Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Hai Guanchao left work a little later today because Zheng Minmin brought her child to the clinic, which Fang Zhe discovered.
“It seems she came to see you,” Fang Zhe said to Hai Guanchao, “Let me open your yin eye.”
Hai Guanchao allowed Fang Zhe to open his yin eye, and upon looking, he saw a long-haired female ghost standing at the door, with a naked toddler lying at her feet. The toddler’s body was thin and bluish-white, and the black of his eyes almost filled his entire eye sockets. The ghostly figure looked at him eerily, and Hai Guanchao’s legs went weak.
“…Good evening,” Hai Guanchao greeted her, forcing himself to remain calm.
Zheng Minmin also greeted Hai Guanchao amicably. Although she and her child lived nearby, they wouldn’t easily come to his door unless there was a reason. It was never good for ordinary people to have too much contact with ghosts. She was grateful for Hai Guanchao’s kindness and certainly wouldn’t harm him.
This time, Zheng Minmin came to ask some questions about the child, and Hai Guanchao, suppressing his fear, answered them.
After Zheng Minmin left, Hai Guanchao was still shaken. That child was a ghost infant. Although he knew they wouldn’t harm him, it was still incredibly frightening to look at.
Hai Guanchao didn’t know about others, but these young ghosts were the most terrifying to him.
Hai Guanchao closed the door and walked back. Since his living space was now more spacious, he and Fang Zhe no longer lived together. So after saying goodbye to Fang Zhe, Hai Guanchao continued climbing.
The music from the square dancing had stopped sometime earlier; the area was past its noisy hours. And a night breeze blew in from the corridor and windows, bringing a chill.
“Waaah…”
From somewhere came a child’s whimper, full of resentment and injustice, sending a shiver down one’s spine.
Was someone beating their child? This thought flashed through Hai Guanchao’s mind, but he quickly realized something was wrong. This crying… was too pitiful, and it sounded suppressed, not a loud wail, but a soft, intermittent cry.
Another gust of night wind blew in, raising goosebumps on Hai Guanchao’s hands.
Even more terrifying, upon closer inspection, he realized the voice seemed to be coming from not far away.
Cold sweat nearly broke out. Hai Guanchao recalled Xie Lingya’s stories of subduing evil spirits outside— the plastic dolls at the Niangniang Temple that wouldn’t let him leave…
Also, Xie Lingya had said that while temples and Taoist monasteries were safe inside at night, the outside was less so. Not that demons and monsters dared to act recklessly before the gods and Buddhas, but rather that ghosts seeking justice, hoping for salvation, or wanting to peek at the dolls might linger outside. This was especially true during religious ceremonies and festivals. Like Zheng Minmin, who had also sought help at the temple gate.
Thinking of Zheng Minmin, and her son’s dark, empty eyes, Hai Guanchao’s face turned deathly pale. Trembling slightly, he climbed another flight of stairs, deciding to go to Xie Lingya’s room for courage.
Wait, what if he ran into Shi Changxuan if he went to Xie Lingya’s room now? If so, wouldn’t he go blind… Never mind, there was no time to worry about that now.
Hai Guanchao rushed upstairs, and as soon as he reached the floor and turned around, he saw a little girl in a yellow dress and red shoes leaning against the stone railing at the end of the corridor. She was quite tall, so her feet were about twenty centimeters off the ground…
A faint sobbing sound came from her mouth. As if she had heard something, she looked up, revealing a pale little face.
“Holy crap—” Hai Guanchao stumbled back several steps, almost falling down the stairs, but luckily he grabbed the handrail.
His heart clenched, his breathing quickened, and just as Hai Guanchao was about to shout, Xie Lingya’s door opened, and he came out, holding a peach wood branch in his hand, tapping his palm and saying, “I let you out for a bit, why are you still not done? Go back and do your homework.”
Hai Guanchao: “???”
It was only after seeing Xie Lingya that Hai Guanchao’s heart, which had suddenly settled, remembered that ghosts couldn’t appear in a temple. But he had never seen this little ghost before. Where did she come from? Wasn’t Teacher Xie out attending a wedding today? Where did he have time to catch a little ghost?
Xie Lingya turned her head and saw Hai Guanchao at the other end, so he raised his hand to greet him.
Hai Guanchao, still shaken, walked over, only to see the little ghost reluctantly entering the room, her face covered— Shi Changxuan was also inside.
“Who’s this?” Hai Guanchao asked, “I was fu**ing scared to death, a ghost was crying in the middle of the night.”
Xie Lingya chuckled, “It’s because you came back late, I didn’t introduce you. This is a pen fairy, named Sha Rui. She caused trouble for me at the wedding during the day, so I brought her back to teach her a lesson.”
Looking again, sure enough, Sha Rui was hunched over the table, writing a test paper with tears in her eyes, while Shi Changxuan sat beside her watching, stopping her when he saw a mistake and explaining the question to her.
