After the initial shock, Sister Wang anxiously asked, “Is he angry with me and ran away on purpose? Xiao Fu, quickly tell me, where is he now?”
“He should be at his grandmother’s house. Why don’t you call and ask?” Knowing her anxiety, Xi Mufu promptly suggested.
It hadn’t occurred to Sister Wang that her son would run back to the village. She immediately video-called her mother-in-law via WeChat.
“Mom, is Xiao Feng there?” she asked urgently as soon as the call connected.
Xiao Feng’s grandmother replied, “Yes, didn’t you tell him to come back and play for a few days?”
Sister Wang was instantly furious. This naughty child not only ran away from home but also lied!
“He went out at noon without telling me,” Sister Wang explained rapidly. “He didn’t take his phone watch either, making me think he’d been kidnapped by traffickers. I was so worried I called the police.”
She had contacted the police before coming to see Xi Mufu, covering both bases.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng’s grandmother also grew anxious: “That wretched child! Fortunately, our village isn’t far from town, or what would we do if he got lost!”
The town was less than three kilometers from the village, and with the concrete road making travel convenient, Xiao Feng could reach it by bicycle in about twenty minutes.
Though relieved, Sister Wang decided to fetch Xiao Feng home later and give the mischievous child a spanking. She needed to make sure he understood that he must always inform an adult before going anywhere!
“Xiao Fu, you’re absolutely amazing,” Sister Wang exclaimed warmly after ending the video call, gazing at Xi Mufu. “How did you calculate so accurately? Not only did you figure out that I scolded him at noon, but you also knew he went to his grandmother’s house!”
The neighbors watching nearby also praised, “Truly worthy of being called Little Immortal!”
Xi Mufu: “…”
She felt utterly helpless.
Of course, she couldn’t reveal anything about the props, but she also didn’t want to become known as ‘Little Immortal,’ leaving her in a dilemma.
In the end, she could only mumble, “I just guessed…”
“Ah, you’ve always been modest since you were little,” Sister Wang insisted, refusing to believe her. She repeatedly praised Xi Mufu and pulled out a thousand yuan, insisting on giving it to her as a thank-you gift.
Naturally, Xi Mufu couldn’t accept it. She had heard that those in the Xuanmen must accept payment for fortune-telling, but since she hadn’t used Xiang Shu and had relied on the props instead, she could politely decline.
Moreover, she noticed golden Gong De – Merit falling upon her again, which lifted her spirits considerably.
In any case, after this incident, her reputation spread even further. Even several surrounding villages heard that the owner of the town’s Incense Shop was a Little Immortal, and tales of her miraculous abilities became increasingly exaggerated.
Xi Mufu: “…”
She was speechless.
The only consolation was that her Gong De – Merit seemed to be continuously increasing, making it easier for her to draw Fu Paper.
The Third Elder of Longhu Mountain picked up a Protection Talisman she had drawn and exclaimed in astonishment, “It actually has golden light flowing through it! The effects must be exceptional!”
After his explanation, Xi Mufu learned that many Celestial Masters, even if they could complete talismans with a single stroke, struggled to infuse Gong De – Merit into them. Talismans enhanced with Gong De – Merit were infinitely more powerful than ordinary ones.
It seemed Gong De – Merit was truly valuable, and she resolved to perform more good deeds in the future!
“This Protection Talisman should sell for at least 500,000,” Shan Qu remarked.
Xi Mufu was astonished. Could talismans infused with Gong De – Merit really fetch such a high price?
However, she hadn’t considered selling them. For one, the income from Cleansing Talismans was already quite substantial, and she was content. Secondly, she hadn’t tested the effectiveness of the Protection Talisman and didn’t dare sell it to others casually.
Seeing her being so cautious, the two elders grew even more appreciative.
Shan Qu didn’t hesitate to praise her: “Xiao Fu is not only a heaven-sent genius, but also has a kind heart. She is truly a blessing for our Xuanmen.”
Xi Mufu: “…”
She had to admire herself a little – facing such high praise from these masters, she remained completely unperturbed by honor or disgrace, neither arrogant, nor proud, nor conceited 🙂
Ji Jiu typically remained silent during their conversations, quietly drinking tea on the side. Noticing the colorful expressions flashing across Xi Mufu’s face, he smiled faintly.
Xi Mufu happened to catch the lingering curve at the corner of his lips and guessed he might be laughing at her, which made her feel somewhat weary.
Ji Jiu handed her a cup of hot tea: “Want to try?”
As a young person, bubble tea was Xi Mufu’s true love. She had never savored tea the way Ji Jiu did.
She took the cup, sipped it, and found it sweet after an initial bitterness – quite delicious actually.
Seeing this, the smile in Ji Jiu’s eyes deepened, but he only let Xi Mufu drink one cup: “Don’t drink more, or you won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
Xi Mufu: “Oh.”
For some reason, she sometimes felt this Ninth Master really acted like her elder. Though not much older than her, he possessed a steadiness and presence that didn’t match his age.
In the instance, Pu Yunfeng and his team stayed in the Waxwork Museum for the full seven days.
Perhaps because they had paid the ‘protection fee,’ no NPCs approached them during these seven days, and all dangers and horrors stayed away from them.
Finally, everyone’s interface popped up with notifications—
[Congratulations on clearing the instance!]
[Reward: Special Skill +1]
[Reward: Items +2]
[…]
“That’s it… it’s over?” The team members looked at each other, hardly believing their eyes.
Compared to the abundant rewards, everyone was more amazed that they had all survived.
Pu Yunfeng took a deep breath: “Yes, we cleared it.”
So the Incense Paper Money was actually this powerful – it had enabled their entire team to survive a hell-level instance. He couldn’t help feeling some regret, thinking he should have bought more. After all, other guild members might be forcibly summoned into this instance later, where it would definitely come in handy.
But then again, he had only bought this Incense Paper Money because the Incense Shop owner reminded him – it was an unexpected gain, so he shouldn’t ask for more.
Fortunately, they had managed to leave the instance safely thanks to the Incense Paper Money – that was already the greatest blessing.
Of course, Pu Yunfeng kept everything about the Incense Shop firmly in mind. He planned to report it to the guild leader immediately after leaving the instance – he wanted to share his extraordinary encounter with all players. The Incense Shop might be the players’ hope for escaping the infinite horror world, and he didn’t want any players to miss this opportunity.
·
Soon the instance closed, and the group returned to the game lobby.
The moment they appeared, the players in the lobby erupted—
“Full team clearance? Not a single casualty? How was this possible?!”
“Pu Yunfeng truly lives up to being the vice-leader of the third largest guild. His strength is incredible – he actually brought all his team members out alive.”
“Wait, I remember Xi He’s President Ye also brought his subordinates into Night of the Wax Museum before, and he was the only one who came out alive… President Pu couldn’t possibly be stronger than President Ye, could he?”
“Exactly, President Ye is universally acknowledged as the number one expert, and he’s my idol too. He can’t be worse than President Pu.”
Xi He is the top guild in this Infinite Flow World, and the strength of its guild leader Ye Yanzhou is recognized by all as the strongest among players.
For a moment, everyone curiously sized up Pu Yunfeng, wondering how he had led his team to clear the hell-level instance “Night of the Wax Museum” with all members surviving. Could it be that his strength had surpassed Guild Leader Ye’s, making him the top expert?