Master Zhou hosted a dinner at the most luxurious restaurant in Capital City under the name of Master Tingyi.
The bill was actually paid by Jing Tinghua.
Others didn't know this and thought Master Tingyi was footing the bill, feeling touched for a moment.
This old bald monk usually didn't have much money and was quite miserable. He wasn't good at social niceties either - you couldn't even beg a steamed bun from him normally. How did he have a change of heart today?
"Did you return to secular life?"
"Did you strike it rich?"
"Did you break your precepts?"
Several bigwigs spoke up one after another, and not a single one said anything auspicious.
Master Tingyi: "..."
Master Tingyi: "I received some charitable donations."
Daoist Master Qu Yi heard them getting more and more outrageous and had to speak up to bring the topic back on track.
"We haven't held an exchange conference for many years..."
Master Tingyi still felt wronged after hearing this: "I held one, but no one came."
Daoist Master Qu Yi: "..."
The others coughed lightly: "Mainly because we don't understand Buddhism at all, so there wouldn't be much to exchange."
Daoist Master Qu Yi then struggled to steer the conversation back again: "For this exchange, we'll use Capital City as the center. In Capital City, for any evil spirits, anyone not following the rules of our circle, like raising little ghosts or maliciously harming people..."
The others exchanged glances: "Master Qu, to be honest, you didn't run into some big trouble and specially invite us here to help, did you?"
"Of course not." Daoist Master Qu Yi paused, "In our generation, mystical arts have already declined quite a bit. No one knows if the next generation will still be able to inherit our skills... Now is a great opportunity, why don't we invite the young ones from each of our households to gain some good experience?"
This struck a chord with everyone.
But a man with a full beard gruffly said: "Why the fuck didn't you say so earlier? I didn't bring my son or grandson!"
Daoist Master Qu Yi wiped the spit off his face, cursing inwardly.
He put on a slight smile: "It was my oversight. Why don't you call home now and ask them to come?"
"Who's he?" Someone suddenly stared at Jing Tinghua and asked.
"As you know, in our line of work, we can't save up money. If I want to organize an exchange conference, don't I need to get some sponsorship? This gentleman is the biggest financial backer sponsoring our conference. He contributed 80 million."
Most people were stunned for a moment.
"Oh, this gentleman must be devoted to mystical arts."
"Would you like to buy some talismans?"
Jing Tinghua secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed these bigwigs in the mystical arts circle weren't as difficult to deal with as imagined.
Apparently, they were all the type who would be easy to talk to as long as you gave them money.
At this moment, a skinny middle-aged man turned to answer a phone call.
When he came back, he said with a solemn face: "My apprentice nephew has already arrived in Capital City. He says he took on a strange job..."
The bigwigs thought, guiding the younger generation? That's the most interesting part. They hurriedly asked: "What's strange about it?"
Daoist Master Qu Yi and Jing Tinghua couldn't get a word in for a moment.
Daoist Master Qu Yi was speechless internally, but he didn't want to reveal his true purpose, so he could only hold back for now.
The skinny man said: "He says there are two people who lost a period of their memories. And during this time, it's like their bodies were out of control, doing things on their own."
"...Isn't this just ghost possession?"
"Ghost possession should leave visible traces, but there's almost no ghost energy left on them."
"Almost?"
"Yes, there's a little bit of ghost energy. But this amount, you might get from accidentally bumping into a ghost while walking down the street."
Everyone raised their eyebrows and began discussing in low voices.
"Is it possession by a spirit beast?" "An evil god at work?"
When the latter half of the sentence was spoken, Jing Tinghua and Daoist Master Qu Yi's eyes inadvertently shifted.
However, no one paid attention to this.
At this moment, the skinny man's phone vibrated again. He said: "My apprentice nephew sent a new message, saying... oh, saying these two people were even on the news. We can learn more details from the news."
As he spoke, he opened the link.
Everyone passed it around to look.
"Isn't this just them doing that thing, getting caught, and then lying about being possessed by ghosts?" the bearded man said impatiently. "What's there to bother about with this crap?"
"Their parents don't believe it and insist on inviting a master to see what's going on..."
Daoist Master Qu Yi stared at the news photo, paused, and suddenly spoke up: "This matter does seem a bit problematic."
"Does Master Qu have any insights?" At once, everyone stared at him intently.
Daoist Master Qu Yi stared hard at the photo.
In the photo, a handsome tall man held a young man tightly in his arms. Their figures were captured by the reporter, just in the lower right corner of the photo. Blurry, but clear enough to make out.
