I Am Not a Master - Chapter 73

The disaster area was in chaos, and it was not suitable to wander around the mountains at this moment. Moreover, after the beautiful ghost’s pit was blocked, she once again deeply realized how malicious the Goddamn Heaven could be, constantly finding ways to block her financial path. Gu Feiyin suspected that her pit might have long been buried in some godforsaken place, making it quite difficult to find.

Besides, she had already taken several days off, so she had to return to work first. Therefore, Gu Feiyin sought out Old Master Yu and his group of wandering ghosts, asking them to help her search the nearby mountains in Baiyu Town after they finished dealing with the disaster area. If they found her pit, they should find a way to notify her. After all, she had left her address and phone number, so she wasn’t worried about being unreachable.

Additionally, she wanted them to guard her pit well, as it contained so much gold, silver, and jewels that she couldn’t let them fall into the hands of some little ghost.

She was in a hurry to leave because too many people had died here. Once the seventh day arrived, the Yin Messengers would come to capture souls! And it wouldn’t be just one or two; it might be a whole group, which would be terrifying enough to scare her stiff. Besides, she feared not only monks and Taoists but also Yin Messengers, especially their soul-catching chains, which were unfailingly accurate. Once hooked around the neck, hands, or feet, no matter how skilled one was, they couldn’t escape, and that would be the end.

Even though she was now wrapped in a human shell, her core was still a ghost. Little Taoist priests and novice monks couldn’t discern her identity, but the Yin Messengers might. If they discovered she was a ghost possessing a body, she would be completely doomed. Worse, she might be charged with stealing a human body and thrown into a frying pot, unable to reincarnate for several lifetimes. She might even be reborn into the animal realm in her next life, only to be slaughtered and eaten, which would be a terrible loss.

She didn’t want to go to the Underworld, especially since she now had assets worth billions, a stable job, and monthly rental income. It would be such a pity if she died.

So she hurriedly slipped away, leaving before the Yin Messengers arrived was the best option.

But she was puzzled as to why the old monk also wanted to follow her back to City A. He claimed it was because he wanted to help her find her prosperous fate.

This was a great temptation. “So when will you perform the ritual?”

Liao Yuan, the old monk, said mysteriously, “That depends on fate. Perhaps when you least expect it, your opportunity will come, Shizhu.”

Gu Feiyin glanced at him. “Your cultivation doesn’t seem very strong. Why is performing a ritual so troublesome?”

The old monk replied, “Is prosperous fate something ordinary people can have just because they want it? I see you as someone with a connection, otherwise, I wouldn’t seek you out.”

That seemed reasonable. Anyway, the old monk following her didn’t affect anything, and she didn’t need to provide for him. He could do as he pleased, and being close meant she didn’t have to worry about him running away.

Liao Yuan, the old monk, wanting to follow his destined person to City A, shocked both Liao Wu and Jingxing. Liao Wu understood his senior brother, having lived together for decades. This was the first time in decades that Senior Brother Liao Yuan had decided to leave Baiyu Town.

In the past, even if you offered a fortune to invite him, he wouldn’t go!

Now he was actually volunteering to leave Baiyu Town, which made Liao Wu realize that this destined person must be extraordinary, at least for Senior Brother Liao Yuan, she must be a very special presence.

“Senior Brother, is she the one you’ve been waiting for?”

“After I leave, everything in the temple will be entrusted to you.”

“…Even if you hadn’t left, I’ve been managing everything in the temple.”

Liao Yuan scratched his bald head. “Oh, really?”

Liao Wu: “…”

Liao Wu knew his senior brother’s temperament well; once he decided on something, he wouldn’t change his mind. Since he said he wanted to go, he was definitely going. However, Liao Wu was worried that his senior brother was quite old, being eighty-nine years old, and his body wasn’t as strong as before. The biggest concern was that if he fell ill, there wouldn’t be anyone to care for him, and he might die in a foreign land. So he planned to send a novice monk to accompany and take care of him.

Liao Yuan didn’t mind this and waved his hand, saying, “Hmm, as long as it’s not Jingxing.”

Jingxing: “…”

Why did he feel like his Shifu was jealous of him?

No, it must be an illusion. How could Shifu be jealous of him?

