The first book in the Master of Mischief series Who Am I

Chapter 3

“The meridians are very complex, and I can’t explain them clearly in a short time. You can channel your energy to your arm and release it from your palm. As for the scriptures, you may have heard people recite the White-Robed Guanyin Scripture or the Heart Sutra.”

"Ha, I memorized the Heart Sutra. I used it when I was a kid watching 'Journey to the West'. It was the one Master Wuchao taught Tang Sanzang. There's a line in the sutra that says 'Form is emptiness, emptiness is form,' which is a bit famous and a bit intimidating, so I memorized it. I never thought it would come in handy."

So I began to exert my power.

In order to eat dinner as soon as possible and go to bed to read and sleep, I concentrated my mind and tried to focus on the surging spiritual energy in my dantian. Sure enough, I could feel it and it slowly stirred with my thoughts. However, I found that the spiritual energy in my dantian was like a vast ocean, while my will was simply insignificant.

A surge of spiritual energy, guided by my will, rose rapidly from my dantian along an unknown path, meandering up my arm before bursting out like lightning from a certain acupoint in my palm.

I heard a dozen faint hissing sounds. It turned out that the undead kneeling on the ground had vanished without a trace after my white light passed by.

"Ha, I did it! So you can perform a ritual for the deceased without chanting scriptures." I looked at my miraculous arm in disbelief. "Xiaoling, Zhu'er, teacher, aren't I amazing!"

"Ugh—" they made a vomiting gesture. "Don't get too cocky yet, let's hear what Sister Ghost has to say!"

"The master used too much force and scattered their souls. Fortunately, it was a benevolent act, otherwise they would have vanished into thin air and never been reborn."

"Hehe, it's not my fault, it's just that Master Ghost's skills are too poor," I said sheepishly, trying to defend myself. Seeing the female necromancer lower her head in grievance, looking pitiful, I quickly added, "It's not entirely your fault either—I know, I have to use the meridians to regulate the amount of spiritual energy, but you don't even know that, so what am I supposed to do?"

At this moment, the group of dark figures reappeared one after another, but this time they knelt down at a distance and dared not approach again. It's true that once bitten by a snake, even a ghost is afraid of a rope!

---janeadam

Reply [12]: Chapter Six: Salvation

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I quickly apologized to the undead that had almost been harmed by my blundering spell.

"Alright, now you know I can't do it! It's too late, but I'm fine. My students can't go hungry; they're still growing. Here's what we'll do: Miss Ghost, you need to think of a solution for me. Think about it for a year or two, and then we'll proceed with the great work of exorcising them."

Without a word, I was about to leave. But no matter which way I turned, the female necromancer Lin Caifeng immediately appeared in front of me and knelt down, taking advantage of my kind nature and reluctance to harm her.

"Teacher, I'm not hungry, please help them!" Wang Zhuer grabbed me, she didn't want to miss such a good opportunity, "I also want to learn, and be your assistant."

"Me too!" Xiaoling insisted.

I was furious. "I'm not teaching witchcraft, so how are you going to charge me for this?"

"And you're still talking! Xiaoling serves you tea and water every day, and I sweep the floor and collect your homework every day, treating you like a maid. How do you calculate this?" Zhu'er puffed out her chest and faced me with righteous indignation. Meanwhile, Xiaoling looked even more pitiful than Miss Ghost.

I sighed deeply. I never imagined that students could be more troublesome than ghosts. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to accept it!

"Don't go yet, sir, I've got an idea." Miss Ghost's voice echoed in my mind again.

I was overjoyed: "Tell me quickly, keep it brief, I'm very busy."

“Just use your protective spiritual energy, sir. Last time I got close, your protective spiritual energy automatically opened and knocked me away, but it didn’t hurt my spirit. Try amplifying your protective spiritual energy, covering the center with it, and then chanting scriptures to change the spiritual energy from defense to blessing and repair.”

