IMMFBCG Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Another Apple

As the sky grew darker, there was nothing to see at the abandoned graveyard except for the glow of the fire providing light.

After burning the last piece of spirit money, Ye Xue pulled out a bag from beside her. She originally intended to leave all the fruits by the graves, but after some thought, she took out two apples and split them with Yu Qi. Only then did she offer the remaining fruits and vegetables to the departed souls.

The male ghost, who had been drooling over the scent of flesh earlier, completely forgot about it the moment he received his money. He held the spirit currency up to the firelight, inspecting it with great care.

Noticing his actions out of the corner of her eye, Ye Xue couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

The male ghost pocketed the money and chuckled. “Oh, nothing. I’m just checking if the bills are real.”

It’s one thing to check the authenticity of regular currency, but spirit money from the Bank of Heaven and Earth?

Hearing this, Yu Qi, who had been lost in thought while staring at his apple, glanced over at the ghost as well.

Ye Xue suddenly recalled a mishap from long ago: a candle shop once printed spirit money with an image of the Jade Emperor from a popular mythology TV series. For a long time, all the spirit money featured that character, causing quite a bit of confusion between the underworld and the mortal world.

After that incident, the underworld made strict rules about spirit currency—only consecrated bills could be used.

Being cautious is good and all, but…

Ye Xue couldn’t help but comment, “I even folded your gold ingots, and you’re worried I’d burn fake money?”

Hearing this, Yu Qi’s lips curved slightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

The male ghost quickly explained, “I was just worried some unscrupulous vendor might have scammed you.”

After all, fake currency isn’t exclusive to the living world.

Ye Xue didn’t argue further and used a stick to poke at the fire. The flames flickered, making the surrounding spirits appear even more transparent. The male ghost, however, seemed nearly solid, indicating he had been around for quite a while.

Though he looked young, some ghosts liked to keep their youthful appearance, even after hundreds of years, so it wasn’t that unusual.

Still, Ye Xue was curious and asked, “How long have you been dead?”

The male ghost’s expression grew complicated as if she had touched on a sore spot. He clutched the spirit money and suddenly started crying. “You don’t understand, Daoist! I studied how to repair pagers in college, but before I could graduate, pagers became obsolete! I was so upset, I jumped into a river! I’ve regretted it ever since…”

They used to offer degrees in pager repair. How long ago was that?

Ye Xue blinked and instinctively glanced at Yu Qi, who shook his head slightly, just as confused.

Feeling bad for the ghost, Ye Xue handed him her apple and comforted him, “It’s all in the past. When you reincarnate, you can choose a better major.”

Yu Qi noticed her gesture, looked at his apple, then glanced at the one in the ghost’s hand, before quietly lowering his gaze.

The male ghost took the apple and immediately stopped crying, sniffling as he said, “You’re such a kind person, Daoist! You give me money, food, and even comfort me. Maybe I should come live with you…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt a cold gaze land on him.

Turning around, he saw the very handsome young man looking at him with a calm yet icy expression.

The male ghost swallowed his words, realizing it wasn’t the time to continue.

Ye Xue hadn’t heard the last part and asked, “What did you just say?”

The male ghost, now terrified of Yu Qi’s cold stare, stammered, “Uh… I-I meant the incense was really tasty. Thanks!”

Ye Xue found his response a little odd but didn’t dwell on it. “No need to thank me. Just behave yourselves. As long as you don’t cause trouble, I’ll come back to offer you more in the future. But if you start scaring people again…”

At this point, Ye Xue smiled sweetly, her tone gentle as she said, “Remember that green hat from earlier…”

Recalling the earlier brutal incident, all the ghosts shivered uncontrollably, nodding vigorously in agreement.

Having said enough, Ye Xue noticed the fire was dying down, so she prepared to leave.

She turned to look at Yu Qi, only to find him lost in thought, his head lowered, eyes distant.

“Yu Qi?” she called.

It took him a moment to respond, raising his head slowly. “I’m here,” he replied, a bit sluggishly.

Ye Xue extinguished the remaining embers and covered them with dirt. Standing up, she said, “It’s getting late. Let’s head back. We can grab some dinner on the way—my treat!”

She smiled brightly, and something in Yu Qi’s chest seemed to stir, like a gentle scratch against his heart.

He pressed his fingers together and nodded, “Alright.”

