Volume One, Chapter Five: That Is a Different Price

The issue of the pink memories had been resolved, but there was still cleanup to do. Qin Yu rubbed her brow, and Yin Yin said to Mu Ling, “It’s your turn to perform. That male fetus has turned into a malicious spirit, a real tonic.” The little black ball, Mu Ling, bounced up and down twice, his face shadowed with psychological trauma. “It's awful!” Qin Yu shook her head—this was all her fault, she had spoiled Mu Ling’s palate. “Bring him back and I’ll treat you to something delicious.” Mu Ling grinned, triumphant—he’d been waiting for her to say that! “The address!”

—

Aftermath of the aftermath.

Every night, the mother-in-law was tormented by nightmares. Though just over fifty, she visibly aged at a shocking pace. The woman’s husband had known of his mother’s actions from the start; he did nothing to stop it, tacitly allowing everything to unfold. After the woman was discharged from the hospital, she swiftly divorced him. The man remarried twice but never managed to have a child. The woman, on the other hand, saw her career flourish after leaving him, and two years later, she encountered new love and, in the same year, became pregnant with a lovely baby girl.

—

Qin Yu glanced at the time—it was already four o’clock. “Thank you all for the gifts. Follow the streamer, don’t get lost. Please, everyone, tap that follow button for me.”

“I’ve followed! When will you send out lucky bags and do the next reading?”

“Yes, yes, I want a reading too!”

“Right away,” she replied. As she spoke, the lucky bag was sent out and Happy Lamb snagged it. Happy Lamb sent a True Love Arrival gift. Qin Yu invited her to join the mic. On video appeared a well-maintained, elegant lady. Her request was simple—her cat was missing, she wanted to find it. This didn’t require much thought; Qin Yu resolved it in a few moves.

“All right, that’s the end of today’s live stream. We’ll see each other again tomorrow!”

Qin Yu, sticking to the motto “If you’re not eager to clock out, there’s something wrong with your head,” ended the stream at lightning speed. But just then, a private message popped up in her backstage inbox.

“Handsome Grandpa”: “Master, save my dog life!”

Danqiu: “?”

“Handsome Grandpa”: “The sorcerer I hired dropped dead!”

Qin Yu’s brows tightened—it seemed the other party had no intention of returning their stolen luck.

Seeing no reply, Handsome Grandpa grew anxious. “Master, there’s a crack in the talisman you sent me last night. I’m afraid it won’t hold much longer. Master, can I ask you for help?”

Danqiu: “That’s a different price.”

“Handsome Grandpa”: “Price is no issue. If you can save my dog life, anything is fine.”

Danqiu: “Tonight at eight-thirty. Wait at home.”

—

Qin Yu arrived at Silver Moon Manor precisely at eight-thirty. Bathed in moonlight, the boy with an earring was like a drowning man clutching at a life raft, frantically messaging Qin Yu, but she never replied.

There was little chance of a reply—Qin Yu always kept her phone on silent.

“Handsome Grandpa.” The boy looked up in delight, but when he saw the girl’s face, his smile froze. Lu Hualing knew Master Danqiu was probably young, but when Qin Yu’s dewy, fresh face appeared before him, he was stunned. If not for her voice matching exactly what he’d heard in the live stream, he’d have thought he was meeting the wrong person.

“What’s going on at your end?” Qin Yu asked.

“Last night, as soon as I finished watching your stream, I contacted Qingfeng Temple. They sent a sorcerer early this morning. Everything seemed fine at first but then...” Lu Hualing’s face twisted in terror—he’d clearly been badly frightened. “He choked to death on a coin.”

Easy to take money, hard to return it. Especially when the other side had a Taoist backing them.

“Master, maybe you should bring another helper,” Lu Hualing said, his eyes flicking over the frail-looking girl, concern evident. “The sorcerer from Qingfeng Temple was big and burly—much sturdier than you—and he ended up dying in a bizarre way.”

A man had already died, and Lu Hualing felt guilty—he didn’t want any more innocent deaths.

Qin Yu smiled, “Don’t worry, I won’t die.”

Lu Hualing still hesitated, meaning to persuade her more, but upon seeing the confidence in Qin Yu’s face, he swallowed his words.

At the doorway, Qin Yu paused. She reached into her pocket and handed Lu Hualing a safety talisman. “Keep this on your person.”

Lu Hualing trusted Qin Yu completely and obediently tucked the talisman into his underwear. Qin Yu’s lips twitched—was it really necessary to keep it that close?

“Wait here!”

That suited Lu Hualing, who still had lingering fears, and he was glad not to go in.

Qin Yu drew a glowing circle of spiritual power around Lu Hualing, reminding him before she left, “Don’t step out of this circle until I come back.”

It was the first time Lu Hualing had seen a casually drawn circle shine with light, and his admiration for Qin Yu soared! This skill—perhaps even the great Qingfeng Temple had few who could match it.

“Master, don’t worry, I won’t step out for anything!”

—

The manor was vast, with short shrubs lining the cobblestone path to the residence, whispering eerily in the wind.

In the distance, a round black shadow crouched on the ground, mechanically pounding a human-shaped doll. The doll’s face was utterly destroyed, but the shadow showed no sign of stopping.

The shadow wore a gray-white Taoist robe—it must be the sorcerer Lu Hualing had mentioned, the one who choked to death on a coin.

Qin Yu gathered spiritual energy at her fingertips, drawing a spiritual talisman in the air. With a gentle push of her palm, the talisman shot toward the black shadow. With a cry, the shadow spat out a coin and collapsed to the ground like a puddle of muddy water.

The coin bounced crisply across the ground, then, as if it had grown legs, began to scuttle away.

Trying to escape? Not a chance.

Qin Yu’s eyes glinted. She’d just been wanting to test out the faith power she’d accumulated from her recent live streams.

The girl formed a seal with her hands. Bright yellow talisman paper appeared between her fingers.

“Go.”

The paper shot off in the direction she pointed. With a crisp “ding,” it struck the fleeing coin. Instead of slowing, the coin seemed to accelerate.

When Lu Hualing had asked for her help, she’d already anticipated that alerting the enemy would provoke action. So beforehand, she’d instructed Lu Hualing to stick her talisman on a human-shaped doll about his size.

When the last trace of spiritual energy from the talisman faded away, the wind scattered it.

Elsewhere—

A middle-aged man in a black suit suddenly spat a mouthful of blood.