People worship their ancestors: I'm just burning some paper money, how did I become a Taoist ma

That figure must be the ghost of Xu Baoguo.

He didn't enter the underworld; instead, he got lost somewhere. That place was hazy and gray, and he didn't know what it was.

Li Mu opened his eyes and took a deep breath.

Finding him makes things easier; the problem is... how to lure him out.

Li Mu thought for a moment, then picked up a "guiding talisman" from the altar, strung it with a peach wood branch, and pointed it in that direction.

"Xu Qing, call him Dad," Li Mu said without turning his head. "Shout it loudly, at the top of your lungs."

Xu Qing paused for a moment, then shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Dad—it's me, Qingqing—please come back—Dad—"

Her voice echoed across the hillside, choked with sobs, heartbreakingly painful.

Li Mu closed his eyes and sensed again.

The figure that had been wandering in the mist stopped again.

This time, he no longer stared blankly, but tilted his head as if listening to some sound.

"Dad—I miss you—please come back—"

Xu Qing's voice continued to come through.

The figure moved.

He started walking in the direction from which the sound came.

But the fog was too thick, and he stumbled along, as if struggling in a quagmire, each step difficult.

For lost souls, returning to the right path is not so easy. The underworld has its own rules; you can't just come and go as you please.

"Supreme decree, clear the way and guide the soul!" Li Mu shouted, lit the guiding talisman on the peach wood branch, and flung it in the direction of the figure.

The burning talisman flew out, drawing a bright trail in the night sky.

Then, Li Mu witnessed a scene that shocked him.

Where the flame passed, the mist seemed to be cleaved open by something, revealing a narrow passage.

Although it was only for a brief moment before the fog gathered again, the figure had already seen the passage.

He started running towards the passage.

Li Mu dared not delay, so he picked up another "path-opening talisman", lit it, and threw it into the air.

"The sky is clear and the earth is blessed; the troops follow the seal. The divine general who clears the way, swiftly display his mighty power—"

The talisman exploded in the air with a muffled thud, as if something had been shattered.

Li Mu felt the surrounding air vibrate.

Then, he heard a strange sound.

It sounded like the wind, or like someone crying, sobbing softly, coming from all directions.

Jiang Yiling turned pale with fright and instinctively moved closer to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was also scared, but she did not back down and kept calling for her father.

Li Mu's expression also turned serious, and he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

The rituals performed in my past life were merely superficial and for show; I've never seen anything like this before!

This proves that the skills he possesses are truly useful in this world!

He knew what that sound was.

Those were wandering ghosts and spirits that had been attracted by the commotion of the summoning ceremony.

These wandering ghosts, some of whom have been dead for many years, have never been worshipped or given any rituals to help them pass on, and have been roaming the mortal realm ever since. When they hear any sounds of summoning spirits, they will come over, hoping to get a share of the offerings.

If they disrupt things, not only will Xu Baoguo's spirit not be able to be brought back, but it might also cause trouble.

"Don't be afraid," Li Mu said softly, as if comforting Xu Qing and Jiang Yiling, and also as if comforting himself.

He put down the peach wood branch, picked up the soul-guiding banner from the altar, and waved it vigorously a few times.

The soul-guiding banner fluttered in the night sky, each wave creating a gust of air.

The whimpering sounds, as if they had been frightened, gradually faded away.

Li Mu breathed a sigh of relief and closed his eyes to sense again.

The figure had emerged from the hazy mist and arrived at a road.

The road was very narrow, and it was pitch black on both sides, so you couldn't see anything. But the road surface was bright, as if something was glowing.

Li Mu knew that it was the road to the underworld.

As long as Xu Baoguo continues along that path, he will be able to enter the underworld.

but……

The figure stopped at the intersection and hesitated.

He didn't know which way to go.

The road on the left is brighter, and the road on the right is darker. The two roads look almost identical, but only one is correct.

Li Mu frowned.

He had heard of this situation in his previous life.

Some lost souls are lost not because they can't find their way, but because they dare not choose it.

He hesitated his whole life while he was alive, and he still couldn't change it even after he died.

"Xu Qing, keep calling," Li Mu said. "Call your father's name and tell him to go towards the light."

Xu Qing quickly did as instructed.

"Dad—walk towards the light—to the light—"

The figure seemed to have heard it, and looked up in the direction from which the sound came.

Then, he took a step.

Heading towards the light.

Li Mu was overjoyed, but he did not show it. Instead, he continued to wave the soul-guiding banner to lead Xu Baoguo.

