CH 7

Wen Xi no longer spoke after saying that, and Pi Xiu didn’t continue to ask. There were many taboos about ghosts. Some ghosts can have great changes in their appearances when they remember their past, since they will be filled with a lot of resentment.

Pi Xiu was quite satisfied with Wen Xi’s current appearance. After all, having Wen Xi in the restaurant can make it look better. There was no denying that Wen Xi was a hundred times more pleasing to the eye than those little monsters in the restaurant.

If Wen Xi suddenly turned into a fierce ghost whose ugly appearance can damage the reputation of his restaurant, Mr. Pi won’t hold Wen Xi in his arms anymore. He would send Wen Xi off to reincarnate as a better individual in his next life.

Since he was scared by the Female Ghost, Wen Xi’s soul was a bit unstable, so he allowed Pi Xiu to hold him for a while until he fell asleep. Originally, Wen Xi wanted to rest inside the jade statue, but the statue was still in the hands of the Female Ghost. Therefore, Wen Xi could only lie on the bed.

After lying down for two minutes, Wen Xi felt that something was missing, so he couldn’t sleep. As he sat up on the bed, Wen Xi looked at Pi Xiu, who was wearing clothes for once, and asked: “Is there any incense?”

Pi Xiu asked back: “What incense?”

“I can’t sleep without calming incense.” Wen Xi approached Pi Xiu and kneaded his shoulders to curry some favor. “Even a little bit is good enough.”

Pi Xiu glanced at Wen Xi and said: “You’re becoming spoiled.”

“For the sake of keeping you cool, let me have some comfort. I won’t need the incense when I get the jade statue back.” Wen Xi said, and then asked: “Where are you going? You got dressed.”

Pi Xiu: “Didn’t you just say that the female ghost may have seen the Taotie? Of course I’m going to interrogate her. While I’m at it, I’ll help her go and be reincarnated so I can accumulate some merits.”

Wen Xi was stunned: “Big demons like you also need to accumulate merits?”

“Originally, it wasn’t necessary,” Pi Xiu sneered. “It’s because I scolded the stupid Way of Heaven, that I was punished for my temperament. Now, I easily get angry, and by consequence, my body temperature will rise to unbearable temperatures. Therefore, I have to accumulate merits so that the Way of Heaven will dispel my anger.”

Wen Xi: “If it weren’t because I have the Taotie’s scent on me, would you have taken me to reincarnate and get the merits?”

“Of course.” Pi Xiu cupped Wen Xi’s face and looked at it: “The reincarnation of a ghost, who is a few hundreds years old, can give you a lot of merits. It’s the same as buying a lottery ticket and winning five million yuan. It’s a great amount of merits, of course I wouldn’t waste it.”

Wen Xi laughed: “Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?”

“No!” Pi Xiu’s face suddenly darkened. As he gritted his teeth, Pi Xiu said: “Since Pixius attracts wealth, they won’t allow me to buy lottery tickets. Investments such as stocks, gambling, and horse racing aren’t allowed either.”

‘Otherwise, I would have already made a huge fortune! If not for those restrictions, how could I have been reduced to the point of becoming a self-employed person?!’

The more Pi Xiu thought about it, the more furious he became. Then, he hugged Wen Xi and sat there for a while, as he lit the incense to soothe as well as nourish Wen Xi’s soul. After that, Pi Xiu got up and left. At the same time, Wen Xi got up from the bed to look for the box that Pi Xiu had just taken out.

When Wen Xi picked it up, he saw that it was a mosquito-repellent incense, and Wen Xi’s face angered.

‘Pi Xiu, you stingy bastard! What fucking “incense to calm the nerves and nourish the soul”?! He lit a mosquito repelling incense to fool me. Indeed, the books didn’t lie. Pixius are the stingiest Ancient God there is!’

Wen Xi threw the box into the trash can and laid down on the bed with his eyes closed. Although, at first, he only wanted to lie down for a while. In the end, he didn’t really expect to fall asleep. The burning incense was broken into several pieces, twisting and turning in the incense burner, spreading its smoke throughout the room.

…

Downstairs, Pi Xiu went to salute a few regular customers, and then headed towards the kitchen. Ren Jiao and Qiu Fu were so busy by the stove, that they only glanced at their Boss when he walked over.

“Are you still busy?” Pi Xiu asked.

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Ren Jiao looked at him, and said: “Don’t come over to help. You will end up breaking the stove again, and you will have to reinstall it.”

Qiu Fu nodded and said: “If that ghost wasn’t so behaved around you, he would have already melted away in an instant by the true fire of Samadhi1.”

“When you look at him, does he look like he can cook?” Pi Xiu lit a cigarette with the stove and took a long puff.

