Ghost Tamer 4
“Nie Rong, I’m sleepy,” Tang Xi mumbled, half-asleep and complaining softly.
He only opened his eyes when he sensed the atmosphere around him suddenly turn terrifying.
What he saw was Ji Fuqing’s cold, expressionless face.
“Who is Nie Rong?” Ji Fuqing’s gaze sharpened as he put down the small shiki ghost he was holding.
The little shiki ghost immediately realized that he had called the wrong name and mistaken the wrong person. Lowering his head, he stared at his toes in silence, looking as if he had just been scolded.
Ji Fuqing rubbed his temples, suppressing the inexplicable anger rising in him. “Let’s go. I’ll take you to Changqing Academy.”
Before turning into a vengeful ghost, he had been human. Having a close friend in his past life was nothing unusual.
But now that he belonged to Ji Fuqing, he should follow him wholeheartedly. That so-called “Nie” would no longer have any chance to see him again.
After figuring things out, Ji Fuqing’s expression softened slightly. With a flick of his fingers, he formed a seal and placed it on the clueless little shiki.
With this, ordinary people would be able to see him, and sunlight would no longer harm him.
It was an ancient seal, one that could only be used on shiki ghosts.
Tang Xi watched as energy surged into his body, his ghostly form gradually solidifying into something more tangible. Curiously, he stretched out his hand and waved it a few times.
After playing around for a bit, he carefully glanced up, noticing that his poop scooper didn’t seem angry anymore.
In a small voice, he asked, “Can I eat?”
The villains in his past life had never been strict about food.
But ever since he arrived in this world, he hadn’t eaten anything—no dinner, no breakfast, and now, even lunch had passed.
Ji Fuqing paused for a moment. Ever since becoming a Celestial Master, he no longer needed to eat, and Tang Xi, being a ghost, didn’t require food either. So, he had never even considered this issue.
Seeing his reaction, Tang Xi immediately realized that he hadn’t prepared anything and lowered his gaze in disappointment.
Ji Fuqing walked ahead. Even without looking back, he could sense the little shiki’s dejection.
So delicate.
Weak and hard to please.
Despite thinking this, he still said casually, “If you perform well, I’ll offer incense for you.”
Tang Xi froze. Perform well?
Did he mean taking exams at school? If he got good grades, would he be rewarded with food?
…Could it be that he was planning to send him to study?
1551: Heh, naive little kitten.
Caught up in his thoughts, Tang Xi even forgot to ask what “offering incense” meant.
Outside, Ji Ziang stood beside a sleek black luxury car, dressed in a formal black suit, waiting. The moment he saw Ji Fuqing, he immediately bowed in greeting, his eyes filled with respect.
He hadn’t expected to be summoned a second time, and his heart surged with overwhelming excitement.
Tang Xi curiously glanced at the protagonist gong of this world. He didn’t seem very old but already had the composed demeanor of a reliable elite—quite different from the casually dressed young man he had glimpsed the other day.
Perhaps it was because exorcists, as a profession, gained more credibility with age. Every time Ji Ziang had to interact with people, he likely made sure to dress more maturely.
Noticing the gaze from the ancestor’s shiki, Ji Ziang instinctively followed it. He had expected to see a fearsome, bloodstained ghost with tears of blood streaming down its face.
Instead, what he saw was a delicate, fair little face—far from a vengeful ghost, more like a pampered young master from a noble family.
Ji Ziang was momentarily stunned. Under that gaze, he subconsciously straightened his posture.
Was this shiki the same cat the ancestor carried out of the haunted house that day?
Why does it look so well-behaved?
Ji Fuqing’s voice pulled him back to reality. “Drive.”
For some inexplicable reason, Ji Ziang shuddered, then quickly opened the door and got into the driver’s seat.
Frowning in distaste, his mind was filled with irrational suspicion.
Was that ghost a seductress? Otherwise, why else would he find himself staring at it?
He blamed his momentary daze entirely on Tang Xi, refusing to believe that he had just thought a vengeful ghost looked… well-behaved.
As an exorcist from an esteemed lineage, he had always harbored a deep-seated aversion toward ghosts. In his eyes, ghosts had no distinction between good and evil—all ghosts should be exorcised.
He couldn’t understand why the ancestor would form a contract with a vengeful ghost, let alone one that seemed utterly useless… and suspiciously alluring.
Meanwhile, Tang Xi keenly sensed the hostility radiating from the protagonist gong in the driver’s seat. He quietly withdrew his gaze and instinctively shifted closer to Ji Fuqing, seeking refuge.
Ji Fuqing didn’t open his eyes but tacitly allowed the little shiki to lean against him.
. . . . .
Two hours after school ended, there were hardly any students lingering at the school gate.
The vice principal of Changqing Academy stood at the entrance, waiting anxiously. The exorcist they had invited this time had cost the principal a fortune, along with a great deal of effort to secure through his connections. He didn’t dare show any negligence. The moment he spotted the eye-catching car pulling up, he hurried forward to greet them.
“At last, Mr. Ji, we’ve been eagerly expecting you,” the vice principal said with a broad smile. However, as the car door opened, he was surprised to see three people step out—one of whom looked like a young apprentice, barely past adolescence.
Weren’t they expecting just one master?
His smile faltered slightly, but he quickly adjusted and extended his hand toward the one who appeared the most formidable—Ji Fuqing. “Mr. Ji, I’ve long admired your reputation.”
