Upon realizing that the spirit in the bowl was a vengeful soul, Yu Ning steeled herself, gripping the two talismans tightly in her hand.

If the deceased had died a natural death, she could negotiate, cater to her needs, and let her have a glimpse of her idol to make her leave peacefully.

But if it was an unnatural death, reasoning would be futile, and conflict would be inevitable.

For Yu Ning at this stage, this task was a formidable challenge.

She felt a bit panicked inside, but she couldn’t afford to show weakness.

The resentment and obsession in the bowl were significant. If not dealt with, it would become a calamity.

A recently deceased soul, lacking experience, couldn’t discern Yu Ning’s actual level and started by releasing a wave of resentful energy to probe her.

Yu Ning, having just used a talisman in the morning, hadn’t fully recovered her strength.

This attack had a substantial impact on her, making her hands and feet cold and somewhat numb, as the chill seemed to spread through her veins.

She forced herself to appear unaffected, not wanting the other party to see she was a novice, and she ignored the grinning vengeful soul, shaking the talisman in her hand and scolding:

“If you don’t behave, I’ll turn you to ashes!”

The vengeful soul in the bowl was frightened by the talisman in her hand, closed its mouth, and shrank back, trembling slightly.

Seeing that the spirit was subdued, Yu Ning’s voice softened a bit.

“You died unjustly and are pitiful, but that’s no reason to harm others. There are many police officers outside, all here to find your real killer. With today’s technology, there’s no unsolvable case. Why cling to innocent people and add to your sins?”

The vengeful soul moved but didn’t leave, its eyes glinting slyly as it looked at Lin Jun behind Yu Ning.

“B-boss, w-why isn’t she talking? What’s she going to do?” Lin Jun’s teeth chattered in fear.

Yu Ning glared at him fiercely. Too much talking!

His words exposed her novice status. A true cultivator could communicate with spirits, but Yu Ning was just a novice who couldn’t hear the vengeful soul’s voice.

Seeing that Yu Ning was a rookie, the vengeful soul grinned wickedly and lunged at Lin Jun.

The black cat bravely pounced, trying to shield his younger brother.

The spirit passed through the cat, growing larger and reaching out with skeletal fingers to strangle Lin Jun’s neck.

Before it could touch him, it was repelled by the talisman on his forehead.

Unable to attack Lin Jun, the vengeful soul turned on Yu Ning.

Yu Ning bit her thumb and pressed the blood onto the talisman.

The vengeful soul came close, its gaping mouth spewing resentful energy at her.

Yu Ning felt dizzy, a surge of energy about to erupt from her chest. If not for her strong will, she would have spat out blood.

As the spirit prepared to attack again, a white-haired, white-bearded old man appeared behind Yu Ning, holding a horsetail whisk.

Yu Ning sighed in relief, finally.

“Uncle Bai, I need your help.”

The old man, face cold, struck the vengeful soul with his whisk repeatedly until it was flattened comically.

“Uncle Bai, show mercy. She hasn’t committed murder; let her go.”

The old man stopped, scolding sternly:

“Wretched creature, begone!”

The vengeful soul didn’t leave immediately, its lips moving as if speaking to the old man.

“How dare you make demands?” The old man raised his whisk to strike again, making the spirit kneel and kowtow repeatedly.

“Uncle Bai, does she have unfulfilled wishes?” Yu Ning asked.

“She said she hopes you can deliver a doll to her true ‘idol’ and burn 100 signed photos of her idol for her—what is this idol?”

The old man looked puzzled.

“Um, a celebrity, a famous person.”

Uncle Bai, a guardian spirit older than her master, didn’t understand modern terms.

“This foolish creature is willing to give up her soul for an actor,” the old man said disdainfully.

“I can agree to her request. Please ask how she died,” Yu Ning said.

The old man conveyed her words to the vengeful soul, which, upon hearing Yu Ning’s agreement, kowtowed joyfully.

Then it spoke to the old man again.

“She said she quit her job to follow her idol, spent all her money, and sold her body to buy merchandise, only to be killed by a pervert who strangled her and left her in a bathtub.”

“What did the killer look like?” Yu Ning asked.

The spirit shook its head, gesturing to the old man.

“She didn’t see the face. The killer wore a mask and sunglasses, but had a butterfly tattoo on their wrist. How can an actor be so enchanting to make someone forsake their virtue?” the old man wondered.

“Um,” Yu Ning awkwardly thought if she told Uncle Bai that modern idols often rely on autotune, fake dancing, and lip-syncing, he’d be even more disdainful.

“I’ll leave now,” the old man said, looking impatient.

“Wait! Uncle Bai, how is my master?” Yu Ning seized the chance to ask.

“If you’re so weak that you can’t handle a small vengeful soul, how do you think he is? Needing me to come out, what use is it to have you dragging him down!” The old man glared at Yu Ning with resentment, feeling her master would sacrifice anything for her, yet she was so useless.

If not for her holding the talisman, he would have smacked her with the whisk.

“Meow!” The black cat jumped out, cursing the old man.

“Old man, why are you so verbose? Do you know how hard she works? Do you understand her earnest life? You don’t know anything, so what gives you the right to say that?”

“You, you’re—!” The old man stared at the black cat in shock.

Looking at Yu Ning, then the black cat, he gasped.

“Huh? You can understand me?” Lin Zheng, in cat form, was excited to find someone who could understand him.

“Hurry, tell her I’m Lin Zheng and ask her to return me to my body—hey, old man, come back!”

The black cat meowed furiously at the air as the old man fled like avoiding a debt, disappearing without a trace.

Yu Ning, seeing her brave little cat meowing at Uncle Bai, assumed he was scared and gently comforted him.

“Don’t be afraid. That’s my master’s guardian spirit. Uncle Bai is stern but kind-hearted.”

“Sister-in-law, what is a guardian spirit? He seems way stronger than you.”

Yu Ning was almost defeated by the vengeful soul just now.

But summoning the powerful old man, who easily dealt with the spirit, was impressive.

“The guardian spirit is a Daoist protector, heavenly soldiers. You can think of it as a summoned beast in a game. He’s my master’s guardian spirit, on par with my master’s level, so of course he’s stronger than me.”

Her master’s guardian spirits were top-tier, highly respectable. Being summoned by a novice like Yu Ning, they must have been in a foul mood.

“Wow, even a summoned beast is so powerful. How strong is your master then?” Lin Jun marveled.