Ch4 – My Shibo

Translator: Abo Dammen

Shifu maintained his composure and said slowly, “The Jing family’s yang residence is full of peculiarities everywhere, but I couldn’t enter to investigate carefully. So, I could only conduct a detailed survey of their yin residences.” 

Bai Qing: Understood…..

High EQ: Detailed survey of Yin residences.

Low EQ: Dig up their ancestral graves.

Bai Qing coughed. “How many did you dig up… ah, no, how many of their ancestors’ Yin residences did you thoroughly survey before reaching a conclusion?” 

“Ah, I don’t remember. I just dug until my arms were sore,” his Shifu waved his hand dismissively.

Bai Qing was stunned. “You went to thoroughly survey yin residences during the day, and still had to replenish Yang with Yang at night. You really are…” a morally bankrupt bastard.

His Shifu’s gaze sharpened like a knife. “Really what?”

“A venerable senior whose blade is not yet dull.” Bai Qing cupped his hands in respect. 

Shifu nodded slightly. “Most of their clan’s yin residences are proper and orderly, no different from ordinary wealthy families. Except for their Great-Grandfather’s…”

“What about it?” Bai Qing asked.

“Their Great-Grandfather’s tomb is located in a rare ‘Solitary Yin Absolute Land‘,” Shifu said slowly.

“Surrounded by mountains that pierce the clouds, forming a prison-like configuration, this place tightly suppresses yang energy between the peaks, preventing its dispersal. There is no living water flowing above ground, yet the groundwater is abundant, the soil damp, and mist lingers. As the saying goes, ‘Mountains are Yang, water is Yin.’ This place has excessive Yin and weak Yang, an extreme imbalance.” He continued, “There’s a saying, ‘Solitary Yin does not grow, lone Yang does not birth.’ Logically, with his yin residence in a Solitary Yin Absolute Land, he should have no descendants.” 

“It wouldn’t be strange for him to have no descendants,” Bai Qing said. “I could tell at a glance he was gay.”

Shifu: “…Could it be that your dog eyes see everyone as gay?”

“My intuition is never wrong,” Bai Qing coughed again. “Besides, it wouldn’t be strange for him personally to have no descendants. Speaking of which… Doesn’t Jing Shuizhi also have no children? Could it be that for the past hundred years, the main direct line has been barren, and they’ve had to rely entirely on adoptions?”

Shifu said, “There’s some sense in what you say.” 

Bai Qing also fell into thought.

“What’s even more suspicious is that all their other ancestors are buried very well. Only one of their most virtuous and respected Great-Grandfathers is buried in a Solitary Yin Absolute Land,” Shifu’s tone deepened slightly. “Not only that, but within this Absolute Land was an empty coffin.”

“An empty coffin… It seems it belongs to the eldest young master. This fierce ghost has a condensed, tangible form. He returned with his body.” Bai Qing’s eyes flashed. “Since you’ve been to his yin residence, you must have seen his tombstone and know his name, right? What is his name?”

His Shifu answered, “Jing Liansheng.” 

“Jing Liansheng…” Bai Qing murmured the name, finding it pleasantly aromatic on his tongue. “Such a beautiful name, truly suiting the person… How can there be such a perfect man in the world…”

His Shifu looked at Bai Qing’s utterly infatuated face, his eyes full of doubt. “Are you sure you’re really not possessed?”

“Tsk! This is love! Love!” Bai Qing defended. “You’re old, you wouldn’t understand this.”

“How could I not understand this?” Shifu was displeased. “Your master has eaten more than you’ve eaten rice!” 

Bai Qing really couldn’t listen anymore. “I think there should be some boundaries between master and disciple. You really don’t need to share so many details of your private life with me.”

His Shifu couldn’t be bothered to argue with the love-struck fool anymore and said, “So what do you plan to do now?”