He wanted to accompany Shifu on the journey, but the disaster area was very busy, and he couldn’t leave. He needed to stay and help, even though his strength was limited, and he could only leave after some time.

Of course, since Jingxing was currently unavailable, they couldn’t let an eighty-nine-year-old man travel alone. So they had to let Liao Yuan, the old monk, wait a bit longer.

Because Shizhu Gu was leaving, Zhen Du specifically went to bid her farewell. He had washed his face before going, revealing a face that had become extremely haggard from several days of busy work without rest. He looked at his panda-like dark circles and thought that it might be better to cover them with mud; at least the mud would give him a heroic and handsome appearance.

Gu Feiyin looked at his haggard face. “Alright, I’ll remember you.”

Zhen Du said, “Amitabha, Shizhu Gu, may we meet again if fate allows.”

How could they meet again if fate allowed? “If you have money, come find me immediately. Otherwise, do you have a phone? Transferring via WeChat is also fine.” “…Oh, I don’t have a phone.”

That was truly pitiful, not even able to afford a phone. It seemed that recovering those ten yuan would be difficult.

…

Gu Feiyin returned to City A and first made a round of inspection at her Riverside Villa, only to realize that there seemed to be fewer little ghosts around than usual. Then she remembered that Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li had mentioned in passing that they wanted to invite some little ghosts to help out in the disaster area. Gu Feiyin didn’t pay it much mind-after all, as the landlord, whatever her tenants wanted to do was entirely up to them, wasn’t it?

Judging by the situation, quite a few little ghosts had been recruited by the Special Unit for temporary work.

But the Ghost Lady hadn’t gone herself; she just sent her maids instead. According to her, her status was too distinguished-this was like two countries establishing diplomatic relations, where only subordinates were dispatched. No leader would personally take action, would they?

According to the Water Ghost, the Special Unit had driven a big truck over and taken them away in a single load. The ghosts were packed in so tightly that a single truck was filled with hundreds of little ghosts, and their chatter could be heard from far away. Even the Middle-aged Female Ghost, who normally couldn’t leave her son, had gone.

With almost all the ghosts gone, there was no one left to play mahjong with the Ghost Lady. Bored out of her mind every day, she would stroll along the riverbank in her new long dress, and at night, go watch others dance in the square. Her days were leisurely and dull. When Old Man Wang brought his little grandson over to ask all sorts of questions, the two of them and the Ghost Lady ended up having a thoroughly muddled conversation-asking and answering at complete cross-purposes. The Ghost Lady got so flustered that that night she went to Old Wang’s house to send Little Wang a dream.

As for the content of the dream, it was simply that all the little ghosts by the river had gone to support the disaster area and it was uncertain when they’d be back, so they’d best not wander down to the river if they had nothing to do-there were no ghosts there.

In a misty haze, the child saw the Ghost Lady in her long dress, though her appearance was unclear-he’d never seen her before. “Auntie, are you the new wandering ghost who just moved in?”

The Ghost Lady glanced at the child. “Why are you calling me ‘Auntie’? Call me ‘Madam’. And I’m not new here-I’ve been here for quite a while. You forgot? I even gave you two Gold Ingots.”

The child, half understanding, called her Madam, his sparkling grape-like eyes blinking. “Gold Ingots? So it was you, Auntie, who gave them to me? Thank you, Auntie!”

Ghost Lady: “…Call me Madam.”

“Madam!” The child piped up again, “Did Sister go too?”

The Ghost Lady replied with dignified pride, “She went long ago. Why do you ask?”

The child jumped up excitedly, “I knew Sister was a hero-she’s an Ultraman!”

The Ghost Lady knew what a hero was, but what was an Ultraman? Of course, she wouldn’t ask a little brat and make herself look ignorant or uneducated.

She waved her hand, turned into a wisp of green smoke, and drifted away.

The child woke up, overjoyed. He rubbed his eyes and ran to his grandpa’s room, shouting, “Grandpa, Grandpa! Madam appeared in my dream! She said Uncle, Auntie, Sister, and all of them went to save people!”

Old Man Wang: “Really? Hahaha, I knew it! In a few days, let’s send them some chicken, duck, fish, and meat for a feast!”

