### Chapter 114: Bai Yu, Hee Hee Hee…
With flushed cheeks and darting eyes, it was clear that Zhao Mingyue was feeling shy, yet here she stood, holding a small box in front of Bai Yu.
Her gratitude wasn’t that kiss — though it was planned, it didn’t really fit into the thank-you category. The real gratitude was actually packed inside this box.
In a quiet voice, Zhao Mingyue said, “This stuff inside was given to me by my grandmother before she passed. She said it would bring good luck and protect my heart from evil spirits. I didn’t understand before, but now I do! This should help fend off ghosts and evil spirits’ mental interference.”
The box was practically shoved into Bai Yu’s face. After Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, it dawned on her that she was frantically trying to open the box, revealing a jade pendant shaped like a koi fish. The white fish eyes had a splash of red, which wasn’t paint but the natural color of the jade.
This jade pendant was certainly of high quality. Forget its magical abilities; just based on its value alone, it could sell for a decent chunk of change, enough to keep Zhao Mingyue going for several years.
“This is a yin-yang fish. I have one here, and my sister has one too, but she left hers for me when she left. It’s right below this one.”
Sure enough, there was another jade pendant inside — a black one, with similarly red eyes.
After Bai Yu took the pendant, she could feel a distinct power within it. The lingering resentment from the red-clothed evil spirits in her heart seemed to vanish in an instant.
She wasn’t afraid of the resentment but, to be honest, it was quite annoying—like a fly buzzing around her ear. However, the moment she touched this pendant, all of that disappeared, leaving her mind blissfully clear.
This was definitely a good item, no less than the necklace she had given Zhao Mingyue.
“I…” Bai Yu wasn’t sure if she should accept it.
True, it was a treasure, but it was also a keepsake from Zhao Mingyue’s family. As a ghost, taking it felt a bit off, but she couldn’t think of a good excuse to refuse that wouldn’t hurt Zhao Mingyue’s feelings.
Zhao Mingyue still had half the pendants left, so it would be far too blunt to say it suited her better.
Zhao Mingyue looked at her with an expectant yet nervous gaze.
She wondered if Bai Yu would accept her token of gratitude.
Whether Bai Yu accepted the pendant or not wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t affect their relationship or lead to any awkward situations. That’s what she was telling herself, but she just couldn’t control her own feelings.
“Well, I…” Bai Yu hesitated, clutching the pendant tightly in her palm, “I’ll just take it then.”
As soon as those words left her mouth, Zhao Mingyue’s eyes widened. At that moment, no words could describe her inner joy and excitement. Instinctively, she rushed to hug Bai Yu, but the moment she wrapped her arms around her, Bai Yu vanished.
With an empty embrace, Zhao Mingyue snapped back to reality, staring at the empty space where Bai Yu had been, a mix of confusion and hilarity washing over her. Could it be that Bai Yu was shy?
If Bai Yu knew what Zhao Mingyue was thinking, she would probably retort, “Who was the one too shy to even look me in the eye just now?”
With a quiet sigh, Zhao Mingyue shook her head and took the other jade pendant into her hand.
She had planned to sleep with Bai Yu that night, but it seemed unlikely now.
Well, no use pushing her luck; she had already scored major points for the day.
With a finger tapping her lips, Zhao Mingyue sported a little self-satisfied smirk. Humming a tune, she returned to her room, throwing herself onto her bed and burying her face in her pillow, wriggling around like a caterpillar.
Not gonna lie, even though she hadn’t really kissed anyone else, this felt like her first kiss.
Still, she knew without a doubt that Bai Yu’s unique lip sensation was completely one of a kind.
Living people didn’t have lips as cold as hers, and dead ones certainly didn’t have hers’ soft and bouncy. No other female ghost compared to Bai Yu.
‘Today is truly a day worth remembering!’
‘What’s this, my first achievement unlocked?’
‘No wonder guys love playing games for achievements; it feels amazing to achieve something!’
‘Hmm… it’s probably similar, right? Some guys keep calling the girls in games “wifey.”’
Lost in this whirlwind of thoughts, Zhao Mingyue gradually fell asleep.
