Chapter 5 : Yin Fire

That bowl wasn’t crushed by hand. 

When Shi Pengpeng touched the bowl, she sensed an unusual aura and instinctively cast a spell. 

As a result, the bowl cracked.

She had a vague suspicion in her heart, but with so many eyes on them, she couldn’t say it outright. 

Instead, she silently glanced at Yan Jing and vaguely said, “There’s something unclean in this restaurant.”

“Miss, you can’t just say things like that,” the restaurant manager’s face turned pale as he hurriedly defended the establishment’s hygiene.

Yan Jing, however, immediately reacted. 

He had been plagued by yin entities for years and was highly sensitive to such matters. 

Looking at the bowl of pickled fish soup, he noticed that it was still steaming hot—yet it had turned ice-cold the moment it reached his hands.

This clearly defied the basic principles of heat transfer.

His heart tightened, but his face remained calm. 

He said nonchalantly, “In that case, let’s find another place to eat.”

“No,” Shi Pengpeng shook her head. 

“I want to see your boss.”

Yan Jing frowned, instinctively wanting to refuse. 

But before he could speak, Shi Pengpeng added, “If you’re scared, you can leave first. I’ll contact you another day.”

Yan Jing: !!!

“Heh,” Yan Jing scoffed, instantly feeling challenged. 

“Who do you think you’re looking down on? Me, scared?!”

Shi Pengpeng: “……”

This guy really hadn’t changed one bit—still as stubborn as ever.

Determined to prove he was a strong and fearless man, not only did Yan Jing insist on staying, but he also took the lead in negotiating with the restaurant.

As a VIP customer, his words carried more weight than Shi Pengpeng’s. 

Soon, the boss personally welcomed them into a private meeting room.

The restaurant owner, Xie Kunze, was a lean and refined middle-aged man wearing a string of bodhi beads on his wrist. 

He had already heard from the manager and assumed they were here to complain about the food. 

The moment he saw them, he was about to apologize, but the young girl raised her hand and interrupted him.

Shi Pengpeng got straight to the point. 

“Hello, I suspect that your restaurant is haunted. I’d like to perform a ritual here.”

Xie Kunze: “……??!”

His face turned pale, and he instinctively wanted to refute it. 

But Yan Jing quickly gestured for him to stay calm, while Shi Pengpeng carefully explained her observations and deductions.

She was highly knowledgeable, and her reasoning was logical and well-founded. 

As Xie Kunze listened, he grew more and more astonished. 

In fact, he had long felt that something was off about the restaurant.

Lately, there had been frequent issues with the food. 

He had questioned the kitchen multiple times, but there had been no staff changes, and every aspect of the equipment and cooking process had been meticulously checked—yet no errors were found.

Still, for some reason, the dishes just weren’t as well-cooked as before. 

As more customers left, the entire restaurant staff was becoming anxious.

Having spent years in business, Xie Kunze was a firm believer in feng shui and metaphysics. 

Hearing Shi Pengpeng’s explanation, he couldn’t help but feel that this might indeed be the cause. 

However, he wasn’t sure what kind of entity was haunting the restaurant—Shi Pengpeng would need to perform a ritual to find out.

Xie Kunze hesitated. 

The girl was young, and her trendy appearance hardly matched that of an exorcist. 

Even if she had some knowledge, she didn’t look like someone who could handle supernatural matters.

Still, he was a shrewd man and didn’t want to offend Yan Jing. 

After a brief moment of consideration, he agreed.

At the very least, he could humor them for now—and later, he could call a proper master to check again.

***

As soon as the evening service ended, Xie Kunze found an excuse to send the restaurant staff away. 

Following Shi Pengpeng’s instructions, he prepared offerings such as fruits, incense, and candles.

Shi Pengpeng cleared an open space in the main hall and set up a simple altar.

Yan Jing hadn’t expected her to be so serious about this. 

He was already regretting not leaving earlier, but at this point, it would be even more embarrassing to walk away. 

So, he crossed his arms and stood coolly beside Xie Kunze, watching.

After calculating the time, Shi Pengpeng took out a set of yellow talismans from the canvas bag slung over her shoulder. 

Standing before the altar, she began forming hand seals and chanting incantations.

Xie Kunze observed her movements. 

She performed the ritual with practiced ease, exuding confidence. 

For the first time, he felt a sense of anticipation. 

However, she was still dressed in a long skirt and ankle boots—without even a Daoist robe—which made it hard to take her seriously.

Just then, a chilling gust of wind blew through the hall, knocking over one of the altar candles. 

The floor was carpeted, and as soon as the candle touched the fabric, a ghostly green flame flared up and quickly spread.

“Ah—” Xie Kunze jumped in alarm. 

“Not good! Fire!”

Yan Jing frowned, reacting swiftly. 

He rushed to a corner, grabbed a fire extinguisher, and was about to use it when Shi Pengpeng suddenly flicked her wrist, tossing a yellow talisman into the flames. 

The fire eagerly consumed the paper.

