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

For the next few days, Li Mu stayed home to recuperate and tried to gather some information.

One Friday evening, Li Mu changed into clean clothes and took a taxi to the Tianhai Hotel.

This is his second time here.

The last time was when I met Zheng Hongyuan, and this time it was for the dinner party that Wang Qingyu mentioned.

The dinner was held in the VIP room on the third floor of the hotel, a large private room that could accommodate thirty or forty people.

When Li Mu arrived, there were already more than a dozen people sitting in the private room, men and women, all dressed smartly and clearly not ordinary people.

Wang Qingyu sat next to the main seat, wearing a black dress, with her long hair flowing over her shoulders and light makeup, exuding an extraordinary aura.

When she saw Li Mu come in, she stood up and waved to him.

"Li Mu, over here."

Li Mu walked over, and Wang Qingyu arranged a seat for him right next to her.

"These are all my friends, from all walks of life," Wang Qingyu said softly. "They're all family, so there's no need to be reserved."

Li Mu nodded, sat down, and looked around.

Most of the people in the private room were in their thirties or forties, and they all looked like elites from various industries. He recognized a few of them—not in person, of course, but from photos he had seen in the news or magazines.

Anyone you randomly pick has a net worth starting at hundreds of millions.

The only person who looked to be around his age was a young man in a gray casual suit sitting in the corner.

The young man was probably around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with regular features, but his skin was unnaturally pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun in a long time.

He held a glass of red wine in his hand, but didn't drink it; he just swirled it slowly in his hand.

Li Mu noticed that the young man was also looking at him.

Their eyes met in mid-air. The young man smiled slightly, raised his glass to him, and then looked away.

Wang Qingyu noticed Li Mu's gaze and whispered, "That person is called Shen Yi. He's in the antique business. His family is very wealthy, and he's quite famous in the Tianhai antique circle."

Li Mu nodded without asking any further questions.

The dinner went very smoothly; everyone chatted about business, investments, and recent news from Tianhai City.

After a few rounds of drinks, the conversation gradually turned to Li Mu.

"Qingyu, is this the Master Li you mentioned?" A plump man in his fifties walked over with a wine glass, looking Li Mu up and down. "He looks young."

"Mr. Zhang, being young doesn't mean you're incompetent," Wang Qingyu said with a smile. "Li Mu has helped Zheng Hongyuan and me with things before, and you know how effective it was."

Mr. Zhang nodded and sat down opposite Li Mu.

"Master Li, I've heard you're skilled in feng shui?"

"I know a little bit," Li Mu said modestly.

"Could you take a look at my new villa? I just don't feel comfortable living there. I've asked several people to come and see it, and they all say there's nothing wrong with it, but something just doesn't feel right."

Li Mu thought for a moment and said, "If it's convenient for you, Mr. Zhang, I'll go take a look another day. But I can't guarantee I'll be able to find the problem; I can only do my best."

"Okay, okay, it's settled then." Mr. Zhang took out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Li Mu. "This is my business card. You can call me anytime."

Li Mu took the business card and put it away.

Then several more people came over to talk to Li Mu. Some had experienced strange things at home, some felt something was wrong with their newly bought house, and some wanted to hold a proper memorial service for their deceased parents.

Li Mu accepted all the offers, taking those he could and politely declining those he couldn't.

As the dinner was drawing to a close, the young man named Shen Yi walked over with a wine glass in his hand.

"Master Li," he said softly, sitting down next to Li Mu, with a lazy tone, "I've heard so much about you."

"Mr. Shen, you're too kind." Li Mu looked at his face and felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"I heard from Mr. Wang that you can handle some things... that ordinary people can't handle." Shen Yi swirled his wine glass, the red liquid leaving thin streaks on the glass. "Coincidentally, I've also recently encountered a problem. I'd like to ask Master Li for his help."

"What is it?"

Shen Yi took a photo out of his pocket and handed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu took it and looked at it.

The photo shows a bronze artifact, about 30 centimeters tall, shaped like a miniature tree with small bells hanging from its branches.

"What is this?"

"A bronze artifact, which I acquired from an antique dealer three months ago." Shen Yi lowered his voice even further. "It's a fine piece, very old. But—ever since this thing came into my home, I've been having nightmares every night. I dream of a black forest, with countless trees, and something hanging from the branches of each tree."

