IMMFBCG Chapter 45

Chapter 45: The Fortune-Turning Talismans

Unbeknownst to her, Ye Xue had already spent nearly a week of her winter break at Xuan Zhen Temple.

During this time, the temple’s official Weibo account continued to operate. With the temple’s external promotion, it gradually gained over four thousand followers. Compared to the few who followed when it first opened its Weibo account, the current operation could be considered to have some scale, slowly aligning itself with the Dao Association’s official presence.

To solidify their popularity, Bai Liu would occasionally give away blessed beads as prizes for drawings. It seemed that netizens preferred these blessed talismans over the talismans themselves. The previous ghost-expelling talisman lottery had confirmed this; after all, ordinary people rarely encountered ghosts, rendering ghost-expelling talismans largely useless.

As the New Year approached, Ye Xue began packing her things to return to her hometown for the holiday.

While she was organizing her luggage, Bai Liu rushed in, panting and holding his phone.

Seeing him in such a hurry, Ye Xue joked, “What’s wrong, did a ghost chase you?”

Bai Liu shook his head and showed Ye Xue his phone. “Master Uncle, it seems like they’re using things like fortune-turning talismans or koi to attract traffic and shares. Do you think our temple should do the same?”

Ye Xue glanced at the phone, which displayed a Weibo post from Tian Yi Temple featuring koi. The text read, “Share this koi post to receive incredible luck.”

After staring at the koi for a moment, Ye Xue suddenly remembered, “Aren’t those the ones sold over at the square? Three for ten yuan?”

“Exactly!” Bai Liu’s tone was filled with envy. “And so many people have shared it! Look, it has over a thousand shares, which is a quarter of our follower count!”

Ye Xue replied, “There’s no need to sound so miserable about it.”

Noticing Bai Liu’s eagerness to boost the temple’s KPIs, she suggested, “How about this? You take some pictures of the ancestral statue and post a Weibo in a similar format.”

“Will that work?” Bai Liu asked.

“… It’s certainly more useful than Tian Yi Temple’s koi for ten yuan,” Ye Xue said.

Bai Liu nodded vigorously. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed the talismans and cinnabar on Ye Xue’s desk and turned back.

He pointed at the talisman paper and ink, curious, “Master Uncle, are you practicing drawing talismans with both hands?”

Ye Xue looked at him in surprise. “Do you think I’m some sort of jack-of-all-trades? I can’t possibly practice talismans with both hands.”

Bai Liu picked up a talisman to examine it while saying, “That’s not certain. Aren’t you a genius? If even deities can do it, what’s ‘dual approach’ to you?”

Ye Xue laughed at his comments and then replied, “What are you talking about? The other one is for Yu Qi; he’s teaching me how to draw talismans.”

“Teaching you how to draw talismans?” Bai Liu was surprised. “You still have things you can’t do?”

Ye Xue shot him a look. “Of course I do. Learning is a lifelong process. Besides, there are some talismans that my master never mentioned in his notes. For instance, that fortune-turning talisman you’re holding is one that Yu Qi taught me.”

Upon hearing it was a fortune-turning talisman, Bai Liu carefully examined it several times. The cinnabar was still wet, indicating it had just been drawn not long ago.

Bai Liu didn’t ask why Yu Qi had come to Ye Xue’s room, but he did ask, “Can I take a picture of this to post on Weibo with the ancestral statue?”

Ye Xue agreed. “Sure, all those on the table are fair game.”

Bai Liu shook the talisman in his hand. “Then I’ll take this one.”

With that, he hurriedly dashed out, clearly eager to manage the Weibo account.

Ye Xue continued packing but, after a moment’s thought, put away the cinnabar yellow talisman. However, halfway through, she paused, glanced at the talismans, counted them, and realized, “Oh, Bai Liu took Yu Qi’s!”

Bai Liu arrived at the main hall, took several pictures of the Sanqing Ancestral Statue, and then arranged the photos into a grid with the fortune-turning talisman in the center. He edited the text and posted it.

Xuan Zhen Temple V: 【Image】【Image】… Infinite longevity and blessings! As the New Year approaches, Xuan Zhen Temple presents a fortune-turning talisman. Share this Weibo post to receive the best news you’ve been waiting to hear soon.

After the post went live, it garnered more shares than the initial lottery post. Many people followed the trend and shared it, quickly bringing the total to three figures.

After posting, Bai Liu didn’t monitor it further; he logged off to play games.

When Xu Zhou took over the Weibo account and logged into the official account, he was suddenly hit with a notification count of 999+. An avalanche of messages flooded in, almost causing the site to freeze. As soon as he logged in, he was bombarded with “ding ding ding” notifications, forcing him to quickly turn off the sound.

Xu Zhou initially thought something was wrong, but when he opened the main page, he discovered Bai Liu had posted a fortune-turning post, and it had suddenly amassed over three thousand shares.

Xu Zhou found it strange; although many people on Weibo believed in such things, the official account only had a little over four thousand followers, many of whom were inactive. It was puzzling that so many people were sharing it.

