Villainous Malevolent Ghost (5)
“Did Xuyi wake up?”
When Song Xuyi woke up the next day, she found herself lying on the bed. The splendid morning light illuminated the entire room. In a trance, Song Xuyi saw a familiar, pretty figure in the morning light, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing there.
Song Xuyi was neatly covered with a quilt, and everything in the room was intact. Even Song Zhi, who had been lying on the floor, had disappeared, as if everything that happened last night was only a dream of Song Xuyi.
But everything truly happened.
Iron filings were scattered on the ground by the door, and the door lock showed gnaw marks. In the center of the room was a painting that had been burned to ashes.
“Your bead is truly magical,” the system dryly spoke. “Last night, I thought we were done for, but after you fainted, your bead emitted a strong light, and that painting suddenly burned up on its own…”
“The evil spirit ran away, afraid of being shot by your bead,” the system said, using the excuse agreed upon with Bai Yu. Deep down, it felt an immense sadness over its own downfall, recalling Bai Yu’s threatening gaze just before disappearing, forcing it to continue speaking with a hardened resolve: “In the middle of the night, your second brother woke up on his own, sneaking away, thinking he got confused from being drunk. He didn’t even bother to tidy up that broken painting, hurriedly crawling and rolling back to his own room…”
These words were half true and half false. In fact, Song Zhi had been possessed by an evil spirit for so long that various bodily functions were damaged. Bai Yu removed the hidden dangers from Song Zhi’s body but wove a dream for him:
“The painting you brought back hid a big demon. That big demon was extremely ugly and revealed its true form at midnight, intent on devouring you. You desperately tried to escape but found no way out, powerless to do anything but shrink into a corner, watching helplessly as the big demon devoured your feet, knees, and thighs step by step…”
The system recalled the bad woman speaking slowly and leisurely into Song Zhi’s ear, her eyes looking innocent, and couldn’t help but shiver.
Even the system watching from the side was scared into this state, let alone Song Zhi, who dreamt of all this: Song Zhi was so scared awake that he ran back to his room and now lay in bed, trembling continuously.
Suppose through this encounter, Song Zhi will not randomly toss about for a long time…
Song Xuyi, however, did not notice the system’s fearful emotion. After traversing so many small worlds, Song Xuyi has absolute trust in the system. Song Xuyi never thought the system would lie to her, and upon hearing these words, she couldn’t help but look at the bead in her hand…
Originally, did this bead have such a big effect?
All of this is thanks to Bai Yu, after all, this bead was crafted single-handedly by Bai Yu.
With this thought, Song Xuyi remembered her plan to draw several sets of pretty clothes for Bai Yu, which she had set aside.
There wasn’t much time left until one month was up, so Song Xuyi decided to draw several sets of pretty clothes for Bai Yu whenever she had free time, planning to bring them when she returned to the old house for Bai Yu to absorb yang energy.
During breakfast, Song Xuyi did not see Song Zhi. The servants said Song Zhi seemed to have caught a cold, but Song Xuyi did not mind and went back to school after finishing breakfast.
As the exam time approached, Song Xuyi resumed intensive graduate exam preparation. Yet, even with this, she still added drawing clothes for Bai Yu to her schedule, drawing whenever she had a moment.
Song Xuyi did not know what kind of clothes Bai Yu liked, so she altered the pattern of the clothes Bai Yu wore and drew two sets. As she continued drawing, Song Xuyi didn’t know what she was thinking and ended up drawing some modern dresses for Bai Yu, along with some jewelry and high heels. She then remembered Bai Yu’s childhood spent in constant cultivation from her dreams and, with a motherly heart, ordered a bunch of entertainment supplies online…
When the one-month period arrived, Song Xuyi realized she had already drawn more than ten sets of clothes for Bai Yu, not to mention all sorts of other things, filling up an entire big plastic bag…
Song Xuyi, keeping track of the time, arrived at the Bai family’s old house exactly one month later. Afraid that others might disturb Bai Yu, Song Xuyi asked the driver to park the car outside the gate and walked into the old house alone.
For one month, no one had come, and now it was winter. The courtyard of the old house had accumulated a thick layer of fallen leaves. The autumn wind rustled, and as people stepped on the leaves, they made a ‘creak’ sound. Song Xuyi involuntarily shivered.
After entering, Song Xuyi remembered she overlooked an important matter: during their last farewell, she hadn’t arranged a way to communicate with Bai Yu, nor did she know if Bai Yu could appear during the daytime…
However, since she was already there, Song Xuyi decided to first burn the things she had prepared for Bai Yu.
