The next day, the junior martial brother woke up bright and early.
He was terrified that those two, who seemed to have no sense of boundaries between men and women, would be glued together again.
He didn't know what that girl did for a living, but it seemed her family had never taught her the differences between men and women.
His senior brother was even more outrageous. If she didn't understand, didn't he? He was a Daoist priest, for heaven's sake! This was simply beastly behavior!
But he only dared to complain about this in his heart.
The junior brother went straight to knock on Xie Qingyan's door. He expected to see a neatly dressed Xie Qingyan, but instead, he found him wearing only his inner garments.
"Senior brother, you..." The junior brother hesitated to speak.
Had his senior brother forgotten all the rules of the Daoist temple? That shouldn't be.
"Senior brother, let's go to the mass graves this afternoon. The authorities have brought some news." The junior brother was still worried about that malicious ghost.
Suddenly, he heard something drop inside Xie Qingyan's room. The junior brother furrowed his brows, a suspicious expression on his face.
"Junior brother, I will come find you all after I finish up here," Xie Qingyan said in a cool voice, and then he closed the door.
The junior brother stared blankly at the closed door.
Then, his face flushed bright red.
No... No, no, no, it couldn't be?!
What on earth was his senior brother doing? Had he really gone mad?
"Senior brother, remember the temple's rules—"
The junior brother hollered at the door, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he ran away quickly.
But the people inside the room didn't take his words to heart.
"So sleepy," Ji Zhaoxi leaned lazily against Xie Qingyan's shoulder.
Xie Qingyan gently massaged the back of her neck. "The capital is covered in pure Yang formations. Miss Ji, if you feel uncomfortable, remember to tell this poor Daoist."
Ji Zhaoxi gave a muffled response. She let Xie Qingyan dress her. Sitting on the bed, she looked at Xie Qingyan in front of her.
"Daoist Xie, I can put on my own shoes."
"It is no trouble, Miss Ji."
Ji Zhaoxi stepped on his Daoist robe. Xie Qingyan calmly put on her socks and then her shoes, acting extremely serious.
Seeing Ji Zhaoxi dressed from head to toe in things he had bought for her, a bizarre sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart. Even her hair had been dried by him.
Xie Qingyan had never felt this way before. Even when he killed many ghosts and earned the admiration of many, or when he completed missions and was praised by his master, none of it brought him as much satisfaction as this very moment.
"Miss Ji, we will be going to the mass graves this afternoon. Let this poor Daoist transfer some vital energy to you now." There was a hint of a smile in Xie Qingyan's eyes.
Ji Zhaoxi was taken aback. This seemed to be the first time she had ever seen Xie Qingyan smile.
"Alright, Daoist Xie."
Xie Qingyan's vital energy seeped slowly yet domineeringly into Ji Zhaoxi's body. His palm was pressed against her back. This method of energy transfer would not only stabilize her soul but also leave his aura on her spirit body for a very long time.
Xie Qingyan's gaze fell upon her red lips, which had become moist and plump from the vital energy. He asked softly, "Why does Miss Ji want to stay by this poor Daoist's side?"
"Because Daoist Xie is a good person!"
Ji Zhaoxi was never stingy with her praise.
Xie Qingyan looked down at her. His usually calm face now held an incredibly gentle smile.
He asked softly, "What if there is a Daoist better than this poor Daoist? Would Miss Ji become friends with that person too?"
Ji Zhaoxi gave him a puzzled look. "No, I just want to follow Daoist Xie. Whether other Daoists are good or bad has nothing to do with me."
"Then what if Miss Ji makes a better friend than this poor Daoist in the future?"
Ji Zhaoxi thought about it seriously. "Then Daoist Xie can just cross me over then."
Xie Qingyan chuckled softly. He leaned over Ji Zhaoxi's shoulder, his tone tinged with a smile. "Then how about this poor Daoist crosses that person over instead?"
