"You exorcise ghosts too?" Zhao Mumu exclaimed. "Since when did you start taking on jobs like that?"
Before Song Miaozhu could answer, she quickly rationalized it herself: "Well, you could see ghosts even before the spiritual resurgence—perfect professional alignment!"
Song Miaozhu, a computer science graduate: "..."
"So?" Miaozhu said with a shrug. "Wanna come check it out? It's at Lingcheng University. If there really is a ghost, it's probably a pretty considerate one—shooing people away just so they don't get hurt by her Yin energy."
"Yes! Absolutely!" Zhao Mumu agreed eagerly. Even if she couldn't see anything, her curiosity was too strong to resist.
Song Miaozhu raised an eyebrow. "You're not scared anymore?"
"Scared? With you there? Just make sure you bring your little rattan-thing and we're good." Zhao Mumu grinned. "Oh! My brother just got transferred back from the military. He went through the standard training but hasn't actually seen any real paranormal stuff yet. Mind if I bring him along?"
"Sure, why not. Who knows? We might actually need him," Miaozhu replied.
If the ghost came from bones buried before the school was built, and no one ever offered proper rites, then the passage between the Yin and Yang realms would have closed off. No way a ghost could still linger.
If someone had died violently there after the school was established, and their grievances had been resolved and they'd been given a proper burial, the spirit would've passed on to the afterlife long ago. The Underworld judges would have handled any unresolved grudges.
But if someone died unjustly after the dormitory was built, their body still buried nearby and never properly laid to rest—then it made sense that the ghost had been roaming around for years, even before the spiritual resurgence.
Still, all a ghost like that could do was release residual Yin energy, slowly making the living fall ill, shortening their lifespans... eventually causing death.
One way or another, if a ghost truly existed there, that probably meant a murder had taken place. It was better to involve someone official than to sneak around with a couple of students. And if it turned out to be nothing? No harm done. But if something did show up... they'd need to report it anyway.
Before long, Zhao Mumu had created a new group chat.
[Ghost Exorcism Squad (3/3)]
[Zhao Mumu]: Welcome to the Ghost Exorcism Squad!
[Zhao Huoyan]: Greetings, Master Song! I'm Zhao Huoyan from the Lingcheng SEIU Unit. Could you explain the situation at Lingcheng University in more detail?
[Miaozhu]: Two students from Lingcheng University came to me today. About a year ago, just after they moved into their dorm room, they both had the same dream—where a female ghost told them to leave immediately. Later, all four students in that room fell sick one after another. That's when they took it seriously and requested to switch rooms. That dorm's been sealed off ever since.
[Zhao Huoyan]: Which dorm exactly?
[Miaozhu]: Should I just add the girls to this group so they can explain directly?
[Zhao Mumu]: Yes yes yes! Do it!
[Zhao Huoyan]: Please go ahead.
Miaozhu contacted Lin Jiaojiao and Xu Xiaodan, got their permission, and added them to the group.
[Ghost Exorcism Squad (5/5)]
[Whispers of Spring: It was Dorm Building 4, Room 119, Central Campus of Lingcheng University.
[Soft But Not Weak]: Quick question—was there really a murder in that dorm room?
[Zhao Huoyan]: That'll require investigation. I'll contact the university and get clearance to access the room. Let's have Master Song take a look tomorrow night.
[Zhao Huoyan]: Master Song, is it alright if I stop by tomorrow morning to chat with you first? I can take you all to Lingcheng University in the afternoon.
[Miaozhu]: Sounds good.
...
Having Zhao Mumu's brother on board was the right move. It made things much easier. He handled talking to the university too.
Which meant Song Miaozhu didn't have to sneak around with the students anymore—she could walk in openly and inspect the site properly. Originally, Xu Xiaodan and Lin Jiaojiao had planned to smuggle her in and peek through the dorm's first-floor window.
Now that wouldn't be necessary.
After wrapping up the group chat, night had fallen. Song Miaozhu packed up her things, shut down the shop, and headed to the back room. She hadn't visited the ghost shop in days—she'd been training outside every night lately.
Tonight, she planned to check in.
After a shower, she changed into her velvet robe, pinned her hair up neatly, and laid down on the bed. In the blink of an eye, she crossed over to the underworld. She materialized in the warehouse behind her ghost shop.
First order of business: log into the Underworld Network and check the tax tab on her Nether Commerce Bureau app. Each order placed in the shop increased her tax balance. Being a Heaven-tier ghost shop, her tax rate was only 1%.
By dividing the tax by 1%, she could calculate her exact daily revenue.
By comparing that with her recent tally of underworld currency, she could confirm whether the books were accurate.
Everything checked out. Then she stepped out of the warehouse.
"Evening, Boss!" the cashier on duty, Xu Jingsi, greeted her.
Miaozhu nodded. "Carry on."
She took a stroll through the product shelves and then exited the store. Tonight, she planned to wander a bit.
Her main goal: Tiandi Bank.
The Treasure Bowl in her store was too small—converting hell coins to human money had been a hassle. Her great-grandmother had once said that her current bowl was low-grade—only good for converting hell coins to yuan.
And if there was a low-grade version, surely there were mid- and high-grade ones too—maybe even higher. Sister Xiang Yun had reminded her to visit Tiandi Bank when she got the chance. Now that she had the funds and the time, she was going.
Like the Fengdu Magistrate's Office, Tiandi Bank was an official underworld institution. On every street in Fengdu City, the building numbered 777 marked the entrance to a branch of Tiandi Bank.
So Miaozhu floated down toward the street's end.
After a while, she spotted a glowing lantern with the character "紙" (Paper)—a specialty shop selling paper products.
She remembered something from the Secret Art of Paper Crafting: using nether paper in ghost-craft would enhance its power.
She had never seen nether paper in person before. And this was an old, reputable shop mentioned in her book. Miaozhu stepped inside.
"Welcome, miss! Looking for a particular kind of paper?" A clerk in a royal-blue paper robe greeted her warmly.
"Paper for ghost-crafting," she replied.
"Oh! A paper-craft master!" the clerk beamed. "Right this way. All the paper in this section is for spiritual paper-craft. Many seasoned masters buy from us."
Miaozhu walked over and browsed. There was golden paper for ingots and lotus flowers, yellow paper for ghost money, multicolored paper for spirit clothes... Not as diverse as her living-world paper catalog, but everything here was highly specialized.
Each sheet was laced with a faint layer of Yin energy.
If brought to the living world, they'd be intangible—only usable for spiritual crafting.
Perfect for her paper-craft... though she wouldn't dare sit in front of her store in broad daylight using these.
"How much for this?" Miaozhu asked, pointing to a stack of golden paper.
"That's sold by the bundle—500 hell coins per pack," the clerk said.
Miaozhu sucked in a breath. "So expensive?"