IMMFBCG Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Know Yourself and Know Your Enemy

The sounds of conversation echoed incessantly from the villa.

Ye Xue looked at the chaotic scene before her, a wave of exasperation washing over her.

Without hesitation, she walked in and headed straight for Jian Sinian and Jiang Zhe, grabbing Jian Sinian by the collar.

Jian Sinian, held firmly by his clothes, struggled with all his might but found himself completely immobilized. His voice trembled with panic as he exclaimed, “What the hell, Senior Brother?! Why are there two ghosts?!”

Jiang Zhe, on the other hand, seemed relieved. Hearing Jian Sinian’s words, he blinked in confusion and murmured, “Maybe the one next to me moved over to you?”

Ye Xue rolled her eyes, pulled out a talisman, stuck it to her palm, and slapped Jian Sinian on the back of his head. “Ghosts, my foot! Snap out of it!”

The heat from the talisman surged through her hand and directly into Jian Sinian’s body.

He jolted as if struck by lightning, and the black mist clouding his vision dissipated instantly. Clarity returned to his eyes, but his face and hands were littered with bruises, and his once pristine robe was a filthy, tattered mess. He looked utterly bedraggled.

Finally noticing Ye Xue standing next to him, Jian Sinian gaped in astonishment. “What are you doing here?”

Adjusting her clothes with a calm demeanor, Ye Xue shot him a sidelong glance. “If I hadn’t come, you two would’ve ended up beating each other to death.”

Before Jian Sinian could fully process her words, Ye Xue had already turned and approached Jiang Zhe.

Hearing soft footsteps, Jiang Zhe, still on edge, assumed a ghost had approached again. Just as he was about to strike, Ye Xue smacked him on the back of the head.

The pain made him shut his eyes tightly, and when he reopened them, the oppressive black mist was gone.

As his thoughts began to settle, Jiang Zhe realized they had been ensnared in an illusion without noticing. The entire time, they’d been aimlessly circling as if caught in a maze of their own making.

“Thank you,” Jiang Zhe said sincerely, his gaze filled with gratitude as he looked at Ye Xue.

He knew all too well that if Ye Xue hadn’t shown up, it wouldn’t have been easy for him and Jian Sinian to break free of the illusion. They’d likely have suffered even more.

“You’re awake now,” Ye Xue remarked, pulling out a stack of talismans and dividing them between the two. “Good. Take these and go wake everyone else up.”

Jiang Zhe accepted the talismans. As he raised his arm, his sleeve slid down, revealing several bite marks on his wrist, some of which were still oozing blood.

Ye Xue’s gaze lingered on his wrist, and she couldn’t help but glance meaningfully at Jian Sinian.

Jiang Zhe, catching her expression, seemed to piece things together. His face grew complicated as realization dawned.

If this had all been an illusion, then the one who’d been hitting him wasn’t a ghost from the villa—it was a person.

Recalling the earlier events, Jiang Zhe already had a suspect in mind.

When Jian Sinian noticed the bruises on Jiang Zhe’s face and the bite marks on his wrist, he gasped in shock. “Senior Brother, what kind of ghost hits that hard?!”

“…” Jiang Zhe took a deep breath, holding back his annoyance. “Let’s wake the students first and talk later.”

After all, he hadn’t been on the losing end of the fight.

Although Jian Sinian was still somewhat clueless, he obediently followed Ye Xue’s instructions. Sporting a black eye, he began waking up the students from Haicheng University one by one.

Zhuang Wenxing and Ren Xing’an, still groggily calling each other’s names, soon realized they’d been standing practically face-to-face the entire time. They hadn’t been far apart at all.

What truly shocked them, however, were the bruised and battered appearances of the two Taoist priests from Tianyi Temple. Their swollen faces left them imagining what kind of ferocious ghost could have caused such injuries.

When Cheng Qing noticed Ye Xue, he was startled. “Ye Xue, what are you doing here?”

Ye Xue surveyed the villa’s layout and noticed shadows stirring beneath the floor, attempting to sneak into the crowd.

Without hesitation, she drew her Exorcist Sword and struck the ground. The blade hit its mark, slicing the shadow cleanly in two.

A pool of black blood oozed across the floor, emitting an unbearable stench.

