Chapter 103: I Believe Bai Yu Isn’t That Kind of Person!
The necklace was warm, radiating a gentle heat. Zhao Mingyue felt a bit puzzled as she could sense something within her being expelled by the necklace’s power. Even the slightest warmth made her feel less cold.
Back in the village, she had felt intensely cold—a slow, soul-eroding chill that ordinary measures couldn’t alleviate. Wearing more clothes just warmed her body while her soul remained icy.
To make things worse, the outfit Bai Yu had prepared for her was utterly unsuitable for most folks.
It was too chilly to provide any warmth; the tighter she wrapped it, the colder she became.
After leaving the village, Bai Yu had removed her clothes, and strangely enough, she felt a tad warmer.
“Bai Yu, what’s the actual use of this necklace?”
Clutching the necklace in her palm, the warmth spread pleasantly.
“It eliminates negative influences.”
“Negative influences?”
“Coldness resulting from excessive contact between humans and ghosts,” Bai Yu explained as she strolled beside Zhao Mingyue. “If not cleared, your body could face serious problems, even d*ath, over time.”
“Oh, so this is indeed a treasure!” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes sparkled. In her mind, having this trinket meant she could shamelessly share a bed with Bai Yu, or maybe indulge in some other outrageous activities.
“It’s good, but its effect is limited. It can’t completely eliminate the cold,” Bai Yu shot a glance at Zhao Mingyue, sensing the girl’s mischievous intentions.
“No worries, as long as it works!”
Holding the necklace up against the moonlight, Zhao Mingyue gazed at the soft glow it emitted, absolutely loving it.
As they walked down the road, she noticed a small bridge up ahead.
When they arrived, they encountered a ghost wall, created by the female ghost on that very bridge. The ghost had meant well, wanting to prevent them from moving forward, but any ordinary person would’ve run away in terror, thus avoiding a disaster.
“Bai Yu, is that female ghost still around?”
“Under the water.”
“Got it.” Nodding, Zhao Mingyue called out as they passed the bridge, “Hey, thanks, sister, for warning me about the danger ahead! I’ll come back and burn some paper offerings for you when I have the chance.”
After her shout, the water remained calm—no response from the ghost.
Zhao Mingyue didn’t mind, as long as the ghost could hear her.
After her and Bai Yu moved on, they’d walked another couple hundred meters when, by the side of the bridge, two little hands grabbed onto the railing. Then a head peeked out, glancing around quickly before ducking back, terrified.
She was so frightened by Bai Yu’s aura! How many ghosts did that evil spirit have to devour to cultivate this frightening presence?
She dared not show her face.
Right as she was about to retreat, a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.
“Ah!” The female ghost yelped, stiffly looking up to see Bai Yu’s striking yet somewhat indifferent face.
“Don’t eat me, I didn’t mean to!”
“Come up and talk.” Bai Yu released her grip. Just as she loosened her hold, the ghost fell with a spl splash into the black water below because she hadn’t secured her grip on the railing.
A minute later…
“Don’t be scared, I promise you, we aren’t bad people.”
Zhao Mingyue circled the ghost that crawled up from beneath the bridge, sizing her up and smiling in that friendly, harmless way.
“Actually, we just want to thank you.”
She fished out a lighter from her pocket—an item she had won in a lottery draw earlier. The ghost that had been stored in it was now devoured by Bai Yu, so the item was now free to contain another ghost.
So, she figured, why not take this bridge ghost with her instead? No fighting; it’d be good to help her break free when the opportunity arose.
This ghost was kind; staying here was merely torturous.
Zhao Mingyue had considered whether taking the ghost away would cause any lost souls to accidentally wander in, but that wasn’t in her immediate thought process.
Whether to stay or go, she wanted to give the ghost a choice. If she had enough of this life, she could leave with Zhao Mingyue. If she wanted to keep helping others, Zhao Mingyue wouldn’t insist.