"Wonderful!" So, following the situation of that day, I concentrated my mind and continuously expanded the spiritual energy in my dantian by radiating it throughout my body. However, I could only expand it to two meters, and I could not expand it any further. Moreover, this form of radiating energy throughout my body was a bit strenuous for me. While radiating energy, I recited the Heart Sutra.

Luckily, I have a good memory, and I managed to read it aloud without missing a single word.

At this moment, the protective spiritual energy, which was originally spear-shaped, turned into a fluffy mass.

After that, Miss Ghost was the first to enter my protective aura, followed by all the undead. Xiao Ling and Zhu'er stayed close to me and saw the undead that came in, which became lifelike in the aura, some even incomplete and teetering on the verge of collapse. They couldn't help but hug my arm tightly.

I continued chanting the scriptures.

“When Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva practices the profound Prajnaparamita, he illuminates the five aggregates and sees that they are all empty, thus transcending all suffering and distress. Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is emptiness, emptiness is form.”

I discovered that my protective aura, as I continued chanting, changed from white to golden yellow. The undead spirits swirled and rose under my chanting, fireflies flew around, and black impurities were occasionally absorbed into the aura, landing on the undead spirits and making them whole and fixed.

Xiaoling and Zhu'er were stunned and gradually relaxed their grip.

A full quarter of an hour passed, and I was drenched in sweat. As usual, Xiaoling naturally took out her little handkerchief and gently wiped my sweat, while asking Miss Ghost for me, "Are you done yet?"

Suddenly, I noticed that the previously tense spiritual energy relaxed, and all the undead revealed smiles.

"Alright, sir, you can stop now. They can fly across and reincarnate on their own."

I immediately stopped channeling my psychic power, and all the golden light automatically receded into my body. After my rites of passage, the dozen or so undead spirits became whole again, radiating a thin layer of pale light.

After they knelt before me, they all quickly soared into the sky, rising straight up, growing smaller and smaller until they were just faint fireflies. Once they reached a certain height, they all shot off like meteors in the due north direction until they disappeared.

But I discovered that one of the ghosts hadn't left, and it was the most troublesome one.

"Hey, Miss Ghost, why aren't you leaving yet? Hurry up and be reincarnated as a human!" I was truly earnest in my advice, even more sincere than when I was persuading a student to study hard.

“If I wanted to reincarnate, I could have done it thirty years ago. But I have important matters to attend to and cannot simply be reborn to live a miserable life. If I were to leave, what would happen to the five hundred vengeful spirits in the village? Moreover, every day, the earthly branches complete a cycle of reincarnation, and the spirits would inexplicably become filled with resentment and lose their minds, causing them to torture and kill the villagers of Gantian Village. This is the real reason why a plague broke out in Gantian Village one hundred and twenty years ago, and the entire village was almost wiped out.”

"The cycle of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches should be sixty years."

"Yes, not many people lived in Gantian Village for the last sixty years, so they didn't know about what happened. Most of the current villagers are original residents who returned from working in other places thirty years ago, or those who moved from other places."

"Why is this happening? Such horrific things don't happen anywhere else!"

"I don't know the specific reason, but I do know that 120 years ago, a Taoist priest came to the village and said that the location of the Lin Clan Ancestral Hall was bad and had ruined the feng shui. The clan chief listened to him and moved the foundation of the ancestral hall back two meters and changed its direction. As a result, on the fifteenth day of the ninth month of that year, all 500 people in the village, young and old, went mad and convulsed, foaming at the mouth, and soon died one by one. Now that I am a ghost, I know that they were actually possessed by evil spirits and committed suicide."

---janeadam

Reply [13]: "How tragic, how terrifying!" Miss Ghost was very strategic. While speaking to me, she also transmitted her telepathic abilities to my students in order to gain their sympathy. Sure enough, Xiao Ling and Zhu'er screamed.

"Xiaoling, what date is it now?"

"Tuesday, October 7th. I don't know the lunar calendar date."