The child agreed enthusiastically, saying he wanted to go too. “Oh right, Madam said the two Gold Ingots were from her as well.”

“Didn’t expect Madam to be so nice, even remembered to give a meeting gift-a truly good ghost.”

The grandfather and grandson huddled under the covers, whispering excitedly, getting more and more worked up, wishing they could go to the market right away to buy dozens of pigs to fry, stew, and roast for a grand banquet!

Half-awake Granny Wang: …?!

Who could come save her??

The Water Ghost also wanted to cry for help. Every day, he prayed that the Ghost Trader with the Long Black Straight Hair would lose an arm or a leg in the earthquake so he could gloat. Who would have thought she’d return unscathed? The first thing she did upon her return was punch him a few times, leaving him seeing stars and not knowing east from west. He was so angry he burst into tears!

Why hadn’t that wicked Long Black Straight Hair been shaken into a fool? Then he could’ve bullied her right back!

……

After returning to City A, Gu Feiyin hurried to work at the haunted house. By strict count, she’d already been late for several days. Missing a day meant a deduction in pay, but her kind boss was understanding-seeing that she’d been trapped by the earthquake, and had even helped with the disaster relief, he was quite pleased to see her return safe and sound, her eyesight fully recovered. He didn’t dock her pay and even asked about the disaster area. Gu Feiyin said everything was fine, that there were no problems with the rescue efforts-Xiao Zhang and the others had already arranged everything.

The kind boss was puzzled: “Xiao Zhang is?”

Gu Feiyin replied, “That’s Zhang Daoist. I don’t actually know his full name.”

“Zhang Daoist? Like the kind from a Daoist Temple?”

“Mm, I’m not sure if Xiao Zhang actually lives in a Daoist Temple.”

“……”

The kind boss nodded vaguely, recalling the rumors online about the mysterious lady from Baiyu Town who had helped save so many people. Many spoke of her with deep gratitude, but also with a sense of secrecy, leading to speculation that her identity was unusual. Some even claimed she was a spirit who had achieved cultivation, bringing her little demons to help when calamity struck the mortal world.

Although this theory sounded utterly mysterious, and the official sources had already refuted it, now, upon hearing that this “Zhang Daoist” had also gone to the disaster area for rescue and everything had already been arranged, could it really be that there are some mysterious figures at play?

The kind boss felt he had stumbled upon some earth-shattering secret, rubbing his hands together in excitement like a fly: “Xiao Gu, did you know? Now the internet is abuzz with rumors that the mysterious lady who saved tens of thousands in Baiyu Town is actually not human, but a monster who achieved Cultivation and turned into a spirit!”

Gu Feiyin was surprised: “A monster? There’s actually a monster in Baiyu Town? I’ve never heard of that.”

The kind boss said, “That’s right. I didn’t believe it before, but after hearing you say even the Daoist went to Baiyu Town, maybe there really is a monster. Sending the Daoist over is probably to negotiate with those monsters. Sigh, this was supposed to be a secret. The higher-ups are keeping it from us ordinary folks, so it’s normal you haven’t heard.”

Gu Feiyin nodded in sincere agreement and said, “Boss, what you said makes a lot of sense.”

The kind boss grunted deeply and reminded her, “Xiao Gu, don’t tell anyone about meeting a Taoist in Baiyu Town, or I’m afraid you’ll attract unnecessary trouble. Even though that monster is a good one and saved many people, the authorities said, after the founding of the country, no monsters are allowed to exist. So those monsters are like people without household registration-the state doesn’t recognize them, so it can’t be made public. It’s also to avoid causing a social panic.”

Gu Feiyin immediately promised seriously that she wouldn’t tell anyone else. She was also afraid of getting into trouble; days in prison were too hard, and she definitely didn’t want to end up at the police station again.

Because the disaster area was on everyone’s mind across the nation, even the number of visitors to the haunted house had dropped considerably. Gu Feiyin’s work of lying in the coffin was now very easy. When she got tired of lying down, she’d get up and walk around. After work in the evening, she went to the market to buy a pack of Hot Pot ingredients, along with beef, tripe, yellow throat, potatoes, lotus root slices, shiitake mushrooms, and other vegetables. She planned to go home and make Hot Pot.