Knowing that the ancestor disliked physical contact, Ji Ziang took two steps forward and shook the vice principal’s hand first, preventing any awkwardness. “Hello.”
The vice principal, having navigated the complexities of social interactions for years, didn’t let the minor hiccup affect his expression. Realizing that Ji Ziang was more approachable, he attempted to exchange a few more pleasantries.
However, Ji Ziang cut straight to the point. “Please take us to the haunted site first.”
Haunted site? What haunted site?
Tang Xi flinched, instinctively reaching out with two fingers to pinch a corner of Ji Fuqing’s robe.
Somehow, that small action gave him a sense of security, and he followed closely behind without hesitation.
Completely unaware of what kind of place he was walking into.
The vice principal led them to an abandoned old school building on campus. It looked like it hadn’t been in use for decades.
Not daring to step inside, he stood at the entrance, anxiously wiping sweat from his forehead with a deep blue handkerchief.
Ji Ziang didn’t force him to enter. From this point onward, handling the situation was their responsibility as exorcists.
“Are there any eyewitnesses?” Ji Ziang asked while pulling out the tools for the exorcism.
If they could identify the ghost’s weakness, it would make the job significantly easier. If not, it would simply take a bit more effort to forcefully drive it out.
The vice principal nodded. “Yes. This building was condemned long ago due to structural instability, so students were strictly forbidden from entering. But about a month ago, a group of mischievous students sneaked in after school when the security guard wasn’t paying attention. They were playing some kind of ‘test of courage’ game… and then something happened. Six of them went in, but only four came out.”
Ji Ziang’s expression remained unreadable. “What happened to the four who made it out?”
The vice principal sighed, his face troubled. “They’ve been unconscious ever since. The moment they were found outside, they fainted. And as for the families of the two missing students… they’ve been demanding answers from us. But what can we do? It took a great deal of effort to suppress this incident—otherwise, it would have become another major news scandal.”
“We even sent a team to search the place during the day—over a dozen teachers, all with strong yang energy, but they didn’t find anything. It’s bizarre. The security footage clearly shows six kids going in, but only four coming out. The other two never reappeared, and no matter how hard we searched, they were nowhere to be found. At first, I wasn’t entirely convinced there was anything supernatural involved, but then…”
The vice principal deliberately paused, as if trying to build suspense.
However, neither Ji Ziang nor Ji Fuqing reacted in the slightest.
Only the pale-skinned young boy—who still looked like a teenager—showed a mixture of fear and curiosity on his face.
This greatly satisfied the vice principal’s urge to talk, and he continued: “That day, our principal was suddenly found unconscious in front of that teaching building, covered in blood. The security guard on patrol was so scared his legs nearly gave out. Fortunately, the principal had a Buddha statue he had obtained from a master a few years ago. According to him, it was that very statue that saved his life.”
From his tone, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned about what had happened to the principal. It sounded like their relationship wasn’t very good.
In fact, he even seemed a little pleased about it.
Tang Xi felt a chill creep over him. He was beginning to realize that being brought here wasn’t as simple as he had thought.
Hiding behind Ji Fuqing, he whispered, “Is there really a ghost in there?”
Coming from a ghost himself, that question was a bit ironic.
Ji Ziang glanced at him in confusion. To him, this so-called vengeful ghost seemed oddly out of place—he didn’t act like a ghost that had cultivated for ten years at all.
The vice principal wiped the sweat from his neck. “It’s probably a female ghost. There are some rumors among the students that years ago, a female student was bullied in that building. In the end, she jumped to her death. After she died, her ghost never left, and the building has been abandoned ever since.”
Ji Ziang frowned. “As the vice principal here, you don’t know anything about this?”
The vice principal shook his head. “I really don’t. The principal and I were both transferred here, and we’ve only been working at this school for about five or six years. I don’t know the truth about the abandoned building or whether that bullied student even existed. If we had known there was actually a ghost inside, we would’ve called someone to deal with it long ago. Until something really happened last month, I just thought it was a silly rumor the students made up.”
Ji Ziang nodded. “Got it. This might be a bit tricky. If that ghost has been left alone for over a decade, plus the fact that abandoned buildings tend to accumulate yin energy, she probably evolved from a simple earthbound ghost into a vengeful ghost.”
As he spoke, he suddenly turned to look at Tang Xi.
Tang Xi shrank back instinctively. Ever since Ji Ziang had taken out his ghost-hunting tools, he had been keeping his distance.
Now, being given such an unreadable glance made him even more nervous. He completely hid behind Ji Fuqing, avoiding his gaze.
“Let’s go inside,” Ji Ziang said, eager to show off in front of his ancestor.
But Ji Fuqing’s next words froze him in place.
“You can wait outside.”
Tang Xi obediently chimed in, “I’ll wait outside too.”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “I’ll be very good and stay put.”
Unfortunately, his well-behaved act didn’t sway Ji Fuqing at all. The man mercilessly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
“You’re coming with me.”
[1551, save me!]
[You’re a vengeful ghost too! Show some dignity!]
But 1551 was useless. Tang Xi whimpered as he was dragged into the eerie building.
The moment he stepped inside, an unbearable chill washed over him.
It was a bone-deep cold, piercingly sharp, almost painful.
He instinctively reached out, clutching the hem of Ji Fuqing’s sleeve, his voice soft and trembling.
“Ji Fuqing… I’m cold.”