He pointed: "Look, isn't this a ghost?"
As he finished speaking, a flash of gloom quickly passed over Daoist Master Qu Yi's face.
Just when he was nodding off, a pillow was handed to him.
He didn't even need to make up any more excuses to lead them all over there.
However, after everyone gathered to look, they all shook their heads in unison: "He's not a ghost."
"How could he possibly be a ghost?"
"He was clearly captured on camera, and he looks quite handsome... How does he look like a ghost?"
Daoist Master Qu Yi pursed his lips, knowing this was most likely some expert using some method to make him solidify into a physical form.
His eyes flashed, really not wanting to miss such a good opportunity, so he spoke up again: "The ghost has possessed him."
Everyone frowned and looked carefully at the photo again.
"Delicate features."
"Full of vitality and spirit."
"No dark circles under the eyes." "Hey, he's actually quite fair-skinned."
Daoist Master Qu Yi: "..."
Jing Tinghua: "..."
Daoist Master Qu Yi opened his mouth, wanting to make up something else to emphasize his point, when he saw the skinny man raise his head and say: "We can't see that it's a ghost, but you've just come out of seclusion, so you must have cultivated to be more powerful than us during your retreat. If you say you see a ghost, then let's go take a look in person."
Daoist Master Qu Yi had achieved his goal and smiled slightly.
He changed the subject, asking: "No one came from the Cloud Return Sect?"
When others heard him mention this place, they were all taken aback, then shook their heads saying: "Who can fathom the Cloud Return Sect's actions? They probably wouldn't come to an exchange conference like this."
Daoist Master Qu Yi showed a regretful expression.
He truly felt regretful.
If someone from the Cloud Return Sect had come, then the others wouldn't need to act at all. The Cloud Return Sect would resolve it in one strike, saving a lot of trouble.
However, the bearded man fumbled with his phone in a fluster: "Wait, my phone is ringing."
He answered loudly: "Hello!"
This call lasted less than two minutes.
The bearded man hung up the phone in a daze and said: "Someone from the Cloud Return Sect is coming..."
"Where are they?" Daoist Master Qu Yi asked in a thunderous voice.
Hearing this, the others also stood up in shock.
"At the airport."
So the group said no more and hurried off to the airport to receive them.
Only Master Zhou, supporting Master Tingyi, fell a few steps behind. Slowly, they came to a complete stop.
"We need to call young master."
"We need to call Jing Jiujiu."
The two of them spoke almost at the same moment.
They both hurriedly took out their phones, one dialing Bai Yuhuai, one dialing Jing Jiujiu. But the calls just went to busy signals.
Master Zhou hastily hailed a car: "You can't leave, you need to stay here as our inside man. I'll go directly to find them, I know the address!"
Master Tingyi instinctively responded: "Alright."
After responding, he felt that the term "inside man" sounded a bit strange. Like they were up to no good.
But this was Master Tingyi's first time being an inside man, and thinking about it carefully, it was actually quite thrilling.
Ha! Who would have thought that in his old age, this old monk's life would become so rich and colorful!
Jing Jiujiu and Bai Yuhuai returned to the villa. He watched Bai Yuhuai cook a big pot of soup. It was made with an old hen that Xu Sanyu had sent over, saying his mother raised it herself in the countryside and it made especially fragrant soup.
Jing Jiujiu had only mentioned it casually, knowing he wouldn't be able to taste it.
But he didn't expect Bai Yuhuai to actually make it.
Jing Jiujiu's nose twitched slightly, as if he could really smell the aroma.
Bai Yuhuai held a ladle in one hand, wearing an apron around his waist. But under the apron, he was still in a suit and leather shoes.
If reporters saw his appearance right now, they would surely be scared to death, then hoist up their cameras and start snapping away wildly.
Bai Yuhuai turned around and asked coolly: "Do you want to enter the little paper man?"
Jing Jiujiu shook his head and said, "If I go in, I'll only feel how hot your pot is."
Bai Yuhuai felt a pang of regret.
Ever since he had ordered the large paper doll for the young man, the youth had become too lazy to crawl into the small paper dolls anymore.
Bai Yuhuai lowered his gaze, concealing the darkness in his eyes.
But he did want the young man to become a small paper doll again. That way, he could easily hold the youth in his palm and keep him close, taking him wherever he went.
It would perfectly satisfy one's secret desire for possession.
Bai Yuhuai ladled out a bowl of soup: "Then just drink the soup."
Jing Jiujiu had already slipped over to the table and sat down obediently. He prepared his napkin, and with a wave of his hand, all the tableware in front of him began to float.