Hai Guanchao: “…”
Hai Guanchao was utterly horrified. Was this how he taught her?
“Write properly, you can’t leave until you finish,” Xie Lingya said, leaning against the door.
The little pen fairy: “…”
She suddenly sobbed, but unable to resist, she continued to draft her work with a wronged expression, occasionally giving Xie Lingya a hateful look.
Shi Changxuan tapped the table with his finger, “Concentrate.”
Hai Guanchao watched for a while, then sighed, “Xiao Xie knows how to play…”
Xie Lingya was very proud, taking out the complete set of Olympiad test papers from the bag, “That’s right, look, there are all subjects, from third grade to sixth grade. When we purify ghosts, we also need to use methods, we can’t just rely on intimidation, we also need to educate. Instead of spending money to buy paper ingots, I might as well buy a set of test papers, right? Little fool, do your questions well, after you finish, I guarantee your soul will be purified and you will be enlightened.”
Sha Rui: “…”
Hai Guanchao: “…”
Hai Guanchao always felt that he called her “foolish” instead of “sha”, looked her over a few times, and said with a twitching mouth, “Then you guys continue, this family of three looks quite warm.”
Xie Lingya said with a smile, “Then why doesn’t Master stay and enjoy family time?”
Hai Guanchao: “…Thank you, but no thanks.”
Hai Guanchao looked at her a few more times and suddenly felt that his fear of little ghosts had inexplicably disappeared.
….
Sha Rui cried, “Brother, please let me go! I’ll never cause trouble again!”
Not only was she unable to leave Baoyang Temple, but she was also being forced to do practice problems. She felt like she was living a life worse than death; even being a ghost wouldn’t bring her happiness.
Xie Lingya said, “No, brother gave you a chance. The test papers are already bought; you can’t refuse to do them.”
The Phytolacca God gloated, “Hehe, hahaha…”
The child originally liked these little reporting gods, but after being mocked, she became unhappy, thinking that bad people’s friends, and the reporting gods raised by bad people, were all bad…
Xie Lingya saw Shi Changxuan listing formulas for Sha Rui and felt even more satisfied with his senior brother. “With a teacher like Brother Changxuan tutoring you, you should be secretly happy.”
Sha Rui buried her head even lower, her unhappiness radiating from the top of her head.
Shi Changxuan, however, gave Xie Lingya a cryptic look.
Xie Lingya’s heart skipped a beat. He remembered how Shi Changxuan had become “beastly” after he called him “Senior Brother,” and he chuckled inwardly, thinking how secretly lecherous he was. He leaned closer and whispered in his ear.
Upon hearing this, Shi Changxuan abruptly put down his pencil and pressed down on the back of Xie Lingya’s neck, capturing his lips with his.
Caught off guard, Xie Lingya leaned back slightly, but quickly grabbed Shi Changxuan’s shoulder with one hand, parted his lips slightly, and let his tongue entwine with Shi Changxuan’s. His other hand accurately pressed down on Sha Rui’s head, who was curiously trying to look up.
“Eek…” Sha Rui twisted a few times but couldn’t shake off Xie Lingya’s clutches, so she simply slammed her head on the table and bumped it there.
Xie Lingya’s breathing quickened as he kissed Shi Changxuan, and after a long while, they separated. His eyes were moist as he looked at Shi Changxuan, who then lowered his head and kissed him on the cheek again.
Only then did Xie Lingya release his grip and lift Sha Rui’s head up. “Little cutie and little darling, keep an eye on little fool while she does her homework. Adults have things to do.”
Sha Rui pouted, reluctantly writing her test paper under the supervision of the two whistleblowers. The test paper was difficult enough, but having to listen to Phytolacca God’s ramblings was no less than the most miserable punishment in the world.
….
Xie Lingya, in a frenzy, forced the little spirit to write test papers for several days, until she cried and admitted her mistakes every day, vowing to be a good ghost in the future, not daring to carry a trace of hatred. Only then did Xie Lingya show leniency.
“I’ll take you back. I’ll give you the rest of the test paper you didn’t finish. Go back and continue studying.” Xie Lingya broke off a willow branch, bent it up and wove it into a simple basket, and then burned it.
After burning the willow basket, it appeared in Sha Rui’s hands. She laughed and cried as she gathered the remaining exam papers, placed them in the basket, and slowly piled it up. When she held it in both hands, the top almost covered her face, and she still said aggrievedly, “Thank you, Teacher Xie.”
“Let’s go.” Xie Lingya led Sha Rui out the door with satisfaction, even offering to take her home.
Sha Rui dared not resist, clutching the large basket full of exam papers, following closely beside Xie Lingya.
Xie Lingya first took a bus and then walked. As they passed a patch of ground, Sha Rui suddenly hid behind him.
