IMMFBCG Chapter 71

Chapter 71: The Great Adventure

Ruan Xinghua studied at school for a while, and by the time he arrived at the Xuanzhen Temple, it was already getting dark.

As he walked into the temple, he suddenly felt a chill.

A cold wind blew past, and Ruan Xinghua instinctively rubbed his arms, looking around in confusion. “Why is it suddenly so windy?”

There seemed to be some kind of noise in the distance. Ruan Xinghua couldn’t quite make it out, but it gave him an eerie feeling.

With the sudden gust of cold wind and the temperature dropping sharply around him, Ruan Xinghua couldn’t help but feel uneasy, even though he was in the temple. He silently muttered “Wuliang Tianzun,” and then suddenly felt someone tap his shoulder.

Ruan Xinghua tensed up, cold sweat pouring down his back. He didn’t dare to turn around, and he shouted, “Oh my god!”

“What are you doing?” Bai Liu stood behind him, looking puzzled. “You’re just standing there, not moving.”

Ruan Xinghua recognized him as a member of the Xuanzhen Temple, and he immediately felt relieved. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, “Bai Daochang, did you hear anything just now?”

Bai Liu’s expression shifted slightly, and after a brief silence, he said, “Uh… nothing, just a little thing.”

Since the Taoist priest in the temple said so, Ruan Xinghua relaxed. “Then do you know where Ye Xue is? I need to talk to her about something.”

Ruan Xinghua had come to get some talismans.

Bai Liu said, “My Shishu is in the backyard. You know the way, right?”

Ruan Xinghua nodded. “I do.”

Bai Liu watched him walk away, then turned to look at the small pink figure on the pavilion. “Hey, stop crying. You almost scared someone just now.”

The same crying sound that had startled Ruan Xinghua earlier echoed again. The little girl cried as she looked at him, her pale face covered in tears, and her eyes were so white that they almost took up her entire eye socket, looking especially terrifying in the dark.

She sobbed, “Wuwu, you’re not Bai Wuchang!”

Bai Liu, both frightened and slightly amused, replied, “I never said I was!”

When the little ghost had asked for his autograph earlier, he had thought she admired him, but it turned out that she had heard Mr. Chang and his wife call his last name and mistook him for Bai Wuchang, Xie Bian.

After seeing Bai Liu’s signature, the little girl seemed deeply disappointed and began crying at Xuanzhen Temple.

Children’s cries were already heart-wrenching, and in this case, with a little ghost crying, it was even more distressing.

Bai Liu had no choice but to take the ghost outside and try to comfort her.

Just then, the “Car Accident Ghost,” who was on cleaning duty, came over with a red bucket, looking quite pleased with himself. “Oh, Bai Daochang, you’re taking care of a kid?”

Bai Liu, his head already aching from the ghost’s crying, replied with a forced smile, “Yes, Android.”

The Car Accident Ghost was momentarily stunned.

They exchanged a look and decided not to engage in any more banter.

Ruan Xinghua finished getting the talisman and left.

Not long after he left, Ye Xue arrived, her hands still covered in cinnabar.

After wiping her hands clean, she overheard Bai Liu agreeing with the little girl, promising to take her to play games later.

Ye Xue threw a talisman at Bai Liu. “Cut it out. Do you want to turn her into a gaming addict too?”

Bai Liu caught the talisman and hid it in his pocket, grumbling, “I can’t help it. If she keeps crying, my dad is probably going to kick both of us out of the temple.”

This little ghost was a special case, her resentment had turned into a cursed object.

They decided to take her back to the temple for some spiritual guidance.

But no matter how much spiritual guidance they gave her, they couldn’t let a minor play games. Were they supposed to let her take a gaming console into her next life?

The Car Accident Ghost looked at the little pink figure and, after thinking for a moment, suggested, “How about buying her a few sets of elementary school test papers?”

There was nothing that couldn’t be solved with test papers. If there was, just add another set.

Upon hearing this, the little ghost stared in shock, clearly not understanding how someone could be so mean.

Ye Xue and the Car Accident Ghost agreed. “Not bad. I’ll get her a teacher too.” She then patted Bai Liu’s shoulder, “Shidi, you should join us.”

Bai Liu’s face was filled with relief, but the next second, he heard some bad news. “Wait, I have to study too?!”

Not long after, Mr. and Mrs. Chang arrived at the temple.

This time, aside from handling their VIP package at the temple, they also wanted to talk to Ye Xue about the events that had happened a few days ago.