But he swallowed and said, "You drink it."
Bai Yuhuai's eyes flickered.
Not falling for it today?
Bai Yuhuai sat down, scooped up a spoonful with the ladle, blew on it to cool it, and took a bite.
Imitating Master Zhou's description from last time, he said unhurriedly, "The chicken is almost falling apart, mixed with a hint of mushroom flavor. The oil isn't heavy, but the aroma is clean. The shiitake mushrooms have absorbed the broth, becoming soft and chewy. When you bite into them, they seem to slide across your tongue..."
Jing Jiujiu couldn't bear to listen anymore.
He grabbed Bai Yuhuai's wrist and said eagerly, "If-if I could drink the soup last time, can I eat the mushrooms this time?"
Bai Yuhuai asked, "How will you eat them?"
Jing Jiujiu quickly flew a chair over, placing it next to Bai Yuhuai, then walked over himself, sat down, and began to "personally instruct."
"Bite a mushroom."
Bai Yuhuai lowered his head and took a mushroom into his mouth.
Next... next... Jing Jiujiu suddenly got stuck.
He felt that he was being somewhat shameless, making Bai Yuhuai sacrifice himself just so he could eat a mushroom.
So Jing Jiujiu, while internally salivating, tilted his head, stared at Bai Yuhuai, and asked softly, "Do you want to kiss me?"
Bai Yuhuai was so shocked he almost dropped the mushroom from his mouth.
He clenched his fingers, his whole body tensing up.
What kind of direct question was this?
Did he want to kiss him?
...Yes.
Not just kiss him.
Bai Yuhuai also thought about the question he hadn't had time to answer that day.
Just as Bai Yuhuai was wondering whether he should spit the mushroom back out, Jing Jiujiu quickly spoke up: "Oh, you're not saying anything, so I'll take that as a yes, you want to kiss me."
Jing Jiujiu opened his mouth slightly: "Quick, kiss me, quick. Feed me the mushroom, you have to put it in my mouth."
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
The young man's lips parted just enough to accommodate a mushroom. But... what kind of kiss was this?
Seeing him not moving, Jing Jiujiu said sheepishly, "I don't have any saliva, you know. Don't worry. I'm a ghost."
Bai Yuhuai's heart nearly burst with how adorable he was, his blood rushing to his head with a thunderous roar.
He put down the spoon, wrapped one arm around Jing Jiujiu's waist, cupped the back of his head with the other hand, and kissed him.
Jing Jiujiu felt something press against his lips, seemingly more forceful than last time.
He moved his lips, trying to bite.
But he couldn't bite anything.
Bai Yuhuai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He lightly patted Jing Jiujiu's lower back and said, "Open your mouth."
Jing Jiujiu quickly opened his mouth.
Bai Yuhuai: "Don't bite."
Jing Jiujiu: "...Oh."
Right, I'm a ghost.
I can swallow it whole, no need to chew.
Bai Yuhuai's yang energy was incredibly strong, and Jing Jiujiu quickly felt the heat and warmth.
His heart had stopped beating years ago, but now his chest was pounding, and his head was throbbing.
Was this what happiness felt like?
It was quite happy indeed!
Eating mushrooms was so delightful!
Jing Jiujiu felt a slight burn in his throat and seemed to taste something sweet. Was this what mushrooms tasted like? Jing Jiujiu couldn't quite remember.
His mind hadn't figured it out yet, but his body had already instinctively reacted.
He eagerly wrapped his arms around Bai Yuhuai's neck, burrowing into his embrace, and then started to suck forcefully...
Clearly turning the tables.
Bai Yuhuai was nearly driven mad by the kiss.
How could there be such a clingy and passionate little ghost?
Wasn't he afraid of pain?
Bai Yuhuai held Jing Jiujiu's waist even tighter, his heart feeling as if it would burst out of his chest.
He had to use all his strength to suppress the burning desire in his chest that threatened to erupt at any moment.
He endured painfully, but Jing Jiujiu was completely oblivious.
Jing Jiujiu probably felt that this position was quite awkward, not something ghosts would like.
So he directly straddled Bai Yuhuai's waist.
Bai Yuhuai's heart skipped a beat, and he fell backwards.
The chair hit the floor with a "thud."
Jing Jiujiu, weak, pitiful, and helpless, straddled him and smacked his lips: "...I think I tasted it, but maybe I didn't."
He looked at Bai Yuhuai guiltily.
Ha, as long as I take the initiative, Bai Yuhuai can't blame me for pushing him down.
