Chapter 107: Death Certificate
Just as spirit stones could elevate an ordinary mortal above their social station, pure Yin energy crystals carried the exact same life-changing value for common spirits in the underworld.
The shopkeeper stood frozen for a long time before finally snapping back to her senses. Seeing Lin Huai seated calmly in a wooden chair nearby, tapping away at her system screen, the older woman leaned in close, her eyes glittering with excitement.
“Little girl,” she whispered, “none of us wronged souls dare defy the Yakshas, so I cannot hide you here for long.”
She paused, checking the street before leaning closer. “However, I do know a way—a method to completely clear you of this murder charge.”
At that very moment, Lin Huai was politely declining the offers from Dragon Emerging from the Sea and the squad, who were preparing to mount an armed rescue. Against the Yakshas—the official arbiters of the city’s laws—throwing more players into the fray would achieve nothing. They couldn’t simply butcher the city guards and get slapped with a server-wide bounty.
Hearing the shopkeeper claim there was a loophole, Lin Huai closed the team voice channel immediately. She turned her head, raising an eyebrow with mild suspicion. “Truly? Proprietress, you wouldn’t be trying to trick me, would you?”
The shopkeeper shook her head vigorously. “I am only sharing this because of that Yin energy crystal you gave me. Why would I lie to you?”
With that, she hurried over to the entrance, glancing nervously left and right down the street. After double-checking that no horned sentries were marching nearby, she latched the front door securely from the inside. She then guided Lin Huai past the curtain into the shadowed back storeroom.
Her expression turned dead serious, leaving no doubt about her honesty. “Little girl, all souls confined to this city are destined to enter Ghost Gate Pass once their original lifespans run out. Every single one of us is logged in advance on the clearance register at the gates; not a single name can go missing. If the Yakshas capture you, they will force you to take his place on that roster to balance the numbers.”
She leaned in, lowering her voice to a breath: “However, if you can find a way to strip Buddha Head of his status as a wronged soul, his name will be erased from the clearance roster entirely. Do that, and your crime vanishes into thin air.”
Lin Huai frowned, genuinely puzzled. “How can I possibly make him lose his identity as a wronged spirit? Is that even feasible?”
The shopkeeper spread her hands in a helpless shrug. “I haven’t the faintest idea. Seeing that you could casually part with a Yin energy crystal, I assumed you must possess influential backers in high places. That is the extent of my knowledge; I cannot help you beyond this.”
She glanced anxiously toward the front window. “The Yakshas will not rest until they track you down. It won’t be long before they begin searching every business street by street. If you have connections, use them immediately. Otherwise, if they drag you out of my shop, I will face severe punishment as well.”
Leaving behind that warning, the shopkeeper returned to the storefront to keep watch. Fortune favored the bold, but having deceived the patrol in exchange for the crystal, her heart was hammering against her ribs with terror.
In the dim backroom, surrounded by buckets of dried blossoms, the woman’s remark about having “connections and influence” sparked an idea in Lin Huai’s mind.
She pulled up the interface and opened the private chat group she had established earlier—the Sudden Wealth Mysterious Group.
Scanning the roster containing high-tier entities like Sister Hanba, the Nine-Headed Bird courier, and the Bone-Picking Child, she couldn’t help but smile wryly. Did networking with ancient, high-level underworld bosses count as having influential backers?
The only force that could overturn an NPC’s ruling was another, higher-ranking NPC.
Without missing a beat, she sent an SOS to the channel:
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: Family, save me!
[Drought Demon Red-Haired Princess]: What happened, little sister?
[Bone-Picking Child]: Big Sister! Is someone picking on you again? Tell me who it is—I’ll go strip their bones clean right now!
[Ghost Car Nine-Headed Bird]: Fanfan, what’s going on? Do you need me to deliver special supplies to your coordinates?
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: I’m currently inside the City of Wrongful Death. I ended up putting down a wicked spirit who committed countless atrocities… and now the Yakshas have put out a city-wide bounty on my head! Waaaah…
[Bone-Picking Child]: The Yakshas…? I don’t really have any sway over them. I don’t visit the City of Wrongful Death very often…
[Ghost Car Nine-Headed Bird]: My apologies, Fanfan. Our transport hub has no official dealings with the city gates. I’m afraid I cannot intervene either…
[Drought Demon Red-Haired Princess]: …I thought the sky had collapsed. That’s all this is about?
[Drought Demon Red-Haired Princess]: He was just an ordinary wronged soul. Dead is dead. Sit tight, little sister—Big Sister will come straighten this out for you.
