Chapter 3 – Sister Mo Nian

Su Ming tiptoed to the door and opened it. Blood Soul Ghost blinked her eyes, a puzzled thought crossing her mind: Is master going back to her own home?

Su Ming entered the room and lowered her head, spotting a female ghost hiding timidly inside.

“Sister Mo Nian, I’m back.”

Mo Nian glanced around before crawling out from under the bed.

This made Blood Soul Ghost even more confused, unable to figure out why master had another female ghost hidden under her bed.

Mo Nian whispered, “Su Su, you seem a little different. Did you make a contract with a ghost?”

Su Ming: “Oh dear, you found out. Do you want to meet them?”

Mo Nian nodded, but her hands trembled nervously.

Su Ming summoned both Sword Ghost and Blood Soul Ghost. Mo Nian took a cautious step back in fear.

Blood Soul Ghost sent a telepathic message to Ice Crystal Turtle: “Aren’t you coming out?”

Ice Crystal Turtle sighed: “I can’t. She’s terrified of spirit beasts. Even as small as I am, I’d scare her half to death, so I’d better stay hidden.”

Seeing that Blood Soul Ghost and Sword Ghost bore no hostility, Mo Nian relaxed. However, she couldn’t shake a strange sense of familiarity when she looked at Sword Ghost.

Mo Nian asked softly, “Su Su, this Sword Ghost is…?”

Su Ming: “Uh… would you believe me if I said I found him on the road…”

Blood Soul Ghost, Ice Crystal Turtle, Mo Nian: …

Mo Nian truly couldn’t recall those memories, and she didn’t want to. Ever since Su Ming brought her home a few years ago, she had lived a quiet, peaceful life.

For Su Ming, it was just one more mouth to feed; for Mo Nian, it meant an end to wandering and the beginning of a new home.

Su Ming went to another room—one originally meant for Mo Nian, but for some reason, she always hid under Su Ming’s bed instead.

She released Ice Crystal Turtle: “Old Turtle, don’t come out, alright? School starts in a couple of days, and I’ll take you out for a big feast then.”

Ice Crystal Turtle: “When are you going to find me a female turtle? I’m lonely all by myself too.”

Su Ming: ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ…

A clattering symphony of pots and pans rang out from the room, and Su Ming emerged holding a dented stainless steel bowl.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I think there was a cockroach. Already dealt with. No worries.”

Inside the room, Ice Crystal Turtle poked his head out: “Good thing the boss doesn’t cultivate, or this turtle would be done for!”

Blood Soul Ghost was dumbfounded. Does this family have a single normal person (or ghost, or beast) in it?

Su Ming retracted Sword Ghost back into her body. After all, the creature had no consciousness—without Su Ming’s command, he just stood there motionless. Rather than have him stand around like a decorative mascot, it felt more reassuring to keep him inside.

Su Ming crawled under the bed, and Mo Nian followed suit. Blood Soul Ghost was stunned again. What could possibly require doing things under the bed…

After a while, Su Ming came out holding a large stack of talismans. Blood Soul Ghost caught a glimpse and noticed quite a few talisman-drawing tools among them.

Blood Soul Ghost let out a sigh of relief: “That scared me. I thought it was a ghost-human romance.”

Su Ming and Mo Nian both looked puzzled, not catching what she meant.

Blood Soul Ghost quickly changed the subject: “Uh… master, what are these talismans for?”

Su Ming: “To sell for money. Otherwise, where would we get our living expenses?”

Blood Soul Ghost asked in confusion: “Did master draw these?”

Su Ming laughed: “How could that be? Sister Mo Nian drew them all. If I drew them, they’d look like something a dog wouldn’t even touch. Who would dare buy those?”

The Blood Soul Ghost couldn’t help but laugh, never expecting that someone as powerful as her master would still have to draw talismans to make a living.

The Blood Soul Ghost continued curiously, “Master, don’t you have any living expenses?”

Su Ming explained helplessly, “I do have some, but it’s a bit tight supporting a whole family. Besides, Sister Mo Nian said she wanted to draw them herself, and there are people who buy them, so I just draw them. And if they don’t sell, I can always use them myself.”

The Blood Soul Ghost looked as if she suddenly understood, and she was also thinking about how to help Su Ming make some money…

Su Ming glanced into the room and saw that the Ice Crystal Turtle had already frozen himself in the water to sleep, looking like he was slacking off again.

Su Ming asked the Blood Soul Ghost, “Do you want to come out with me? Or stay at home?”

When Mo Nian heard Su Ming was going out, she hid back under the bed and started her busy work again.