—
As night wore on, Bai Yu emerged from the shadows once again. Zhao Mingyue’s pendant now hung around her neck perfectly, looking quite lovely.
She didn’t need to sleep, so she simply sat on Zhao Mingyue’s bedside, eyes closed in meditation.
Meditation was an essential skill for any swordsman. It helped clear the mind, stabilize the heart, or contemplate the intricacies of sword techniques.
Every night she kept Zhao Mingyue company while she slept, and Zhao Mingyue was aware of it.
If it were anyone else waking up to a ghost sitting at their bedside in the middle of the night, they’d likely freak out. But not Zhao Mingyue; seeing Bai Yu’s delicate figure sitting there, all she wanted was to snuggle her into the blankets for warmth and safety.
As a child, watching horror movies and zombie flicks often left her sleepless, leading her to fantasize about having a Taoist priest in her room for comfort.
But now she’d shifted her perspective.
Who needed comfort from a Taoist? If you wanted real safety, you needed a red-clothed evil ghost! No, you needed Bai Yu!
Time ticked away, and Zhao Mingyue was deep in slumber, drooling and mumbling in her sleep. White Yu caught a snippet of her mumbling.
‘Don’t run… Haha, Yu Mei, I’m better than you now! Tonight, %&#…’
She didn’t catch the rest, but from the bits she heard, she could tell the girl’s thoughts were a bit unusual. What did being better than her have to do with tonight?
And the kicker—why on earth was she telling her not to run?
Murmurs were linked to real life; Zhao Mingyue knew her temperament well enough that she wouldn’t retreat or run away. So what on earth had compelled her to say that?
Bai Yu glanced at the clock on the bedside. It read three AM.
She continued meditating, giving Zhao Mingyue space, only for another half hour to go by.
Suddenly, Bai Yu sensed something and bolted upright, eyes wide open.
Zhao Mingyue was still peacefully asleep, but an unfamiliar energy was rising from her body. Bai Yu narrowed her eyes, recognizing it instantly—it was the evil god within Zhao Mingyue!
In Eternal Life Village, there were four evil gods. She had encountered two of them, one in the village and one at No. 13 Middle School.
But the fourth one, the one representing “heart,” she had not yet met.
However, over the times she had possessed Zhao Mingyue’s body, she felt the presence of that evil god lurking.
This god had been sleeping deep within Zhao Mingyue’s body for some inscrutable reason, seemingly trapped in a deep slumber and unable to awaken.
One thing was for sure: its power was exceptionally formidable—overwhelming compared to the other three.
“Did Mingyue entering Eternal Life Village trigger it to wake up early?” Bai Yu wondered.
The energy enveloping Zhao Mingyue only lasted about three minutes before vanishing just as quickly. It seemed to have no effect on her; she continued to sleep, drooling, and occasionally mumbling in her sleep.
But Bai Yu’s expression turned grave. She knew that just because it seemed harmless now didn’t mean it wouldn’t later invade Zhao Mingyue’s body. Initially, Zhao Mingyue wouldn’t even notice, but by the time she did, it would be far too late.
Eventually, Zhao Mingyue’s consciousness and soul would completely vanish, her body overtaken by the evil god.
“I have to go to the back village.”
She couldn’t be sure how much time this evil god was giving Zhao Mingyue; for now, she was fine, but she only had this one chance. If she and the Dragon Lady couldn’t deal with the evil god in five months, they would be in real trouble.
As Bai Yu pondered all this, the night passed, dawn broke, and the alarm clock rang on cue.
Zhao Mingyue had no clue what had happened last night or what she had muttered in her sleep. The only thing she vaguely remembered was a dream that made her cheeks turn crimson.
Her alabaster arms emerged from the blankets as she swiftly turned off the alarm.
Sitting up, she stretched. As she did, her nightgown slipped off her shoulder, revealing the delicate pink straps beneath, along with her enticing collarbone. Below that, the mesmerizing curves were subtly evident. Zhao Mingyue didn’t mind that she had shown a bit too much skin and even greeted Bai Yu.
Honestly, Zhao Mingyue didn’t really like sleeping in a bra. It felt too constricting and uncomfortable.
