The Hellborn Heiress​ - Chapter 16

The Old Woman’s hand passed right through the youth’s head, not touching him at all.

“Alas! My Incense and Candle Shop, passed down for generations, is going to be ruined by this brat!”

The Old Woman sighed, and by chance, she caught Jiang Ci’s gaze meeting hers!

“You-you can see me?”

She swooshed over in an instant.

Her wrinkled, bluish face nearly pressed up against Jiang Ci’s own.

Jiang Ci slapped the Old Woman’s face, pushing her away.

“Where are the things?”

The Old Woman immediately beamed and pointed the way. “This way, dear customer~”

The nearby single-story houses all belonged to the Incense and Candle Shop, usually used to store various ritual supplies.

The Old Woman cheerfully floated into one of the rooms.

Seeing Jiang Ci hadn’t followed, she poked half her head out from behind the rolling curtain. “Come in quickly!”

Jiang Ci: “…”

“Oh right, you’re alive. You need to unlock the door to get in.”

The Old Woman floated back and pointed to the keys hanging on the shop’s wall.

Jiang Ci took down the keys.

The Red-haired Youth didn’t even look up. “I’ve got surveillance everywhere in my company. If you steal anything, you’ll pay ten times the price!”

Jiang Ci glanced around the shop-what surveillance?

She deftly unlocked the storeroom door. Inside were all kinds of Paper Offerings.

The traditional old-style Paper Offerings were just paper effigies, but the rest were all the latest models: all sorts of electronics, home appliances, beauty and skincare products, fashionable luxury goods.

There were even grand villas in both Chinese and Western styles, complete with courtyards and swimming pools, and all kinds of flashy, super-cool sports cars.

All of these were made from paper, crafted so vividly they looked real.

No wonder, back in the Underworld, these items were wildly popular and sold like hotcakes.

“My grandson said times have changed and we have to keep up. He made all these himself. Pretty impressive, right?”

The Old Woman in her burial clothes said proudly.

“The Yellow Talisman and Cinnabar are over here.”

In the corner were several bags of gold and silver paper. Behind them stood a faded red lacquered wooden box.

Jiang Ci rummaged around and found the Yellow Talisman and Cinnabar.

“How much?”

“Miss, I don’t want your money. I just hope you’ll pass a few words on to my grandson.”

Jiang Ci didn’t respond, just packed the Yellow Talisman and Cinnabar into her bag.

“You little thief, I’ve caught you red-handed!”

The Red-haired Youth stood at the door, looking fierce, holding a long-handled manure scoop.

“Ten times compensation! If you don’t pay, you’re not leaving!”

Jiang Ci looked at the Old Woman. “This is your grandson’s real job, isn’t it?”

The Old Woman was both amused and exasperated.

“Who are you talking to?” The Red-haired Youth barged in, manure scoop raised.

“The money’s on the box. I saw you were too busy gaming, so I left it there.” Jiang Ci pointed to the hundred yuan on the box.

The Red-haired Youth snorted, grabbed the hundred yuan and rubbed it a few times. After confirming it was real, he put down the manure scoop and grinned. “You’re actually pretty decent!”

Jiang Ci said, “You should run your shop properly. With your skills, you shouldn’t have trouble making money.”

The Red-haired Youth replied carelessly, “Business isn’t easy these days. Most people don’t buy ritual goods anymore. For Qingming, they just bring flowers to the grave and call it done. Money’s hard to earn, and the shit’s hard to shovel!”

Jiang Ci: “…”

Customers come and you don’t even greet them. With that attitude, you think you’ll make money? Dream on.

She then walked out of the storeroom and looked up at the sky.

It was eight o’clock at night now, and there were no taxis around. Walking back would take a long time.

“Are there any vacant rooms here?”

The Red-haired Youth’s eyes lit up. “Yes, yes! You want to rent a room? The rent’s not cheap-eight hundred a month, utilities not included.”