As Ren Jiao stir-fried some vegetables in the pan, he raised an eyebrow and asked: “What? You want to hire him as a cook? Recruiting new people isn’t cheap nowadays. Without room and board allowance, nor the five insurances and one fund2, both humans and little demons wouldn’t be bothered to accept the job.”

“No way! I don’t have the money to hire more people!” Pi Xiu said with a dark face.

Qiu Fu sighed: “Boss, you can’t say that! Although I hate the rich, I also want to become rich, ah. Last year, you said that you would raise my salary, but until now, you haven’t done it! If you don’t increase my salary this year, how can I face my old man when I go visit him at home for the Spring Festival?”

“Then don’t go, you don’t even like the old foxes in the Qingqiu Mountains anyway. If you come back with body odor, you’ll have to treat it yourself. But I heard that it can’t be cured, and by then, you won’t even be able to stay in the kitchen.” Pi Xiu said.

Pi Xiu’s frown became tighter and tighter as he thought: ‘I can’t lose Qiu Fu. Where else would I find such a valuable cheap labor force?’

“What the hell are you doing over there?!” After finishing cleaning a pot, Ren Jiao said: “Listen to what those Monkey Spirits are saying! They’re saying that there’s a female ghost in your room?”

Qiu Fu was stunned: “A female ghost? Wasn’t the ghost a good-looking male Scholar?”

Ren Jiao smiled, and the long scar on his face made him look hideous: “It’s another ghost.”

“Boss, have you been involved in something bad lately? Why are so many ghosts coming to you? You’re not really digging graves for money, are you?” Qiu Fu frowned. “Actually, digging graves isn’t so bad, it’s only a problem if the Humans find out. When I go back home, I can catch two Guanguan3 and bring them back. Although they have a dirty mouth, it can protect us from evil spirits.”

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Pi Xiu frowned: “What ‘bad’ are you talking about? That female ghost came from the painting Li Guizu brought. I’m keeping her because I think she may know the whereabouts of the Taotie, then I’ll send her off to be reincarnated. She’s not the same as the ghost upstairs.”

“Why are they different, hmm?” Ren Jiao looked at Pi Xiu and said: “I heard Yue Lao say that you two are connected by the red thread of marriage. Is it true?”

Hearing this, Qiu Fu gave a strange cry, and his pot caught on fire. Feeling the strong heat nearby, Pi Xiu leaned back and angrily scolded Qiu Fu.

“How do you know that?” Pi Xiu covered his hands and looked at Ren Jiao: “Did Yue Lao spill the beans?”

Ren Jiao pulled out the jade statue from his sleeve and handed it to Pi Xiu. Then, he lazily said: “I read it online. Now the Monkey Spirits are discussing that you and the one upstairs should make a few babies, but there are some who oppose the idea. They say that a few hundred years old ghost can’t take the ‘Yang Energy’ of an ancient beast such as you, and that it would be difficult to give birth.”

Qiu Fu was utterly stunned as he heard this, and dryly said: “Boss is really something else! He got the ghost pregnant in just a few days!”

“Fucking bullshit!” Pi Xiu slapped the stove. “Those little demons aren’t Cultivating properly because they are always playing around on the internet! I told you that thing was harmful! Once you get addicted to it, your Cultivation won’t advance even for several years. That’s a weapon the Humans have created to harm us!”

As for the little demons doing chores in the kitchen, they didn’t dare to speak anymore. They lowered their heads as they listened to their Boss angrily scolding the internet, saying that it was a parasite, or like opium for the soul.

“Besides, that ghost is nothing more than an ice pillow for me! Even if there is a red thread between us, so what? It’s an useless stupid red thread! Who will fall in love with the person pulling at their red thread? Isn’t that like being a dog?”

Pi Xiu sneered: “Where’s the female ghost locked up?”

“At the back of the utility room.” Ren Jiao raised his chin and added: “When Hou Er brought her over, she kept crying non stop. Listening to her cry gave me a headache, so I blocked her mouth.”

Pi Xiu picked up something and angrily rushed away. As soon as Pi Xiu left, Qiu Fu breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his sweat: “Boss has always been fierce, but now he looked even angrier than usual. I don’t understand how the ghost upstairs can put up with it.”

“When people are under someone else’s roof, they have to bow their heads4. There’s nothing he can do about it.” Ren Jiao said as he dried his hands. Then, he walked to the kitchen to raise the temperature of the stove, which was at its lowest. The air conditioning temperature was also adjusted, since it was also lowered by several degrees.

Ren Jiao: “As long as that ghost can cool him down, there’s nothing wrong. Otherwise, the Boss will heat up every time he gets angry. Even though I’m not afraid of heat anymore, that doesn’t mean I can stand it.”

The temperature that emanated from Pi Xiu’s body was still lingering in the kitchen, and when Pi Xiu kicked open the door of the utility room, his body temperature had also distorted the temperature inside the room.

