Chapter One: Haunted by a Ghost

“Haunted by a malicious spirit, his vital energy dissipated!”

Su Ye awoke slowly, the chaotic flood of memories in his mind soon making him realize his current predicament.

He had once been an exorcist and demon hunter on the planet Blue Star, inheriting the craft from his family line. Born with a jade talisman in his mouth, he was raised under the tutelage of his grandfather, who taught him the arts from an early age.

At eighteen, he set out alone to banish ghosts, but encountered an ancient specter with a hundred years of cultivation. Though Su Ye possessed extraordinary talent and the assistance of his companion jade talisman, the drastic change in the world’s spiritual environment had left his cultivation far inferior to that of the old ghost. In the end, they perished together.

Upon awakening, he found his soul had crossed over to inhabit the body of a fifteen-year-old boy, also named Su Ye.

This youth had died after being haunted by a malicious spirit, his vital energy drained away.

“The original owner was the legitimate son of Su Ren, the wealthiest man in Jinhua County. His death at the hands of the ghost was closely tied to Su Ren’s eldest illegitimate son.”

Delving into the memories of his new body, Su Ye learned he was born into the Su family of Jinhua County. His father, Su Ren, had originally married into the Lin family, the county’s richest household, as a son-in-law.

The Lin family’s only daughter was Su Ye’s mother. After marrying into the family, Su Ren showed great respect to the Lin elders and treated his wife, Madam Lin, with affection—or so it appeared. But after ten years, having gained full control over the Lin family’s businesses, he secretly orchestrated the Lin elders’ deaths, drove his wife to despair and death, and seized the family fortune.

He then changed the family name from Lin to Su, bringing his entire clan to reside with him.

Su Ren and Madam Lin had only one son, Su Ye. When tragedy struck the Lin family, Su Ye was only eight—old enough to remember, but powerless to act. He could only witness his mother’s tragic demise and the Su family’s usurpation of their wealth.

Though Su Ren disliked the Lin family, Su Ye was his own flesh and blood. He chose to confine Su Ye in a remote courtyard, raising him there until now.

Su Ye’s death—his vital energy drained by a malignant ghost—was orchestrated by Su Ren’s eldest illegitimate son, Su Ming.

Su Ming, now eighteen, was three years older than Su Ye. Before marrying into the Lin family, Su Ren had wed his cousin, Madam Hua, and had a son and daughter with her.

In recent years, Su Ming became the disciple of a wandering Taoist and learned sinister arts of raising ghosts. He had been traveling until he returned a few days ago.

Originally, Su Ming had paid little attention to Su Ye, whom he saw as a powerless nobody. Yet, spurred by Madam Hua’s words, he sent the ghost to kill him.

Years after Madam Lin’s death, Su Ren, perhaps out of nostalgia for his first wife, decided to release Su Ye from his confinement. His growing estrangement from Madam Hua had made him reconsider his feelings for the late Madam Lin.

But this newfound fatherly affection became the very cause of Su Ye’s demise.

“What a bizarre family,” Su Ye thought.

Much of what he now knew came directly from the memories of his predecessor, while some he deduced from them.

“Su Ming has trained in ghost-raising sorcery. The malignant spirit has already drained half of this body’s vital energy and will surely come again tonight.”

Su Ye’s brow furrowed. Though he was an accomplished exorcist, his current body was frail, and he had no tools of the trade. To subdue and destroy the ghost would be no easy task.

Suddenly, a surge of pure energy welled up between his brows, his eyes flashing with jade light. His debilitated body began to rapidly recover.

“My companion jade talisman!”

Delight filled him. He sensed that his talisman now resided within his spiritual sea, hidden between his brows. The pure energy restoring him emanated from it.

The talisman possessed many wondrous properties: it could heighten his comprehension, cleanse impurities from his body—but its most crucial function was yet greater.

Its primary role was to aid in crafting talismans. If Su Ye etched the pattern of a specific talisman on it, he would instantly master its creation, and the talisman’s power would be greatly enhanced by the jade’s support.

Yet, the talisman required spiritual energy from the world to function.

In his previous life, only his grandfather had known of the talisman’s secret, once sighing that if Su Ye ever found himself in a land rich in spiritual energy, the talisman’s true potential would be unleashed.

“It seems his words have come true. This world is indeed saturated with spiritual energy.”

Thanks to the talisman, he could clearly sense the spiritual energy here was far denser than on Blue Star.

“The ghost raised by Su Ming is weak; even the most basic exorcism charm will suffice to destroy it. The only question is whether Su Ming has any other tricks up his sleeve.”

Now, with the talisman’s help, Su Ye’s body had largely recovered. Yet, the body he’d inherited was that of an ordinary person, untouched by the talisman’s daily refinement or any method of cultivation—still pitifully weak.

If Su Ming were merely average in skill, there would be no trouble. But if he were formidable, even after destroying the ghost, Su Ye might still be in danger.

“It’s too soon to worry about that. When midnight comes and I’ve dealt with the ghost, I’ll see what follows,” Su Ye muttered.

Night had already deepened, with hours yet until midnight. After tidying himself up, Su Ye left his room.

The courtyard he now called home was small, with a sturdy osmanthus tree at its center. It was August, and the blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.

A stone table and four stone stools sat beneath the tree. Because Su Ye had been haunted by evil spirits these past two days, no one had cleaned the courtyard or swept away the fallen petals from the table and stools.

He brushed off a stone stool and sat down.

“The entire Su family really treats this body as less than human,” he sighed as his stomach rumbled.

Glancing at the darkening sky, he vaulted over the wall and slipped out.

The former owner of this body had been timid, but he was not; he had no intention of suffering humiliation in silence.

The Su family’s residence was still the old Lin manor. After seizing the Lin fortune, Su Ren had only changed the signboard, leaving the layout untouched.

Guided by the original memories, Su Ye crept into the kitchen. Dinner had long since ended, and only an old maid remained on guard, so entering required little effort.

As the wealthiest household in Jinhua County, the kitchen was stocked with rare ingredients, though most were cold and unfit to eat directly.

After a brief lament, Su Ye found some cooked food and ate his fill, then returned to his small courtyard to await the stroke of midnight.