Part-Time Taoist Priest 26

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Ghost Bride

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One day, Xie Lingya was making lunch as usual. Zhang Daoting had to serve the visitors in the front yard, so Xie Lingya voluntarily took over other chores.

Hai Guanchao noticed that Xie Lingya had dressed up today, unlike the casual outfits he normally wore when he went out, so he asked, “Where are you going?”

“Taihe Temple is organizing a folk cultural event… basically, a temple fair. They also have a seminar on Taoism. I’m going to have a look,” Xie Lingya replied. Taihe Temple had especially  called to invite Shi Changxuan too, but he was not interested in such activities.

“A seminar on Taoism… Do they know what you’re like?” Hai Guanchao asked with some sympathy.

Xie Lingya: “Bro, you shouldn’t mock me just because you didn’t manage to get me to call you shigong.”

Hai Guanchao: “…I’m praising you, you are being too sensitive.”

He thought in his heart, As the saying goes,one should absorb knowledge like a sponge, but this Xie Lingya is like a sponge demon. It’s just too much.

As Taihe Temple was a famous local tourist attraction, it was nothing out of the ordinary for them to host a fair. They even hired a song and dance troupe for the event.

When Xie Lingya arrived, the fair was already very lively. Even though they weren’t religious, many people came to attend the event with their family.

Xie Lingya walked through the crowd to get to the meeting room where the seminar was being held. The seminar was part of the temple fair. Contrary to Hai Guanchao’s expectations, the seminar was actually aimed at laypeople, therefore the content was an introduction to Taoist culture. However, a private discussion session was still scheduled for the members of the Taoist Association.

Xie Lingya went over to greet Mao Zhengqing Daozhang, who he was familiar with, and sat down next to him.

“Xie jushi,” Mao Zhengqing greeted him with a smile. “I heard that Baoyang had gained many new worshippers recently. Congratulations.”

Baoyang Templewas becoming more and more famous; even Mao Zhengqing had heard of the recent news about them.

Xie Lingya made some humble remarks.

Mao Zhengqing continued, “Abbot Chen said if you came by today, you must meet him. He would like to speak to you.”

“Has Abbot Chen recovered?” Xie Lingya asked. Abbot Chen of Taihe Temple, Chen Sansheng, had been recuperating ever since he lost in a magical battle several months ago.

Mao Zhengqing nodded, “Actually, he’s still weak, but some temple matters and special guests still need his personal involvement, so there is notmuch choice.”

A moment later, after glancing at his phone, Mao Zhengqing led Xie Lingya to meet Chen Sansheng.

Xie Lingya had not met Chen Sansheng before. He had only seen photos of him in Taihe Temple. Compared to the photos, he seemed older and more tired. He had just finished a meeting with guests and was sitting on a chair, slowly sipping tea.

When he saw Xie Lingya, Chen Sansheng smiled. “You are Xiao Xie? You do share a resemblance to your uncle.”

He invited Xie Lingya to sit before continuing, “Years ago, I even referred your uncle to a position as the abbot of a big temple, but your uncle rejected the position to stay with Baoyang. You, on the other hand, have surpassed the master. I heard from Mao Daozhang that you have the ability to draw a talisman in an instant. Having such great talents, no wonder you are on good terms with Shi Daozhang.”

While Abbot Chen had referred to his ability to complete the talisman in an instant, in actuality, when Mao Zhengqing described the scene, much more emphasis had been put on Xie Lingya’s unusual posture…

Xie Lingya didn’t know Abbot Chen and his uncle had shared such a past. He sighed, his uncle really was a stubborn man.

Previously, Chen Sansheng had been injured rather seriously. As soon as he had come out of convalescence, he immediately received many requests to perform rituals. He could only personally reply to them and reject the requests. With his current health, he was unable to perform any energy-intensive activity.

Xie Lingya, however, was envious of his long queue of requests. Baoyang Temple had only received a few orders in the past few months.

But Taihe Temple and Abbot Chen had established their reputations over many years. Baoyang Temple couldn’t compare at all.

Due to his health, after exchanging a few sentences, Chen Sansheng sent off his guests. Xie Lingya could feel that Chen Sansheng was rather friendly to him. Adding on a layer from his relationship with Wang Yuji, Xie Lingya had a good impression of the abbot.

