Corpse Ghost

Great Qian, Jiangzhou Prefecture.

Black Dragon City, Outer City.

Crack!

Lightning streaked across the sky like a silver serpent. Countless raindrops pattered onto the roof tiles with a crisp sound.

Thud, thud, thud!

"Nan'er, hurry and open the door. It's your mother!"

A flurry of urgent knocking sounded from outside, like a rapid drumbeat.

Lin Nan's face darkened as he stared at the shaking wooden door, both hands pressing hard against the crossbar bracing the inner door.

"My son, why won't you open the door? It's pouring out here!"

"Please, just open the door, all right?"

"I know you're in there!"

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The knocking grew faster and faster. The person outside seemed increasingly impatient, their voice gradually turning sinister.

Lin Nan didn't answer. Instead, with practiced ease, he reached into his clothes and pulled out a jade-green Jade Talisman.

The jade-green talisman was covered in cracks like a spiderweb, and now it was giving off a soft glow.

As the light rippled outward in circles, like a soundproof barrier, the knocking outside grew fainter and fainter until it could no longer be heard.

"Finally, I've made it through another night."

Lin Nan let out a long breath.

He could still vaguely remember how, not long ago, he had been working late overtime in the office of a state-owned enterprise, dreaming of a promotion and a raise.

Then, out of nowhere, his vision went black, and he found himself in this world. It had already been more than ten days.

This was a world much like ancient Earth, except that here there were demons, monsters, and creatures known as Evil Spirits.

The thing that had been knocking outside just now was an Evil Spirit called a Corpse Ghost.

Corpse Ghosts were skilled at imitating human speech, craved human blood, and could disguise themselves as people to break into homes and drain their victims dry. They were a common sight on the outskirts of the city at night.

Once one latched onto you, it would hound you without end.

The only ones capable of fighting Corpse Ghosts were Yanei and Blood-Qi Realm martial artists from the martial schools. Alternatively, you could spend a hundred copper coins each month to hire someone from the Inner City to drive them away with a Jade Talisman.

Unfortunately, Lin Nan's original self was neither at the Blood-Qi Realm nor a martial artist. He was just a lowly Martial Apprentice who did odd jobs at the White Snake Martial School in the Outer City.

His parents had died when he was young. Fortunately, Uncle Lin, a martial artist from the school, had taken him in. But Lin Nan had been unremarkable since childhood and had never shown any exceptional talent. After Uncle Lin passed away, the school gradually pushed him to the margins.

Now, at twenty, he was still a directionless little Martial Apprentice doing odd jobs at the school.

"Life's bitter—so bitter. Even worse than that lousy nine-to-nine, six-days-a-week job I had in my previous life."

Comparing his current circumstances with his old ones, Lin Nan suddenly found himself missing the modern city with its steel-and-concrete towers, planes, and cars.

Crack!

Another fissure suddenly split across the Jade Talisman in his hand.

Lin Nan's face pinched with pain as he carefully put it away.

Each Jade Talisman could be used about thirty times and cost a hundred copper coins.

The one in his hand would likely be used up tomorrow night, then shatter completely.

The awkward part was that he was out of money.

From his memories, his original self hadn't just been mediocre in martial arts; he had also been a womanizer who often went to the Drunken Spring Pavilion to drink and listen to music.

His monthly allowance was a hundred and twenty copper coins. Aside from the hundred he spent each month on a Jade Talisman, he had squandered the rest at the Drunken Spring Pavilion in the city.

He had no savings at all. In fact, he owed the martial school a mountain of money, and there was no chance they would advance him any more of his allowance.

If he couldn't get a Jade Talisman, then after tomorrow night he would have nothing left to drive away the Corpse Ghosts. When that happened, his death would be all but certain.

"Damn you, original me. What were you thinking, going to the Drunken Spring Pavilion when you had no business being there?"

Lin Nan cursed inwardly.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he took comfort in the fact that he wasn't completely without a lifeline.

A crimson furnace hung in his mind. Its walls were etched with ancient, obscure patterns and four small seal-script characters: Creation Furnace!

It was a pseudo-antique stove he'd bought online from Yiwu before crossing over. For some reason, it had appeared in his sea of consciousness.

