IMMFBCG Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Physically Subduing a Ghost

When Andrew came over with a bucket to clean, he noticed something unusual: there was a ghost in the temple.

The female ghost, with her long hair flowing, was mopping the floor with her back turned to him.

Surprised, the accident ghost walked closer and asked, “Uh… where did you come from?”

The female ghost turned around, revealing a face with green skin and fanged teeth. Caught off guard, Andrew let out a startled shout, “What the heck!”

But the ghost didn’t react, simply staring at him eerily.

Upon closer inspection, Andrew realized she was wearing a mask. Relieved, he sighed, “Ma’am, why are you wearing a mask? It’s broad daylight—you’ll scare the ghosts!”

Bai Liu walked over with a cup of water and explained, “My master uncle made her wear it, so she wouldn’t frighten other people in the temple.”

Though Qin Haoran and Su Xinghe were used to the two ghosts residing in the temple, visiting worshippers with weak fortunes would inevitably encounter spirits.

Andrew found it odd. “But wearing this kind of mask feels even scarier, doesn’t it?”

Bai Liu rolled his eyes. “What do you know? This is the only mask left in the temple, left behind by a shaman who visited recently.”

Andrew muttered, “If she’d rather wear a mask than show her real face, how bad does she look underneath?”

Bai Liu cleared his throat and called out, “Hey, take off the mask and show him.”

The ghost rolled her eyes elegantly, set down her rag and mop, and removed the mask.

Andrew, having steeled himself for a shocking sight, froze. Underneath the grotesque mask was a featureless human skin mask.

The accident ghost was stunned, his semi-transparent form turning dark before fading back into translucence.

The ghost wearing the skin mask calmly put her face covering back on, finished mopping, and asked Bai Liu, “Lord Wuchang, when can I take a break? I’ve been working nonstop and even cleaned up all the leaves in the backyard.”

Bai Liu replied, “You need to work for at least 24 hours. Seriously, of all people to mess with, you chose my master uncle? Do you even know who he is?”

The ghost seemed genuinely confused. “But wasn’t it that Mr. Yu who asked me to clean?”

Bai Liu took a sip of water and sighed contentedly before explaining, “If you’ve offended my master uncle, you’ve also offended Mr. Yu. They’re… close like that.”

The ghost, who hadn’t interacted much with humans, finally understood. “Oh, so they’re in that kind of relationship.”

Bai Liu: “…” How did a simple relationship get described so strangely?

Andrew watched her work skillfully and couldn’t help asking, “Why are you so good at cleaning?”

The ghost wrung out the mop and tossed the cloth into the bucket. “I live in the East Suburb area. That place hasn’t been visited by anyone in ages. I can’t stand living in a dirty environment, so I just started cleaning.”

“The East Suburb?” Bai Liu paused, surprised. “I thought you lived in the deep mountains?”

The ghost tilted her head in confusion. “Isn’t that place remote enough?”

Bai Liu, who had heard of the East Suburb’s haunted reputation, recalled how one of Ye Xue’s classmates had previously gone ghost-hunting in one of its infamous mansions. He quickly left the conversation, muttering, “You keep cleaning,” and headed straight to Ye Xue’s room.

Andrew, confused by his behavior, looked back at the ghost’s grotesque mask and instinctively moved to the side, maintaining some distance.

…

In another room, Yu Qi was treating Ye Xue’s hand, gently applying ointment to her wounds.

As the disinfectant touched her skin, Ye Xue winced slightly, her brows furrowing.

Yu Qi also frowned and asked in a low voice, “Does it hurt?”

Ye Xue looked at him and saw the worry in his eyes. If she admitted it hurt, the ghost would probably get punished for another 24 hours.

Smiling, she replied, “I’m not that fragile. Remember that time I encountered the ghost in the blue dress—”

Yu Qi, silent, focused on applying the medicine, his expression full of concern.

Ye Xue leaned closer and lightly brushed the corner of his lips.

Yu Qi looked up at her, and she smiled back with her eyes curved in amusement.