When he went out with Mao Zhengqing, an old lady came towards them. Seeing Mao Zhengqing, she hurried over and addressed him, “Mao Daozhang, I finally found you.”

“Dong jushi, what’s the matter?” Mao Zhengjing asked puzzled.

The old lady said, “Do you remember I invited the statues of the Three Pure Ones back to my home two weeks ago?”¹When you set up an idol at home, you are inviting the god. The statue is a symbol of the god, so out of respect, we say “invite the statue” instead of “buying a statue”.

Mao Zhengqing: “Uh… I do seem to recall that.”

Taihe Temple was much bigger than Baoyang Temple. There were two shopfronts which served as a center for religious artifacts exchange, allowing worshippers to invite god statues and talismans home.

The old lady continued, “Last week, I left to stay with my daughter in another town for a few days. I had told my daughter-in-law to help me change the offerings every day. When I returned, she was having diarrhea for days.”

Mao Zhengqing immediately stated, “Our statues are all made according to standard and were consecrated by a proper daozhang.”

He was worried that the old lady would accuse them of selling faulty statues of demonic idols which harmed the families that brought them home.

“I know,” the old lady quickly replied. “Of course, there is nothing wrong with the statues. It’s my daughter-in-law—I have reminded her so many times but she just doesn’t listen. I told her to put apples as offerings, but she cut corners and used prunes instead…”

Xie Lingya, who was idly standing next to Mao Zhengqing, looked over at her words.

The offerings made to the gods had to follow certain rules. For example, suitable flower offerings were those with refreshing fragrances, like plum blossoms and orchids; apples were suitable as fruit offerings. Food had to be freshly prepared and no leftovers should be used.  Particularly for offerings to the Three Pure Ones, prunes must not be used because prunes, lizi, were a taboo due to Laojun having the surname Li.

The old lady continued to complain, “It gets even worse—the next couple of days she offered the durians she couldn’t finish off.”

Mao Zhengqing: “……”

Mao Zhengqing and Xie Lingya were speechless. Using durians as an offering? Just because you liked durians didn’t mean the Three Pure Ones liked them too. And the stench!

“After making the durian offering, she started having diarrhea. She said it was probably just gastroenteritis, but taking medicine didn’t help,” the old lady finished. “Mao Daozhang, what should I do?”

Mao Zhengqing said, “Change all the offerings, then bring your daughter-in-law to the Hall of the Three Pure Ones to apologize and burn incense. Then, bring a protection charm home. Don’t do this again next time.” In disbelief, he muttered, “Durians…”

The old lady nodded, “En, en, I’ll tell her properly.”

After the old lady left, Mao Zhangqing and Xie Lingya exchanged helpless glances. Really, anything could happen. To offer durians to the Three Pure Ones, how did that person even think of that?

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Xie Lingya chatted with other Taoist priests to bolster their relationship before leaving.

There were many people at the temple fair. Xie Lingya thought that he heard someone calling his name in the crowd. He turned his head towards the sea of people to search for the voice and finally found a familiar face.

“Mu Shan?” Xie Lingya greeted the girl. She was one of his university classmates.

Mu Shan came to the fair with her parents. When Xie Lingya went over to greet her parents, her parents casually wondered if there might be something going on between them.

“It’s been a long time. Is being an accountant in the temple so busy? You didn’t come to any of the class gatherings,” Mu Shan asked good-naturedly. “I happen to be meeting with Yue Tong, Xiao Bai, and some others in the afternoon. Why don’t you come along?”

Many of Xie Lingya’s classmates thought he was working as an accountant in his uncle’s temple. He didn’t clarify his situation to them. After all, he wasn’t a Taoist priest, and being the boss was more or less the same as an accountant since he was doing all the accountant’s work.

Due to Baoyang being short on manpower, Xie Lingya had to give up many activities. Now that he got caught by his classmate, he could only agree, “Sure.”

Mu Shan took the opportunity to say goodbye to her parents and dragged Xie Lingya away. “Wah, my parents were telling me to go on blind dates again. Luckily, I ran into you.” 

