IMMFBCG Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Talking About Money Hurts Feelings

The Daoist temple fell silent for a moment.

Lu Xuezhen noticed their expressions and realized how offensive his comment had been. He quickly apologized, “Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean it that way, my bad!”

Ye Xue and the others didn’t hold it against him. Even though it sounded harsh, what he said was true. The temple was indeed shabby and unconvincing in appearance.

Xu Zhou asked, “I heard you mention earlier that you need help exorcising a ghost. What happened?”

As soon as Xu Zhou brought it up, Lu Xuezhen recalled his troubles and sighed heavily, summing it up as “It’s a sad story that would bring tears to anyone’s eyes.”

He recounted his recent experiences.

Lu Xuezhen was a senior at Haicheng High School, where classes had resumed early in August due to extra lessons. Upon returning to the dormitory and reuniting with his roommates, one of them suggested doing something exciting that night, leading the group to decide on playing Bi Xian (a ghost-summoning game).

Like many young people these days, his roommates were quite bold. After agreeing on the plan, they quickly gathered paper and a pen to start the game.

Although Lu Xuezhen was reluctant, he didn’t want to be called a coward by his friends, so he went along with it, despite his fear.

But right after they started summoning, the dormitory lights suddenly blew out, leaving them in total darkness. The entire building erupted in chaos, which drew the attention of the dorm supervisor. When the dorm manager began knocking on doors to restore order, Lu and his friends scrambled to hide their setup, tossing the paper and pen aside and pretending to sleep.

“So, not only did you fail to send the spirit away, but you also didn’t dispose of the pen or burn the paper?” Bai Liu clicked his tongue, “That’s pretty bold.”

It was like leaving your door wide open for a thief to walk in.

Ye Xue asked, “What happened after that?” She noticed Lu Xuezhen looked haggard, clearly having been tormented recently.

At her question, Lu Xuezhen’s face fell, looking as if he were on the verge of tears. “We had no idea we summoned a spirit. We barely said a few words, and this Bi Xian turned out to be incredibly… enthusiastic. After that…”

Following the game, one of his roommates started acting strangely. Initially, they thought nothing of it, but soon this roommate became obsessive about cleanliness, no longer leaving dirty socks lying around and cleaning the dorm with compulsive precision. At first, they thought he’d just turned over a new leaf. But then things took a darker turn—he began entering the women’s restroom by mistake and acting inappropriately with female students, leading the entire school to see him as a creep.

One night, Lu Xuezhen woke up to find his roommate sitting nearby with a fruit knife in hand, staring off into the distance. When he noticed Lu had woken up, he turned to him and eerily said, “Oh, you’re awake.”

Seeing the blade pointed at him, Lu nearly wet himself in fear.

Both Lu and another superstitious roommate immediately connected this to the Bi Xian game, thinking they had failed to send the ghost away and that their roommate had become possessed. They began secretly planning to seek help.

But it seemed like “he” was catching on and started acting more erratically.

And the worst part…

Lu Xuezhen, on the verge of tears, wailed, “You guys have no idea how twisted this Bi Xian is! He even forced me to clean the bathroom, demanding the tiles be spotless. Otherwise, he threatened to use my head as a cleaning tool!”

“Hmm…” Ye Xue hesitated before saying, “Sounds like a ghost with a bit of a cleanliness obsession?”

“Whether it’s OCD or not, I can’t live like this anymore! I’ve spent so much time scrubbing and soaking in water that the skin on my hands is peeling!” Lu Xuezhen took a deep breath and looked at Ye Xue and the others, pleading, “I don’t have much money with me right now, but if you can help me get rid of this Bi Xian, I’ll give you everything I make from my part-time job!”

“Talking about money hurts feelings,” Ye Xue said righteously, extending her hand. “Exorcising demons and protecting the Dao is our duty. Deal!”

Meanwhile, Bai Guanzhu, who had been away from the temple for a few days, was now at a luxurious villa along with several of his Daoist peers, including Jian Simian and his father from Tianyi Temple.

Jian Simian stared at the young man sitting by the window in the study. The youth had an incredibly handsome face, with long, thick eyelashes and features that seemed sculpted by a divine hand—flawless in every way. Jian had only seen two people with such striking looks: one was Yu Qi, and the other was that infuriating celestial master from Xuanzhen Temple.

Yu Qi sat upright, gazing out the window, deep in thought. His face was pale, and veins could be seen clearly beneath his skin. A fit of heavy coughing broke the silence in the study, and he wiped away blood from his lips with a handkerchief before returning to his serene contemplation of the outside world.

Jian Simian overheard his father murmuring to the others, “Still no luck?”

