Chapter 9

The barrier before the temple gate was very solid. Gu Shuge rammed into it several times with her soul-body, but she could not feel it loosen in the slightest. Since she could not break through, she hurriedly used the new ability she had just learned and floated up above the roof, wanting to fly directly over the wall.

But when she floated into the air, she saw a huge Buddhist “卍”-like character above the temple, shining with golden light. The golden glow was very faint; if one did not look carefully, it was almost impossible to see. As she drifted closer, waves of sacred Buddhist chanting poured into her ears, stopping her from moving forward.

Whether it was the barrier or the chanting, both were very gentle. They only prevented her from approaching and did not harm her.

Gu Shuge was blocked outside, but her panic grew stronger and stronger.

This panic came very strangely. Although she could not enter, Shen Juan would eventually come out once she finished her business. Gu Shuge only needed to wait here. Why was she so anxious?

The moment Gu Shuge began to think, her mind grew muddled. She was like a kite flying in midair whose string had suddenly snapped. Her thoughts were no longer under her control, and dark, wicked ideas surfaced little by little.

A thought arose in her: perhaps Shen Juan had not entered the temple because she wanted to see her, but because she wanted to find an expert to drive her away.

After all, she was a ghost. Who could possibly not be afraid of ghosts?

“What are you waiting here for? You should hurry up and run. Shen Juan is asking an expert to subdue you. It would be best if he beat you until your soul scattered completely, so you can never pester her again!”

She vaguely heard a low voice. Every word brought an echo with it. A sharp pain stabbed through her temples, but she still instinctively retorted, “I’m not pestering bailiantales.com her!” She had already stayed so far away. She was not pestering Shen Juan at all.

“Maybe you aren’t pestering her now, but who knows about later? After all, Gu Yi’an is dead.”

Gu Shuge’s head hurt as if it were about to split open. She floated down to the ground, held her head, and murmured, “I’m dead too.” But those evil thoughts kept spreading.

Her soul was still here. She could still do something. Her older brother was dead, so possessing Shen Juan was only natural. Who told her to like Shen Juan? Red veins crawled over the whites of Gu Shuge’s eyes, as if she had become a demonized vengeful spirit.

“You were killed by Shen Juan,” the evil thought said again, jolting Gu Shuge like a clap of thunder. What followed was an even more violent headache. She refuted it in fear. “No. I was murdered by someone.”

“Exactly! She is the one who murdered you. Other than her, who else could it be? She’s sick of you! She didn’t like you even when you were alive, and after killing you, she still isn’t satisfied. She wants to find a monk to beat you until you’re reduced to ashes!”

The words “didn’t like you” seemed to transform into white worms, desperately burrowing into Gu Shuge’s brain and writhing across her body. Fury surged through her. The deep red veins in her eyes became even more terrifying, and resentment rose from within her body like black mist.

Inside the temple.

After thinking in silence for a long while, the monk finally sighed and said, “When a person dies, the lamp goes out. That means all things are irreversible. For a departed soul to linger in the human world is already something that goes against heaven. Buddhism emphasizes following the natural course. When encountering ghosts, we can only guide them toward liberation. To make one appear carries unpredictable consequences. My skills are lacking. I cannot help you.”

He refused to do it.

Shen Juan did not speak. She took another check from her bag, placed it on the low table, [bailiantales.com]and pushed it in front of the monk.

The monk glanced at the amount and was clearly tempted. But after thinking it over, he still hardened his heart and shook his head. “I cannot help. I cannot help.” Then he stood up and went into the inner room. After a while, he came out with a book.

The book had a red cover, and the pages had yellowed. The words inside were printed using a very old-fashioned method, and the characters were traditional Chinese. It looked as if it had been found at some antique stall.

The monk handed the book to Shen Juan. “Senior Brother Jingyun once studied this book. Perhaps it will be effective. You may take it and try. But summoning a soul and making it manifest is an evil art. I advise you to think three times before acting. If you insist on doing it, then whatever the result may be, you must bear it yourself.”