Xie Lingya turned his head back for a glance, “I’m guessing that when you go home, your parents will ask if there’s a chance between us.”

“If there was, would we need to wait until after graduation?” Mu Shan dragged Xie Lingya along to take the bus, then the subway. According to her, they would be meeting a few of their close friends from university in a tabletop game arcade.

It was already 5 p.m. and everyone else had already arrived at the bar. Mu Shan was a few minutes late. When she opened the door, everyone saw the surprise guest she brought with her.

“Oh damn, Xie Lingya came too?”

“You brat! Finally decided to show up!”

Xie Lingya said hi to everyone and then noticed a girl sitting to the side with her head down. It took a while to recognize her. “Yue Tong?” he called out.

Yue Tong lifted her head. There was a green tinge to her pale face and her eyes were unfocused. She looked terrible.

“What happened, Yue Tong?” Mu Shan sat down beside her and asked in shock, “We just met not long ago. Why are you looking so terrible? Are you ill?”

Yue Tong gave a stiff smile. “It’s nothing.”

Mu Shan exchanged a glance with the others. Those who arrived earlier were puzzled too. But everyone felt that something was off. She asked carefully, “What’s the matter, Yue Tong?”

The girl shook her head, “It’s nothing, really.”

“…Ok then.” Mu Shan suddenly wondered if it could be that she had just ended a romantic relationship? She didn’t want to ask in front of everyone else. “Then eat something. You look too pale.”

The bar also served food, so everyone ordered dinner to eat while playing.

Yue Tong followed their lead and simply ordered something. Xie Lingya, who had been nagged at by the others since he arrived, took a few glances at her. He kept feeling something was off. Yue Tong was usually very cheerful. Today, she was like a different person.

Was she sick or in a bad mood?

Suddenly, Yue Tong lifted her eyes and stared directly into Xie Lingya’s eyes.

Xie Lingya felt a chill run down his spine. He scrutinized her, but Yue Tong continued eating like nothing had happened.

Xie Lingya had a stomach full of questions, but he got distracted by his classmates enquiring about the conditions at his job at the temple.

“Ok, let’s start a game,” Mu Shan announced. “The fees here are charged per hour. Let’s play Werewolf.”

Back in their university days, they had played Werewolf often. Everyone nodded and took their seats. Since they were short of a few players, some strangers also joined their game.

Werewolf was a social deduction game. Each player drew a card to determine their character’s identity. There were two opposing camps, Human and Werewolf. The Werewolf needed to kill the Human, while the Human needed to identify all the Werewolf characters and eliminate them from the game.

As everyone was familiar with the game, Mu Shan made some inquiries with the staff and decided to play a more advanced version. “Let’s play a version with an additional camp, ‘Ghost Bride’. How about it?”

There would be an additional character card. The one who got the “Ghost Bride” card could choose two other players, one to be her Groom and another to be the Witness, and the three of them had to kill all the Human and Werewolf players to win the game.

The difficulty of the game increased with the additional camp. Especially since the players chosen by the Ghost Bride would have an additional identity. She could choose either a Human or a Werewolf to be her Groom. This meant that there could be traitors in both camps.

While everyone was discussing if they wanted to play this advanced version, Xie Lingya couldn’t stop scrutinizing Yue Tong, who happened to sit opposite him.

Like him, Yue Tong didn’t join in the discussion. She noticed his gaze and looked over coldly. Her lips curled into a smile, but the smile did not reach her eyes.

Xie Lingya’s heart dropped. Something’s not right, definitely not right.

Before Xie Lingya could come up with something, Mu Shan spoke loudly, “Come on, come on. We’ll play this version. Let’s start!”

The players took their places. The host of the game, the Judge, also took her place. She distributed the character cards and announced the start of the game. “It is Night time. Close your eyes.”

In the game’s Night, the players closed their eyes, while those with cards that carried actions could open their eyes to perform the task. For example, the Werewolf killing a Human, or the Ghost Bride deciding her Groom and Witness.

Before Night, Xie Lingya had looked at his card. It was a normal villager card belonging to the Human camp. The card had no additional actions. He could only speak and vote during the Day. During the Night, he needed to keep his eyes shut.

