Ning Ying: QAQ
This joke wasn’t funny at all!
The reason she was wearing red was because yesterday she’d gone down the mountain shopping with Sang Jinse. Her senior sister said she should wear something red for good luck on the first day of the Sword Trial Conference, and recommended this pomegranate-red dress. Ning Ying liked it and bought it.
This person turned around without making a sound and just stared straight at her—who wouldn’t feel a chill running down their spine encountering that?
And he said she looked like a ghost—clearly he was the one who looked more like one. Look at that neither-human-nor-ghost complexion, those blood-like eyes, and that head of semi-transparent white hair—no matter how you looked at it, he didn’t seem human at all!
The man seemed to guess her thoughts, speaking in a deep, cold voice:
“Yes, I’m a ghost.”
Ning Ying: “…”
He just… admitted it like that?
Should she scream or something?
But this ghost could communicate and didn’t seem very scary.
Ning Ying landed from mid-air, standing right next to the ghost without any concern, and struck up a conversation: “You’re visiting your own grave?”
Mu Bie: “…Yes.”
Having this kind of thing witnessed made him feel somewhat awkward.
“So should I call you…” Ning Ying said familiarly, “Uncle-Master Mu?”
Mu Bie nodded. “You’re Sect Leader Yun’s disciple? Calling me that is acceptable.”
Ning Ying detected a hint of distance in her uncle-master’s words and was curious about what he’d experienced, but felt it was inappropriate to ask directly.
Instead, Mu Bie’s thin lips moved slightly, his beautiful, narrow eyes narrowing as he smiled ambiguously: “And why are you here so late at night?”
“To be honest, I came to sweep your grave, Uncle-Master!” Ning Ying didn’t even blink while lying.
“Heh,” Mu Bie laughed lightly. “I don’t believe that.”
To prove herself, Ning Ying grabbed the ghost uncle-master’s sleeve and dragged him to the deserted plaza.
Mu Bie looked down at the grill and barbecue supplies on the ground, the corner of his eye twitching slightly.
“You came here to barbecue, didn’t you?”
Ning Ying nodded seriously. “That’s right. My intention was to wait until the barbecue was done, then place it on your grave for you to eat first, Uncle-Master.”
Mu Bie: “…”
A somewhat cracked expression appeared on his pale, handsome face, and his bloodless thin lips twitched slightly.
“…That won’t be necessary,” he said with difficulty.
“Doesn’t Uncle-Master want to eat?” Ning Ying tried to tempt him with delicious food.
Mu Bie pressed his lips together. “My flesh has long since returned to dust. Now only a lingering obsession remains in this world. What have worldly desires to do with me? Besides, though you have barbecue tools here, you have no ingredients.”
Ning Ying: “…The ingredients are on their way.”
Mu Bie: “?”
Some time later, when Gu Qi and Sang Jinse found their way over with processed spirit beast meat, he finally understood what “the ingredients are on their way” meant.
Gu Qi glanced at Mu Bie. “Who are you?”
Just as Ning Ying was about to explain, Sang Jinse grabbed her and frantically signaled her with her eyes.
Ning Ying: “?”
Did Senior Sister Sang recognize this long-dead Uncle-Master Mu?
Mu Bie glanced at Gu Qi and said calmly, “I’m a friend your Junior Sister Ning invited to have barbecue together.”
Seeing that this person knew his junior sister, Gu Qi didn’t say much. “Find a rock to sit on. All the ingredients are ready. After Senior Sister Sang and I finished hunting, we went to a food shop down the mountain to have them processed. We also bought some vegetables. Once the fire’s started, we can begin.”
Hearing Mu Bie’s words, Ning Ying felt a slight confusion. Uncle-Master Mu actually knew her name? She hadn’t introduced herself. Also, he knew about her senior-junior sibling relationship with Gu Qi.
Had Uncle-Master Mu been watching today’s Sword Trial Conference?