"What's hanging there?"

Shen Yi was silent for two seconds, then said one word: "A person. A person is hanging there."

Li Mu frowned.

Have you had someone else look at it?

"I've looked for it. I've looked at three people, and they all said there was nothing wrong with it, that I was having nightmares and it had nothing to do with bronze artifacts. But I know it's this thing that's the problem," Shen Yi said, looking into Li Mu's eyes.

Li Mu returned the photo to him.

"Mr. Shen, I need to see that item with my own eyes before I can make a judgment."

"Shall we go now?" Shen Yi stood up. "My home isn't far from here, it's a twenty-minute drive."

Li Mu checked the time; it was a little past nine o'clock in the evening, still early.

"OK."

Wang Qingyu frowned when she heard that they were leaving.

"Where are you going?"

"Mr. Shen has some family matters to attend to, I'll go check on him," Li Mu said.

Wang Qingyu glanced at Shen Yi, then at Li Mu, hesitated, and finally only said, "Be careful."

……

Shen Yi's home is in a villa area in the east of Tianhai City. It is a detached house with its own yard, and it is even bigger than Liu Jianguo's hillside villa.

Li Mu followed Shen Yi into the villa, and his first impression was—cold.

It wasn't the cold from the air conditioner; it was a chilling cold that seeped into your bones.

Shen Yi led him upstairs to the second floor and into the study.

In the center of the study stood a mahogany table, on which rested a bronze vessel.

It is the "tree" in the photo.

But seeing it in person is completely different from seeing a photo.

The bronze artifact is about 30 centimeters tall, with seven or eight small bells hanging from its tree-like branches. The bells are shiny and new, without any rust.

Li Mu walked closer and examined the bells carefully.

The bells are not the right shape. Ordinary bells are round, but these bells are long and narrow, resembling human figures.

He reached out to touch the bells, but as soon as his fingers touched their surface, a chilling coldness spread from his fingertips throughout his body.

At the same time, he heard a voice.

It didn't come from the bronze artifact, but rather it resonated directly in his mind.

It was a woman's voice, very soft, as if whispering in his ear.

"Help me...help me..."

Li Mu abruptly withdrew his hand and took two steps back.

"What's wrong?" Shen Yi asked.

Li Mu did not answer. He took out three incense sticks from his bag, lit them, and placed them at the door of the study.

The smoke from the three incense sticks all sank downwards at the same time, plunging straight into the ground as if being sucked in by something.

Press the first incense stick, then press all three sticks.

And it was even more serious than what he saw at the Lao Jun Temple.

"Mr. Shen, where did you get this from?" Li Mu turned around and looked at Shen Yi.

"An antique dealer named Zhou Maolin. He's quite famous in the Tianhai antique circle." Shen Yi thought for a moment. "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this?"

"There's a big problem." Li Mu took a deep breath. "This isn't an ordinary bronze artifact. It's a magical artifact. It's an artifact used to imprison the souls of the dead."

Shen Yi's expression changed.

"Imprisoning the souls of the dead?"

"Yes. Those little bells you see, each one holds a lost soul. I just encountered one and heard its cries for help." Li Mu looked at the bronze tree, his brows furrowed. "And these souls have been imprisoned inside for more than just a year or two. At least several hundred years."

Shen Yi remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking.

"Master Li, can you solve this?"

Li Mu did not rush to answer.

He circled the bronze tree, carefully examining every detail.

The branches were covered with dense runes, the same kind he had seen on the walls of Qingxi Ancient Town and in the jars of Lao Jun Temple.

But it is more refined and more complex, as if it were made by a more skilled person.

"It can be solved," Li Mu finally said, "but we need time to study it and determine the specific situation before we can know how to solve it."

"How long will it take?"

"At least three days. I need to prepare some things and choose a suitable day to do it."

Shen Yi nodded, took a bank card from the drawer, and pushed it in front of Li Mu.

"This is the deposit. Master Li, I'm entrusting this matter to you."

Li Mu glanced at the card, did not refuse, and put it in his pocket.

"There's one more thing."

"you say."

"This thing is too evil; you can't stay here any longer. Move out tonight and stay at a hotel. Come back after I've dealt with it."

Shen Yi hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"it is good."

……