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Chapter 9
Xue Ming often talked about how lucky she was. Once, while chatting with a colleague, she said, “I am really lucky. Although I have been without parents since birth, the welfare home took me in and raised me. Although I am not materially wealthy, I managed to get into a good university and covered most of my tuition with scholarships. Although I didn’t find an excellent job after graduation, I work in an office and don’t have to be weather-beaten. Although my unscrupulous boss often forces me to work overtime, I get overtime pay! So, I am still very lucky, and life is still beautiful.”
After hearing this, her colleague was amazed and said, “You really know how to PUA (*) yourself.”
Xue Ming felt uncomfortable hearing this.
How could this be called PUA? Isn’t this just facing life optimistically? Her life was always full of misfortunes. How could she continue living if she dwelled on those things every day? Humans are creatures who can’t live without comparison; they are born to compare themselves with others.
Xue Ming had an excellent quality: she always compared herself with those who were worse off, not with those who were better off. Everything has two sides.
Xue Ming felt it was indeed unlucky to be killed by a drunk driver, but she survived in another world. Although she was trapped in a ghost den and faced the danger of death at any moment, she managed to temporarily save her life with a few breaths of yang energy. This was much better than those who died outright in the crash or were killed by ghosts.
At least it was better than Zhao Sheng. He was lying naked on the bed at this moment, and his p*nis should have been hard.
In summary, this was luck!
After PUA-ing herself, Xue Ming felt much better and tried to climb to the shore. But she had already exhausted all her strength after struggling in the water for so long. She slid down from the shore after struggling several times, so she soaked in the water in frustration, thinking that Yu He had absorbed too much of her yang energy so that she had no strength at all now. While cursing in her heart, she slowly wrapped the chest wrapper around her body. After resting for a long time, she finally recovered a little. Then she climbed to the shore and wrung the water off her robe with difficulty. Before going to bed, she checked that there were only three sets of change of clothes in the bag. Last night, those little ghosts scratched one set with their claws, and she had thrown it away. The one she wore today was soaked in the restaurant’s wooden barrel. Now, she was wearing the last set. If it was torn again, she would have to run naked.
Xue Ming cherished this last set of clothes very much. After wringing out the water, she carefully smoothed the wrinkles and sat on the ground for a long time before slowly climbing up. Her legs felt a sharp pain, and she was afraid that she would suffer even more when she woke up tomorrow morning.
Xue Ming left the hot spring room in her wet clothes. This time, no paper crane led the way. She walked forward according to her memory from last time, turning around in the long corridor, and finally found a room.
Xue Ming pushed the door open, but Yu He was not inside. Instead, it was the room she had slept in before. She suddenly realized that the structure of this house was alive, constantly changing, making it impossible to remember the route.
Xue Ming guessed that this room appeared only at night and might disappear during the day, which is why she woke up in her original room last time. She bolted the door, removed her wet clothes, and hung them on the screen. She hastily tied up her damp hair and then collapsed on the bed like a dead fish, lying sprawled out, too lazy to move.
The bed was extremely soft, much better than the best rooms in the inn. The quilt was made of some unknown material, feeling smooth and tender at a perfect temperature. It was like a remedy for Xue Ming, instantly relieving her fatigue and calming her mind. She turned to look at the wound on her left shoulder blade. The claw marks were still there, with thin, long wounds emitting black gas, looking no different from last night.
The wound was very peculiar; even when touched, it caused no pain, so Xue Ming often forgot about it. However, it didn’t seem to affect her, and she didn’t know how to treat it. Maybe it would heal on its own in a couple of days.
Xue Ming silently let her thoughts wander, and soon sleepiness overcame her. She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
This was the second night in the ghost temple, and Xue Ming was already exhausted, with no extra strength left. However, finding peace in a ghost temple was not that simple.
Xue Ming realized this deeply when she found herself standing in a misty courtyard. She felt her fatigue disappear, her legs no longer ached, and her body felt light, as if she were on the moon, filled with a buoyancy that made her think she could jump three feet high.
“This must be a dream,” Xue Ming thought. She looked around and found unfamiliar and familiar surroundings, likely a place in the temple she hadn’t been to before. In the courtyard, there were two densely grown locust trees, their crowns hidden in the mist, not fully visible.
Xue Ming waved her hand to clear the mist around her, slightly improving her visibility. She vaguely saw a room not far ahead. She walked slowly towards it and saw the door ajar, with a cold wind seeping through the crack and hitting her face.
Xue Ming shivered, raised her hand, and slowly pushed the door open. She saw a person in blue clothes sitting inside, seemingly a man from the back. He remained motionless, doing something unknown.
Xue Ming, puzzled, asked, “Who are you?”
Upon hearing her voice, the man moved slightly, seemingly about to turn his head. At that moment, Xue Ming’s eyes were suddenly covered by the mist, her vision filled with whiteness. Then, she kicked her legs and woke up with a start. The kick was so strong that her legs immediately cramped, causing excruciating pain.
