Chapter 45 – Gou Sheng’s Credit-Knife

This time when knocking on the Shang family’s door, it was still Shang Guojun and Liu Xiujun who answered.

But unlike before, the sorrow was no longer visible on their faces.

Tu Shanju knew—this family had finally made it ashore from the sea of grief.

Looking inside, she saw Shang Yu and Shang Xue walking hand-in-hand toward the door.

Shang Guojun invited Tu Shanju in to sit for a bit, but she politely declined, citing time constraints.

Liu Xiujun wanted to get Tu Shanju’s contact information, but she declined that too. The deal had been made with Shang Yu, so she wouldn’t accept anything from the rest of them.

Shang Yu let go of Shang Xue’s hand, turned to kiss both Shang Guojun and Liu Xiujun on the cheek, then smiled and said goodbye.

“Dad, Mom, Xiaoxue—I love you all very, very much. Take good care of yourselves. If you miss me, just look up at the sky. I’ll become a star watching over you, okay?” Shang Yu winked playfully.

All three nodded.

Shang Yu looked relieved and added, “Dad, Mom, open the curtains in that room. You can take down my spirit tablet too. If you want to see me, just visit the cemetery. Who keeps that kind of thing at home anyway? It’s unlucky.”

Liu Xiujun responded gently, “Alright, Mom understands. We’ll turn that room into a study for your sister, so she can use it for school.”

Shang Yu smiled with satisfaction, then turned to Tu Shanju and said, “Big sister, sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.”

Tu Shanju pulled out a soul-nurturing talisman, absorbed Shang Yu into it, and slipped it into her pocket. “Live well. Goodbye.”

The three remaining members of the Shang family quietly watched this happen, accepting it with calm hearts. They bowed deeply to Tu Shanju. “Thank you for saving our family.”

“Mm,” Tu Shanju replied simply and turned to leave.

After exiting the complex, she headed straight for the South City Office.

The old man at the gate saw her approaching and greeted her with a familiar, kindly expression—like watching his own granddaughter.

Chuckling, he opened the gate and said, “I’ve been guarding this place for half my life, and this is the first time I’ve seen a non-certified metaphysicist work harder than the ones employed here. You, girl, you’re already better than your grandpa.”

“Thank you, Grandpa,” Tu Shanju grinned.

After passing facial recognition, she entered.

Behind her, the old man shook his fan, his gaze firm as he watched her leave.

Inside, the moment Tu Shanju walked through the door, the receptionist’s eyes lit up.

Her name had now spread throughout the entire South City office.

Vengeful spirits, evil gu masters, skin-peeling ghosts—she took them down like it was nothing. Her power was practically god-tier.

Most importantly, she was a credit-knife person.

Someone that strong at ghost-catching—was that even fair?

Even though she wasn’t old enough to qualify for the official metaphysics exam, all departments in South City’s office had already started fighting over her.

Many people even regarded Tu Shanju as their new idol.

Liu Li was one of her biggest fangirls.

Not that Tu Shanju knew any of this.

All she knew was that the staff today were way too enthusiastic.

She didn’t even need to queue—they took her straight to the VIP waiting room, served her ghost-energy beverages, and told her someone would bring her a ghost-energy lollipop soon.

Tu Shanju was utterly confused.

Shang Yu’s remaining ghost energy was minimal—barely enough to make a small candy. But when she passed by earlier, she saw people in line with ghosts that had lingered over five years.

So why was she getting this kind of treatment? Had there been a mistake?

Just as Tu Shanju was wondering, Lin Xiu’er—who had been heading out—gave her an answer.

“Eh? Our superstar’s back again?” Lin Xiu’er, chewing bubble gum, zipped into the VIP room.

“Superstar?”

“Yeah! You don’t even know, huh? Half the folks in the office are your stans now—fangirls, fanboys, the works!”

Tu Shanju looked even more baffled. “Why?”

“Why else? They worship you! You’ve only been in South City for what, a week? And you’ve already handled vengeful ghosts, gu masters, skin-flaying spirits? Honestly, I admire you too—I’m thinking of joining your fan club!”

Tu Shanju’s lips twitched. “How is any of that a good thing? This ‘accident magnet’ status isn’t something to brag about.”

Lin Xiu’er shrugged. “Why not? For ordinary people, yeah, it’s unlucky. But for us, it means performance—and lots and lots of lollipops!”

Then she added, “But honestly, the real reason everyone idolizes you is because you’re a credit-knife person.”

Tu Shanju looked at her and after a beat, her eyelid twitched slightly.

Right. That explained it. The Tu Shan family had long been known in the metaphysics world as “frail weaklings.”

Prejudice really was like a mountain.

But she was just the kind of person to be the Yu Gong who’d move it.

Tu Shanju glanced at Lin Xiu’er and offered a reminder: “Be careful of vehicles coming from the southwest during your fieldwork today.”

Lin Xiu’er paused and quickly understood the warning implied danger.

Still, she asked, “Why the southwest?”

But she nodded anyway. “Okay, I’ll be careful. Thanks, Xiaojiu.”

Tu Shanju blinked. “You’re welcome.”

Just as Lin Xiu’er left, someone arrived with her ghost-energy lollipop.

Tu Shanju took it and left the office.

But as she was passing through the back hallway, she saw the old man from the front gate waiting for her.

She wasn’t surprised.

Once someone had experienced the convenience of a credit-knife deal, it was easy to get hooked.

But the Tu Shan family had strict ancestral rules to prevent greed: each person may only make three credit-knife deals in their lifetime.

And for this old man—this would be his last chance.

As for where he used his first two?

That was obvious—he’d made them with Tu Shanju’s grandfather, whom he used to call “that old geezer.”

Still, Tu Shanju had to say the formal words.

“Uncle Gou, this is the last knife you can credit.”

Gou Sheng: “……”

This little girl sure held grudges. He never expected her to throw that line back at him here and now.

“I know. The last time. I can only help him this once more. Don’t let my being a demon fool you—we don’t live much longer than humans. My time’s nearly up. I won’t be around to clean up his messes anymore.”

Tu Shanju raised an eyebrow. Anyone who had a kid that troublesome would probably lose sleep.

Yes—this Uncle Gou had used all three of his credit-knife chances on his son, Gou Dan.

Tu Shanju pulled out a nail clipper and handed it over. “Alright. Deal preliminarily established.”

Gou Sheng took the nail clipper and tucked it into his pocket. Curious, he asked, “Girl, how do you plan to get Gou Dan back on the right track?”

Tu Shanju simply curved her lips into a sly smile. “Uncle Gou, I have my ways. Just wait till I come for my payment.”