But the ghost, too scared, didn’t see the options Zhao Mingyue was presenting. She simply sensed the terrifying aura emanating from Bai Yu, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
And this girl talking to her? Her vitality was even stronger than that of a grown man. This little ghost could maybe pull off a ghost wall, but if things turned physical with this girl, she’d be the one to bite the dust.
“Uh, haha, what do you want me to come up for?”
The ghost instinctively took a cautious step back.
“Um… We just wanted to ask you if you wanted to leave. I have something that can help ghosts find a place to stay. If you’re willing, you can leave with us. Here, it’s usually deserted and dreary. Aren’t you lonely all by yourself?”
Zhao Mingyue showed the ghost the lighter in her hand.
“You want to take me away?” The ghost blinked, clearly confused.
“Yep! Staying here is painful; you’re a good ghost, and since you helped me before, it’s only natural I help you in return.”
Hesitation flickered across the ghost’s face.
Did she want to leave? Of course!
But what could she do out there? Her body was submerged in the pond below. If she went out recklessly, she’d surely lose her way and wouldn’t be able to return.
So, leaving with Zhao Mingyue seemed like a decent choice after all…
Only…
The ghost cautiously glanced at Bai Yu but quickly shifted her gaze away.
She was terrified of this ghost and wouldn’t dare approach!
Zhao Mingyue witnessed the ghost’s eye movements and immediately understood. She stepped forward, looping her arm around Bai Yu’s, almost pressing her body against Bai Yu’s. It was practically face-to-face!
“She’s Bai Yu, my good friend, hmm… more like family. She might seem scary, but she’s very kind. Everyone who knows her says she has a gentle personality.”
“Is that so?” The ghost was somewhat skeptical.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingyue let go of Bai Yu’s arm and wrapped her arms around her instead, her face almost pressed against Bai Yu’s.
Zhao Mingyue laughed with a sly glint in her eye, while Bai Yu maintained her usual expression, seemingly a bit exasperated.
Now the female ghost was seriously half convinced.
If she behaved this way with a live human, a regular ghost would have just had a meltdown by now, but this ghost didn’t seem to react much at all.
“You see, right?”
“Yes, it looks like I can really leave. If I go, can I come back?”
“Of course! If you want to return, just let me know—I’ll make it easy.”
The ghost’s eyes flickered, deep in thought. Finally, she relented, “Thanks.”
Her swollen hand tapped the lighter, and she vanished into thin air.
The ghost’s body remained in the pond; she had drowned there, and her appearance was a nightmare. Yet Zhao Mingyue felt the spirit’s heart mattered most.
“She’s quite pitiful. Sister Yu, let’s find an opportunity to help her move on next time—reincarnation or something.”
With a sigh, Zhao Mingyue pocketed the lighter. “She’s probably from Ping Shan Village too. It’s so tragic being undiscovered down there for so long.”
“Exactly! Bringing her back might even help us gather some clues. If she wouldn’t let us in, she must know something.”
Bai Yu nodded silently, not saying much.
After accepting the ghost, they left, taking a small path to the highway. Thankfully, a private car passed by, giving them a lift back to the city. Zhao Mingyue offered a symbolic ten bucks, and as they left, the driver warned her that this area had some supernatural issues and advised her not to wander around at night.
Once in the city, Zhao Mingyue snagged a shared bicycle. Considering Bai Yu couldn’t ride, she had to “politely insist” that they squish together.
Bai Yu insisted she could blend into the shadows, but Zhao Mingyue shot down every excuse.
Honestly, for Bai Yu, squeezing onto a shared bike wasn’t a big deal.
This electric bike didn’t require pedaling, and at their petite sizes, both Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu fit comfortably.
The catch was, even if they could fit, why should Bai Yu sit in front?
Riding at the back, Zhao Mingyue gripped the handlebars like she was cradling Bai Yu, laughing without a care in the world.
Now she had figured out Bai Yu’s temperament—when it came to non-mission, non-dangerous, little requests, she would usually oblige.
