Chapter 34: The Ghost Is Hungry

It was nearly ten o'clock at night when Ji Yun returned to the office at 212 Chunfu Road by bus.

He unlocked the door and switched on the lights. The place was empty. He had just called his Third Uncle, who was currently out drinking and socializing with friends at a nightclub. Having recently earned a substantial commission, his uncle would likely spend the next long while in a state of hedonistic revelry. He wouldn't look for new work until the money in his pockets ran dry.

Ji Yun wasn't surprised. This was the unrestrained, bohemian Third Uncle he had known all his life; he had never changed. As Ji Yun grew older, he found himself increasingly validating his uncle's life philosophy as the truly liberated one. Others toiled like beasts of burden their entire lives, while his uncle lived his life with abandon. Both ended up living a single lifetime, and no matter how much money one earned, one couldn't take it to the grave. It was better to enjoy life while one could.

Sister Hua Ling had been too busy with work these past few days to be seen. Ji Yun suddenly felt that being home alone was arguably worse than staying in the dorms. The one upside to the office, however, was that he could practice meditation and draw talismans without being disturbed.

He walked to the desk and took out a stack of pre-cut yellow paper. He soaked baijiu with white atractylodes, filtered it, and ground it with cinnabar to create ink. Dipping his brush, he began to draw.

He was working on the "Spirit-Calming and House-Protecting Exorcism Talisman." His Third Uncle had mentioned over the phone that a long-time client had ordered them and they needed to be delivered by tomorrow. Originally, this was his uncle’s job, but now that he had a little assistant, it had become Ji Yun’s task.

Ji Yun didn't mind the trouble. He knew his uncle was using this to help him practice his brush control. Talisman calligraphy required not only precision but also what was known as "artistic conception." Just like practicing handwriting, the same characters written by Wang Xizhi versus an average person were two entirely different things. This artistic conception also influenced the potency of the talisman.

Over the past two days, Ji Yun had confirmed that he was learning things exceptionally quickly. Drawing talismans was easy to pick up. Even though this was his first time drawing the "Spirit-Calming and House-Protecting Exorcism Talisman," after only ten or so attempts, he could replicate the example in the talisman manual almost perfectly. Meditation was the same; the "sense of Qi" that his uncle said would take years to develop was something he had already been able to perceive steadily.

Before long, the two hundred talismans the client needed were finished. Ji Yun then began to practice the "Thunder-Fire Talisman." This was a true talisman of the metaphysical sects. However, Ji Yun still couldn't control it well; out of hundreds he drew, only two could produce a tiny spark, and even those flames were unstable. Moreover, drawing too many "Thunder-Fire Talismans" left him mentally and physically exhausted, especially draining the already faint "Qi" he possessed.

After drawing for a while, Ji Yun sat down to practice his meditation techniques. He lost track of time as he practiced. Suddenly, a wave of hunger washed over him. He opened his eyes and whispered, "So this is the 'hunger' of a ghost that the forums talk about... it’s finally here."

It wasn't that his body was hungry; it was a sense of emptiness perceived by his soul. Ji Yun’s expression turned serious. Only after feeling this emptiness did he truly confirm that he was a transcendent. The gossip forums stated that transcendents who fused with evil objects were half-human and half-ghost, and the "ghost" part needed to eat. Humans could live quite comfortably in the world of the living, but ghosts could not. It was like how humans couldn't stay underwater for too long, and fish couldn't stay on land for long.

"In other words, I need to start looking for 'food' now..." Ji Yun took a deep breath, adding with a frown, "This is going to be a bit troublesome."

***

Having felt the "hunger" on a soul level, according to the Transcendent Forum, he had to provide food for the ghost within him within half a month at most. Otherwise, the ghost would consume the host's soul as food, leading to a backlash and loss of control.

Ji Yun did have one "Yin Soul Bead" in his possession, which was the best supplement. But he only had one, and he didn't intend to consume it unless absolutely necessary. He also had ten small gold bars that could be exchanged for several million, but on the forum's black market, an "Yin Soul Bead" started at ten million, and even crushed "Soul Sand" cost nearly one hundred thousand per gram. If he had to rely on buying, his current assets wouldn't last long.

Ji Yun didn't know how long this single bead would keep the ghost in him satiated. The feeling of not knowing where his next meal would come from was unpleasant. Naturally, he thought of another way to feed the ghost for free: find a "Ruins Realm" and enter it, allowing the evil object to absorb the Yin energy within the realm naturally. It was like putting a fish back into water.

However, while it was free, it came with a major problem. There was no warning for the appearance of a "Ruins Realm," though they were more likely to appear in places where Yin energy gathered. Ji Yun couldn't just wander around like a headless chicken. The forum did have some Ruins Realms that could be explored multiple times, and there were often posts looking for teammates. But who would bring a stranger along for something that was actually profitable? They only recruited outsiders when the risks were immense. Furthermore, Sister Hua Ling had warned him long ago that in the Ruins Realms, one's peers were more dangerous than the ghosts.

Ji Yun was self-aware enough to know he was still a rookie. Joining those "wild teams" would be courting disaster. Additionally, the forum mentioned that to fuse with the next evil object, one needed to prepare at least three "Yin Soul Beads." Ji Yun still hoped to fuse with a next piece that would grant him true combat-oriented transcendent abilities. Thinking of this, he was even less willing to waste the bead he had by eating it as food.

