Chapter 31: Consultation

The hospital doesn’t offer psychological counseling.

But just outside the hospital, there were signs for counseling services everywhere.

Kangcheng Mental Health Center, commonly known as Kangcheng Psychiatric Hospital.

I walked out of the hospital, activated my Qi-Seeing Technique, and scanned those so-called counseling offices.

What I saw was filth and foul energy rising to the heavens, the black miasma almost piercing through the sky above the entire city.

“Little girl, are you here for counseling? Where are your parents?”

A woman who looked like a doctor stopped in front of me, with a badge hanging from her chest.

[Sunshine X Counseling Center · Counselor XX]

Her cheeks were asymmetrical, her face seemed kind but her eyes gleamed with malice.

Her lips were thin and crooked, jawbone protruding, black energy swirling around her Palace of Fortune, while the Palace of Wealth was glowing red.

This was clearly the face of a scammer.

I walked past the entrances of the other so-called counseling offices and peeked inside… Good grief, there wasn’t a single one that wasn’t a scam.

I even overheard someone openly blurting out a patient’s most private secrets, laughing about it with others.

“These damn bastards, worse than pigs and dogs. Little girl, don’t go over there, don’t let them trick you.”

Just as I was reeling from the sight of this den of frauds, my view was blocked by a slender figure.

His outfit gave me a sense of familiarity.

A Daoist robe?

“In the Donghuang District, especially in a small seventh- or eighth-tier city like Kangcheng, it’s hard to find a real counselor.

Most of them have no work experience, no formal education. Some don’t even have Level 1, 2, or 3 certifications.”

“Then why do they dare to open a practice?” I asked curiously.

“For profit. There’s no risk they won’t take—as long as they can grab hold of patients who are lost, helpless, and desperate to talk to someone. At the low end, they make hundreds an hour; most earn thousands. And those bold enough to call themselves experts can charge tens of thousands an hour.”

“…”

Unbelievable.

“After all, in the Donghuang District, there’s no licensing threshold for opening a counseling business. Any charlatan can set up shop. They specifically open near hospitals to lure people in—if they can con one, that’s a win.”

“But what if the patient comes in and they can’t help? Wouldn’t they get beaten up?” I asked.

“Of course not.

In Donghuang, most patients seeking counseling aren’t aggressive. If they were, they wouldn’t have bottled things up to the point of getting sick.

Besides, while these people aren’t real counselors, they’re masters of manipulation. They’ll ramble about nonsense to waste time, then toss in roundabout praise to make you feel good about yourself… That way, not only do most people not realize they’ve been scammed, they actually want to come back for more.”

“…”

My god, isn’t Earth supposed to be like a child-friendly Pokémon world now? Why is it still so dark?

“Little girl, if you’re troubled, or your family is troubled, you can talk to me. I don’t charge. Just offer some incense to the Qilin.”

…Offering incense to a Qilin? What kind of setup is this?

“Here, this is my card.”

The Daoist was very kind.

He didn’t look down on me just because I was a kid, but handed over his card with respectful courtesy.

[Tiangong Mountain Qilin Temple · Senior Counselor · Xiaoyue Jushi]

That’s quite the title.

“Where is Qilin Temple? I’d like to visit.”

I don’t like religion—whether it’s Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, or Christianity—but this Daoist gave me a really good feeling.

He didn’t seem like those fake spiritual types who are either greedy or religious fanatics deep down.

“Huh? Isn’t it your parents who need counseling?”

Xiaoyue Jushi looked shocked. Are kids these days really this mature? She’s so young and already seeking psychological counseling?

A child this age is supposed to be carefree. And yet she’s troubled enough to seek out a doctor?

“All right then. I’ll take you there and bring you back.”

Of course, Xiaoyue Jushi didn’t feel comfortable letting a kid travel alone.

He gave a graceful flick of his robe, hopped onto an electric scooter, and patted the back seat.

……

Qilin Temple was really a Qilin Temple.