Of course, unless… he got chosen by the Ghost Bride.

“Ghost Bride, please open your eyes.”

After the Judge spoke, Xie Lingya felt a chilling gaze on his body. He resisted the strong urge to pull down his blindfold and escape the darkness.

“Ghost Bride, please choose your Groom.”

The Judge walked around the table. Xie Lingya felt her walking past him and she tapped him on the shoulder. This meant he was chosen as the Groom.

Xie Lingya took off his blindfold and adjusted to the light. Everyone was still wearing their blindfold except for Yue Tong who stared over with wide eyes. She was the Ghost Bride.

What a coincidence.

Xie Lingya returned the gaze while the Judge woke up the Witness. The Witness was a stranger. He gestured to indicate that he was a Werewolf and even sold out his Werewolf teammates. He wanted to know which camp Xie Lingya was in, so that the three of them could discuss their strategy.

But Xie Lingya was staring intently at Yue Tong, while she stared back with a wooden expression. Neither of them paid the Witness any attention.

Witness: “???”

The players could not speak during the Night, otherwise, they would expose themselves to the other players. The Witness was anxious, and he scolded the two douchebags in his heart for not respecting the game.

In the end, the Witness didn’t get any information out of them and only learned who his teammates were. Then the time for their exchange ended.

Xie Lingya was very concerned about Yue Tong’s actions. During the Day, the players started speaking one by one. 

Xie Lingya was distracted and did not pay attention to the game. He was still staring at Yue Tong and his identity was quickly discovered.

Mu Shan rubbed her chin and said, “Xie Lingya… seems like he has a character card. He keeps staring at Yue Tong. I say, are the two of you lovers? Since we don’t know who to eliminate in this round, I suggest we eliminate this suspicious couple. After all, we can lose the game, but lovers must die.”²It’s a thing in modern Chinese culture (especially internet) to curse (jokingly) at lovers

Everyone: “……”

They thought, Aih, the one who wanted to add the third camp was you, now the one wanting to eliminate the lovers is also you. Just what do you really want?

After a few players spoke, they all agreed that there was something not right with these two, so it shouldn’t be a problem to eliminate one of them. In the end, to show care for the fairer sex, Xie Lingya was eliminated first.

“I am the Groom.” Xie Lingya spoke his ‘final words‘. He admitted to his identity without any expression. “Yue Tong chose me. She is the Ghost Bride. I request that the Werewolf kill her for me, so that she can join me. You all can look around, the Werewolf who refuses to kill Yue Tong is our Witness.”

The Witness who got betrayed suddenly: “……”

At that moment, he wanted to slam the table and shout, “What the hell are you two playing at!”

Xie Lingya was eliminated, so he stood by the side and observed. It was Night time again in the game and everyone closed their eyes.

Yue Tong also put on the blindfold with a vacant expression and sat still in her position.

The Werewolf players opened their eyes to discuss who to kill. Yue Tong was nominated. The Witness was mad but could only agree to the nomination.

When it was Day again, her death was announced and Yue Tong was eliminated. She took off her blindfold and was nonchalant about her elimination. She even stood up and smiled at Xie Lingya, “I’m going out for some fresh air, honey, are you coming?”

Xie Lingya stood still and stared at her coldly. 

Everyone laughed. Because it was just a test round, they didn’t mind that she exposed her own identity. “Yue Tong, were you really the Ghost Bride? Ok then, let your ‘honey’ go with you.”

In this round, Yue Tong and Xie Lingya were a couple. There was nothing wrong with Yue Tong’s joke, so everyone just followed along.

Yue Tong came to Xie Lingya’s side. She held onto Xie Lingya’s arm tightly and nearly leaned on him.

Xie Lingya’s expression changed. Yue Tong’s hand was like a steel clamp. It clasped so tightly around his arm that it hurt.

He wanted to say something but changed his mind. He imagined the others wouldn’t just stand by seeing him hit a woman, so he let her drag him away.

Yue Tong’s friends, especially Mu Shan, thought it was weird. Although she was the one who joked about it just now, she wondered when these two had become so close. And didn’t Yue Tong have a boyfriend?