The time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed.

The figure walked further and further away, growing smaller and smaller.

But Li Mu could sense that he had made the right choice.

"We're almost there," Li Mu said in a low voice.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange change occurred.

Suddenly, a cloud of black mist appeared on the brightly lit road, blocking Xu Baoguo's way.

The black mist churned and surged toward Xu Baoguo as if it were alive.

Xu Baoguo was so frightened that he retreated repeatedly, almost back into that gray, misty place.

Li Mu's heart tightened.

Something is blocking the way.

Not wandering ghosts, but... underworld messengers?

No, the underworld officials don't stop the souls of the dead from going to the underworld. On the contrary, their duty is to guide the souls of the dead.

What is this?

Li Mu's mind raced, and suddenly a possibility came to mind.

Xu Baoguo died in an accident.

Those who die unexpectedly may have an "undetermined number" in the records of the underworld. In other words, their fate may not yet be definitively determined in the Book of Life and Death.

Such souls will not be allowed to pass through the gates of the underworld unless their descendants burn petitions and make connections in the mortal realm.

Li Mu understood.

It wasn't that something was blocking his way, but rather that Xu Baoguo had reached the entrance to the underworld, but without a "pass," he couldn't get in.

"Damn it," Li Mu couldn't help but curse.

He doesn't have a prepared document on hand right now, nor does he have time to write one on the spot.

What should I do?

Li Mu gritted his teeth and made a bold decision.

He picked up a peach branch, drew a circle on the ground, and then placed a piece of yellow paper in the center of the circle.

Then, he bit his tongue, spitting blood onto the yellow paper.

Blood from the tip of the tongue is considered to be the most abundant source of Yang energy in the human body. Taoist rituals sometimes use blood from the tip of the tongue to "consecrate" or "suppress evil."

Li Mu couldn't care less about anything else.

He picked up a peach wood branch, dipped it in the blood from his tongue, and wrote a few lines on a yellow paper.

It wasn't a proper memorial, but rather an "urgent notice."

The gist is: Xu Qing, a descendant of the living, pleads for her deceased father, Xu Baoguo, requesting that the underworld gates allow him to enter. All expenses incurred for this purpose will be reimbursed by the living descendants later.

After finishing writing, Li Mu folded the yellow paper, picked it up with a peach wood twig, and tossed it toward Xu Baoguo.

"go--"

The burning yellow paper flew out and disappeared into the night sky.

Then, Li Mu closed his eyes and sensed again.

The black mist is still there.

But after a while, the black fog slowly dissipated.

Xu Baoguo stood at the intersection, hesitated for a moment, and then stepped inside.

This time, no one stopped him.

Li Mu let out a long breath, feeling completely drained. His legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

He braced himself against the peach wood branch to steady himself.

"Are you back?" Xu Qing asked anxiously.

"Your father has already entered the underworld," Li Mu said weakly, "but what happens in the mortal realm is beyond my knowledge!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's tears fell again, but this time they were tears of joy.

"Thank you... thank you, Li Mu," she said, her voice choked with emotion. "Thank you for finding my father..."

Li Mu waved his hand without saying a word.

He's so tired he doesn't even want to talk.

The soul-summoning process had exhausted him, especially the last drop of blood from the tip of his tongue, which left him completely weak.

In his previous life, these methods were just formalities and had little impact on him, but in this world, the same methods have such a huge impact on him!

Come to think of it... since these things really do work, it's impossible for them to be too easy!

Jiang Yiling walked over, looked at Li Mu's pale face, and asked with some concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing," Li Mu forced a smile. "I'm just a little tired."

He squatted down and began to collect the items from the altar one by one.

Three of the seven soul-guiding lamps have already gone out, and the remaining four are almost burned out.

Some grayish-black substance, like cigarette ash or something else, had somehow gotten stuck on the soul-guiding banner, and it couldn't be wiped off.

Li Mu didn't pay attention and put everything into the bag.

"Let's go, let's go pay respects to your father again and burn all the offerings," Li Mu said.

Afterwards, the three of them went to Qi Baoguo's grave with flashlights and paid their respects to Qi Baoguo using the same procedure!

This time, however, both incense and joss paper burned normally!

……

After the ceremony, the three of them descended the mountain.

Xu Qing drove Li Mu and Jiang Yiling back to the city.

Throughout the journey, Li Mu leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and remained silent.

He wasn't unwilling to speak; he was simply too exhausted.