Chapter 519: Chapter 511: Show Mercy to the Ghost
Zuixian Building is the finest restaurant in Li City, boasting a great environment and excellent dishes, thus the prices are not low. Those who dine here, especially those hosting guests, would not even feel confident walking in without having hundreds of taels in their pockets.
Qin Liuxi and his companions, with their outstanding demeanor and fine attire, approached the railing on the second floor. The diners promptly cleared a path for them, avoiding any unintentional collisions with these distinguished individuals that might invite trouble.
Among them, some bold women were casting their eyes on the men, especially Feng Miou, who was exceptionally handsome.
Yet, Qin Liuxi and his party were focusing on the scene downstairs, where at a round table, a slender woman was frantically stuffing food into her stomach in a very crude manner, her foot propped up on a chair along with using both hands to grab food continuously, her belly already bulging.
Beside the woman, a maid was pulling at her while another servant woman was screaming for a doctor.
“Calling for a doctor might be useless, by the looks of it, she seems to be possessed by some filthy spirit,” someone said.
“Could it be a starving ghost?”
As soon as these words were spoken, some people stepped back a few paces.
Xiong Er peered at the table loaded with a great feast, and seeing the woman’s unstoppable eating, he started feeling nauseous and asked Qin Liuxi, “Junior Temple Master, is she really possessed by evil?”
Qin Liuxi replied, “Indeed, she’s possessed by a starving ghost.”
Their voices were not low, and the surrounding people who heard them gasped in alarm.
A bold person asked Qin Liuxi, “How did you know that? Can you see it?”
Xiong Er chuckled, “You might not know, but he is Master Buqiu from Qingping Temple, quite powerful.”
“Qingping Temple?”
“I know, it’s just outside the city. Nowadays, Qingping Temple is increasingly taking on the grandeur of the Grand Temple, with a golden roof, and even the Grandmaster’s life-sized statue is a golden statue. They’ve also built an Immortal Ascension Tower; very imposing.”
Qin Liuxi stood tall and proud, his face beaming with pride; it was all his doing.
“But compared to Jinhua Temple in Shengjing, it still falls short. At Jinhua Temple almost all the divine statues are made of gold, and the temples themselves have golden roofs. When the sunlight hits them they gleam so brightly, it’s blinding.”
Qin Liuxi’s smile stiffened on his lips, and he glared at the person darkly, “Qingping Temple will eventually have such grandeur, hmph.”
The stared-at person felt innocent, wondering why telling the truth was frowned upon.
Whether out of anger or just to show off, Qin Liuxi flipped over the railing and jumped down, causing many people to cry out in alarm.
“Ah, he landed steadily—truly a Taoist from Qingping Temple, even skilled in light body techniques.”
Xiong Er and Jing Xiaosi’s hearts thudded, seeing Qin Liuxi land safely, they too breathed a sigh of relief.
That was terrifying.
“Let’s go down too.”
Qin Liuxi approached the woman who was eating ravenously, pulled the continuously pleading servant girl aside, and confronted the woman, “Will you come out by yourself, or shall I force you out?”
The woman, munching on elbow meat, saw Qin Liuxi and sneered viciously, “Where is this pretty boy from, scram!”
Qin Liuxi: “Does that mean I need to take action? Last time I also caught a starving ghost, you know what happened? I beat it until its soul was shattered.”
She rolled up her sleeves, speaking slowly and deliberately, sending chills down the starving ghost’s spine, even pausing its eating.
What can this pretty boy do, just bluffing, right?
Qin Liuxi picked up a pair of chopsticks, and the woman immediately shouted, “You dare, I—I will devour this woman’s soul.”
“Yo, you’ve got guts to threaten me?” Qin Liuxi swiftly moved forward, grabbed her fingers, and with a firm pinch of the chopsticks, directly extracted the starving ghost’s soul.
It happened too quickly.
With the soul ripped from its physical body, the woman collapsed limply to the ground, and the ghost immediately tried to flee.
Qin Liuxi seized it: “Where do you think you’re going? Did I say you could leave?”
She yanked its hair and slammed it down with force, causing the starving ghost to emit a painful ghostly wail.
People inside the building only felt chilling winds, hugged their arms, and moved farther away from Qin Liuxi, staring dumbfounded at her actions.
Was she grasping something and thrashing it around?
It seemed as if the bystanders had suddenly gained the Heavenly Eye, perceiving her wrestling and beating up a ghost with punches and kicks.
So, very brutal!
“Master, please spare my life, I made a mistake,” the starving ghost pleaded woefully.
“Too late.”
Wailing ensued.
Some children got scared and cried out, “She’s going to kill the ghost!”
Qin Liuxi: “…”
A ghost swiftly drifted in from outside, shouting, “Master, spare this ghost at my request, please spare its ghostly life!”
Oh, a familiar ghost.
Qin Liuxi stopped tormenting the ghost and looked towards the hanging ghost, dragging its long tongue, and said, “Why isn’t your tongue tied in a bow? You’ve got no image at all.”
The hanging ghost was utterly ashamed, is this how a proper hanging ghost should look?
But now was not the time to discuss that, instead looking at the starving ghost who Qin Liuxi had severely beaten, it couldn’t bear to watch.
“Old Hanger, save me,” the starving ghost cried miserably.
The hanging ghost gave Qin Liuxi a bow and said, “Master, this is my friend, he means no harm, it was all a misunderstanding, please spare his life.”
“A misunderstanding? Look at that girl, he possessed her and nearly burst her stomach,” Qin Liuxi motioned with her lips towards the pale-faced woman, “If I hadn’t intervened, she would have exploded.”
People watched Qin Liuxi talk to the void and a person, shivering and huddling together in fear.
Seems like another one has come?
The hanging ghost kicked the starving ghost: “Look at what you’ve done, aren’t you going to apologize? Whose body could you possess if not, why this girl? See her frail body, can she withstand such consumption?”
“I was just too hungry and wanted to taste the flavors of the mortal world, I just happened… I was confused for a moment, seduced by the food. I didn’t mean to harm her, I just can’t control this mouth,” the starving ghost cried and pleaded, “I won’t dare to do it again, I’d rather starve than possess another body, Master, please spare my life.”
The hanging ghost also pleaded, “Master, my friend died twenty years ago, starved to death in a hunter’s trap, leaving no one to offer sacrifices, and only joins us in snatching food from passersby on holidays, really… I assure you, he has never harmed anyone, even helped lost children find their way home.”
“Since he possesses kindness and earned this small merit, it shouldn’t be wasted in vain. You possessed her and consumed such a feast, now all your small merits are gone,” Qin Liuxi released the starving ghost, “Is it worth it to squander all your merits for a bit of food?”
“Master hasn’t experienced the torment of starvation, it’s too painful,” the starving ghost wiped its tears, “I didn’t do it on purpose, the girl bumped into me, and I bizarrely ended up in her body, thinking to eat a bit, just couldn’t control my mouth.”
“Wait for me, we’ll settle this later,” Qin Liuxi glared at him annoyed, took a spittoon at hand, walked over to the woman, felt her pulse, then took the silver needles she carried and pricked her a few times, the woman woke up and immediately vomited.