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

"Mr. Zheng, you have to do something for me."

After a moment of thought, Li Mu slowly opened his mouth.

"Please speak!"

"Take me to Qingxi Ancient Town. I need to find the old man who sells jars," Li Mu said directly.

Zheng Hongyuan frowned.

"Mr. Li, if this was indeed orchestrated, that old man is likely no longer there."

"I know. In either case, we might be able to see something when we get to the scene."

Zheng Hongyuan was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"When are you going?"

"Tomorrow morning," Li Mu stood up, "you pick me up in your car, and we'll go to Qingxi Ancient Town. To solve the problem at its source, we have to go to the source."

"I understand!" Zheng Hongyuan stood up, extended his hand to shake hands with Li Mu, and said, "Mr. Li, thank you."

……

The next morning, Zheng Hongyuan picked up Li Mu in a black Mercedes-Benz van.

Li Mu changed into a set of light sportswear. He left the small porcelain bottle at home, affixed talismans, and set up an array that could not be dispelled by those with higher levels of cultivation, unless their cultivation was far greater than his.

If such a ruthless person really exists, then what else is there to say!

……

It takes about an hour to drive from the city center to Qingxi Ancient Town.

The two didn't talk much along the way, and Li Mu leaned back in his seat to rest.

"Master Li, we're almost there." Zheng Hongyuan's voice pulled him back from his thoughts.

Li Mu looked up and saw a cluster of gray-blue buildings in the distance through the car window, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, arranged in a pleasing, staggered pattern.

We've arrived at Qingxi Ancient Town.

The car stopped at the parking lot at the entrance of the ancient town, and the two got out and walked.

The main street of the ancient town is paved with bluestone slabs, and the shops on both sides sell various tourist souvenirs, snacks and local specialties.

Because it was a weekday, there weren't many tourists in the ancient town; only a few passed by.

As Li Mu walked along, he observed the stalls on both sides and soon noticed something amiss.

Most of these stalls sell handmade products, snacks, and unique clothing; there are very few street vendors.

The only stall was located in a side alley deep in the ancient town, selling old books, old porcelain, and some miscellaneous trinkets.

But there were no jars at that stall.

Li Mu walked over, squatted down, and casually picked up an old book to flip through.

"Boss, do you sell those old-fashioned ceramic jars? The size of a palm?" Li Mu asked casually.

The stall owner, a plump man in his forties, was eating sunflower seeds when he heard this and shook his head: "They're all gone."

"When did it stop?"

"About two weeks ago," the stall owner thought for a moment, "there was an old man who set up a stall here, specializing in selling jars."

"What does that old man look like?"

"A skinny old man, in his sixties or seventies, a bit hunchbacked, wearing a gray kung fu outfit. He speaks with a local accent, probably from Tianhai." The stall owner paused, then added, "That old man is quite strange. He never chats with anyone while setting up his stall; he just sits there dozing off. But when someone comes to look at him, he immediately becomes enthusiastic."

"Do many people buy his stuff?" Li Mu asked again.

"Who would buy these? These tourists all just look and don't buy anything, let alone jars!" The stall owner chuckled helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Li Mu also fell into deep thought, and for a moment he was also at a loss about how to deal with this situation!

At this moment, Li Mu noticed a small patch of grayish-black marks at the base of the wall, as if it had been burned.

He crouched down, pinched a little ash with his fingers, and smelled it under his nose.

Paper ash.

But it wasn't ordinary paper ash; it had a faint sulfur smell.

It's the ash left after burning talisman paper.

That old man burned talismans here.

Li Mu stood up and walked a few steps along the base of the wall, where he noticed a tiny engraving. The engraving was small, only about the length of a finger, but its shape was very regular, like part of a rune.

Li Mu took out his phone and took a picture.

He then circled the alley again, but found no other clues. He then returned to the fork in the alley and met up with Zheng Hongyuan.

Seeing that they hadn't found any clues in the ancient town, Li Mu and Zheng Hongyuan could only continue to wander around, trying to find some clues!

Unfortunately... the two wandered around the ancient town for most of the day without finding anything!

With nothing still found, the two had no choice but to head back and make other plans!

……

By the time the car entered the city, it was already dark.

Zheng Hongyuan parked his car at the entrance of Li Mu's residential area. Li Mu got out of the car and was about to walk into the residential area when he suddenly stopped.

An elderly man in a gray robe stood under the streetlights at the entrance of the residential compound.

The old man had gray hair, a thin face, and a black cane in his hand. He exuded an indescribable aura.

It wasn't the chilling aura of a ghost keeper, but something else entirely... an aura of authority and unquestionable authority.

"Li Mu?" the old man asked, his voice deep and resonant.

"Yes, that's me. And who are you?"

The old man smiled slightly, took out a black token from his sleeve, and flashed it in front of Li Mu.

The token is engraved with four characters: "Tianhai City God".

Li Mu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Under the City God's command, the Chief of the Underworld, surnamed Zhao," the old man said, putting away his token and looking calmly at Li Mu. "The City God asked me to pass on a message to you."

"Under the City God's command, the Chief of the Underworld, surnamed Zhao," the old man said, putting away his token and looking calmly at Li Mu. "The City God asked me to pass on a message to you."

Li Mu took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.

"Please speak, Senior Zhao."

"The City God says—" Chief Zhao's voice was deep and clear, "that thing in your hand must be delivered to the Tianhai City God Temple within three days. If it is not delivered by the deadline, the underworld will punish you for 'disturbing the balance of Yin and Yang and illegally detaining the souls of the dead.'"

Li Mu's heart sank.

"Senior Zhao, I rescued that little devil from the ghost keeper. I'm helping it—"

"I know," Chief Zhao interrupted him, his tone completely flat. "But the underworld has its rules. Souls must return to the underworld; they cannot linger. No matter your motives, rules are rules. Three days, Tianhai City God Temple. Remember that."

After saying this, without waiting for Li Mu's response, Zhao turned around, leaned on his cane, and slowly disappeared into the night.

Li Mu stood there, staring in the direction where the gray-robed figure had disappeared, remaining motionless for a long time.

The sound of car horns on the road pulled him back from his reverie.

This was truly unexpected. In just one day, the City God knew that he had taken in a little ghost and even asked him to deliver it!

However, since the City God had spoken, he naturally couldn't ignore it.

Anyway, keeping that brat in our hands is a ticking time bomb, but it's better to hand him over to the City God to deal with, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble and cut the matter off at its source!

Afterwards, Li Mu searched for the location of the City God Temple on his phone. It was not in the city center, but only a forty-minute drive away!

Since that's the case, Li Mu simply plans to make a trip to the City God tomorrow, give him an explanation, and then deal with Zheng Hongyuan's problem!