The Female Ghost was tightly tied and lying on the floor, while her mouth was sealed with a potato. When Pi Xiu looked at it, his teeth felt sour.

“When I ask you something, you’ll reply. Don’t you dare cry! If you cry, I’ll beat you to a pulp.” Pi Xiu sat on top of a water tank and angrily said to the Female Ghost: “Do you understand? Nod your head if you understand.”

The Female Ghost sobbed and nodded her head.

Only then did Pi Xiu wave his hand and remove the potato stuffed into her mouth.

“Let me ask you, is this the painting of Wen Xi’s birthday banquet?” Pi Xiu spread out the painting on the ground. Then, he pointed to the blank space and asked: “Were you standing here?”

The Female Ghost nodded her head both times.

“Do you remember this man?” Pi Xiu asked as his finger moved to a corner of the painting, where ‘Taotie’ was, dressed in white clothes, and talking with a maid. “This man, do you remember how he looked?”

The Female Ghost stared at the painting for a moment before slowly nodding. Then, she said: “He…. When I went to the Wen Residence to sing, I saw him a few times.”

“Good, good.” Pi Xiu smiled. His body temperature lowered a bit, and even the tone of his voice softened slightly: “Then, do you remember what he was doing at the Wen Residence?”

The Female Ghost looked at Pi Xiu and replied: “I ask this Gongzi to save a man. As long as Gongzi saves him, I will tell you everything.”

Pi Xiu’s face instantly changed: “Are you threatening me?”

“I really have no other choice!” The Female Ghost began to sob and kowtow again, as bloody tears fell down her cheeks, dripping all over the ground. With a sad voice, she said: “Wen-gongzi is unwilling to help, and I have no other choice than to rely on you!“

Pi Xiu suppressed his anger and said: “How can he not be unwilling to help? He’s a ghost himself, so how exactly will he help you?”

“Wen-gongzi is the youngest grandson of Prime Minister Wen, the Empress’s own brother! His family is so prestigious, that not even the other playboys5 in the Capital can match him!” The Female Ghost burst into tears and screamed: “He praised me for my good singing!! He said he would grant me one wish, anything I wanted! He promised!”

Pi Xiu froze in a daze, but the Female Ghost in front of him had already lost her mind as she began to cry endlessly. Of course, there was no way Pi Xiu could ask her anything else now.

With a cold face, Pi Xiu stuffed the potato back into her mouth to shut her up. 

When Pi Xiu pushed open the door, he saw Ren Jiao leaning against the corridor, smoking. As Ren Jiao flickered a bit of ash on the floor, Lil Broom hurried to sweep the ash into the dustpan.

“Not sending her off to be reincarnated?” Ren Jiao asked.

Pi Xiu replied with accumulated anger: “No!!”

Ren Jiao nodded, threw the cigarette butt at the foot of Lil Broom, and took out another cigarette. With the new cigarette in his mouth, Ren Jiao said: “This ghost has an obsession. If that obsession isn’t eliminated, and you force her to reincarnate, you won’t obtain any merits.”

“I don’t fucking get it! I’m not a charity organization, so why do I have to do good deeds every day?” When Pi Xiu saw Ren Jiao start flicking cigarette ashes on the ground again, Pi Xiu glared at Ren Jiaom and said: “Don’t bully Lil Broom!”

Ren Jiao laughed: “Serves you right for your cheap mouth! If you curse those you shouldn’t curse, you’re only asking for trouble.”

Pi Xiu’s face darkened: “I’ll come back tomorrow.” Then, he turned around and left.

Lil Broom innocently swept up all the cigarette ashes, while Ren Jiao saw proudly how Pi Xiu walked away. Then, Ren Jiao put out the cigarette, grabbed the broom from Lil Broom’s hand, and threw it aside.

“My-….”

“Shh—” Ren Jiao bent over and stared into Lil Broom’s eyes. “It’s already clean, there is no need for you to keep sweeping.”

Ren Jiao touched Lil Broom’s face and added: “But my room is quite dirty. Can you help me clean it?”

…

As Pi Xiu walked upstairs, his face was cold and gloomy. Once he was on the second floor, Pi Xiu went to shower again. When he came out, Pi Xiu saw that Wen Xi was still sleeping quietly on the bed, so he lifted the quilt, lay down on the bed, and held Wen Xi in his arms.

Wen Xi was sleeping lightly, so when he felt something hot touch his body, he unconsciously pushed away the heat source twice.

Pi Xiu didn’t let Wen Xi succeed in his attempt to push him away. However, Pi Xiu also slightly opened Wen Xi’s clothes so they could have skin to skin contact. Without clothes getting in Pi Xiu’s way, he was able to feel even more cold coming from Wen Xi’s body.

Thus, Pi Xiu breathed a sigh of relief as he reached out to completely pull off Wen Xi’s belt.