IMMFBCG Chapter 87

Chapter 87: Shangsi Festival

When Yu Mingxuan returned, he looked a bit disheveled.

He pushed open the door to his study and didn’t even glance at the state of the room, heading straight into the adjoining room to change his clothes.

Yuhua Yuan was still in discussion with a few Taoist priests when he saw Yu Mingxuan’s disheveled state, clearly surprised.

Yu Mingxuan’s face was thunderous as he tossed the clothes he had changed out of into the trash can. He then sat down next to it.

Yuhua Yuan looked down at the trash can, noticing that the clothes were so dirty they appeared as if they had been chewed up by some animal, especially around the cuffs where it seemed like something had ripped at the fabric.

Yu Mingxuan noticed his father’s gaze and grimaced, replaying the events in his mind. His expression grew darker.

He restrained his irritation as he explained, “On my way home, I ran into a crazy dog that chased me for almost a mile.”

If not for the bodyguards arriving in time, it might have bitten a chunk out of him.

The dog was quick, and if he could catch it, he’d have it put down for sure.

Lately, Yu Mingxuan had been experiencing a run of bad luck — stepping under trees would get bird droppings on him, and any pet he encountered would turn aggressive, chasing him around.

Now, seeing animals made him tense up.

Yu Mingxuan accepted the towel his assistant handed him, wiping his hair, but no matter how many times he washed it, he still felt an unpleasant smell.

Yuhua Yuan asked, “Weren’t you looking for those Taoists at the Guanzhen Temple? They couldn’t help?”

Yu Mingxuan was already frustrated by his own smell, and he looked up, his tone more impatient. “How should I know? I went to Guanzhen, Tiankai, Taihe — not one of them could help.”

He sneered, sarcastically mocking, “Still call themselves masters? I bet I could find a random fortune teller at a tourist spot who’d be more reliable than this bunch of useless priests.”

His outburst offended the priests present, but Yu Mingxuan didn’t seem to notice or care.

Once he had vented his frustrations, he dried his hair and carelessly tossed the towel into the trash. Seeing the silent group, he grew more angry, saying, “Why are you all so quiet? Lost your tongues? You promised this plan was foolproof, that it would deal with Yu Minghe. But now he’s still alive and I’m cursed. What good are you all if you can’t solve this? Am I just paying you to be decorations at home?”

The priests were cowed, their heads bowed, but it didn’t calm Yu Mingxuan’s rage — it just fueled his anger further.

Suddenly, someone muttered, “But it doesn’t make sense. The Guanzhen Temple just recently refurbished the golden statues inside. The old ones should still be inside the temple. If they bring one back, even if it can’t completely neutralize the current crisis, it can at least deter nearby spirits. It won’t let them mess with you.”

The voice was soft, almost casually mentioned, but Yu Mingxuan caught it.

His brows furrowed as he looked over, “You’re saying they didn’t want to help me, so they deliberately refused?”

“I’m just guessing…” The speaker was unnerved by Yu Mingxuan’s glare, dropping his head and speaking softly, “Maybe it’s because all the remaining statues were taken by other devotees…”

The priests harbored ill feelings toward Yu Mingxuan bypassing them to seek help from the Guanzhen Temple, but they didn’t dare voice their discontent with the Yu family. Instead, they aimed their frustrations at the Guanzhen Temple.

They had long held a grudge against the Guanzhen Temple and weren’t about to let this chance pass to needle them.

Yu Mingxuan listened to the explanation and made up his mind with a cold smile, saying, “I was wondering why they didn’t even listen to me completely — they were just brushing me off.”

The priests exchanged wary glances but didn’t argue.

Yu Mingxuan stood up, heading out with a determined stride. “I’ll make sure they know the consequences of going against the Yu family.”

The room fell silent.

Yuhua Yuan looked at them and smiled faintly, speaking slowly, “About this matter, I hope you all can think of a new plan quickly. My son can be quite headstrong; if he gets angry, even I can’t help you.”

A few priests stiffened, knowing Yuhua Yuan was reminding them to solve Yu Minghe quickly. They nodded in agreement.

Yuhua Yuan gave them a slight smile, then left the study.

Yu Mingxuan had just stepped out of the house when Yuhua Yuan followed him.

Before Yuhua Yuan could call out to his son, there was a splash as a bucket of water was thrown down.