This was why the transcendents on the forum were either dealing with ghosts and monsters or on their way to a Ruins Realm. Raising a ghost was difficult. Ji Yun thought that perhaps this was why his parents had never mentioned the transcendent world to him in the past. Sister Hua Ling didn't seem to lack money, but Ji Yun knew the nature of her work; she was earning it with her life. Ji Yun had never considered himself the type of man who would leech off his sister.

After pondering for a while without reaching a conclusion, Ji Yun decided not to dwell on it. He would wait a few days, browse the forums more, and see if he could find any official, low-risk Ruins Realm exploration missions. If that failed, he would have no choice but to eat the bead.

...

A few days passed in a flash. Ji Yun’s life seemed to have returned to calm. He attended classes during the day and returned to the office at night. His Third Uncle was either drunk or on his way to being drunk. Sister Hua Ling was too busy to be seen, only occasionally chatting via text.

Ji Yun had completely lost interest in playing games. Every day, he drew talismans, practiced meditation, and browsed the Transcendent Forum to expand his knowledge. He seemed to be gradually getting used to this life of cultivation. When his Third Uncle returned, he was usually dead drunk and would fall straight to sleep. Ji Yun didn't know what level his meditation and talisman skills had reached.

The city remained bustling with traffic during the day, and the Jianghua skyline remained brilliant at night. If not for the increasing number of reports of supernatural events on the gossip forums, Ji Yun would have truly felt that the world of demons and the world of ordinary people were two separate realms, and his own life had not changed at all.

However, the reality was that there were indeed more and more supernatural events on the internet. In particular, urban legends from the eastern island nation—the "Slit-Mouthed Woman," "Hachishakusama," "Hanako in the Toilet"—were becoming increasingly prevalent. It wasn't just ordinary people spreading them. On the gossip forums, there were even reports of transcendents personally handling supernatural incidents involving urban legends. Although it hadn't become a major climate yet, it was a very bad omen.

After an investigation by the Bureau of Heterodox Investigation, it was basically determined: someone was deliberately spreading urban legends! Originally, there were no entities of resentment; people just listened to ghost stories as if they were fake and weren't truly afraid. But once an entity of resentment was discovered in the city, that word-of-mouth, genuine terror would spread like an explosion.

Ji Yun also noticed that the mysterious department was deleting posts to control the situation. But horror legends were hard to contain completely. Once someone knew, it would spread like a plague. Just like the variant of the Slit-Mouthed Woman circulating at Jianghua University—the "Lady in White with a Mask"—which had evolved from a niche topic in the Supernatural Club to a topic everyone in the school and nearby universities knew about. There were even many witnesses on the campus network who swore they had seen the "Masked Senior Sister" wandering the campus at midnight. As a result, many girls now had to walk in groups to get back to their dorms.

Ji Yun also found it strange. It was as if someone in the school was deliberately spreading this topic.

...

On this Friday, after dinner and a few rounds of gaming at the internet cafe, Ji Yun dragged Zhao Kai to the soccer field at ten o'clock.

Originally, they had planned to go to the girls' dormitory. But the fat guy had gotten cold feet and kept hesitating. "Brother Yun, are you sure I should go? Can’t I just send her a private message? How about we go tomorrow instead?"

There was no need for beating around the bush between best friends, so Ji Yun was blunt: "If you just send a message, how will she know who you, 'Kaizi,' are?" Ever since the last gathering, Ji Yun had given the fat guy a nickname—Kaizi (a sucker).

As he spoke, he didn't forget to twist the knife: "If you don't make your stance clear now, what if someone else confesses first and Senior Sister Xia Li agrees? What will you do then? You know she’s a junior now and a big internet celebrity; I hear she has plenty of pursuers."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kai felt the urgency. He gritted his teeth and finally gathered his courage: "Alright! Then... then you come with me!"

That’s right, it was Ji Yun who had instigated this. Today, Zhao Kai was going to ask his goddess to meet. It wasn't a confession of love; he just wanted to reveal that he was her top donor, "Handsome and Arrogant."

If it were a normal unrequited crush, it would be fine if she didn't respond. But the fat guy wasn't just a fan. Ji Yun was certain he was being used as a "sucker." Just in the last few days, this guy had dropped over a hundred thousand in gifts. During the live stream just now, that Senior Sister Xia Li was doing a PK battle, calling out "My dear 'Handsome and Arrogant' brother," "Brother, please help me," and the fat guy had sent another thirty thousand.

Whether he had the money or not was one thing, but playing with someone’s feelings was another. Ji Yun had seen their private chats; in the live stream, Senior Sister Xia Li maintained her "campus belle" persona and didn't often ask for money, but in private messages, she dropped plenty of hints.

However, in these situations, those involved are often blinded. You can't talk someone out of it. Ji Yun wasn't trying to ruin anyone's romance; he just didn't want his friend to be addicted to unrealistic fantasies. You can trick people into tipping, but you shouldn't play with their emotions.

That was why Ji Yun had encouraged Zhao Kai to reveal his identity. If Senior Sister Xia Li really didn't mind—whether she was interested in his wealth or something else—at least she could provide some emotional value in return. If she wasn't interested at all, then she shouldn't lead him on, treating him like a "simp" to be milked for money. He didn't want the day to come when the transfers stopped and the "love" hit zero, leaving him with the line, "I never asked you to tip; you did it yourself."

Today, it wasn't about achieving any specific result. It was about making the fat guy see the other person's true attitude.