Lin Huai’s heart leaped with joy. Opening a private window with Sister Hanba, she fired off ten heart emojis in rapid succession.
Less than ten minutes later, a sharp rap sounded against the glass entrance of the flower shop.
Peering through the blinds, the shopkeeper took one look at the towering woman standing outside and nearly jumped out of her skin. The visitor had flowing crimson hair, blood-red eyes, and carried an aura so suffocatingly dominant that the air around her seemed to simmer. The shopkeeper could tell at a glance that this was an exceptionally dangerous figure.
Not daring to keep her waiting, the shopkeeper hurried to unbolt the door. Even in her panic, she remembered to whisper a frantic warning toward the back, urging Lin Huai to slip out through the alley door before the terrifying red-haired demon stepped inside.
Instead, Lin Huai bounded out from the storeroom with a bright, welcoming smile.
“Sister Hong! Why did you make the trip in person? Is it really safe for you to leave the Crematorium unattended?”
The second Sister Hanba’s eyes landed on Lin Huai, the frosty, aloof mask on her face dissolved completely. She opened her arms and pulled Lin Huai into a warm, genuine embrace. “Ah, it’s been far too long, little sister!”
Mindful of the shopkeeper standing nearby, she refrained from using Lin Huai’s private nickname.
Lin Huai was deeply touched. Before discussing her own predicament, she retrieved the fine modern outfits she had set aside from recent loot crates and presented them neatly to her elder sister. Only after Sister Hanba admired the clothing did Lin Huai bring up her situation:
“Sister Hong, did you come to negotiate with the Yakshas on my behalf?”
Sister Hanba pulled a stiff, official-looking document from her sleeve and sneered in utter disdain. “Negotiate? With those brainless brutes? What is there to discuss with guards who take bribes all day and ignore their basic duties?”
She tapped the parchment. “Where is the corpse of the spirit you eliminated? I’ll check his record, issue an official death certificate, and update his file to state he succumbed to natural dissipation. Once his registration is archived, he won’t be classified as a wronged soul anymore. Problem solved, isn’t it?”
Lin Huai blinked, feeling slightly sheepish. “Um… Sister Hong, when that spirit was slain, his body dissolved straight into black mist…”
Catching the slight frown on Sister Hanba’s brow, Lin Huai quickly added, “However! I know his real mortal name! He was called Wang Dachui.”
Sister Hanba casually walked over to the wooden counter, pulled out an ancient brush-pen, and began filling out the blanks on the certificate. As the ink flowed, she suddenly paused and looked up, her ruby eyes narrowing in curiosity. “Wait a moment, little sister. How on earth did you uncover his true name?”
Lin Huai politely signaled for the shopkeeper to wait outside. Once the door clicked shut, she explained the entire encounter—from taking Dong Xiaobao for burial to formally kneeling before Old Man Ren.
Learning that Lin Huai had become Old Man Ren’s personal disciple, even Sister Hanba looked astonished. “Old Man Ren actually took you under his wing? My, our little Lin Lin truly is adored wherever she goes! That stubborn old fossil has lived like a hermit for centuries, guarding that lonely funeral hall with his life, refusing every visitor just because he’s waiting for his long-lost wife.”
Wait… waiting for his wife?
Lin Huai blinked in shock. What kind of ancient netherworld drama had she stumbled into?
Just as she opened her mouth to fish for more gossip, Sister Hanba finished her final stroke of ink. Setting the brush aside, she blew lightly on the seal and handed the document over. “Here, take this, Lin Lin. When those Yakshas track you down, slap this official death certificate right in their faces. Flash your Undertaker badge, and tell them you were executing an official collection order on behalf of my Crematorium.”
Before Lin Huai could speak, Sister Hanba reached into her robes again, pulling out five pristine, blank certificates stamped with the official wax seal of the underworld administration.
“Since you can read true names now, you might as well take these,” Sister Hanba said with a wink. “From now on, whenever you need to process unruly spirits or enemies on the road, you can issue the paperwork yourself.”
She smoothed down her robes and turned toward the door. “I cannot remain away from the furnace station for long; duty calls. Take care of yourself, Lin Lin. We’ll chat again soon.”
With a swift wave of her sleeve, the crimson-haired powerhouse dissolved into a trail of burning sparks, leaving as abruptly as she had arrived.
Lin Huai stood in the quiet flower shop, holding the blank, officially sealed death certificates in her hands.
Her heart began to race with wild, unchecked exhilaration.
With these five blank certificates in her possession, combined with her ability to see true names, who in this game could she not legally eliminate?
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