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

It was the outline of a person, but the facial features were not clearly visible. The whole person looked like a shape splashed with thick ink, with only a rough outline of the body.

Li Mu took out a talisman from his pocket and stuck it on the inside of the window glass.

The dark figure suddenly drifted backward, as if it had been burned by something.

Li Mu stared at it and slowly spoke.

"Who are you?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

The shadowy figure did not answer. It remained there, motionless, like a statue.

"How long have you been here?" Li Mu asked again.

The shadowy figure remained silent.

But it began to move slowly, not drifting backward, but drifting to the side, as if trying to go around the window and come in from another direction.

Li Mu sneered.

He took out his peach wood sword, drew a circle on the window, and then pointed it in the direction of the shadowy figure.

"By imperial decree, withdraw!"

The shadowy figure was suddenly thrown backward, as if pushed by an invisible hand, and floated to the rooftop across the street before disappearing.

Li Mu put down the peach wood sword and let out a long breath.

He didn't chase after them.

Because he knew that thing couldn't go far.

Since it has become attached to the old lady of this house, it will definitely come back.

Chasing after them now, engaging in a battle with someone whose background is unknown in the dark, is not a wise move.

Tonight's task is not to subdue it, but to confirm two things:

First, it does exist; it is not an illusion.

Secondly, its target was the old lady in the house.

Both of these things have now been confirmed.

Li Mu put away the peach wood sword, tore off the talisman paper from the windowsill, and pasted a new one.

Then he walked to the bedroom door and knocked.

"Ms. Lin, please come out."

The door opened, and Lin Wanqing walked out, her face deathly pale.

"Mr. Li... what were you talking to just now?"

"Yes." Li Mu didn't hide anything. "What your mother saw does exist. It was a spirit, what you call a ghost."

Lin Wanqing swayed slightly and grabbed the door frame for support.

"Then...then my mom..."

"Don't worry," Li Mu waved his hand. "It won't come tonight. I chased it away before I came. But I need time to find out more about it."

"What's its background?"

"Yes. Everything has a origin, even ghosts. There must be a reason why it appeared here and why it's only haunting your mother. Only after I find out the truth can I completely resolve this."

Lin Wanqing nodded, taking a moment to process what Li Mu had said.

"Mr. Li, how long will it take you?"

"It might take a day or two, or a week at most. Spend more time with your mother during this time. Before you go to bed at night, I'll put a talisman on your door to keep that thing out."

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Li."

Li Mu took out a house-protecting talisman from his bag and pasted it on the inside of the front door.

"Don't tear this talisman, and don't let anyone else touch it."

"clear."

"I'm leaving now. I'll contact you if I hear anything."

"I'll take you there—"

"No need, it's dark outside, you stay with your mother."

Li Mu went downstairs, got on his electric bike, and left the old town, pondering a question.

Why is that dark figure only bothering the old lady?

Is it because the old lady is physically weak and lacks yang energy, making her an easy target? Or is there another reason?

Was it because the old lady did something recently that disturbed it? Or did it recently come here from somewhere else?

These are all issues that need to be investigated.

……

The next morning, Li Mu went to the old town again.

This time, he didn't go directly to Lin Wanqing's mother's house, but instead took a stroll around the nearby streets.

They inquired with some elderly people living nearby, asking if there was anything unusual.

"Something unusual?" The white-haired old man, who was studying a chess game, looked up, thought for a moment, and said, "Nothing unusual. This place has been the same for decades."

"Has anyone heard any strange noises in the middle of the night?" Li Mu continued to ask.

Another old man chimed in, "Now that you mention it, something comes to mind."

"What is it?"

"Last month, someone saw a light coming from the window of that empty house across the street in the middle of the night." The old man pointed to an old building not far across the street. "That building has been empty for several years, and no one has lived there. One night last month, a neighbor in the building across the street said that he saw a light coming from a second-floor window of that building, like something was burning. But when the fire department came, they found nothing, and there were no signs of fire in the house at all."

Li Mu looked in the direction the old man pointed.

It is a six-story old building with mottled exterior walls, some windows are half broken, and some are boarded up.

There is a crooked tree in front of the building, with most of its branches and leaves withered, making it look gloomy.

"What was that building used for before?"

"It used to be a dormitory for the textile factory workers," the old man said. "The textile factory went bankrupt a long time ago, and this building has been empty ever since. Some people say that the last factory director lived here, but after he died, it has remained empty ever since."

"How did the factory manager die?"

The old man lowered his voice: "I heard he hanged himself. The factory went bankrupt, leaving him with a mountain of debt, and he couldn't think straight. He hanged himself on the second floor of that building."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu's heart stirred.

"When was that?"

"It must have been seven or eight years," the old man thought for a moment, "about that, around the year I retired."

Li Mu wrote down this information.

He walked to the empty building and looked up.

The iron gate in front of the building was locked, and the lock was rusted. But the wooden plank of one of the windows next to it was loose, and you could squeeze through.

Li Mu didn't rush in. It was broad daylight, the yang energy was strong, and even if something was there, it wouldn't come out.

He first sent Lin Wanqing a message: "Ms. Lin, are you aware that there's an empty building near your home?"

A few minutes later, Lin Wanqing replied: "I know, it's right across the street. What's wrong?"

"When did your mother start seeing that dark figure?"

"Last month, around... the 20th."

Can you confirm the specific date?

Lin Wanqing was silent for a moment before replying, "Let me check. I remember it was a Saturday when I went back to see her, and she only told me the next day... It was the 22nd of last month."

On the 22nd of last month.

Li Mu calculated the time, and it happened to be the same time when the neighbors saw the "fire" in that empty building.

He already had some guesses in his mind, but he still needed to confirm them.

……

It's 11 p.m.

Li Mu stood in front of the iron gate of that empty building.

The moonlight was obscured by clouds, and only the faint glow of distant streetlights illuminated the building, making it appear indistinct.

He took a deep breath and squeezed through a loose window.

Inside is a stairwell.

The stairwell window was broken, and the wind was blowing in, making a howling sound, like someone was crying.

Li Mu turned on his flashlight and shone it around.

The walls were covered with old little GG stickers, and the floor was covered with a thick layer of dust, with mouse footprints visible.

He walked up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs on the second floor, there was a door that was half open.

Li Mu pushed open the door and went inside.