Bai Qing thought for a moment and said, “I want to go back to the Jing family and pester him relentlessly. There’s also the saying, ‘Even a chaste woman fears a persistent suitor’…”

“‘Even a chaste woman fears a persistent suitor’ doesn’t mean ‘a fierce ghost fears a brain-damaged one’,” Shifu rudely interrupted him. “He is a Great Fierce Ghost of yin and malevolence. With a wave of his hand, he can toss you a hundred li away. Don’t end up failing to pester him and instead get beaten into mincemeat by him. Besides, you’ve already been rejected by him now. If you go back to the Jing family, the Jing family head won’t welcome you either. Who knows, there might be something even more terrifying…” 

“What’s so terrifying?” Bai Qing thought: I even dare to love a Great Fierce Ghost of yin and malevolence, what else could possibly scare me?

“They might ask for the bride price back.” Shifu said seriously.

Bai Qing: … Fuck. Say no more. That’s truly frightening.

Bai Qing had a love-addled brain, so he liked Jing Liansheng to the point of madness, but this did not affect his love for money. 

If it were about giving his life for love, he wouldn’t hesitate. But to give up his entire fortune? That required more thought, so best not be so impulsive.

Therefore, Bai Qing was uncharacteristically calm for a second and said to his Shifu, “You’re right. We can plan this carefully.”

His Shifu thought relievedly: It seems he hasn’t gone completely mad yet.

His Shifu brought Bai Qing back to the haunted house. 

On the way, Bai Qing asked curiously, “Is the evil spirit in the house still there?”

“It’s still there, but it’s not cooling very well anymore,” his Shifu sighed slightly. “That evil spirit has been reformed by me. It often asks me when I will liberate it. If it gets too troublesome, just beating it until its soul scatters is also acceptable.” His tone carried a hint of a recluse master’s satisfaction.

Bai Qing then said, “It really takes Shifu’s skill to persuade a ghost towards goodness.”

As they chatted, Bai Qing and Shifu arrived back at the house door and saw a figure standing beside it. 

Bai Qing looked closely and said in surprise, “Teacher Ying?”

Shifu looked closely and said in astonishment, “Shi-ge?“

Ying Zhili smiled slightly and said, “Is it convenient for me to come in and sit for a while?”

Bai Qing was a bit confused. He looked at Ying Zhili, then at Shifu: What Shi-ge… 

But upon closer inspection, it made sense. Both Ying Zhili and Shifu had eyes that were already very weathered, but faces still as smooth as eighteen-year-olds, both old and young. This eerie similarity between the two suggested that if they weren’t from the same school, they were at least from the same cosmetic surgeon.

His Shifu chuckled. “Oh, there’s certainly no inconvenience. It’s just most unfortunate that my memory failed me, and I actually forgot my keys when I went out. If there’s anything, we can chat right here at the door. It’s quite spacious and bright too.”

Ying Zhili seemed surprised but said, “But the door doesn’t seem to be locked.”

His Shifu was taken aback, then stepped forward and tried the doorknob, frowning slightly. “That’s odd, it was clearly locked.” 

“Really? Let me see.” Ying Zhili also placed his hand on the doorknob. But then, his slender, long fingers gave a slight twist, and the entire doorknob came off its frame. Bai Qing and his Shifu were both dumbfounded.

Ying Zhili also seemed somewhat surprised, patting the back of his head in chagrin. “My sincere apologies, I accidentally used too much force.” Then, he smiled slightly. “But this way, the predicament of not having keys is also resolved as soon as the knife meets it.”

Bai Qing: … It is “resolved as soon as the knife meets it” because you are the knife!

As if in response, the broken door was pushed open naturally by the yin wind blowing from inside the house. 

His Shifu had no choice but to say, “Then, please.”

His Shifu pushed the door open, and Bai Qing and Ying Zhili followed him inside. As soon as Bai Qing entered, he felt the house wasn’t as cool as before. He looked up and saw the evil spirit still hanging from the fan, but it was now taking in more breath than letting out, so it wasn’t cooling effectively.

His Shifu invited Ying Zhili to sit. “This house has no water or electricity, so I can’t even offer you a cup of tea or anything. How rude of me.”

