Chapter 1

"I'm fucking fed up. Have I been cursed lately? Why is everything going wrong?"

In early summer, the midday sun began to scorch, and the air was stuffy and hot. Chen Sheng, standing under a tree, held a ball in one hand and frantically fanned himself with the other. He finally got his milk tea packaged, but after only a few meters, the paper bag tore open, and the milk tea leaked out. Unable to salvage the situation, Chen Sheng slammed the soccer ball to the ground, put his hands on his hips, and started cursing.

The soccer ball rolled and stopped in front of a pair of boots. Chen Sheng was annoyed and said rudely, "Hey, you, get the ball for me."

Jiang Zhuochen raised an eyebrow and stood still.

"Are you deaf?" Chen Sheng shouted, walking over with a stern face.

Jiang Zhuochen watched the boy approaching him with a leisurely air, the ghostly energy on the soccer ball coiling around him as the boy drew near. "Brother, why are you so angry?"

"Does this bookish fellow really think he's from ancient times?" Chen Sheng muttered, looking down at the soccer ball half-hidden under Jiang Zhuochen's clothes, and then raised his voice: "If you're not going to help, then get out of the way."

Thinking that it was his first day in this world and he didn't want to cause trouble, Jiang Zhuochen kindly asked, "Brother, have things been going wrong lately?"

Chen Sheng paused in his movement, giving Jiang Zhuochen a suspicious look. "I'm perfectly fine."

Jiang Zhuochen gestured with his chin towards the puddle of milk tea not far away, "If you keep being stubborn, next time it might not just be a puddle of water."

Chen Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, even the wind seemed to carry a cold gust. He hesitated for a moment before shouting, "So what! Everyone has had a few unlucky days, stop spreading alarmist rumors."

Jiang Zhuochen's gaze followed Chen Sheng from bottom to top. To an ordinary person, it was invisible, but the ghostly energy enveloping Chen Sheng had already spread to his heart. If the soccer ball in Chen Sheng's arms was allowed to continue emitting ghostly energy and devouring his body, Chen Sheng would soon face a bloody disaster.

Jiang Zhuochen nodded as if in agreement, and then asked, "Is it really just bad luck?"

One sentence seemed to hit a nerve with Chen Sheng. Recalling the events of the past few days, he said angrily, "Why do you know so much? Are you behind this?"

Jiang Zhuochen blinked obediently, "We're complete strangers, I have no reason to harm you."

"So you're saying there's a solution?"

“Of course.” Jiang Zhuochen smiled. “But you need to explain in detail what you did before the accident so I can help you.”

"I didn't do anything," Chen Sheng said, scratching his head. "I go to class every day, play games after school, and at most I went back to my hometown to visit the graves a few days ago."

This is the key point. Jiang Zhuochen continued to ask, "How did you go to the grave?"

"How else can we go?" Chen Sheng spread his hands. "Kneel down, pick up three incense sticks, and kowtow."

Jiang Zhuochen frowned. There was nothing wrong with this. Just as he was about to suspect that there was an evil spirit in that place, he heard Chen Sheng speak casually.

"But I didn't pray; I found a flat spot to play football."

Um?

Jiang Zhuochen couldn't believe it. "You mean you were playing football in the graveyard?"

“Yeah, is that not allowed?” Chen Sheng didn’t see anything wrong with it at all. “I’m bored, and I didn’t want to go back in the first place.”

Jiang Zhuochen sighed inwardly. To have lived this long with such blatant disrespect, his ancestors must have done a great deal of work. He earnestly asked, "If someone were drumming in your ear while you were sleeping, how would you feel?"

Chen Sheng's eyes flashed with malice: "I'll kill him."

Realizing something after saying that, his arrogance immediately subsided. He cleared his throat: "Even if I was wrong, you can't just say they turned into vengeful ghosts and haunted me, can you?"

Jiang Zhuochen knew that this world did not believe in ghosts and gods, so he did not explain in any particular way. He just stood there silently and stared at him. His calm and composed gaze made Chen Sheng feel a chill down his spine and his heart flutter for no reason.

His right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist, the veins on his forearm bulging, and he stammered, "Then, what should we do?"

“It’s not difficult. I can help you deal with the culprit.” Jiang Zhuochen pointed at the soccer ball, suppressing the urge to cause trouble. “However, you will need to go back to your hometown and sincerely apologize at each grave.”

Actually, he could have just prayed on the hill near where the game was being played, but the other player had been mean to him earlier.

Seeing that the other person was bewildered and unmoved, he kindly advised, "You'd better hurry, or no one will be able to save you in a couple of days."

"Damn." Chen Sheng seemed to snap out of his daze, hurriedly shoving the soccer ball into Jiang Zhuochen's hands and running off. "Thanks, brother. I'll repay you another time."

