Chapter 247

Li Yi hadn't expected this woman to know anything about Ghost Handlers—information crucial to him. As a cross-worlder, he was new here, unfamiliar with the land and its people; his captain, Zhang Xun, had been killed by a vengeful spirit. Under these circumstances, he urgently needed to learn about vengeful spirits and Ghost Handlers.

Otherwise, not only could he not explore this world, but even surviving safely was uncertain.

Zheng Yaoyao looked at Li Yi, her expression wary, and replied: "I don't know much—just bits I heard from my coworkers. I don't even know if it's true. I'll say this upfront: if it's false, don't blame me for lying."

"I'll judge the truth myself. Just speak," Li Yi said.

"My coworker said Ghost Handlers are people who specifically deal with vengeful spirits. Some areas in the city are haunted, with supernatural incidents—some places even have multiple deaths. Only Ghost Handlers can resolve them," Zheng Yaoyao said.

Li Yi frowned: "Anything else?"

The information was indeed fragmentary, lacking any key details—typical of what an outsider might pick up, pitiful and shallow.

But it was still useful to him.

Hauntings? Supernatural incidents?

So it wasn't just this city—other cities had them too.

Was this a world infested with ghosts?

And if ghosts existed, then there must be people who fought them—so the cultivators here were called Ghost Handlers?

Zheng Yaoyao thought for a moment, then added: "Oh, my coworker also said ordinary people are in grave danger when encountering ghosts—carelessness means death. To survive, you must remember three things."

"What three?" Li Yi asked.

"Ghosts cannot be killed."

"Only ghosts can fight ghosts."

"Understand the ghost's pattern."

Zheng Yaoyao spoke quickly—she remembered these three points clearly, because she'd always thought they might come in handy someday. After all, her own safety was at stake; better to be cautious.

"Ghosts can't be killed. Ghosts fight ghosts. Understand the ghost's pattern?" Li Yi's eyes flickered. These three points were likely internal summaries from the Ghost Handlers themselves. Combined with the old opera costume he'd encountered earlier, the first point was almost certainly true.

The ghosts in this world were truly unusual. Even Zhang Xun, a Soul Realm cultivator, had been killed by that old opera costume.

A Soul Realm powerhouse couldn't even fight ghosts.

Clearly, ghosts here couldn't be killed—at least not by Li Yi or others at their current level.

"Since ghosts can't be killed, to fight them you need equal power—that's why the second rule exists: only ghosts can fight ghosts," Li Yi understood immediately.

Like in the Four Seas and Eight Provinces: only Qi Refining cultivators could fight other Qi Refining cultivators.

Without matching power, you couldn't even engage.

But the third point still confused Li Yi.

What pattern did ghosts follow?

What pattern?

Still, Li Yi memorized all three. When he gathered enough information later, he'd understand fully.

"Besides these three, what else do you know?" Li Yi pressed, seeking more intelligence.

But Zheng Yaoyao, as an ordinary person, knew no more. She shook her head—no further information.

"I'll need to find a Ghost Handler to get more details. But contacting one is dangerous—if they can fight vengeful spirits, they possess power on par with those spirits. One misstep, and you're dead."

Li Yi now understood the danger of Ghost Handlers.

He was grateful the man in charge of Dazhuang City, Wang Qiao, hadn't moved against him—if he had, Li Yi would be dead.

"Thank you for the information. Keep this Gold Nutrient Bottle—it's good for your health. You can't buy this here; it's rare," Li Yi said. He had no more money to give her, so he left the bottle as payment.

Ordinary people could consume it—it strengthened the body and extended lifespan.

Besides, he wasn't worried about exposure: this product could only be made in his world. This world lacked the raw materials—no ferocious beasts, no supernatural creatures.

Zheng Yaoyao stared at the golden glass bottle. She didn't know what it was, but it looked valuable. She hesitated whether to take it—then caught movement in the corner of the living room: a fat rat darted past. She shrieked and leapt to her feet.

"R, rat."

She cried out, clearly terrified.

Li Yi glanced over, released his aura—the rat froze instantly, trembling like a mouse caught by a cat.

Then his eyes flashed.

The next instant.