As he spoke, his Shifu gestured, and the evil spirit tossed down the Coke it had been holding. Two cans fell from above, and Shifu and Bai Qing each grabbed one. 

Ying Zhili kept smiling politely.

His Shifu let out a soft sigh. “Shi-ge… what a coincidence to run into you here.”

“Indeed,” Ying Zhili replied. “I was very curious about the legendary blooming of the millennium-old lotus, so I came specially to see it.”

Bai Qing asked curiously, “So, is the millennium-old lotus real?” 

“I, like you, wish to know the answer to that question,” Ying Zhili replied with a smile.

Bai Qing thought: Actually, I’m not that keen to know the answer to that question.

Compared to this ancient lotus, Bai Qing was clearly more interested in another mystery. He tentatively said, “Teacher Ying… ah, no, it should be Shibo, right?”

Bai Qing’s smooth talk came effortlessly, his face full of obedience. 

Ying Zhili smiled. “Of course. You are Xiao Ze’s disciple, so you are naturally my nephew.”

Bai Qing turned to look at his Shifu. Shifu, your name is Xiao Ze?

After all, the name on his Shifu’s ID was “Shifu.” Bai Qing was speechless. So your identity is fake too.

Shifu seemed completely unaware of Bai Qing’s gaze and simply enjoyed the coolness of his Coke. 

Bai Qing continued looking at Ying Zhili and probed tentatively, “Shibo, you are a Heavenly Master, yet you work as an etiquette teacher in the Jing family. Is it because you realized they are conducting a ghost marriage and went in to investigate?”

Before Ying Zhili could respond to this speculation, his Shifu first snorted with laughter. This sudden laughter caused both Ying Zhili and Bai Qing to turn and look at him simultaneously.

Shifu hurriedly said, “I… was choked by the carbon dioxide.”

A faint smile tugged at Ying Zhili’s lips. He then turned to Bai Qing and said slowly, “What’s wrong with a ghost marriage? The Rites of Zhou states: ‘The rites of marriage are the foundation of all rites.’ This means that the matter of marriage is regarded as the beginning of ritual propriety. Therefore, the power of the contract embedded within it is considered one of the strongest in the world. If a marriage contract is established between the realms of Yin and Yang, then the living can temporarily descend to the underworld, and the spirit can temporarily come to the human world. One could say it’s a very interesting method of communication.” 

“An interesting… method of communication?” Bai Qing was taken aback, not expecting Ying Zhili’s understanding of underworld marriage to be like this. “But, let’s set aside the matter of ghosts temporarily staying in the human world. Isn’t it improper for the living to participate in a ghost marriage?” As he spoke, Bai Qing unconsciously touched the blood-streaked bracelet on his wrist. “Take this evil object, for example. I can wear it without much issue, but if a living person wore it, wouldn’t it damage their yang energy?”

Ying Zhili spoke slowly, “This blood-streaked bracelet actually cannot be considered a harmful evil object.”

“Not an evil object?” Bai Qing looked up curiously, instinctively turning to Shifu for an answer.

Shifu burped some carbon dioxide before answering, “A truly evil blood-streaked bracelet refers to those originally good-colored bracelets that absorb the wearer’s vital energy, nourishing blood streaks until the entire bracelet turns bright red. The blood streak in your bracelet, however, has existed for a very long time and has never spread. Presumably, it was infused with the tears and blood of that person named Jing Liansheng as he was dying.” 

“Precisely so.” Ying Zhili nodded in agreement. “This blood-streaked bracelet was originally Jing Liansheng’s burial object.”

“This is… his blood streak…” After realizing this fact, Bai Qing’s gaze towards the bracelet changed completely.

The blood streak that once gave him the creeps now seemed to him like a brilliant rainbow, shimmering with the most romantic light in the world. He gripped the bracelet tightly, as if he could feel Jing Liansheng’s presence.

But Shifu did not drop his suspicion and pressed on, “Let that pass. But what is the reasoning behind Jing Shuizhi making my disciple eat head-of-the-corpse rice, consume yin objects, and perform baishi rituals?”