IMGH Chapter 12

Raising a Ghost

As soon as Qiu Rui’s words left his mouth, Jiang Yi couldn’t help but burst out laughing!

The scene from TV dramas where bullies harassed innocent young ladies rose in his mind—when those young misses became furious from humiliation, the first sentence that invariably burst from their mouths was always “You shameless scoundrel!”

Jiang Yi wasn’t someone with a malicious heart; he just had some base tendencies in his nature and liked to make witty remarks to take advantage with his mouth.

Qiu Rui’s originally pale cheeks flushed with traces of red due to his anger, adding several touches of charming allure to his coldly beautiful countenance.

Jiang Yi couldn’t help but feel playful. His gaze became even more unbridled as he stared at Qiu Rui. Rubbing his chin, he clicked his tongue and said, “Not bad looking—what a pity you’re a man. Otherwise, this old man would marry you and bring you home!”

Qiu Rui felt that his lifetime of cultivation had been completely worn away to nothing after meeting this terrible man before his eyes. Although he was trembling with anger, he still maintained his proper composure, though his icy voice betrayed the fury in his heart.

“Say one more nonsensical thing and see if I don’t kill you!”

Jiang Yi walked up to stand before Qiu Rui and said with a grin, “Right now you have the intention but not the capability. Besides, I’m your keeper—if I die, what will you do?”

Qiu Rui’s frost-like beautiful face grew several degrees colder. He moved before Jiang Yi and stared at him coldly, the cold light shooting from his eyes slicing like blades at the man with the playful smile before him.

“I’m warning you—say one more word and you’ll regret it!”

Each word spoken with deliberate emphasis carried ice shards that immediately made Jiang Yi not dare show any more playful expression.

Jiang Yi had only been indulging in verbal banter. Seeing that Qiu Rui had become truly angry, he realized the joke had gone too far. Sticking out his tongue, he said, “It was just a joke—don’t be angry!”

Qiu Rui gave him a cold glance and floated back to the balcony, facing away from Jiang Yi to look at the scenery outside, clearly unwilling to exchange another half word with him.

Jiang Yi sheepishly touched his nose and muttered with a bitter smile in a low voice, “Sure enough, beauties all have fiery tempers. If I can’t provoke them, at least I can avoid them!”

Jiang Yi touched his deflated stomach and only then remembered that from morning until now he still hadn’t eaten anything. Having gone through such a fright, Jiang Yi decided to properly worship his temple of five organs. He rummaged through the refrigerator for food and went to the kitchen to start cooking.

Food from outside was either gutter oil or Shudan Red and a whole series of chemical ingredients mixed and soaked in—how could it compare to the cleanliness, hygiene, and safety of making it himself?

(TL: 舒丹紅 (Shū Dān Hóng) refers to a synthetic red dye or chemical coloring agent.)

Jiang Yi hummed a little tune as he washed and cut the vegetables. In no time at all, he had prepared several dishes—both meat and vegetables, complete with color, aroma, and taste.

He placed the dishes on the coffee table in the living room, only then remembering there was still a guest in the house.

Jiang Yi held his bowl, troubled.

Could Qiu Rui eat ordinary food?

As a competent keeper, he couldn’t let his pet go hungry. Jiang Yi thought for a moment, then put down his bowl and chopsticks and turned on the computer, deciding to consult the almighty Baidu.

After some searching, Jiang Yi suddenly understood—it turned out ghosts needed to eat incense and candles.

Fortunately, there were still some unused incense and candles left over from seeking divination at the City God Temple. Lighting them to feed Qiu Rui, Jiang Yi also felt he didn’t have such a great sense of guilt.

He dug out the incense and candles and lit them. Jiang Yi, worried that Qiu Rui wouldn’t have enough to eat, added several more sticks. Clapping his hands and looking with satisfaction at the smoke-filled living room, he called out to a certain ghost on the balcony. “Rui’er, time to eat!”

The corner of Qiu Rui’s mouth twitched on the balcony. He decided to ignore that certain person along with that goosebump-inducing form of address.

That certain person, however, had absolutely no self-awareness. Seeing that Qiu Rui had no reaction and thinking he hadn’t heard, he raised his voice and shouted again. “Rui’er, dinner’s ready! Come eat quickly, or you’ll go hungry!”