"Next Thursday is the fifteenth of the ninth lunar month. Only you, sir, can save everyone and deliver all the souls from the dead. Please, sir, have mercy on us, I beg you!" Miss Ghost said, kowtowing repeatedly.

It seems that people in ancient times were used to kowtowing, like kowtowing insects. Although I am not used to it, it doesn't bother me.

"Compassion is a virtue; how many sleeps are worth in compassion?"

"Fine, since you've caught me, and it involves so many people in the Lin family, both living and dead, I have no choice but to do it. But I know my own limitations. Just now, performing the ritual for a dozen or so good ghosts took a lot of effort, and I kept asking you for advice, and you still only half understood. You're no better than me. As for facing so many evil spirits, especially those that have lost their reason, I have absolutely no confidence. I don't want to lose my life." I paused for a moment.

“I’ll go with you. I have experience and I’ll be a big help to you!” Pearl raised her hand.

"No!" Miss Ghost and I said loudly at the same time. Of course, Pearl could only hear what I said. "I have to find the descendants of the Xiao family. They have been shamans for generations and have a great relationship with your Gantian Village. They will definitely help."

I don't want to tell them about my relationship with Xiaoqingzi yet.

The matter was settled. This weekend I will go to Yong'an Town in the neighboring county to find the descendants of the Xiao family, and then go with them to Gantian Village to cooperate in rescuing people and exorcising ghosts.

"Teacher, do you know how ugly you looked when you were performing the ritual for the deceased? Look at the movies, those sorcerers and high monks either wave their whisks, chant incantations, and look very dignified; or they put their hands together and look stern. Unlike you, you looked like a student reciting a book, with your hands hanging down and your eyes half-closed. You didn't look like a master at all!" Pearl shouted.

"I'm not a master to begin with! Besides, this kind of thing is useful as long as it works, it's not like I'm putting on a show."

“No, if teachers are looked down upon, students will lose face too. Tomorrow I’ll draft a plan for the poses and postures teachers use when casting spells, making you look extraordinary and able to subdue demons just by looking at you.” Xiaoling immediately made the decision.

"Alright, you guys, hurry home and report to your parents." With that, he walked away without another word.

"Alright, my dear ghost sister, you should get into your schoolbag and come home with me." Pearl said to the ghost as if she were talking to a pet, which made me and Miss Ghost both laugh and cry.

“Lin Caifeng needs to go back to the village and become our inside man,” I said.

"No, I have to keep it to supervise your work."

"Am I really that lacking in self-discipline? Do you all have so little faith in me?"

"Of course! And this weekend we're going to go with you to find the descendants of the Xiao family, otherwise I'll tell the other classmates that you know witchcraft and that you're spreading your beliefs everywhere."

"Do as you please. Anyway, Pearl, you're a big mouth, and nobody believes what you say."

"What about Xiaoling? She has far more authority in class and at school than you!"

"Wow, you guys are ruthless! You want to fire me?"

"It's not as bad as you think. We just care about you and don't want you to be lonely on your journey. With two beautiful girls keeping you company all the way, aren't you happy?"

"Oh my god!"

---janeadam

Reply [14]: Chapter Seven Yong'an Town

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Friday afternoon was a beautiful autumn day, perfect for a trip. I happened to be free from classes and, fearing that Xiaoling and Zhu'er would pester me to come along, I quietly packed my bags and boarded the bus to Mingning, a neighboring county.

Since Yu'er's accident, I haven't left the house for several years. Whenever the school organizes trips for Party members and Youth League members, I decline with various excuses. Having fun is not what I pursue; what I pursue is memories and endless dreams.

It was already evening when we arrived in Yong'an Town.

Actually, it's not too far from Ruli to Yong'an. According to the route, it should only take three hours to get there. However, I hadn't been out for several years, so I waited for the wrong bus and ended up changing buses three times and walking several kilometers of unnecessary distance. As a result, I set off at 1:30 pm and didn't catch the last bus from Mingning County to Yong'an Town until 9 pm, finally arriving safely at my destination.