Jian Sinian, repulsed by the smell, lit a talisman and threw it into the mess.

The dark blood evaporated instantly in the flames, leaving no trace behind.

Everyone stared at Ye Xue, dumbfounded. Her decisive and practiced movements screamed of expertise.

But wasn’t she just a student like them?

How could she take down a ghost with a single strike?

It was even more shocking than the ghost itself.

After dealing with the shadow, Ye Xue finally turned to Cheng Qing and responded, “Here.”

She handed each person a business card for Xuan Zhen Temple. “Interested in visiting Xuan Zhen Temple? With this card, you get a 10% discount!”

The group took the cards blankly.

Zhuang Wenxing looked down at the intricately designed card, complete with gold foil, his reaction delayed.

Cheng Qing, still dazed, mumbled, “…Sure.”

Jian Sinian couldn’t help himself. “Hey, hey, hey! Aren’t you being a little too blatant about stealing business right in front of us?”

Ye Xue glanced back at him, her smile radiant. “What are you talking about? It’s not stealing if it’s from a partner organization, right?”

Jiang Zhe nudged Jian Sinian and whispered, “Junior Brother, Ye Daoyou came all the way here just to save us.”

Jian Sinian didn’t mean to criticize her, but Jiang Zhe’s nudge happened to hit one of his injuries.

“Ugh, my hand’s still hurt, Senior Brother! Watch it!” Jian Sinian winced, clutching his hand. Frustrated, he muttered, “My God, the ghost we ran into earlier must’ve been Popeye!”

Jiang Zhe’s lips twitched, but he decided to tell the truth. “Junior Brother Jian, the person you fought earlier was me.”

“What?” Jian Sinian looked at him in shock. A moment later, realization struck, and his expression shifted awkwardly. “Oh, uh… this…”

They’d thought they were fighting ghosts, only to discover it was just each other.

Jian Sinian originally wanted to say, “Shixiong, that punch hurt,” but then remembered he had bitten Jiang Zhe several times. Embarrassed, he decided not to mention it.

Ye Xue reminded them, “This place is too full of yin energy. It can easily disturb your mind. When you get back, make sure to bathe with pomelo leaves to clear away bad luck.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Although it was still early afternoon, Zhuang Wenxing and the others had no desire to continue exploring. The frightening scene they just experienced was more than enough for them. The students couldn’t stop recalling the terrifying moment when the person in the photo frame appeared to smile.

The group packed up their things and prepared to leave.

Ye Xue had only walked a short distance when she stopped, remembering something, and returned to the villa.

Standing in the empty house, she took out a stack of talismans from her pocket. With a hand seal, she chanted, “Lin Bing Dou Zhe, Jie Zhen Lie Qian Xing.”

The talismans flew in all directions, instantly dispersing the surrounding yin energy.

However, the yin energy slowly recondensed, the cold, eerie air creeping back as if it never left.

Ye Xue watched the scene unfold without surprise. “As expected…”

The villa’s feng shui had serious issues. It was poorly ventilated, sunlight couldn’t reach inside, and over time, the house became cold and damp. Living here for long periods would make people restless and prone to accidents.

This explains why people who moved into the house often met with misfortune.

As long as no one moved in again, it shouldn’t cause further problems.

After guiding the lingering spirits away, Ye Xue left the villa.

As she stepped away, she paused as if sensing something, then glanced back at the second floor.

There was nothing there.

Puzzled, she withdrew her gaze and walked out to Xinxing Road, where Jian Sinian and the others were still waiting for her. They hadn’t planned on leaving without her.

Zhuang Wenxing and the others were still terrified from the ghostly encounter. Even with Jian Sinian and Jiang Zhe accompanying them, they couldn’t calm down until they saw Ye Xue’s figure. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief and board the bus with her to head back.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the cursed house, a shadowy figure shrouded in black mist stood on the balcony, watching the group board the bus.

As the wind blew, the figure vanished, leaving behind a cryptic statement:

“Those two little Daoists are still far too inexperienced.”

Ye Xue returned to school with Zhuang Wenxing and the others. Jian Sinian and Jiang Zhe, however, parted ways and went straight back to Tianyi Temple.