Did that mean Bai Yu didn’t want to refuse? Oh no!
It was purely because she was tongue-tied and couldn’t find the right words. It seemed throwing in a little favor didn’t shake things up too much, so she would just agree.
So yes, sometimes being aloof had its perks.
On the way back, Lu Liangting happened to glance at the small bridge.
When he passed through, a female ghost had tried to use a ghost wall against him, intent on getting him to scram. Having experienced everything in that village, he now understood that the ghost had only been trying to warn him out of kindness.
However, upon reaching the small bridge, the ghost was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Liangting didn’t dwell on it. Compared to the ghost, another matter weighed heavily on his mind.
That was Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu’s relationship.
He honestly hadn’t expected them to be together. At first, he thought Bai Yu was just wandering and happened to save him out of the blue.
It was certainly good that Bai Yu was with Zhao Mingyue; after all, Bai Yu’s strength meant he wouldn’t have to worry about Zhao Mingyue’s safety, no matter the mission.
He thought that, but somehow his feelings got all tangled up.
He had no idea what to do next.
Should he find Mingyue, get her to bring Bai Yu out, and personally thank her?
A simple thank you didn’t seem sufficient.
After all, Bai Yu had saved his life multiple times—a debt of gratitude that couldn’t just be expressed verbally. But what could he do for her?
Moreover, the number of bizarre girls around him was on the rise. Each completely different in personality, yet somehow all shared a similar vibe.
What they had in common was their madness, their psychosis, and an inexplicable affection for him.
Yet he couldn’t say much about it, as these girls all did save him in their own chaotic way.
It appeared they all recognized each other, almost like they came from the same collective. The puzzling part was, while they seemed like old friends, the veiled hostility between them was very real.
Surely they weren’t fighting over him?
How absurd! But here we are, reality slapped him with that.
He’d seen it more than once where they’d almost come to blows over him.
Where did this charisma of his come from?
Before this, he hadn’t even known them!
And those girls seemed to know Bai Yu too—if that were indeed the case, why was Bai Yu so indifferent towards him?
But let’s not dwell on that; the primary question was where did Bai Yu and her friends come from, and why did they gravitate towards him?
They seemingly manifested out of nowhere with this inexplicable fondness.
“Guess I have to find an opportunity to ask Bai Yu directly—that is, at least I can locate her now.”
“Looking for Bai Yu?” Shen Shuyun overheard Lu Liangting’s murmur.
Slowing her pace, she stood close beside him. “I advise you not to, she’s not like us. Be careful; she might just slice you in half!”
“So, it’s better to find me instead.”
As she spoke, she tiptoed and whispered into Lu Liangting’s ear, “Don’t go home tonight; come to my place. No one’s home.”
“No thanks, I have things to do at home.”
“Really? I got a 4090 sitting there for ages, and I can’t set it up alone. Are you sure you don’t want to help me out?”
“I…” Lu Liangting hesitated. “Not tonight; maybe next time.”
“Tsk tsk tsk, still thinking about your feathered sister, huh? I’m just giving you friendly advice, don’t go looking for her. You and her? There’s no future, don’t you know?”
“Human and ghost paths diverge, that’s irrelevant. I just have some questions,” Lu Liangting asserted.
“Oh? If you really want to go, I won’t stop you. But hear me out—feel free to unleash your pent-up hormones on Bai Yu, but for heaven’s sake, stay away from Zhao Mingyue. Don’t even say anything crossing the line, better yet, don’t say a word!”
“Why not?”
“Because if you get crazy with Bai Yu, she might not k*ll you, but if you act up with Zhao Mingyue, Bai Yu will definitely take you out.”
“First of all, I have no romantic feelings for either Bai Yu or Zhao Mingyue,” Lu Liangting declared seriously. “Secondly, I believe Bai Yu isn’t that kind of person.”
“Ah, okay, okay, defend her all you want. Just annoying, isn’t it?”
More later!
Votes, please!
