Qing Shan City, by the roadside.

The air was filled with a rich aroma, and Lin Xi couldn’t help but stop in her tracks.

Gurgle—!

Her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl.

She hesitated for a moment, then walked up to the bun shop.

“Boss, can I exchange a talisman for a bun?”

Aunt Li had been running the bun shop for over thirty years and had never encountered such a situation.

Exchange a bun for a talisman.

What kind of talisman?

The kind used in ghost movies, stuck on a zombie’s forehead?

Aunt Li looked at the newcomer.

Oh, it was just a little girl.

The girl was quite young, dressed in a deep blue Daoist robe, with her hair tied up in a bun, her cheeks a bit dirty.

Her skin was very pale, and her lips had no color, as if she could faint at any moment.

Sigh, just another pitiful child.

Aunt Li grabbed a large bag and filled it with five meat buns, three vegetable buns, and a cup of soy milk.

“Here, take this. If it’s not enough, just let Aunt Li know.”

Lin Xi took a bite of the meat bun and finally felt alive again.

She hadn’t eaten for three days and nights.

Lin Xi was an unwanted child; her parents had abandoned her by the creek right after she was born.

The Daoist Master Xuan Kong picked her up and brought her to the temple, taking her as a disciple and teaching her the five arts of metaphysics, mountain medicine, destiny, and divination.

Lin Xi was born with a pure yin constitution, with the innate ability to see spirits, and had followed her master down the mountain to catch ghosts since she was one.

While her master performed rituals in front of others, she dealt with malevolent spirits behind the scenes.

Master Xuan Kong was very unreliable; he once mistook ashes for baby formula and fed it to her.

Fortunately, Lin Xi saw the hanging ghost nearby.

The hanging ghost emitted a sharp cry, “Damn! That’s my ashes! You little brat, put it down! You can’t eat that!!!”

Lin Xi cleverly knocked over the baby formula and grew up safely.

However, now she was close to death again.

As a girl, she belonged to the yin, and being born in a yin year, yin month, yin hour, and yin day, her yin constitution was further exacerbated, giving her poor luck.

Her master once predicted that she wouldn’t live past twenty.

With just one day left, she would turn twenty.

In other words, she had one day left to live.

Lin Xi hurriedly ate three meat buns and took out a peace talisman. “Auntie, I am a Daoist. This peace talisman can help you turn misfortune into good fortune.”

Aunt Li took it and glanced at it.

Yellow paper with red characters; she couldn’t understand the symbols on it.

Lin Xi reminded her, “Auntie, your forehead is dark, and there might be bloodshed tonight. You must carry this talisman with you.”

Aunt Li: “……”

That sounded just like what a scammer would say; this little girl was superstitious at such a young age.

She believed in science and never trusted such things.

Aunt Li kindly advised, “Little girl, the buns are a gift for you, so take back this talisman. I don’t need it.”

“Trust me, keep it safe.”

Lin Xi folded the peace talisman into a triangle and stuffed it into Aunt Li’s pocket before stepping away.

Aunt Li was taken aback. “Wait, where are you going?”

“To the Imperial Capital.”

Lin Xi waved her hand.

Seven days ago, her master unfortunately passed away.

Before he died, he left her with a message.

“Disciple, I have arranged a marriage for you. This person has an extremely valuable destiny, and he is your only chance to survive this calamity. You must hurry to the Imperial Capital to find him.”

Lin Xi descended the mountain in search of this slim chance for survival.

But along the way, too many accidents occurred; right after leaving, she encountered a mudslide.

On her way to the town, a thunderclap struck and destroyed her old phone; by the time she reached the train station, she had spent all her money on the ticket.

Exhausted, hungry, and sleepy, Lin Xi ended up sleeping in Qing Shan City.

The closer she got to twenty, the worse her luck became.

She didn’t want to die; she wanted to live.

Lin Xi walked towards the direction of the Imperial Capital.

There wasn’t enough time to walk.

She needed a plan to rob a ghost car.

…

As night fell, Aunt Li locked the door and rode her little electric scooter home.

Everything went smoothly as she navigated through familiar alleyways.

Turning a corner, she was almost home.

What bloodshed?

What dark forehead?

That little girl was talking nonsense; her words couldn’t be trusted.

Aunt Li muttered to herself, “The young people these days are even more superstitious than us old folks.”

Bang!

Suddenly, a loud crash came from behind her.

Aunt Li slammed on the brakes and turned to look.

A flowerpot fell from the sky and smashed on the ground, shards flying everywhere.

Strangely, there wasn’t a single shard near her.

Aunt Li took a deep breath, her heart racing.

If she had been riding slower, that flowerpot would have hit her head.

That would have meant serious injury if not death.

Aunt Li recalled the little girl’s words and hurriedly took out the peace talisman from her pocket; the symbols on it had faded a little.

In the blink of an eye, the talisman caught fire and turned to ashes.

She exclaimed in surprise, “I’ve encountered a master!”

Aunt Li got off her scooter and respectfully bowed towards the direction of the Imperial Capital.

“Master, thank you for saving my life.”

…

Lin Xi squatted at a crossroads.

The yin energy here was heavy, indicating the presence of ghosts.

When people die, they become ghosts, which come in many forms.

Ordinary people encounter white, gray, or yellow ghosts and might just get scared; encountering a black ghost could lead to a mild illness; meeting a red-clothed vengeful ghost could mean severe illness or even death.

Above those are the ghost generals and ghost kings.

Lin Xi had fought three red-clothed vengeful ghosts but had never encountered a ghost general or ghost king.

Ghost kings were just legends.

She wasn’t afraid of ghosts; the more vicious the ghost she caught, the more merit she earned.

Lin Xi rested her chin on her hand and waited.

At three in the morning, a thick fog rose in the air, and the temperature around her dropped a few degrees, making her shiver involuntarily.

A cold wind blew, and a yellow taxi appeared at the intersection, a spirit banner fluttering on the roof, extremely eerie.

“Little girl~ need a ride?”

A haunting voice drifted from the wind, as if the ghost were whispering in her ear.

Lin Xi glanced at the car in front of her; it was filled with heavy yin energy.

This was a ghost car, and the driver inside was a ghost.

Perfect; she could take the ghost car to the Imperial Capital.

Lin Xi calmly stood up, and as she got closer, she noticed the outside of the car was covered in SpongeBob SquarePants drawings.

This ghost had a playful side.

She opened the door and got in. “Go, to the Imperial Capital.”

The ghost driver was stunned.

This girl wasn’t afraid of ghosts at all!

He turned his head, revealing a pale face, and in front of Lin Xi, he plucked out two of his eye sockets.

Drip! Drip!!

Dark eye sockets dripped with blood, staining the entire car red.

A heavy, foul smell spread, making one want to vomit.

The ghost driver grinned horrifically.

“Little girl, I’m a ghost~”