Chapter 120: The Exorcist Tao Yaoyao
After learning the gist of Peach Yaoyao and Old Xu’s circumstances, Lotus felt deeply sympathetic. She even ended up moving herself to tears.
A penniless old ghost with a penniless little ghost in tow—poverty piled upon poverty. If they could see her, she would definitely open her secret stash and share it with them!
“Er… who are you? Where did you come from?”
“Disciple! Quick, hide behind me! Your master will protect you!”
Lotus looked at the scene before her. Two crows seemed to fly across her field of vision…
She had thought this would be a touching scene of a master sacrificing himself to save his disciple.
But this…
The reality bore absolutely no resemblance to the description!
Peach Yaoyao’s tiny body had clearly been forced to endure things far beyond what someone her age should have to bear.
Old Xu hunched over and claimed that Peach Yaoyao should hide behind him, but his body was simply too honest.
He was so large that there was nowhere for him to hide behind Peach Yaoyao. There was barely room for him to hide at all.
Peach Yaoyao twitched the corner of her mouth speechlessly, yet still dutifully blocked Old Xu from view.
“Who are you?”
Peach Yaoyao examined Lotus without the slightest attempt at concealment. Old Xu also sneaked glances at her.
The moment their eyes reached Lotus’s feet, both Peach Yaoyao and Old Xu broke out in a cold sweat.
Her feet were off the ground!
If this wasn’t a ghost, then what was it?
“I’ve spent my entire life hunting demons, and this is the first time I’ve learned that a demon hunter can actually run into a ghost!”
Old Xu immediately switched places with Peach Yaoyao and stood in front of her. He drew his cherished sword, which he had kept for many years, and assumed a defensive stance.
“We are demon hunters, not exorcists. If you have a grudge, settle it with the person responsible. If you have a grievance, take it to the one who caused it!”
Peach Yaoyao nodded like a pecking chick.
Lotus showed little reaction to Old Xu’s words. Instead, she asked with a strange expression, “You can see me?”
Peach Yaoyao blinked and exchanged a glance with Old Xu.
“Otherwise?”
“You really can see me?”
The two of them nodded together like pecking chicks.
Now it was Lotus’s turn to be confused.
That was impossible. How could she possibly have a physical form? Did these two have spirit-seeing eyes?
“Have you seen any other ghosts before?”
The two shook their heads in perfect unison.
What?
Little Rascal, give me an explanation…
Sensing Lotus’s resentful gaze, Little Rascal immediately turned his tiny head away, presenting his backside to her face as he silently chanted to himself:
You can’t see me. You can’t see me…
Lotus temporarily gave up on settling accounts with Little Rascal. There was something important she needed to verify.
“Wait here for a moment. Don’t worry, I’m not an evil ghost. I came here by accident, and perhaps fate brought us together. I’ll be back after I confirm a few things.”
Without waiting for Peach Yaoyao and Old Xu to agree, a gust of wind swept past, and the ghostly figure had already vanished.
After recovering from their shock, Peach Yaoyao pondered for a moment before saying solemnly to Old Xu, “She said she’s a good ghost.”
“Right. She said she isn’t an evil ghost.”
“Exactly. So why can we see ghosts?”
“That’s right. Only a ghost would know.”
…
It was a perfect circle of reasoning.
The two of them remained in the courtyard, shivering in the cold wind, too frightened to move an inch.
What if the ghost returned and, upon discovering that they were gone, became so enraged that she tore apart their shelter?
She certainly didn’t look like an ordinary ghost. She came and went without a trace—clearly, she had to be an ancient one.
Fortunately, their thoughts were not overheard by Little Rascal.
Though Lotus was over two hundred years old and approaching three hundred, she was still as beautiful as a flower. How could she possibly bear being called an ancient ghost?
When it came to her age, Lotus absolutely refused to give in!
Absolutely!
After leaving the shabby wooden hut, Lotus drifted down the road and returned to the small village she had passed through earlier—the place Old Xu and Peach Yaoyao called Goddess Village.
