She Makes Me Believe in Science - Chapter 28

“Huh?” Song Qian didn’t understand what she meant.

Liu Changsheng stopped talking, closing her eyes once more to fiddle with the Buddhist beads in her hand, though the relaxed set of her features suggested she was currently in a very good mood.

The sun hadn’t set yet, and the group sat gathered in Wang Dachuan’s courtyard. Qi Buyu was the most talkative, and it didn’t take long for her to reveal everything about herself, she owned several buildings and collected over a hundred thousand yuan in rent every month.

This woman was an overt socialite. The reason Liu Changsheng accompanied her was because the wealthy Qi Buyu had paid a massive sum to have her tag along for her travels. When Song Qian and the others ran into Liu Changsheng on the train last time, she had been on her way to meet this generous patron.

Lin Qing and Song Qian exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with the exact same level of envy. They both really wanted to be sponsored by a rich lady.

“Why aren’t you afraid?” Lin Qing asked.

Qi Buyu looked at him. “About what?”

Lin Qing pointed at Wang Dachuan lying near the doorway. Most people would have covered their eyes in fear and kept their distance seeing him like that, but from last night until now, Qi Buyu hadn’t shown a single trace of dread. Instead, she had been looking around with curiosity, as if she were actually on a sightseeing tour.

Qi Buyu let out a couple of cheerful laughs before rummaging through her pockets, pulling out a pile of items and laying them out in front of the group.

Lin Qing’s eyes widened, and he nearly cursed out loud when he saw what she produced.

Everything Qi Buyu pulled out had been consecrated. The talismans were the least of it, there were Buddhist beads, bracelets, a finger-length peach-wood sword, and even Five Emperor Coins.

No wonder she wasn’t afraid. With all these items on her, what spirit would dare come near her unless they had a death wish? Besides, she currently had a powerful protector like Liu Changsheng by her side.

“Where… where did you get all this?”

Qi Buyu packed her things away with a grand air. “Most of them were gifts, some I bought.”

Leaving aside the gifts, buying these items must have cost a fortune.

Lin Qing couldn’t tear his envious gaze away. It seemed his organization was just too poor, he even had to buy his own talisman paper.

“Besides, I’ve been able to see them since I was a kid. After all these years, I’ve just gotten used to it.”

“You can see them?” Song Qian had assumed she was blind to the supernatural. She glanced at Ji Wuxin, who looked just as surprised as she was.

Qi Buyu smiled at her, her eyes darting between Song Qian and Ji Wuxin. Then, out of nowhere, she remarked, “You two make a lovely couple.”

The dark, heavy sky slowly pressed down on them. Song Qian looked up, tonight’s weather didn’t look very promising.

The wind carried a chill, and Qi Buyu leaned closer to Liu Changsheng, staring thoughtfully at her black trench coat.

“Are you cold?”

Liu Changsheng was busy chanting with her eyes closed. She couldn’t see Qi Buyu eyeing her coat. “I’m not.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Qi Buyu started tugging at the coat. “Well, I am. Lend me your jacket.”

Liu Changsheng, usually cold and composed, had never been stripped like this before. She snapped her eyes open and clutched her coat in a panic. “What are you doing!?”

Qi Buyu seemed confused by the overreaction. “I’m cold, and you said you weren’t. What’s wrong with letting me borrow your coat?”

Liu Changsheng clutched herself tightly and moved a bit further away, as if Qi Buyu were some kind of perverted groper.

“Liu Changsheng!” Qi Buyu pouted. Whether it was from anger or the wind, her eyes grew misty as if she were about to burst into tears.

Liu Changsheng, who had been about to walk away, paused and moved back to Qi Buyu’s side. She reached out and pulled the girl into her embrace, wrapping the trench coat around both of them until they were bundled tight.

Song Qian’s eyes went wide. Wait, you can do that?

She wasn’t sure if she was just projecting, but Song Qian suddenly felt like she was witnessing a major “ship” moment.

The couple was right there, huddled together in a single coat. Song Qian couldn’t help but giggle to herself.

Ji Wuxin, watching Song Qian grin happily at the other two, felt a surge of annoyance. She stepped forward to block Song Qian’s view, looking displeased. “What are you looking at!?”

The smile vanished from Song Qian’s face the second she saw the pale, ghostly visage. She pursed her lips in disappointment.

Ji Wuxin: “?” What’s that supposed to mean?

Feeling slighted, Ji Wuxin cupped Song Qian’s face and forced her to look at her. Her voice was icy. “Look! At! Me!”

Song Qian’s face was squished, her cheeks puffing out so that her mouth was a tiny “o.” She struggled to speak clearly. “Are you… crazy?”

Ji Wuxin understood. She narrowed her eyes as she realized something was off. How long had it been? Song Sensen actually had the nerve to insult her so casually.

The cold night wind blew in gusts, making the hem of Ji Wuxin’s red dress flutter like a blooming flower. Her black hair whipped around wildly, making her truly look the part of a powerful malevolent spirit.

Song Qian pulled her hands away and rubbed her aching cheeks. She was about to argue with Ji Wuxin when a face-full of wind-blown hair hit her.

“Pah, pah, pah!”

Song Qian brushed the hair aside, but when she looked up, Ji Wuxin was gone. Liu Changsheng and Qi Buyu were watching her quietly.

She ran off?

Song Qian touched the jade at her chest. It was still there, but it was icy cold, Ji Wuxin wasn’t inside.

Song Qian thought to herself, I’m the one who should be mad, why is she throwing a tantrum? What a petty ghost.

When Lin Qing finished setting up the soul-summoning array and returned, he found only two people where there had been four.

“Wait, where’s Song Qian?”

Liu Changsheng said nothing, continuing to chant. Qi Buyu poked her head out from the embrace and winked at Lin Qing. “She went to go soothe that ghost sister.”

Qi Buyu didn’t know Ji Wuxin was a Jade Spirit, she just assumed she was a ghost following Song Qian around.

A ghost story of lingering love, how beautiful, she thought.

Lin Qing gave an “Ah” and didn’t ask further. With Senior Liu Changsheng here tonight, they probably wouldn’t need the Jade Spirit’s help anyway.

Song Qian did indeed go looking for Ji Wuxin. She walked the path from Wang Dachuan’s house to her grandmother’s place, but seeing no sign of the ghost, she just went home.

When she arrived, she found Grandma Song still awake. Song Qian let out a yawn. “Grandma, why aren’t you in bed?”

Grandma Song had been sitting there lost in thought, but she stood up immediately to grab Song Qian’s hand. “Sensen.”

“What is it, Grandma?”

Seeing her grandmother’s unusual seriousness, Song Qian couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.

Grandma Song’s gaze swept the air around Song Qian before she asked hesitantly, “Is she… with you?”

“She?” Song Qian froze. Then her brain caught up. Her grandmother must be talking about Ji Wuxin. Grandma actually knows!!

Recalling what Uncle Ji had said earlier that day, a tidal wave of shock crashed over Song Qian. So, Grandma knew about the jade, too.

Grandma Song’s grip was so tight it was starting to hurt. Song Qian frowned slightly. She had rarely seen her grandmother lose control like this.

“She’s not? But your Uncle Ji said you could see her now.” Grandma Song was agitated, her eyes brimming with tears. She looked at Song Qian with a mix of anticipation and the terror of facing a crushing disappointment.

“She’s not here right now.”

Upon hearing this, Grandma Song’s entire body went limp. She released the pressure on Song Qian’s hand. “That’s good, that’s good.”

“Grandma,” Song Qian pulled the jade from her shirt. “This jade…”

She didn’t finish the sentence. She was waiting for her grandmother to provide an answer. Since both she and Uncle Ji knew about Ji Wuxin’s existence, they surely knew she resided within the jade.

Grandma Song’s eyes suddenly grew hazy, as if she were looking back through time.

How long had it been? Nearly ten years? Grandma Song couldn’t remember exactly, she only remembered the year her little granddaughter had suddenly fallen ill. Everyone called it a cold affliction, but no medicine could cure it. The little girl’s face grew thinner and thinner until she was barely recognizable. Grandma Song had even sought out the town’s spirit medium, who claimed her granddaughter had a cursed fate and wouldn’t survive the month. Grandma Song had cursed the woman out and spat on her doorstep. That damn fraud saying her Sensen only had a few days left!

Grandma Song had returned home crying. At the time, Song Qian’s parents were trapped away on business regarding a fire case and couldn’t return. Grandma Song looked at little Sensen’s dark, hollow eyes and cried as she held the girl’s hands all night to keep them warm.

Little Sensen grew weaker. Grandma Song had already prepared herself to go with her, but that afternoon, Ji Jiusheng showed up. Grandma Song remembered it clearly, the young man from out of town was unshaven and looked like he hadn’t slept for days. He was practically drifting as he walked, clutching something tightly in his hand.

He said, “I can save your granddaughter.”

“Was the thing Uncle Ji brought… this jade?” Song Qian placed the jade in her palm.

Grandma Song nodded, wiping away a tear. “It was Little Ji who brought this jade to save you.”

“Little Ji told me later that he was at his wit’s end, and it just so happened that you were so ill at the time,” Grandma Song said, her words a bit cryptic.

Song Qian didn’t understand.

“Little Ji came to Weishui Village over ten years ago. Back then, the villagers only knew there was a newcomer, but no one knew what he looked like.” Grandma Song stroked Song Qian’s hand as if she were touching a priceless treasure. Her gaze toward Song Qian had always been warm and kind, this was her most precious Sensen.

“Later, Little Ji told me he had been hiding in that house because he wanted to ‘awaken the spirit’ of his sister.”

“Sister? Awaken a spirit?” Song Qian only knew what Lin Qing had told her about all things being able to manifest a spirit, but could a person do it too?

“His favorite younger sister had passed away. He couldn’t accept the reality, so he stole his master’s secret text and hid here to research how to awaken her spirit.”

“He kept his sister’s soul here for nearly ten years, but he never succeeded.”

A suspicion began to form in Song Qian’s mind. Then she heard her grandmother say, “Until one time, you were being naughty and went to play in front of his house. You tripped and fell at his doorstep. You wouldn’t stop crying, so he had no choice but to bring you inside and give you candy to soothe you.”

As Grandma Song spoke, she seemed to recall the image of Song Qian crying with her mouth wide open as a child, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Song Qian blushed. “I don’t remember any of that.”

“It was that day that Little Ji succeeded in merging his sister’s soul with the nascent Jade Spirit. He discovered later it was because a drop of your blood had touched the jade.”

So that means…

“Ji Wuxin is Uncle Ji’s sister!?” Song Qian stood up in shock.

“Ji Wuxin? Is that what the girl calls herself now?” Grandma Song nodded with a smile. “I’ll remember that.”

“Sensen, you have to treat her well.”

Song Qian:  Grandma, what’s with that tone?

“Then I should give the jade back to Uncle Ji.” How could she keep something so valuable?

Hearing this, Grandma Song swatted her hand away and glared at her. “How could you say such a thing!?”

“You don’t want the girl to follow you?”

“Huh?” Song Qian was stunned by the scolding.

“I’m telling you! You keep that jade on you at all times. You can lose yourself, but you cannot lose that jade!” Grandma Song shoved the jade back into her hands. “If you ever mention giving it back again, don’t bother coming home.”

“A daughter married off is like water poured out. Since she’s followed you, you have to treat her right.”

Song Qian felt like she was hearing something world-altering. “Married???”

She was still a single young woman, who exactly was she married to?

Grandma Song frowned deeply, looking at Song Qian as if she were a heartless cad who had abandoned a poor girl. “The fact that you can see her now proves you’ve nourished her into her true form. You already have a ‘marital reality’ together.”

“No, no, no, no, no…” Song Qian’s face was bright red as she shook her head so hard her neck threatened to snap. “Grandma, you’ve got it all wrong. I haven’t.”

The most she and Ji Wuxin had done was a few kisses. There was no “marital reality.”

This was all a huge mess.

Grandma Song gave her one last look before heading toward her bedroom. Her final parting shot left Song Qian stunned so deeply she wouldn’t be able to sleep for three days.

“Anyway, she’s your wife. Don’t go fooling around. Our Song family has never had a single case of infidelity.”

Song Qian felt as if her brain had been struck by lightning. She stood frozen on the spot.

Wife…

Ji Wuxin is her wife…