Upon closer inspection, he saw the top comment from a girl’s post: “Oh wow, I came to fulfill my wish! Ahhh, I didn’t expect that sharing this would win me a koi prize!”

Out of curiosity, Xu Zhou clicked on the user’s profile and found the reason.

It turned out she had shared Xuan Zhen Temple’s fortune post twenty minutes earlier, wishing to win a big influencer’s Weibo lottery. Shortly after she shared it, the lottery results were announced, and her name was on the winners’ list.

The prize pool included digital products worth hundreds of thousands, attracting significant attention from Weibo users with its six-figure share count.

After the results were announced, netizens rushed to check the winner’s profile and saw she had shared Xuan Zhen Temple’s fortune post. Regardless of its authenticity, they decided to give it a shot. Thus, the traffic generated by the lottery post led to more attention on Xuan Zhen Temple’s official account.

Initially, netizens shared the post out of curiosity, but some who made wishes found that it seemed to work.

As a result, the share list of this Weibo post was nearly filled with users expressing their fulfilled wishes: “It’s accurate!!! Just after sharing, the long-delayed compensation funds were deposited. I recommend everyone to try it!” “Fulfilled my wish! Just got the notification that I passed the big company interview! I thought I had lost hope!”

Bai Liu was astonished when he heard the news. “Oh wow, I can’t let this fortune flow to outsiders. Can I stick this talisman over my bed?”

He hurried to tape the talisman up and then bought a lottery ticket, eagerly awaiting the results, only to find he didn’t win a single number and wasted twenty yuan.

Bai Liu soon accepted that he was unlikely to get rich quickly and reconciled himself to being a poor guy.

As snow began to fall in Haicheng, New Year’s Eve was also fast approaching.

Unlike other companies, the temple didn’t take time off for the holidays. The New Year was Xuan Zhen Temple’s busiest time, as many devotees would come to the temple to light incense and pray for blessings. The temple also had to prepare items for the blessing ceremonies and would hold the rituals on the first day of the lunar new year to pray for disaster relief and good fortune for the people.

This was the first time Xuan Zhen Temple was hosting such a grand ceremony, as there had previously been too few devotees to make it feasible.

As Ye Xue was packing her suitcase to return to the village for the holiday, Bai Liu grabbed her hand, tearfully pleading, “Master Uncle, I can’t bear to see you go! Why don’t you take me with you to celebrate in the countryside? We can keep each other company!”

He turned away, as if something had gotten in his eyes, but quickly turned back to continue choking up, “I’m worried about you going back alone!”

Ye Xue felt his tears soaking her hand and, feeling rather helpless, said, “The cotton doll isn’t crying; why are you?”

Originally, Ye Xue had intended to take the cotton doll back with her, but after thinking it over, since the temple was going to hold a blessing ceremony, leaving it there to benefit from the incense would help enhance its spiritual cultivation. Perhaps one day, it would gain a human soul and spirit, and it could become a real person.

The cotton doll, held by Xu Zhou, was on the verge of crying as it faced separation from Ye Xue. But upon hearing her praise, it instantly forgot its sadness and became smug. Seeing Bai Liu’s disheveled appearance, it even gleefully taunted, “Look at you…”

Xu Zhou noticed Bai Liu secretly putting away eye drops and preparing to put on a show again, and couldn’t help but smirk as he called him out, “I think you’re not truly reluctant to leave Master Uncle; you just want to go back with Ye Xue to slack off, right?”

While the temple worked during the New Year, the underworld would be even busier. New Year’s and Qingming were peak times for wandering spirits, and Bai Liu’s jurisdiction covered the entire Haicheng area.

If he left Haicheng, he wouldn’t have to worry about spirit-sending and overtime work all day long.

Bai Liu looked at Ye Xue with a pleading expression and said, “Master Uncle, I don’t want to work hard anymore…”

Ye Xue patted his head, smiling as she refused, “Nephew, you should stay here and bask in the sacred light of the spirits.”

Bai Liu attempted to struggle. “Then I’ll take you to the bus station.”

Ye Xue had bought a bus ticket because her place didn’t have high-speed rail or a train station yet, so she had no choice but to take the coach.

However, Ye Xue shook her head. “No, I’m not going back alone.”

Just as Bai Liu was about to ask who else was accompanying her, he heard movement behind him. Yu Qi was approaching with a black suitcase, clearly also heading out.

Seeing this, Bai Liu couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Yu, you’re not staying at the temple? There are going to be even more ghosts outside during the festival.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized, “Wait, did Master Uncle mean… you two?”

Ye Xue nodded with a smile. “That’s right, Yu Qi is going back with me to celebrate the New Year.”

Bai Liu’s eyes widened in surprise, and he muttered softly, “You’re already going back to meet the parents.”

Ye Xue shot him a glance. “What did you say?”

Just as Bai Liu was about to respond, Xu Zhou nudged his arm.

Xu Zhou quietly reminded him, “Mr. Yu is going to check on the Seven Star Sword.”

When Ye Yangyun mentioned this to Ye Xue over the phone, Xu Zhou was also present.

