Ghost Tamer 5
The yin energy here was overwhelming, an environment that should have been comforting for a fierce ghost like Tang Xi. However, he was different—he had transmigrated. Even though his body had been altered upon arrival to match the original character and become a ghost, at his core, he was still a cat. He couldn’t endure the cold like a proper ghost.
He feared the cold. He feared the darkness.
Ji Fuqing had never seen such a delicate ghost before. He frowned. “Don’t get too close to me.”
His intention was to avoid accidentally burning the little shiki with his spiritual energy. But when he saw the small ghost’s dejected expression as he backed away, he regretted his words almost immediately.
He had the sudden urge to pull him back and keep him close.
Tang Xi had never been rejected by the poop scooper before. His little temper flared up, and even though he felt uncomfortable, he refused to complain. Instead, he just hovered a few steps behind, sulking.
Ji Fuqing didn’t realize the little shiki was struggling. In his mind, ghosts would only feel uncomfortable if they got too close to him, and in such a yin-rich, abandoned building, Tang Xi should have been perfectly at ease.
But he could tell the little shiki was angry.
Ghosts made it obvious when they were upset. Small clusters of blue ghostly flames flickered to life behind Tang Xi.
Tang Xi himself wasn’t even aware of the little tails of fire trailing behind him.
In this strange atmosphere, they finally reached the highest floor of the building—the former senior-year classrooms.
Ji Fuqing led him straight to Class 6. Unlike the other classrooms, the desks and chairs here weren’t neatly arranged. Several had been pushed aside, leaving a large empty space in the middle. The windows were wide open, and the pale blue curtains fluttered eerily in the wind.
The equipment, untouched for over a decade, was outdated. The simple blackboard and unpainted wooden desks and chairs were covered in a thick layer of dust.
A piece of chalk had fallen to the floor, now crushed into powder underfoot.
Tang Xi also found some books left behind by students. The publication dates were from a long time ago, and the handwriting inside had become blurred, making it impossible to tell the owner’s name.
After wandering around the room, whatever courage he had gained from his earlier anger deflated like a popped balloon. Hesitantly, he asked, “Why are we here?”
Ji Fuqing replied calmly, “To exorcise a ghost.”
Exorcise a ghost?
Tang Xi blinked. “Then why can’t I just wait outside?”
Wouldn’t bringing him along just be a hindrance?
Ji Fuqing’s answer was simple. “Because you’re the one exorcising it.”
Tang Xi froze for a full ten seconds before fully processing what he meant.
Before he could react, Ji Fuqing formed a spell.
A burst of golden light exploded from his palm, momentarily illuminating the entire building.
The once merely chilly classroom instantly became drenched in a sinister, oppressive aura.
Tang Xi’s voice wavered on the verge of tears. “No! I want to go back!”
Ji Fuqing remained unfazed. “As my shiki, you can’t be this weak.” Otherwise, his spiritual energy would end up harming Tang Xi.
His spiritual energy was far too powerful. A ghost with only ten years of cultivation had to grow stronger, or the contract would crush him.
A contract could offer protection, but it could also become an overwhelming and inescapable form of oppression.
“But… I’m scared,” Tang Xi said, and the entire classroom suddenly darkened.
The moonlight that had barely illuminated the room vanished, plunging everything into pitch-black darkness.
The presence of Ji Fuqing disappeared from the air, leaving only Tang Xi’s trembling breaths echoing in the silence.
Someone was breathing against his ear…
Tang Xi was stunned with fear, turning his head stiffly. He wanted to close his eyes, but his pupils dilated uncontrollably due to terror.
A face, covered in fresh blood and streaked with yellow-white brain matter, slowly curled into a grin as it loomed before him.
More blood trickled from her mouth—endless, ceaseless. The once-white, tattered clothes draped over her body were now soaked in crimson.
“Meow!”
Tang Xi was so frightened that he instantly reverted to his cat form. The human shape he had struggled to maintain was gone, leaving behind a round, fluffy ball of fur, every hair standing on end.
His little ears drooped, his tail hung low, making him look even rounder.
Almost at the exact moment he transformed back into a cat, Ji Fuqing reappeared.
He had only cast an invisibility spell—he never actually left the little kitten alone.
He had intended to harden his heart and let Tang Xi face the situation himself, hoping to force out his hidden potential. But the instant Tang Xi was scared back into his cat form, an uncontrollable panic gripped Ji Fuqing. The spell unraveled before he could stop it.
“Meow… meow…” Tang Xi was absolutely terrified of ghosts.
Too frightened to run, he simply shivered, letting out pitiful meows in a desperate plea for mercy.
The female ghost was stunned. She hesitated, looking down at the trembling furball at her feet.
Wasn’t this little thing a ghost just like her? How could a ghost be afraid of another ghost?
She stood there barefoot, the tiny, quivering ball of fluff right beside her.
Her memories from life were already fragmented, but she vaguely recalled that she used to love kittens. Whenever she saw them on her way home from school, she would stop and meow at them, trying to get their attention.
Home from school…
The blood drained from her ghostly face, revealing the youthful features of a girl in her prime. Dazed, she crouched down, reaching out to touch the little kitten.
But before her fingers could even graze its fur, a golden light shot toward her, burning her hand.
Ji Fuqing’s expression was cold and lifeless, his mere presence radiating an oppressive force. “Don’t touch him.”
He scooped Tang Xi into his arms. The small creature, now safe, finally stopped trembling.
Pressed against Ji Fuqing’s chest, Tang Xi felt the warmth seeping into his fur. It was so comforting that he couldn’t resist nuzzling closer. He stretched out his tiny paws, clinging tightly to Ji Fuqing’s finger as if afraid of being abandoned again.