Xie Lingya looked up and saw familiar faces: Ning Wanlai and Cheng Xin. Moreover, Ning Wanlai was in a spirit-out-of-body state; he didn’t know how Cheng Xin had seen him— but considering Ning Wanlai had been a wandering spirit for so long, it wasn’t surprising he had learned a few tricks from his colleagues.
It was no wonder Sha Rui was afraid of these two. Ning Wanlai was a wandering spirit with a soul-locking chain, and Cheng Xin, needless to say, was a righteous police officer.
“What are you two doing? Working on a case together again?” Xie Lingya asked.
“Teacher Xie?” Ning Wanlai floated over, glancing at Sha Rui hiding behind Xie Lingya. He found it strange that she was carrying such a large stack of papers, but since she was clearly hiding, he only answered Xie Lingya, “It’s not really a case. Cheng Xin is helping me find someone, no, I mean, find a ghost.”
“It’s not like a ghost has gone missing, is it?” Xie Lingya asked in surprise.
“No, no, I’m looking for a civil servant.” Ning Wanlai said with a complicated expression, “I’m preparing to find a suitable ghost to take up the post. I was with Cheng Xin before I fainted this time, and he came out to help out.”
He himself had been forcibly hired, and he was still a living ghost, so talking about it inevitably brought back painful memories.
Xie Lingya asked with interest, “What kind of civil servant are you looking for? Is it another case of death?”
Ning Wanlai sighed, “If it were death, it would be easier to find one. The underworld is currently short of a ‘sculpting ghost,’ and I’ve been assigned to this role. They’re telling me to find a suitable one.”
Xie Lingya asked in confusion, “What is a ‘sculpting ghost’?”
This was a position within the underworld, but he had never worked there and had never seen any related texts, so he only had a vague understanding of it.
Ning Wanlai explained, “I didn’t know either. This ‘sculpting ghost’ is someone who sculpts the faces of ghosts.”
“…Sculpts faces?” Xie Lingya said with a complicated expression, “You don’t mean plastic surgery, do you? Are services in the underworld so widespread now? Can you even get plastic surgery in the underworld?”
Ning Wanlai: “…”
Ning Wanlai: “Not really. I heard that sculpting faces for ghosts is done before reincarnation. After sculpting their appearance for the next life, they go to reincarnate. Of course, some people don’t need to change their appearance for reincarnation. I’ve also heard of examples of sculpting faces for living people. That’s because the person accumulated good karma, and the underworld showed mercy. So, a person’s appearance might slowly change with their circumstances.”
Hearing this, Xie Lingya understood. No wonder it’s called a “sculpting ghost.”
Sha Rui listened with longing, craning her neck, showing that even at such a young age, she had a love of beauty.
“So, are you looking for a suitable ‘sculpting ghost’ now? Have you found one?” Xie Lingya asked.
“…No.” Ning Wanlai’s shoulders slumped. “This ‘sculpting ghost’ seems to mainly sculpt faces for virtuous and kind-hearted people, so before coming here, Brother Wang specifically instructed me to find someone with good aesthetic sense. That’s why I came here.”
The civil servants of the underworld only changed positions in a long while and judging from Ning Wanlai’s observation of the previous twisting fetus ghosts, their aesthetic sense was quite old-fashioned.
Xie Lingya glanced over and realized, “Indeed, there’s a plastic surgery clinic nearby.” Xie Lingya chuckled; this was a perfect match for this expertise. “What, are there no suitable candidates here? Or are they all still long-lived and can’t go down for the time being?”
“No,” Ning Wanlai said with a heavy heart, “We went to several hospitals and looked at their surgical cases. They all had the same big, European-style double eyelids, high noses, and pointed chins. You couldn’t tell them apart when they were all put together. Tell me, is it a reward or a punishment to have these people, who are supposed to accumulate good karma, sculpted like that?”
Xie Lingya: “…”
Ning Wanlai sighed, “The level of cosmetic surgery in Zhuyang is really not good. I see that the results from people in big cities are quite distinctive. If you want that kind of result, that’s fine, but unfortunately… sigh, I’m really troubled now.”
Xie Lingya found it amusing, “Aren’t you going down the wrong path? Who says that ‘plastic surgery addicts’ have to find a plastic surgeon? Why don’t you go to an art academy and find a painter or sculptor with a good style? They have good aesthetics and understand facial structure.”
A lightbulb seemed to light up in Ning Wanlai’s head, “Yes, yes, that makes sense. You can also go to an art academy!”
Ning Wanlai quickly thanked Xie Lingya.
Sha Rui listened to everything, then looked up and asked, “Lord Underworld Official, when I’m reincarnated, can the Reincarnation Ghost mold me into a little fairy?”
Everyone: “…”
Xie Lingya pondered, “Study hard, maybe the Underworld Officials will think you’re very well-behaved and agree to mold you into a little fairy.”
Sha Rui nodded vigorously, lifted the basket, balanced it on her head, and ran off, “Teacher Xie, no need to see me off, I’m going to study now—”
Xie Lingya: “…”
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