Chapter 16 part 1
Back home, Luo Wenshu sat cross-legged on the bed, chin resting in her hands, deep in thought. Was there something wrong with this world?
She was, after all, a veteran Master of Metaphysics with ten years of experience. She had caught countless demons and ghostsâat least a thousand, if not eight hundredâand helped innumerable people.
Having peeked at heavenly secrets and interfered with fate so often, karmic backlash had become a daily occurrence for her. Over time, she had become so familiar with it that she treated it like an old friend. She knew exactly under what circumstances it would arrive, how severe it would be, and how long it would lastâŚ
Luo Wenshu could practically recite the rules backward.
However, after transmigrating to this world, the set of laws she had summarized from her past experiences seemed to have failed.
Based on her experience, the incident with the Fang family involved nothing more than a small water ghost looking for a substitute. The karmic backlash should have been minorâat most, finding no seasoning packet in her instant noodles.
But in reality? She had faced a gauntlet of lethal dangers. If she had been even slightly less skilled, she would have died on the spot and been carted off by White Impermanence.
How embarrassing would that have been!
Then there was Jin Youqianâs case. That guy looked like an ordinary unlucky fool, but he actually possessed a bit of fortuitous destiny.
The safety amulet Luo Wenshu sold him was merely an opportunity. While it did help him see through the white ghostâs illusion and blocked several attacks, without that dilapidated temple and the residual protection of its fallen deity, he never would have had the chance to send that message for help.
According to her past experience, this situation shouldn’t have triggered any karmic backlash at all, or at most, she might have sneezed twice and been done with it.
Yet today, she faced one accident after another. Although not as deadly as yesterday’s, they were filled with malice, clearly aiming to humiliate her.
“Is that just the rule of this world?” Luo Wenshu muttered to herself.
She didn’t know the answer yet, as two examples weren’t enough to form a pattern. But she figured she would get some useful information soon enough.
The key lay with Tang Yue.
“I’ll have to wait a bit longer…” Luo Wenshu sighed.
“Mom?” Beside her, Luo Xingyu looked at her with concern.
“I’m fine.” Luo Wenshu patted his head. “Tang Yue should add you on WeChat today and send you a list of training classes. You can pick the one you like, and we’ll go sign up.”
“…Thank you.” Hearing this, Luo Xingyu’s emotions were complicated. It took him a few seconds to whisper his thanks.
“It’s only right,” Luo Wenshu said. “See what you want to eat tonight and order takeout. It’s not a good day for me to go out; I’ll take you out another time.”
Luo Xingyu nodded obediently.
Luo Wenshu added, “Don’t worry about saving money.”
“…Okay.”
“Go play,” Luo Wenshu waved her hand.
When the mother and son returned earlier, they had run into two other children in the hallway, Xiaobao and Lili.
They had also played hide-and-seek with the water ghost previously, but since they weren’t the chosen targets and were in good health, they had only suffered minor effects. They had been hospitalized for a day but were discharged the next morning, jumping around as lively as ever.
Xiaobao and Lili knew nothing about the water ghost. With carefree smiles, they invited Luo Xingyu to play as soon as they saw him.
Luo Xingyu hadn’t agreed immediately, saying he needed to go home first.
Since he was a kindergarten kid on summer break and it was still early for dinner, Luo Wenshu decided to let him go out and play with his friends given how small their apartment was.
“Then… I’m going out?” Luo Xingyu asked hesitantly.
“Go ahead.”
So, Luo Xingyu took his little scooter and left.
Luo Wenshu reached for the yellow paper and red pen on the nightstand, preparing to draw talismans.
She had promised Jin Youqian six safety amulets last night. Telling him she could only draw two a day was, of course, a lie; she just didn’t want to draw that many.
She wasn’t short of money now, and drawing talismansâespecially high-quality onesâdid consume a lot of spiritual energy.
Speaking of which, the matter of spiritual energy needed to be put on the agenda.
Admittedly, her soul was powerful, but constantly overdrawing it like this wasn’t a sustainable solution.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle the consumption, but rather the issue of conversion rates. Transitioning spiritual energy from her soul to this body, which had zero cultivation base, resulted in a loss of seventy percent.
The cost-performance ratio was too low!
Then there were special situations like the Ghost Domain last night. If her physical body couldn’t handle it, she had to use her soul projection.
But she couldn’t just abandon her body to solve problems every time she encountered a difficulty, could she?
Where would the dignity of a Sect Leader be then?
Moreover, having to silence witnesses every time was troublesome and prone to complications.
In summary, she needed to start cultivating again as soon as possible. As long as both her body and soul were strong enough, she wouldn’t need to worry about all these trivialities.
Thinking of this, Luo Wenshu picked up her phone, unlocked it, and found Jin Youqian’s number. She was just about to dial.
Before she could press the button, the phone vibrated with an incoming call.
Coincidentally, it was Jin Youqian.
“Hello.” Luo Wenshu answered.
“Master!” Jin Youqian’s voice on the other end was full of energy; one could almost picture his spirited yellow hair just by listening to him. “I asked someone to investigate the matter you mentioned last night, and there’s a huge problem!”
Luo Wenshu lifted her eyelids slightly. “Tell me, what’s the situation?”
Jin Youqian proceeded to explain the results he had just received.
What Luo Wenshu had asked Jin Youqian to investigate concerned the illusions they saw in the Ghost Domain.
Specifically, the man who had clearly died in the re-enactment of the past within the illusion, yet appeared severely injured in the real world’s records. And other similarly injured victims.
Luo Wenshu had noted down several names, organized them, and sent them to Jin Youqian.
Because of this, Jin Youqian finally got the Master’s phone number and added her on WeChat.
He was incredibly happy about itâeven happier than when he had added Yu Zhen on WeChat before knowing she was possessed.
Of course, happy as he was, he hadn’t forgotten the task the Master gave him.
Upon returning last night, Jin Youqian immediately called a relative who had the ability to investigate such matters.
He didn’t mention his true encounter in the southern suburbs. Instead, he fabricated a story, claiming someone invited him out to play, and upon arriving, he realized it was the site of the burnt-down ‘Chaihuo Courtyard’ restaurant. Curiosity piqued, he wanted to know more.
Jin Youqian might have been mischievous and a bit dense, but he had never lacked in manners or politeness.
During festivals and family visits, he was always the one carrying the gifts behind his elders. Consequently, very few relatives or friends disliked him.
The relative who received his late-night call simply scolded him jokingly a few times before agreeing to check it out. They were efficient; the results came back today.
Jin Youqian immediately called Luo Wenshu.
“That man named Lin Zichengâthe one we saw blown away by the car explosionâthe fire accident file listed him as ‘severely injured.’ He was sent to the Military General Hospital and was discharged after a period of treatment.”
No one had tracked his condition after that.
Jin Youqian’s relative then checked a few other people, and the situation was similar.
However, one name looked familiar to the relative. After a closer look, they discovered that the person had died.
“Time of death was early this morning, just past midnight. The family noticed something was wrong, but before they could even call 120, the person was gone.”
It happened near the relative’s home, so they had some impression of it.
Driven by an inexplicable hunch, the relative re-checked the previous few people.
That check revealed the problemâ
Everyone on the list Jin Youqian provided was dead!
These people were scattered across different districts of Chunshan City, far apart from each other, yet their times of death were almost identical.
When the relative told Jin Youqian the results, they asked jokingly, “You didn’t have anything to do with this, did you?”
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