100 Ghost Collection

Ch 14~ Ghost Painting (Beginning)

Editor & Translator: Sonrisa t.n.t

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On a warm spring day of the third month, the weeping willow outside the Liu Family’s young lady’s boudoir was growing just fine and when the warm breeze swept across the water, it created layers of ripples. 

However, an angry figure stomped and smashed the courtyard. A maid in pink was shouting, running out of the courtyard: “Master! Master, it’s not good. The young lady is having a temper tantrum again!” Behind her were the sounds of broken porcelain vases and sad mournful cries. 

As the maid in pink turned the corner, her head collided into a man’s body. The latter calmly supported her and then politely withdrew. The maid panicked, looked up, and became momentarily mesmerized, a very beautiful… Taoist priest. 

Behind the man, there was a middle-age man scolding: “Stupid girl, how rude and impetuous! Why’re you blocking the way, let the Taoist priest go in!” 

At this time, the maid returned to her senses and timidly responded. The middle-aged man still wanted to scold, but the young Taoist priest waved his hand and said, “It’s okay.” His voice was soft and pleasant to hear, it carried a peaceful force that made one feel instant tranquility. The Taoist priest went around the maid and slowly entered the courtyard. A moment later, a porcelain cup was thrown out and smashed on the ground, and along with it came a woman’s shrill voice: “Get out! All of you get lost! There are ghosts here… There are ghosts!” 

When Jing Ning looked at Miss Liu’s face, his brows furrowed slightly. He took out a yellow talisman from inside his clothes. As he chanted incantations, he approached her.

The maid and Old Master Liu watched on nervously. They saw that Miss Liu’s expression gradually calmed down. When Jing Ning gave the yellow talisman to Miss Liu, her expression became warm and gentle like how she was before she got sick. 

“Hold it firmly and wait outside for a moment.” 

Miss Liu clutched the talisman tightly and obediently left her boudoir. With a “click,” the door to the boudoir was locked from the inside. Jing Ning’s eyes slowly scanned every corner of the room, then his eyes stopped at the painting behind the incense burner. 

Beneath the weeping willow, a woman in a goose-yellow dress was leaning against a tree, as if she was admiring the fish, as if she was deep in thought, but also as if she was spiritually lost. The mole under her eye made her look as if she was crying, creating a sad atmosphere. In an instant, Jing Ning recognized that this painting depicted Miss Liu, but then he immediately realized that the person was not Miss Liu. 

His footsteps had just barely moved and he had not done anything yet, when suddenly he saw the painting blossomed outward and a head popped out from the painting. The child-like woman rolled her eyes in a pretentious manner and stuck her tongue out at him, as if using this stupid appearance could scare him away. 

After she finished making that ghost face that could only make children laugh, she quickly retracted her head and hid it like a turtle. 

For a moment, Jing Ning was stumped, but then his eyes narrowed slightly. It was the first time he had seen such a stupid demon. With an icy expression, he walked over and knocked on the incense table: “Come out.” The painting was deathly silent. Jing Ning formed a spell with his fingers and an orange-yellow flame flared up in his hand: “Since you have not sinned for long, I originally wanted to spare you, but…” He used the flame to lightly roast the painting, “If you want to continue to do evil, don’t blame me for being impolite.” 

The painting still remained silent for a while. Then, as if she could not bear it any longer, the woman stuck her head out again, sweating profusely. She stuck out her tongue wickedly and made a “hissing” sound, creating an inferior quality threat. 

Without any expression, Jing Ning extinguished the fire in his hand and agilely snatched her long tongue. 

The woman’s face was startled and it paled in shock. Jing Ning’s lips curled up slightly, and there was a rare smile in his gentle voice: “It’ll hurt a little bit.” After saying that, he unceremoniously pulled her tongue and dragged her out of the painting. 

“Ow! OOww…” The woman in yellow, who was dragged out of the painting, huddled aggrievedly on the ground, holding up her tongue that could not be retracted for the moment, while she wept secretly in pain. 

Jing Ning nonchalantly wiped the saliva on his hand onto the painting, smearing the vivid weeping willow. The woman in yellow tearfully cried and angrily glared at him, then with a lisp, she said: “Shameless.”