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

Tianhai City God Temple is located in the suburbs. Compared with the prosperity of the city, the suburban City God Temple appears somewhat dilapidated, but it has an indescribable solemnity and dignity.

The car stopped by the roadside in front of the temple. Li Mu paid the fare and stood in the square, looking up at the ancient building with gray tiles and red walls.

The City God Temple is not large, with three courtyards: the mountain gate in front, the main hall in the middle, and the sleeping quarters in the back.

A plaque hangs above the mountain gate, bearing the words "Tianhai City God Temple" in gold characters, written in a vigorous and powerful style, suggesting it has been around for many years.

I don't know if it was because it was still early or for some other reason, but there seemed to be no one in the City God Temple!

Li Mu walked through the mountain gate, passed through a small courtyard, and arrived in front of the main hall.

Inside the main hall is a seated statue of the City God, who sits upright in the shrine, wearing an official hat and a red robe, with a dignified expression.

Several sticks of incense burned in the incense burner in front of the statue, and wisps of smoke rose and drifted into the hall.

Li Mu walked straight to the statue, took out the small porcelain bottle from his bag, and placed it on the offering table.

"Lord City God, I've brought the items," Li Mu said to the statue.

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

Then, the small porcelain bottle on the offering table suddenly trembled, and the sealing talisman on the bottle moved automatically without wind, making a slight rustling sound.

Li Mu's heart tightened, and he subconsciously took half a step back.

A voice came from behind the statue, deep and resonant, tinged with dissatisfaction.

"Why are you only arriving now? I've been waiting for you all morning."

Li Mu looked in the direction of the sound and saw a person emerge from behind the statue.

He looked to be in his fifties, with a square face, a short beard, an official hat, and a blue official robe.

He looked exactly like the City God he had seen in his dream, except that the real man was even more imposing than in his dream, exuding an aura of authority that commanded respect without anger.

"This humble subject, Li Mu, pays his respects to the City God." Li Mu clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

The City God waved his hand, walked to the offering table, picked up the small porcelain bottle, and examined it for a while.

"Quite a bit of resentment here." The City God frowned, popped the stopper open to peek inside, then plugged it back in and tucked the porcelain bottle into his sleeve. "I already know what happened to you!"

"The City God is truly all-powerful!" Li Mu immediately praised.

"Don't flatter me, kid. If I hadn't been paying extra attention to you lately, I wouldn't have noticed what happened to you yesterday!" The City God continued, "The Tianhai City God's Office governs an area of ​​three hundred li, where tens of thousands of souls reside. I handle matters such as offering sacrifices and sending souls back to the underworld. However, matters such as living people practicing evil arts and imprisoning souls are not my responsibility."

"Who's in charge of that?" Li Mu asked.

The City God glanced at him, but instead of answering directly, he said something that surprised Li Mu.

"The underworld only cares about the dead, not the living. If you fight with those evil cultivators and someone gets hurt or killed, that's the business of the mortal government. I have no say in it and won't interfere."

"Does the City God mean... that we, the common people, should bear the burden ourselves?"

"What I mean is," the City God looked at him, his gaze piercing, "since you have this ability, don't hold back. The fact that ghost keepers dare to raise ghosts to harm people in the Tianhai territory shows that their power is already considerable, and the underworld cannot interfere with the mortal realm. But if you can expose them, it will be considered as solving some troublesome matters for the underworld, and I don't mind doing you a favor within the rules of the underworld."

Li Mu's heart stirred.

"May the City God explain it more clearly?"

The City God smiled, took out a black token from his sleeve, and tossed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu caught it and looked down. The front of the token was engraved with the four characters "Tianhai City God," and the back was engraved with the character "Order." It was heavy and icy cold, like holding a block of ice.

"This is the guest token of the Tianhai City God's Office," the City God said. "With this token, you can perform rituals, summon the souls of the dead, and handle supernatural events within the Tianhai territory without being stopped by the underworld officials; they may even grant you favors. If you encounter anything you can't resolve, you can come to the City God Temple to find me. But there's one condition—"

"Please speak, City God."

"Don't cause me any trouble."