The last time she’d had Hot Pot was when the kind boss treated her. Every time she thought of it, her mouth watered with craving, but eating out cost at least two hundred yuan per meal, and even buying the ingredients herself would cost over a hundred. If it weren’t for the fact that the treasures in the beautiful ghost’s pit were going to be hers anyway, she wouldn’t have splurged on herself.

Now, eating a fragrant Hot Pot again, sipping on a Coke, it really was the height of comfort.

Zhuang was lying under the table, cursing Long Black Straight Hair over and over in his heart.

He’d nearly been sold off by Long Black Straight Hair too, but she was greedy for life and afraid of death, afraid there’d be nowhere to hide if another earthquake struck on the way down the mountain. With him floating along, the safety factor was much higher, so she’d schemed to bring him back. Once the disaster area situation was settled and Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li came back, it wouldn’t be too late to sell him then-after all, he couldn’t run away anyway.

Zhuang was both furious and secretly grateful. After all, this was his chance to escape. If he ended up in the Special Unit, he’d surely be used up and then sent to serve his sentence in the Underworld.

After a meal of Hot Pot, she was so stuffed her belly was round, she’d eaten all the ingredients she’d bought, and even finished a whole bottle of Coke.

Honestly, eating Hot Pot vegetables cooked in the broth, dipped in the oily sauce with cilantro, pickled mustard, minced garlic, and chopped scallions, a big mouthful at once-it was absolutely delicious. If it weren’t for her limited stomach, she could eat all night from dusk till dawn!

And because she’d eaten too much, she even took Zhuang for a stroll along the river to walk off the fullness and help her digestion, or else she was afraid she’d be too stuffed to sleep at night.

Because of this walk, Zhuang and the Water Ghost had a fateful meeting of the century. With just one glance, the desolate look in both their eyes revealed the same ambition-to overthrow the Ghost Trader Long Black Straight Hair’s tyranny!

The two ghosts shared a mutual understanding, exchanging looks, who knows what they were communicating. Gu Feiyin didn’t notice at all; she was just pacing back and forth along the riverbank. Not long after, Tao Lizhi came looking for her.

His face looked terrible, his eyes bloodshot, and the moment he saw her, he was so emotional he almost burst into tears: “My benefactor! I’ve finally found you!”

Gu Feiyin was a bit puzzled: “I just went out for a bit and only just came back, is something the matter?”

Tao Lizhi nodded repeatedly-there was indeed something major. Something big had happened at his home!

It was just a few days after the New Year. His father had gone out for a dinner engagement, came home that night looking perfectly fine, clear-headed, and after having some sobering soup, went to his room to rest. But the next day, he never woke up.

When they noticed something was wrong, they immediately rushed him to the hospital. Unfortunately, after every possible test, the doctors couldn’t find anything wrong-there wasn’t a single wound on his body-but he just wouldn’t wake up. Tao Lizhi felt something was off right away. His grandfather even invited highly accomplished monks to take a look, but to no avail. Tao Lizhi then thought of the Three Ghosts under the overpass.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t managed to find them after several days in a row. Today, he hadn’t held out much hope, but unexpectedly, he actually ran into them.

“Benefactor, my father has been in a coma for four or five days now. We’ve tried everything, but he just won’t wake up. I’m really at my wit’s end, so I wanted to ask for your help, to see if you could check on my father and find out what’s going on?”

There was nothing wrong with that request. She had nothing to do anyway, so she might as well go take a look. Besides, this kid was really filial, a very respectful youngster.

Gu Feiyin held onto Zhuang and followed Tao Lizhi to the hospital. As they left, Zhuang glanced several times at the Water Ghost, who was bobbing at the water’s edge with a green hat on his head, blowing bubbles. For some reason, the Water Ghost felt a strange sense of relief. This Long Black Straight Hair was indeed annoying, but at least he had all his limbs intact, unlike Zhuang, who was missing arms, legs, and even a piece of his forehead, looking far more miserable.

He shivered, once again witnessing the terrifying inhumanity of Long Black Straight Hair, and couldn’t help but worry about his own bleak future.

