Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)-Chapter 299: The Hardworking Female Ghosts

“You said the town mayor knows about this. Do you dare to come with us to see him?” Li Haoran didn’t believe their ghostly nonsense, hoping to see a trace of fear in their expressions.

Unfortunately, he saw none.

The four humans and three ghosts waited the entire night in the dilapidated temple. As the sky began to turn bright, with the moon emitting a soft glow and gradually transitioning into the sun, they set off to visit the town mayor.

Guhuai Town was famous for its locust trees. They could be seen everywhere, and most were up in years. The thickest old locust tree was so massive that even three Lu Yangs couldn’t wrap their arms around it.

The white-robed ghost, who called herself Little Seven, told them that this ancient locust tree was over a thousand years old, older than the town itself.

Locust trees were of a yin nature, so the entire town had a gloomy atmosphere with cool weather, making it an excellent summer retreat.

Among the towns Lu Yang had been to, Guhuai Town could be considered the largest. Moreover, Guhuai Town appeared to be flourishing, with a momentum that seemed likely to carry into the future.

~~~

After the four announced their identities at the yamen, the town mayor quickly came out to greet them. He was somewhat portly and wore a cheerful smile for everyone. “I didn’t expect Daoists from the Dao-Seeking Sect to come here. My apologies for not welcoming you properly.” The town mayor displayed a humble attitude.

Lu Yang noticed that the town mayor was at the Advanced Foundation Establishment Stage.

When the town mayor spotted the three female ghosts behind the four, his expression changed slightly, but he soon composed himself and introduced himself politely, “My surname is Fan, and my full name is Fan Guiren.[1] You can call me Little Fan.

“Please, come in.”

“You’re too polite, Town Mayor Fan.” Lu Yang took a sip of the tea Town Mayor Fan had poured and nodded slightly.

Mmm, I can’t tell what kind of tea this is.

“Town Mayor Fan, you probably know why we’re here. We wish to understand the full story of these three female ghosts.”

“As I thought.” Town Mayor Fan’s head drooped dejectedly. To be honest, I don’t really want to discuss this matter, but since the people from the Dao-Seeking Sect have asked me, it’s not like I can refuse them.

Lu Yang went straight to the point. “Are you aware that these three female ghosts are absorbing human yang energy, Town Mayor Fan?”

“Yes, I am. Back then, a traveler came to report a case of female ghosts absorbing human yang energy in the abandoned temple outside the town. After hearing about it, I thought it was a serious matter and immediately led people there to investigate.

“Only when we arrived at the temple did I learn that Little Seven and the other two ghosts weren’t the kind of wicked ghosts that drain people’s yang energy all at once. Instead, they are good ghosts with no intention of harming humans.

“At that time, Guhuai Town wasn’t as bustling as it is today. I wanted to develop the tourism industry to increase the town’s income, but a bunch of locust trees alone couldn’t attract visitors.

“That was when I thought of the female ghosts. Worried about potential complications, I even checked the laws and found that while it was prohibited for female ghosts to cause harm to humans or disrupt their lives through absorbing yang energy, absorbing yang energy itself wasn’t completely banned.

“Since female ghosts absorbing yang energy isn’t considered prostitution, that means that travelers don’t even have to pay. Furthermore, the tax regulations don’t mention that ghosts absorbing yang energy are required to pay taxes.

“After repeated deliberation, I decided to use the female ghosts as a gimmick to promote Guhuai Town. And you know what? It worked pretty well. Many travelers came to seek romantic encounters with beautiful women, and the town’s income visibly surged. Local finances were on an upswing, the commandery rewarded us, and I became well-off, allowing me to advance to the Advanced Foundation Establishment Stage smoothly.

“Originally, the commandery had intentions to promote me, but being the town mayor here, I get plenty of food, drinks, and spirit stones, which is better than being a subordinate in the commandery, so I declined. Even if I get promoted to the commandery, it’ll have to wait until I reach the Golden Core Stage.” Town Mayor Fan had a clear plan for his political career.

The three female ghosts nodded repeatedly, expressing that they were innocent and good ghosts.

“Wait, if this is a good thing, who reported it to our sect and said there were female ghosts here?” Meng Jingzhou was puzzled.

The Dao-Seeking Sect didn’t uncover this mission themselves; someone had reported it to them.

A competitor?

This industry has competitors?

Town Mayor Fan was also surprised. He had thought that Lu Yang and the other two had just happened to pass by, discovered the female ghosts, and decided to subdue them.

How could it have been reported?

“Town Mayor Fan, do you have any leads?”

“Not yet... By the way, could I ask what the mission description reads?”

“It mentioned that there are female ghosts absorbing human yang energy in Guhuai Town, causing scholars to become lethargic and listless.”

Town Mayor Fan’s expression became peculiar.

“Town Mayor Fan, do you know what’s going on?”

Town Mayor Fan nodded. “Scholar Zhou[2] has a son, whom everyone calls Little Zhou. Little Zhou’s academic performance is average, and he’s failed the xiucai[3] scholar exam several times.

“But Little Zhou’s mother always thought it was because her son kept visiting the female ghosts, which distracted him and made him too lethargic to study properly. Little Zhou’s mother came looking for me, hoping I would punish the female ghosts, but everyone knew Little Zhou’s academic level. He’s naturally playful and can’t focus on studying. It had nothing to do with the female ghosts.

“I simply thought she was being unreasonable and ignored her. After Little Zhou’s mother left, a few others blamed the female ghosts for their children’s failure to pass the imperial exams, but I refuted them all.

“I didn’t expect they’d be so persistent and report this to the Dao-Seeking Sect.”

Town Mayor Fan sighed. “Little Seven and the others have already tried their best.”

Little Seven chimed in. “We three sisters were afraid this matter would blow up and attract the attention of the righteous sects, so we invited the underperforming scholars in town to the temple to offer them lessons. Since the three of us were from scholarly families when we were alive, teaching them was not a problem at all.

“If they studied well, they’d get rewards. If they didn’t, they’d get nothing. Under this reward and punishment scheme, their grades improved tremendously.”

Lu Yang sized up the three female ghosts. The red-robed ghost’s lips are as swollen as sausages, so I’ll leave her aside for now.

The white-robed and cyan-robed ghosts are both attractive and dressed lightly, each with their distinct charm. How could those scholars focus on studying?

Oh right, if they didn’t study, they wouldn’t get rewards.

“The scholars were also willing to study in this manner. Take yesterday, for example. The once-in-a-decade downpour turned the day as dark as night. Yet, Little Zhou and the others still braved the rain to attend our lectures. They kept studying until the rain stopped, finally leaving the temple mentally and physically exhausted.

“Who would have thought that despite all our efforts, their parents still reported us?” Life is too tough. It doesn’t matter whether you’re alive or dead.

Lu Yang summarized, “So, during the day, you run a private school and teach students, and at night, you wander the town and absorb yang energy at inns?”

“That’s right.”

Lu Yang and the other two felt ashamed. The female ghosts are even more diligent than us.

Qin Yanyan listened in amazement. So this is what ghosts are like?

Little Seven continued, “Not just that. We have to hand over seventy percent of the yang energy we absorb. Only thirty percent is ours to keep.”

“Hmm? Who do you hand it over to?” Lu Yang was bewildered. The imperial court doesn’t need yang energy.

“It’s our superior. We call him Lord Mi. Lord Mi also mentioned that there’s some treasure left behind by some previous creed leader in Guhuai Town and told us to keep an eye out for it.”

1. The “guiren” here literally means a noble or a person of high rank. For a moment, I did a double take and wondered whether it was his name or title. ☜

2. Although it is translated as “scholar” in English, there are in fact many levels to scholars, and their titles also changed throughout the dynasties. The one here refers to a scholar who has passed the commandery-level examinations. ☜

3. This is the more specific term I was talking about in the footnote before this. ☜