As the flames extinguished and darkness enveloped the area, Yu Qi’s face quietly flushed a faint red, unnoticed by anyone.

The ghosts reluctantly watched Ye Xue leave.

The male ghost held the apple Ye Xue had given him, wiped it clean, and was about to take a bite when he heard footsteps approaching.

Looking up, he saw the young man standing before him, his expression calm as he extended his hand and said, “Give it to me.”

The male ghost blinked in confusion. “Give you what…?”

Following Yu Qi’s gaze to the apple in his hand, the ghost suddenly realized what he meant.

No way, sir…

…

Yu Qi lagged slightly as they walked. Ye Xue used her phone’s flashlight to light the way when another beam of light came closer, and Yu Qi caught up, walking beside her.

He handed her his apple. “This is for you.”

Ye Xue hadn’t eaten much that afternoon, so she was hungry by now. She took the apple and, surprised, asked, “Aren’t you going to eat it?”

Yu Qi quietly hid the apple he had taken from the male ghost and simply replied, “I have one.”

Ye Xue assumed he had more apples in the car. Feeling a bit hungry, she took a bite. The apple’s juice dribbled slightly, and Ye Xue wiped her mouth with her hand before continuing to eat.

Yu Qi’s gaze lingered on her lips before he quickly looked away as if he’d been burned. He lowered his eyes and softly asked, “Is it sweet?”

Ye Xue smiled and nodded. “It’s sweet.”

Hearing her reply, Yu Qi smiled as well.

After they had dinner, they returned to Xuan Zhen Temple.

Ye Xue had originally planned to have them drop her off at the cultural square, but Yu Qi insisted on walking her into the alley.

The ghost from the car accident wasn’t around, but the lanterns hanging by the door were lit.

When they reached the stone lion statues, Ye Xue turned to Yu Qi and asked, “Do you want to come inside for a bit?”

She thought about it for a moment and added, “You can also light some incense for the ancestor.”

Although Yu Qi had a protective talisman, they had just been in the wilderness, surrounded by lonely spirits, so he was likely to have picked up some lingering yin energy.

Yu Qi looked at her for a while before responding, “Okay.”

Noticing his sudden quietness, Ye Xue teased, “Since we got back, you’ve only been speaking one word at a time. Can you say more than just one word?”

Yu Qi was momentarily taken aback and seriously replied, “Sure?”

“Hahaha!” Ye Xue laughed. “You’re so funny.”

Yu Qi finally realized she was joking with him and chuckled helplessly.

As they reached the door, the cotton doll sensed Ye Xue’s presence and began to make soft noises. Its voice was so faint that Ye Xue only heard it after she entered the house.

Ye Xue changed the doll into the new clothes she had bought, and in an instant, the cotton doll transformed into a clean, pretty little girl.

The doll looked at itself shyly and asked, “Do I look good?”

Ye Xue’s eyes sparkled with laughter as she smiled brightly, “Of course, you look beautiful. Sweetie, let me introduce you to my friend.”

The cotton doll was mesmerized by her smile and dazedly nodded.

Ye Xue picked up the doll by the window, and as if something came to mind, she asked, “Where’s Bai Liu?”

By this time, the temple master Bai and Xu Zhou were already asleep, but Bai Liu was a night owl who rarely turned in early.

The cotton doll giggled mischievously, “Hehehe.”

It sounded oddly like it was taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune.

Ye Xue raised an eyebrow. “???”

Sometimes, she didn’t understand the communication between these spirit beings.

Not pressing further, Ye Xue carried the doll out of the room and placed it in front of the altar to enjoy some incense offerings.

Yu Qi had already lit the incense and respectfully bowed three times before the statue of the temple’s deity.

Once enough time had passed, Ye Xue removed the cotton doll from the altar and introduced her, “This is my friend, Yu Qi.”

She then looked at Yu Qi, lifting the doll to her face so he could get a better look. Smiling, she asked, “This is the new spirit I acquired. Her name is Ye Ling. Isn’t she cute?”

Ye Xue’s eyes were full of joy, her crescent-shaped eyes twinkling like stars, and her skin was as pale and delicate as moonlight. Her wind-tousled hair partially covered her lovely features.

Yu Qi’s fingers twitched as if he wanted to brush the stray hair from her face, but in the end, he held back and simply said softly, “Cute.”

