The Apparition in Broad Daylight

Lin Mo's phone buzzed with a message from Liu Zheng.

He was currently reviewing the phased mission rewards issued by the system.

[Purple Sun Treasure Refining Furnace: An immortal-grade furnace capable of both pill refinement and artifact forging. What to do with the old furnace? Recycle it... Nah, just toss it.]

[Purple Sun Thirteen Refining Method: Maximizes the furnace's potential when used together.]

Great. It’s like reaching level 50 but getting a level 60 weapon as a reward—utterly useless for now.

After checking the rewards, Lin Mo finally turned his attention to Liu Zheng’s message.

It was about a young man named Dongfang Shuye leading a team to investigate the incident.

In ancient terms, he’d be called an imperial envoy.

But as everyone knows, you don’t burn celery—so the Yanhuang Awakening faction in Yangcheng had to ensure their safety. Any mishap would inevitably be blamed on them.

Lin Mo couldn’t care less. Liaising with outsiders was Liu Zheng’s job.

To him, though these events unfolded in the same world, they belonged to two entirely different realms for ordinary people.

Take Pengcheng’s incident—not a whisper of it had leaked online.

A single command was all it took to suppress it completely.

This was far from the life of an average person.

But as the system had declared, this was the Nine Heavens Realm.

Today, however, Lin Mo had other plans.

Old Yang, the audio shop owner, mentioned a fresh batch of EH vacuum tubes from Russia had arrived at Tao Street, piquing his interest.

Just as he was about to leave, Xie Yuling came running upstairs, her face pale with fright.

The next second, she crashed into his arms with a sob.

"Lin Mo!"

Instinctively, he steadied her, his hands registering her frantic heartbeat.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, frowning slightly as he patted her back.

His divine sense unfurled instantly, enveloping the entire building and beyond—yet he detected nothing amiss.

Xie Yuling buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled and trembling. "I... I went to buy soup ingredients for Mom and saw that old lady again."

She took a shaky breath, her fingers clutching his sleeve so tightly they turned white.

"She was standing across the street, just watching me with this smile... It looked kind, but it terrified me."

"Don’t panic," Lin Mo said, his calm voice grounding her. "The talisman you’re wearing isn’t for show. She can’t touch you."

He’d long sensed the old woman lingering nearby but hadn’t intervened—her spirit had harmed no one.

Yet today was different.

Lin Mo’s gaze drifted over Xie Yuling’s shoulder to the wall clock in the living room.

It was past 1 PM, the zenith of daylight’s yang energy.

No supernatural entity should manifest at this hour.

But Xie Yuling had seen her.

His intuition flared. His divine sense swept outward like quicksilver, covering a hundred-meter radius.

At first, he assumed the old woman’s power had grown, allowing her to walk in sunlight.

But her form now resembled a fading shadow—barely visible, like smoke on the verge of dispersing.

Ah.

Not a surge in strength, but a final flicker before extinction.

Soon, her soul would vanish entirely.

Even stubborn grudges couldn’t anchor her existence now.

Xie Yuling lifted her head, her eyes red-rimmed yet filled with unreadable emotion.

"I think... she wanted to tell me something."

Lin Mo studied her. Beneath her guarded exterior, her warmth still shone through.

He chuckled, flicking her forehead lightly.

"Then let’s hear her out?"

"Huh?" She blinked in confusion.

"Don’t worry. I’m here." He set her gently on her feet.

"Okay!"

After a deep breath, she nodded.

Lin Mo knew Xie Yuling’s core was warmth wrapped in warmth.

Her father’s ordeal had merely layered frost over it.

But warmth at heart remained warmth.

Leading her through winding alleys, they stopped deep in the shadows across the street.

This was the bowels of the urban village—buildings crammed together, blocking out the sun.

Even at noon, the lane was dank and dim, the air thick with mildew from piled debris.

The old woman stood rigid in the darkest corner, like a discarded paper doll.

Thanks to the labyrinthine layout, sunlight never reached here, even at high noon.

She must’ve sensed Xie Yuling outside earlier, crossing the street just to watch her.

Now, as Xie Yuling approached, the old woman’s milky eyes flickered faintly before dulling again. Her wrinkled face contorted into a ghastly parody of a kindly smile.

"Excuse me—" Xie Yuling began, her voice tight.

Lin Mo raised a hand to stop her. "No use asking. She can’t speak now."

From his pocket, he produced a blank yellow talisman. The paper twirled effortlessly between his fingers.

Without incantation, he flicked his wrist toward the old woman.

Her figure wavered, dissolving into wispy smoke that coiled into the talisman.

"Wait, what did you—?" Xie Yuling gasped.

"Her lingering will persists, but her soul is crumbling," Lin Mo said, folding the talisman. "In this state, maintaining form is a struggle. This slows her dissipation."

Xie Yuling fell silent, conflicted.

"Why did she appear in my room that night? You know, don’t you?"

Her gaze pinned him.

"Let’s talk at home."

Not here.

Back in their apartment, Xie Yuling watched, baffled, as Lin Mo strode to the fridge and tossed the talisman beside a row of chilled colas.

"Will that... work?"

"No yin energy? Cold air’s the next best thing. Souls hate heat."

Seated now, Lin Mo recounted a case near their school—a few blocks away.

"No idea how the investigation’s going. Her grandson might be dead or jailed."

Reading Xie Yuling’s expression, he added, "Want me to look into it?"

Xie Yuling glanced at the refrigerator, then turned her gaze to Lin Mo.

"Can I come with you?" She still remembered the last time the two of them investigated that incense shop.

Later, Lin Mo told her that the person who had used the art of Yan Sheng had already been captured by Yan Huang Awakening, and only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

This time, she wanted to join Lin Mo in getting involved in this matter again.