Mu Bai hugged the rear panel of his mount, grieving for ten minutes.
His loyal mount had sacrificed itself to lure the enemy, and he wanted to preserve its remains.
Yan He turned around after disposing of the battery, only to see the sorrowful little ghost clinging to a panel.
Yan He: "..."
The robot vacuum cleaner's rear panel was likely covered in dust from constantly crawling into dirty corners, yet the little ghost held it tightly against his chest.
Even though he knew the youth before him was an incorporeal spirit, Yan He still felt a headache coming on at the thought of the ghost sneaking into his bed later.
It was like a cat that played outside and got dirty, then insisted on jumping onto the bed at night.
So while the little ghost was busy trying to pull the vacuum cleaner's head, Yan He tossed the rear panel into the trash bin as well.
Mu Bai was tugging at his mount's body when he turned and saw that its rear panel had also been thrown away.
He could no longer hold back. With a wail, he quickly dragged his mount's body under the sofa to hide it while the man's back was turned.
Yan He: "..."
He stood silently, his eyelid twitching several times, before finally thinking, "Let it be."
It was just a robot vacuum cleaner after all.
Let it stay hidden.
Better than finding the little ghost secretly hugging it in bed in the middle of the night.
Watching the ghost struggle to stuff the vacuum under the sofa, Yan He turned away, deliberately making his footsteps heavier.
To let the little ghost know he had left, so it would stop pushing that thousand-yuan vacuum cleaner against the hundred-thousand-yuan sofa.
A few minutes later.
Yan He entered the bedroom from the living room. As he bent down to pick up his pajamas, he realized his bedroom was empty.
Usually, the clingy little ghost would have eagerly followed him into the bedroom, but now several minutes had passed without the ghost floating in.
Yan He paused, then walked towards the bathroom, his pace unhurried.
The little pervert would surely sneak into the bathroom later, just like in previous days.
The sound of running water filled the bathroom as steam gradually rose.
In the living room, the little ghost sat on the sofa. Taking advantage of the owner's absence, he lowered his head and busily tried to repair the rear panel of his mount.
Half an hour later.
Steam filled the bathroom as the water from the built-in skylight shower stopped. The man under the shower turned to look at the glass door, finding it still empty.
The little ghost who used to sit on the glass door, swinging his legs and intently watching him shower, was nowhere to be seen.
Yan He grabbed a towel, wiping his hair as he pushed open the bathroom door and walked towards the bedroom.
The bedroom was equally empty, with no sign of the little ghost bustling about on the light gray bed.
Yan He casually tossed the towel aside, dried his hair as usual, and lit a sleep-inducing aromatherapy candle.
Wearing black pajamas, the man half-reclined against the headboard, holding a book in one hand. The Buddhist beads on his wrist were rolled to his thumb joint, turning gently. His eyes were half-lowered, his expression calm, seemingly no different from usual.
The bedroom clock ticked slowly, when suddenly there was a faint sound.
In the dim light, the clearly defined knuckles stopped turning the prayer beads. The man paused slightly and raised his head.
The curtains in the distance fluttered in the night breeze, making a soft rustling sound.
It wasn't the sound of the little ghost sneaking in.
Yan He closed the book in his hand, tossing it aside. Frowning, he pressed the remote control for the curtains.
The clock slowly turned to ten o'clock, his usual bedtime.
But the little ghost outside still hadn't come in.
Yan He turned off the lights. In the dark bedroom, he recalled how the little ghost would usually lie at the head of the bed, eyes shining brightly, intently waiting for him to sleep.
He placed his hands on his abdomen as usual, adjusted his breathing, and closed his eyes in the silence.
In the living room, Mu Bai pulled the vacuum cleaner out from under the sofa. He sat cross-legged on the sofa, attempting to repair the broken machine.
Soon after, the living room lights suddenly came on, startling Mu Bai. He turned his head to see his new target in pajamas, coming to the kitchen counter with a water glass.
Mu Bai's mind was preoccupied with his loyal mount, so he only glanced once before lowering his head to continue tinkering with the vacuum cleaner.
Yan He held the water glass in one hand, leaning against the counter, watching the little ghost on the sofa with his back turned, still fiddling with the vacuum cleaner.
He took a sip of water, somehow reminded of his nephew, not much younger than him, and how he looked as a child when his toys were taken away.
