Volume One, Chapter 18: Faceless Figures Appear in Many Places

Qin Yu's eyes flashed coldly, and the Patchwork Ghost immediately trembled three times.

“Please, ancestor, it really wasn’t me. I…”

The Patchwork Ghost’s explanation abruptly ceased. Suddenly, he clutched his own neck with a fierce grip, tightening bit by bit, his beady rat eyes bulging out in a grotesque manner.

Everything happened so quickly that Qin Yu didn’t even have time to intervene before the Patchwork Ghost strangled himself into oblivion, leaving not a trace behind.

"Ahhhhh! This is too intense! I’m scared to death, sob sob sob."

"That rat was ruthless…"

"Too terrifying, I think I’m traumatized."

"Master, I want to buy an amulet. Otherwise, I’m sure I’ll have nightmares tonight."

"Me too, me too."

Qin Yu’s expression turned a little grim. She glanced at her phone and nodded, “Same old rule, one spinning pinwheel for one talisman, not mandatory.”

Instantly, the whole screen filled with spinning pinwheels.

After finishing the protection talismans, Qin Yu spoke a few words to her livestream audience and then ended the broadcast.

“Xiao Yu, did the Patchwork Ghost really seek his own death?” Mu Ling asked.

When the Patchwork Ghost was strangling himself, Mu Ling had been hovering above him and seemed to notice something was manipulating the ghost.

Qin Yu shot him a look. “If you noticed it, how could I not?”

Mu Ling, displeased by her response, put his hands on his hips, puffing with indignation. “Qin Yu, what’s that supposed to mean? I’m very smart, you know!”

Qin Yu glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, expressionless, and replied with a flat, “Oh.” This made Mu Ling stomp his foot in frustration.

“If you were really smart, why haven’t you managed to take human form after five years by my side?” Qin Yu stood up, picking up the stone statue now marred by cracks.

Mu Ling’s eyes darted evasively, and he stammered, “That—that’s because I don’t want to! Yes! I just don’t want to transform!”

Qin Yu stared at him, her beautiful eyes seeming to pierce through everything. “Mu Ling, you know perfectly well you can’t take human form, nor even cultivate, without that thing.”

Mu Ling’s mouth fell open in surprise. “You—you knew?”

Qin Yu looked at the dark aura swirling around him and simply said, “If you need my help, just ask.”

Mu Ling watched Qin Yu’s departing figure, unable to calm his heart for a long time.

Five years ago, he had been on the verge of death. If Qin Yu hadn’t formed a soul contract with him, he would have long since vanished from existence.

He had always thought Qin Yu saw through his thousand-year-old ghostly identity and saved him to keep him for her own use. He never expected she had known all along that he couldn’t even cultivate.

Yet, even if that was the case, there was no way he could retrieve that thing.

Qin Yu entered the hall to find Li Yue’er now fully awake. Her previously disheveled hair was tidied, and she sat on a stool waiting for Old Li to prepare her a meal. When she saw Qin Yu, she stood up shyly. “Thank you, Master, for saving my life.”

Before Qin Yu arrived, Old Li had already explained everything that had happened.

Qin Yu averted her gaze, avoiding Li Yue’er’s shining eyes.

“I was paid to do a job. No need for thanks.”

Even so, Li Yue’er’s gratitude was evident.

Qin Yu sighed softly in her heart, unwilling to linger. She only reminded Li Yue’er, “When Old Li returns, have him transfer the money to my Douya account.”

With that, she left.

Only after walking some distance did Qin Yu glance back at the small house bathed in moonlight.

In the past, she hadn’t understood why her master always seemed so troubled after reading someone’s fortune. Now she understood—being able to foresee the future meant watching it unfold helplessly, unable to change a thing.

The practices of the mystic arts gave them certain advantages, but also left them with a deeper sense of melancholy than most.

Gazing at the small building with complicated emotions, she let out a heavy sigh.

Not sensing Mu Ling’s presence, Qin Yu frowned slightly. She didn’t know why Mu Ling had lost such an important item, but since he didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t force him.

Whether human, ghost, or beast, everyone must walk their own path.

—

Lu Jinyuan spotted the girl from afar, holding the stone statue, lost in thought. Her brows were tightly furrowed, showing both reluctance and, more than anything, resignation.

He got out of the car and, noticing the redness on her wrist from carrying the statue, took it from her without a word.

Qin Yu remained silent after getting in the car, a heavy silence hanging in the air.

“Are you worried about Li Yue’er’s future?” Lu Jinyuan asked, his fingers resting on the steering wheel as he drove steadily.

Qin Yu was a bit surprised, curious how he knew about Li Yue’er.

“I watched your livestream,” Lu Jinyuan said softly, by way of explanation.

The talisman’s suppressive effect was fading, and the baleful aura around Lu Jinyuan was returning.

Seeing this, Qin Yu nodded gently. “Yes.”

“What will happen to her?”

“She won’t live past fifty, plagued by illness.”

And her father would spend all his savings trying to cure her, ending up destitute and dying a lonely death at home, unnoticed.

“There’s no way to retrieve what was lost? I heard that last time, when my nephew’s fortune was borrowed, you managed to get it back.”

Qin Yu gave a bitter smile. “Not everyone is protected by the Emperor Star. Besides, last time, Lu Hualing’s stolen luck hadn’t yet been used.”

But Li Yue’er’s lifespan and luck had already been consumed.

Sensing her growing despondency, Lu Jinyuan fell silent and just slowed the car for a smoother ride.

By the time they reached Qin Yu’s rented apartment, it was nearly half past eleven.

“Thank you,” he said suddenly before she got out, his deep, magnetic voice like a note from a cello—remarkably pleasant.

Qin Yu didn’t understand why he was suddenly thanking her, and looked at him in confusion.

“I was diagnosed at birth with congenital organ deficiency and wasn’t expected to live past fifteen.”

“But when I turned fourteen, my father found a master for me. If not for him, I wouldn’t be alive today.”

“So, Master, don’t blame yourself for things you cannot change. Your existence has helped many people. If it weren’t for you, Li Yue’er might still be under the statue’s spell. You’ve already done enough.”

Lu Jinyuan looked at her, his deep eyes like a clear mountain spring that quietly seeped into Qin Yu’s heart.

She looked at him, and couldn’t help but feel a newfound respect. Though shrouded in baleful energy, which should have made him the most resentful man in the world, he still carried a gentle and grateful heart.

“Qin Yu, that’s my name.”

Sensing her change in attitude, Lu Jinyuan smiled in response. “Lu Jinyuan.”

They said their goodbyes, and Lu Jinyuan didn’t drive away until he saw the lights in Qin Yu’s apartment turn on.

—

After a shower, Qin Yu lay on her bed, ready to rest, when she noticed several new private messages on her phone from about an hour ago.

She opened them one by one.

Shu Tiantian: "Master Sill, I watched your livestream today. Can you take a look at this statue and see if it’s the same as the one in Li Yue’er’s house?"

Shu Tiantian: "Photo"

Qin Yu opened the image—a selfie from Shu Tiantian. In the upper right corner, behind a half-closed door, the upper half of a faceless stone statue peeked out. Its lower half was hidden in darkness, easy to overlook.