Having figured out the sinister plot, Li Li felt a surge of excitement. But as her emotions settled, she hit a wall.

  Even though she’d uncovered the dark practitioner’s goal, she had no idea how far along they were. If they were on the verge of ascension, not only would recovering Xiao Mei’s soul fragment be impossible, but Li Li’s current cultivation level might not be enough to confront them.

  She searched online for local murder cases from recent years. Aside from Xiao Mei’s a year ago, there were no other particularly gruesome ones.

  *That’s good news.* It meant the practitioner hadn’t made much progress after obtaining Xiao Mei’s “Metal within Metal.”

  Li Li felt slightly relieved.

  A full-fledged Dark Immortal would be a real problem.

  Her current clues were scarce. Aside from knowing *what* they were doing and that they seemed stalled, she knew nothing else. But one thing was certain: practicing such heaven-defying arts would inevitably create paranormal disturbances like Xiao Mei’s.

  Li Li remembered the “Top 10 Haunted Locations” booklet from the club fair.

  *Looks like I’ll have to visit those places when I get a chance.*

  The matter was serious. As a rookie, she didn’t dare handle it alone. She sent a WeChat message to her father briefly explaining the situation. Shortly after, he called her on video.

  On screen, Li Chengxian’s brow was deeply furrowed, his expression severe. “Is this confirmed?”

  Li Li nodded. “Eighty to ninety percent.”

  Li Chengxian lowered his gaze, his frown deepening as he thought. After a long moment, he said, “Show me the peach-wood figurine.”

  Li Li switched the camera to show the makeshift cardboard shrine. The three incense sticks were almost burnt out. Xiao Mei, utterly blissed out from the incense, was oblivious to the outside world.

  Li Chengxian was speechless at the crude figurine and shrine. After a pause, he managed, “Your carving skills need work.”

  “Yes, Father,” Li Li replied, scratching her nose guiltily.

  On the other end, Li Chengxian performed a quick divination with his fingers. The more he calculated, the deeper his frown became. Finally, he concluded, “I’m afraid this person is only two or three steps away from ascension.”

  *That fast?!* Li Li was shocked.

  Li Chengxian’s expression turned grave. “This murderous path to immortality is anathema to our orthodox way. It must be stopped. But it’s dangerous. With your current level, resolving it will be difficult. I will apply to the Association to send you some ritual tools. You must proceed with extreme caution. Do not overestimate yourself.”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  Top-grade Taoist artifacts were antiques. Exporting them required procedures.

  Li Li nodded. “This junior understands.”

  Still worried, Li Chengxian gave more instructions until Li Li was almost annoyed, then hung up.

  “What’s wrong?” Zhang Xinlan asked, seeing his serious expression.

  Li Chengxian sighed heavily. “I don’t know if sending Li Li abroad was the right decision.”

  Li Li was his only child. He’d been strict with her all her life, but only because of her special destiny and her role as the 64th-generation heir. Without real skill, she’d never command respect.

  That didn’t mean he wanted her in such danger.

  “Go get the lock of hair from when Li Li was born,” he told Zhang Xinlan. “I’ll take it to the temple and place it under the Ancestral Masters’ statue.”

  Zhang Xinlan, realizing the danger, looked worried. But Li Li was far away; there was little they could do. She nodded. “Okay.”

  They could only hope the Ancestral Masters would protect their beloved daughter and bring her home safely.

  Over there, Li Chengxian and Zhang Xinlan were fraught with worry. Over here, Li Li had already pushed thoughts of immortals and dark practitioners aside.

  She was miserably folding **gold ingots** from foil paper.

  She still owed the Black and White Reapers. She needed to settle that debt fast.

  After all, the dark practitioner here was just *trying* to become an immortal. The Reapers were already **True Immortals**. Li Li knew which debt was more pressing.

  They didn’t sell pre-made spirit ingots here. Li Li had to buy gold foil and fold them herself. The foil quality didn’t seem great. She wondered if the officers would be satisfied.

  She burned a handful for Xiao Mei first.

  Xiao Mei, who had just recovered from the three incense sticks, was immediately knocked out again by this batch of “gold.”

  “Good stuff… good stuff…” she mumbled.

  It was like a starving person finally getting their first bite of rice—they wouldn’t care about the taste, just shoveling it in.

  Seeing the positive feedback, Li Li kept folding.

  By the time the ingots formed a small hill, it was 1 or 2 AM. Li Li put the remaining foil away, stretched, and got ready for bed.

  She planned to find a spot to burn the pile tomorrow morning. She remembered the time difference with the Chinese underworld.

  She piled the ingots in a corner. After a thought, she added a stack of **spirit “dollar bills”**.

  These were a specialty product from the Chinatown incense shop—probably the owner’s attempt to localize. Too bad Westerners had no tradition of burning spirit money. Li Li found them amusing and bought some anyway.

  *Maybe there’s a cross-border transaction fee for wiring offerings from abroad.*

  Xiao Xie, as usual, lay on the figurine’s talisman, guarding the seal. Li Li turned off the light, lay down on the soft mattress, and quickly fell asleep.

  Early the next morning, just as dawn broke, Li Li took the pile of gold ingots in a plastic bag and a small metal basin to a deserted street corner to burn them.

  No choice—the apartment had smoke detectors. She was afraid of setting off the fire alarm, which would bring the fire department and a fine. Burning them during rush hour would scare passersby. She had to get up early and find a secluded spot.

  She found a corner and carefully checked for security cameras—a habit formed from burning offerings back home to avoid getting in trouble.

  The flames rose, casting an orange glow on Li Li’s face with its heavy dark circles. She’d had two nights of poor sleep and was feeling wilted, her eyes half-closed, her movements mechanical.

  Suddenly, a head popped out of the ground by her feet. The hair was sparse, the pale skin covered in sores and rotting holes—likely a homeless person who died of illness. Its hollow eyes stared at the flames, both fearful and longing.

  “Scram!” Li Li smacked the head back into the ground like she was playing Whack-a-Mole.

  *Trying to steal the Reapers’ offerings? Have some respect for the afterlife!*

  After burning the offerings, Li Li forced herself to check the ashes for fire hazards, then sneaked back to her apartment.

  She fed Xiao Xie and Xiao Mei breakfast, completed her morning cultivation exercises, took a shower, made herself presentable, and headed to school.

  It was the first official day of class. Li Li didn’t want to be late.

  A/N: For those unfamiliar, Whack-a-Mole is an arcade game where you hammer down pop-up moles. Li Li is basically doing that, but with actual ghosts. At 5 AM. In a foreign country. This is her life now.

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