”
He glanced at the ghost driver, harboring some doubts but continued explaining to Ye Xue, “If a ghost had significant merit in life and was wronged before their time was up, the Underworld will evaluate their merits and decide their fate. Those who have done great good may either serve in the Underworld or be reincarnated into a noble family. However, since they were harmed by others, their resentment often lingers, which is when the Underworld grants them the opportunity for revenge after investigating the situation. It’s just that…”
To truly possess the qualifications for revenge, one must have had great merit in life.
He didn’t voice the last part, but Ye Xue understood, nodding slightly.
After reading the document, Bai Liu passed it to Xu Zhou to verify if it was genuine.
Ye Xue leaned in to take a look. Xu Zhou opened the document, which radiated a golden light of merit, and the photo indeed showed the driver himself.
Xu Zhou nodded, and Bai Liu understood. Then he realized something was off, “Wait, if you’re looking for revenge, why are you coming to us? If someone wronged you, shouldn’t you go after them? Haven’t you heard of ‘an eye for an eye’?”
The driver, who had been listening to their conversation in confusion, thought, “How do they know so much?” But when Bai Liu questioned him, he instantly became furious, sneering, “Am I not looking for you? You’re the Yang family! Three years ago, you two conspired to kill me, and you’ve forgotten so quickly!?”
As he became agitated, the atmosphere around him grew increasingly terrifying, his face twisting in anger, and blood tears even began to fall.
Ye Xue’s expression changed, and she raised her fist to strike.
The driver was sent back to his original form, and realizing he wasn’t a match for them, he felt like crying out of anger.
Bai Liu sensed something was off: “Sir, there’s no one named Yang here. You must have the wrong person. If you don’t believe me, I can show you my ID.”
The driver was about to respond with a “show me then,” when he noticed Ye Xue’s sword move slightly. She looked at him coldly, causing him to swallow his words.
He muttered quietly, “This can’t be… they told me to wait here…”
Suddenly, his voice paused, and he squinted, pulling out a pair of glasses from the glove compartment, saying, “Sorry, I’m a bit nearsighted.”
Bai Liu couldn’t help but retort, “You’re more than just a little nearsighted.”
After putting on the glasses, the driver looked closely at Ye Xue and her companions. They were all good-looking, their appearances indicating they were not wicked people, and most importantly—
“Wait, who are you all?” he exclaimed, astonished. “Why are you in my car?”
Ye Xue found it amusing and replied, “No kidding! You’re the only car for ten miles; where else would we go?”
The driver felt exhausted. “But if you’re not my enemies, you shouldn’t be able to see my car. Wait…” Suddenly, he realized something and turned to look at Ye Xue and the others intently, “Are you Daoists?!”
Originally, he thought his enemies had found some opportunity, but he never expected to encounter Daoists instead!
What the heck! Why aren’t the Daoists wearing their robes when they go out?!
Was this a joke?!
“Turns out it was all just a misunderstanding.” Xu Zhou pieced everything together and suggested, “Since we’ve already exchanged blows, let’s just call it even, shall we?”
The driver wanted to say “no deal,” since he had been turned into a pig’s head, but who would dare argue against them?
What if he got beaten again? He still needed to keep his life to return to the Underworld.
Those who recognize the times are true talents.
The driver readily said, “Since it’s all just a misunderstanding, I won’t disturb you any longer.” He laughed awkwardly and added, “Well then, I’ll just continue looking for my enemies…”
“Wait a moment—” Ye Xue suddenly called out to him.
The Sword of Evil-Slaying had left a deep psychological scar on the driver; he was on the verge of tears. Turning around, he exclaimed, “Daoists, I didn’t mean to mess with you…”
“What are you talking about?” Ye Xue asked, looking confused. “I just want you to take us back and then you can leave.”
At this point, they weren’t likely to catch any other vehicles.
The driver sighed in relief, “So that’s it. You should have said so earlier.”
Once they arrived at Cultural Square, Bai Liu waved goodbye to him, saying, “See you!”
The driver replied, “Sure thing,” while thinking to himself, “Goodbye forever.”
…
When they returned to the Xuanzhen Temple, it was already two o’clock. The master had long since fallen asleep but had left a light on for them.
Ye Xue said goodnight to Xu Zhou and Bai Liu before heading to her room to rest.
The next morning, after reading a few pages of her master’s notes, Bai Liu rushed in.
He came in hurriedly but still remembered to knock. After receiving Ye Xue’s permission, he burst in, saying, “Master, Master, look!”
“What is it?” Ye Xue asked, puzzled. She leaned over to take a look, initially just glancing casually. But when she saw the text clearly, her expression slightly changed.
The news reported that a traffic accident had occurred at two-thirty in the morning yesterday. The victims were a family with the surname Yang, who had died after attempts to save them failed. According to police confirmation, they were the fugitives that the police had been pursuing.
“Do you think this is the target of revenge that the nearsighted driver was looking for?” Bai Liu asked. Before Ye Xue could respond, he continued, “I heard from the people at the temple that the real cause of their deaths wasn’t the accident.”
Noticing Ye Xue looking at him as if waiting for more, Bai Liu leaned closer and whispered, “I heard they died of fright. Before they died, they called the police to confess, detailing how three years ago, they had conspired with their family to harm a wealthy relative and steal his inheritance.”
Bai Liu opened the temple’s group chat to show Ye Xue, who found that the Taoists were also gossiping about it.
