Qi Buyu stared at her, her eyes stripped of their usual carefree nonchalance.
She refused to believe this woman’s words were just idle chatter. Last night, she and Liu Changsheng must have seen something.
If that was the case, what reason did she even have to stick around? Liu Changsheng already knew her motives weren’t pure—why keep her close?
Mu Yu watched her eyes glaze over and smirked faintly. CPU overload, huh?
Qi Buyu snapped back to reality just in time to spot Liu Changsheng returning, a muddy cloth sack clutched in her hand.
“You’re back.”
Qi Buyu rose to greet her, but Liu Changsheng sidestepped with effortless grace.
Liu Changsheng set the sack beside the stone table, crouched down, and loosened a small gap. A putrid stench of decay spilled out, turning stomachs.
Mu Yu leaped back several paces, clamping her nose and spitting. “Were you dumpster diving? What the hell did you drag back?”
Even Song Qian blanched at the assaulting odor. Holding her breath, she craned her neck for a peek—and locked eyes with a pair of lifeless, milky-gray orbs.
“Ah!”
A severed head!
Mu Yu recoiled too, jabbing a finger at the sack. “Liu Changsheng! Where’d you get that?!”
Qi Buyu trailed behind Liu Changsheng and merely averted her gaze from the blood-matted head.
“Up on the peak. It’s Little Zhang’s boyfriend. No sign of Little Zhang herself.”
“Little Zhang? Didn’t they leave?” Song Qian gripped Ji Wuxin’s arm, wrestling down her rising terror.
Liu Changsheng gave a faint shake of her head and cinched the sack tight.
“No idea. All I found up there was this half-gnawed skull.”
“…Half?” Song Qian echoed softly, her eyes flicking to the plump sack. Half a body inside…
“Urp—”
She whirled away, dry-heaving. Ji Wuxin rubbed her back soothingly.
“Could it be that monkey?” Ji Wuxin’s offhand question drew every gaze.
“Monkey?” Liu Changsheng pictured the shaggy black primate shadowing Ming Wenjun. A beast with that much cunning devouring humans wasn’t out of the question.
“Why do you say that?”
Ji Wuxin cleared her throat twice, beaming with pride. “I can smell it on there.”
She braced for compliments, but odd stares met her instead.
Mu Yu blurted it out. “Are you really a jade spirit?”
Touch of temper was one thing—did she have a dog’s snout now too?
Ji Wuxin’s face soured. “What’s that mean?”
“Events like this carry their own karma. If it was that monkey, it won’t escape unscathed.”
Qi Buyu cut in from nearby. “Does karma really exist?”
Liu Changsheng’s hand twitched at her side. She turned toward Qi Buyu, who stared pensively at the ground. “Naturally.”
In their line of work, karma was gospel. No one tangled with it lightly, for fear another’s reckoning would rebound onto them.
“You say it like it’s some ghost story. Karma’s the one thing I flat-out don’t buy.” Qi Buyu lifted her head, eyes sparkling with conviction.
Liu Changsheng felt a flicker of surprise. That wasn’t throwaway talk—she meant every word. She’d pegged Qi Buyu for a fellow practitioner, yet here she was denying karma?
Fingering her prayer beads, Liu Changsheng replied coolly, “Don’t believe it then. Up to you.”
She couldn’t cram faith down her throat.
“Yun Chu’s soul is gone.” Liu Changsheng produced the Liuli Lantern shard from the Mountain God Temple and set it on the table. “The last piece.”
Liuli’s final remnant, drained of all spirit.
Liu Changsheng eyed Mu Yu. “Yun Chu’s no more. You can head back and report in.”
Mu Yu’s eyes narrowed, her smile sly. “Yun Chu’s toast, sure—but there’s still another one.”
Wu Yizhi. Five days, and the Ghost Refining Array would turn him full ghost.
Liu Changsheng’s expression hardened. “Special Investigation Group sticking its nose too far?”
“Too far?” Mu Yu flashed her badge, flipping to the page with its crisp official seal.
Working for the state meant no such thing as overreach.
Liu Changsheng tamped down her irritation, lips thinning to a slash.
“What’ll you do with him?”
“Way above my level. Wu Yizhi went in eyes wide open—a celestial master brewing living souls into vicious ghosts, himself included.”
“Liu Changsheng, you know the weight of that.”
Five days flew by. Liu Changsheng and Qi Buyu grew eerily quiet, scarcely trading a trio of words daily. The courtyard echoed with Song Qian and Mu Yu poring over formations and talismans, punctuated by Ji Wuxin’s irate huffs.
“Liu Changsheng, you sic this disciple on me or what?” Mu Yu needled her one last time before departing.
“Next meeting, stewed chicken.”
“Deal.”
They hauled Wu Yizhi away. Yun Chu’s obliteration left him stunned, regret crashing in.
“Little disciple, vacation’s got legs left. Where to?” Liu Changsheng watched her old friend trussed in ghost-binding talisman rope, an unbidden fog of uncertainty settling over her.