That evening, Ye Xue received a phone call from Bai Liu.

Stepping onto the balcony, she heard Bai Liu gossiping, “Shishu, did you save Jian Sinian?”

Ye Xue responded with a simple “Yes.”

Bai Liu chuckled mischievously, “Jian Sinian’s father came to personally thank you! Too bad you missed it. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Jian Sinian sincerely say ‘thank you.'”

Ye Xue laughed, “You should work harder on your Daoist studies. Maybe one day you’ll get to hear it too.”

Bai Liu replied, “Oh, I’d rather not. Even if I studied for 800 years, I wouldn’t match your skill level.”

Ye Xue, amused, retorted, “Can’t you show a little ambition?”

After hanging up, Ye Xue returned to the dormitory.

Gao Lan, who had just logged into WeChat on her computer, burst out laughing at the chat logs. “They said they took photos at the haunted house. I was so worried for them! But there’s nothing in these pictures.”

Ye Xue leaned over to take a look.

Zhuang Wenxing had shared photos of the villa in their group chat.

Although the house looked eerie in person, the photos showed nothing unusual. It looked like a perfectly normal house.

Even someone as timid as Gao Lan felt nothing while looking at the pictures.

Bai Liu, chewing on a piece of sugarcane, waited for Ye Xue at the door.

As soon as he spotted her from afar, he spat the sugarcane pulp into the trash and rushed over. “Shishu! You must be exhausted! Let me help you carry your stuff!”

Ye Xue gave him an odd look. “It’s just a backpack. I don’t need your help. Besides, I’m stronger than you.”

Bai Liu was momentarily speechless. “Uh…”

Ye Xue squinted at him, scrutinizing him until he grew nervous. Finally, she asked, “You’re acting eager. What do you want from me?”

Bai Liu, putting on a serious face, exclaimed, “How could you think that? I just haven’t seen you in so long. I missed you!”

Ye Xue, playing along, said slowly, “Oh? I was thinking, if you needed help with something, I might consider it. But since you don’t, never mind then.”

With that, she made to head into the temple.

Panicking, Bai Liu quickly blocked her path. “Wait, Shishu!”

Ye Xue turned back.

Scratching his head awkwardly, Bai Liu muttered, “Uh, you have a lot of Nintendo consoles in your room. Could you maybe…”

Ye Xue raised an eyebrow.

“…let me borrow one for a few days?” he amended under her scrutinizing gaze. “Or, um, just one day?”

He quickly added, “I promise I’ll only play a little. I won’t overdo it!”

Ye Xue quipped, “What about your console?”

Just then, Xu Zhou came out with a trash can, overhearing the question. He grinned, “He got confiscated by Shifu.”

Bai Liu pouted.

Ye Xue sighed, relenting. “Fine. Finish your homework first, then come get it from my room.”

Immediately, Bai Liu perked up. “Yes, ma’am!”

Fueled by the promise of gaming, Bai Liu completed his talisman practice much faster than usual.

Once he got the console, he dashed off to the back door to play.

Later, as Ye Xue sat nearby reading her notes, she overheard a passerby mention how effective the Bodhisattva at White Bird Temple was. Someone’s son prayed there and soon got promoted with a raise.

Bai Liu, intrigued, stopped playing and listened, so distracted that his game character ran straight into a river.

Ye Xue reminded him, “You died.”

Bai Liu spat twice, “Nonsense! Great fortune is ahead of me—I didn’t die!”

Ye Xue rolled her eyes. “I meant your game character!”

Realizing his mistake, Bai Liu groaned. “Ugh! I worked so hard to get to this level!”

He stuffed the console into his pocket and sidled up to Ye Xue. “Shishu, they say White Bird Temple is super effective. Should we go there, burn some incense, and maybe wish for a lottery win?”

Ye Xue blinked, astonished. “You want to pray at a temple?”

Bai Liu nodded enthusiastically.

Ye Xue pointed at him, then at herself. “A Daoist priest and a celestial master, both from the Daoist tradition, going to a Buddhist temple to burn incense?”

Bai Liu waved dismissively. “Oh, come on! Just think of it as market research. Know your competition to win every battle!”

Ye Xue: “…”

If the monks heard that, they’d probably whack you with a stick.