But the two had already gone out the door hand-in-hand.

After the two left, someone asked, “What’s going on? Are Xie Lingya and Yue Tong really dating?”

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Xie Lingya followed Yue Tong to the washroom. She did not leave the bar but instead came to the washroom where the yin energy was most dense. Yue Tong put her bag in front of the mirror, then took out a brush and started brushing her hair.

There was no one else in the washroom. Xie Lingya stated coldly, “You are not Yue Tong. Why are you disturbing her?”

“I am your bride,” ‘Yue Tong’ said creepily.

“Big Sister, please have some self-respect!” Xie Lingya lamented the fact that he didn’t bring any tools or talismans when he left Baoyang because he was going to the temple fair.

He was still speaking when he suddenly lashed out. He reached out to press on the spot between Yue Tong’s upper lip and nose known as shanyuan.

‘Yue Tong’ whipped around in a flash and her hand wound around Xie Lingya’s neck, strangling him.

She was incredibly strong. Her thin arm was like steel, a grown man like Xie Lingya couldn’t breakfree. He could only try to press on her shanyuan.

At this moment, a waiter came in. Seeing the scene inside, he jumped in surprise. “What’s this? Hitting a woman?”

He walked up to stop them as he spoke, trying to pull away Xie Lingya’s hand.

Xie Lingya rolled his eyes. Hitting a woman? Can’t you see she’s the one strangling me?

He didn’t make his move in the room because he was worried something like this would happen. Who would believe he was performing an exorcism on Yue Tong? But ‘Yue Tong’ apparently didn’t share his concerns.

“Honey, honey, come accompany me,“ ‘Yue Tong’ was still muttering. Her pupils had shrunk and the whites took up most of her eyes.

“Lady, lady, let go! Your honey can’t breathe. Calm down and talk it over!” The waiter tapped ‘Yue Tong’ seeing Xie Lingya’s reddened face.

‘Yue Tong’ lifted her head, her creepy eyes glaring at the waiter. He screamed and took a few steps back in shock, then slipped and hit his head on the washbasin, blacking out.

Xie Lingya pried the fingers around his neck with one hand to get himself some air, while biting on his middle finger of the other. He then pressed his bloodied finger on her glabella.

‘Yue Tong’ quickly darted away with inhuman speed.

Coughing, Xie Lingya took a few needed breaths and quickly drew the Spirit Official’s Divine Eye on his forehead. This time when he looked at her, he could see a shadow superimposed on Yue Tong’s body.

He shut the door to the washroom and locked it, then lunged at Yue Tong. He held her neck in a grip while trying to draw a symbol on her face with his blood.

“Ah— Murder—” The waiter came around and saw the scene of Xie Lingya strangling Yue Tong, her face covered in blood and her eyes rolling back. 

He crawled away quickly and dashed out of the door.

“…Shut the door, damn it!” Xie Lingya had no choice. ‘Yue Tong’ was struggling fiercely and he couldn’t draw the symbols properly. He was worried that she would run away, so he jumped at her, his legs pinning her down by the waist, and tried his best to complete the symbols on her face.

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Zhang Daoting rushed into the backyard with a phone in hand, “Oh no, Shi Daozhang, Boss is at the police station!”

Shi Changxuan raised his head. “What?”

Zhang Daoting seemed confused. “A friend of his called using his phone. He said he got into a lovers’ quarrel with a woman and hit her. Wait! Boss had a girlfriend?”

“Impossible,” Shi Changxuan said without hesitation.

“I thought so too. Shi Daozhang, you are really confident in Boss’s character!” Zhang Daoting flattered.

“……” Shi Changxuan did not reply. He stood up and thought for a moment. “I’ll get my stuff and go to the police station.”

He went back to his room and took out Pokeweed. This sprite was too noisy. He had endured for many days, and in the end, he decided to put it in his drawer while he read to have a few moments of silence.

When Pokeweed got picked up, it said in a tone with three parts sorrow and one part glee, “Just look at you—”

Shi Changxuan: “……”

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Translator: Velvet
TL checker: Darkchocolatesan
Editor: Miiya
Proofreader: Taalia, Eques
QC: Eques

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