Ji Zhaoxi vaguely felt that something wasn't quite right. She stammered, "Ah, that wouldn't be very good, would it? What if that person doesn't want to be crossed over?"
They probably haven't lived long enough yet.
"Miss Ji doesn't need to worry. This poor Daoist was just making a joke."
Xie Qingyan stood up and looked at her intently.
Ji Zhaoxi didn't take the matter to heart. Xie Qingyan was a Daoist; how could he casually cross someone over?
Several junior brothers were waiting outside the courtyard.
"These government officials are simply going too far."
"When is eldest senior brother coming out?"
"Zhixuan, why do you look so pale?"
Zhixuan leaned against the wall in despair. He only hoped that his eldest senior brother wouldn't come out holding that girl's hand. He had already warned him.
But in the very next second, Xie Qingyan actually appeared in front of them, holding Ji Zhaoxi's hand.
Zhixuan: ...
The other junior brothers' jaws dropped at the sight.
Ji Zhaoxi felt a bit awkward being stared at by them and tried to pull her hand back, but Xie Qingyan only held it tighter, looking at her in confusion.
Ji Zhaoxi choked on her words. Forget it.
"Let's go to the mass graves now." Xie Qingyan nodded at them calmly, just like he always did.
The junior brothers quietly followed behind Xie Qingyan. They all stared at Zhixuan, who looked like he wanted to cry but had no tears left.
How was he supposed to explain this?
Say that their eldest senior brother took the girl beside him to buy clothes? Or say that they were now living together?
He only knew a day earlier than the rest of them.
By the time they arrived at the mass graves, the government officials and the Daoists were already arguing.
"How can you blame us? We saw how powerful that energy-eating ghost was, and we thought it was the malicious ghost."
Because this matter had dragged on for too long, people both outside and inside the palace were in a state of panic, and the Emperor had lost his temper. The government officials and a few eager, shortsighted Daoists had directly launched a massive raid on the mass graves, catching a few minor ghosts to report back.
Who knew that the nannies at the orphanage would have problems again? First, everyone lost their shadows, and then one by one, they turned into walking corpses.
The fact that the authorities had caught the wrong ghost was immediately exposed. Terrified, they quickly gathered the Daoists again to discuss a countermeasure.
When the Daoists were previously searching for the malicious ghost's whereabouts, these government officials had obstructed them in every possible way. Now that they were begging them to come back, the Daoists' expressions were not pleasant either.
Xie Qingyan led Ji Zhaoxi to an abandoned dry well. On the rim of the well, there was a layer of translucent, shed skin-like substance, which carried a faint scent of sandalwood.
"This malicious ghost is hiding in a place with heavy Yang energy," Xie Qingyan stated calmly.
The government officials originally wanted to argue, but upon seeing it was Xie Qingyan, they smiled awkwardly. "Daoist Xie, then it seems we searched in the opposite direction."
They had come to the place with the heaviest Yin energy. But how could a ghost stay in a place with heavy Yang energy?
"Zhixuan, you all go directly to places in the inner city that have incense offerings to search," Xie Qingyan ordered calmly.
Zhixuan quickly replied, "Yes, senior brother."
Zhixuan hurriedly led the government officials and those Daoists to the inner city.
After walking a short distance, he couldn't help but turn his head to take a look.
His senior brother and Miss Ji were still standing by that well. Miss Ji had a very serious expression as she pointed at the marks on the well rim and said something. His senior brother was quietly watching Miss Ji the entire time, a trace of a smile on his face, looking incredibly gentle.
It was just that his senior brother's hand remained tightly wrapped around Miss Ji's waist. The hold appeared gentle, but it carried an undeniable, unyielding strength. His fingertips stroked her lightly every now and then, coiling around her like a venomous snake, sending an involuntary chill down the spine of anyone watching.
Zhixuan only took one glance before goosebumps erupted all over his body, and he immediately turned his back to them.
Suddenly, he felt incredibly sorry for Miss Ji...