Bai Liu, who had rushed over, saw the door was slightly ajar and was about to step in but quickly turned away when he noticed the intimate moment. “Oops, sorry for intruding!”

Ye Xue, calm as ever, called out, “Come back.”

Bai Liu stopped in his tracks, turned around, and obediently greeted them, “Master Uncle, Mr. Yu.”

Yu Qi acknowledged him with a soft hum and continued tending to Ye Xue’s hand. Ye Xue asked, “Why were you in such a hurry?”

Bai Liu quickly recounted the incident with the ghost.

Ye Xue raised an eyebrow. “There’s a haunted house in the East Suburb, and it’s indeed a place with heavy Yin energy. I didn’t expect that’s where the skin ghost came from.”

She thought for a moment before adding, “That area is a gathering place for restless spirits, so I performed rites to guide most of the ghosts to the afterlife. The ghost wardens quickly came to escort them to the underworld. I didn’t realize the skin ghost was nearby and hadn’t been purified.”

Yu Qi explained, “She’s different from ordinary ghosts. She’s formed from Yin energy and malice, so typical purification methods won’t work.”

Bai Liu raised his hand. “So, what do we do with her? We can’t just let her go, right?”

Ye Xue replied, “There’s a temple in Haicheng called White Bird Temple. The monks there will know how to deal with her.”

Bai Liu’s eyes widened. “But Master Uncle, didn’t you say Taoists shouldn’t enter Buddhist temples?”

Ye Xue smiled mischievously. “That’s right. Taoists shouldn’t. But you will go, not me.”

Bai Liu was confused. “What’s the difference?”

Yu Qi gave him a look and finally said, “You’ll take the ghost as Sheng Wuchang (Living Wuchang) to White Bird Temple.”

As a civil servant of the underworld, even the monks would show him some respect.

“Fine,” Bai Liu reluctantly agreed.

Later in the afternoon, Ye Xue and Yu Qi prepared to visit the East Suburb to investigate.

As they left the side hall, they saw Xu Zhou speaking to a man in the main hall.

The man looked anxious, but upon seeing Ye Xue and Yu Qi, Xu Zhou called out, “Master Uncle Ye, Mr. Yu.”

The man, realizing Ye Xue was the one he was looking for, quickly said, “You must be Master Ye.”

Ye Xue nodded politely. “And you are?”

Relieved, the man introduced himself. “My name is Wu Zhixue. Lu Qing is my friend, and he recommended I come here.”

It turned out he was a friend of Lu Xuezhen’s father.

Seeing he had come specifically for her, Ye Xue exchanged a glance with Yu Qi, who nodded in understanding.

Since the main hall was crowded with worshippers, Xu Zhou led them to a side room to talk in private.

Once seated, Wu Zhixue accepted a cup of warm water from Xu Zhou and quickly explained, “I’m the manager of Crescent Plaza.”

“Cresent Plaza?” asked Ye Xue. “Is that the new shopping mall in the Liucheng District?”

Wu ZhiXue nodded. “Yes, our mall just opened recently. Because it’s located in a bustling area, business has been quite good. However, not long ago, a security guard on the night shift had a strange encounter.”

At exactly midnight, the guard was walking the mall with a flashlight when he noticed a strange figure.

The person was standing near the railing, gazing outward, seemingly lost in thought.

The guard walked over and said, “Hey, buddy, the plaza closes at midnight. Time to go home.”

The person was dressed in a heavy hooded coat, the hood covering their head. Only when the guard spoke did the person slowly turn to look at him.

The guard noticed that the clothing seemed out of place; it was still winter wear in the middle of spring when most people had switched to lighter jackets.

Alarm bells went off in the guard’s head when he saw that the person had no head! The coat was empty underneath, just a dark void.