Yu Mingxuan’s bodyguard quickly reacted, skillfully opening an umbrella to shield Yu Mingxuan.

But to their surprise, the water splashed right through the umbrella, drenching him completely.

Yu Mingxuan was soaking wet in the cold winter, heavily panting, his rage evident, almost snatching the umbrella away to inspect it.

It was torn.

He grabbed another person’s umbrella, checking — all but this one was intact.

Yu Mingxuan’s face darkened as he forcefully discarded the broken umbrella, grinding his teeth and saying, “Again…”

Outing wasn’t just bird droppings; it was also water splashing. Even if he prepared for it, there would be various issues.

Like now.

Yuhua Yuan’s steps paused when he saw his son drenched, a hint of disdain on his face, subtly shifting his foot away from the water.

The Shangsi Festival, or the Third Day of the Third Month, is a traditional folk festival in China, known as a ghost festival. Originating from ancient practices of using orchid water to exorcise evil spirits, it gradually evolved into a festive day. On this day, temples become especially busy as people gather to participate in rites and prayers for their ancestors.

Last year, the Guanzhen Temple was bustling with activity, handling various rituals. This year, it was still busy but well-organized, hosting another round of ceremonies. The long-burning lamps inside the temple lit up one by one, almost filling the vast hall with glowing lights — all the devotees lighting lamps for their ancestors’ blessings.

After the ceremony, Bai Liu and Xu Zhou saw off the devotees.

As the gates closed, Bai Liu quickly went to the side hall to change out of his Taoist robes, preparing for the next shift.

Yue Xue returned to the Guanzhen Temple with her backpack. As she entered the side hall, she saw Bai Liu floating out, so absorbed he even left his wailing staff behind.

Feeling the cold atmosphere, she passed by Bai Liu, bending down to pick up the staff and calling out to him, “You left your stuff.”

“Hmm?” Bai Liu looked around, realizing his wailing staff was missing.

He stopped, took the staff from Yue Xue, and said, “Thanks, Shizun!”

Bai Zi’ang walked over with a thermos, seeing how scatterbrained Bai Liu was, forgetting even to take his meal with him, he couldn’t help but scold, “Why are you rushing around? Are you trying to get reincarnated?”

Bai Liu quickly replied, “Yes, someone’s in a hurry to be reborn!”

Bai Zi’ang was a bit taken aback, glaring at Bai Liu without speaking.

Yue Xue looked at the father and son and couldn’t help but laugh, saying, “It’s Ghost Festival, the afterlife is probably quite busy. I think Bai Liu hasn’t stopped recently.”

Bai Liu, hearing this, nodded in agreement, saying, “Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy lately, working the 9 to 9 schedule.”

Bai Zi’ang shot him a disapproving look and said, somewhat exasperated, “9 to 9? I’ve got 00-7! Didn’t they say hurry up and be reborn? Go, go, go, get out of my sight.”

By this time, Bai Liu had already walked through the wall, but still corrected him with a reminder, “Dad, it’s not me who’s in a hurry to be reborn, it’s someone else who’s in a hurry.”

Bai Zi’ang muttered, “What a cursed child.”

Bai Guanzhu took a sip of the wolfberry tea from his thermos and walked back to the side hall.

Yue Xue returned to her room to put some things away and remembered she hadn’t called her master, Yue Yangyun, in a long time, so she dialed the number. But the phone rang for a long time with no answer.

Yue Xue found it a bit odd, then remembered today was Shangsi Festival; there were probably many people in the village asking her master for help with rituals, so he was probably busy.

She planned to hang up the call, but just as she was about to press the end button, the call connected, and she heard her master’s voice, “Ah Xue, what’s up?”

Yue Xue could hear some noise on the other end as if it was windy outside, so she asked, “Master, are you outside?”

Yue Yangyun laughed, “Yeah, it’s Shangsi Festival, so I’m helping them with the ritual.”

Yue Xue replied, “Then I’ll let you go, I’ll call you back in a bit.”

Yue Yangyun chuckled, “The ritual’s already over; if it weren’t, how would I have time to check my phone? By the way, is there something bothering you or do you need my help again?”

Yue Xue sighed, “Master, can’t you think of anything nice? Can’t I just be calling you because I miss you?”

Yue Yangyun smiled reassuringly, “Of course, I know Ah Xue is the most filial.”

The two chatted for a while longer until Yue Xue noticed her phone battery was running low and said goodbye, ending the call.

