The Ghost and the Ghost Catcher

The evening breeze rustled through the branches and leaves.

After a moment of quiet, Ming Zhong shifted closer to Fu Ziqing.

“Senior Sister…”

He called out softly.

Fu Ziqing turned to him, blinking her eyes.

Ming Zhong, however, said nothing further.

Fu Ziqing furrowed her brow and inquired,

“What were you going to say?”

“Nothing at all…”

Ming Zhong chuckled, a hint of guilelessness in his smile.

“Hehe, I just wanted to call your name.”

Fu Ziqing’s eyes rolled slightly upwards, a subtle, almost imperceptible eye-roll.

What an idiot…

She murmured softly, then asked,

“Does it still hurt?”

She wasn’t entirely confident in the force she had used. If Ming Zhong’s soul had truly left his body at that moment, her slap would have landed squarely on his spiritual form.

After all, he was just a young man. If she had genuinely caused him any lasting harm, Fu Ziqing would have felt a pang of guilt.

Ming Zhong laughed.

“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Really?”

Fu Ziqing seemed unconvinced.

“Truly!”

Ming Zhong hesitated for a second, then nodded with a smile.

It still stings a little, actually…

“That’s good then.”

Fu Ziqing said indifferently,

“I was going to say, if it still hurt, I’d take a look for you.”

Ming Zhong fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke with a serious expression.

“I think… I feel a bit of pain again.”

Fu Ziqing immediately glared at him, a cold sneer on her lips.

“Weren’t you trying to be a hero? Go on then.”

Ming Zhong merely chuckled, saying nothing.

Only when he saw Fu Ziqing’s cold expression did he venture to ask,

“Senior Sister, how would you help me look?”

As he spoke, he recalled the method Senior Sister had used to alleviate his stomach ache earlier that afternoon, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

“Is it… that? Is Senior Sister going to perform that again?”

“Which ‘that’? Perform what?”

Fu Ziqing looked confused.

“You know, the one from lunchtime…”

As Ming Zhong spoke, he reached out and rubbed his own stomach, chuckling.

“Tummy, tummy, go away, don’t grow fat today!”

The smile on his face grew wider and wider.

“Hmph~”

Fu Ziqing pressed her lips together, emitting a rather menacing sound.

Yet, the smile on Ming Zhong’s face showed no sign of fading. In fact, the look in his eyes, as he gazed at Fu Ziqing, betrayed a subtle hint of enjoyment.

“I told you, my grandmother taught me that…”

As Fu Ziqing mentioned it, she realized it was entirely a trick to appease small children. Using it on a youth like Ming Zhong only made her seem childish.

Consequently, her expression grew even fiercer as she threatened Ming Zhong,

“You dare mock me? Believe it or not, I’ll eat you!”

“I’m not mocking you, Senior Sister.”

Ming Zhong’s smile softened.

“Then why are you still smiling!”

Fu Ziqing bared her teeth, having already decided to teach this presumptuous boy a lesson.

Without a single visible movement from her, a silent, invisible force enveloped Ming Zhong.

“I just find it… very cute.”

The force abruptly dissipated.

“Very cute?!”

Fu Ziqing’s eyes widened, her voice rising in pitch.

“Cute.”

Ming Zhong repeated, a smile playing on his lips.

“Even now.”

Fu Ziqing’s expression grew even colder.

She said nothing, simply staring at Ming Zhong with such icy intensity that his scalp began to prickle.

Did I say something wrong?

It was just a normal compliment for a girl… Does it not work on a female ghost?

A sense of panic began to stir in Ming Zhong’s heart.

“Senior Sister…”

After a prolonged silence, Ming Zhong couldn’t help but call out cautiously.

Fu Ziqing’s expression remained glacial, her tone devoid of any inflection.

“Don’t move.”

Ming Zhong immediately gripped the tree trunk tightly, freezing in place.

Fu Ziqing, her face utterly expressionless, extended a hand towards Ming Zhong’s cheek.

The pale palm slowly drew nearer to Ming Zhong’s face.

Ming Zhong wasn’t afraid; he knew Senior Sister wouldn’t harm him. Yet, a slight regret lingered in his heart.

It would be even better if Senior Sister’s expression wasn’t so cold…

Just as Fu Ziqing’s palm neared Ming Zhong’s cheek, it suddenly halted.

The next instant, her hand clenched into a fist.

Ming Zhong’s eyes widened, his gaze darting to the delicate, pale fist, and a fresh wave of panic washed over him.

Then, from the small fist, a slender, jade-like index finger suddenly extended, pointing at his face.

Ming Zhong looked at Fu Ziqing with a puzzled expression.

Fu Ziqing remained expressionless. Her index finger, poised before Ming Zhong’s face, gently poked forward.

The fingertip pressed into Ming Zhong’s cheek.

“Hmm?”

Ming Zhong blinked his eyes again.

Fu Ziqing frowned slightly, her finger slowly withdrawing from Ming Zhong’s cheek.

Then, the finger poked in again, withdrew, and poked in once more.

“Oh~”

Fu Ziqing’s expression finally shifted, revealing a hint of surprise.

“How is it? Do you feel anything?”

Her fingertip continued to move in and out of Ming Zhong’s face.

Ming Zhong, also slightly surprised, said,

“Yes, I feel it. It’s cool.”

He then asked Fu Ziqing,

“What about you, Senior Sister? Do you feel anything?”

“Hmm…”

Fu Ziqing pondered for a moment, then said,

“It feels warm, yet not quite. Still, I’m certain my fingertip is touching something.”