After tinkering for quite a while without success in reviving his mount, Mu Bai had to stuff it back under the sofa.
After laying his mount to rest, the little ghost finally floated towards his new target's bedroom. When he peeked in, he found that the new target wasn't asleep yet.
Mu Bai turned to look at the clock. It was half an hour later than usual. Normally, the new target would have been fast asleep by now, emanating the sweet scent that only deeply sleeping people had.
Mu Bai sniffed, suspecting he couldn't smell it, so he moved his head close to the new target's neck, but still couldn't detect the usual sweet scent.
He was puzzled but didn't think too much of it. Instead, he quickly took off his shoes, rolled onto the bed, yawned, and drowsily began to wait for the man to fall asleep.
After about half an hour, the bedroom finally filled with the enticing sweet scent. The little ghost by the pillow, in a daze but with practiced ease, buried his head in the man's chest and began to feed comfortably.
It wasn't until the early hours of the morning, when the little ghost had eaten his fill, that he contentedly left.
The next day.
As night fell, Mu Bai snuck into the detached villa as usual, but found a larger, rounder vacuum cleaner in the living room than yesterday.
The vacuum cleaner was shiny and new, with the instruction manual still beside it.
Mu Bai rushed towards the new vacuum cleaner. He picked up the manual and saw that the new machine was diligently cleaning up mung beans scattered all over the house.
At the kitchen counter in the living room, the new target leaned against it. He wore a white shirt with buttons fastened meticulously to the top, sleeves neatly folded to reveal strong, slender arms.
He leaned against the counter, holding a water glass in one hand and a phone in the other, apparently on a call.
Mu Bai excitedly sat on the new vacuum cleaner, discovering it moved much faster than before.
Yan He leaned against the counter, holding the phone in one hand while watching the little ghost in the living room, riding the vacuum cleaner with great enthusiasm.
Mung beans were scattered all over the light-colored wooden floor, with the new vacuum cleaner carrying the little ghost around the house.
On the other end of the phone, Hong Hui was still asking, "Has scattering mung beans these past few days been effective against that little ghost? Has he come back?"
Not only had he come back.
He was having the time of his life.
Yan He took a sip of water and said, "It's not very effective. He still comes every day."
Hong Hui on the other end sounded very surprised: "You scatter mung beans in the house every day, and that little ghost still comes every day?"
Yan He made an affirmative sound, then added, "He's right in front of me now."
Hong Hui on the other end clearly knew about Yan He's situation these years, and his tone became slightly grave: "What is that little ghost doing in your house now?"
Yan He looked up at the little ghost riding the vacuum cleaner around the house and calmly said, "Parkour."
Hong Hui: "???"
He asked in a confused tone, "Parkour? Is this some new spell?"
Yan He remembered that Hong Hui had gone to the mountains for spiritual cultivation with his master at the age of five. He explained a bit, and the person on the other end finally understood.
Hong Hui sighed somewhat, "It's my fault the mung beans didn't work. My skills are inadequate. But if even mung beans have no effect on that little ghost, I'm afraid this ghost has quite a background."
"I'll come down the mountain to see you tomorrow, and return the jade you sent a while ago."
"The master said that jade is too precious."
Yan He put down his water glass and said in a low voice, "It's just a token of filial piety. There's no such thing as too precious."
"The previous one broke, so I bought a new one for him."
The little ghost running around the house perked up his ears. He turned his head to look at the man by the counter, his eyes shining brightly.
A token of filial piety for him?
He lowered his head to look at the large, round robot vacuum cleaner, his eyes growing brighter.
Because of that one word of "filial piety," Mu Bai paid extra attention to his new target tonight, eagerly following behind him, barely leaving his side.
Even when pressing down on the bed, he was so happy that he pressed for a shorter time than usual.
He gleefully thought to himself that he couldn't find someone like this new target even if he searched with a ghost lantern!
The next evening.
The ground lights on the villa's lawn emitted an endless glow, the courtyard lights were dim and soft, and the low-hanging tree branches swayed in the wind.
"Can you really freely absorb yang energy from that person?" a headless ghost hanging on the courtyard lamppost asked in a soft voice, enviously addressing the young man sitting on the lamppost swinging his legs. "Won't he drive you out?"
In mid-air, a group of little ghosts crowded together in a circle, curiously surrounding the small ghost on the lamppost.
They had all heard that the man in this villa was several times fiercer than evil spirits. Seeing Mu Bai frequently entering and exiting the villa these past few days, they couldn't resist gathering at the door to question him.
The little ghost Mu Bai, sitting on the lamppost, swung his legs. He opened his eyes and said seriously, "Of course not."
"He's actually afraid of me."
"Every day he obediently lies in bed and lets me absorb his yang energy."
The man who was pouring tea in the villa's living room suddenly paused, turning his head with a half-smile to look towards the courtyard lamppost.
The surrounding group of little ghosts, huddled together and peering around, all gasped in astonishment. The long-tongued ghost was so envious that he couldn't even retract his tongue, stammering as he clung to Mu Bai.
It was well known that in the past, the little ghost Mu Bai sitting on the lamppost was the worst off among them.
He looked different from the other little ghosts.
Other ghosts were born with green faces and fangs, looking fierce and evil, or at the very least could detach a hand or foot or lose an eyeball, enough to scare living people pale-faced and offer incense for these little ghosts to eat.
But the little ghost Mu Bai looked exactly like a human, with soft black hair falling over his brows, snow-white cheeks, and large, round, dark eyes. His head was intact and couldn't be removed to scare people, and his thin arms and legs showed no trace of blood or gore.
As a little ghost born like this, without any hint of ferocity, he simply couldn't scare humans or get any food.
In the past, Mu Bai would go hungry for nights on end, pitifully following behind the others begging for food.
But now, looking at him, Mu Bai's face was rosy, his eyes bright and sparkling, appearing very energetic.
Upon inquiry, it turned out that Mu Bai, once the worst off, not only had a human who was afraid of him but could also make that human obediently lie in bed every day to let him absorb yang energy, and even give him good things as offerings.
The headless ghost, hugging its own head, was extremely envious and said in a soft voice, "I always said being a bed-pressing ghost is good, unlike us without heads, always being called brainless..."
Mu Bai felt a bit happy. He pressed his lips together to suppress his rising smile, his face tightening to look very serious.
After all, in the past, other little ghosts often laughed at him, saying that such a bed-pressing ghost was very weak, and looking so docile, he couldn't scare anyone at all.
Seeing the envious look of the headless ghost, Mu Bai thought for a moment and comforted him, "Being brainless is good too, isn't it said that having no head means no worries..."
"I think you're just fine as you are..."
The headless ghost was a bit happy being praised by him and wanted to give Mu Bai his own head.
The surrounding little ghosts also crowded around him, afraid of being left behind, offering their own severed hands, feet, and eyeballs to stuff onto him, shamelessly asking Mu Bai to teach them how to scare humans so they would obediently let them absorb yang energy.
Mu Bai felt a bit guilty. He stuffed the nearest eyeball into the eye socket of the eyeless ghost, and finally said seriously that he had a method to make himself look very fierce in that person's eyes.
It was only natural that person was afraid of him.
He spoke with such vivid detail that the surrounding little ghosts became even more envious, swarming around him saying how amazing he was.
Mu Bai struggled greatly to poke his head out from the pile of ghosts. He peeled away the long-tongued ghost's reluctantly clinging tongue and said, "It's nine o'clock, I have to go."
"If I don't go over soon, that person will get anxious waiting."
Under the admiring gazes of all the little ghosts, Mu Bai floated up. He meticulously adjusted his clothing with a dignified and serious manner, then floated proudly towards a certain window of the villa.
In the villa's living room, a man dressed as a monk sat on the sofa. He looked at Yan He, who was turning his head to look out the window, and asked puzzled, "Mr. Yan, what are you looking at?"
Unlike Yan He, he had been born with the yin-yang eyes and, due to his special constitution, was extremely sensitive to matters of evil spirits.
The man sitting on the sofa wore a black shirt. He slowly shifted his gaze from the cluster of little ghosts, the corner of his mouth curling into a half-smile as he said, "Nothing."
On the other side, the little ghost who had just proudly floated into the villa's living room looked up, saw the two people in the living room, and came to an abrupt halt mid-air, his face showing terror as he stopped in place.
How could his new target, whom he couldn't find even with a ghost lantern, be hanging out with a monk?!
And why was his new target even making tea for that bald monk?!