That chilling, ghostly presence had been unbearable for a cat.
He really had been scared out of his wits.
A sharp pain squeezed Ji Fuqing’s heart. A flicker of confusion crossed his usually emotionless eyes.
Had he… made a mistake?
A man who had lived for a thousand years, cold and indifferent, now held a delicate, frightened kitten in his arms—yet he had no idea how to comfort it.
“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
After thinking for so long, those were the words he could say.
Tang Xi was actually comforted by those words. He caught the faint scent of plum blossoms on his poop scooper’s clothes—his unique aroma in this world. Surrounded by that familiar scent, he slowly opened his eyes.
Ji Fuqing’s face, usually emotionless, tensed even further when the little kitten looked at him.
Tears quickly welled up in Tang Xi’s misty cat eyes, as if he was about to cry in the next second.
The little shiki had been scared to tears…
Ji Fuqing reached out and clumsily patted the small kitten in an attempt to comfort him. “Don’t cry, I’m not leaving.”
If other exorcists saw Master Ji like this, they would be so shocked they’d question whether they were hallucinating.
This man—who was always distant, untouchable, and superior—was now like a clueless schoolboy, awkwardly trying to soothe the little kitten in his hands.
His eyes held a nervousness even he hadn’t noticed, making it seem like no matter what the kitten wanted, he would do anything to make amends.
Tang Xi, finally realizing that he had just been abandoned, became furious. He gnawed at Ji Fuqing’s thumb with his tiny, rice-sized teeth and turned his little backside toward him, his tail angrily slapping against his wrist.
His anger even overshadowed his fear. Since he couldn’t bite through Ji Fuqing’s skin, he resorted to squirming in an attempt to jump down.
“Meow! Meow!” You’re terrible! I don’t want you to hold me!
Seeing that his attempts at comforting had failed and that the kitten was getting even angrier, Ji Fuqing simply raised his hand and sent two golden lights flying, sealing the female ghost in place.
The ghost had already been paralyzed with fear the moment he appeared, and now that she was trapped, she didn’t dare struggle.
After capturing the ghost, Ji Fuqing looked at Tang Xi and, as if expecting praise, said, “I’ll avenge you.”
But the little kitten didn’t even spare the ghost a glance. Instead, he slapped Ji Fuqing’s hand with his paw.
“Meow!” Put me down!
But before he could break free, his tiny paw was caught—then gently squeezed.
Ji Fuqing, his face still serious, muttered an apology while absentmindedly kneading the soft paw pads in his hand.
He knew one thing for sure: if he let the little kitten run away now, he would definitely regret it.
Under his touch, Tang Xi gradually forgot his fear. Warmth radiated from the man’s palm, spreading through his tiny body.
The fluffy ball of anger from moments ago slowly melted into a relaxed little kitten pancake in his hands.
His once-angry tail now lazily swayed instead of thrashing.
Perhaps it was the ghost’s sorrowful gaze that was too overwhelming, but Tang Xi—still sprawled in his poop scooper’s hands—suddenly felt a rare sense of guilt.
“Meow meow?” Why haven’t you gone to reincarnate?
Since he was too scared to exorcise ghosts himself, he decided to ask instead.
He had no real understanding of how souls passed on, but his instincts told him to ask the question.
Maybe because they were both supernatural beings, the ghost somehow understood his meows—something not even the all-powerful celestial master could decipher.
The ghost let out a bitter laugh, blood-red tears rolling down her once-pristine face.
“I hate. I hate so much. How could I reincarnate peacefully without taking my revenge?”
Tang Xi flinched in fear, instinctively grabbing his tail with his mouth. With something stuffed in his mouth, his next words came out muffled.
“Mmh?” Who is your enemy?
Unexpectedly, the ghost hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I don’t know.”
She could have easily ignored the tiny kitten, but she understood one thing: if she refused to cooperate, that terrifying man would likely destroy her on the spot.
And if he did, he’d probably just go out and capture another ghost—one he deemed useful—just to continue training his naive little shiki.
Ji Fuqing’s expression remained indifferent, except for the warmth in his gaze when looking at the little kitten. From the exchange between the female ghost and the kitten, he roughly understood what the little one wanted.
A ghost exorcist’s principle is to avoid disturbing the living and only deal with ghosts. The souls that remain as ghosts after death, refusing to dissipate or reincarnate, are usually those who suffered injustice and died with unresolved grievances.
Clearing their grievances?
That’s the job of the police.
If exorcists were driven by a sense of justice and helped every ghost resolve their regrets, the world would be thrown into chaos, and many innocent people would suffer as a result.
That’s why an unspoken rule among exorcists is to never interfere with ordinary people or perform exorcisms on vengeful ghosts.
But to Master Ji, such rules were nothing more than an illusion.
He leisurely watched as his little kitten conversed with the female ghost.
Shiki were not supposed to speak with other ghosts. Yet, aside from the decorative mark on Tang Xi’s forehead, there was no visible proof that he was one.
“Meow?” You don’t even know how you died?
The female ghost looked out the window. This time, her answer was certain: “I jumped to my death.”
Every day, she relived the moment of her demise. At exactly 11:30 PM, she would fall from this very classroom.
Lying shattered on the ground, unnoticed by anyone.
Tang Xi tilted his head.
“Meow meow meow?” So the person who drove you to jump… are they your enemy?
[Congratulations, Tasker Tang Xi! You have triggered a side quest: “The Cause of My Death.” Please uncover the truth behind the ghost Tian Rourou’s death within one week. Reward: Item Draw x1.]
A mechanical voice, tinged with excitement, suddenly rang out.