At a thought, lines of information appeared before his eyes:

[Furnace Master: Lin Nan]

[Age: Twenty]

[Cultivation Technique: White Snake Stance (Beginner 55/100)]

[Usable Yin Energy Points: None.]

[Fortune Furnace, forge away all sinister and evil things, temper the true self!]

"Forge all things sinister and refine my true self."

After exploring it for days, Lin Nan had gradually formed a guess.

Perhaps the Creation Furnace could help him hunt the demons, monsters, and Evil Spirits everyone feared, using them to forge his body and improve his martial arts.

Unfortunately, he was only a penniless Martial Apprentice. He hadn't developed his blood qi, and he couldn't ask the martial school's inner disciples at the Blood-Qi Realm to help him test this ability.

After all, hunting Evil Spirits was dangerous. The martial artists were all used to the comforts of life. Who would risk it without a hefty payment?

"Then I'll have to take a chance, no matter what."

A hard glint flashed in Lin Nan's eyes. He made up his mind.

He spent the night tossing and turning.

The next day, the rain began to let up, and the sky had only just begun to pale with the first hint of dawn.

Lin Nan got up early and reached beneath his bed, pulling out an old wooden box about the size of his palm.

He opened it, and the medicinal scent of ginseng immediately filled the air. Inside lay powder in several different shades.

It was the ginseng powder he had secretly scraped off while simmering ginseng soup for the martial artists at the White Snake Martial School. There was only this little bit left.

Ignoring the pang of regret, Lin Nan dumped all the powder into a bowl of freshly cooked coarse-rice porridge and gulped it down.

As the porridge reached his stomach, he felt warmth slowly flow along his meridians. His blood and qi began to circulate more freely.

"I'm ready to move."

Feeling his strength return, Lin Nan raised a hand and pushed open the creaking wooden door.

He quickly left the outskirts of the Outer City, walked through three long streets, then turned right and soon reached a narrow alley.

Three burly men stood at the mouth of the alley, beside a makeshift stall. Three crooked words had been written on a strip of cloth: "Welfare Money."

"Well, look who it is—Brother Lin from the White Snake Martial School. Didn't go to the Drunken Spring Pavilion today? Or are you here to pay us back?"

The man at the head of the group had a scar across his face. He was called Scar Lord, one of the Blood Blade Sect's minor squad leaders assigned to the Outer City.

He had usually acted like the original Lin Nan's sworn brother, but he was no good. The original Lin Nan had borrowed plenty of money from him and ended up buried in debt.

Lin Nan even suspected this man was the reason the original Lin Nan had picked up his bad habit of visiting the Drunken Spring Pavilion.

"But what does the original Lin Nan going to the Drunken Spring Pavilion have to do with me, Lin Nan?"

Lin Nan forced a kindly smile.

"Ah, Scar Lord, don't give me such a hard time. I'm here to collect Welfare Money."

At the words "Welfare Money," Scar Lord's eyes shifted, and a playful look crossed his face.

"Finally come around, have you? You used to say you'd never take Welfare Money from our Blood Blade Sect again. You even shouted things like, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west; don't bully a poor young man!'"

"Scar Lord, you can't hold that against me. Everyone's been young and foolish. I've seen the light now. What's a martial school worth, anyway? Unlike you, Scar Lord—you're sincere, and you've got a heart of gold. You're the best friend a man could ask for!"

"Ah, so you've noticed my generous heart. What am I supposed to do with you? Here, give me your fingerprint!"

Scar Lord reached into the stall, pulled out a yellowed booklet and five hundred copper coins, and slapped them down on the table.

"Sure."

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Nan signed his name in the booklet and pressed his thumbprint beside it.

Seeing how readily he'd played along, Scar Lord was in high spirits. He cheerfully put the copper coins into a pouch and set it in front of Lin Nan.

"This money's yours."

"Scar Lord, words can't express it. I, Lin Nan, will remember this kindness for the rest of my life!"

"Don't mention it. We're brothers. No need to be so formal!"

"Scar Lord!"

"Brother Lin!"

Scar Lord walked Lin Nan out of the alley. They exchanged a few more pleasantries before finally parting, reluctant to say goodbye.

The moment they turned their backs on each other, matching sneers appeared on both their faces.

"What an idiot!"

"What a good-for-nothing!"