Spirit Reaper - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Here’s Johnny~ The Ghost Duo…

“Everyone in the stream, thank you for your concern and love for Lily.” On Song Miao’s phone screen, Xu Li’s manager was live. Behind him stood the familiar family of three, pulling long faces and weeping in perfect synchronization with the manager’s speech.

While watching the manager’s stream, Yu Wuyi kept her own broadcast running without muting it. Consequently, her audience was fully aware of what she was watching.

Does the Master also follow Lily’s case?

I didn’t expect the Master to be so fashionable, keeping up with the trends!

Master, Lily has been missing for so long. Can you use your divine powers to calculate her whereabouts?

Seeing the rhythm of the comments being led in the right direction, Yu Wuyi maintained her profound, stoic expression, though internally she was over the moon.

Yes, yes, keep it going! This gives me a perfect excuse to “calculate” Xu Li’s situation naturally.

“Xu Li? Judging by your reactions, is she a celebrity?” Yu Wuyi feigned ignorance. “I don’t know much about the entertainment industry. It’s usually my little assistant who follows these things.”

“She’s missing? You want me to find her location?”

At this point, Yu Wuyi paused, letting out a long, drawn-out “Tsk.” “This puts me in a difficult position.”

“It’s not that I can’t calculate it, it’s just…” She deliberately trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

As expected, the chat flooded with a uniform wall of: Just what?!

“It’s just that I need the consent of her family first.”

“Plus, I only charge a 50-yuan fee for a reading. They would probably think I’m just a common swindler.”

“A missing person is a serious matter. I don’t dare calculate it haphazardly—what if I’m wrong?”

Seeing her “hesitation,” the chat exploded. Fans of “Master You Er” stepped up one after another to defend her, praising her proven track record and “hardcore” mystical skills. Some even rushed over to the manager’s stream to spam her name.

Seeing that the maneuver had achieved the desired effect, Yu Wuyi spoke up to stop the escalating chaos.

“Everyone, please don’t go to other people’s streams to cause trouble. It’s a very impolite form of harassment.”

With those words, the rhythm settled. The viewer count reached a historic high, surpassing 60,000 and taking the top spot on the popularity charts.

However, high popularity was useless if the “fish” she was waiting for didn’t bite. Yu Wuyi knew why the other side was hesitating, so she chose the oldest but most effective method: playing hard to get.

“My fellow fate-seekers, it’s getting late. If Xu Li’s family isn’t interested, we’ll take one last connection and then prepare to sign off.”

“The last seeker is a user named…”

Before she could finish, a premium account named “Jifeng Entertainment” entered the room. A second later, the screen was flooded with ten “Raging Bull” luxury gifts.

Jifeng Entertainment: Hello, Master. I am Lily’s manager. We would be honored to have your help.

Heh, the fish is on the hook.

Yu Wuyi suppressed her urge to laugh, cleared her throat, and said with a touch of feigned reluctance, “Well, since that’s the case, I shall perform a calculation for Miss Xu Li.”

Reading ghosts? That’s my specialty!

Once the voice connection was established, Yu Wuyi added, “There are things I do not calculate: I don’t calculate others’ privacy, the gender of unborn children, matters of life and death, or for those whose hearts are insincere.”

“Therefore, I cannot simply pinpoint her exact location. If the situation is difficult to discern, I will need your cooperation.”

“Of course, Master. Just tell us what to do. As long as we find Lily, anything is fine,” the manager replied, his voice heavy with grief. “We need to find her… alive or dead!”

Tsk. If it weren’t for my sharp sixth sense, I really wouldn’t have suspected them based on this performance.

“Mm… Xu Li didn’t see anyone on the day she disappeared. That day, she was wearing a floral dress. The thread was coming loose in a few spots, and the hem was slightly faded. It looked like an old garment.”

“The hexagram tells me she is indoors, in a place where she can feel at peace.”

“A floral dress…” Xu Li’s mother lowered her head as if reminiscing. Suddenly, she cried out, “She does have such a dress! I sewed it myself for her eighteenth birthday…”

“But I haven’t seen her wear it since she debuted.”

“Master, you can even see what Lily was wearing that day? Can the ‘indoors’ location be more specific?”

“She’s our only daughter. Nothing can happen to her!” At that, the family of three wiped away tears in unison, as if they had rehearsed the cue.

“Hmm…” Yu Wuyi stroked her chin, acting troubled. “The information from the hexagram is blurry. If you want to know more, I need to come into contact with items from Xu Li’s daily life.”

“If you are willing to trust me, I should visit the place where she lived. Perhaps I can gather more information there.” Yu Wuyi finally guided the conversation to the true purpose of the stream.

