After her initial shock, Sister Wang anxiously asked, “Could he be angry at me and ran away on purpose? Xi Mufu, please tell me, where is he now?”
“He should be at his grandmother’s house. Why don’t you call her and ask?” Xi Mufu knew she was anxious and quickly suggested.
Sister Wang hadn’t expected her son to have gone back to the village, so she immediately sent a WeChat video call to her mother-in-law.
“Mom, is Xiaofeng there?” she asked urgently as soon as the call connected.
Xiaofeng’s grandmother replied, “Yes, isn’t it because you told him to come back and stay for a few days?”
Sister Wang felt a rush of anger—this naughty kid not only ran away but even lied!
“He went out at noon without telling me,” she explained rapidly. “He didn’t even take his smartwatch, so I thought he was kidnapped by traffickers. I got so worried I reported it to the police first.”
She had taken precautions by both calling Xi Mufu and reporting to the police.
Xiaofeng’s grandmother grew anxious too. “This troublesome child! Luckily, our village isn’t far from the town, otherwise, what would we do if he got lost!”
The town was less than three kilometers from the village. With the cement road, Xiaofeng could ride his bike there in about twenty minutes.
Sister Wang finally felt relieved but decided she would pick up Xiaofeng later and give the little rascal a scolding. He needed to learn that no matter where he went, he had to inform an adult first!
“Xi Mufu, you’re incredible,” Sister Wang said eagerly after ending the video call. “How did you know so accurately—not only that I scolded him at noon, but also that he went to his grandmother’s house?”
The neighbors watching nearby were equally impressed. “Truly the Little Semi-Immortal!”
Xi Mufu: “…”
She felt completely at a loss.
There was no way she could reveal her tools, but she also didn’t want to become known as the “Little Semi-Immortal,” leaving her in a tricky situation.
In the end, she could only mutter, “I just guessed…”
“Oh, you’re so humble even as a child,” Sister Wang said, clearly not believing her. She praised her repeatedly, then pulled out a thousand yuan and insisted on giving it as a token of gratitude.
Xi Mufu naturally refused. In Taoist tradition, fortune-telling could accept payment, but she hadn’t used physiognomy—she used a tool. That allowed her to politely decline.
Moreover, she saw golden merit light falling on her again, which lifted her spirits.
After this incident, her reputation spread even further. Even neighboring villages heard that the incense shop owner in town was the “Little Semi-Immortal,” making her seem almost mythical.
Xi Mufu: “…”
She was speechless.
The only comforting thing was that her merit seemed to keep increasing, making it easier to draw talismans.
One of the Longhu Mountain elders picked up a protective talisman she had drawn and exclaimed, “It even glows with golden light! Its effect must be excellent!”
Thanks to their explanation, Xi Mufu learned that even many skilled Taoist masters, though able to draw talismans, struggled to infuse them with merit. Talismans with merit were exponentially stronger than ordinary ones.
Merit was clearly a valuable thing. She decided to do more good deeds in the future!
“This protective talisman could easily sell for 500,000,” Shan Qu said.
Xi Mufu was surprised. A talisman infused with merit could really sell for that much?
However, she had no intention of selling it. First, the income from her cleansing talismans was already generous. Second, she hadn’t tested the protective talisman’s effectiveness and didn’t want to sell it casually.
Seeing her caution, the two elders admired her even more.
Shan Qu lavishly praised her: “Xi Mufu isn’t just a prodigy; she also has a kind heart. She’s a true blessing to our Taoist sect.”
Xi Mufu: “…”
She was starting to admire herself. Despite the high praise from these masters, she remained unflustered—no pride, no arrogance, and definitely no arrogance. 🙂
Ji Jiu remained silent during their conversation, quietly sipping tea. Seeing the variety of expressions on Xi Mufu’s face, he smiled faintly.
Xi Mufu caught the curve still lingering on his lips and guessed he might be smiling at her. She felt a little weary.
Ji Jiu handed her a cup of hot tea. “Want to try?”
As a young person, milk tea was her favorite. She had never really tasted tea like this before.
She took a sip. It was sweet after a gentle initial taste—quite pleasant.
Seeing this, Ji Jiu’s smile deepened, but he only let her drink one cup. “Don’t drink too much, or you won’t sleep tonight.”
Xi Mufu: “Oh.”
For some reason, she sometimes felt that Ji Jiu was like an elder figure to her. Although not much older than her, he carried a maturity and presence that didn’t suit his age.
In the dungeon, Pu Yunfeng and his teammates had stayed in the Wax Museum for seven days.
Probably because they had given a “protection fee,” no NPCs approached them during these seven days, and all dangers and horrors stayed away.
Finally, each player’s interface popped up with notifications:
【Congratulations on clearing the dungeon!】【Reward: Special Skill +1】【Reward: Item +2】【…】
“Is it… over?” The teammates looked at each other, hardly believing their eyes.
More than the rewards, they were amazed that they had all survived.
Pu Yunfeng took a deep breath. “Yes, we cleared it.”
The incense paper was so powerful that it allowed them to survive a hell-level dungeon. He regretted not buying more, thinking of how others in the guild might be forced into this dungeon in the future.
Still, he reminded himself that he bought the incense paper thanks to the shop owner’s tip—it was an unexpected boon, so he shouldn’t demand more.
Luckily, the incense paper allowed them to leave the dungeon safely. That was already a great fortune.
Pu Yunfeng intended to report the experience to the guild immediately. He wanted all players to know of the incense shop—it might be their only hope of leaving the infinite horror world. He didn’t want anyone to miss out.
Soon the dungeon closed, and the team returned to the game lobby.
The moment they appeared, the lobby erupted:
“All cleared? No one got hurt? How did they do it?!”“Pu Yunfeng, vice president of the third-largest guild, is incredible—he kept everyone alive!”“No way… I remember President Ye from Xihe also entered the Wax Museum, and only he survived… Pu Yunfeng can’t be stronger than him, right?”“Exactly, President Ye is recognized as the strongest and my idol. He can’t be worse than Pu Yunfeng.”
Xihe was the largest guild in this infinite-world game. President Ye Yanzhou was widely regarded as the strongest player.
For a time, everyone watched Pu Yunfeng curiously, wondering how he led his team to survive the hellish Wax Museum dungeon. Could his strength now surpass President Ye and make him the top player?