Wu ZhiXue took a sip of hot water to steady himself before continuing. “The guard passed out from fear right then and there. The next shift found him collapsed on the floor. He woke up screaming ‘there’s a ghost.’ At first, I didn’t take it seriously, afraid of scaring away business if the news got out. But then the strange occurrences continued almost every night. Almost every time someone heard that voice asking, ‘Have you seen my head?’ The guards were terrified. Some even stopped working altogether, refusing night shifts, and some wouldn’t even take day shifts.”

Xu Zhou asked, “Did any of the guards respond to the question?”

Wu ZhiXue shook his head, a hint of unease. “Who would? They’re too scared. Those with guts might last a bit longer, but as soon as they heard that voice, they passed out.”

Ye Xue commented, “It’s a good thing they didn’t respond. Otherwise…”

They would be seen as accepting the ghost’s demand, and the ghost might take their head.

Wu ZhiXue understood the unspoken consequence immediately, his face paling further.

Ye Xue agreed to investigate at nightfall.

When night fell, Ye Xue and Xu Zhou arrived at New Moon Plaza. The surrounding area was illuminated by lights, casting eerie shadows across the mall’s new façade.

Ye Xue glanced up at the neon-lit sign that read “New Moon Plaza,” feeling the chilling atmosphere it gave off in the dark.

The plaza was recently renovated, with some unfinished bricks still lying around the walkways.

Ye Xue quietly surveyed the layout, noticing nothing out of the ordinary—except for the corner with some misplaced bricks that seemed slightly off.

Wu ZhiXue led them to the security room. Because they weren’t sure if the ghost would appear only when guards were present, they decided to keep the security staff on duty as usual, with their pay doubled for the night.

The security room was sparse, and the three guards on duty were wary when they saw such a young Taoist priest.

Wu ZhiXue was respectful. “Master Ye, I’ll leave this to you.”

Ye Xue nodded. “Mr. Wu, don’t worry. We’ll take care of it. At midnight, we’ll check out where the ghost appears.”

Wu ZhiXue didn’t stay. Only Ye Xue, Xu Zhou, and the three security guards remained.

With time on their hands, Ye Xue pulled out a book to read. She and Xu Zhou settled into a corner, shoulders touching, casually flipping through the pages together.

One of the guards glanced at the title of the book out of the corner of his eye and was taken aback: “The Basic Principles of Marxist Philosophy”?

Modern Taoists were really into politics these days?

Xu Zhou’s alarm went off. He turned it off and told Ye Xue, “Time’s up.”

The guards were noticeably tense.

Ye Xue smiled and asked, “Which of you is on shift at midnight?”

The guard who had seen her reading earlier raised his hand. “… Me.”

Ye Xue handed him a talisman. “Hold onto this and stay close to us.”

The guard felt a warmth around him as the cold, eerie atmosphere around him dissipated. He looked at Ye Xue with newfound respect.

Ye Xue gave the other two guards talismans as well, then posted additional protective talismans at the door, instructing them to stay put.

Ye Xue and Xu Zhou let the guards lead the way as they made their rounds around the mall.

The guard led them step by step to the usual spot. At first, everything seemed calm.

But as the guards’ heart rates picked up, and they drew closer to the spot, the temperature started to drop noticeably.

Finally, Ye Xue saw the ghostly figure near the railing.

The guard stopped, his voice trembling. “D-D-Doyen…”

Ye Xue stepped protectively in front of him and walked towards the ghost.

The ghost’s hollow voice came again, “Have you seen my head?”

Hearing this, the guard nearly fainted. The talisman in his hand grew warm, helping him stay calm.

Ye Xue smiled lightly. “I see it.”

The guard’s eyes widened.

Wasn’t responding to ghosts a bad idea?

The surrounding temperature continued to drop as the ghostly figure seemed to smile sinisterly.

A gust of cold wind swept through, and it suddenly moved closer to Ye Xue, asking, “Is my head with you?”

The guard almost forgot to breathe.

Xu Zhou gently raised his wrist, activating the black agate beads on his bracelet.

As he immobilized the ghost, Ye Xue quickly grabbed a brick from the corner and drew a symbol on it.

She took the brick and threw it at the ghostly figure’s body. “Your head is right here!”