33: Not clear-headed

Yun Song kicked Jiang Yi under the table and yawned, saying, "Grandma, don't mind him. He got drunk last night. He's still dazed now, his mind isn't clear!"

Jiang Yi pinched his thigh and nodded like a chicken pecking rice. "That's right, that's right!"

"You rascal, always talking nonsense." Grandma tapped Jiang Yi's head firmly.

A chill washed over him, and Jiang Yi's face grew a few shades paler.

Seeing Jiang Yi's expression was off, star ground a high heel into him.

"Sss, sss, sss..." The sound of sharp intakes of breath.

Jiang Yi looked miserable: "Ow, ow, ow, ow... the alcohol's all gone now!"

Seeing that Daoist Master Yunsong and Gang Zi had finally managed to gloss it over, Du Wenqing smiled at Grandma and said, "Grandma! It's past ten. You should go to sleep first! We'll just clean up the dishes."

star pulled back the foot and spoke in a perfectly high-pitched, cutesy voice: "That's right! Grandma~"

"You go rest! AYi and I can handle this."

"Right—right—right!" Jiang Yi rubbed his foot, acting like a nodding machine.

Grandma stood up, straightened her apron, and smilingly patted Du Wenqing's shoulder, leaving behind a pitch-black ghostly handprint.

"You young people are so sensible!" After saying that, she returned to her room.

Once Grandma entered the main bedroom, Jiang Yi instantly regained his energy. He leaned in close to Yun Song and whispered, "I remember now, the one who died was 'Grandma'!"

"Heh! Now that you're not 'ghost-blinded' anymore, you finally realized?"

"If it weren't for this Daoist Master's Ghost-Slaying Pill—which affected the Old Granny Ghost's yin energy—you'd probably have been eaten by now!" Yun Song snapped at him irritably.

"Eaten? No, no, no... don't we still have Minister Hei Jing's Spirit Summoning Talisman?" Jiang Yi's eyes went wide, as if he really saw something terrifying.

"Are you sure you're sober yet?" star rolled her eyes at him.

"A Fourth-tier Talisman is definitely for fighting the BOSS! If you use it now, I'm afraid you'll be beaten to death by Minister Hei Jing."

"Do you really want to work for the Underworld for hundreds of years after you die?" Du Wenqing poked the ghostly handprint and said irritably.

She tilted her head toward star and puffed out her cheeks. "Brother Gang Zi! Grandma grabbed your hand several times just now. That... how do you get rid of the handprint?"

Du Wenqing blinked her sparkling eyes. "Gang Zi... Brother Gang Zi."

"Oh, I thought it was something serious." star chuckled and took a yellow talisman paper out of the bag. "Here, just wipe it off."

Du Wenqing took the talisman and gently wiped the ghostly handprint on the back of her hand. The handprint gradually disappeared, as if erased by an eraser.

"Is this yellow paper a talisman too?" Jiang Yi asked curiously.

"Sort of, but this is just the most common Cleansing Talisman. It can only deal with some minor ghosts and monsters," star explained.

"Then is Minister Hei Jing's Spirit Summoning Talisman really powerful?" Du Wenqing said with a look of longing.

"Of course. Fourth-tier Talismans are very rare. It's said they can summon gods from the Underworld to assist."

Seeing Wenqing's double standard, Jiang Yi curled his lip and muttered, "Weren't you just scared pale and almost gave us away too?"

"Is this how a good sister acts? Today you're just stabbing your Brother Yi in the heart."

"Oh! I'm already being nice by not hitting you. If you hadn't provoked that dirty thing, would I be here in Nan Nan's place?"

"What's wrong with having a little resentment? It's only human!" Du Wenqing's face slumped... "Alright, alright, stop arguing. Hurry up and clean the dishes. Otherwise, if Grandma comes out later and sees we're not done, she'll start nagging again," Yun Song urged.

Jiang Yi was about to talk back when he suddenly noticed a strange sensation above his head.

He looked up and saw a pale-faced woman hanging upside down from the light fixture, curled into a ball, staring at them with hollow eyes.

"Ghost..." Before Jiang Yi could shout it out, star stuffed a vegetable bun into his mouth.

"Grandma's cooking is so great! I want to introduce it to my BOSS to try!" star said half-jokingly, but her eyes looked at Jiang Yi with murderous intent. "Right! AYi~"

"That... of course... Grandma's cooking is famous in this town." Jiang Yi finished stiltedly and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Du Wenqing looked at the light above her head with lingering fear. The female ghost had vanished at some point.

Yun Song looked around thoughtfully and said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this town isn't simple. Everyone be careful."

Before he could finish, there was a "clatter," and the door to the main bedroom opened on its own without any wind.

Everyone was startled and looked at the door warily.

Grandma rolled her eyes around, which glowed green, and said with a giggle, "Why isn't it cleaned up yet? How about... I help!"

"No need... no need... we'll be done in a moment," everyone said in unison.

"Alright then!" Grandma closed the door contentedly.

Du Wenqing took a deep breath and moved quickly. In a short while, the dining table was cleaned spotless.

At that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from outside, like someone crying... "Oh no! It's starting again!"

"Just pretend you didn't hear it. You and star hurry back to the guest room to sleep. AYi and I will sleep on the living room sofa tonight," Yun Song said in a low voice with his head down.

"Wait, Brother Song, I'm a guy! How can I sleep with Little Wenqing?" star looked at Daoist Master Yunsong in surprise.

Du Wenqing stepped forward and took star's arm. "The 'ghosts' don't know that!"

"Your roleplay is too successful; even the ghosts were fooled by you."

"I'm familiar with Brother Yi's house; I used to stay over often. There are several sets of bedding in the guest room; you can sleep on the floor."

Seeing that Wenqing had no objections, star nodded blankly. "There are actually perks to cross-dressing! This is basically being close to a girl."

"Hehehe..."

Jiang Yi grabbed star's arm. "Xiao Mei! Be good tonight when you sleep! Don't kick the blankets!" He leaned in and threatened, "Keep your hands to yourself! Or else—hmph!" He cracked his knuckles. "I might be afraid of ghosts, but I'm not afraid of beating people up."

"Don't worry, AYi~" star puffed out her coconut-shell chest. "I sleep very well and won't disturb Sister Wenqing."

"Mm-hmm!" Jiang Yi nodded in satisfaction... That night, Yun Song and Jiang Yi lay on the sofa in the living room, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

That eerie crying sound kept echoing in their ears, making them feel restless.

Suddenly, the lights in the living room began to flicker, and the atmosphere became exceptionally deep and terrifying.

Yun Song sat up alertly, while Jiang Yi nervously gripped the sofa armrest.

"Brother Song, what's going on?" Jiang Yi's voice trembled slightly.

Yun Song looked around, his brow furrowed. "I'm afraid something unclean couldn't wait any longer to feed."