The Seven Star Sword, now claimed by Yu Qi, was currently placed in the Rong Gui Well, temporarily replacing the female sword to suppress the malevolent spirits within.

Recently, the Seven Star Sword had been acting restlessly.

The Dao Association was concerned that there might be some disturbance at the Rong Gui Well, so they wanted Yu Qi to visit and check on the sword.

Since Yu Qi was traveling with Ye Xue, Ye Yangyun suggested that she set off with Yu Qi on her way home, allowing them to celebrate the holiday together.

Though Bai Liu still had his doubts, he didn’t ask anything further.

The group waved goodbye to Ye Xue and Yu Qi at the entrance, watching them leave.

Before they departed, Yu Qi took Ye Xue’s luggage, effortlessly carrying one in each hand.

As they walked, Ye Xue explained, “The bus to Shangli City takes about four hours. Once we reach the terminal, we’ll transfer to a bus to the county. After that, we’ll likely have to find a motorcycle or tricycle since the bus to the village only runs twice a day. By the time we get there, the last bus will probably have already left.”

Yu Qi nodded slightly as he listened. “When I was a kid, I had to take a similar route to find my master in the mountains.”

This was somewhat reminiscent of Ye Yangyun; Ye Xue’s master had also gone into hiding, which was why he lived in such a remote place.

Ye Xue’s village was nestled in the mountains, making it inaccessible to regular vehicles. When it rained, the roads became so muddy and pockmarked that they were even harder to traverse.

This was why Ye Xue wanted to earn money to fix the roads in her village. It wasn’t just her; nearly every student who had come out of the mountains contributed part of their wages to the village committee for road repairs. Initially, it seemed like a drop in the bucket, but over time, those contributions accumulated, gradually improving the roads.

When Ye Yangyun called Ye Xue, he mentioned that the road into the mountains had become much easier to navigate, and once it was finished in a couple of years, cars would be able to drive straight in.

After checking their tickets, the two placed their luggage in storage and quickly found their assigned seats.

The bus had a somewhat unpleasant smell, so Ye Xue asked Yu Qi, “Do you get car sick?”

Yu Qi shook his head and encouraged her to sit by the window.

Once seated, Ye Xue pulled out two masks, put one on herself, and then nudged Yu Qi’s arm to give him the other one.

As Yu Qi turned to her, he saw Ye Xue wearing a blue mask, her features obscured except for her beautiful, pure black eyes.

Because of the mask, Ye Xue’s voice sounded a bit muffled. “The smell of gasoline is too strong; you should put this on.”

Yu Qi took it and obediently put it on, his eyes shining even brighter than the obsidian on his wrist. “All set.”

As the bus started moving, Ye Xue took a small blanket out of her bag and split it in half with Yu Qi, leaning against the window to rest.

The blanket enveloped the two of them, creating an intimate atmosphere.

Yu Qi gazed at the soft fabric in front of him, lost in thought.

Not long after, there was a commotion by the window. Ye Xue, deep in sleep, didn’t wake up but slightly furrowed her brow.

Yu Qi looked out the window.

A bloody, distorted face was pressed against the glass, staring directly at him. Its empty eye sockets, void of eyeballs, seemed to fixate on him, occasionally drooling, clearly attracted to Yu Qi’s aura.

Inside the bus, it was quiet; most passengers were listening to music or sleeping, so no one would notice the disturbance. Even if they did glance over, all they would see was a bloodstained window.

The malevolent spirit pulled away from the glass only to slam its face back against it again, revealing a sinister grin. When it opened its mouth, remnants of flesh and blood clung to its teeth, as if it were saying to Yu Qi, “I’m coming in.”

Yu Qi remained calm, studying the spirit, seemingly trying to discern what kind of ghost it was.

Eventually, the spirit lost patience and directly dove through the glass, but before it could touch Yu Qi, it was struck by the Five Mountains True Form Diagram.

Yu Qi slapped a talisman on its face, and an electric charge surged, sending up a cloud of thick smoke.

With a scream, the spirit didn’t have a chance to retaliate before Yu Qi captured it in a bottle inscribed with spells.

The other passengers didn’t hear anything but caught a whiff of something burning and glanced around curiously. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, they returned their gazes elsewhere.

Ye Xue rubbed her eyes awake. “I think I heard something just now; what happened?”

Yu Qi didn’t rush to explain. First, he tucked her blanket more snugly around her, then, as if performing a magic trick, he presented her with a bottle.

Ye Xue looked down at the bottle.

It was the talisman she had given Yu Qi for self-defense, having been blessed in front of the Three Pure Ones, capable of trapping restless spirits.

She was puzzled as to why Yu Qi was returning it to her.

Blinking her eyes, she examined the bottle closely and soon realized it contained a faintly unconscious malevolent spirit.

Yu Qi stated seriously, “It must have escaped from the Rong Gui Well.”

Ye Xue took the bottle, slowly coming to her senses.

She shook the bottle and asked Yu Qi, “Where did you catch it?”

Yu Qi looked innocent. “It came crashing in on its own.”