Chapter 69: Teach Him Personally!

A series of eerie sounds drifted into the dormitory, uncertain whether they were cries or laughter. Soon, a sinister purple figure passed straight through the door and floated in. It was the same female ghost seen earlier that afternoon, standing beneath the shade of the trees.

She drifted slowly and eerily, hovering to the head of Zhao Dezhu’s bed. Leaning down, her damp hair seemed to drip icy water onto Zhao Dezhu’s face. He slept deeply, snoring and rolling over. Ling Qiu watched, smiling and shaking his head. With such poor alertness, it was a wonder how someone like him had survived this long.

At that moment, the ghost aimed for Zhao Dezhu’s breath, preparing to absorb his vital energy. Ling Qiu was a little surprised. This ghost was not as malicious as expected. Normally, wild ghosts at this stage would directly attach themselves for more power, especially if they encountered someone as weak as Zhao Dezhu. Yet, she merely sought to absorb a bit of vital energy.

Having some of one’s vital energy drained certainly affects the living. Sometimes, people fall ill with fevers or colds for no apparent reason, which might be a sign that their vital energy has been taken. A sudden drop in vital energy weakens the body, but daily activities and sunlight replenish it.

Thus, this ghost was not truly evil. For a wild spirit to linger in the mortal world, it must continually absorb vital energy; resentment only grants power, not longevity. Ling Qiu concluded, “She only absorbs vital energy and doesn’t attach herself. Perhaps she simply wants to remain in the mortal realm, not harm others for cultivation.”

Ling Qiu rose quietly from his bed. The ghost paid him no mind; she believed no one could see her, so Ling Qiu’s movement posed no threat. Yet the next moment, she heard a cold voice:

“Yama’s Domain!”

A resonant vibration filled the air. Everything seemed to freeze, and she could no longer draw Zhao Dezhu’s vital energy. In her eyes, Zhao Dezhu appeared as a frozen statue, his vital energy sealed away. She tried again in vain, but nothing worked.

“Don’t waste your efforts. Right now, only I have vital energy in this room. If you want to absorb it, come to me,” Ling Qiu said calmly.

With a startled shriek, the ghost recoiled, floating back three meters, her spectral eyes glaring at Ling Qiu.

Ling Qiu spoke, “Before I deal with you, do you have anything to say?”

He flipped his palm, and a spectral chain glowing with green light appeared. Seeing it, the ghost trembled and suppressed her sinister aura, pleading, “Spirit Warden, please… have mercy… spare me!”

Ling Qiu replied, “First, I am not a spirit warden. Second, whether you are spared depends on your actions. I can help you pass on, or I can scatter your soul completely. You understand what I mean.”

The ghost immediately knelt, bowing repeatedly. “Sir, I have never harmed anyone—only animals, to linger in the world. Today was the first time… this man’s vital energy was so weak… I’m fading, so I had to…”

Ling Qiu’s voice was cold: “To evolve from a wandering ghost to a wild spirit requires much vital energy. Absorbing only from animals wouldn’t be enough, even in ten years. You are bound to this campus and cannot leave. How many animals are there for you to feed on? Lies!”

“No, sir, I dare not deceive you!” she protested. “There really were many animals in the agricultural college—chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, cattle, sheep, and farms nearby…”

Farms? Ling Qiu frowned. Though Jiangnan University was in the college district and not heavily urbanized, there were no farms nearby now. Wait—perhaps thirty years ago, there were.

Ling Qiu realized he had overlooked something. “How long have you been dead?”

The ghost shook her head. “I have no sense of time… Only that I died on my forty-second birthday.”

“What year were you born?”

“Nineteen forty-six…”

Nineteen forty-six?

Ling Qiu was stunned and took another look at the woman’s old-fashioned attire. It was indeed dated.

“So you died in 1988, and now it’s 2018. You’ve been dead for thirty years?”

The ghost was overcome with grief. “I… have been dead that long?”

Ling Qiu nodded. That explained it. Thirty years absorbing animal vital energy was enough to advance to a wild ghost—and perhaps more. Clearly, she had spared the animals as much as she could.

“Why do you insist on remaining here? Thirty years have passed; you should have reported to the underworld long ago. If a true spirit warden catches you, you’ll be punished. Do you understand?”

“…I know… but I am unwilling, and uneasy!” Her eyes flashed with deep resentment.

“Those adulterers are still alive… and my son’s life is hard… I just want to see him a few more times.”

Ling Qiu narrowed his eyes. “Tell me your story.”

The ghost recounted her life and death. She had been a teacher at the school, as had her husband. Thirty years ago, she caught her husband with a female student. Despite her anger, she endured it for her son’s sake. Yet in those days, a teacher-student affair was scandalous, especially outside marriage.

Her husband and the student conspired to kill her, drowning her in a pond behind the school on her birthday.

Ling Qiu shook his head slightly. She was a kind-hearted woman, but fate had been cruel. Good people suffer, while the wicked endure.

“What became of your husband and that woman?”

The ghost’s resentment deepened. “Within two months of my death, they married. That man is now a renowned professor in the education field. The woman teaches at this school. And my son… has called her ‘Mother’ for thirty years…”

【Four updates delivered~ A friend told me that words in the “Author’s Note” are often overlooked, so I’ll shamelessly ask here for your recommendations and bookmarks. They are vital for the book’s success and growth! Thank you, thank you~~ If you’ve read this far, you must enjoy the story. Please engage more, let me see you in the review section or leave comments in the chapters~~ By the way, a question both noble and pure, far from vulgarity: among the female characters introduced so far, which do you like best? O(∩_∩)O】