Chapter 16: “Enlightenment”

The eyes varied in size and were densely packed.

Lin Xiuer’s scalp tingled. “Those are the souls of the women and children who were trafficked and killed!”

Xu Jiangshan furrowed his brows tightly, his expression troubled. “They willingly let themselves be devoured by her to strengthen her power and seek vengeance.”

“Damn! These traffickers are absolutely disgusting. They deserved to die!” Chen Rang couldn’t bring himself to look at those eyes.

Just as he finished speaking, a very soft chuckle reached their ears.

“Who’s there!” Xu Jiangshan and the others immediately turned toward the sound.

Up in the tree, Tu Shanju’s body stiffened.

Crap. She’d been discovered.

She hadn’t expected the South City Underworld Field Office crew to be so… sentimental.

As it turned out, people really couldn’t be judged by appearances.

Chen Rang’s dazed look had caught her off guard earlier—that’s what made her laugh.

Xu Jiangshan studied Tu Shanju for a couple of seconds and began to assess her.

“May I ask who you are?” he asked, needing confirmation.

Since she had been caught, Tu Shanju didn’t bother hiding anymore.

She leapt down from the three-meter-high tree branch and clasped her hands in a martial greeting.
“Knife-Barterer, Tu Shanju.”

Clear and straightforward.

Cheng Xiujuan had also stopped her movements due to the sudden change. She looked at Tu Shanju with concern.

That was the person who helped her—her creditor, even. Without her, she wouldn’t have gotten past the gate today.

Xu Jiangshan’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
“Well, uh… I forgot to bring my magical tools. If I go back to get them now, it’ll probably be too late.”

He looked over at Lin Xiuer.
“Xiuer, didn’t you injure your hand yesterday? You probably can’t summon palm thunder right now, right?”

“And Xiao Rang, can you break the Divine Light of the Third Madam of Lüshan Sect?”

Chen Rang, being a bit slow and recently recruited, didn’t immediately catch on.
He was just about to say, “I can’t do it alone, but if the three of us work together, maybe we can try.”

After all, though Cheng Xiujuan had Divine Light protecting her, it wasn’t the same as divine power granted through formal invocation.

They had all passed the Underworld Bureau’s qualifying exams—their strength was no joke.

But then Xu Jiangshan cleared his throat subtly with a light cough, and suddenly—

Chen Rang had an epiphany.

Ohhh, so that’s how it works! Learned something new today. It really takes a seasoned worker to know these tricks.

Now he felt completely at ease.

Little did he know—he wasn’t the only one who felt relieved.

—

Five minutes later.

The four humans and one ghost squatted behind a flower bed near the Du family’s villa, watching Song Guogang and Zhang Xuefeng cordon off the scene with police tape.

A crowd of onlookers had begun to gather nearby.

Tu Shanju, holding the blue stick of a lollipop between her lips, looked lazily at Cheng Xiujuan.
“The transaction is complete. As payment, I’ll be taking all your ghost power. That’s fine with you, right?”

Everyone knew there were many kinds of ghosts, but all of them had ghost power—the only difference was how much.

It was similar to the “qi” of a metaphysical master; ghost power was a ghost’s cultivation.

And ghost power was a rare and valuable resource.

It could be absorbed and converted into qi—serving as a kind of “supplement” for metaphysicists.

Cheng Xiujuan had no objections to Tu Shanju’s request. She knew ghost power could help a metaphysicist cultivate.

Besides, she had already borrowed Tu Shanju’s knife—and once she descended to the underworld, her ghost power would dissipate anyway.

So she’d rather give it all to Tu Shanju. After all, her vengeance was fulfilled. She had already won.

Xu Jiangshan and the others, of course, didn’t object.

In the world of metaphysics, the rule was: whoever captures the ghost gets the ghost power.

However, order must be maintained. Other than not being allowed to open the ghost gate privately, metaphysicists in the living world had another rule:
They may not extract ghost power without authorization.

Only official employees of the Underworld Bureau were permitted to do so.

This was one of the reasons Tu Shanju wanted to take the civil service exam and become an official underworld agent.

Those of them who weren’t on the Bureau’s payroll had to register with the field office and follow procedure to extract ghost power.

Once ghost power was extracted, it would transform—based on the metaphysicist’s preferences—into various kinds of food, which they could then absorb and convert into qi. (1)

For example:

• Lin Xiuer liked chewing gum. Her extracted ghost power would turn into various flavored chewing gums.
• Chen Rang’s turned into chicken breast.
• Xu Jiangshan’s became tea.
• Her grandfather’s was alcohol.

Tu Shanju had a serious sweet tooth—hers became lollipops.

Of course, the flavors varied. Not all were sweet.

Today, for instance, she’d been unlucky and ended up with a sour one.
A lollipop that got more sour the more she ate it—nearly rotted her teeth out.

Xu Jiangshan personally handled the extraction and transferred Cheng Xiujuan’s ghost power to Tu Shanju.

When Tu Shanju touched the large orb of red ghost power, it instantly transformed into seven lollipops of different colors.

Normally, a ghost would only yield one.

But Cheng Xiujuan was different—her body contained the merged souls of dozens of ghosts, making her stronger than most vengeful spirits.

And she had also been bathed in Divine Light, acquiring a trace of spiritual nourishment.

Xu Jiangshan collected the souls of Tang Wen, Du Ming, and Cheng Xiujuan into a talisman to send to the underworld later.

Tu Shanju also handed over the talisman that held Zhang Huihui’s soul.

Lollipop count: +1.

To the side, Chen Rang stared at Tu Shanju as she stored the lollipops in her bag, looking like he wanted to say something but held back.

Tu Shanju had already noticed from the corner of her eye.

After securing her lollipops, she patted her crossbody bag, feeling satisfied after restocking. She was in a great mood.

Then she looked up at Chen Rang.
“You want to know why Cheng Xiujuan was protected by the Divine Light of the Lüshan Sect’s Third Madam?”

Chen Rang didn’t hesitate and nodded.
“Yes. I’d like to know why.”

“Alright. Then I’ll tell you.”

Tu Shanju unwrapped a lollipop and popped it into her mouth, slowly explaining:

“After Cheng Xiujuan died, her body was dumped near a shrine that has been dedicated for hundreds of years…
It’s the temple of Chen Jinggu.” (2)

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(1) 炁 (qì) – A metaphysical energy similar to “qi” in Daoism, often used in cultivation or metaphysics novels.
(2) Chen Jinggu – A historical and folk religious figure revered in Fujian and other regions. Known as a protective goddess, especially for women and children.