In the courtyard, Song Xuyi found an open area and lit the things she had brought, softly muttering while squatting beside them: “Celestial Master Bai Yu, these are all for you. If you like them, I will bring more next time. It’s my oversight; I don’t know if you can appear under the sun during the day. Can you entrust a dream or…”
“Thank you, Miss Song.” Song Xuyi originally thought she would need to arrange another time with Bai Yu, but before she finished speaking, Bai Yu’s cold, clear voice came from behind.
Seeing Song Xuyi’s gaze fall on the hairpin in her hair, Bai Yu blinked, a noticeable blush rising on her tender white face, and she lowered her eyes: “I found this hairpin quite unique, so I wore it. Thank you for your concern, Miss Song.”
“Not a bother, not a bother…” Song Xuyi, seeing Bai Yu’s shy demeanor, remembered how easily shy Bai Yu had become, turned her eyes away, but couldn’t help but smile: Song Xuyi had spent the most time designing this hairpin, and now seeing that Bai Yu seemed to like it very much, gave Song Xuyi a feeling that her efforts weren’t wasted, making her feel extremely happy.
In her mind, however, came the sound of the system grinding its teeth, “creak creak.”
“What happened?” During this period, the system had been unusually silent, and Song Xuyi always felt the system seemed to be hiding something from her.
“Nothing.” The system’s voice sounded with a hint of gritted teeth: “Just… suddenly a bit worried about the main god.” As it spoke, the system’s stare at Bai Yu was almost fiery—
Really so infuriating!
This shameless woman was as always! Clearly, she appeared in the middle of the night these days without restraint, secretly enjoying the drafts Xuyi had drawn many times. Now, in front of Xuyi, she began to hypocritically pretend to be shy, and yet I am forced to be her accomplice, unable to expose all this…
The more Song Xuyi looked, the more she felt the system was somewhat strange, but since the system was unwilling to speak, it wasn’t the right time to press for answers, so Song Xuyi decided to let the matter rest.
After learning that absorbing fresh blood could provide yang energy for Bai Yu, Song Xuyi was initially very calm, as Bai Yu only needed to touch her wrist. However, seeing Bai Yu’s extremely shy demeanor, Song Xuyi’s face inexplicably felt a bit hot—
Sure enough, she is a simple ancient person! Just a glance and she’s blushing, unable to mention absorbing yang energy for half a day. Luckily, I am not a bad person; otherwise, with her shy and timid appearance, she might be sold by others and still help count the money.
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“Celestial Master Bai Yu,” Song Xuyi sighed inwardly, deciding to mention the yang energy matter first herself, and softly spoke: “Then how do I provide yang energy to you?”
When it came to business, Bai Yu finally lifted her head, but her eyes still seemed unable to meet Song Xuyi’s, just lowering them: “Miss Song, follow me.”
Bai Yu led Song Xuyi to a spot under the sheltered eaves. She seemed to have mentally prepared herself, finally willing to look at Song Xuyi, and even a gentle smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Although sheltered from the wind, this spot under the eaves still caught the sunlight. Song Xuyi surveyed the surrounding environment and couldn’t help but inquire aloud: “This spot still catches the sun; should we change to another place?”
“No need,” Bai Yu shook her head, the smile at the corner of her lips looking increasingly gentle and pure: “Miss Song is slightly unwell and cannot catch the wind.”
Recently, Song Xuyi had been preparing for the graduate exam and also needed to find time to draw for Bai Yu. She had indeed been coughing a bit, and she didn’t expect that Bai Yu had led her under the eaves for her sake. Facing Bai Yu’s concerned and clear gaze, warmth involuntarily surged to her cheeks once again.
Song Xuyi inexplicably felt somewhat unable to meet Bai Yu’s eyes, yet at that moment, she understood one of Bai Yu’s characteristics: she does not fear sunlight.
The more Song Xuyi interacted with Bai Yu, the more she felt Bai Yu seemed no different from a real person. Recalling the original story summary where Bai Yu might completely dissipate and go dormant under the courtyard, Song Xuyi felt increasingly heartbroken for Bai Yu—
Is there really no way to take her away from this mansion?
“Miss Song, pardon me.”
Bai Yu did not notice Song Xuyi’s momentary daze. She slightly bowed in front of Song Xuyi, her wide clothing hem spreading on the ground, half-kneeling before Song Xuyi, and her cold fingers touched Song Xuyi’s wrist—
It was like an electric current crackling through her blood; Song Xuyi’s body shivered, instantly waking her up.
From Song Xuyi’s angle, she could see Bai Yu’s slender black eyelashes, elegant nose, flawless jade-white skin, and the red lips touching her wrist.
