"Why?" Ru Hua was stunned.

Bi Xie's eyes fell on the yellow talisman around the stall owner's neck, and he slightly curled the corners of his mouth. "If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear. If he's just an honest little stall owner, why would he need to hang amulets and talismans to protect himself from ghosts?"

Ru Hua then noticed that the vendor had several stacked triangular yellow talismans hanging around his neck. She didn't understand these things, so she hadn't paid attention.

"Which Taoist temple are you from?" The stall owner stared at her, his face pale.

The girl in front of him was extremely beautiful, with fair skin that seemed to glow, long, soft black hair that hung down to her waist, rosy lips, a small, delicate face, and wispy bangs that clung softly to her forehead. Her eyes were bright and clear, with a distinct black and white, but after looking at her for a couple of seconds, he dared not meet her gaze again. He felt a sense of dread in his heart, as if those eyes could see through everything.

Bi Xie, seemingly oblivious to his nervousness, grinned and said, "I am from Xuanyun Temple. I was sent down the mountain by my master to exorcise ghosts. As soon as I came down the mountain, I saw your wonton stall. It seems we are destined to meet. Since we are so connected, would you like to treat me to some wontons?"

"..." Ru Hua: "Host, you've been rambling on for so long, but you just wanted to finish your wontons, right?" She actually believed all that talk about doing good deeds every day, exorcising talismans, and protective charms.

“The Taoist robes of Xuanyun Temple are not this color and style,” the stall owner’s face darkened, and he was about to kick her out, “Go away, go away, whose daughter are you? You stole someone else’s Taoist robe and are now here swindling and talking nonsense. Don’t delay my business!”

“Don’t be in such a hurry to kick me out,” Bi Xie said with a sly smile. “How do you know I’m not wearing the Xuan Yun Temple’s robes? Could it be that you’ve been to Xuan Yun Temple? Or… observed the disciples of Xuan Yun Temple?” He then whispered in his ear, “You have a lot of yin energy about you.”

The stall owner's voice caught in his throat, and he couldn't speak.

The group of people who had finished their wontons left their money on the table and glanced at the two of them suspiciously. They thought to themselves, "What a pretty little Taoist priest!" They deliberately raised their voices to tell the stall owner that they had left their money on the table and looked at Bi Xie a few more times. But the stall owner seemed not to have heard them and was staring blankly at the pretty little Taoist priest.

This wonton stall is doing good business; many people come to eat wontons in the early morning.

The stall owner was somewhat uneasy after Bi Xie finished speaking. He still treated Bi Xie to a bowl of wontons, and couldn't help but glance at her a few more times while cooking the wontons.

Business was exceptionally good this morning, but the stall owner had no interest in doing business. He walked to Bi Xie's table with a heavy heart, his brows furrowed, and looked at her with a hint of disbelief, "You...you really can tell?"

Bi Xie glanced at him, said nothing, gulped down the soup, and then breathed a sigh of relief. He stared at the stall owner's forehead until the stall owner became uneasy and his hands and feet turned cold, before slowly saying, "This humble Taoist observes that the benefactor's forehead is dark, indicating the accumulation of cold and yin energy in his body. I fear his time is near."

Ru Hua was stunned: "Host, it's so shameless of you to lie for a bowl of wontons."

Upon hearing this, the stall owner's face turned extremely ugly. As expected of a charlatan, he kept talking about how dark his face was.

He had almost believed the little girl; his facial muscles twitched as if he was about to explode in anger, but Bi Xie preemptively said, "Your forehead is too narrow, which should indicate a poor and lowly life, but your stall is doing very well, and you're dressed in fine silks and brocades, so you must be living a good life. It's really strange..."

The stall owner's expression changed again, his face turning as white as a corpse. He stared at Bi Xie in shock, remained silent for a long time, and then suddenly knelt on the ground, grabbing the hem of Bi Xie's Taoist robe and pleading in a panic, "Please, Immortal Master, save me! Please, Immortal Master, save me! Save my wife! We are indeed being haunted by something unclean. Please, Immortal Master, have mercy and save my life."

Bi Xie only had this one Taoist robe, and he had no clothes to change into if it got dirty. Seeing him crying with tears streaming down his face, he subtly pulled the robe back, then waved his sleeve with a cold expression. "I have a connection with you, so saving your life is not impossible. However, I am so poor that I can't even afford a bowl of wontons..." He needed to get some silver for travel expenses before he could find a way to defeat the big boss.

"The reward is negotiable," the stall owner said as if he had seen a savior. "As long as the immortal master can save me and my wife, just name your price." He then looked down at the soup bowl, which was now empty of broth. "Would the immortal master like another bowl of wontons?"

Ru Hua was completely dumbfounded; she couldn't see any of the so-called yin energy.

"No need. I'll pack up the stall and go with you to see your wife."

The stall owner hurried off.

On the way, Bi Xie found out the whole story.

The stall owner's name is Cao Cheng. He lives in the next town. The skill of making wontons was passed down from his wife's family. However, in the past two years, his father-in-law's health has deteriorated, and he suddenly became unable to get out of bed. His wife had to stay at home to take care of her father-in-law, so the business and the skill of making wontons were handed over to him.

Bi Xie and he rode in a carriage for several hours before arriving at another town.

She frowned: "Why did you go all the way here, sir? Can't you do business in this small town?"

Cao Cheng gave a bitter laugh: "To be honest, Master, my wife and I have been haunted by evil spirits for seven or eight days now. Every night, my wife gets up as if in a dream to go to the yard to chop down trees and wood. When she wakes up, she says she doesn't remember anything. I'm really scared, so I thought I'd go to the Taoist temple on Liangyi Mountain for help."

He pulled out amulets and exorcism talismans to show Bi Xie. "These talismans were drawn by the immortal master of Danxin Temple, but they don't seem to work," he said, his expression turning horrified. "Last night... last night my wife chopped down a tree and suddenly came into the house with a wood-chopping knife. She swung it at the side of my head, and when I woke up, I tried to take the knife from her, but her strength suddenly became incredibly strong! She also said... she also said..."

He was breathing heavily, still shaken, as if the scene from last night was playing out again.

Bi Xie looked at him indifferently: "What did your wife say?"

Cao Cheng glanced at her guiltily, then awkwardly looked away, stammering, "I...I forgot," before placing all his hopes on Bi Xie, "Immortal Master, my house is the one with two peach trees in front of the gate. Please save me, I don't want to die."

Bi Xie raised an eyebrow. A peach tree?

Peach wood is believed to ward off evil spirits, but peach trees are thought to attract evil.

Peach trees, peach blossoms, and peach pits are all red, which is why demons and monsters love to use peach trees as their dwelling place. Planting peach trees in the courtyard or in front of the door can easily attract evil spirits and bring bad luck to the family. Does Cao Cheng not understand the reason behind this, or does he think that planting peach trees and peach wood have the same effect, both of which are used to ward off evil spirits?

"Immortal Master, please come in."

Ever since his wife nearly chopped off his neck with a woodcutter's knife last night, Cao Cheng has been traumatized and doesn't dare to go inside even after opening the door.

Bi Xie walked ahead confidently.

The door creaked open, and the courtyard was quiet. The few trees that had been planted had all been cut down, and sawdust was scattered on the ground. The bark had been stripped smooth, and the wood had been chopped into several pieces, some into squares and others into cylinders, as if they were going to be made into some kind of woodworking tool. She casually asked, "Has the benevolent master's wife learned any carpentry skills from a carpenter?"