Remembering Sang Jinse’s signaling earlier, Ning Ying took advantage of Gu Qi starting the fire to secretly pull her senior sister into the nearby forest and whispered, “Senior Sister, just now you…”
“Shh,” Sang Jinse looked around left and right before lowering her voice to explain, “Junior Sister, that person is…”
“Who is it?” Ning Ying perked up her ears.
“The Ghost Lord of Senluo Temple.” Sang Jinse said quietly.
Ning Ying: “!!!”
She remembered the Ghost Lord of Senluo Temple—that mysterious big shot at today’s Sword Trial Conference, draped in a black cloak with his hood covering his face.
“How do you know, Senior Sister?”
“Long story,” Sang Jinse sighed. “When I was out training before, I encountered a female ghost. She was very beautiful and very kind. She saved me when I was in danger, and I genuinely regarded her as a good sister.”
“And then?” Ning Ying had an ominous premonition.
“His true gender was actually male,” Sang Jinse said with a pained expression. “Just like that, my good sister was gone, and I’d even spent a night with him without knowing the truth. Can you imagine that feeling? When you’re being intimate with your sister, and suddenly she pulls out…”
Ning Ying: “???”
“That female ghost—no, male ghost—was one of the Ghost Lord’s subordinates,” Sang Jinse said. “He was the kind of evil spirit that specifically sucks the essence and blood of living people. During the time I was with him, my body became weak.”
Ning Ying: “???”
“So it’s best to stay away from those ghosts,” Sang Jinse uttered these shocking words. “Although they can make you feel really good, afterwards they’ll bite your neck and suck your blood. That Ghost Lord is probably even more ferocious, so it’s safer for you, Junior Sister, to keep your distance.”
Ning Ying: “???”
She weakly raised her hand. “I also have some information here.”
“What information?” Sang Jinse asked.
Ning Ying: “The Ghost Lord of Senluo Temple… before he died, he seemed to be Uncle Master Mu Bie.”
Now it was Sang Jinse’s turn to be “???”
“Uncle Master Mu had an unfortunate fate, a beautiful life cut short, but within the sect he was second to none as a pillar of the righteous path.” Sang Jinse said incredulously. “How could he possibly be the leader of a morally ambiguous sect like Senluo Hall?”
Ning Ying shook her head, indicating she didn’t know why either. “He admitted he was Uncle Master Mu Bie. Just now I even saw him burning paper money for himself.”
Sang Jinse’s pupils were shaking.
“When I first joined the sect, I was an outer disciple nobody cared about. If not for Uncle-Master Mu’s kindness in offering morning classes teaching sword techniques to outer disciples, I might still be just an ordinary outer disciple, unable to become Master’s disciple…”
“What exactly happened to cause such a great change in Uncle Master Mu?” Ning Ying murmured thoughtfully.
Sang Jinse’s expression was also complicated. “Back then, Uncle Master Mu was in his prime, full of vigor and youthful brilliance—nothing like this neither-human-nor-ghost appearance now… If you hadn’t said he was burning paper money for himself, I wouldn’t even have recognized him.”
Ning Ying: “…”
The two thought for a while but couldn’t come up with a reason. Just then, the aroma of barbecue from the square drifted over. Ning Ying and Sang Jinse exchanged a glance and returned to the square.
Gu Qi and Mu Bie hadn’t waited for them and had already started eating.
For one simple reason—the barbecue was just too fragrant.
Seeing that there were still a few skewers of meat on the fire, Ning Ying snatched two with quick eyes and swift hands. Sang Jinse also grabbed one.
The remaining skewer sizzled, roasted to a golden-brown crisp, sprinkled with chili and other seasonings—extremely tempting.
Gu Qi and Mu Bie reached for it at the same time.
Gu Qi was a moment too slow; Mu Bie snatched the skewer and happily began eating.
Ning Ying: “???”
Uncle Master Mu just said he was a ghost and didn’t care about such things, but now he was eating with more relish than anyone!
Wait, can ghosts even eat?