The sensation of pain and itch vanished in an instant.
Clearly knowing Bai Yu is sucking the fresh blood from her wrist, yet perhaps because Bai Yu’s posture is too pleasing to the eye, Song Xuyi in a daze feels as if Bai Yu is kissing her wrist, and the atmosphere inexplicably takes on a hint of ambiguity. Song Xuyi tries hard to suppress her wild thoughts, yet her cheeks still grow increasingly hot, and her legs even inexplicably feel somewhat weak.
Song Xuyi felt extremely ashamed! It was clearly only a moment, yet it felt like a very long time had passed.
Bai Yu finally finished sucking the blood. She gently placed Song Xuyi’s hand back to her side, and her fair cheeks were once again stained with a rosy glow.
Song Xuyi wasn’t sure if it was her own illusion, but she felt that after sucking blood, Bai Yu looked even more beautiful, especially her originally slightly pale red lips, which appeared increasingly rosy and full, like a fresh rose covered in morning dew.
“Actually, I want to thank you,” Song Xuyi found her heartbeat suddenly quickening, and she dared not look again at the beautiful, almost glowing Bai Yu. She lowered her head to look at her wrist: the skin on her wrist was tender and smooth without a scar, as if Bai Yu sucking her blood was only an illusion of Song Xuyi.
During this period, Song Xuyi had long accepted this world’s various fantastical events and did not feel surprised, so she continued to speak: “I was recently attacked by an evil entity; if not for your bead, I might have been eaten by the evil spirit long ago…”
“This is Miss Song’s blessing, and it actually has little to do with me.” Bai Yu lowered her head, her voice very light: “Moreover, the reason Miss Song encounters ghost attacks is because of coexisting with me,” Bai Yu did not claim credit, her gaze carrying a hint of sadness—
“Miss Song originally need not endure such fright…”
Song Xuyi originally had no intention of blaming Bai Yu. Even though she was frightened at first by Bai Yu’s appearance, once she realized Bai Yu was the main force against fierce ghosts in the future, Song Xuyi dispelled any blame towards Bai Yu and focused on healing Bai Yu’s injuries.
Seeing Bai Yu’s guilty appearance at this moment, Song Xuyi knew that if she didn’t help Bai Yu resolve this emotional knot, Bai Yu would become increasingly reserved in front of her in the future. However, she couldn’t reveal the plot summary, so Song Xuyi bit her lip and racked her brains for an excuse. Looking at Bai Yu’s face, so beautiful it seemed to glow, suddenly she had an idea—
“Celestial Master Bai Yu, I really do not blame you!”
“To be honest, if it were someone else, I might feel resentment, but I have always had a fondness for beauty, and you are so good-looking, I simply cannot harbor any resentment…”
Song Xuyi thought carefully for a moment; actually, what she said wasn’t entirely false. Even if Bai Yu wasn’t the main force against fierce ghosts in the future, because of Bai Yu’s face and thinking of her tragic fate, even if she brought fright to her, she estimated she couldn’t bring herself to hate her.
Thinking this way, Song Xuyi confidently raised her head, directly meeting Bai Yu’s eyes.
Presumably, someone like Bai Yu, an ancient person, had never heard such straightforward words before, and she was momentarily dumbfounded. Facing Song Xuyi’s gaze, Bai Yu’s cheeks visibly turned red, her eyes wandered, not daring to meet Song Xuyi’s sight, appearing extremely embarrassed…
Song Xuyi did not expect she would force the renowned ancestor of metaphysics into such a state, but seeing Bai Yu’s reaction, Song Xuyi felt that Bai Yu must have heard her words.
Even though she felt somewhat ashamed in her heart, Song Xuyi still thought she should strike while the iron was hot, forcing herself to ignore Bai Yu’s awkward demeanor, and continued, “Actually, in my heart, I already regard you as a friend. If you could leave this mansion, I would even want to take you around, to see the beautiful scenery of these later generations. After all, if it weren’t for you sorcerers resisting evil spirits and protecting humanity, I think today’s world wouldn’t be as peaceful and healthy as it is…”
“Miss Song,” upon hearing Song Xuyi’s words, Bai Yu’s head lowered even more, her ears so red they seemed about to drip blood. She looked up at Song Xuyi once, her voice extremely low as she spoke: “Actually… I can leave this mansion…”
“Really?”
Song Xuyi’s eyes immediately lit up: her words were indeed somewhat probing, as she truly did not want Bai Yu to end up alone in this mansion until she dissipated.