She had just put her phone on charge in her room when she stepped out and bumped into Xu Zhou, who was bringing over some midnight snacks.

Xu Zhou noticed Yue Xue was alone and asked in surprise, “Where’s Mr. Yu?”

Usually, Xu Zhou wouldn’t ask about Yu Qi’s whereabouts, but today was Ghost Festival and Yu Qi had a special constitution, so he asked.

“He said there was something at the company and will be back late…” Yue Xue looked at her phone, noticing it was getting quite late, and furrowed her brows, “But it’s already seven o’clock, he should have been back by now, unless…”

Xu Zhou raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what was wrong when they saw Yu Qi walking towards them.

Yu Qi came in, still carrying some lingering ghostly energy.

Yue Xue glanced at him and then turned away, bringing a basin of water with some pomelo leaves dipped in, and handed it to Yu Qi.

Yu Qi used the pomelo leaves to dispel the ghostly energy, and it quickly dissipated.

Xu Zhou noticed their familiar gestures, as if they’d done it countless times before, and was even more surprised.

Yu Qi explained, “I ran into a little ghost on the way and got delayed a bit.”

Xu Zhou picked up on something odd, “Mr. Yu, do you often encounter such things lately?”

Yu Qi nodded.

This certainly wasn’t the first time.

Due to his special constitution, Yu Qi often attracted all kinds of wandering ghosts, but after recovering his health, such incidents were much less frequent.

For some reason, after the New Year passed, Yu Qi kept encountering various troublesome spirits on his way back.

Now, coinciding with the Shangsi Festival, there were many offerings and ghosts would come back to enjoy the worship, even around the Xuan Zhen Temple.

Although they were just little ghosts, they still tended to waste time.

Because this happened frequently, whenever Yu Qi came back late, Yue Xue knew he had been delayed by little ghosts.

Afterward, Yu Qi saw it was getting late, so he walked Yue Xue back to her room before heading to his room to rest.

That night, Yue Xue woke from her sleep, sensing the temple was unusually quiet.

The cotton dolls were absorbing the essence of the universe under the moonlight.

Nighttime was the period when ghosts were most active, but there was no movement outside the Xuan Zhen Temple, no wandering spirits at all.

Thinking of this, Yue Xue shrugged on a jacket and went outside to check.

This month, Chen Su and Android were jointly in charge of cleaning, so the temple was spotless.

Chen Su got along well with the little ghosts from the neighboring temple, sometimes even visiting each other, although the hanging ghost probably had some psychological trauma by now, and was very cautious whenever he saw Yue Xue.

Yue Xue slowly approached the back door, still not feeling any presence, but nothing seemed amiss either.

She stared at the wooden door for a long time before looking away, planning to go back.

The next second, Yue Xue stopped and looked back suspiciously.

It seemed like something was silently approaching this way.

Yue Xue tightened her expression, picking a few willow branches, and bundling them together to make a makeshift weapon.

She moved back to the position of the back door, waiting for the approach.

As the presence grew closer, she flicked the willow branch forward.

“My goodness!”

A familiar voice sounded, Yue Xue froze, quickly retracting her weapon.

She focused her eyes and saw Bai Liu passing through the door.

Bai Liu looked at the willow branch inches from him, slapping his chest in fright and saying, “That was close. Just a hair away from getting hit. Almost scared me to death.”

Yue Xue saw it was Bai Liu and immediately relaxed, putting away her weapon and asking, “Why are you here? Bai Liu, why did you come to the back door?”

Bai Liu chuckled, “On my way back, I thought this route was a bit more convenient, so I took it. Oh, by the way, Master, why are you still awake?”

Yue Xue replied, “I thought it was too quiet here, so…” She looked up at Bai Liu, “Did you see the ghostly procession at the back door when you came?”

Bai Liu answered, “Yeah, but when they saw me, they ran away.”

Yue Xue: …

No wonder there was no activity outside; they had seen a ghostly bureaucrat and fled the scene.

Bai Liu was a bit smug, “Hey, I guess I’m still quite intimidating.”

Yue Xue said, “Yeah, people only get a few chances each year to enjoy a good feast, and you scare them away.”

Bai Liu corrected her, “Not a bad guy, a messenger of the underworld.”

Yue Xue retorted, “Is there a difference?”

Bai Liu said, “Uh, not really.”