As Ye Xue scrolled through the chat records, she pieced together the events that had transpired.
The wealthy man was kind-hearted and had supported many students from impoverished areas, even establishing a charitable foundation to help poor families, thus changing many lives for the better.
Three years ago, out of goodwill, he had taken his relatives into his villa and allowed them to work in his company.
However, no one expected that this kindness would attract wolves in sheep’s clothing.
After they had killed the wealthy man, they had been on the run, hiding in rural villages. The reason they had come to Haicheng was that they claimed ghosts were pursuing them, so they drove here to escape.
Now that everything had settled, the wealthy man had taken his revenge and should be able to reincarnate peacefully.
As time passed, the university’s opening season finally arrived.
At that point, Bai Liu finally felt a sense of “my formidable master is a freshman” wash over him.
Since Bai Liu had matters to attend to, he asked Bai Liu and Xu Zhou to accompany Ye Xue to report to school.
Bai Liu and Xu Zhou helped carry her luggage, while Ye Xue had almost nothing with her, just the backpack she had brought.
As they stood at the entrance of Haicheng University, Bai Liu remarked nostalgically, “Now I can say I’ve stepped into the gates of a key university.”
Hearing this, Ye Xue turned to look at her nephew.
Bai Liu said, “Ah, Master, you don’t know—I almost got into Haicheng University myself!”
“Almost?”
Just as Bai Liu was about to say more, Xu Zhou mercilessly exposed him: “Yeah, the admission line for Haicheng University was 655, and he scored 65.5 in Chinese. Isn’t that just ‘almost’?”
Failing the Chinese exam was a deep wound in Bai Liu’s heart, and he immediately exploded, saying, “Senior, don’t insult me by bringing up past mistakes!”
Xu Zhou replied lazily, “This is called being realistic.”
Ye Xue couldn’t help but laugh.
The group entered the school gate, joking and laughing. Along the way, students frequently glanced their way, with most eyes on Ye Xue since such an exceptionally beautiful girl was rare.
If it weren’t for her “guardians” by her side, many would have already approached her for contact information.
After registering and filling out her information, Ye Xue asked a student council volunteer where the dormitory was, then led Bai Liu and Xu Zhou directly there.
Since it was just the beginning of the school year, the dormitory staff had not yet started restricting male students from entering female dorms, so they easily helped Ye Xue move her things in.
Ye Xue lived in a four-person dormitory, and besides her, two of her roommates had already arrived.
Ye Xue initially intended to clean her desk herself, but Xu Zhou and the others stopped her. Bai Liu even volunteered to help her make the bed, determined to ensure Ye Xue felt “right at home.”
One of Ye Xue’s roommates, Gao Lan, remarked, “Ye Xue, your brothers are so nice to you! Unlike my cousin, who only asks if I’ve woken up when I ask him to help wash a dish.”
Ye Xue smiled and corrected her, “They’re not my brothers.”
Gao Lan was puzzled; such thoughtfulness couldn’t possibly come from someone who wasn’t family. Then she heard Ye Xue say, “They’re my nephews.”
In her mind, Ye Xue concluded that there wasn’t much difference between “nephew” and “brother.”
Gao Lan exclaimed, “Wow, you have a high status!”
Ye Xue smiled, “It’s just average.”
After a while, they took their blankets out to the balcony to air them out.
Gao Lan struggled to toss her blanket over the railing and, upon seeing Ye Xue looking relaxed, couldn’t help but feel envious.
After finishing her work, Ye Xue came over to help them.
Gao Lan smiled at Ye Xue, just about to say something when she caught sight of a red figure in the science building across the way. Her expression froze, turning slightly pale. She exclaimed in surprise, “Why is there a red figure over there?”
Before the school year started, the older students had warned them that Building 404 was a dangerous building currently under consideration for reconstruction, advising them not to go near it.
Thus, there shouldn’t be any figures in that building, let alone one in such a sensitive color as red.
In an instant, scenes from ghost stories she had watched flashed through Gao Lan’s mind, and her face turned pale.
Another roommate, Wei Cai Ning, followed her gaze but saw nothing. “There’s nothing there. Did you see it wrong?”
When Xu Zhou and Bai Liu heard the commotion, they walked over as well.
Wei Cai Ning’s words made Gao Lan doubt herself. She said confusedly, “But I saw a woman in red… Ye Xue, did you see it just now?”
Facing her roommate’s anxious gaze, Ye Xue cooperatively looked in that direction, ignoring the red-clad ghost floating on the top floor. She reassured her, “I didn’t see anything.”
Ye Xue had become quite skilled at telling little white lies.
While she thought to herself, “Wow, there are ghosts at a university in a big city,” her expression remained calm, and she even smiled to reassure her roommate.
Hearing Ye Xue’s gentle voice, Gao Lan gradually calmed down. She glanced back at Building 404 and saw that there was indeed nothing there. The fear she had felt earlier faded, and she smiled awkwardly, “I must have seen it wrong.”
The two turned around and went back to the dormitory.
Bai Liu and Xu Zhou looked over and also saw the ghostly figure across the way.
Bai Liu thought, “What the heck, there’s another ghost!”
As he pondered this, he looked at the figure across the way, then at Ye Xue, suddenly seeming to understand something. He exclaimed, “So Master, you’re the legendary Conan!”
Ye Xue: “…”
Indeed, if you don’t scold them for three days, they’ll take over the house.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152