She patted down her clothes. If everyone could see her, she at least had to maintain a respectable appearance.
Not far away, an older woman was collecting quilts. Lotus floated over, cleared her throat lightly, and tapped the woman on the shoulder.
“Auntie?”
The woman’s hands paused. She shrank back and muttered, “Why has it suddenly gotten so cold? This wind is giving me the chills…”
“Auntie?”
The woman began gathering the quilts even more quickly, then picked up the dry clothes and bedding and hurried back inside.
Lotus stood alone where she was.
“So it really is only those two who can see me…”
She continued drifting along the road, completely unaware that, somewhere nearby, a pair of eyes seemed to be watching her.
[Master, don’t you feel a little chilly?]
“Perhaps it’s because I’m a ghost.”
When Lotus returned to the shabby hut, master and disciple were still frozen in their original positions, unmoving like two living fossils. The moment they saw her, they looked as though they had found their savior.
“What are you two doing?” Lotus asked, unaware of the reason.
Peach Yaoyao wore a miserable expression.
“Didn’t you tell us not to move and to wait here for you?”
Lotus coughed. Her heart suffered a devastating blow, yet she had no way to refute that infuriatingly sound logic.
“Oh. I meant don’t hide from me. I never said you weren’t allowed to move…”
Peach Yaoyao’s eyes widened. Who could have imagined that this beautiful ghost, who floated half a foot above the ground and possessed both beauty and grace, would actually scratch her head in embarrassment?
“Actually, Master and I don’t often speak with other people, so our comprehension may be a little lacking. Please don’t take offense…”
Lotus waved her hand.
“Ah, it’s no big deal! Besides, you two were the ones suffering. I imagine I’ve kept you waiting for quite a while, and the wind is terribly cold tonight.”
Old Xu shed silent tears of misery.
“Indeed. This wind has loosened every bone in my body.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
Lotus felt that the old man truly had it hard. At his age, even his collection of bones had begun to fail him.
Seeing Peach Yaoyao looking at her, Lotus took the initiative to introduce herself.
“Just call me Lotus. There’s no need to be so formal. I suppose fate brought us together.”
Peach Yaoyao hesitated.
“Sister Lotus… sis?”
Lotus smiled and nodded. She then explained the entire situation, saying that she had merely wandered into Goddess Village by accident while searching for something.
“Since the two of you can see me, would it be possible for me to accompany you while you look around Goddess Village?”
Peach Yaoyao thought for a moment.
“That should be fine. But, Sister Lotus, are you certain that the thing you’re looking for is in Goddess Village?”
Lotus nodded. Little Rascal’s information could never be wrong.
“In that case, I’ll take you around Goddess Village tomorrow morning. It’s just that… my home is rather crude. I wonder if you would mind… sharing a bed with me?”
As she said this, Peach Yaoyao grew terribly embarrassed. Her entire face turned bright red. The thought of sleeping in the same bed as a beautiful older sister that night made her so excited!
The excitement was inexplicable. Completely inexplicable!
Lotus smiled, thoroughly pleased, and reached out to pinch Peach Yaoyao’s cheek. Her hand was still translucent, however, and passed straight through the girl’s face.
“I don’t need to rest. I’ll spend tonight outside looking at the stars. Besides, I possess a ghostly body. If you spend too much time with me, you’ll fall ill.”
Peach Yaoyao really was an adorable girl. Judging by Lotus’s age, she was practically a child.
Seeing Peach Yaoyao’s disappointed little face, Lotus said, “You’re very cute yourself. Why be so obsessed with my appearance?”
Peach Yaoyao covered her face and looked excitedly at Old Xu.
“Really, Master? Sister Lotus?”
Old Xu wholeheartedly agreed. There was no denying that Yaoyao’s parents had excellent genes. Their daughter had been beautiful ever since she was little.
“My disciple has to be absolutely gorgeous!”
“Of course.”
After hearing Old Xu and Lotus praise her, Peach Yaoyao instantly tossed all her disappointment aside and became radiant with happiness.