In Su Ming’s impression, she didn’t talk much and was unusually afraid of spirit beasts. Although Su Ming didn’t know why, she guessed it might be due to some trauma.

Recalling the first time she met her, before she had contracted the Ice Crystal Turtle, Mo Nian was covered in wounds and her realm was only at the early stage of the first level. Su Ming saw how pitiful she looked back then and brought her food every day.

Later, after Mo Nian got used to Su Ming’s feeding, she felt Su Ming was trustworthy and secretly followed her home. Come to think of it, it felt like she had lured away a minor girl.

Anyway, Su Ming didn’t refuse. Living alone here was quite lonely, and it was nice to have someone to chat with sometimes. And so, two simple-minded beings—one human and one ghost—ended up living together here.

Just as she was thinking about this, she unknowingly arrived in front of an antique shop. Su Ming brought the Blood Soul Ghost inside with her.

Lord Lin was puffing on a cigarette and saw Su Ming come in. “Oh, if it isn’t Su Ming? Got something good to sell again?”

Su Ming took out the talismans. “Please take a look and verify the goods.”

Lord Lin gave them a casual glance. “I’ve collected talismans of all ages, so I naturally trust you.”

The Blood Soul Ghost couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the use of collecting so many talismans?”

Lord Lin asked Su Ming, “Is this your contracted ghost?”

Su Ming nodded, then explained to the Blood Soul Ghost herself, “Actually, they have many uses. For those who can’t cultivate by nature, talismans are a better way to increase combat power.”

The Blood Soul Ghost nodded. She could indeed feel some threat from the talismans, though these were too weak.

Lord Lin said, “That’s 1,960 in total. At one yuan each, that’s 1,960 yuan.”

The Blood Soul Ghost said, “That cheap?”

Lord Lin tossed the finished cigarette butt into the ashtray.

“These are all very low-level talismans, and the paper isn’t great either—hard to preserve. My price is already quite fair.”

With that, he took out talisman-drawing materials and two thousand yuan from the drawer.

“You’re a regular customer, so I’ll give you a little discount.”

Su Ming quickly thanked him, “Thank you, Lord Lin. Thank you, Lord Lin.”

Lord Lin then took out two hundred sheets of red talisman paper. “Why don’t you take these back and draw some?”

Su Ming said awkwardly, “The one at my place doesn’t want to draw, and I’m not that good at it myself.”

Lord Lin shoved them into Su Ming’s hands. “Come on, just consider it a favor. I’ll buy them from you at five yuan each, and the higher the grade, the more expensive.”

Then he pushed Su Ming out of the shop and closed the door. Well, there was no way Su Ming could return them now…

The Blood Soul Ghost asked curiously, “What’s the difference between red talismans and yellow talismans?”

Su Ming was also only half-informed: “I remember Sister Mo Nian mentioned that making red talismans takes a huge toll on the maker, and they’re also extremely lethal when used, so red talismans aren’t commonly used.”

Blood Soul Ghost, thinking of Mo Nian’s frail body, couldn’t bear the thought of letting her expend so much energy making red talismans.

Su Ming tucked the money into her pocket: “Come on, come on, let’s go buy some food. Since you’ve just arrived, we should treat you properly.”

No sooner had Su Ming left through the front door than the Black-Robed Man slipped in through the back.

Lord Lin shot up from his stool: “How dare you come around in broad daylight?”

Black-Robed Man: “No need for pleasantries. Hand over the talismans—they’re needed over there.”

He pulled out two thousand yuan: “This is the budget.”

Lord Lin let out a helpless laugh: “Can’t you spare a bit more?”

Black-Robed Man: “Didn’t you just give her two thousand?”

Lord Lin took a deep breath, not expecting the Black-Robed Man to be so petty…

Black-Robed Man: “The sect’s funds are limited. That’s all there is.”

With that, the Black-Robed Man left with the talismans. But Lord Lin was used to it—every batch of talismans Su Ming drew was always collected by him.

…

Author’s PS: Dear readers, hello! I’m glad you’ve chosen to read this book. However, my impression is that most of you came here because of the “gender-bender” tag, and for that, I sincerely apologize, because the real gender-bender content in this book actually starts at Chapter 34.

So now I’d like to ask you all a question and hold a vote in the section below:

1. The author abandons the book—will release all stored drafts within seven days and provide an ending, then the author will conceive a new gender-bender story. Whether it will feature both beasts and ghosts, the author is still considering.

2. The author releases the stored drafts but continues writing to the normal conclusion, though it probably won’t attract many readers—mainly to show respect to the loyal readers who’ve supported this book all along.

(This vote will appear at the end of each chapter for the next five days of updates. Thank you!)