It wasn’t clear whether he was referring to the doll or the person.

The cotton doll, however, seemed to pick up on something, huffed slightly, and scrutinized him.

…

Yu Qi didn’t stay at Xuan Zhen Temple for long. After lighting the incense, he sat with Ye Xue for a bit.

When it got late, he stood up to avoid disturbing her rest and politely said goodbye.

After putting the cotton doll back, Ye Xue walked Yu Qi to the temple gate. As they parted, she watched his figure and sighed, “I think this is the first time I’ve said goodbye to you without your soul being out of your body.”

After all, in the past, every time they met, Yu Qi was always in a soul-state.

Yu Qi pressed his lips together and corrected her, “Not the first time.”

“Hmm?” Ye Xue paused, then remembered, “Oh, right! There was that one time at the company.”

Yu Qi looked at her for a moment before looking away and said softly, “It’s late. You don’t need to see me off. Go get some rest.”

But Ye Xue removed the lantern hanging beside the temple and handed it to him. “Take this. It’ll ward off ghosts and also give you light.”

Her cool fingertips brushed against the back of his hand, and Yu Qi couldn’t help but shiver, lost in thought, wondering how her hands could be so cold.

Noticing that Yu Qi seemed a little dazed and hadn’t taken the lantern, Ye Xue suddenly realized, “Oh, I almost forgot—you have the Five Peaks Talisman.”

She was about to take the lantern back when a hand quickly grasped it, briefly covering hers before letting go.

Yu Qi took two steps back, hiding the flush creeping up his face, and said gently, “Go back inside.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

Ye Xue stood there for a moment, subconsciously touching the back of her hand, where the warmth of his touch still lingered.

Yu Qi’s hands were much warmer than hers.

Shaking off her thoughts, Ye Xue realized she was getting distracted and, with a slight shake of her head, closed the temple gate.

Yu Qi hadn’t gone far. Holding the lantern, he glanced back toward Xuan Zhen Temple just as Ye Xue disappeared inside.

He stood silently, watching until his view was completely blocked, and then gripped the lantern tightly before walking away.

When Ye Xue returned, she remembered something and decided to check in on Bai Liu’s room.

Sure enough, his body was cold, and his soul had left to travel with the ghosts.

Beside the bed was an old spare phone from the temple, used specifically to manage the temple’s Weibo account.

The phone’s storage was small—better than Ye Xue’s Nokia, though—and it could still run Weibo.

They had given her the password earlier, so she easily unlocked the phone and logged into Weibo to check the account.

The repost count was nearly six hundred.

Ye Xue quickly skimmed through the comments, most of which weren’t particularly noteworthy.

However, under the comment thread where He Siqi had mentioned a ghost-summoning charm, there were some new replies.

One commenter claimed they had purchased the charm and planned to test it out soon.

Ye Xue frowned slightly—this person was likely dealing with a scammer.

There was no such thing as a ghost-summoning charm; she had never seen it mentioned in any legitimate talisman records.

Just as she was debating whether to reply, she heard a groan from the bed. Bai Liu struggled to sit up, exclaiming, “Oh my goodness, I’m exhausted… Huh? Ye Xue, Shishu?”

Seeing Ye Xue sitting beside the bed, Bai Liu was about to complain bitterly about how ridiculously overworked Wei Xingteng was making him, but then his sharp eyes caught sight of the logo on Ye Xue’s jacket.

He gasped in shock. “Shishu, did you secretly get rich? Are we no longer a loving family?!”

Ye Xue was confused. “What are you talking about? Since when was I rich?”

Bai Liu sat down beside her, carefully picking up her sleeve. “Oh my gosh, this is the first time I’ve touched Chanel!”

Ye Xue still didn’t get it. “What are you talking about? This jacket was a gift from Yu Qi… Wait!”

She touched the fabric, slowly understanding, and asked Bai Liu directly, “Are you saying this jacket is expensive?!”

Bai Liu nodded, “Yep!”

Ye Xue’s voice trembled slightly, “How much?”

Bai Liu thought for a moment and then seriously replied, “I saw it on the official website before. Well… let’s just say it could buy our temple’s ancestor a brand-new outfit.”

Ye Xue was even more stunned. “…”

Did she just wear something that should have been gifted to their temple’s ancestor?!