They didn’t worship any gods or Buddhas—just the Qilin.

A huge Qilin statue stood tall in the main hall, carved with lifelike detail and capturing 70-80% of the real Qilin’s essence.

In terms of presence, this stone Qilin in the hall was actually more imposing.

My own Qilin was like an annoying little brother—always meowing and never once showing this kind of majestic aura.

By the way, is it just a coincidence that there are so many crates in this courtyard…?

Just as I was about to take a closer look at those boxes, Xiaoyue Jushi pulled me into the main hall.

“This is the auspicious beast Qilin. Worshipping him won’t make your wishes come true. But it might help you think more clearly, and face life more openly.”

Xiaoyue Jushi sat cross-legged on a cushion in front of the statue with a gentle smile.

Qilin Temple didn’t get much incense.

No other visitors were around—it was just the two of us.

I sat down too.

“Little sister, if there’s anything bothering you, you can tell me,” Xiaoyue Jushi asked softly.

“I want to become a badass in the city. Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed.”

“…”

Xiaoyue Jushi had seen a lot in his life—there wasn’t a situation he couldn’t handle.

No matter how awkward a guest’s words, he could always respond.

This one, though, left him speechless.

My god! Someone please tell him—how did a child this young manage to kill the conversation so hard with just one sentence?!

What kind of conversation-ending talent is this?

“My plan was all set—I’d return home in glory, then walk the badass route in the city, make all those relatives look at me with new eyes. But… something changed.”

“Oh?”

Xiaoyue Jushi gazed at the beautiful, adorable girl before him—so pretty she could probably throw the whole world into chaos and then heard those wildly contradictory words come out of her mouth…

Damn, she was even cuter now. There was a kind of clueless charm to her.

“What kind of change?” Xiaoyue Jushi asked, bracing himself.

“A woman got into my plans,” I sighed, frowning as my little ears twitched with distress. “I want to shake her off, but she helped me before, and she thinks we’re really close… There’s a disconnect between our perceptions.”

Kids these days are into this kind of thing?

What kind of bizarre role-play was this? This little girl must’ve gotten way too deep into a game of make-believe—probably acting like some god of war or elite soldier and couldn’t snap out of it.

If Xiaoyue Jushi really wanted what was best for her, he should probably try to pull her back to reality.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he kept listening.

“I hate those messy, melodramatic soap operas. The kind of story where the problems could be solved with a bit of common sense, but instead they drag it out with fake drama and filler.

So when I realized there was a problem, I came here right away—I want to know what to do, how to plan my life from here on out.”

“……”

Her tone and phrasing were so mature that Xiaoyue Jushi stopped seeing her as a child.

He picked up the notebook at his side, flipped to a new page, jotted down my situation, then looked up.

“Then tell me—what matters most to you? What do you want right now?”

“……”

I tilted my little head, deep in thought.

Yeah… what do I really want right now?

Weighing pros and cons isn’t hard.

This kind of self-examination—I used to do it every day in the other world.

Constantly reminding myself was how I made it all the way to the end over there.

When it came to survival, treasure, cultivation, or just playing it safe, every choice was life or death.

And even then, I never once hesitated.

But now…

I’m hesitating.

It’s like my logic went offline.

No matter how I weigh my options, something feels off.

My thoughts won’t flow smoothly.

“Maybe some choices aren’t about logic,” Xiaoyue Jushi said with a gentle smile. “You can try to feel it out… The right answer will give you a certain feeling. A feeling that feels right.”

A feeling?

……

“Rumble rumble rumble!”

Just as I was trying to feel it out, a deafening mechanical roar burst through my ears, followed by the crash of a collapsing wall.

“Tiger Head Gang demolition! We don’t care who we kill! Get the hell out!”

Amidst the roar, a bulldozer rammed straight through the temple’s wall.

And the Qilin statue.

The multi-ton stone statue tilted forward.

And then—came crashing straight down toward me!