“Gotta swing back to South River City first—a friend’s in a bind.” Song Qian eyed Liu Changsheng gingerly. “Master, come crash at my place?”
“Perfect!” What a sharp little disciple.
Qi Buyu lounged across the stone table, fixing Liu Changsheng. “Forgot your boss?”
She hadn’t shelled out cash for Liu Changsheng just to vanish.
Liu Changsheng shot her a chill glance. “I’ll refund it.”
Qi Buyu bolted upright. Refund? Hell no!
“Nah! Got time to burn. I’ll tag along.”
Liu Changsheng’s prayer beads stilled. Her lashes dipped over Qi Buyu.
So keen to shadow her—what was she after?
“Fine. Trail if you must.”
Song Qian’s cozy flat suited one fine; three turned it poky.
Liu Changsheng and Qi Buyu grabbed an upstairs unit, stocked essentials, and returned to find Lin Qing: scruffy beard, raccoon eyes, utter wreck.
“Been on the lam?”
Lin Qing blinked through his haze. The past days had shredded him. Spotting Liu Changsheng, tears welled.
“Senior Liu!”
“Not buried yet.” Save the funeral face.
Liu Changsheng clocked the nosy neighbors. Bad spot for chat.
“Song Qian mentioned Jiang Yi’s right across. Here for him? Swing by for dinner later.”
“Sure.”
Lin Qing’s knock startled Song Qian. Freshly shaved and changed, he still screamed burnout.
“What happened to you?”
“Ugh, don’t. Group leader’s jobs are inhuman.” Lin Qing flopped onto the sofa, snagging Song Qian’s offered water. “Thanks.”
“Way cozier tagging you—picking up Senior Liu’s tricks.”
“Your side?”
Song Qian recapped Yun Chu and Liuli. Lin Qing mulled it over, then sighed.
“Damn shame.”
“Your deal now. Days away and you’re this ragged?”
“It’s just…”
Knock knock.
Song Qian ditched her cup, cracked the door—and a slight figure barreled in, clamping her waist.
“Qianqian!!”
Song Qian’s high school pal, solid buddy.
“Easy on the waterworks. Inside, talk.” Song Qian soothed her back.
In the living room, Song Qian fetched water. Returning, she found them in a stare-down.
“You two… know each other?”
Lin Qing massaged his brow, nodding. Knew her? She’d slapped him on sight once.
Su Xiaoyu gnashed out, “Liar!”
Song Qian: “?”
Lin Qing scowled. “Miss Su, watch your tongue.”
“Yeah? Wrong? I paid for your service—delivered?” Su Xiaoyu wheeled on Song Qian, figuring Lin Qing was her hire. “Qianqian, ditch him. Refund and we’ll shop anew.”
Lin Qing: “…”
Song Qian walked over and handed her the glass of water. “Is there some kind of misunderstanding here?”
“Qianqian, did he say something to you? Don’t believe him—he’s nothing but a con artist!” Su Xiaoyu was adamant that Lin Qing was a scammer.
He couldn’t stand it any longer. The mission had been irritating enough already, without being labeled a fraud on top of it.
Before Song Qian could respond, Lin Qing spoke up first. “Miss Su, Song Qian is my colleague.”
If that’s how you wanted to put it, then she was a con artist too.
Su Xiaoyu: “…?”
Su Xiaoyu whipped her head around to stare at Song Qian in disbelief. When her friend gave an awkward nod, she couldn’t even bring herself to take a sip of water. “Aren’t you an atheist?”
Lin Qing was the Celestial Master she’d called in tons of favors to hire—a supposed expert who could banish ghosts on sight. But after several days, not a single ghost had been dealt with, and her boyfriend’s soul was all but stolen away by that female ghost.
What was that if not a scam? She’d come over to vent to her good friend and curse out this damn fraud. She could handle running into him at her friend’s house, but him claiming her friend was his colleague?
Su Xiaoyu snatched up her phone, ready to call the police. Song Qian must have fallen into a pyramid scheme.
Song Qian quickly grabbed her arm to stop her. “Hey, hey, don’t! He’s telling the truth.”
“He’s a con artist! Don’t believe him!” Su Xiaoyu clutched Song Qian’s arm and shook it hard, as if she could rattle some sense back into her head.
Her dear Qianqian was such a clever girl—how could she be so bewitched right now?
Lin Qing fished his credentials out of his pocket and thrust them under her nose. “Look! Look! That’s the official department seal. I’m a legitimate Celestial Master!”
Su Xiaoyu remained skeptical. “How do I know that’s not fake?”
“Xiaoyu, if you won’t believe him, won’t you believe me?” Song Qian straightened up, her expression turning deadly serious. “He’s not a con artist. He’s the real deal—a genuine Celestial Master.”
Su Xiaoyu eyed her dubiously and reached out to feel her forehead. No fever.
Song Qian let out a helpless sigh. If only Ji Wuxin were here. Lin Qing could prove his abilities as a Celestial Master in an instant.
She’d only been gone a short while, but already Song Qian missed her. It felt strangely empty without someone perched on her shoulder, chattering away.