Bai Yu looked into Song Xuyi’s happy eyes once, nodded silently, and softly spoke:
“As long as I am by the side of a Bai family member… I can leave this mansion.”
“A Bai family member?” Song Xuyi’s smile stiffened at the corners of her mouth, and she pressed her lips tightly, furrowing her brows: Bai Jin’s grandfather is in prison, Bai Jin’s father lacks fighting spirit, Bai Jin himself is a boy, and Xia Tian is always clinging to Bai Jin… Bai Yu following these people is not convenient, and thinking it over, Bai Yu staying in this mansion is currently the most peaceful existence for her!
“I will try to find an opportunity for Bai Jin to come back more often, to take you out for a walk…” Song Xuyi, for the moment, couldn’t think of another idea and could only sigh lightly to comfort Bai Yu: “When I find the opportunity, I will definitely take you out to have fun…”
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Seeing Song Xuyi’s downcast expression, Bai Yu opened her lips as if wanting to say something, but ultimately pressed her lips and didn’t speak out…
However, in Song Xuyi’s mind, the system’s heart was stirred with stormy waves: although the bad woman was quite dogged towards the system, she was very honest in front of Xuyi, and the system didn’t feel the bad woman was lying.
Then why could the bad woman follow behind Xuyi?
Inexplicably, the system thought of that time during the sacrifice: Xia Tian was too busy, so Song Xuyi helped Xia Tian make the sacrificial items that only Bai family members could make.
Could it be because of this matter that Xuyi is also considered a Bai family member now?
But to become a Bai family member recognized by the guardian deity, one must either be born into the Bai family or will marry into the Bai family in the future…
The remaining members of the Bai family can now be counted on one hand, excluding Bai Jin’s father, grandfather, and Bai Jin himself, so who could Xuyi marry?
Thinking of a certain possibility, the system suddenly shivered and shook its head—yet emotionally it didn’t want to accept it, though rationally it couldn’t deceive itself: the bad woman who had always been hidden appeared in front of Xuyi right after Xuyi helped Xia Tian; the bad woman’s protection of Xuyi; the gaze the bad woman had when looking at Xuyi…
Everything pointed to one guess: Xuyi’s momentary kindness in helping Xia Tian back then likely made her the future bride of this bad woman in front of her, which is why the bad woman could follow Xuyi…
However, the system also knew this matter couldn’t be blamed on the bad woman, because she didn’t know that Xuyi would help Xia Tian that night; everything was purely coincidental.
“I should have stopped her.” The system could only stare blankly, watching the unknowing Xuyi ask the bad woman for some protective talismans, then say goodbye and walk out of the mansion, watching the bad woman disappear on the spot, and seeing the bead on Xuyi’s wrist emit red light once again…
“I should have stopped her.” The system muttered regretfully once more.
Graduate exams are generally held in late December, and now there was only a little over a month left. Song Xuyi once again plunged into intense review, and during this time, the benefits of coexisting with Bai Yu began to gradually appear: Song Xuyi discovered her memory improved day by day, her physical condition also gradually strengthened, and she no longer felt dizzy after staying up late…
What made Song Xuyi even happier was that, probably because she was already in her senior year, the boys who frequently chased after her had completely given up, greatly reducing Song Xuyi’s burden.
However, during this time, the system appeared increasingly mysterious, and seemed to have something on its mind. Sometimes Song Xuyi would hear it softly muttering as if sleep-talking: “I should have stopped her, wuwuwu, she sold herself too wrongly…”
What is wrong with the system?
Song Xuyi asked several times, but the system kept its mouth shut. Song Xuyi thought the system wasn’t the pretentious type and would surely ask for help if it had difficulties, so she temporarily set this matter aside and threw herself wholeheartedly into her review.
Only the system knew its own bitterness: now that it was senior year, Song Xuyi’s two roommates had already found jobs and went for internships, and Xia Tian was often not in the dormitory. Often, only Song Xuyi was left alone in the dormitory, which made it more convenient for a certain bad woman to appear at midnight…
The system watched helplessly as the bad woman became increasingly accustomed to modern society, watching her stare at Xuyi night after night. Only when boys entangled Xuyi during the day would the bad woman disappear for a while at night, and the next day, those boys would look at Xuyi with extreme terror… the system absolutely couldn’t believe the bad woman did nothing during this.
What was even more infuriating was that Xuyi felt the bad woman was an extremely pure person, and during the second time she let the bad woman absorb yang energy, she even promised her: “After I finish my exams, I’ll find a way to let you go out with Bai Jin for a trip…”
The system, watching the bad woman look at Xuyi with bright, sparkling eyes, only felt its heart ache more and more.
