Chapter 91

Little Monk Liao Yuan was cleaning the latrine until he felt dizzy, every breath was filled with the stench of the place. He was a bit angry at himself for being so timid-he simply couldn’t say no to what Sis Gu asked him to do. As a monk, he had even roasted a wild chicken with his own hands. Would Buddha blame him for that?

Of course, while sweeping the latrine, sometimes he would see a head of long, jet-black hair hanging from the ceiling. The hair fell like a waterfall, and the face hidden behind it was pale and terrifying. He was so scared that he almost tumbled into the pit. That big head with its long hair would swivel around, staring at him coldly and saying, “I want to eat roast chicken again. The one before wasn’t cooked, it didn’t taste good.”

He choked a bit and whispered, “I’m a monk, I can’t take lives. And also, Shizhu Gu, you can’t just barge into the latrine. What if I was… relieving myself?”

“You humans are so troublesome, eating too much and then having to go to the latrine.” She waved her hand, speaking with no sense of burden. “I killed the chicken, it has nothing to do with you. It doesn’t count as you taking a life, you just roasted it. The karma isn’t yours.”

“…But if Shifu finds out, I’ll be punished again.”

She thought for a moment. “Then next time we’ll go farther away, so he won’t find out.”

“……”

Little Monk Liao Yuan really wanted to refuse Sis Gu, but when he saw her missing half of her body-most of her left shoulder to her waist was gone, even half her forehead was missing. When her hair drooped down, her head looked triangular, strange and terrifying, yet also rather pitiable. He just couldn’t bring himself to say no.

At night, he would sneak out to the riverside to roast wild chicken. Before leaving, he would sneak into the kitchen to take a bit of salt. Salt was precious, so he never dared take much, afraid that being found out would be a disaster. He’d wrap it carefully in oiled paper and hide it in his chest… He was repaying a life-saving debt, fulfilling gratitude. Buddha wouldn’t blame him for this, right?

Besides, don’t be fooled by Sis Gu being a creepy little ghost-her mouth was sharp. She had to have salty, flavorful things. Even a bit of salt wasn’t enough; it’d be better with some chili or other seasonings. The wild chicken had to be roasted to perfection and smell delicious. If it got burned, she’d stare at him with those chilling eyes; he didn’t dare slack off at all. Of course, when Sis Gu was happy, her pitch-black eyes would grow even more excited and eerie-somehow, that was even scarier…

After roasting wild chicken a few times, he got the hang of using the seasonings, but controlling the heat was a challenge. A moment’s inattention and one side would get burnt, so he had to watch it constantly. Back then, they were poor-before becoming a monk, he’d rarely eaten meat. Every time he looked at the fragrant roast chicken, he couldn’t help but drool, desire gnawing at him.

But every time, Sis Gu would very excessively offer him a piece, tempting him to make a mistake. Fortunately, his willpower was strong enough; he always refused sternly.

He absolutely couldn’t eat it. If he did, it wouldn’t be as simple as cleaning the latrine anymore.

Only after Sis Gu finished eating the roast chicken would he sneak back. But the moment he slipped in through the back door, he was caught by Shifu waiting there. He shuddered in fright. It was over-he really couldn’t escape the fate of cleaning the latrine.

Afterward, Sis Gu even chided him: “You’re so dumb. I told you to be careful, so how did you get caught again?”

He felt aggrieved. “Shizhu Gu, my Shifu is really powerful. There’s nothing in the heavens or earth that he doesn’t know.”

Well, that was true. The Handsome Monk was truly formidable-his chanting skills far surpassed those of any other monk. Sigh, if only she could find some other child to roast chicken for her, she wouldn’t have to ask this timid, silly one. Sigh.

Little Monk Liao Yuan: …:(

……

Of course, his Shifu was still a good and understanding teacher. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have stepped in to help when Sis Gu was locked in a deadly battle with that evil ghost. Back then, the two Malevolent Ghosts were fighting so viciously that resentment energy soared to the sky. Even at the foot of the mountain, he could hear Sis Gu’s shrill roars. He couldn’t help but worry, but before he could say anything, his Shifu had already stepped outside.

They went all the way up the mountain and saw Sis Gu and a male ghost locked in a deadly struggle, both eyes bloodshot, resentment energy raging, nothing but cold killing intent left. The sight was enough to make anyone shudder.

“Shifu, what do we do? Will Sis Gu get eaten?”

Without a word, his Shifu tapped his staff on the ground and chanted a verse in Sanskrit. The ghost that had bitten off half of Sis Gu’s shoulder howled even louder, eyes blood-red as he looked over, but Shifu wasn’t scared at all. The Diamond Sutra in his mouth grew faster and faster. The little ghost’s energy weakened, and Sis Gu seized the opportunity to bite back, swallowing him whole!

He watched as the Malevolent Ghost disappeared into Sis Gu’s mouth with a wail, thick resentment energy almost wrapping her completely. She floated in midair, burped, then lost consciousness, as if she’d overeaten and her belly couldn’t digest it all, dumbstruck.

His Shifu walked up, grabbed Sis Gu by the foot, and dragged her down the mountain. He watched as Sis Gu was dragged face-down through the grass and woods, looking just like a sandbag. It made his own forehead ache just to look at it.

Shifu dragged Sis Gu to the cellar behind the village earth god’s temple and told him to watch over her, at least until she woke up, so she wouldn’t get eaten by any other little ghost.

He answered blankly, “Shifu is merciful.”

