A few more days passed, and Xiao Mei was finally able to fully emerge from the **peach-wood figurine**.

  Li Li carefully chose an auspicious date and time, lit two sticks of her most expensive, high-quality incense, and peeled off the yellow talisman paper sealing the figurine.

  Xiao Xie, the scorpion, perched on Li Li's shoulder, raising its upper body in anticipation.

  After a long moment, Xiao Mei slowly materialized, stark naked.

  Having stayed inside the figurine for almost a month, she'd grown accustomed to the low, blurry perspective of a wooden carving. Suddenly returning to her original human height was disorienting, leaving her standing there in a daze.

  "How do you feel?" Li Li asked.

  Xiao Mei tentatively took a few steps. "My chest feels... empty."

  "Easy fix." Li Li scooped a handful from the small mountain of **Gold Ingots** piled in the corner and virtually stuffed them into Xiao Mei's chest.

  The foil ingots instantly turned into black ash, trickling down through Li Li's fingers.

  "Much better." Xiao Mei nodded, then immediately demanded, "**Now burn my clothes!**"

  Li Li sighed, exasperated. She pulled out a small brazier and, in the bathroom, burned all the backlogged, **haute couture knockoff paper dresses** she'd made over the past weeks.

  Seeing so many beautiful dresses suddenly appear out of the smoke, Xiao Mei was overjoyed. She hurriedly tried them on one by one.

  Since she couldn't see her reflection even if she entered the mirror, she kept pestering Li Li: "So? How do I look?"

  With professional flair, Xiao Mei struck various poses—hands on hips, face propped on hands, pouting, blowing kisses—fully unleashing the charm she possessed as a model in life. She was practically treating Li Li like a camera.

  Given her tragic death state, these poses might have been horrifying to ordinary people.

  But Li Li was not ordinary.

  "Looks good," Li Li nodded with cool indifference. *They're all clothes I worked hard to make. How could they not look good?*

  "Really?" Xiao Mei looked down, pinching the fabric at her waist. "But I feel like the waist is a bit loose..."

  A vein of impatience throbbed at Li Li's temple. "That's because you don't have any internal organs anymore. A slimmer waist is normal. Once I find your lung and your soul is fully restored, it'll fit perfectly."

  Xiao Mei thought that made sense and stopped worrying. She picked up her skirt and twirled happily around the room.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Seeing Xiao Mei distracted, Li Li reached over to dismantle the cardboard **shrine**.

  "What are you doing?" Xiao Mei asked, pausing her fashion show.

  Li Li stomped on the cardboard box, flattening it efficiently. "You don't need it anymore. Perfect for me to sell as scrap."

  Xiao Mei: "..."

  *Hold on. I lived in this country for twenty years and never once sold scrap. How do you Chinese people always know where to find a recycling center?*

  "Really not needed anymore?" Xiao Mei tried to save her cardboard home. She'd lived in it for almost a month; she had grown attached.

  "Nope." Li Li didn't even turn her head. "That shrine was only to help you gather energy. Now that your resentment has dissipated and your soul is stable, it's just trash."

  Li Li placed the flattened cardboard in a corner of the kitchen, stacking it neatly with her empty plastic bottles.

  *I'll take it out to sell once I've collected a bit more.*

  "Alright." Hearing Li Li's logic, Xiao Mei felt too embarrassed to argue. "Then... do I just live in the figurine at night? Feels a bit lacking in privacy."

  The apartment was a standard studio layout. Everything was visible from the entrance. The cardboard box had felt like her own little bedroom.

  "I'll cover it with a napkin at night." Li Li placed the **peach-wood figurine** on a high bookshelf, facing the front door. She grinned. "**Heh. Security camera.**"

  Xiao Mei: "..."

  *Whatever. I can't win against her.*

  Seeing that Xiao Mei showed no discomfort after wandering around—in fact, she was humming and trying on clothes nonstop—Li Li stopped worrying. She turned her attention to mopping the floor and wiping away the dust.

  Since she burned incense indoors daily, dust accumulated fast.

  Just then, her phone vibrated on the table.

  "Phone's ringing," Xiao Mei sang out.

  Li Li walked over. It was a call from **Agent Wang**.

  Wondering what was up, she answered. "Hello? Li Li?" Agent Wang's voice came through. "Can you hear me?"

  "Yes, Uncle Wang. What's up?"

  "Ah, it's like this," Agent Wang said. "Your landlord has returned from his business trip. He heard the unit was successfully rented out and wants to meet you."

  "Meet me?" Li Li frowned, glancing at Xiao Mei, who was currently doing a runway walk in the living room. "He's not trying to **raise my rent**, is he?"

  Back in China, she'd seen enough horror stories on social media: A blogger rents a run-down shack, renovates it into a dream cottage, and the landlord immediately flips, demanding a rent hike or eviction.

  She had rented a notorious **murder house**. Its only virtue was being cheap. Now that she was living there safe and sound, naturally, people might start thinking the "haunting" was over and the property value was back up.

  "No, no, no." Agent Wang hurriedly explained. "You signed a one-year lease, and the rent is paid. He can't break it. Besides, this landlord is a famous lawyer with firms all over the country. He's not short on money. He's just curious how a young girl like you can manage to live in that place. He wants to meet you."

  *Actually, Agent Wang was curious too. He thought Li Li was just being brave initially and would call him screaming within three days. But it had been a month.*

  "I see." Li Li pondered for a moment. "Sure, Agent Wang. No problem."

  "Great. I'll send you his number. If you're uncomfortable meeting him alone, just tell me. I can go with you."

  *Now Li Li understood how Agent Wang thrived in the real estate circle. With service this considerate, he deserved every penny of his commission.*

  "Okay, Uncle. Thank you."

  Agent Wang hung up and sent the contact info via WeChat.

  **[AAA Study Abroad Housing Agent Wang]:** *Little sis, if you need anything, just tell your Uncle. We're fellow countrymen abroad; we gotta help each other out.*

  Li Li was moved. She replied with an animated sticker of a **Little Taoist Bowing**.

  She copied the landlord's number but hesitated before dialing.

  She turned to Xiao Mei. "Hey, do you think this landlord could be connected to your death?"

  After all, the murder happened in his property, on the 18th floor. It felt a bit too coincidental.

  "Is he?" Xiao Mei, utterly naive and lost in material pleasures, didn't even glance up. "I don't know. I've forgotten."

  Li Li: "..."

  *Just who is the one trying to **pass on** here?*

  **Cultural Notes:**

  2. **Rent Anxiety:** The fear of a landlord raising rent after a tenant improves the property is a universal trauma, transcending borders.

  3. **"Pass On":** Li Li's exasperation at the end highlights the absurdity: The ghost is busy playing dress-up while the living human is stressing about solving the murder.

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