Copper Coins for Buying Lives Cannot Be Spent [New Book Please Collect!]

The mountain wind was gentle, rustling the clothes.

Among the flowers and beneath the grass, the fluttering butterflies were like a young girl's skirt hems, lively and dancing.

Outside the Virtuous Cloud Temple, three small stools were lined up. Yu Qi'an led Li Chu and Little Yue'er, striking the same pose with one hand propping up their cheeks, all staring blankly inside.

The first day they watched, they felt happy. The second day, they felt fulfilled. By the third day, they felt a bit bored.

Only Little Yue'er remained enthusiastic, occasionally asking what this was for and what that was for.

Of course, it was likely questions she had already asked yesterday.

Sometimes she remembered asking the question yesterday, but she still asked it again.

Because she couldn't remember the answer.

Life in the Daoist Temple was like this, like idle white clouds outside the mountains.

Drifting by.

Li Xinyi's arrival broke this peace.

Her attire today was extremely eye-catching. The dress was rose red, slanting open at the left shoulder, exposing her entire fair, rounded shoulder and half of her deep collarbone. Her chest was high and proud, and her tightly cinched waist revealed her impressive curves.

A pair of snow-white long legs were vaguely visible at the slit of her skirt.

Her long hair was still tied up high, and her beautiful eyes sparkled with light. From afar, she locked onto Li Chu's languid figure.

As she approached, the workers paving the front courtyard became dazed. But they weren't scolded, because the foreman was also staring blankly.

Getting closer, Li Xinyi finally noticed Little Yue'er sitting next to Li Chu.

The young girl's delicate face and clear, bright eyes suddenly made her eyes tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.

When her gaze fell again to the girl's chest.

This tension immediately dissolved by seven-tenths.

"Heroes have always loved high mountains; I've never heard of a steed treading the plains."

"Daoist Yu, Little Daoist Priest Li," Li Xinyi greeted them.

Li Chu watched as Li Xinyi walked forward with her head held high and chest out, deliberately glancing at a certain spot.

Hmm.

Just as expected, there's a mole.

The man's direct, unvarnished gaze naturally fell upon Li Xinyi.

(She) smiled faintly.

Heh, men.

After a period of unspoken psychological maneuvering on both sides, (she) finally stated the main purpose of (her) visit today.

In short, the Vengeful Spirit Case was not yet closed.

"I came to find you the day before yesterday, but you weren't here. Something had already happened then."

The incident occurred the day after the exorcism in Xia Liu Village, before Li Xinyi had even departed for Hangzhou Prefecture.

Two constables were on their way to the yamen jail that morning to buy sesame seed cakes. Unexpectedly, after one of the constables received his cake, he suddenly dropped dead the moment he turned around.

He died without any warning, which terrified the other constable. He shouted for a long time to report the official before remembering that he himself was an official.

After the corpse was brought to the yamen for examination, it made the coroner question his entire existence.

Because there were no issues with the corpse whatsoever. The constable had been robust and healthy, with no prior illnesses, no poisoning, no external injuries, and not even any emotional fluctuations.

A perfectly healthy living person had simply died out of thin air.

It seemed the only explanation was a weird case.

Just as Zhou Dafu was at his wit's end, something caught his attention.

The sesame seed cake vendor handed all the money the constable had paid for the cake to the yamen, saying he dared not accept money from a dead person.

It was only a few copper coins, nothing significant. Normally, Zhou Dafu wouldn't have paid attention. But at that moment, with no leads, he stared at the coins for a while.

As he stared, he suddenly noticed something was wrong.

Normal copper coins were inscribed with "Heluo Coin." However, one of these coins was inscribed with "Netherworld Coin"—a script he had never seen before.

He immediately handed the case over to Li Xinyi.

Li Xinyi reported it to Facing Heaven Pavilion, and the information received was that "Netherworld Coin" was the currency of the ghost kingdom.

The human ghost kingdom was, according to legend, a realm established by countless ghosts residing in the mortal world. It was ethereal yet undeniably real. It had been passed down since the Archaic Era, and each appearance brought a great cataclysm.

Things had escalated.

When Zhou Dafu investigated further to find out where the constable had obtained this ghost kingdom coin, he was shocked by what he discovered.

