Dax finally let out a sigh of resignation.

  At this point, what choice did he have? Might as well go all in—bet the whole shabby temple, staff and roof, incense and mice, everything.

  Besides, there was that obstinate, unrepentant beast watching him like a hawk. He had no doubt that if he couldn't pull the deposit together, she would surely cause an even bigger mess.

  His eyelids drooped slightly, and deep within his pupils, a flicker of cold blue light flashed—

  ?? Longjiang Tudi Temple Staff Group (12)

  ?? PINNED ANNOUNCEMENT

  From: Tudi-Jiang (Admin)

  All hands on deck!

  Effective immediately, all personal cultivation, freelance rituals, and cloud-wandering visits are suspended. Focus all efforts on boosting incense revenue!

  ? Daily scripture: min 2 periods;

  ? Logs must be uploaded to Jade Tablet Cloud (Real-time voice/heart rate verification).

  Year-end evaluations will be based on this. Fail to deliver? Explain to the King of Hell yourself.

  Mimi

  ???

  Val

  Boss, you okay? Did the temple account get hacked?? ??

  Contractor_7301

  What happened?? I just paid the deposit for my cloud-wandering permit! I can't cancel now!

  Mimi

  Is this for real? I've got the High School Entrance Exam coming up, and if I don't get in, you'll have to pay a massive 'school choice fee'! ????

  Tudi-Jiang (Admin)

  STFU AND START CHANTING. NOW.

  Good thing the staff had dwindled to almost nothing, or it would've blue-screened the entire system. Dax couldn't be bothered to explain and just muted notifications.

  Ling lounged back, legs crossed, watching him bustle about from the corner of her eye.

  This cheapskate… is he really planning to pay the deposit? Is this hunk of junk really that important to him?

  Or does he have some other agenda?

  Dax finished up and turned around, only to see Ling looking completely unbothered—like a dead pig that doesn't fear boiling water. His temper flared instantly, and he smacked her crossed leg down.

  "The fire's at our asses already! Let's go. Time to earn some merit."

  Ling was about to refuse, but at the words "merit," her eyes flickered with interest.

  She had no respect for the Court's extortion tactics, but… I really do need to find some materials to patch up this body as soon as possible.

  "Where to?" she asked, feigning ignorance, tone still lazy.

  "Big job." Dax reached out to pull her up. "Land this one, and your 'deposit problem' is as good as settled."

  Ling looked at Dax's outstretched hand. She didn't swat it away—instead, she used it to lever herself up. She dusted off her dress, the corner of her mouth curving into a meaningful smile.

  "Let's get something straight first."

  "Hm?"

  "The deposit has nothing to do with me. You want to pay it, figure it out yourself. I get the lion's share of the loot." She tapped her head. "If this body stays this broken, who'd want to stick around?"

  Dax blinked, deciding to placate her for now: "Fine. As long as you don't break any laws, whatever extra we earn is yours."

  "Also," Ling added, "I want offerings on the way."

  "What?"

  "Milk tea. Large, full sugar, double pearls." Ling said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "That's the proper tribute for summoning a hungry ghost."

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  Dax: "…"

  Dahang Business District, Longjiang City. Outside the Lizzle Fashion headquarters building.

  This was Ling’s first time truly entering the heart of the mortal world.

  Sunlight refracted off the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers, leaving her momentarily dazed. To her eyes, this wasn’t a commercial street—it was a massive, fluid data hunting ground.

  Faint halos of Luck hovered above the head of every pedestrian.

  Some were glowing red, signaling a streak of grand fortune; some were pitch black, wreathed in misfortune. Others pulsed with an enticing golden hue—the mark of a coming windfall.

  Ling was now wearing a white loose-fitting maxi dress from ZARA, paired with white German Army Trainers—knockoff Adidos with four stripes.

  No accessories whatsoever—mainly because Dax flat-out refused to buy any. But that head of ink-black, gleaming hair was enough to make people unable to look away, even just seeing her from behind.

  Passersby kept turning their heads. A few nearly walked into lamp posts.

  Dax frowned and fished a plain light-blue mask from his pocket, handing it to her.

  "Put this on. That face of yours is going to cause trouble. I don't want to pick up bad karma before we even collect any merit."

  This time Ling actually listened. She really wasn't comfortable with the way humans kept staring at her.

  A predator prefers to lurk in shadows. Being gawked at so openly made her skin crawl.

  She adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on her face. The lenses, forcibly running in 480p low-resolution mode, looked thick and blurry from the outside, hiding those unnervingly captivating eyes. Combined with the mask, she finally looked less attention-grabbing from the front. At most, just a tall, elegant beauty.

  Though at the moment, this elegant beauty was stuck spinning in circles inside the building's revolving door.

  Not entirely her fault. Her movements were still clumsy and uncoordinated. Something like a revolving door that required timing was genuinely challenging for her.

  Just as she was about to miss the gap again, caught between advancing and retreating—

  WHAM!

  Someone slammed into her hard from behind. She stumbled forward, nearly face-planting. Luckily Dax's reflexes were sharp enough to catch her in time.