"How pitiful, I can't even eat a mushroom," Jing Jiujiu added to his own misery, trying to prevent Bai Yuhuai from speaking.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Seeing Bai Yuhuai's lips move as if about to speak, Jing Jiujiu quickly jumped off him and pulled him up: "Why did you fall down? Are you hurt? Does your bottom hurt or your arms? Should I blow on it for you?"
Bai Yuhuai couldn't get angry, nor could he laugh.
Jing Jiujiu's gaze lowered, and suddenly his pupils dilated in shock: "...Your phone, it's broken."
Bai Yuhuai looked down.
His phone was face-down on the ground, smashed by the chair.
It probably slipped out of his pocket earlier.
Bai Yuhuai wasn't too concerned about the phone and bent down to pick it up.
The screen was black...
Jing Jiujiu licked his lips and quickly took out his own phone to hand it over: "Here, you can use mine."
After handing it over, he started to pull at Bai Yuhuai's clothes.
To check if there were any marks on his back.
Bai Yuhuai's breathing quickened again, and he held Jing Jiujiu's hands: "I'm fine." He looked up and asked, "Did you taste it?"
Jing Jiujiu's cheeks flushed slightly: "I think... I did."
He felt that he should have tasted it.
Bai Yuhuai remained silent.
No, you didn't taste it.
"Slippery and smooth, that's what mushrooms are like, right?" Jing Jiujiu said.
He touched his neck: "It doesn't hurt much this time." After saying this, his face clearly showed that he wanted to do it again.
Bai Yuhuai's throat bobbed: "...Mm. We'll try something else next time."
After speaking, he carefully observed Jing Jiujiu's expression.
The corners of Jing Jiujiu's mouth curved up slightly, his eyes shimmering. Clearly, the young man didn't dislike kissing him, and perhaps even... liked it a little?
Bai Yuhuai wanted to say something more, but the phone in his hand suddenly started vibrating furiously.
Bai Yuhuai glanced down.
Master Tingyi.
Bai Yuhuai immediately put aside all other thoughts, reverting to his cold and calm demeanor. He answered the call: "Hello."
Master Tingyi was taken aback, looked at his phone, then at the sky, thinking to himself, isn't this young friend Jing Jiujiu's phone?
But Master Tingyi didn't waste words and proceeded to relay the conversation between Daoist Master Qu Yi and Jing Tinghua and the others to Bai Yuhuai.
Bai Yuhuai's expression gradually darkened.
It should have been a day with a good mood.
He could have played some games with Jing Jiujiu later, maybe lose, but the young man wouldn't blame him. The atmosphere in the room would have been excellent.
But in an instant, everything was ruined at this moment.
"I understand," Bai Yuhuai said in a deep voice.
He had vaguely guessed that there must be someone behind Jing Tinghua, and now they had finally lured out the big fish.
It's just that this big fish was equally despicable, making one's heart uncomfortable.
Bai Yuhuai hung up the phone and turned around to see Jing Jiujiu slightly stunned.
Bai Yuhuai: "Don't be afraid."
Jing Jiujiu: "You said before that raising ghosts is a big taboo in the circle." He pointed at himself: "Am I the ghost you're raising? What will they do to you? Will they revoke your Celestial Master Qualification Certificate?"
Bai Yuhuai didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Where did such a thing even exist?
But Jing Jiujiu had already continued on his own: "Are they going to punish you, to make an example of you? Like, publicly chop off one of your fingers? Rip out your shoulder blades? And lock you in a dungeon, where you cry your eyes out every day but they still won't let you out..."
As Bai Yuhuai listened to him getting more and more outrageous, more and more sorrowful, his heart twinged with a slight pain, mixed with amusement and touched feelings.
He wanted to hold the young man tightly in his arms and lift him up.
"They wouldn't dare do anything to me. Even if everyone truly forbids me from keeping you..."
Jing Jiujiu sighed softly, his face showing a slight worry: "Then just secretly abandon me. Don't leave me too far away, so that when they're gone, I can come back to find you."
He was already quite a formidable ghost.
A ghost could still survive for a couple of days.
He could also bring paper figures, allowing him to survive even longer.
Bai Yuhuai couldn't help but reach out to caress the corner of Jing Jiujiu's eye, saying in a deep voice: "Mm."
How could he bear to abandon Jing Jiujiu?
Jing Jiujiu had already been abandoned for far too long.
As long as the young man wouldn't shy away from his affection in the future, or grow to despise him, he wanted to keep the young man by his side, for a long, long time, for all eternity.
Bai Yuhuai finally finished the rest of his sentence: "If they try to oppose me... then let them know what happens when they meddle in affairs that don't concern them."