It turned out this coin was related to the previous two Vengeful Spirit Cases.

During the massacre in Xia Liu Village, this deceased constable had been part of the team collecting corpses. He was the one who found the little girl's corpse at the foot of the mountain.

The copper coin was held in the Little Girl's hand at the time.

When collecting the corpse, the copper coin fell to the ground. He pocketed it without looking closely. Another colleague had chided him then, saying that picking up benefits from the dead might bring retribution.

But he was inherently greedy and even laughed, saying this would count as his reward for helping her collect the corpse.

Later, he casually used this copper coin to buy a sesame seed cake. The moment the money was spent, his life was gone.

Zhou Dafu was also a veteran Head Constable of many years, and he still possessed the necessary instincts.

He immediately went to investigate Xue Family's First Wife's corpse.

After the First Wife committed suicide that day, her body was collected by the Xue family. Zhou Dafu brought people to pry open the First Wife's coffin and discovered that she too had a copper coin in her mouth.

It was a "Netherworld Coin."

Connecting the dots, the hidden thread in the dark finally surfaced.

Why were there frequent weird cases in Yuhang Town, and why did rare vengeful spirits keep appearing?

A powerful ghost was behind it!

Although the case was not yet solved, this thoroughly proved his innocence. He hadn't failed in his duties, nor had he falsely reported a weird case.

It wasn't me lying, I was being targeted, understand?

Zhou Dafu felt vindicated.

Afterward, it was Li Xinyi's turn to worry.

She asked her Master again and confirmed that this copper coin was a method used by ghosts, known as a "Life Buying Coin."

It was an extremely malicious and weird technique, specifically designed to bewitch those harboring resentment. This coin was used to buy people's lives, and after death, they would transform into vengeful spirits.

As for the constable's death, it was truly an unfortunate accident. By spending someone else's Life Buying Coin, he had also given away his own life. Fortunately, he harbored no resentment, so he didn't transform into a vengeful spirit.

She realized that there was indeed a major case here that she had been hoping for. If she could solve it, it would be a great accomplishment.

But at the same time, she also worried if her abilities were sufficient to solve this weird case, especially since she had almost failed when dealing with a vengeful spirit last time.

That's why she had come to seek Li Chu's help the other day.

She had only missed him then and had to find a way herself.

Reviewing the previous vengeful spirit cases, she discovered that the ghost behind them should possess a method to sense resentment.

Whenever strong resentment appeared, it would go and bewitch people, enticing them to sell their lives to it in exchange for the opportunity to become a vengeful spirit and exact revenge on their enemies.

Before a vengeful spirit appears, a person must die first.

So she had Zhou Dafu and a group of constables keep a close watch day and night. If anyone went missing or died within Yu Hang County, they had to report it immediately.

As expected, within two days, news of another death arrived.

As she spoke, the men, women, old, and young of Virtuous Cloud Temple gathered around, listening as if to a story.

After she finished, Little Yue'er shivered in fear and whispered, "Will people die if they pick up other people's money?"

Yu Qi'an quickly patted the Little Girl's shoulder and comforted her, "Don't be scared, Yue'er. We only pick up money we don't spend, and we'll be fine."

If Little Yue'er became afraid to pick up money after hearing this story, it would be a huge loss. She was currently the key figure in revitalizing Virtuous Cloud Temple!

Li Xinyi looked at the Little Daoist Priest's handsome profile. "Can you come help me?"

Li Chu had been bored these past few days, so without much thought, he nodded directly. "Okay."

A smile immediately bloomed on the woman's face, like a flower opening.

She proactively stated, "The bounty will be as before. If you can catch the real culprit behind this, I can add more."

Li Chu nodded, his expression calm and unruffled.

With Little Yue'er as a stable source of income, he really didn't need to pay too much attention to the unstable bounty from the yamen.

Making money was so troublesome; it wasn't as convenient as picking up money.

Half of the reason he agreed to help this time was his righteous heart, wanting to maintain the peace of Yuhang Town.

Well, at least a small half.

"Okay, then let's go see the deceased now." Li Xinyi quickly stood up.

"Go where?" Li Chu asked.

Li Xinyi said, "Spring Full Pavilion."