Mrs. Mei's Survival Diary - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: That Ghost

It was pretty common for a child like Mo’er to suddenly have a fever.

Rong Yinshuang had dealt with her older child before, so she wasn’t too freaked out.

After locking the door, she rushed the kid to the closest clinic in town. When a fever hit out of nowhere, the main goal was to decrease the temperature. The clinic had this little tub specifically for cooling down children, filled with warm water mixed with mint juice, which worked wonders to lower the fever and keep the child from getting confused or risking brain damage.

Rong Yinshuang teamed up with the doctor in the clinic to reduce her son’s temperature. After some time, Mo’er’s fever dropped significantly.

The doctor then gave her two fever-reducing pills and sent her home with the child.

Once the fever was down, Mo’er felt a lot better. He climbed onto Rong Yinshuang’s back, pointing at things and asking for candied haws and osmanthus cake.

Rong Yinshuang happily bought them one by one until he was satisfied and ready to head home with her.

As they passed the Yongding River, Rong Yinshuang noticed a white figure sitting on the bridge, staring blankly at the water. It was already nighttime, and while people were crossing the bridge, no one seemed to notice the white figure. Rong Yinshuang had a feeling she knew what it was.

Not wanting to provoke him, she walked past him without even looking at him, like an ordinary person. She thought everything would be fine, but unexpectedly, the moment after she and her child passed by, the white shadow moved, turned over from the bridgehead, and followed them.

Rong Yinshuang frowned, hugged the youngest child on her back to her chest, and then walked quickly while dragging her eldest child. However, the white shadow still followed them.

Rong Yinshuang was scared. After all, she was taking the child out to see a doctor, and she didn’t expect to get into trouble with these things. Therefore, she didn’t bring the peach wood sword and the copper gourd. If this thing suddenly pounced on her, how should she deal with it?

The more she thought about it, the more scared she became. Rong Yinshuang simply picked up her eldest son and let him hug her neck. She clasped her hands together, locked the child tightly in her arms, and walked even faster.

Panting, she saw the two lanterns hanging in front of the Taoist temple, and then she breathed a sigh of relief. She secretly glanced back and saw that the thing was still there. She lowered her head and rushed into the Taoist temple. When she reached the door, she put the children down and took the key from her with trembling hands to unlock it. After unlocking the door, she hurried in and asked the children to go into the house quickly. Then she turned around bravely and met the pair of handsome eyes standing outside the door looking at her.

Unlike the others she had encountered before, this ghost was pretty handsome. He was around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a lean build. His white outfit looked super fancy, suggesting he came from a rich background when he was alive.

As Rong Yinshuang gazed at him, she couldn’t help but think of her late husband. ‘If he were to become a ghost in a strange land, he would probably look just as handsome as this one.’

This stirred her emotions and made her feel a sense of compassion. Since ghosts couldn’t enter this Taoist temple, she felt safe. She approached the door and asked him, “Do you have any wishes? Why are you following us?”

The handsome ghost looked surprised and then openly shared why he was trailing her. “You should have brought food; I’m starving.”

Rong Yinshuang recalled the snacks she had bought for the kids earlier and realised why he was after her. She remembered her elders warning her that carrying food at night could attract hungry spirits and lead to trouble. With a sigh, she didn’t want to send him away, so she said, “Hang on, I’ll get you something to eat.”

The handsome ghost remained silent.

Rong Yinshuang went inside to grab two pieces of osmanthus cake and was stunned by what she saw next. ‘How did he get in?’

Rong Yinshuang nearly screamed in terror. She glanced up at the top of the Taoist temple and noticed the golden ripple barrier was still intact. ‘But isn’t this barrier meant to keep ghosts out? The old lady and Niuniu had mentioned that they couldn’t enter here, so how did this thing get in so easily?’

Shock and fear instantly filled Rong Yinshuang’s heart. “You, how did you get in?” Rong Yinshuang’s voice was trembling when she asked this question. She turned her head to look at the eldest son, who was guarding the youngest son by the bed. Seeing the young boy hadn’t directed any strangeness, she felt relieved. Then she fixed her eyes on the golden sword and the copper gourd on the table.

The handsome ghost glanced at the cakes Rong Yinshuang was holding and said, “You just strolled in like that. Go warm up that osmanthus cake. I can only enjoy it hot and fragrant; the hotter, the better.”

“…”

Although Rong Yinshuang had not encountered ghosts for a long while, she had come across many spirits, both large and small, yet she had never met one like this. Now he gave her commands like she was merely a maid responsible for kindling fires in his household, while he assumed the role of a superior master.

Upon finishing giving his orders, he naturally settled down at the stone table.

Rong Yinshuang thought there were swords and gourds in the house, so she was not worried about what he would do to the children. She thought about serving him quickly and letting him leave early. With that thought, she took the cakes into the kitchen and started steaming them.

While the cakes were steaming, Rong Yinshuang took a look at the handsome ghost.

The handsome ghost was looking around at everything in the Taoist temple. Noticing that Rong Yinshuang was looking at him, he suddenly asked, “I remember there was a Taoist priest in this temple; where is he?”

“…”

Rong Yinshuang was speechless. ‘Is this guy here to visit relatives or friends?’ The question was asked so naturally that she didn’t know how to answer.

While she was hesitating, she heard him say again, “Oh, right. His time is almost up; he should be gone.”

Rong Yinshuang took a deep breath, walked into the yard, and asked him, “Do you know my master?”

He was surprised. “Wu Daozi is your master? But he has been dead for almost twenty years. Oh, by the way, you can see ghosts.”

Rong Yinshuang didn’t want to beat around the bush with him and said directly, “Yes, I can see ghosts. This Taoist temple is left to me by my master. He said that it can prevent any ghosts from entering, so tell me, how did you get in?”

He stared at Rong Yinshuang and smiled. Even though his face was pale, he was still handsome.

Rong Yinshuang couldn’t help but stare at him.

He stood up, walked towards Rong Yinshuang, stood two steps in front of her, and said clearly, “This Taoist temple can indeed prevent ghosts from entering, and to be precise, I… am not a ghost.”

End of chapter 16

Have a nice day!