…

Gu Feiyin followed Tao Lizhi to the hospital. At this hour, there was only one caregiver attending to Tao Dad, as Tao Mom had gone home to rest due to exhaustion. Upon entering the room, she immediately saw Tao Dad lying in bed, looking weak.

She stood by the bed for a while, observing. Tao Lizhi was extremely anxious, watching Miss Long Hair standing by the bed with her head lowered. Her long, straight black hair and her downcast eyes exuded a chilling, bloodthirsty aura.

…And for some reason, he thought he smelled Hot Pot? Could ghosts eat Hot Pot? No, it must be his nose acting up. Previously, he had seen the Long-haired Woman with Old Lady Jumpy, flying in the sky and sleeping by the river in a coffin, which only reinforced his belief that she was a ghost. Now, in his panic, he hadn’t even considered that Miss Long Hair might be human; he still thought she was a formidable Big Ghost.

He swallowed and asked, “What’s wrong with my dad? Is there any hope for him? Is he possessed by a ghost like I was before?”

She stared intently for a while, but regrettably, she couldn’t see anything. “I don’t know.”

Gu Feiyin truly didn’t know. After all, she only knew how to consume ghosts and hadn’t studied such sinister sorcery. If she had seen it before, she might have something to say, but having never encountered it, she was at a loss.

Tao Lizhi felt even more hopeless. If even she didn’t know what was wrong with his dad, who else could save him? Was he really just waiting for death?

In his despair, he saw the Long-haired Woman suddenly tug on a piece of yarn, looking down at the floor and saying softly, “Take a look, see what’s going on.”

Tao Lizhi was stunned for a moment, staring at the string. Could something be tied there? But he saw nothing, just a bunch of air… He couldn’t help but shiver.

Zhuang, under the pressure of Long Black Straight Hair, dared not refuse and muttered a few words to himself before reluctantly floating to the bedside. He stared at the human named Tao for a while, circled him a few times, and said, “He’s almost dead, beyond saving.”

“Almost dead? Why?”

“Someone borrowed his fortune to ward off disaster for themselves. The situation is set; he can only wait for death. In my opinion, he won’t make it through the night.”

“Dead by tonight? This Fortune-Borrowing Ghost is quite formidable.”

Gu Feiyin thought of the little ghost she had consumed from Tao Lizhi before and couldn’t help but lick her lips. To be honest, it had been quite delicious, and this one was probably tasty too. But she had just eaten Hot Pot and was quite full. No matter, she could chop off its limbs and hang them at home to dry, eat some herself, sell some arms and legs to those wandering souls, and sell the remaining spirit to Xiao Zhang. That would be quite nice.

Tao Lizhi was shocked, “My dad is going to die? A Fortune-Borrowing Ghost? Like the one that possessed me before?”

Gu Feiyin nodded, “Check if the boy has any jewelry on him, or if there’s anything strange in the room. Maybe the ghost is hiding there, sucking out his essence.”

Tao Lizhi ignored the fact that the “boy” referred to his dad and hurriedly checked his dad’s neck, wrists, and even ankles, but found nothing. He suddenly remembered that because of the incident with his jade, his parents had recently stopped wearing jewelry to avoid being exploited.

He searched the hospital room but found nothing, growing increasingly desperate. If he couldn’t find where the ghost was hiding, could he not save his dad?

Just the thought brought tears to his eyes. Although his dad was nagging and annoying, now that he was suddenly so quiet, saying nothing to him, he missed those bothersome trivialities.

Hours passed in this stalemate, and the entire hospital became eerily silent, not a sound to be heard.

Zhuang floated back and forth on the ceiling, his face twisted and pale, giggling. Although the death of a mere human meant nothing to him, he wouldn’t even blink an eye, but if Long Black Straight Hair was unhappy, he was delighted. This human’s death would be well-deserved, he thought, giggling.

Tao Lizhi was at his wit’s end, “Benefactor, is there any other way to save my dad?”

Gu Feiyin said, “As long as we find that little ghost, your dad can be saved.”

Tao Lizhi said, “But we don’t know where it’s hiding. We’ve searched the room, and there’s nothing on my dad. Where could it be hiding? Could it be invisible, which is why I can’t see it?”