Xie Kunze panicked, “Wait! Why are you throwing things into the—”

Before he could finish, the talisman’s vermilion ink emitted a faint red glow. 

Instantly, the roaring flames weakened. 

As the paper burned to ashes, the eerie green fire was completely extinguished. 

The lights in the hall dimmed, leaving only the flickering altar candles.

Xie Kunze snapped his mouth shut, swallowing the rest of his words. 

Yan Jing also froze, his actions stalling mid-motion. 

Only now did they realize—this was no ordinary accident.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the night was pitch black. 

The candlelight flickered erratically as an inexplicable chill crept into the air.

Suddenly, a deep, heavy sound echoed from the darkness.

“Thump—thump—thump—”

The noise came from afar, growing closer, as if an enormous weight was pounding against the floor. 

The ground trembled slightly with each impact, sending Xie Kunze’s and Yan Jing’s hearts racing.

Xie Kunze’s teeth chattered uncontrollably. 

Unable to suppress his fear, he stammered, “M-Miss Peng, w-what exactly is this…”

Before he could finish, a massive shadow of pure darkness suddenly descended from above. 

Though it was only a phantom, it felt as if it carried real weight, pinning him down and rendering him motionless.

Xie Kunze’s words cut off abruptly. 

His eyes widened in sheer terror.

At the same moment, a yellow talisman shot up into the air.

“The essence of Yin and Yang, the fire of Yang within, illuminates and captures the lurking spirit—Exorcise!” 

The girl’s clear, crisp voice rang out.

The talisman ignited on its own.

In an instant, the black shadow shattered. 

A faint, eerie scream echoed, like a whisper from another realm. 

The crushing weight lifted from Xie Kunze’s body, retreating like a receding tide.

Along with it, the suffocating darkness in the room vanished.

The lights flickered back on, illuminating the scene.

Xie Kunze gasped for air and looked up. 

The girl before the altar stood calmly, her dress gently swaying. 

It wasn’t a Daoist robe, yet somehow, it carried the same aura.

He suddenly felt ashamed for judging her by appearance. 

This was a true master.

The grand Dao is often simple.

Yan Jing, still clutching the fire extinguisher, slowly relaxed under the restored light. 

He took a deep breath, then asked as nonchalantly as possible, “Hey, sh—cough… Pengpeng, is it done?”

Shi Pengpeng shook her head. 

“Not yet.”

Yan Jing: ?!

Before he could ask further, a sudden whooshing sound sliced through the air. 

A green fireball, slightly larger than a soccer ball, materialized out of nowhere and shot toward him.

Xie Kunze shouted in horror, “Watch out!”

Yan Jing’s pupils shrank, but years of experience had honed his instincts. 

Without thinking, he reflexively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack.

However, the fireball, undeterred, flared up and extended a long tongue of flame, licking toward him.

Yan Jing’s back pressed against the wall—there was no more room to dodge. 

Fortunately, he still had the fire extinguisher. 

Without hesitation, he raised it and pressed the nozzle.

A blast of powder erupted—but the flames remained unaffected.

As the eerie green fire licked dangerously close to his chin, Yan Jing abandoned all pretense of composure and cursed, “Shit!!”

In a flash, Shi Pengpeng appeared in front of him. 

Gripping a chair by its legs, she swung it like a racket, smashing the chair’s backrest against the fireball with full force.

A deep thud echoed.

The fireball—along with Yan Jing’s heart—dropped to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Shi Pengpeng lifted her foot and pinned the fireball down through the chair. 

“How dare you act up, foul spirit?!”

Yan Jing: ?

Xie Kunze: ?

Wait a second, wasn’t this exorcism method a little too… physical? 

Also, where did she get this much strength?!

Ignoring their stunned expressions, Shi Pengpeng reached over and snatched the fire extinguisher from Yan Jing’s hands.

Yan Jing was bewildered. 

“That thing doesn’t work on it—”

“You were just using it wrong.” 

Shi Pengpeng giggled, flipping her hand to reveal another yellow talisman between her fingers. 

She stuck the talisman onto the extinguisher, performed a quick hand seal, then kicked the chair aside, stepping back to press the nozzle.

The talisman’s vermilion ink glowed faintly.

A heavy spray of powder erupted like a blizzard, instantly engulfing the fireball.

The green flames flickered out. 

The sphere, now covered in fire-retardant powder, trembled with fear and rolled desperately toward the door.

But Shi Pengpeng was faster.

With a swift leap, she stomped down with her boot, pinning it once more. 

Then, she took out a tube of lipstick, twisted it open, and bent down to draw symbols onto the struggling object.

With the final stroke, the talismanic inscription was complete. 

The object finally stilled, its eerie energy dissipating completely.

Satisfied, Shi Pengpeng clapped her hands clean and turned to Yan Jing with a bright smile. 

“Jing-ge, don’t worry, it’s all taken care of now.”

Yan Jing: “……”

His eyes darted away as he turned his head coolly. 