The rabbit doll had indeed been sent by a colleague as a way to vent their frustration.

Even if this matter were to get out, no one would believe it, but Mr. and Mrs. Chang didn’t want to just swallow their anger, so they used some subtle methods to teach their colleague a lesson.

Now that the person was busy and in a mess, they had already started to face the consequences of their actions.

Ye Xue handed them the registration form.

Wang Diemeng signed it and pushed the pen to her husband, urging him to sign too.

At that moment, Wang Diemeng seemed to hear someone crying, and the sound seemed familiar.

It sounded a little like Bai Liu’s voice.

Wang Diemeng asked, “Daochang, was someone crying just now?”

Ye Xue listened carefully for a moment, then, with a complicated expression, withdrew her attention. “Nothing. We’re in the middle of a test.”

“Huh?” Wang Diemeng was stunned.

Did Taoists have tests too?

Ye Xue saw off Mr. and Mrs. Chang and then walked toward Bai Liu’s room with an exasperated expression.

Sure enough, he was being stumped by a math problem, looking distressed.

The ghost in red threw down the chalk, her face full of disdain. “You’re useless. Even elementary school kids are more promising than you.”

Next to her, the little girl bit the tip of her pencil, concentrating on her calculations.

Bai Liu couldn’t help but argue, “Big sis, let’s be reasonable. She’s doing the ‘chickens and rabbits in the same cage’ problem, and I’m doing calculus. It’s not the same thing!”

By the end of his sentence, Bai Liu’s voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Ye Xue couldn’t help but laugh as she listened.

The red-dressed female ghost urged, “Hurry up and write. If you fail, I’ll let Daochang Ye confiscate your Switch and punish you by not allowing you to play games for three days!”

That was a death sentence!

The threat hit its mark, and Bai Liu dared not waste any more time. He bowed his head and frantically started answering the questions.

Ye Xue shut the door.

As she turned around, she ran into Yu Qi, who was walking toward her.

Ye Xue smiled. “Back already?”

Yu Qi took her hand, their fingers entwining as he gently nodded.

The daily routine of life had started to wear on him, but having Ye Xue by his side had gradually given him a sense of belonging.

Yu Qi turned his head to look at her, a smile flickering in his eyes.

…

When the cemetery was chosen, Ye Xue was still at school.

The second semester had more classes, so she couldn’t find the time to go.

Xu Zhou and Bai Liu had chosen a good day for the burial and laid the female ghost’s remains to rest in the cemetery.

When Bai Liu called, Ye Xue had just finished her elective class.

She answered the phone and was informed by Bai Liu that the remains had been properly interred.

Ye Xue nodded at a passing classmate and then said, “Good, thank you for your hard work.”

Bai Liu’s voice came through the phone. “No trouble at all. I’ll just take a break and do fewer test papers.”

Ye Xue chuckled and scolded him, “Go on, I bet you just want to play games!”

Over the phone, Bai Liu laughed, a little embarrassed, but didn’t argue.

Seeing that Bai Liu had been studying diligently lately, Ye Xue relented. “Fine, you can take a day off.”

The little ghost in the temple would soon need to be sent back to the underworld anyway.

He Siqi and Wei Caining’s elective classes happened to be at different times than Ye Xue’s.

When Ye Xue returned to the dormitory, only Gao Lan was there.

She was so engrossed in her phone that she didn’t hear the door open.

It wasn’t until Ye Xue set down her things that Gao Lan turned around and said, “Ah Xue, you’re back.”

“Yeah,” Ye Xue replied. “I bought some spicy hot pot. Do you want some?”

Gao Lan eagerly nodded, “Yes, yes! I have a bottle of soda. If you bring me a cup, we can share it.”

Ye Xue handed her the red cup.

Gao Lan twisted the cap off and poured the soda into the cup.

Ye Xue then asked, “What had you so absorbed earlier? You didn’t even hear me come in.”

Gao Lan set the bottle down. “Oh, it was just a few guys from my club. They were talking in our WeChat group about going on an adventure to a haunted house. They have some real guts…”

Ye Xue froze for a moment, surprised. “A haunted house? Where is it?”

Gao Lan looked back at the chat history and replied seriously, “I think it’s in the eastern outskirts. I heard that everyone who’s moved in there has had some kind of accident, so no one dares to buy the place anymore. The last owner just turned it into a haunted house attraction, hoping to make some profit off it. They saw the news online and decided to go check it out.”

Ye Xue furrowed her brow. “That’s bold.”

