"Don't die."

"Yeah, that basically."

"...I hadn't planned on it? Um. Not like just deciding not to die is a thing, though. I have been training hard and sparring. Are there any particular signs other than you saying so that I should run away? How are we going to look for and communicate with this suspected ghost spirit? What techniques do I need to know?"

"See, there are the questions. You'll be safer not trying to run; fight if you have to, but I'll protect you if need be. Turning your back on a hostile ghost spirit is asking to be possessed. It'll probably understand English, and I have medium sensing techniques that will allow me to track it. The technique you need is the Friendly Contracting Altar, and I can also open your spirit sense but I would have to charge for that. One of those armor tickets you picked up from Eight Tails would cover it."

"Hrm. What is a spirit sense and how much do I need it? I felt your past life at the door - does she have her own name? - if only vaguely."

"I go by Yuki. A spirit sense is only necessary to hunting ghosts, but it would let you keep track of my position and the ghost spirit's at all times. It might also help you cultivate once you had a contracted ghost. I would personally keep the ticket."

"Hello, Yuki. Uh... While I'm probably not going to end up using the seals - tickets - I'm not clear how often I'll have the chance to earn cultivation support, so I think I'm going to keep them for now. Probably end up trading the remainder for more, lower-level seals, honestly."

"Probably the most sensible thing to do, yeah. Anything else you'd like to ask?"

"Where exactly do you suspect the ghost spirit is? How careful do we have to be to keep things on the down-low for mortals? Actually, I never got a proper explanation of why the masquerade but that's maybe a better question for someone else. What realm are you in?"

"We're third realm."

"It's supposed to be hanging around King's Cross station late at night - we're talking like 4 AM. We should be careful to keep things on the down low, we don't want to involve innocent mortals in what will probably be a delicate negotiation."

"Lots of third realm people around here. Right. One last question, aside from just learning the friendly contracting altar, is there anything else I will need to know how to do particularly if we can negotiate a contract?"

"Mmm, nothing comes to mind."

"How many strands do you have?"

"Oh, good point. This could be risky if you're still too early on in the cultivation process."

"One hundred and four. I can get five a day if I need more."

"Safe for any animalistic spirit. It could be dangerous if it's smart though. We should talk that through now."

"Yes, that's what I meant by my last question, sorry. What do we do if it's a person?"

"In that case... It's a lot higher risk but also higher reward. You're weak, for a medium. There's a risk of outright possession, and a risk that if you contracted with it you wouldn't be able to produce the necessary qi and chi. Which could put you in serious danger for your life unless you cultivated quickly. I think if it's a person I contract with it temporarily and pass it to you when you're more able to handle it."

"If we can reach a deal with whoever it is."

"Leave that part up to me, I have experience."

"Everyone's going to be saying that to me until I'm the one saying it to new people." Sigh. "That's how it goes. Thank you in advance for your expertise."

"Some self-awareness there, huh? Yeah, that's pretty much how it goes."

"I can't go expecting too much." Shrug. "I need to learn the Friendly Contracting Altar still? Anything you need help with while we wait to go hunting early tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah! Let's head over to the gym for that, there needs to be a bit of space to set up the array."