An elder from the Daoist sect shook his head. “If we could find something, we would have by now. Even his master could only barely keep him alive. But that master passed away long ago. At this point, it’s all up to fate.”

As the others speculated about Yu Qi’s death, the young man seemed unfazed, his focus still on the world outside.

When Yu Qi was born, strange phenomena appeared in the skies above Haicheng. Even the reclusive patriarch of the Zhengyi Sect came out of seclusion to take him as his final disciple, giving him the eight-character fortune reading: “Born with an immortal bone, a natural Dao body.”

Yu Qi lived up to those words, learning everything quickly and never forgetting a thing. He was even able to lift the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Sword, a feat no one had accomplished before.

The Daoist community had high hopes for Yu Qi, thinking a true prodigy had finally emerged. But fate played a cruel trick on them. Despite learning rapidly, Yu Qi never managed to fully master his abilities. Though he could wield the Seven-Star Sword, he couldn’t harness its power. Worse, his body grew increasingly frail, requiring expensive herbs to keep him alive. His master, the most respected elder in the Daoist world, searched endlessly for a solution but never found the cause of Yu Qi’s weakness.

Not long after, Yu Qi’s master reached the end of his life and passed away.

Afterward, Yu Qi’s parents died in a car accident. As their son, Yu Qi arranged the funeral and inherited their estate, though he was surrounded by relatives who eagerly awaited his death.

He had become truly alone. His remaining family viewed him as a cursed “lone star,” and no one dared approach him.

Jian Sinian often overheard his peers in the Daoist sect secretly referring to Yu Qi as the “wasteful genius,” clearly resentful that someone with no real cultivation was their senior. However, despite their private thoughts, whenever they encountered Yu Qi, they still had to respectfully address him as “Mr. Yu.”

As they left the study, others gathered outside and surrounded them.

Yu Qi’s aunt approached with a concerned expression and asked, “Daoists, how is Yu Qi doing?”

Upon hearing this, Jian Sinian rolled his eyes.

It was clear that her concern wasn’t whether Yu Qi could be saved, but when he would die. Yu Qi’s parents had left a will, naming him as the primary heir to the family fortune. As his sole living relative, she stood to inherit the estate once he passed.

Yu Qi’s parents had intended for their sister to care for him, but she saw him as a cursed figure and treated him like a plague. Now that she saw an opportunity to inherit the Yu family’s wealth, she was pretending to care.

Not only Yu Qi’s aunt, but all of his relatives hoped for his early demise, constantly scheming over his inheritance.

Bai Guanzhu was well aware of the Yu family’s character and ignored them. Instead, he turned to Jian Guanzhu and said, “Dao brother, thank you for your support of Xuanzhen Temple.”

The other Daoists were dumbfounded. What? Aren’t Tianyi Temple and Xuanzhen Temple sworn enemies? They used to mock and sneer at each other, with Bai Ziang even faking illness to avoid seeing Jian Caiying. And now they’re suddenly on good terms?

Jian Caiying’s face turned a mix of colors as he thought about how his temple had been questioned over the matter in recent days. He coldly snorted, but still maintained his dignity and replied, “You’re welcome.”

After some polite small talk, everyone tacitly ignored the Yu family, who were watching intently.

Over the past few days, the Yu family had subtly asked them about Yu Qi’s condition several times.

Thinking about this, Bai Guanzhu sighed softly and turned to Yu Qi’s bodyguard and assistant, saying, “Please make sure your master takes care of himself. We’ll be on our way now.”

Yu Qi’s aunt was completely ignored. Watching them leave, her face turned green with anger, and she cursed in frustration, “A bunch of stinking Daoists! You’ll all come begging to me one day.”

Though they had agreed to help Lu Xuezhen exorcise the ghost, someone still had to stay behind and watch the temple.

After a round of rock-paper-scissors to decide, Bai Liu was left behind to guard Xuanzhen Temple, while Ye Xue and Xu Zhou accompanied Lu Xuezhen to his school.

The two of them entered the school under the guise of being Lu Xuezhen’s relatives.

At first, the dorm supervisor was a bit suspicious and hesitant to let strangers upstairs. However, Ye Xue’s sweet looks and charming smile, along with her natural warmth, quickly won the supervisor over. Within no time, the supervisor was beaming and even gave them some winter dates as a gift.

Seeing this, Lu Xuezhen was astonished, eyes wide with disbelief. The dorm supervisor, whom students nicknamed the “Tyrant,” was acting like a kind neighborhood aunt around Ye Xue. Impressed, he wondered if this was some special guest-handling technique from the temple.