Today, she wore a tank top instead. Pulling her shirt back into place, she tousled her messy hair, yawning while blinking sleepily.
Bai Yu understood she was about to change, so she calmly stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
In the living room, Zhao Mingyue’s voice carried complaints about something that seemed to have gotten bigger. What a bother!
During breakfast, Zhao Mingyue, lost in thought, couldn’t stop smiling at her bread. Bai Yu felt something was off with the way Zhao Mingyue was looking at her.
“Mingyue.”
“Huh?” Zhao Mingyue looked up.
“After a few more days of rest, we’ll go for a task.” Bai Yu, recalling last night’s events, was eager to get stronger, not just for herself but for Zhao Mingyue too.
“Sounds good! Let’s find a really tough one this time. But Bai Yu, you can’t help me. I want to try on my own.”
“Sure.”
“What’s up?” Zhao Mingyue noticed Bai Yu was staring at her oddly. “Do I have something on my face?”
“You… I was thinking about what you mumbled last night in your sleep.”
It was best to keep the evil god business to herself for now; she’d share when the time was right.
“Dream talk!?” Zhao Mingyue nearly spat out the milk she’d just sipped, her eyes wide as she blushed.
“Yep, I heard it loud and clear.”
“Ah…” Zhao Mingyue didn’t dare ask more. She knew well that her dream had been an embarrassing one, where she had Bai Yu pinned down…
So when she heard Bai Yu mention her sleep talking, she didn’t even need to ask what it was about; she could already guess it was something utterly mortifying.
Thinking about it, if it hadn’t been a “special” kind of dream talk, Bai Yu wouldn’t have even mentioned it.
As the awkward moment passed, Zhao Mingyue brushed off the morning chatter and hopped on a shared bike, carrying her rabbit plush toy as she pedaled towards the convenience store, arriving in no time. She waved hello to Li Tianan, who was cleaning the windows at the entrance.
Pushing the door open, Zhao Mingyue didn’t rush in this time. Instead, her eyes were fixed on the wind chimes inside, curious if Bai Yu’s powers would have increased after devouring three red-clothed spirits and a box of divine bl**d last night.
Li Tianan, too, was intrigued by the wind chimes, just as curious as Zhao Mingyue was about Bai Yu’s strength.
As Zhao Mingyue walked beneath the wind chimes, they indeed began to jingle, ringing six times in total. On the seventh chime, they fell slightly short, producing just a faint sound.
Even the faintest echo counted as seven! The higher the chime, the harder it was to achieve, and it certainly wasn’t simple math.
The store manager didn’t say a word, calmly turning to resume his window cleaning. If you observed closely, you might notice he had been at it for several minutes without paying any attention to the chimes.
Zhao Mingyue lent a hand, then changed into her work uniform and stood behind the counter.
“Bai Yu, do you think that murderer has gone into hiding? Will he come back for revenge?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem.”
“What about the j*rk who sent me those threatening texts?”
Zhao Mingyue rummaged through her phone and found it oddly curious that the person who sent her the threats had sent two more messages just three days ago.
The first message asked her whether she preferred left or right when opening the door, along with a photo of her front door.
The second message was simple: “Hello, Ms. Zhao, are you a friend of this patient?”
It was accompanied by a photo of a girl, with the name “Wang Xinxin” written in the bottom left corner.
The third message closely followed the second one.
“We weren’t able to contact this patient’s family, but we found your name and phone number in her notebook. If you have time, please come to Tianchang City’s Fourth Hospital. The patient’s condition is serious, and she may not last more than seven days.”
Another picture followed—an old, yellowing medical report.
The name on the report was Wang Xinxin, diagnosed with brain cancer.
Zhao Mingyue furrowed her brow, meticulously reading through each message letter by letter, then enlarging the medical report. Unfortunately, the handwriting was so sloppy it barely resembled a doctor’s.
Putting her phone down, her furrowed brow remained.
“Wang Xinxin? Didn’t she d*e?”
—
I’m sorry for being late! My mind is a bit scrambled today!
If you enjoy my efforts, please consider giving me some support!