The four people on the screen visibly stiffened. After exchanging several looks, the manager cleared his throat and took the gamble. “You are backed by the Lincheng Taoist Association, so of course we trust you.”

“Despite mobilizing a large police force these past few days, we haven’t found a single trace of Lily.”

“We are willing to take the bet.”

With the goal achieved, the corners of Yu Wuyi’s mouth behind her mask were impossible to keep down. However, on camera, she remained as steady as Mt. Tai. “This humble Taoist thanks you for your trust.”

“In that case, please contact me privately after the stream so we can arrange a suitable time.”

After finishing the business, Yu Wuyi ignored the scrolling chat begging her not to leave, recited her standard sign-off lines, waved, and cut the stream.

As the screen went black, Yu Wuyi slumped back in her chair. Man, I’m never taking this many people at once again. My ‘Blue Bar’ (spiritual energy) is drained. It’ll take two or three days to recover.

“Gotta give it to you, Wuyi. Xu Li’s manager and family actually came looking for you,” Song Miao said, her fingers tapping away at her screen. “They want to meet the day after tomorrow in the evening. They sent the address and contact info.”

“Got it.” Yu Wuyi rubbed her throbbing temples and added the manager’s contact.

After finalizing the itinerary, she glanced at the eager Song Miao. “Free the day after tomorrow? Want to come along?”

“My little assistant?”

“Wuyi! I knew you wouldn’t forget me!” Song Miao lunged into a hug, sounding so moved she was nearly in tears.

It took a massive effort to peel the “sticky candy” Song Miao off her. Yu Wuyi handed her a small bottle of Ox Tears. “Take this. I have a feeling the day after tomorrow will be a tough battle. If you can’t see, relying only on perception won’t be enough.”

“Also, I need you to help me prepare these.” She handed Song Miao a list of items needed for the investigation.

“Mission accepted, Master You Er!” Song Miao joked. Yu Wuyi feigned a punch, but Song Miao was already out the door, running like her feet were greased.

“This girl…” Yu Wuyi shook her head with a sigh.

…

After finishing her business at the Association, Yu Wuyi headed home. The moment she entered, the two ghosts—one big, one small—floated over excitedly, chirping away.

“Wuyi, Wuyi! Did you find my home?” “Some fragments flashed through my mind. That must be my home!” “Sister Yu, did you find my mom today?” “It’s okay if you didn’t, Xiao Yu can wait.” “Now that I have Sister Tuan Tuan to play with, I’m not as lonely.” “We watched a movie today! There was a line… how did it go? Oh! I remember!” “Heeeere’s Johnny!”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Being bombed by two voices at once made Yu Wuyi’s energy-depleted headache worse. She walked straight through them and collapsed onto the living room sofa.

The TV was still playing. On screen, a man with a distorted expression was hacking at a bedroom door with an axe, chanting: “Heeeere’s Johnny~”

Great. These two are home watching ‘The Shining’.

Yu Wuyi didn’t care much about what they watched; she was more curious about how they watched it.

“You two can touch the remote?” She crossed her arms, eyeing the pair floating in mid-air.

Regarding this, the two ghosts were also confused. Upon waking that morning, they found they could attempt to touch physical objects. Though it was intermittent—like a bad connection—it was functional. Being bored at home, they had taken advantage of the new ability to binge-watch TV.

“I think we might have you to thank for this, Wuyi!” Xu Li said. “You might not smell it yourself, but Xiao Yu and I can. The aura on your body… it’s very fragrant.”

“Even through walls or from dozens of meters away, we can catch the scent.”

“And the smell is very attractive to us. But don’t worry! We can control ourselves. At most, we just sneak a few sniffs when we’re near you…”

Xu Li and Xiao Yu lowered their heads sheepishly, like children caught doing something wrong.

Hearing this, Yu Wuyi narrowed her eyes and used her Yin-Yang Sight to inspect their ghostly auras. As expected, their power had more than doubled.

No wonder Qin An said even she couldn’t suppress it. This ‘Extreme Yin Body’ can double a ghost’s strength just by letting them sniff the air…

If it’s this useful, then Qin An’s injuries…

Yu Wuyi’s mind began to wander to Qin An—from their first meeting where she bit her lip, to her injuries from the heavenly lightning, to when she bit her neck… If Qin An’s wounds still weren’t healing, did she really have to devour her to fully recover?

The thought sent a shiver down Yu Wuyi’s spine.

Stop thinking about it! There must be other ways. Qin An isn’t that kind of ghost.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts, went to the bathroom, and splashed cold water on her face to cool down her inexplicably red cheeks. When she stepped out, she was composed again.

She called the two ghosts down from the air to get to business.

“Xiao Tuan, you said you remembered some fragments?”