Jiang Zhuochen didn't take the other person's words to heart. He stared at the soccer ball in his hand, which was now writhing with ghostly energy after losing its target, and was about to use a spell to destroy it.

"Hey, what's that weird person over there?"

"It's not surprising, is it? There's been some kind of anime convention or fashion show at Warehouse No. 1 recently, and there have been a lot of people dressed like that these past few days."

"Really? I've been so busy lately I haven't paid much attention. I hate going to work!"

Jiang Zhuochen heard people talking about him and suddenly remembered that this world was full of ordinary people. In order to avoid unnecessary panic, the Heavenly Dao required him to try not to do anything different from ordinary people, so he turned to the side.

Just then, the football suddenly exploded, and the turbid ghostly energy circled provocatively in front of Jiang Zhuochen before quickly dissipating.

Jiang Zhuochen looked into the distance, intuitively feeling that the reason Heaven had sent him to this world must be related to ghostly energy.

"Tsk." Even if I brought him here to gather souls, I wouldn't tell him about the world; he'd have to figure it out himself.

He looked up and subtly observed his surroundings, realizing that his attire was indeed somewhat conspicuous in this world. This feeling of being out of place made him uneasy, so now was not the time to explore the reason; he needed to first integrate into this world and then gradually understand it.

Just after lunch break, Zhao Li sat up from the table, stretched, and dragged her wobbly steps toward the glass door. As soon as she turned the "Open for Business" sign outwards, a handsome man in ancient costume appeared before her.

"Oh my..." Zhao Li's adrenaline surged as she was stunned by the handsome boy five steps away. She blinked twice before she realized that he was really looking at her.

She knew there was an ancient culture exchange event nearby these days, but none of the men in ancient costumes she had encountered on the street were as well-dressed as the one in front of her.

Even a layperson like her could tell from the three layers upon layers of fabric that the clothes were not only expensive but also very sophisticated.

Since she was dressed like this, she couldn't very well come to the barbershop for a haircut, could she? She asked, her mind racing, "Handsome, is there something you need?"

Jiang Zhuochen originally planned to find a secluded spot to get a haircut, but as he passed by, he glanced at the shop and noticed a sign outside that read "Wash, Cut, and Blow-dry," accompanied by a simple line drawing. He guessed this must be their hair salon, so he climbed the steps.

Jiang Zhuochen couldn't yet grasp the communication system of modern people, so he pointed to the words on the wall and said in the simplest language: "I want to get a haircut."

Zhao Li was somewhat surprised. He really came to get his hair cut? She hesitated, "Is this your own hair?"

Jiang Zhuochen nodded, "I prefer having long hair, but I suddenly realized that short hair is also nice during this trip, so I want to give it a try."

When Zhao Li heard that it was someone's hobby, she stopped worrying about it; everyone has hobbies, after all. She simply offered a friendly reminder: "It looks like you've been growing it for a long time. Are you sure you want to cut it?"

“Yes.” Jiang Zhuochen had no parents since childhood and could not understand the meaning of the saying that one’s body and hair are given to one’s parents, so he naturally had no attachment to cutting his hair.

Zhao Li's little scheme immediately resurfaced. She opened the door and let Jiang Zhuochen in, pushing aside the other shop assistants who wanted to come and watch. All the tools were immediately laid out on the table. The haircut took an outrageously long time, but thankfully Jiang Zhuochen didn't rush her.

"Handsome guy...handsome guy?"

Jiang Zhuochen opened his eyes upon hearing the call, meeting the eyes of the person behind him through the mirror in front of him. "What's wrong?"

Zhao Li was caught off guard and met his gaze. She opened her mouth for a moment before replying, "It's done. Are you satisfied? This is the same wolf tail split cap style as male celebrities."

Jiang Zhuochen then turned his gaze to himself. He hadn't understood the second half of the other person's sentence, but he could accept the hairstyle. He nodded and politely raised the corners of his mouth. "Thank you, how shall I pay?"

"Sixty." Zhao Li waved his hand. "Since you're so good-looking, I'll secretly give you a 20% discount, so it'll be forty-eight."

What forty-eight? Is it forty-eight copper coins or forty-eight taels of silver? It can't be forty-eight taels of gold, can it?

Jiang Zhuochen took out his Qiankun bag and tentatively placed a piece of gold in front of the woman. "Is this alright?"

Zhao Li stared at the gleaming gold ingot in his hand. Wait, where is this handsome guy from?!

It's no wonder she's naive; that piece of gold weighed roughly fifty grams, which is almost 30,000 RMB. She could get change from 100 RMB, but how was she supposed to get change from 30,000 RMB?