“No need. I just need to stay for one night.”
“Twenty-six a night!”

“Alright.”

The Red-haired Youth led her to the courtyard behind the bungalow and found one of the side rooms for her.

During her conversation with the Old Woman, she learned that the youth’s name was Hao You. He had no parents.

He was picked up by Grandma Hao from a garbage heap and raised as her own grandson. Later, Grandma Hao passed away due to illness, and the Incense and Candle Shop was handed down to him.

He was only sixteen or seventeen years old. After finishing junior high, he didn’t continue his studies and had been guarding the Incense and Candle Shop ever since.

“This is my grandma’s bed. If you mind, you can sleep on the floor,” Hao You said before heading out.

“Don’t worry, girl, I died in the hospital. The bed is clean.”

Grandma Hao explained, afraid she would feel uncomfortable.

Jiang Ci didn’t stand on ceremony. She lay flat on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.

Grandma Hao tactfully slipped out the door.

Jiang Ci was thinking. The Mortal Realm was different from the Underworld. Her soul was residing in this malnourished body, unable to exert even one percent of her strength.

Currently, she could only use two skills:

Her powerful spiritual force and the strength in her hands.

Both skills required physical energy to support them.

She needed to nourish her body and build up her strength.

After a brief rest, Jiang Ci found a brush and used Cinnabar to write Song Ran’s birth details on a Yellow Talisman.

“Soul Chasing and Spirit Locking, nowhere to hide, urgent command to appear, go!”

The Soul Chasing Talisman instantly ignited without fire, releasing a faint gray smoke that drifted eerily into the distance.

Jiang Ci again felt her energy drained and fell asleep immediately.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Grandma Hao was squatting in the room, curiously poking at the smoke.

Seeing the direction the smoke pointed, Jiang Ci roughly knew where Song Ran was.

She could have used the Soul Summoning Talisman to call Song Ran back directly.

But she couldn’t bear to break the hard-won freedom Song Ran had just gained.

So, Jiang Ci preferred to take a few extra steps to find her.

After bidding farewell to Grandma Hao, Jiang Ci went to the roadside to hail a cab, asking the driver to head southeast.

Following the faint trail of smoke, Jiang Ci arrived at the amusement park.

The amusement park was huge, and it was full of Wandering Ghosts.

Especially at night, it was the liveliest.

But now, in broad daylight, the Wandering Ghosts had all hidden in the shadows.

Low-level Wandering Ghosts feared sunlight the most. Though it wouldn’t kill them, it would make them feel as if they were being burned alive.

Jiang Ci followed the smoke trail and found Song Ran asleep inside the Ferris wheel.

The key point was that the compartment she was in happened to be stopped at the highest point.

Once the sun shone in, her soul, which hadn’t completely left her body, would surely be severely burned.

The amusement rides hadn’t fully started yet.

Jiang Ci looked around, grabbed a wild-haired female ghost from the corner, and asked her to go up and wake Song Ran.

The wild-haired female ghost protested, “I’m afraid of heights, I’m not going!”

“Whoever goes, I’ll buy incense and candles for them to eat.”

As soon as she finished speaking,

Seven or eight ghostly shadows immediately swarmed up the Ferris wheel.

In less than half a minute,

They came bustling down, carrying Song Ran.

“Where’s the incense and candles!”

Jiang Ci told them the address of the Incense and Candle Shop and told them to find Grandma Hao.

Before leaving, she didn’t have small change, so she left a hundred yuan for the room on the table.

The rest was enough to buy a few sticks of incense and candles.

A few ghosts didn’t believe her, afraid she was lying, and insisted she pay on the spot.

One old ghost suddenly remembered, “I know Grandma Hao’s Incense and Candle Shop! When I died, my son ordered my coffin from her! I trust this girl!”

“First come, first served.”

As soon as Jiang Ci finished speaking, they all disappeared without a trace.