As he said this, Bai Yuhuai's face was already covered with a layer of frost.
Jing Jiujiu quietly looked up at Bai Yuhuai.
No one knew that he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Yuhuai was different from Jing Tinghua, completely and utterly different.
Jing Jiujiu said: "Then let's go."
Bai Yuhuai: "Hm?"
He hadn't yet adapted to Jing Jiujiu's rapid emotional shift.
As Jing Jiujiu spoke, he turned to pack his backpack, stuffing the Yama Statues inside as well.
He lifted it.
"It's heavy."
Inside were divine statues, their weight certainly not something that could be measured by ordinary standards.
Their souls and consciousness were very heavy, very heavy indeed.
Bai Yuhuai took it with one hand: "Where are we going?"
Jing Jiujiu opened an umbrella for himself: "They want to find us, right? So let's go find them first!"
He fell silent for a moment: "...I have a question I've wanted to ask Jing Tinghua for a long time."
But soon, Jing Jiujiu's face returned to a relaxed expression.
Bai Yuhuai moved his lips: "Alright."
He would do whatever Jing Jiujiu wanted.
At this time, Daoist Master Qu Yi and his group finally met up with the people from the Cloud Return Sect.
A small young man, no taller than 1.3 meters, with a Taoist bun hairstyle and wearing a cotton jacket embroidered with the Eight Trigrams diagram, stood there with a serious face and said coldly: "Greetings, everyone."
"My grand-master is in this city, but I can't reach him by phone, so I had to ask you all to come pick me up."
Everyone was slightly dumbfounded.
Huh?
The Cloud Return Sect sent a child?
In a daze, they brought him along and hurried to the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Master Tingyi, Jing Jiujiu, Bai Yuhuai, and Master Zhou were already seated in a private room.
Master Zhou's face was full of worry: "It seems they want to kill the young master. What should we do?"
Jing Jiujiu smiled slightly: "Don't worry."
Master Zhou wanted to say how could they not worry? Those were the big shots of the metaphysical world! Real big shots! He had even seen them with Master Tingyi!
Just then, the door was pushed open.
"This way, please." Daoist Master Qu Yi had just finished speaking when his footsteps were frozen in place, his face as colorful as if a five-colored vat had been overturned, extremely vivid.
The fierce ghost he was looking for was sitting brazenly in the private room!
Jing Jiujiu pointed at the shock and anger on Daoist Master Qu Yi's face and said to Master Zhou: "See? They want to find me, so I came to find them first. Take the initiative, turn defense into offense. See how much more imposing this is? Aren't they the ones who are scared now?"
"..."
Daoist Master Qu Yi was furious. He turned his head and glanced at Jing Tinghua.
But Jing Tinghua was already frozen in place, his expression complex, motionless.
Your good son!
After being a ghost for a few years, he's become even more arrogant!
Daoist Master Qu Yi pulled out the fly whisk he carried with him, leaped forward, and lashed out at Jing Jiujiu, shouting: "What are you all standing there for? Catch the ghost! It's him!"
The fly whisk suddenly spread out, transforming into hard silk threads, stained with a blood-red color. One lash seemed as if it would tear off a piece of flesh.
Master Tingyi frowned and closed his eyes, bringing his hands together.
Bai Yuhuai sat steadily, his eyes cold and frosty, merely raising his hand to grab the fly whisk barehanded.
Daoist Master Qu Yi inwardly sneered.
The people behind him who witnessed this scene, however, vaguely glimpsed a trace of thunderous power from that hand.
Jing Tinghua hissed: "Stop."
The others behind him also hurriedly shouted: "Don't act yet!"
The fly whisk only managed to touch Jing Jiujiu before it was forcefully broken by a hand with distinct knuckles.
A flash of light burst from Jing Jiujiu's body, disappearing in an instant.
The young man's face, which should have been that of a fierce ghost, was now made even more beautiful by the light. Compared to how he looked on the day he died, as seen by Jing Tinghua, there was almost no change – no, he was even more handsome.
The bearded man exclaimed in shock: "This isn't right, he's not a ghost... he has Buddha's aura, the aura of a divine spirit!"
[Intimidation Progress Bar 4 -- 80%]
[Congratulations to you and your host for successfully intimidating human experts, metaphysical masters xn...]
A cold mechanical voice abruptly sounded.
It paused for a few seconds, and finally spat out:
[Dropped title: "The Most Badass Ghost in History"]
The little robot in the backpack: ?
Wow, it feels like life has reached its peak.