No wonder the temple, despite its shabby appearance, managed to attract clients. After all, he had only dared to step inside because Ye Xue was so beautiful.

With Ye Xue’s help, the three of them easily made it into the boys’ dormitory.

Since it was the weekend, there weren’t many students around, so Ye Xue and Xu Zhou’s presence didn’t attract much attention.

Lu Xuezhen’s dorm was on the sixth floor, and without an elevator, the climb was a bit tiring.

Suddenly, Lu Xuezhen remembered something and asked, “By the way, you two… do you have any way to let me see the ghost?”

Hearing this, Ye Xue raised an eyebrow.

Just moments ago, the image of Lu Xuezhen sobbing was still fresh in her mind, and now he had the nerve to want to see a ghost. She smiled and asked him, “Are you sure? It might be really scary.”

Lu Xuezhen, trying to act experienced, replied, “Nah, it’s fine. I’ve watched tons of ghost movies—what haven’t I seen?” Of course, he’d never dare ask such a thing without them around, so this was him borrowing their authority for a little bravado.

Since the client made the request, there was no point in trying to dissuade him.

Xu Zhou handed him a bottle. “This has ox tears inside. Just put two drops in your eyes, and you’ll be able to see.”

Lu Xuezhen hesitated and asked, “That simple? No incantations or anything? Like ‘swish swish swish’ or ‘whoosh whoosh whoosh’?”

Xu Zhou looked puzzled, and Ye Xue was equally confused. “‘Swish swish’ and ‘whoosh whoosh’?”

“You know, like those urgent incantations in the movies! Lam Ching-ying and Sammo Hung! I love watching their ghost movies!” Lu Xuezhen enthusiastically mimicked the gestures as he spoke.

Ye Xue was amused by how eager he seemed to perform it himself and chuckled. “There are spells, sure, but if we used them, you’d be cursed with bad luck for a day or two. Especially someone like you—after using it, I guarantee you’d be cozying up with ghosts for the next half month.”

That sounded terrifying.

Lu Xuezhen quickly waved his hands. “In that case, never mind.”

He then put two drops of ox tears into his eyes and looked around, scanning his surroundings intently. “Huh, I don’t see any difference,” he remarked.

Xu Zhou patiently explained, “That’s because there are no ghosts nearby.”

“Oh, I see,” Lu Xuezhen nodded, realizing that if ghosts were everywhere, it would be way scarier.

Just then, Ye Xue stopped walking and said, “We’re here.”

Lu Xuezhen’s dorm was easy to recognize. It was the only one filled with an oppressive, eerie aura, looking like something straight out of a haunted house.

Ye Xue had mentally prepared herself for what she assumed would be a sleazy, troublesome male ghost. However, when she opened the door and saw the scene inside, she was momentarily stunned. “Uh…”

Lu Xuezhen’s roommates were being forced by the ghost to clean—tears in their eyes as they scrubbed the windows, swept, and mopped.

“I told you, I want this place spotless! Not a speck of dust! Do you understand what ‘spotless’ means?” The ghost, sitting in a chair, angrily scolded them. “Now I get why you’re all still single. With attitudes like yours, what blind person would take pity on you?”

Lu Xuezhen’s roommates were utterly miserable—not only did they have to clean, but they were also being verbally abused. This ghost was pushing it.

One of his roommates, still wearing a pained expression, was scrubbing the floor when the ghost paused, seemingly sensing something. The ghost looked towards the door and, spotting Xu Zhou, raised an eyebrow. “Oh? A Daoist?”

Lu Xuezhen instinctively followed the ghost’s gaze.

Even though he couldn’t see the ghost, the faint image attached to his roommate didn’t look like a guy.

Wait—

“What the hell?! It’s a woman?!” He exclaimed in shock.

They had been sharing a dorm with a female ghost?!

“So what if I’m a woman? You think I enjoy being stuck with a bunch of stinking men?!”

Now that she had been discovered, the ghost dropped the pretense and revealed her true form.

Without the ghost’s support, the roommate’s body immediately collapsed to the ground, his face falling right into the mop bucket.

The other roommates were startled, not fully understanding what had happened, and barely managed to fish him out, pulling his head from the dirty water.

Ye Xue observed that the female ghost was quite pretty, her pale complexion doing little to mask her elegant features.

Lu Xuezhen was stunned—he hadn’t expected that the “ghost writer” who had been tormenting them all this time would look like this.

The female ghost raised her well-shaped brows and, noticing him staring, said, “What are you looking at? Just because I’m attractive and have many admirers doesn’t mean a chicken like you is worthy of a phoenix!”