Chapter 8: Tuina, Massage, and Acupuncture

"Ding! Your payment of five million yuan has been received!"

Following the crisp, melodious notification, Chu Tian’s mood was as exhilarated as a bridegroom on his wedding night—he could barely contain himself!

"In that case, thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Chu Tian. Let’s exchange contact information. If you encounter any trouble in the future, feel free to reach out. I will add you to our Shang City Transcendents group later. Should there be anything we need your help with in the future, I hope you won’t refuse. Of course, the compensation will be more than generous," said Wang Dali. Behind him, the petite-looking woman in the suit had single-handedly hoisted the massive body of the tiger demon and tossed it directly onto the roof of their sedan!

Watching the car depart with the two of them and the heavy burden of the tiger demon, Chu Tian held his phone in one hand to check the balance while waving his other hand, smiling as he bid farewell to his god of wealth.

Five million!!!

Five million! Don’t blame Chu Tian for being shallow. For him, this was instant financial freedom!

The group of ghosts, along with Chu Tian and Chen Meng, returned to the haunted house.

Chu Tian looked at Chen Meng and asked, "Tell me, what is this Righteous Dao Alliance? You seem quite familiar with it."

The ghosts sat in a row, looking at Chen Meng with curiosity. Since these ghosts had never harmed anyone, the Righteous Dao Alliance had never bothered them, and having been subdued by Chu Tian, they knew nothing of the organization.

"What Righteous Dao Alliance?"

Before Chen Meng could reply, a groggy voice drifted from the counter. A chubby young man sat up, looking dazed. He then saw the little boy ghost clutching his head, the emaciated tuberculosis ghost, the little girl holding a doll, the long-haired female ghost in a red bathrobe, and the kindly-looking Grandpa Li floating in mid-air.

All five ghosts instinctively leaned in to look at the chubby man.

The man’s face turned green instantly. "I’m dreaming, I’m dreaming, I must be dreaming. I’m sleepwalking, and the ghosts in my dreams can’t hurt me." As he spoke, he closed his eyes and began walking toward the exit.

Stepping outside the counter, he slapped himself twice, peeked through a crack in his eyelids, and then, with a shriek, sprinted out of the haunted house at a speed he would likely never achieve again in his life.

"Mommy! There are ghosts—!"

"Uh..."

The ghosts looked at one another. Chu Tian speechlessy slapped his forehead, then took out his phone, found Wang Dali’s contact, and sent a message: *Uh, Brother Wang, sorry to bother you, but could you come back? A chubby guy saw the ghosts in my place and got scared off. Should I have his memory wiped?*

"Ding-dong!"

The reply came back immediately via voice message: *Don’t worry, brother, no need for such trouble. Don’t you always tell your customers the ghosts are just holographic projections? Just bluff your way through it. Constantly wiping people's memories isn't good for them; best to avoid it if you can.*

Right on! That was a decent solution.

Chu Tian put his phone away. It seemed the Righteous Dao Alliance really understood him—they even knew how he ran his haunted house.

"The Righteous Dao Alliance is a general term," Chen Meng said, sitting in a chair. "Every cultivation sect in the country is registered with them. Their main duty is to ensure that ordinary people aren't affected by us transcendents. They act as a lubricant between the normal world and the extraordinary one."

"As long as you don't cause trouble, no one will bother you. But if you do, the Righteous Dao Alliance will issue a nationwide warrant for your arrest, and the bounty will be exceptionally high," Chen Meng explained. "Think of it this way: if you only play within the circle of cultivators, even if you stir up chaos, they won't interfere. Of course, they won't stop others in the circle from dealing with you either. But if you dare target ordinary people, they become the harshest law enforcement agency imaginable!"

"Should I register with them and report my cultivation level?" Chu Tian asked.

"That's unnecessary. Nobody wants outsiders to know their weaknesses," Chen Meng replied. "And you can rest assured, the Alliance’s management is quite loose. After all, for cultivators from major sects to reach high realms, they cannot be entangled in worldly affairs. If the Alliance meddled too much, it would hinder their practice. Besides, high-level cultivators are an important asset to the country."

"I see," Chu Tian nodded, gaining a preliminary understanding of the organization.

"Then what do they want with that tiger demon?" Chu Tian asked.

"They probably want to eat it," Chen Meng said. "Since the Alliance wants to set rules for all transcendents, they have to follow them themselves. They can't touch mountain spirits or demons if they haven't done anything wrong! But that doesn't mean those within the Alliance aren't greedy for the flesh and blood of such creatures. They have to wait for a demon to commit a crime to have an excuse to collect some. That’s why demon meat is so expensive—worth its weight in gold!"

"I see," Chu Tian nodded, feeling no particular bias against the Alliance's way of doing things.

Looking at the sky, it was already three in the morning. After closing the haunted house, Chu Tian prepared to head home. Chen Meng followed him.

Chu Tian’s apartment was small, a two-bedroom unit of about seventy square meters. Because it was rumored to be haunted, he had snagged it for over a hundred thousand yuan, despite it being worth seven or eight hundred thousand.

"You take the guest room tonight," Chu Tian said while taking off his shoes. He headed toward the master bedroom, adding, "Don't wake me up before noon tomorrow!"

Before he could finish, he saw Chen Meng slip past him, enter the master bedroom, and lie down on his bed on her side.

"What are you doing?" Chu Tian asked, looking at her. Because she was lying on her side, the weight of her chest pressed together, her long black-stockinged legs were crossed, and the red high heel on one foot dangled from her toes before falling to the floor.

"I remember you saying today that once you broke through, you could help me recover from my injuries..." Chen Meng looked at him with her fox-like eyes, speaking in a seductive tone.

"How do you want to recover?" Chu Tian asked.

"A massage? Acupressure? Acupuncture? What do you think?" she teased.

Chu Tian watched as Chen Meng walked into the room and slowly closed the door, saying, "I’m not a fan of acupuncture, but you can take a hit from my rod!"

Hearing his words, Chen Meng’s eyes lit up.

The door remained tightly shut, and the night was filled with passion!