Xue Ming cried out, rolled over, and hugged her legs, rolling on the stone-like bed. She then saw the bright daylight outside streaming through the door crack and casting a long golden light on the ground. She looked at the room’s interior clearly; Xue Ming had slept, had a strange dream, and woke up in her small room. She rubbed her calves to relieve the cramp, slowly dressed, and left the bed. The severe pain in her legs twisted her face, making her grimace. In just a short time, she had forgotten what she had dreamed about.
Xue Ming found her clothes, which had been hung on the screen, now dry but too stiff to wear. She had no choice but to wear the robe Yu He had given her earlier. The robe didn’t fit well, so she sat on the bed and made some adjustments, adding small holes to the collar and threading a delicate ribbon through them to make it more fitted. She then tied a belt around her waist and rolled up the sleeves, making it look quite decent.
The material of Yu He’s robe was excellent. It was light, soft, and cool, perfect for the hot summer. After finishing her adjustments, she felt like someone who had been disabled for years and suddenly regained the use of her legs, struggling to push the door open and step outside.
The sun was shining brightly, and it was a beautiful day. Chun Ye and Qiu Sheng, the two servants, were hanging clothes to dry. They both looked surprised to see Xue Ming. “Young Master Yan, when did you return?” they asked.
Xue Ming felt a bit embarrassed. She had left confidently the previous morning, only to return exhausted and half-dead. Not knowing how to explain, she casually said, “I got lost in the forest and came back.”
Chun Ye offered to fetch water for her to wash up, while Qiu Sheng happily said, “If the Young Master knows Young Master Yan is back, he will be delighted,” and ran off to inform Ning Caichen.
Xue Ming sat in the sunlight, lounging like Ge You (*), and let out a long sigh. She found it strange that Chun Ye, Qiu Sheng, and Ning Caichen seemed unaffected by anything while she, Yan Chixia, had to struggle for her life every night. Could it be the protagonist’s halo? There was one thing she couldn’t understand. In the original story, Yan Chixia’s small sword could fly out on its own to slay demons and monsters. A single sword bag was enough to keep the old monster in the temple at bay. Why was it now wholly useless? Not only could it not kill ghosts on its own, but its mere few inches of length made it look like a toy, incapable of even self-defense. How had the mighty Yan Chixia fallen to such a state? Where could one find justice in this?
Xue Ming clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and began to pray fervently. She thought praying to the Jade Emperor or Mazu was useless now, so she might as well pray to Pu Songling.
As she was chanting, Ning Caichen’s voice drifted over, “Brother, when did you return? Why didn’t you say anything? You’re always so elusive.”
He wasn’t wrong. Xue Ming was indeed elusive, though not by choice. She opened her eyes and saw Ning Caichen in a crimson robe, fanning himself with a jade-bone fan, still as dashing and elegant as ever.
Living in the same temple, she had been through so much, yet Ning Caichen remained lively and vigorous. Xue Ming closed her eyes again to avoid the sight, replying perfunctorily, “I returned late last night and didn’t want to disturb you, brother.”
Ning Caichen had a servant bring a chair and sat down beside Xue Ming, teasing, “Where have you been enjoying yourself?”
Xue Ming stiffened and looked at him, “What?”
Ning Caichen pointed to her neck, “Yesterday morning, there were only marks on your lips. Today, they’re on your neck, too.”
Xue Ming touched her neck and borrowed a mirror from Ning Caichen. The servant quickly brought a large bronze mirror, and she saw a large red mark on the side of her neck. It was clearly hickeys, some parts deeper and bloodier, looking very suggestive against her fair skin.
Oh my, was that perverted ghost a dog? How did it leave so many marks?
Xue Ming was devastated. She rubbed the marks with her fingers, but it was useless. She quickly gave up, her anger turning into deep resentment in just a second, and she sighed heavily.
Ning Caichen laughed, “Brother, you seem to have much on your mind.”
Xue Ming thought: Wait until Nie Xiaoqian sneaks into your room, then you’ll be just like me. She looked at herself in the mirror and praised herself, “This mirror is well-polished; it reflects very clearly.”
Ning Caichen didn’t care much. “It’s not a rare item; you can buy it with a bit more money.”
Xue Ming looked at herself in the mirror for a while and suddenly noticed something strange. The reflection showed her face, which was very delicate. Her skin was fair and smooth, her eyebrows were neatly shaped, and a black mole was on the tip of her nose. Due to an injury, her lips appeared redder than usual, making her overall appearance quite striking.
This was clearly not the face of a man. Her features lacked masculinity; even if she had a feminine appearance, it wouldn’t make sense. It was undeniably a woman’s face.
So why did Ning Caichen and the two servants seem blind to her gender, addressing her as “brother” and “young master”? Or had they already noticed and were pretending not to know?