“Hmph. I wasn’t scared.”

Shi Pengpeng: “……Oh.”

***

Xie Kunze grabbed a cloth, and Shi Pengpeng wiped off the powder covering the object. 

The moment it was revealed, Xie Kunze exclaimed, “Ah! Isn’t this the pickling jar we bought from Jinji?”

Sitting before them was a large ceramic jar, big enough to be embraced by both arms. 

It was reddish-brown in color, with an old glaze and simple, antique patterns, clearly an object of considerable age.

Xie Kunze explained that in recent years, the restaurant industry had leaned toward Southwestern flavors. 

To keep up with the trend, his restaurant had introduced a creative version of suan cai yu (pickled fish), marketed as an imperial-style golden broth fish dish.

High-end restaurants thrive on unique selling points, so to distinguish their dish from ordinary suan cai yu, Xie Kunze had specially arranged for someone to procure pickled vegetables from Jinji—a well-known family business specializing in fermented goods. 

Additionally, he had spent a fortune to acquire an old pickling jar from them, allegedly passed down since the Qing Dynasty.

The restaurant had used the jar as part of its branding and promotional efforts. 

However, Xie Kunze had never taken it seriously, treating it as just an antique prop. 

The real reason he spent so much on it was to leverage Jinji’s reputation—it was essentially an expensive advertisement.

But he had never imagined that this jar would turn out to be something haunted!

Completely bewildered, Xie Kunze asked, “What the hell is going on?”

“Oh, well, Jinji was quite honest with you—this is indeed an antique,” Shi Pengpeng replied. 

“Have you ever heard of ‘objects gaining sentience with age’?”

This concept refers to inanimate objects that, after being left untouched for centuries, accumulate spiritual energy and develop a consciousness, eventually attaining sentience.

Xie Kunze’s eyes widened in realization. 

“So… it’s a jar spirit?!”

“No,” Shi Pengpeng shook her head, correcting him. 

“This is a fire spirit.”

From the Qing Dynasty to now, a few hundred years isn’t very long for living beings, but for inanimate objects like jars, it’s not quite enough time for them to develop sentience—otherwise, museums would be overrun with ancient artifact spirits by now.

This jar, however, had managed to gain spiritual power because it contained a fire essence.

Fire is one of the Five Elements, naturally aligned with spiritual cultivation. 

In ancient times, people believed that fires were sometimes caused by flame spirits, and in classical texts like Bo Wu Zhi, there were even records stating, “The spirit of fire is Song Wuji.” 

However, Song Wuji was actually a Qin-Han era cultivator—somehow, history had misremembered him as a fire demon.

Moreover, certain objects that store or interact with fire can also develop spiritual properties. 

Take this pickling jar, for instance—it had gained its power through fire energy. 

Ceramics are forged in intense flames, making them naturally attuned to fire.

It was likely that this jar absorbed a fire essence during its creation, and after centuries of existence, it gradually accumulated enough power to manifest. 

While it had remained dormant at Jinji’s pickling facility, it was simply waiting for an opportunity to take form. 

Then, by sheer coincidence, it ended up in Xie Kunze’s restaurant.

Fire spirits cultivate by consuming flames, and the restaurant’s kitchen became its energy source. 

That’s why, ever since the jar arrived, the kitchen had been experiencing issues with heat control—freshly cooked dishes would inexplicably go cold almost instantly. 

It was because the fire energy was being absorbed by the jar.

However, this fire spirit hadn’t fully formed yet and wasn’t particularly powerful, meaning its presence went largely unnoticed. 

The only reason Shi Pengpeng detected it tonight was that Yan Jing’s unique constitution made him an ideal medium. 

When the fire spirit used him to channel energy, it completely drained the heat from the golden broth fish, making its existence obvious to her.

“I see…” Xie Kunze finally understood. 

But as much as he admired Jinji’s honesty as a reputable century-old brand, he now faced a dilemma—this jar turned out to be legitimately ancient, but there was no way in hell he could keep it.

“That’s easy to solve,” Shi Pengpeng said. 

“You can donate it to the National Museum. They specialize in handling old artifacts like this. Or, you could give it to me—I’ll take it to my teacher for proper disposal.”

Recalling how effortlessly Shi Pengpeng had exorcised the spirit earlier, Xie Kunze suddenly became curious about her background. 

With newfound respect, he asked, “By the way, Miss Peng, which Daoist sect do you belong to?”

Shi Pengpeng replied casually, “Oh, I graduated from Liangyi Academy.”

Xie Kunze looked confused. 

Yan Jing, standing beside him, let out a snicker. 

“It’s basically a scammer school.”

“Bullshit!” 

Shi Pengpeng snapped, clearly outraged. 

With a strong sense of school pride, she huffed, “We are a nationally accredited comprehensive university! You can verify my degree on the official education database, and my thesis is even indexed on CNKI! My credentials are way more legitimate than Zhai X’s!”

Xie Kunze: “……”

Yan Jing: “……”