Li Mu carefully put away the token, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble subject understands."

"Alright, I'll accept the gifts. That brat's soul is too resentful to be sent directly to the underworld. I'll find a way to neutralize its resentment and send it to the underworld to await its reincarnation once it's back to normal. Don't worry about it."

"Thank you, City God."

Go!

Li Mu watched the City God's figure disappear before his eyes, said nothing more, and turned to walk out of the main hall.

……

After leaving the City God Temple, Li Mu did not go home, but went directly to Zheng Hongyuan's company.

In the center of Tianhai City, the entire top floor of an office building is Zheng Hongyuan's office area.

The receptionist recognized him and led him directly to the door of the president's office.

"Mr. Zheng, Master Li has arrived."

"Please come in." Zheng Hongyuan's voice came from inside, tinged with urgency.

Li Mu pushed open the door and entered. Zheng Hongyuan was sitting behind his desk reading documents. He immediately stood up when he saw Li Mu come in.

"Mr. Li, have you found out anything?"

"Not yet." Li Mu sat down on the sofa, took out his phone from his bag, and pulled out the photo of the wall markings he had taken in Qingxi Ancient Town. He handed it to Zheng Hongyuan, "Could you help me look up what this symbol means?"

"Mr. Li, have you found out anything?"

"Not yet." Li Mu sat down on the sofa, took out his phone from his bag, and pulled out the photo of the wall markings he had taken in Qingxi Ancient Town. He handed it to Zheng Hongyuan, "Could you help me look up what this symbol means?"

Zheng Hongyuan took the phone and looked at the photo carefully.

"These are... runes?"

"It should be some kind of mark," Li Mu said. "The old man who sold jars burned talismans in the alley and also carved this symbol on the wall. I suspect this symbol is related to an organization that raises ghosts."

Zheng Hongyuan's expression changed slightly.

"An organization? You mean... this wasn't done by one person?"

"One person can't raise that kind of ghost." Li Mu leaned back on the sofa, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest. "To create that kind of ghost, you need a professional place, special tools, and you also need to master complex evil arts. One person can't handle it; you need at least a small group."

Zheng Hongyuan was silent for a moment, then picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

"Old Zhou, help me look up a symbol. I'll send it to your phone, and you can ask someone who knows about it to see if they recognize it. The sooner the better."

After hanging up the phone, Zheng Hongyuan returned the phone to Li Mu.

"Mr. Li, if it's really as you say, and an organization is manipulating things behind the scenes, then Liu Jianguo's case isn't an isolated incident. There may be other families who have also been affected."

"That's what I think too," Li Mu nodded. "So I need you to do me another favor."

"Please speak."

"Check if any other families in Tianhai City have experienced similar situations in the past six months—strange things happening inexplicably in their homes, no help being found by experts, and in the end, nothing is resolved or they move away."

Zheng Hongyuan thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and scrolled through it for a while.

"I know a friend who works at the Tianhai City Police Department. I can ask him to check the police records. If a similar report has been filed, we should be able to find it."

"The sooner the better."

"clear."

Li Mu stood up, preparing to leave, but stopped at the door.

"Mr. Zheng, there's one more thing."

"Please speak."

"That ghost keeper came to see me last night."

Zheng Hongyuan's hand trembled, and the coffee spilled onto the table.

"He...he found you?"

"Yes. We fought, and I caught him off guard and injured him." Li Mu turned to look at Zheng Hongyuan. "But he escaped. Before he ran away, he said, 'I have to go back and report this.' This means he has connections above him, in a large organization."

Zheng Hongyuan's face turned completely pale.

"Mr. Li... your current situation... is it very dangerous?"

"Danger is certain. But now is not the time to be afraid." Li Mu's tone was calm. "The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light, so being afraid is useless. We should take the initiative and find them out."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Investigate. The more detailed the investigation, the better," Li Mu said. "Also, prepare some things for me. I'll send you a list later, and you can have someone go and buy them."

"no problem."

Li Mu left Zheng Hongyuan's company, stood at the entrance of the office building, looked at the bustling traffic on the street, and took a deep breath.