At this moment, Ning Caichen teased her, “Are you mesmerized by yourself? Why are you still holding the mirror?”
Xue Ming laughed and returned the mirror to the servant, thanking Ning Caichen. Fortunately, Ning Caichen was tactful enough not to press further after asking several casual questions. They sat together until a scream came from the east wing.
Ning Caichen asked what was happening and immediately got up, taking the two servants to see the commotion.
Xue Ming didn’t bother to move, knowing that it must be the servant discovering Zhao Sheng, who had died in bed last night. The screams were even more unpleasant than when Xue Ming was chased at night.
Zhao Sheng was clearly a lecherous man. His lustful gaze when he entered yesterday made Xue Ming uncomfortable, and his death was well-deserved.
The courtyard quickly became noisy. When Zhao Sheng was carried out, Xue Ming craned her neck to take a look. He was hastily wrapped in a robe, his skin pale, and his facial expression extremely grim. Both of his soles had holes drilled into them, with thin streams of blood still dripping down.
Zhao Sheng looked much thinner than yesterday as if all the blood in his body had been drained. His shriveled and wrinkled skin resembled vacuum-sealed plastic.
Xue Ming glanced at him and quickly looked away, still shaken. Fortunately, she had run fast enough the previous two nights; otherwise, she would have ended up like this, dying in such an undignified manner.
Ning Caichen returned after watching the commotion and sighed as he sat down, “The moral standards are declining, and people’s hearts are not what they used to be.”
Xue Ming felt something was off and asked, “Why do you say that, brother?”
“Although Zhao Sheng had narrow eyes and a wide nose, indicating he wasn’t generous, he didn’t seem to mistreat his servants judging by their clothing. I didn’t expect these four to kill their master for money,” Ning Caichen lamented. “It’s a pity we’re in the wilderness and can’t report them to the authorities.”
“You think his servants killed him?” Xue Ming was surprised by his conclusion. “But Zhao Sheng’s death was so bizarre, no ordinary person could have done it.”
“Who knows what kind of folk sorcery they used,” Ning Caichen shook his head. “Anyway, it has nothing to do with us. Let’s not talk about it.”
Xue Ming was astonished that Ning Caichen could rationalize the situation like this, refusing to believe ghosts were in the temple. She didn’t try to persuade him either. After all, more people would die, and with her current useless state as Yan Chixia, they might all end up dead here. Ning Caichen would soon find out if there were ghosts under the bright sky.
While the servants were still mourning their master, Ning Caichen had already started arranging breakfast with his servant.
The entire day was restless, with the four servants taking turns crying and resting for half an hour between shifts. Xue Ming was so annoyed that she lost her temper. She sat in the courtyard all day, even during the hottest time, refusing to go inside. Ning Caichen tried to persuade her several times, but she declined, saying that sunbathing was good for her health.
Xue Ming believed that absorbing more sunlight would quickly restore her yang energy, and perhaps the ghosts wouldn’t dare approach her at night. She felt invigorated despite sweating profusely.
Ning Caichen’s servant prepared all the food. When Qiu Sheng saw her struggling to walk to the toilet, he kindly picked up a stick, polished it, and gave it to her as a cane.
Xue Ming was deeply moved. She would have promised to protect these diligent servants and ensure their safe departure from the haunted temple if she weren’t in such a precarious situation.
The sky was dyed with golden hues as the sun began to set. Xue Ming returned to her room, tucked the small sword into her clothes, and started walking deeper into the temple.
Ning Caichen stood behind and asked, “Brother, it’s getting dark. Where are you going?”
“I’m just walking around the temple,” Xue Ming replied.
“Take a lantern with you,” Ning Caichen gestured to Chun Ye, who quickly brought a lantern to Xue Ming. He reminded her, “Come back early. This temple is quite large; be careful not to get lost.”
Xue Ming thanked him, holding the lantern in one hand and leaning on the stick with the other, slowly making her way inside.
There was still some time before sunset. Xue Ming’s legs were aching badly, so she walked a bit and rested until she reached the lotus pond again.
The sky was filled with red clouds, like a magnificent dye vat, with red, yellow, green, and blue colors blending into a breathtaking painting. Under the sky, the pond was full of blooming lotuses, swaying gently in the wind, filling the air with a refreshing fragrance.
Xue Ming saw a small house at the end of the path and felt a sense of peace. She didn’t rush to enter but sat down slowly. The sun gradually set, and the golden light completely disappeared, leaving only the red clouds. The night covered half the sky, and the moon was faint.
“Miss, are you waiting for me?” a charming voice came from behind.
Xue Ming turned around and saw Nie Xiaoqian standing not far away, holding a black umbrella, dressed in a long white dress. Her long hair fluttered in the wind, looking ethereal and incredibly beautiful.
Xue Ming admired her beauty in her heart, smiled, and nodded, “Yes, shall we sit down and talk?”
Translator Notes: