The necklace was warm, emitting a faint, gentle heat. Zhao Mingyue felt a little puzzled. She continuously sensed as if something within her body was being expelled by the power of the necklace. Even this minuscule bit of warmth made her feel that her body was no longer so dreadfully cold.
She had felt very cold back in the village—a slow, creeping cold that gradually eroded the soul. This chill couldn’t be alleviated by ordinary means. Dressing warmly only heated her body, while her soul remained frozen. Furthermore, the outfit Bai Yu had prepared for her was truly unsuitable for normal people.
It was far too cold, providing no insulation whatsoever. Often, the tighter she wrapped it, the colder her body felt. After leaving the village, when Bai Yu dismissed the outfit, she actually felt somewhat warmer.
“Bai Yu, what exactly does this necklace do?”
She clutched the necklace in her palm, a trace of warmth continuously seeping out, feeling quite pleasant.
“It removes negative effects.”
“Negative effects?”
“The bodily coldness caused by excessive contact between humans and ghosts.” Bai Yu walked beside Zhao Mingyue, explaining: “If this negative effect isn’t cleared, after a long time, your body will develop serious problems, possibly even death.”
“Oh, so it really is a treasure then!” Zhao Mingyue’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. Her immediate thought was: Since I have this, I can sleep next to Bai Yu without worry, right? Or maybe do some other excessive things.
“It’s a good item, but its effect has limits; it can’t achieve one hundred percent removal.” Bai Yu shot a glance at Zhao Mingyue, getting the feeling this girl wasn’t thinking about anything wholesome.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, as long as it has some effect.”
Holding the necklace up in the air, its back against the moonlight, Zhao Mingyue looked up, admiring the soft sheen it emitted through the moonlight. She absolutely loved it.
Following the main road, Zhao Mingyue soon noticed the small bridge up ahead.
When they came, they had encountered a Ghost Wall Maze, created by the female ghost on this very bridge. That ghost had been well-intentioned, wanting to stop them from proceeding further, which is why she appeared. Against an ordinary person, they would have long been scared away, escaping a major calamity.
“Bai Yu, is that female ghost still there?”
“At the bottom of the water.”
“Mm.” Zhao Mingyue nodded. As they passed the small bridge, she called out to the pool below: “Um, thank you, Big Sister, for warning me about the danger ahead! When I get a chance later, I’ll come back and burn you some joss paper and things.”
As her shout faded, the pool water remained calm. The female ghost did not appear; there was absolutely no response.
Zhao Mingyue didn’t mind, as long as the other party could hear her.
After she and Bai Yu left and walked over two hundred meters, at the edge of the small bridge, two small hands first gripped the railing. Soon, a head poked out, its eyes quickly darting out for a glance before hastily shrinking back, too afraid to look further.
She was utterly terrified of Bai Yu’s aura. Just how many evil ghosts had Bai Yu consumed to develop an aura that terrified ghosts so?!
She didn’t dare show her face.
However, just as she was about to return, a hand abruptly seized her wrist.
“Ah!” The female ghost jumped in fright. Stiffly, she looked up and saw Bai Yu’s face—beautiful, but with a somewhat cold and detached expression.
“Don’t, don’t eat me! I didn’t mean any harm!”
“Come up and talk.” Bai Yu released her hand. But the moment she let go, the female ghost fell back into the black pool with a “plop.” The reason was she hadn’t grabbed the railing properly and her footing had slipped.
A minute later.
“Big Sister, don’t be scared. She and I, we really aren’t bad people.”
Zhao Mingyue circled the female ghost, who had crawled out from under the bridge. She looked her over from head to toe, a seemingly harmless smile appearing on her face. “We actually just wanted to thank you.”
She fished a lighter out of her pocket. It was a Fierce Ghost Item she had drawn from a lottery earlier, but the ghost inside had been devoured by Bai Yu. So the item was now empty, capable of holding another ghost inside.
Thus, she had decided to simply take the female ghost from the small bridge with them. Not to make her fight, but to find an opportunity to help her find release. This ghost was quite kind-hearted. Staying here was just torment.
Zhao Mingyue had also considered: if she took this ghost away, would some lost travelers accidentally wander into that place? But that wasn’t within her scope of consideration.
Whether to stay or leave, she wanted to leave the choice to the other party. If she was thoroughly tired of life here, she could leave with them. If she wanted to continue helping others here, Zhao Mingyue wouldn’t insist.
The female ghost didn’t see Zhao Mingyue’s good intentions. All she felt was fear.
Standing beside Bai Yu and perceiving that terrifyingly powerful aura, her legs trembled uncontrollably.
And this girl speaking to her! The vitality in that girl’s blood was far stronger than that of a robust young man! A mere Imp like herself could at most use the Ghost Wall Maze. If she actually fought this young girl, the one dying would probably be her.
“Ah, haha, s-so, why did you call me up here?”
The female ghost discreetly took a step back.
“Mm… We called you up here, Big Sister, to ask if you want to leave. I have something here that a ghost can live in. If you’re willing, you can come with us. There’s usually no one around here, and the environment is terrible. Don’t you get bored all alone?”
Zhao Mingyue placed the lighter in her palm for the ghost to see.
“You… want to take me away?” The female ghost blinked, visibly confused.
“Mmhm. Staying here is too much suffering. You’re a good ghost, Sis. And since you helped me before, isn’t it just normal that I help you now?”
The female ghost hesitated upon hearing this.
Didn’t she want to leave? Of course she did.
But what could she do if she left? Her corpse was at the bottom of the pool. If she left rashly, she would surely lose her way and never find the path back.
In that case, going with Zhao Mingyue wasn’t a bad option.
It’s just…
The female ghost stole a cautious glance at Bai Yu, then quickly averted her gaze.
She was really too scared of this ghost! She didn’t dare!
Zhao Mingyue caught this little look in her eyes. Understanding immediately, she stepped forward and directly looped her arm around Bai Yu’s, pressing her body against Bai Yu’s side, just short of cheek-to-cheek contact.
“Her name is Bai Yu. She’s my good friend. Mm… well, practically family. Basically, she just seems a bit frightening, but she’s actually very gentle. Everyone who knows her says she has a kind personality.”
“I-is that so?” The female ghost was somewhat disbelieving.
Seeing this, Zhao Mingyue simply released Bai Yu’s arm and instead directly hugged her body, even pressing her face right against Bai Yu’s.
Zhao Mingyue’s smile was sly, a hint of mischief in her eyes. Bai Yu’s expression remained blank, perhaps tinged with a touch of helplessness?
The female ghost became half-convinced.
For a living human to stick to another ghost like this, any other ghost would have erupted long ago, right? And yet this ghost really didn’t have much of a reaction.
“See, right?”
“It… it does seem so. Can I really come? If I leave, can I come back?”
“Of course you can. It’s easy to come back if you want.” Zhao Mingyue let go of Bai Yu and held out the lighter again. “If you ever want to return, just let me know.”
The female ghost’s gaze flickered. After some internal struggle, she finally relented. “Thank you.”
Her swollen, disfigured hand touched the lighter, and her entire form vanished into it instantly.
The female ghost’s body was still in the pond. She had been drowned there, which was why her appearance was so horrifying. But compared to her terrifying exterior, Zhao Mingyue felt that the heart was what truly mattered.
“Such a pitiful soul. Sister Yu, next time we get a chance, let’s send her off, like help her reincarnate or something.”
Putting away the lighter, Zhao Mingyue sighed. “She’s probably from Pingshan Village. Dying here for so long without anyone finding her… Too much suffering.”
“Also, taking her with us might let us learn some clues from her later. Since she stopped us from going in, she definitely knows something.”
Bai Yu nodded and said nothing.
After collecting the female ghost, Zhao Mingyue left. They followed the small path until they reached the main road. Fortunately, a private car passed by and gave them a ride back into the city, asking for a token fee of ten yuan. Before they left, the driver made a point to tell her that this area was a bit “cursed” and advised her not to wander here at night without good reason.
In the city proper, Zhao Mingyue got a shared bicycle. Knowing Bai Yu couldn’t ride one, she could only “reluctantly” persuade Bai Yu to squeeze onto the bike with her.
Bai Yu stated she could just enter the shadows, but Zhao Mingyue rejected that idea for a multitude of reasons.
Truthfully, for Bai Yu, squeezing onto a shared bike wasn’t a big deal. It was electric, so no manual pedaling was needed. The seat was short, but with their petite builds, they could both fit.
The problem was, fitting was one thing—why was she the one sitting in front?
Seated behind her, Zhao Mingyue held the handlebars, practically enfolding Bai Yu in her arms as she rode. She was laughing the whole time, the smile never leaving her face.
By now, she had a good grasp of Bai Yu’s temperament. As long as it wasn’t related to a quest, posed no danger, and wouldn’t affect the bigger picture, these small requests usually weren’t refused.
Was it because Bai Yu didn’t want to refuse? Of course not! It was simply because she was clumsy with words, didn’t know how to phrase objections, and upon further thought, figured it wouldn’t really affect anything, so she’d just agree. In a way, being aloof was sometimes a positive trait.
On the way back, Lu Liangting made a point of checking the small bridge.
When he came, a female ghost had used a Ghost Wall Maze on him, trying to make him leave. After everything he’d experienced in that village, he now understood: that ghost had simply been warning him out of kindness.
Unfortunately, when he arrived at the bridge, the female ghost was gone.
Lu Liangting didn’t dwell on it too much. Compared to the ghost, another matter weighed far more heavily on his heart.
The relationship between Zhao Mingyue and Bai Yu.
He had never imagined Bai Yu and Zhao Mingyue were together. At first, he thought Bai Yu had simply been wandering around and happened upon him, which was why she stepped in to save him.
Bai Yu being with Zhao Mingyue was naturally a good thing. At least Bai Yu was strong enough that, no matter the quest location, he wouldn’t need to worry about Zhao Mingyue’s safety.
Thinking this, he didn’t know why his heart felt so conflicted. He didn’t even know what his next step should be. Find Mingyue, ask her to call Bai Yu out, and then personally thank Bai Yu?
A mere verbal thank you seemed insufficient. Bai Yu had saved his life multiple times. How could such a debt of gratitude be repaid with just words? But what could he possibly do for her?
Also, there were more and more strange girls around him. Their personalities were utterly different, yet somehow also completely the same.
The similarity lay in their shared madness and hysteria, and their inexplicable affection for him. Yet he couldn’t exactly complain, because these girls appearing had, in fact, genuinely saved his life.
These girls all seemed to know each other, as if they came from the same organization. What baffled him was: if they knew each other like old friends, why was the animosity between them so intense?
Surely they weren’t fighting over him? It was bizarre, but reality did seem to point that way. In any case, he had witnessed more than once them nearly coming to blows because of him.
Where did he get such immense charisma? Before this, he clearly didn’t even know them.
And all these girls also seemed to know Bai Yu. If that was true, then why was Bai Yu so indifferent toward him?
That wasn’t the main point either. The main point was: where exactly did Bai Yu and the others come from, and why were they approaching him? Appearing out of thin air, with inexplicable affection.
“It seems I really should find an opportunity to ask Bai Yu directly. At least, I now know where to find her.”
“Looking for Bai Yu?” Shen Shuyun overheard Lu Liangting’s murmur.
She slowed her pace, walking close to him. “I suggest you don’t. She’s different from us. Be careful she doesn’t split you open with one swing of her blade! So, you’re better off looking for me.”
Saying this, she stood on her tiptoes and breathed hot air into Lu Liangting’s ear. “Don’t go home tonight. Come to my place. There’s no one at my house.”
“I’ll pass. I have things to do at home.”
“Really? I bought an RTX 4090, but it’s been sitting there for a while. I can’t install it myself. You really don’t want to come help me?”
“I…” Lu Liangting hesitated. “Not tonight. Some other time.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Still longing for your ‘Little Sister Yu’? I’ve given you fair warning. Don’t go looking for her. There’s no future between you two. Don’t you know humans and ghosts walk different paths?”
“Humans and ghosts walking different paths has nothing to do with me. If I look for her, it’s just to ask some questions.” Lu Liangting was very firm.
“Oh? If you’re really so determined to go, I won’t stop you. But listen to one more piece of advice: you can direct your restless hormones at Bai Yu all you want, but absolutely, under no circumstances, provoke Zhao Mingyue. Keep your distance from her. Don’t even say one word out of line. Best to not say a word to her at all.”
“Why?”
“Because, if you act crazed toward Bai Yu, she might not kill you. But if you act crazed toward Zhao Mingyue, Bai Yu will definitely butcher you.”
“First of all, I have absolutely no romantic feelings whatsoever toward Bai Yu or Zhao Mingyue,” Lu Liangting said, his voice serious. “Secondly, I believe Bai Yu is not that kind of person.”
“Ah, fine, fine. Just keep defending her. So annoying.”