His Shifu shook his head, swept his sleeve, and left.

He stood guard over Sis Gu for three days and nights before she finally woke up from her dreams. Of course, the missing arm, shoulder, and half of her body hadn’t grown back yet. Then she touched her body with great regret and said seriously, “I need to restore my body. I need to eat meat.”

“……”

Since then, Sis Gu seemed to have decided that he was a kind-hearted and good Monk. As a result, he was frequently dragged out to roast wild chickens, and cleaning the latrines became his exclusive duty. He felt that this wasn’t necessarily a good thing. 🙂

……

It was only after he got closer to Sis Gu that he realized she was genuinely terrified of death and had a ridiculously timid nature. Most of the time, she hid in a pit to recuperate, only coming out for a stroll when she was absolutely starving. Whenever she saw his Shifu, she would react like a startled bird, darting away so quickly that not even eight horses could drag her back.

He wanted to tell her that his Shifu wasn’t that scary. After all, it was his Shifu who had saved her in the first place. He hadn’t done anything except help look after her for a while afterward. When Sis Gu heard this, she was a bit surprised but then seemed even more afraid of his Shifu. She said that the Big Ghost who had fought her to the death was defeated by just a few of his Shifu’s incantations. If she were to face him, wouldn’t she be utterly powerless? Truly, he was a terrifying Monk.

… He was a bit dumbfounded, but that logic did seem to make sense?

However, after that, he noticed that when Sis Gu encountered his Shifu, she no longer darted away at lightning speed and vanished. Sometimes, she would even hide far away and steal a glance. Curious, he asked her why. Sis Gu replied, “When someone looks good, I want to take an extra look. Isn’t that just common sense for ghosts?”

Previously, she had been too busy running for her life to spare the time for a proper look. Now that she realized this Handsome Monk didn’t chant scriptures at every ghost he saw, she felt she could safely admire him from a distance.

Liao Yuan: ……

……

Monk Liao Yuan thought that life used to be really good. If only his Shifu were still alive, the three of them could have had a sort of reunion.

As he pondered this, he made his way to pick up Shizhu Gu from work. Just as their group arrived at the doorstep, they ran into Zhang Daoist from the Special Unit. Zhang Daoist was momentarily surprised to see Monk Liao Yuan. This Monk, with his profound mastery of Buddhist teachings, was someone even the head of their Special Unit deeply respected. Who would have thought he had ties to Master Gu?

The two exchanged greetings, and Zhang Daoist explained the reason for his visit. He was here about the previous car-moving incident. It had caused quite a stir at the time, and they had gone to great lengths to suppress the strange rumors and delete all the videos.

Although it had been a good deed, it was still too over-the-top.

Gu Feiyin said, “That wasn’t over-the-top at all. The only other thing I could think of was having the little ghosts carry the ambulance to the hospital. It was Xiao Hong who came up with the idea of moving the car.”

Zhang Daoist imagined the difference between flying a car and moving it and concluded that neither option was particularly better than the other. Oh well, but they’d have to be more careful in the future. The existence of ghosts was a top-secret matter and couldn’t be exposed to the public.

Gu Feiyin nodded earnestly and promised they would be careful.

Now that she was human, she had to be a lawful citizen. Committing a crime would land her in jail, and she had absolutely no desire to end up there.

Of course, Zhang Daoist had another matter to discuss with Master Gu. The headquarters was planning to establish a Supernatural Affairs Office. For cases like assisting the police in investigations, they needed someone to scout out situations first. For larger cases, they might even catch major criminal groups. If their own people went, there would inevitably be significant casualties. But ghosts were different. Without physical bodies, they could pass through walls and move underground. Places that were impenetrable fortresses for humans were like open fields for ghosts.

In other words, the little ghosts from the Ghost House near the overpass were about to get official jobs!

This was fantastic news. Gu Feiyin had been worried that their meager funds wouldn’t be enough to cover the rent. Now that they had jobs, their salaries would be guaranteed, and paying rent would be a breeze.

“Great, great! I didn’t expect your Special Unit to come up with such an idea.”

With this arrangement, things became much easier. Zhang Daoist set up a recruitment point at the Ghost House near the overpass. Any little ghost with a Benevolent Ghost Certificate could apply for a job. There would be a three-month probation period, after which they could sign a formal employment contract and become officially part of the system. In addition to monthly salaries and standard holidays, there would be various benefits during festivals. The perks were top-notch.

The little ghosts at the Ghost House were stunned. They had always thought they were like floating duckweed, drifting aimlessly. Who would have thought they could work like humans? Most importantly, they would get paid! Business trips even came with meals and accommodations. Who wouldn’t want such a good life?

Naturally, they enthusiastically lined up to apply, creating a lively scene. They eagerly reported their skills, striving to showcase their talents to the fullest. Even the Ghost Lady’s maid was tempted. She had never worked outside before and was very curious to try modern employment. After all, this was an era of women’s empowerment, unlike their time, which was full of restrictions, leaving women confined to domestic roles.

The Ghost Lady was quite open-minded and told her maid to go if she wanted to. She herself had taken a liking to watching idol dramas and often leaned against the window for a peek. It was only natural for her little maid to want to experience working.

The Water Ghost, however, was quite bitter. Who could have imagined that these little ghosts, after obtaining their Benevolent Ghost Certificates, could even get jobs? And when would he finally escape the tyranny of Long Black Straight Hair???

But honestly, he couldn’t help feeling a bit envious. A life with food, shelter, and work-who wouldn’t want that?