Ming Zhong suddenly exclaimed with an exaggerated expression,

“Whoa! Senior Sister must have poked my brain!”

“Is your brain located below your face?”

The corners of Fu Ziqing’s lips curved upward slightly.

She then stated with more certainty,

“It’s likely your spiritual body.”

“Hmm.”

Ming Zhong nodded, then asked, puzzled,

“Last night, it wasn’t possible at all. How can you suddenly touch it now?”

Fu Ziqing knew he was referring to their first meeting last night, when he pretended not to see her and walked straight through her.

“It’s not quite ‘touching’ in the complete sense, though.”

As Fu Ziqing spoke, her finger continued to poke forward.

“I’ll try poking a bit deeper. If you feel anything wrong, just call out.”

“Okay.”

Thus, Fu Ziqing’s hand poked deeper and deeper until her entire hand passed through Ming Zhong’s head.

Throughout this process, Ming Zhong made no sound.

Fu Ziqing’s hand encountered some resistance, but ultimately, it passed through with relative ease.

“How does it feel?”

Fu Ziqing inquired.

Ming Zhong carefully recalled and then thoroughly felt the sensation, saying,

“Still cool.”

Then, his eyebrow twitched as he added,

“And a bit heady.”

Fu Ziqing immediately withdrew her hand from Ming Zhong’s head, sensing that her actions likely had some effect on his spiritual body.

She then said,

“See? It’s like this. While there’s a certain tactile sensation, it’s still not a complete touch.”

Ming Zhong looked thoughtful, recalling his experience from the previous night. After a moment, he said,

“Now that I think about it, when I passed through Senior Sister’s body last night, I did feel a chill throughout my entire body. I thought it was just fear… So, Senior Sister, you actually noticed something back then, didn’t you?”

“Not at all. I was too busy being happy at the time.”

Fu Ziqing said casually.

Ming Zhong asked,

“Were you very happy to see me, Senior Sister?”

Fu Ziqing corrected him.

“It wasn’t because I saw you that I was happy. It was because I realized you could see me that I was happy, understand?”

“You wouldn’t know, but after being dead for twenty years, I hadn’t met a single person who could see ghosts. There were plenty of people in that dorm building before, but they couldn’t see me or hear me speak, so scaring them was no fun at all.”

“So tell me, when I found someone who could see me and hear me, shouldn’t I be happy?”

Fu Ziqing began to ramble.

For a moment, Ming Zhong was utterly bewildered.

“I’m asking you a question! Do you think I should be happy or not?”

Seeing no reaction from Ming Zhong, Fu Ziqing asked again.

“You should…”

Ming Zhong nodded blankly.

So, Senior Sister just finds people like me, who can see ghosts, more interesting to scare… Come to think of it, Senior Sister has already scared me twice just this afternoon.

And here I am, actively coming to find her. Isn’t that just delivering myself to her doorstep?

I have a feeling my future days might be a bit rough…

Ming Zhong glanced at Fu Ziqing, wondering if it was too late to back out now.

But then he reconsidered: Actually, Senior Sister… sometimes she’s quite agreeable.

If she likes to scare people, then let her scare them. The more I get scared, the more immune I’ll become, and it’ll even toughen me up.

Thinking that way, it doesn’t seem like such a bad deal after all.

“What are you spacing out about?”

Fu Ziqing reached out and poked Ming Zhong’s face.

The cool touch brought Ming Zhong back to reality. He simply smiled, remaining silent.

Fu Ziqing floated out from among the flower branches, drifting before Ming Zhong. She stared at him and said,

“You’re quite something, kid. Not only can you see ghosts, but your spiritual body is also quite unique. You can even have out-of-body experiences. Could your ancestors have been ghost catchers?”

Ming Zhong pondered for a moment before replying,

“To my knowledge, no. Of course, it’s possible my elders kept it from me. I’ll have to find a chance to go back and ask them properly.”

Fu Ziqing said,

“I think even if they weren’t, there must be some connection to ghost catching.”

As she spoke, Fu Ziqing suddenly floated backward, distancing herself from Ming Zhong. She said cautiously,

“No, I need to stay further away from you.”

Ming Zhong found it amusing.

“Don’t worry, Senior Sister. Even if my ancestors were ghost catchers, how could I possibly dare to catch you?”

“You never know.”

Fu Ziqing chuckled as well, realizing it was just a joke. She then floated down towards the base of the tree, teasing,

“Daoist Priest Ming, let’s go! Time to catch some ghosts!”

“Haha! Hey, Senior Sister, wait for me…”

Fu Ziqing floated down effortlessly, while Ming Zhong had to cling to the tree trunk, carefully sliding down inch by inch.

He dared not be careless; if his grip faltered and he slid down too quickly, he might end up with torn pants.

Once he landed on the flat ground, Fu Ziqing smiled at him.

“Please lead the way, Daoist Priest Ming.”

Ming Zhong brushed the dirt from his clothes.

He then lowered his gaze in thought, recalling places where he had recently seen ghosts, and set off in a certain direction.

Fu Ziqing followed him.

Walking beside Ming Zhong, Fu Ziqing noticed his face quickly breaking into a smile again, and she frowned, asking,

“What are you laughing about now?”

“Haha!”

At her words, Ming Zhong seemed to recall something amusing and burst out laughing.

“I just remembered a saying.”

“What?”

“The ghost crying ‘catch the ghost’.”

After saying this, Ming Zhong laughed again.

Fu Ziqing paused, then a soft smile also graced her lips.

That evening.

One person, one ghost.

Ventured out to catch ghosts.