Chapter 6: Forced Binding, Yellow Springs Station

Yang Fan ate two bowls of noodles at Grandma Xu’s house. Under the sympathetic gazes of the elderly couple, she left their home with the keys to her own house.

Back in her own small courtyard, Yang Fan plucked a loquat from the loquat tree. The fruit, which had looked perfectly normal while on the tree, turned a greenish-purple color in her eyes the moment she picked it, shrouded in black mist.

No wonder she hadn’t sensed anything unusual about the loquats on the tree or the crops in the fields earlier. To be able to set up such illusions, it seemed this was no ordinary ghost.

Yang Fan flicked her wrist, and the loquat in her hand ignited without a flame, burning to nothing in the blink of an eye.

Her fingers moved rapidly in the air, drawing a golden talisman. With a gentle wave of her hand, the talisman struck the loquat tree.

All the loquats that had been touched by the ghost were incinerated, leaving less than a tenth of the fruit remaining on the tree.

Looking at the pitifully few loquats left, Yang Fan wore a "death smile." It seemed she would have to have a good chat with those ghosts tonight.

She carried her suitcase and opened the front door of the two-story house. Inside was the living room, where a black-and-white photo hung on the wall—it was her predecessor’s uncle, a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance.

Yang Fan stared at the photo for a few seconds before continuing to inspect the house.

To the right of the living room was the kitchen, and further in were the stairs to the second floor and the bathroom.

On the left wall of the living room was a door leading to the storage room next door.

After Yang Xiuwen died, the villagers had tidied up the house, covering the furniture and appliances with white sheets.

However, as no one had lived there for a long time, the sheets and the floor were covered in dust.

A cleaning talisman swept the house clean inside and out, and all the white sheets automatically folded themselves and were placed to the side.

Although it had been vacant for a long time, the furniture and appliances were still usable.

After wandering through every room on the first floor, Yang Fan opened the door from the living room to the storage room. The moment she stepped inside, she felt a strong fluctuation of spiritual energy.

It seemed the reason for the dense spiritual energy in this house was here. She drew a talisman in front of her eyes with her fingers, and when she opened them again, the scene before her changed instantly.

Pure white spiritual energy mixed with specks of golden light swirled in the air. Yang Fan’s eyes were filled with surprise—those golden lights were actually merit!

Not only was there spiritual energy here, but there was also merit!

One had to know that spiritual energy was easy to find, but merit was hard to come by. In the past, she had worked diligently catching ghosts and eliminating evil, yet she had only earned a sandbag-sized amount of merit.

To have so much merit appear out of thin air here—how was this any different from a pie falling from the sky?

Yang Fan activated her cultivation technique, intending to absorb the merit floating in the air. As the technique ran, spiritual energy from all directions converged toward her body.

As the energy entered her, Yang Fan instantly felt much lighter, but she watched helplessly as the golden light within the spiritual energy drifted around her body without entering it.

She couldn't absorb this merit.

Strange. She actually couldn't absorb the merit here.

She reached out to touch the golden light, but she only grabbed empty air.

So, this merit had an owner!

Yang Fan understood in an instant. This merit likely belonged to the original owner of the house, Yang Xiuwen. But he was dead—why hadn't this merit followed him, instead remaining in this room?

She couldn't figure it out.

Catching sight of a computer on the table by the door, Yang Fan walked past the empty shelves toward it.

On the desk, besides a computer, there was a barcode scanner, a black ballpoint pen, an old-fashioned landline phone, and a gaming chair.

As she approached, as if guided by something, Yang Fan instinctively pulled open the drawer under the computer desk and took out what was inside: an acrylic desk sign.

Written on the top were the words "Yellow Springs Station."

"Yellow Springs Station... So this is the name of this station?" Yang Fan looked at the text with a strange expression. The aura on it felt overly familiar; it couldn't be *that* Yellow Springs, could it?

*Hiss...* A sharp pain suddenly came from her finger. She watched as the desk sign absorbed the blood flowing from her thumb, and immediately after, other text appeared on the blank sign.

Yellow Springs Station Regulations

First: Packages are only received, not sent.

Second: Working hours are 11:00 PM – 4:00 AM.

Third: Please do not have any interaction with customers other than handing over packages.

Fourth: For complaints, please dial 666888. Note: The phone can only be reached during working hours.

Fifth: Salaries are paid on the first of every month.

At the same time, the computer turned on automatically. On the screen was a string of text: "Congratulations to Ms. Yang Fan for becoming the ninth station master of Yellow Springs Station." Following the text was a string of fireworks and cake emojis like those on WeChat, and they weren't even animated.

...What a perfunctory job offer.

Yang Fan narrowed her eyes dangerously. And furthermore—they dared to force her into this job without her consent.

Wonderful!!

"Yang Fan!" someone called her from outside.

Yang Fan put the desk sign back on the table, planning to deal with this matter tonight. She walked out of the storage room, returned to the living room, and saw Grandma Xu and another auntie.

She searched her memory and recalled that the other woman was Auntie Zhang, who lived further down the road.

Both of them were holding things.

Grandma Xu looked at the clean and tidy house in amazement. "Yang Fan, you cleaned the whole house so quickly?!"

Yang Fan nodded. "Yes, just a quick tidy-up."

Grandma Xu gave her an approving look; she was truly diligent.

Auntie Zhang looked Yang Fan up and down and asked, "Yang Fan, do you still remember me?"

Yang Fan smiled. "Auntie Zhang, of course I remember you."

Auntie Zhang: "As long as you remember. I thought that after being away for so many years, you’d forgotten your family and forgotten that you still have a home here."

Grandma Xu nudged her with her elbow. "The child just got back, speak nicely."

Grandma Xu turned to Yang Fan and said, "Yang Fan, don't listen to your Auntie Zhang; she just has a sharp tongue."

Yang Fan: "I know, Grandma Xu."

"Auntie Zhang is just concerned about me."

She knew Auntie Zhang had a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

Auntie Zhang gave a proud huff, though there was a hint of joy in her eyes.

They had watched Yang Fan grow up, and they were happy to see her back.

Grandma Xu said to Yang Fan, "I figured since you just got back, you wouldn't have anything at home, so I brought you some things."

What Grandma Xu held were daily necessities: toilet paper, towels, new toothpaste and toothbrushes, and even a washbasin.

Auntie Zhang had brought some fruit, snacks, and even instant noodles.

She shoved everything into Yang Fan’s arms. "My daughter sent me some food recently, and I have too much to finish. You take these."

"Thank you, Grandma Xu. Thank you, Auntie Zhang."

Yang Fan didn't refuse their kindness. She happened to be lacking these things, and it saved her a trip to the store.

But she didn't take them for free. She fished a hundred-yuan bill from her pocket—the last of the cash she had from this trip. She had another 200 yuan on her WeChat, and that was all the wealth she possessed.

The most urgent thing for her now was to earn money!

(End of chapter)