She returned the gold to Jiang Zhuochen, both amused and exasperated. "Handsome, didn't you bring any cash? Or do you have any money on your phone? Electronic payment is fine too."

A hint of doubt appeared in Jiang Zhuochen's eyes. What were cash and cell phones?

Zhao Li noticed the man's furrowed brow and secretly sized him up. After looking him over, she realized that the handsome man's clothes didn't seem to have any pockets; the only thing he could hold was a small bag in his hand.

Judging from the thickness of the bag, it most likely didn't contain a phone or any cash, meaning this piece of gold was all the handsome guy had to offer.

But that doesn't make sense. The other person is being raised so well, and even their clothes look so expensive. There's no reason why they should be covered in gold.

Zhao Li had a sudden, incredible idea: Could it be that some young master from a wealthy family couldn't stand the discipline at home and secretly ran away?

Otherwise, why would they look so...naive, and so pedantic? Most likely, they were raised with strict family rules and weren't allowed to touch anything, so when they run away from home, they don't know what to take with them, and they want to try new things.

The more I thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, and the more I felt I couldn't just abandon it.

Jiang Zhuochen looked at the person opposite him with growing confusion. Just as he was about to think of a way to deal with it, the other person's gaze changed in a short while.

His righteousness was tinged with a hint of kindness, which inexplicably frightened him.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any of what you mentioned. Can't this gold be used?"

This is the most expensive currency that ordinary people in their world possess. Can't it be used here? If all else fails, can they buy jewelry and jade here? He's plundered quite a bit from beyond the mountains.

Zhao Li cleared her throat and spoke in what she thought was a gentler voice: "It may be impolite, but handsome young man, may I ask you a question?"

Jiang Zhuochen glanced at her and asked, "Excuse me?"

Looking at the other person's quiet and obedient appearance, Zhao Li's own expression softened. "Did you run away from home?"

Jiang Zhuochen decided to wait and see. "That's right."

Zhao Li smiled knowingly, "I think so too! I've heard that wealthy families, especially large clans, are very strict with their children, so they probably couldn't stand it and ran away."

What's this called? Someone hands you a pillow when you're sleepy.

Jiang Zhuochen sighed and, mimicking the way the little boy next to her addressed her, said, "Sister, you're amazing! You guessed it all."

Zhao Li was overjoyed to be called "sister" and blurted out, "Hey, really, you didn't even bring any money with you when you ran away from home. If you really needed to, you could have taken out your phone so you could contact someone in an emergency."

To avoid arousing suspicion, Jiang Zhuochen could only feign a hint of embarrassment. "I left in a hurry and didn't have time to take anything... Can't I use this gold to pay for the goods?"

Zhao Li shook his head and said with a smile, "It's not that we can't pay, it's just that this thing is too expensive and we can't make change. One gram of gold is about 600 yuan, so this gold ingot of yours is worth at least 30,000 yuan. Isn't 30,000 yuan too much for a 48-yuan haircut?"

I see.

Jiang Zhuochen understood, and rather embarrassedly fiddled with the fabric on his leg. "But this is all I have."

Zhao Li comforted her, saying, "It's alright. There are gold shops on the other side of this building that can exchange gold for cash. We can take the gold over there and have them exchange it for cash for you."

"Thank you, sister."

"Hey! Just because of that sound, I'll go get you a new one."

Jiang Zhuochen quickly stood up as well, "Can I come along and take a look?"

The thought of this child having lived a disciplined life for over a decade without ever seeing the outside world filled Zhao Li with tenderness. "Of course you can. You can ask me anything you don't understand, and I'll tell you everything."

"good."

Taking advantage of the store manager's absence today, Zhao Li abandoned his post, gathered the necessary items, and brought Jiang Zhuochen to the gold shop.

Jiang Zhuochen silently watched the other person communicate with the shop assistant, noting down useful information. Because Jiang Zhuochen didn't have a mobile phone and couldn't accept electronic payments, the shop needed some time to mobilize cash.

Zhao Li took the thick wad of banknotes, thought for a moment and then asked, "Shall I hold this for you? Such a thick wad of cash is too conspicuous. You don't have anywhere to put it, so you might get robbed."

Seeing the other person nod, Zhao Li was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. Did he really believe her so easily? Wasn't he afraid that she was also a liar? "You... can I ask what your name is? My name is Zhao Li, Li as in separation."

"Jiang Zhuochen means rain washing away the dust of spring." He still remembered that when his master named him, he hoped that he would wash away the dust of the past fifteen years and become the moon in the sky, far away from the mortal world but still able to maintain his unique freedom and unrestrainedness.

Jiang Zhuochen lowered his eyes, his memories stirred by the name, and he couldn't help but fall into a daze.

How could I have caused such a wonderful master to be destroyed by my own actions...?

A note from the author: