TGCFNM -Chapter 8 Can I Touch You?

Chu Ling had someone calculate an auspicious date and choose a burial site, then entrusted the people at the charity mortuary to bury Cui Xi.

The body was laid to rest, but the wandering soul remained by her side.

“Miss, when Second Madam bought this servant back, I said I would stay by Miss’s side for the rest of my life,” Cui Xi said, sneaking a glance at Chu Ling. Seeing that Chu Ling wasn’t angry, she continued, “But this servant broke her word, so I was punished. Now, this servant must stay with Miss forever!”

Consider it repaying Miss’s kindness—and letting herself clearly see the true face of that wretched man!

“You’re already a ghost, stop calling yourself ‘this servant’,” Chu Ling sighed. Looking at Cui Xi kneeling before her, she reached out her right hand and lifted it slightly in the air. “Get up…”

“I can touch you?!” Chu Ling exclaimed in shock.

Cui Xi was startled as well and cautiously reached out her hand.

Sure enough—she could touch Miss!

At that moment, Ghost Scholar entered straight through the door. Seeing the two standing there dumbfounded, he cleared his throat lightly and said, “I noticed it that night already. That’s why Bai Su was able to treat you.”

Chu Ling stiffly turned her neck and looked at Ghost Scholar in a daze. “I thought I was just extremely lucky—jabbed myself at random and somehow brought myself back to life.”

Ghost Scholar was momentarily speechless.

Clearly this young woman looked shrewd and intelligent—so how did she sometimes look so foolish?

By now, Cui Xi had already stood up, touching this and poking that, then said blankly, “I can only touch Miss. I can’t touch anything else. Miss still needs to find a maid.”

Chu Ling looked at the tea she could no longer drink, then glanced at the official robe casually tossed aside and stained with blood. She let out a deep sigh. Indeed, she still needed to find a maid.

But—

Chu Ling touched her fake Adam’s apple, unsure how long it would last.

“She must be a clumsy maid,” Chu Ling muttered.

Ghost Scholar glanced at her, frowned in thought for a moment, and finally seemed to make up his mind. “I can find a disguise item to give to Your Excellency.”

Chu Ling immediately hugged herself tightly. “There’s no such thing as a free lunch!”

Ghost Scholar chuckled. “Naturally. I have my request.”

Chu Ling looked at the ghost before her with caution. “What do you want?”

Ghost Scholar’s gaze burned as he stared at Chu Ling, carrying a trace of barely concealed excitement. “We’ve discovered that if we follow Your Excellency, it seems we can go anywhere.”

Chu Ling keenly caught the key point and almost immediately asked, “Before this, you could only move around the rear yamen? Could it be that the rear yamen used to be some kind of mass grave or burial ground?”

Ghost Scholar fell silent for a while. “We’re not sure.”

Chu Ling lowered her brows and thought carefully for a moment, then replied, “Alright.” After all, she had benefited from them and survived.

Ghost Scholar smiled and thanked her.

“Let’s go. We’ll go buy a maid—and a young servant as well…” Chu Ling calculated her silver and the date of her next salary, murmuring softly, “So I really can’t accept bribes, can I?”

Ghost Scholar froze.

“Of course not!” A white figure quietly appeared, looking at Chu Ling with a mixture of disappointment and reproach. “You’re the parent-official of Sishui County—how can you be thinking about crooked paths all day long?”

Chu Ling’s eyes lit up when she saw the newcomer. “This must be Sister Bai Su, right? Sister Bai Su, it’s not that I want to, but this is all the silver I have. As for the things I brought out from the General’s residence, I don’t dare pawn them.” She was afraid of being discovered in Sishui County.

“There’s a Feihe Mountain here. On the sheer cliff known as ‘One-Blade Cut’ on Feihe Mountain, there grows a clump of medicinal herbs called Zigu Grass. Its roots are dark purple-black, its leaves shaped like horses’ hooves, with many fine hairs along the edges. After you pick it, I’ll teach you how to make a hemostatic medicine. You can sell it for money.” Bai Su frowned deeply, then added at the end, “I’ve been dead for so long—I’m probably about the same age as your mother.”

Chu Ling suddenly realized that this was the person who had saved her—and very possibly the one who had made those miraculous medicines.

Thinking of this, her eyes brightened.

“Thank you, Aunt Su. Aunt Su, I’ll definitely make the medicine properly. In the future, I’ll offer you incense and candles every day.”

Ghost Scholar laughed helplessly. After telling Bai Su about the needed disguise item, Bai Su gave Chu Ling another deep look. Her figure swayed, and she disappeared through the door.

Chu Ling packed up her silver, had Cui Xi stay behind to watch the house, then changed into plain clothes with Ghost Scholar and left the yamen through the back door, stepping onto the main street.

“Your Excellency, this old man will take the liberty of saying a few words. I hope you’ll keep them firmly in mind,” Ghost Scholar said softly.

Chu Ling responded and bowed her head solemnly to listen.

“Your Excellency must never tell others that you are a wandering soul or anything of the sort, and you must not let anyone catch hold of any flaw. Otherwise, Your Excellency’s life will be in grave danger.”

Chu Ling halted in her steps and looked seriously at Ghost Scholar. “Master, I’ll remember.”

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency!”

Chu Ling frowned slightly and turned her head. She saw Zhang Dong leaning on a wooden log, limping toward her, with a young woman beside him whose hair was tied with floral cloth.

“This commoner, Zhang Dong, greets Your Excellency.” After speaking, Zhang Dong was about to kneel, and the woman beside him followed suit.

“No need to kneel. I came out in plain clothes and don’t wish to draw attention,” Chu Ling said, lifting her hand slightly. She clasped her hands behind her back. “What is the matter?”

“Your Excellency, this commoner caught a mountain chicken today and wanted to thank Your Excellency. But my younger sister didn’t feel at ease letting me come alone, so she insisted on accompanying me,” Zhang Dong said with a smile.

Chu Ling looked at the mountain chicken tied with a rope, still alive and glaring, then glanced at Zhang Dong’s somewhat tattered trousers. They seemed to be stained with blood.

Chu Ling smiled kindly. “No need to give it to me. I don’t have a cook yet and was planning to find one. You should keep it for yourself to nourish your body.”

Zhang Dong was taken aback. “Your Excellency is looking for a cook? My sister knows how to cook.”

Only then did Chu Ling properly look at the woman beside him. She had a slightly plump, round face, like a little girl from a New Year painting, and didn’t look very old. She subconsciously asked, “How old are you?”

“Replying to Your Excellency, this young woman is sixteen.”

Chu Ling nodded—one year younger than herself.

“I’m short of a maid and a cook. If you’re willing, I’ll pay you two wages. Per month—hmm—three taels of silver,” Chu Ling said, recalling that Cui Xi’s pay at the General’s residence had seemed to be about this amount.

“Three taels!” the girl exclaimed. That was so much.

Zhang Dong looked at his sister, gritted his teeth, and asked, “Does Your Excellency also need a young servant? I can do it—even driving a carriage is fine. My sister and I have no parents, and I really don’t want to leave her alone…”

“I do. Same terms—three taels of silver a month. How about it?” Chu Ling asked.

Zhang Dong’s face lit up with joy. This time, despite Chu Ling trying to stop him, he knelt straight down. “This commoner—this commoner thanks Your Excellency.”

“Xiaohua—Xiaohua also thanks Your Excellency.”