The fat rat squealed, leapt into the air, then collapsed to the floor, motionless.

"Dead," Li Yi said.

"D, dead?" Zheng Yaoyao's eyes widened in shock: "How? Did you kill it? How? You didn't even touch it!"

She was stunned—everything defied her understanding.

She'd never witnessed anything so illogical in her life. If she hadn't seen it herself, she'd think she was dreaming.

Li Yi said calmly: "Focus your spirit into your eyes—your gaze can kill. It's called the Gaze Technique. Not special—only works against weaker things. Useless against powerful beings. Forget it—you're just an ordinary person. You'll never encounter these things. Telling you won't help."

"I'm leaving. Today, pretend you never saw me."

He wasn't worried she'd spread rumors—without proof, people would just think she was insane.

"Wait—aren't you from another world? You're not from here, are you?" Suddenly, Zheng Yaoyao summoned courage and blurted it out.

"Hm?"

Li Yi stared at her again—his pupils turned vertical, glowing faintly.

But remembering she was just an ordinary person, he smiled: "Why do you think I'm not from this world?"

"I guessed," Zheng Yaoyao blinked. "I've never seen anyone wear a flying-fish robe at midnight, leaping across rooftops like a martial arts master, asking about Ghost Handlers. I've never heard of 'Gaze Technique' before. And that nutrient bottle—I've never seen anything like it."

"I'm not stupid. With all this evidence, I can guess something. After all, if ghosts and supernatural events exist here, what's impossible?"

"Clever. But clever people rarely live long. Sometimes, pretending to be foolish is wiser," Li Yi said. "Killing you would be no harder than squashing a chick."

As he spoke, he reflected inwardly.

He still hadn't integrated deeply into this world. His casual displays had already revealed he wasn't native.

"Don't worry—I won't tell anyone. No one would believe me anyway," Zheng Yaoyao said. "Besides, I know you're a good person. If you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it already. You didn't destroy my phone—you paid me back."

"So what?" Li Yi looked at her. "Even if you guessed I'm not from this world—what then?"

Zheng Yaoyao grew excited—she'd actually guessed right! This man truly wasn't from this world. Her years of novels and TV dramas hadn't been wasted.

Thinking fast, she said: "I can help you."

"Help me? How?"

Li Yi studied her. "An ordinary person surviving in a city plagued by supernatural events is already lucky. Don't get involved—only death awaits."

It was both warning and advice.

"I—I can," Zheng Yaoyao started, then paused—she realized she had no real value to offer him.

But she didn't want to lose this chance. Meeting someone from another world—just thinking of it thrilled her. If she missed this, she'd regret it for life.

"I can give you money—you must be short on cash and have no place to stay. You can live here. I'll ask my coworkers for more info on Ghost Handlers—I swear I'll keep it secret. Not a single word," Zheng Yaoyao said, her eyes gleaming with curiosity as she raised her hand.

"People of Earth are inherently evil. Vows are as worthless as flatulence," Li Yi said.

Zheng Yaoyao flushed. "That's true… You know Earth people well. Where are you from?"

"It's a secret," Li Yi said calmly.

He couldn't say he was from Earth too.

Two Earths?

Or was this Earth, and his world—like Dao Bi said—just the evil land of Di Qiu?

Or was this a parallel world?

Li Yi didn't understand. He only knew this world was called World 36 in his own.

"Alright, I won't ask. So… are we temporarily cooperating?" Zheng Yaoyao smiled.

"I need a cellphone, a bank card, and a few sets of clothes that suit me," Li Yi said without hesitation.

Zheng Yaoyao patted her chest. "No problem—I'll get it done right away. Oh, I don't even know your name. I'm Zheng Yaoyao. I graduated college last year, now working at a company nearby. This is my rented apartment."

"I'm Li Yi."

After thinking, Li Yi decided to stay here a few days—to better integrate into this world.

Exposing himself to one person was better than exposing himself to many.

Zheng Yaoyao was ordinary, controllable, harmless. Even knowing he wasn't from this world posed little threat. But if Ghost Handlers found out—it would be dangerous. Not every Ghost Handler would spare him like Wang Qiao had. Some extremists would kill him on sight.