“I think so too,” Gao Lan agreed. Then she added, “But it seems like they even invited Taoists from Tianyi Temple to go with them.”

“Tianyi Temple?” Ye Xue pondered, her expression thoughtful.

Since it was a brother unit of the Xuanzhen Temple, there shouldn’t be any problems.

…

After Jian Si Nian got out of the car, he ran straight to a trash bin and started vomiting.

He didn’t even know what kind of hellish place they were heading to—it was so remote, with rugged and steep roads. The driver wasn’t very skilled either, driving like he was operating a tractor, bumping all the way.

Jian Si Nian started feeling nauseous halfway but there were no bags in the car, so he had to hold it in the entire time.

“Shidi, are you okay?” Jian Si Nian’s senior, Jiang Zhe, supported him and patted his back.

Jian Si Nian finally recovered, and when he saw the excited expressions of the students from Haicheng University, he felt even more complicated.

One of the members, Zhuang Wenxing, said, “I checked on Baidu Maps, it seems we need to head this way.”

Jian Si Nian was stunned and asked incredulously, “You guys don’t know the way?”

Zhuang Wenxing scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. “We just saw online that this house is supposed to be haunted, so we came to check it out.”

Hearing that, Jiang Zhe didn’t know what to say.

Jian Si Nian looked at the group of students, held back his frustration, and said, “Alright, let’s just find the place first.”

The group took out their phones and followed the navigation.

Slowly, they found the residential area.

There were many houses here, and not far away, a 24-hour convenience store was open, though it didn’t seem to be doing much business—there weren’t many customers.

Zhuang Wenxing looked around, trying to figure out where the haunted house was.

He scanned the area and suddenly noticed an older woman walking by with a shopping basket.

Zhuang Wenxing quickly went up to her, “Auntie, do you know where No. 164 Xinxing Road is?”

The woman looked at him strangely and asked, “That place hasn’t been inhabited for years. What are you going there for?”

Zhuang Wenxing replied, “I bought tickets online…”

The woman immediately gave him a look that said, “Young people are bold,” and without another word, she pointed down the road. “Keep walking straight, then take a left at the corner, go straight, and it’ll be there. It’s the only villa on that street. You should be able to find it easily.”

Zhuang Wenxing thanked her, “Thank you!”

The group noticed Zhuang Wenxing was missing, so they turned around to look for him.

Ren Xing’an looked at the figure ahead and called out, “Zhuang Wenxing, what are you doing? Hurry up and come over here!”

Hearing his friends call him, Zhuang Wenxing said goodbye to the woman and ran over.

Jian Si Nian and Jiang Zhe had just returned from the convenience store. “We asked in there, but as soon as the shopkeeper heard we were asking about the haunted house, he just waved us off and kicked us out.”

Zhuang Wenxing patted his chest. “I know where it is now!”

He led the group toward the direction the woman had pointed.

As the woman had said, the villa was easy to find—it was the only building in the area.

The architecture looked a bit old-fashioned, with a style from years ago.

The students stood hesitantly at the entrance, too afraid to go in.

Jian Si Nian glanced at them, thinking how they had been so bold on the way here, but now that they were actually at the haunted house, they were too scared to step in.

He and Jiang Zhe went in first.

Seeing this, the others followed.

The front door wasn’t locked; a gentle push and it swung open.

Zhuang Wenxing looked at the interior and commented in surprise, “I didn’t expect it to be so clean.”

The villa was fully furnished with furniture and appliances, and they were even able to connect to the Wi-Fi there.

The group split into pairs and began exploring.

Jian Si Nian frowned, about to tell them not to separate, but by the time he turned around, the group was already gone.

Seeing this, he had no choice but to split up with Jiang Zhe and go after them.

Zhuang Wenxing had been exploring the villa for half an hour and found nothing.

He sat down and said to the others nearby, “There’s nothing here. When I was washing my hands, not even the blood-from-the-tap scene that’s always in ghost movies happened.”

Ren Xing’an replied, “What, do you want to encounter a ghost?”

Then Ren Xing’an asked, “By the way, how did you find this place? Was it from the navigation?”

Zhuang Wenxing stretched and said, “No, that crappy navigation was useless. I asked a kind-hearted old lady and she gave me directions. When you called me earlier, I was asking for directions.”

Ren Xing’an’s face suddenly turned strange.

He stood there for a while, before speaking in a hesitant tone, “But Wenxing, when I saw you earlier, you were by yourself…”