  The person who'd hit her was already jogging ahead, leaving only a tall retreating figure, calling back an apology mid-stride:

  "Oh! Morning, Boss! And… Ling, right? Sorry, sorry! I'm in a rush!"

  Before he had even finished speaking, he charged into the elevator, frantically mashing the close button. A few young office ladies passing by snuck glances at the tall, handsome klutz, unmistakable appreciation in their eyes.

  Ling rubbed her sore shoulder, puzzled. "Isn't that the big oaf from your place? What's he doing here?"

  Dax looked exasperated, the disappointment of a mentor with a hopeless student. "Oh, that's Val. He works here. Full-grown adult, still not as sharp as Mimi." He waved dismissively. "Never mind him. Come on, let's go up and close this big deal first."

  He kept muttering at Ling all the way from the entrance to the elevator, buzzing incessantly like a mosquito in the dead of night that you just can't seem to swat：

  "When we go in, don't say anything out of turn, and don't do anything rash. Maintain your Celestial Maiden composure."

  "When the time is right, I'll give you a signal—when you see me give you the look, take off your glasses and mask and crank that holy goddess radiance up to full blast."

  "Let Uncle Dax teach you what it means to be a walking merit-harvesting machine."

  Ling completely tuned out the background noise, observing the faces passing by—

  they were either worn with exhaustion or wired with anxiety.. Some scrolled their phones with heads down, some rested with eyes closed, some stared blankly at the elevator doors as if their souls had already clocked out early.

  Mortal wage slaves aren't so different from the ghosts in my old neck of the woods. All wearing the same dead expression.

  "Ding—" Eighth floor. The elevator doors opened. Ling was ready to keep playing sardine, but then she heard a commotion in the hallway. She craned her neck to look—a man in a suit was sprawled face-down on the floor, a circle of people around him chattering in confusion.

  "What happened to him?"

  "Should we call an ambulance?"

  And from behind the man, faintly visible, protruded a thick, furry… tail? The tip was even tufted with a dense cluster of golden-red fur, twitching slightly.

  Ling: "…"

  Dax's face changed instantly.

  "Val!!"

  He let out a furious shout, shoved through the crowd, and without another word hoisted the man over his shoulder. One hand clamped firmly over the tail that was about to be exposed, discreetly stuffing it back in.

  "Nothing to see here!" He forced an awkward smile at the onlookers. "He's just drunk! Taking him to sober up!"

  With that, he charged toward the stairwell with the man over his shoulder. Ling, too delicate to push her way out in time, was left behind as the elevator doors slid shut. A message from Dax popped up onto her retinas:

  "Go to the 15th floor, CEO's office, find President Li. He's expecting us. Tell him to wait a moment—we've got a small emergency."

  Ling looked at the message and sighed softly.

  What a mess. This shabby temple is a total clown show from top to bottom.

  So by the time the elevator reached the fifteenth floor, she was the only one left.

  Ling stepped out. The floor was covered in a thick, seamless carpet that swallowed every sound of her footsteps.

  And scattered across that carpet sat a dozen or so… spirits. Wispy and translucent, they seemed barely conscious.

  They lounged like old cats sunbathing, curled lazily in various corners, all with their heads raised and staring in the same direction. That direction: a door at the end of the hallway.

  What's going on here…

  Before Ling could think it through, a young woman with a perfectly practiced smile approached her.

  "Hello—" The girl gave a slight bow, her voice sweet as honey. "Are you Mr. Jiang and his apprentice?"

  Ling rolled her eyes internally.

  Apprentice? This old fart is telling people I'm his apprentice? He really knows how to take advantage.

  She gave a reluctant "Mm." The girl immediately made a standard guiding gesture and stepped aside.

  "Right this way—"

  Before she could finish, from behind the door at the end of the hallway came a bone-chilling shriek:

  "Uncle Jiang? Hurry! Hurry, come in!"

  "Quick—I can't take it anymore!!!"

  The voice was piercing, like nails on glass. All the spirits in the hallway shuddered in unison.

  The receptionist's face changed instantly. Her smile froze, the professional warmth in her eyes rapidly draining away, replaced by sheer terror.

  She had already taken a step forward to lead the way, but at that scream, her whole body jerked as if electrocuted. She stumbled back a step, turned her head sharply away, her gaze drifting, no longer daring to look toward that door.

  "Um… miss…" Her voice trembled. "Just… go straight ahead… it's the only room… please… help yourself…"

  She scurried away in rapid little steps, heels making muffled thuds on the carpet.

  Ling tilted her head, watching her flee. Behind her frames, Ghost-Eye flickered faintly, and an excited voice piped up:

  "Sis Ling… looks like there's something to eat… I'm so hungry…"

  Ling tapped the temple of her glasses with a knuckle, her tone dismissive.

  "Pathetic. Look at Little Ears—so composed. You're the only one drooling."

  Ghost-Eye shrank back, aggrieved: "But it smells so good…"

  Ling ignored it. Following the direction of the screams, she pushed open the door…