Shen Juan accepted it.

The monk returned the amulet pouch to her and said with a smile, “When ordinary people encounter ghosts, even if the ghost was once their closest kin, they would still be afraid and beg the other party not to haunt them. Yet not only are you unafraid, Benefactor, you even want the ghost to appear. I truly do not know how to judge this.”

Shen Juan took the amulet pouch and carefully put it away. Hearing the monk’s words, she barely curved the corners of her mouth. “I actually hope she can haunt me.”

The monk was left speechless. Then he shook his head, chanted a Buddhist invocation, and reminded her, “This amulet pouch is a spiritual artifact. It has already been used, so logically speaking, it should have become an ordinary object. But just now, when I sensed it briefly, I found that spiritual power still lingers around it. It should have another function. Benefactor, keep it with you. Once Senior Brother Jingyun returns, you can ask him and learn the inside story.”

Shen Juan thanked him for the reminder and stood up to take her leave.

When she passed through the front hall, she bought some incense, candles, and Buddhist scriptures. After thinking for a moment, she even bought divination blocks for asking good or ill fortune, all sorts of spiritual talismans—anything the temple had, she bought one of each.

Outside the temple, Gu Shuge was still struggling. Her thoughts were gradually slipping out of her control, but deep in her subconscious, she knew these were not her own thoughts. They were probably something like inner demons [read the original at bailiantales.com]or evil thoughts, trying to make her turn bad. So she worked hard to preserve the last shred of reason she had. Every time that voice spoke, she retorted, so that her mind would not be completely swallowed.

“Shen Juan doesn’t like you.”

“She likes me. She treats me the best.”

“She treats you well because she has ulterior motives.”

“She doesn’t. I have nothing worth her scheming for.”

“She and your brother were together long ago and hid it from you.”

Although Gu Shuge had answered the previous words with difficulty, she had still managed to answer them. Only this sentence allowed the evil thought to spread continuously.

Shen Juan and her older brother had liked each other long ago. Then why had Shen Juan treated her so well? Why had she made her misunderstand? Did she think watching Gu Shuge indulge in one-sided feelings was interesting?

The moment that thought arose, Gu Shuge was horrified. She shook her head hard, wanting to shake all these thoughts out, and refuted aloud, “That’s not right. She was already preparing to tell me.”

The conversation she had overheard that day clearly showed that her brother had already expressed the intention to let her know.

As soon as the words fell, the evil thoughts gradually dispersed, and her mind slowly recovered. Gu Shuge’s brows furrowed tightly. She stood [read the original at bailiantales.com]up from the ground and saw Shen Juan coming out of the temple.

The headache was fading too. With every step Shen Juan took closer, Gu Shuge’s mind became a little clearer. The blood-red color in her eyes retreated, and the black mist spreading through her mind seemed to be blown away by a warm, gentle breeze, vanishing completely.

It must have been Shen Juan who drove away all her evil thoughts.

Gu Shuge’s eyes brightened, and she rushed toward Shen Juan at once. In the end, she crashed into the temple’s barrier, bounced back, and fell.

She hurriedly got up. Shen Juan had just reached her. Carrying a yellow cloth bag in her hand, Shen Juan walked past her without looking sideways.

Gu Shuge froze for a moment, then stepped forward and followed behind Shen Juan.

As she walked, lingering fear began to rise in her. What had those thoughts just now been? She had never had those ideas before. Besides, how could Shen Juan be sick of her or afraid that she would pester her? Shen Juan did not even know that she liked her.

She looked ahead. Shen Juan was carrying the yellow cloth bag and walking down the stone steps, one step after another, steadily and firmly. Just looking at her back gave Gu Shuge a great sense of security.

Gu Shuge felt unafraid now. Those evil thoughts just now had all revolved around slandering Shen Juan. But she was absolutely, absolutely, absolutely certain that Shen Juan was the best person in the world. So even if those evil thoughts surfaced again, she was confident she could resist them.