Gu Feiyin looked at Tao Lizhi and thought for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. She walked to the bedside, picked up a knife from the fruit plate on the nightstand, and took the child’s hand, slicing his finger with it.

The blade was sharp-blood welled up at once. Tao Lizhi was startled and hurriedly asked, “What’s going on?”

He only saw that the blood was a bright red, showing no sign of anything unusual. But in Gu Feiyin’s eyes, it was different. She saw black Yin Energy seeping out from the blood. With a sinister smile, she said, “I was wondering where you were hiding. So you were inside the child’s body. Heh, got you.”

Tao Lizhi hadn’t yet figured out what she meant when his “dad” suddenly jumped up from the bed! Tao Dad’s entire body was stiff and straight, standing on tiptoe, his pale greenish face twisted and ghastly, those pitch-black eyes glaring at them menacingly. “Who dares ruin my plans?! Step forward and die!”

Even his voice was rough and unbearably harsh. Tao Lizhi was sure-this was not his father’s voice!

Was he possessed by a ghost?

On the other side, Gu Feiyin immediately stepped out. “It’s me.”

The Fortune-Borrowing Ghost stared at the Long-haired Woman, and for some reason, he saw greed and bloodlust in her pitch-black eyes-a kind of eager anticipation, as if she were coveting his body and beauty…

But she was just a person, wasn’t she? Was he seeing things?

He turned his head and saw that there was still a ghost floating on the ceiling. The ghost glared with eyes as big as bronze bells, missing both arms and legs, its little head supported only by its torso. Its mouth let out a series of “ji ji ji ji” noises, looking eerily strange.

Is that a chirping monster?

Neither this person nor the chirping monster caught his eye at all. He flipped off the bed and lunged straight at the Long-haired Woman!

……

Bi Heng had also been troubled by Tao Dad’s incident lately. He’d invited many renowned Taoists over, but none had been able to help, which made him even more anxious. He began to suspect that someone was really targeting their whole family.

Otherwise, why had Tao Lizhi encountered ghosts after he did, and now Tao Dad too, with each incident growing more severe? How could it all be so coincidental? Perhaps their family’s Fortune was too strong, and they’d been marked.

Originally, he wanted to go home. But then he thought of Tao Lizhi at the hospital-his cousin was still young, not even eighteen yet, and already had to face so much. It was really too much for him. So Bi Heng turned the steering wheel and decided to visit the hospital.

But what he didn’t expect was that as soon as he reached the hallway outside the ward, Tao Dad, dressed in a hospital gown, suddenly burst out from inside!

Was he awake? Before Bi Heng could feel any joy, Tao Dad ran straight at him, his face ashen and bloodless, his pitch-black eyes full of chill and malice. The way he gritted his teeth, as if he wanted to devour a man whole, stunned Bi Heng.

Bi Heng stepped forward. “Uncle-ah-!”

Before he could finish, Tao Dad slapped him, sending him flying into the wall. The pain left him dazed for a while, and in the next instant, he saw Tao Dad bounce away in a series of leaps??

He stared in disbelief. The next moment, he saw a Long-haired Woman float out of the ward. She was truly floating, her feet not even touching the ground. Because she was floating, the night wind whipped her long hair about, making it a tangled mess across her face. Yet her pitch-black eyes looked even colder than Tao Dad’s, with a faint, predatory excitement gleaming within.

And this appearance… seemed familiar?

Thinking carefully-wasn’t this exactly the Long-haired Woman he’d encountered a few months ago at night?

He swallowed hard, eyes wide as the Long-haired Woman floated closer and closer. He felt a bone-chilling wind brush his cheek, and then with a whoosh, she swept past him, chasing after Tao Dad…

Bi Heng’s legs gave out. He collapsed to the floor, face drained of all color!

……

Gu Feiyin hadn’t expected this little ghost to be such a good runner; bouncing and leaping all the way like a monkey. She stamped her feet and urged Zhuang to run faster. Zhuang couldn’t even manage a smile now-he’d just wanted to watch the fun, so how had he ended up as the one doing the hard labor?

This Long Black Straight Hair girl doesn’t even think about how much she ate tonight-does she know how heavy she is?