"If it's not something we can handle, then let it be. As long as the infant spirits aren't harming Zhao Xiaorou, that's enough." Chen Yuanyuan sighed.
"Xiaorou only believes what she wants to believe. If we tell her, she won't listen—and we'll just end up dragging ourselves into unnecessary trouble."
Song Miaozhu knew Zhao Xiaorou's stubbornness all too well. "But I've heard from other ghosts that while infant spirits won't harm their mothers, having too many around can make it hard to conceive in the future. Even if she does get pregnant, she'll likely miscarry quickly.
Fortunately, the underworld has ways to reclaim infant spirits. If they can't find a chance to reincarnate through their mother, and the mother doesn't sincerely perform rites to send them off, they'll be forcibly retrieved to the underworld once their souls are on the verge of dispersing from prolonged exposure to yang energy. They'll then rejoin the reincarnation queue.
But infant spirits aren't like ordinary ghosts—they can linger in the mortal world much longer due to their connection with their mother.
And now, with the spiritual energy revival, they might stay even longer."
"Still, there's nothing we can do. A stranger's warning would work better than ours… Wait, I have an idea!" Chen Yuanyuan's eyes lit up. "What if we find a Taoist priest or a fortune-teller to tell her instead?"
"No need." Song Miaozhu shook her head. "Once the government publicly acknowledges spiritual cultivation, practitioners will become more common, and the truth about infant spirits won't stay hidden for long. Zhao Xiaorou will figure it out on her own. And that day isn't far off."
After all, universities were already introducing elective courses on spiritual techniques.
"Good! That's good!" Chen Yuanyuan nodded vigorously.
She genuinely didn't want to argue with Zhao Xiaorou anymore. It was exhausting and never led anywhere good.
"Come on, let's head back and get our stuff sorted. After lunch, we can hit the shops. Tomorrow's the first day of class, and we're in for ten straight days with no breaks," Yuanyuan said.
"I'll pass," said Song Miaozhu. "I'm planning to stay home this afternoon to work on paper crafting. The shop in the underworld needs a restock."
"..."
Chen Yuanyuan gave her a look. "You're unbelievable. Back when you were broke, you were always studying or hustling for money. Now that you're loaded, you're either cultivating or making more money. Do you ever just… stop?"
"The spiritual energy revival won't last forever. Every day counts. You should take it seriously too! Once more people start cultivating, snatching spiritual energy won't be so easy."
"Fine, fine. I'll go home and practice my illustrations too." Chen Yuanyuan groaned. "When I read novels, the protagonists made cultivating look so effortless. Now that it's my turn, I realize how tedious it is."
"Wait until you awaken your spiritual vision," Song Miaozhu said. "Once that happens, every tiny bit of progress will be something you can see. It changes everything."
Every day after her practice, she would count how many new spirit crystals had formed in the space within her spiritual platform. She'd check how much bigger the red spirit crystal sheet had grown. Just seeing that tangible progress gave her a real sense of achievement.
Back home, Miaozhu began by laying out her cursed paper dolls and reapplying the curse to each one, one by one. Only after that did she start working on paper crafting.
She kept at it until late into the night. Once it was time for class, she headed to the underworld.
Mid-lesson, her GhostNet app buzzed incessantly, making her soul flicker with distraction.
"Is there an emergency?" the ghost instructor asked.
"No." Song Miaozhu shook her head. "Let's continue."
Outside the study room, a little paper servant opened the GhostNet app for her.
[Mahjong Family of Yinshui Alley] (99+ messages)
It was the group chat created by the old paper crafting shop owners!