And in the midst of the system’s ongoing heartache, Song Xuyi’s long-prepared graduate exam finally arrived.
Song Xuyi had stayed at school during this period. There were many people at the school, and in places with strong yang energy, evil spirits dared not approach. Song Xuyi also often wore her curse stone, not daring to remove it even while bathing… and as she had expected, this period was extremely quiet, with no supernatural events occurring.
Song Xuyi’s exam location was at another campus of the school, about an hour’s drive away between the two campuses. That campus was near the outskirts of the city and had just been put into use not long ago.
Afraid she wouldn’t make it in the morning, Song Xuyi decided to rent a room near the new campus. However, since the new campus near the outskirts didn’t have high-end hotels, Song Xuyi stayed in a relatively clean budget hotel.
The city outskirts were under development, and behind the hotel was a construction site. Song Xuyi remembered her previous experience at the hot spring villa and took precautions by applying the talisman Bai Yu gave her.
The next day, Song Xuyi naturally woke up and only realized afterward that it was extremely noisy downstairs. As she went downstairs, Song Xuyi heard the front desk complaining: “Last night, the ambulance was sounding all night, and I didn’t sleep well. The real estate developer is reckless, buying a chaotic grave site to develop…”
It was then that Song Xuyi learned there had been an issue at the construction site behind the hotel last night, with several workers getting injured. Somehow, she hadn’t heard a thing all night, and probably because she remembered that in the original synopsis, a fierce ghost was also haunting the construction site, Song Xuyi felt her eyelid twitch, having a constant ominous premonition.
But with the exam imminent, Song Xuyi could only suppress the strange feeling in her heart and focus on her exams.
Upon returning to her room, she found that the construction site at the back had been sealed off, and it seemed that several men wearing celestial master robes, holding peach wood swords, were setting up an array and casting spells…
When she went out to eat, Song Xuyi again heard the front desk gossiping, saying these men were celestial masters hired by the construction site’s contractor for a large sum, possessing extremely high magical power, and so on… From afar, Song Xuyi looked at those men’s postures but couldn’t see the slightest bit of a worldly celestial master’s appearance.
But all of this was unrelated to Song Xuyi. At this critical juncture, her heart was only focused on the exam.
Song Xuyi drew the curtains, reviewed the next day’s course, reposted her talismans, and then went to bed, quickly falling into sleep.
However, around midnight, there came a huge noise at Song Xuyi’s room door—someone was pounding on the door!
Song Xuyi woke up from her sleep, hearing obvious shouting from outside the door: “Quick, open the door, we need to cast a spell in your room to search for the array eye!”
Song Xuyi’s eyes widened: this excuse sounded extremely absurd. How could the hotel allow this group to make such a commotion in the guest rooms?
However, the system told Song Xuyi in a complex voice: “The whole building, except for us, seems to have fallen into an inexplicable deep sleep…”
“Are those outside people?”
“They are people; they should not be possessed by evil spirits, their movements are natural, and the color of their eyes is normal.”
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Although the system’s voice was complex, it sounded extremely calm without any panic. However, at this moment, Song Xuyi didn’t notice the system’s anomaly. She remembered the evil spirit she encountered last time in the villa and suddenly thought of a certain possibility:
In this world, when an evil spirit becomes strong enough, it can actually manipulate humans, as recorded in many films and TV dramas. And these sorcerers might just be serving the evil spirit: the evil spirit fears Song Xuyi’s bracelet, but humans do not. If she were caught by this person and forced to remove the bracelet, she would become a fish on the chopping block, ready to be slaughtered…
She must find a way to escape quickly!
Song Xuyi’s gaze fell on the bedsheet in her room—this is the third floor, maybe if she takes a gamble, she can still find a chance to escape from the room…
Just as Song Xuyi was about to lift the bedsheet, a cold hand pressed down on her wrist—
?!
Song Xuyi looked up in shock and saw Bai Yu’s flawless face.
Bai Yu had her eyes lowered, her gaze not meeting Song Xuyi’s, still maintaining the familiar obedient and shy demeanor that Song Xuyi knew. However, in Song Xuyi’s mind, countless questions surged at that moment: Why was Bai Yu appearing here? How did she leave the Bai family…
“You…” However, just as Song Xuyi began to speak, a familiar fragrance wafted by her side, and Song Xuyi’s body once again collapsed.
In the last moment before losing consciousness, a woman’s familiar voice echoed in her ears: “You still have exams, you should sleep well—”
“Leave everything to me.”
The author has something to say:
So, the person who sold herself to be someone’s bride and also helped count the money is…
LP: Re-translated on September 11, 2024