It had taken half an hour to go up the mountain, but going down seemed slightly faster.

Shen Juan opened the car door, got in, and casually placed the cloth bag on the passenger seat.

Gu Shuge stopped in her tracks and thought somewhat aggrievedly, That’s my seat. She slowly shuffled over, preparing to pass through the car door and sit in the back. But Shen Juan suddenly picked up the cloth bag again and placed it in the back seat, clearing the seat beside her.

Gu Shuge was happy and hurriedly went to occupy the passenger seat.

When Shen Juan started the car, she turned her head and looked at the space beside her before placing her hands on the steering wheel.

By the time they returned home, the sky had gone completely dark.

Shen Juan casually made herself a cup of oatmeal and dealt with dinner that way. Gu Shuge watched anxiously from the side. A whole day, and only one cup of oatmeal—how could that be enough?

But she could only worry helplessly.

The house had already been cleaned by the servants, because the windows were open. The cold wind blew in, and it was still a little chilly. Shen Juan closed the windows, took a book from the cloth bag she had brought back, sat on the living room sofa, and began reading.

After reading one page, she took out her phone and made a call.

The call connected quickly. She said to the person on the other end, “I need to find a monk who cultivated at Guangping Temple in the outskirts of Yanjing. His Dharma name is Jingyun. White brows, white beard.”

The other side said something. She paused for a moment, then said, “That is all the bailiantales.com information I have.”

A monk? Gu Shuge listened thoughtfully. She moved over and placed her ear beside the phone. A man’s voice came through. “Understood. I’ll make arrangements immediately.”

It was Lin Mo’s voice.

After Lin Mo finished speaking, he continued, “Chairman, the news of Miss Gu’s death has already spread throughout the entire group. Today, the three President Gus have already caused a scene once. Tomorrow and the day after, they will definitely keep making trouble. Do you think you should first take charge of the overall situation?”

The three President Gus were her three uncles. Gu Group was a family business. Her three uncles also held a portion of the shares, but not much.

Ancient China had the system of the legitimate eldest son inheriting the family line, and Britain had the absolute right of inheritance for the eldest son. This was because a family’s resources could not be scattered. Once scattered, its strength would weaken. The previous generations of the Gu family had also done things this way. Most of the equity was inherited by the eldest son, while the other children received very little.

The direct branch had the responsibility to look after the collateral branches, doing its best to help the other family members in their lives and careers.

Gu Shuge had never liked these three uncles much to begin with, because they sought profit and avoided harm and were extremely snobbish. But they had never done anything especially bad either. So she and her brother had always turned a blind eye and fulfilled their obligations by helping them.

Who would have thought that she had only been dead for one day, and they already could not hold back, wanting to change from collateral branch to direct branch? At the very least, they should have waited until after her funeral.

Shen Juan replied, “Let them make trouble.”

Then the call ended.

She was not affected in the slightest and continued lowering her head to read. Gu Shuge fumed for a while. Seeing that Shen Juan was not angry at all, she sat down beside her, calmed herself, and read along with her.

The book was full of mysterious, supernatural things, such as the differences between resentful spirits, evil ghosts, and fierce ghosts; how to escape when haunted by an evil ghost; the three things ghosts feared most; how not to be afraid when entangled by a ghost; teachings on how to become a ghost after one’s soul was scattered, and so on.

Gu Shuge read it with her heart pounding in fear. Just the magical artifacts described in the book, and the miserable state of ghosts after being dispersed, made her spine go cold. She could not help secretly glancing at Shen Juan several times, thinking, Was this book brought back from the temple? Why is Shen Juan reading these things?

She thought about it for a while, both frightened and alarmed. Then inspiration suddenly struck, and she understood.

First, she could rule out the possibility that Shen Juan wanted to drive her away.

Then there were not many possibilities left. Basically, the truth could be confirmed: Sister was worried that if Gu Shuge encountered an evil ghost, she would not be able to win, so she was studying this herself in order to help Gu Shuge when she was bullied by other ghosts.