Yong'an Town is very small. Although the buildings have undergone several years of new village construction, with rows of three-story brick buildings standing along the street, a large number of Ming and Qing dynasty residences are still scattered among them. Over the years, I have grown to love ancient buildings more and more. They can evoke nostalgia and even make me feel some things from my past life. I believe that God made me so lonely in this life, so I must have been happy and joyful in my past and future lives. I must have Yu'er with me, and we will grow old together.

There are probably very few people here, as there are only two guesthouses. The hotels on the street are in very poor condition, so I took my work ID and tried to see if I could get a room at the Forestry Guesthouse.

The forestry station is probably the wealthiest department in the township. Even the reception room looks clean and luxurious. Standing on the smooth bamboo steel floor, one feels comfortable and thinks that one can sleep peacefully and comfortably tonight. I am happy from the bottom of my heart.

"Are you Teacher Luo from Ruli No. 3 Middle School?" The receptionist, a very young and pretty lady, asked with a polite smile after looking at my ID.

“Yes, is there a problem? I just want to rent a guest room,” I said wearily.

"No problem, Station Chief Yao instructed that you are our VIP! Here are your keys." She smiled warmly, but I was completely baffled.

"I don't know your station manager?" I took the key, but I was too tired to listen to her answer. I picked up my backpack, pressed the door number on the key, and climbed up to the second floor. I'll take a shower and get some sleep first. I'll deal with whatever comes up tomorrow!

I opened the door and exclaimed, "Wow, a ghost!" Actually, I wasn't that surprised that I actually saw a ghost. What I saw were two little devils, Xiaoling and Zhu'er.

They looked like they had just taken a shower, wearing pajamas. One was drying her hair, while the other was eating snacks and flipping through documents.

"Teacher, why are you so late? I've been waiting for you for several hours. I even went to the town for a while and got some information from the police station."

"I should be asking you that too! How did you get here?! Did you skip class?!" I threw down my backpack and said sternly, turning around to close the door so that no one would hear anything they shouldn't.

"Wow—" I exclaimed again as Miss Ghost Lin Caifeng suddenly appeared. "Don't keep standing behind me. Ghosts are scary, they can scare people to death."

Miss Ghost made a face at me and said in my mind, "Sir broke his promise and didn't bring us with him to search. This concerns the lives of five hundred members of my family!"

“We didn’t skip class. We took a bus here as soon as school was over. Miss Ghost told us about this place in eerie and terrifying language. And coincidentally, Chief Yao of the Yong’an Town Forestry Station is an old classmate of my mother, so he received us,” Xiaoling said gently.

"Teacher, you must have suffered a lot. If you had brought us, it wouldn't have been so tiring. You must have forgotten, my dad works at the county long-distance bus company, and Xiaoling's mom is the office director of the Forestry Bureau. With a little excuse and some connections, we could have a smooth journey from Ruli to Yong'an, with food and lodging provided. Ha!"

"Little Pig, stop provoking Teacher Luo. Didn't you see he was starving and freezing, shivering in pain? Let him take a shower first, then we can go out for a midnight snack together!" Xiao Ling seemed a bit angry. While blowing her long, beautiful hair, she and Zhu'er teamed up to mock me. Her gentle words were full of barbs.

I ignored all that and shouted, "Miss Ghost, please stop wandering around! Your appearance is enough to scare a lot of people to death, especially wearing those tacky, bright red clothes. You look like a vengeful ghost who died unjustly. It's terrifying! From now on, get me a dress in a lighter color. And you all—"

This was the first time I'd seen them in their pajamas, and I realized that although they were only fourteen or fifteen, they were already quite voluptuous. Their oversized school uniforms didn't bother them much, but these soft pajamas accentuated their youthful, curvaceous figures, making them seem like they were already budding teenagers. I guess I'll have to be more careful about what I say and do to them in the future.

I continued my lecture, saying, "Wandering around in your pajamas is unbecoming. You should all go back to your own bedrooms."