Taoist Priest 04

"Master, I brought you some roast duck." Zhao Chenyang scampered eagerly into the shop. Zhou Wen had recovered, but had become withdrawn, and Zhao Chenyang now spent his days either attending classes or hanging around the incense and candle store. Their relationship had grown somewhat distant lately.

Fang Zhiyi praised his disciple and happily dug into the food. After just two bites, he noticed Zhao Chenyang fidgeting like a fly. Fang Zhiyi snorted coldly, "Spit it out already!"

"Heh, Master, your eyes are as sharp as torches! Master, you see right through people!"

"Either compliment properly or shut your mouth!"

"Well, Master, it's like this... I have an ex-girlfriend, and she's run into some trouble..." Zhao Chenyang rubbed his hands together, laughing awkwardly.

Fang Zhiyi frowned at him. Zhao Chenyang quickly added, "She's loaded! A live-streamer, tons of money!"

Only then did Fang Zhiyi nod in satisfaction.

As dusk fell, Fang Zhiyi closed up shop and got into Zhao Chenyang’s SUV, heading to Osmanthus Garden Residential Complex. Zhao Chenyang eagerly led the way.

"You’ve been here quite often, huh?"

Zhao Chenyang scratched his head. "Not really, just... brought her food and flowers a lot."

"And then?"

Zhao Chenyang looked puzzled. "Then? There was no 'then.' She said she didn’t like my taste, so we broke up."

Fang Zhiyi sighed. "And you’re just fine with that?"

Zhao Chenyang didn’t understand. "Shouldn’t I be?" To him, a breakup was just a breakup—they could still be friends afterward.

At the foot of Building 4, Zhao Chenyang muttered, "Apartment 404." It was an old complex with no elevator, so they had to take the stairs.

"Quite the auspicious choice—Building 4, 4th floor, Apartment 4. Your ex must have an ironclad destiny." Fang Zhiyi casually pulled out a compass and handed it to Zhao Chenyang. "Here, I don’t need it. You take it."

Zhao Chenyang accepted it, watching as the bronze needle spun like a fan. His face paled. "Master... maybe we should just go back?"

Fang Zhiyi ignored him. He wasn’t leaving—this was a paying job. If he didn’t earn money, he’d starve to death before that thousand-year blood fiend even got to him.

The door creaked open after a few knocks, followed by the sound of nails scraping against wood, sending chills down both their spines.

"Master..." Zhao Chenyang’s expression twisted in dread before he could finish. The door swung open, revealing a girl in a spaghetti-strap dress, her face powdered unnaturally white. Recognizing Zhao Chenyang, she stepped aside, revealing her dagger-like manicure.

"Chenyang, you came?"

Zhao Chenyang had no time for pleasantries. He stared at the compass in his hand—the needle was now completely berserk.

Fang Zhiyi didn’t know what his rich disciple saw in this girl, but he had no time to dwell on it. An oppressive, malevolent presence filled the air.

"Hello, professional ghost extermination service. Five thousand," Fang Zhiyi stated matter-of-factly.

The girl’s brows furrowed. "Five thousand just for that? Aren’t you Chenyang’s friend? Can’t you just help out?"

At her rapid-fire complaints, Fang Zhiyi scoffed and turned to leave—only to pause, pull out his phone, and snap a photo before handing it to Zhao Chenyang.

Zhao Chenyang looked down. The picture showed his ex-girlfriend, but behind her... a face pressed against the doorframe, its eyes brimming with malice.

"Pfft, what’s the big deal? Chenyang, what kind of friend is this—Chenyang?"

Zhao Chenyang wordlessly handed her the phone.

A shriek later, Fang Zhiyi was invited back inside.

He wasn’t thrilled. The moment he stepped in, the girl—more terrifying than any ghost—started hovering around him.

"Could you back off a little?" Fang Zhiyi coughed.

She shook her head frantically. "Just get rid of it, and I’ll pay the five thousand right now!"

"You weren’t in a hurry earlier. It can’t kill you yet," Fang Zhiyi said.

She relaxed slightly. "Really? Then how long until it can hurt me?"

Fang Zhiyi raised a hand. "One hundred."

"A hundred days?" She patted her chest in relief.

"Ninety-nine, ninety-eight, ninety-seven..."

"Master, are you counting down?" Zhao Chenyang was torn between laughter and tears, but if his master was this calm, he must have a plan.

"Master! Save me!" The girl shook Fang Zhiyi violently.

"Five thousand. Final offer." Fang Zhiyi struggled to pull out his phone and flash his payment QR code.

The moment the payment notification chimed, Fang Zhiyi took a deep breath, dipped his fingers into a small jar of cinnabar paste, and swiftly drew symbols on his arm. Just then, the ceiling lights flickered wildly.

"Hold onto your ex," Fang Zhiyi ordered coldly. Zhao Chenyang hesitated for two seconds before yanking the girl away and locking her in a firm grip.

"Twenty, nineteen..."

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..." The moment Fang Zhiyi reached "one," Zhao Chenyang and his ex both noticed strands of hair above them. They looked up—and there it was, the vengeful ghost, dangling upside-down, its face inches from theirs.

"Master, hel—" Before they could finish, the ghost was sent flying, and Fang Zhiyi shook out his hand.

"In my line of work, the client comes first. Did you think I wasn’t here?"

The ghost shrieked and lunged again. It had died in this apartment long ago, waiting for this very day to claim a replacement soul. How dare this human interfere!

Fang Zhiyi didn’t hold back. He seized the ghost by the throat and started slapping it with his free hand.

"Can’t understand words, huh? Won’t listen to reason? Talk! Talk! Will you talk?!"

The once-ferocious ghost gradually morphed into a pitiful, delicate-looking spirit. Even Zhao Chenyang felt a pang of sympathy. "Master..."

"What? Go hug your ex."

"No, Master... you keep demanding it talk, but you haven’t actually asked it anything."

Fang Zhiyi paused. "I didn’t?"

Both shook their heads.

"Oh. My mistake." Fang Zhiyi examined the ghost in his grip—now more victim than villain.

"Alright, what’s your deal?"

Finally spared from the beating, the ghost hurriedly explained. She had once been a live-streamer too, but died suddenly of illness in this apartment, becoming a bound spirit by accident. Over time, as new tenants moved in, she regained some awareness by listening to the girl’s broadcasts. She sensed that killing this fellow streamer would free her, so she waited—until today, when she could finally act. But she hadn’t counted on running into a no-nonsense Taoist priest.