Chapter One: Pressing the Fire Brazier

My name is Tian Buer, a name given to me by my parents. Because they were not well-educated, they chose "Buer," which actually sounds rather silly, simply hoping that I would grow up to be a man of integrity, standing tall and true to my word, someone who truly never goes back on a promise.

But once I entered society, I realized just how difficult that truly is.

Human nature, when faced with the temptations of reality and personal gain, finds it hard to stick to its original intentions. What's more, for a meddler like me, it's not just a matter of failing to persist—often, it leads to unexpected retribution, drawing me into countless troubles and disputes.

Strangely enough, in recent years, all the troubles I’ve stumbled into have stemmed from one thing—food.

Can eating really bring disaster? Of course it can.

Back when I served as a cook in the army, my old squad leader once warned me never to underestimate the significance of food. It can grant life, or it can bring death.

Throughout history, how many dynasties have fallen because their people starved, and how many families have been ruined by gluttony? How many schemes and intrigues have spun endlessly around the question of food?

One might even boldly claim that the only difference between this world and hell is whether or not there is food.

With food, the world is peaceful and prosperous; without it, corpses litter the land and hell rises on earth.

In the end, it’s always the same—food can grant life, or it can bring death.

At first, I didn’t understand what my squad leader meant. Or perhaps I understood a little, but had never truly experienced it. After all, who in modern times truly worries about having enough to eat?

But everything changed when I met a beautiful woman named Xian Hongye. Suddenly, I grasped the chilling undertone hidden in that single word—eat.

Because of food, Xian Hongye contracted a bizarre illness, a compulsion to devour anything living before her, even humans.

And because of food, I, a restaurateur, was brought into her world. I promised to help cure her terrifying "imagined illness," but in the end, I had to confront the most sinister curse among chefs—the infamous "Yin Restaurant Poison Gu," known throughout the culinary circles for its deadly reputation.

In that brutal confrontation, both sides suffered. Although my comrade Wang Hou and I destroyed the Yin Restaurant, we were in turn infected by its top master, Xiao Jiu'er, with the unheard-of "White Food Gu," leaving us with the same incurable eating disorder as Xian Hongye.

If things went on like this, I would end up a slave to my appetite, nothing more than a machine driven by hunger.

Fortunately, my old squad leader came to my aid. Thanks to him, I obtained a formula to suppress the White Food Gu, along with a vital piece of information—if we could reach southern Shandong and find the squad leader I hadn't seen for three years, he could rid us of the curse once and for all.

I didn’t know why we had to go to the southern mountains of Shandong, nor why he couldn’t just explain everything over the phone, but this was my only hope.

And so, clinging to this hope, I set out with Wang Hou, Xian Hongye, and the turncoat dwarf, Ah Si, on a journey to the southern Shandong mountains.

Our vehicle, at first, was Wang Hou’s battered delivery van.

To be honest, I can’t praise that vehicle. I’d never paid it much attention before, but once inside, I realized: apart from the horn, every part of it rattled; apart from the air conditioner, every crevice leaked. That van was the very definition of "rock bottom"—worse than any low-end model I’d ever heard of.

The ride left me frustrated, spoiling my excitement for this journey. I could never understand how Wang Hou managed to drive that heap every day for three years—was he not afraid of dying on the road?

But what surprised me even more was that, just as my nerves were stretched to the breaking point by this junker, Wang Hou actually managed to prove my fears right.

We had just crossed into Shandong when the van suddenly lurched.

With no warning, Wang Hou’s eyes bulged, he slammed on the brakes, and cried out, "Oh, no!"

The van swerved violently on the highway and, with a screech of tires, came to a sudden stop.

I was completely unprepared, so my reaction was extreme—not only did I almost throw up, but I also tumbled headlong into Xian Hongye’s arms.

Those two soft mounds, that all-too-familiar sensation—I was at a total loss for words.

In short, the van was filled with chaos and screams.

When things finally calmed down, I struggled to lift my head and saw Wang Hou gripping the steering wheel, his face twisted in fright as he stared into the rearview mirror.

Seeing his eyes in the mirror set my temper ablaze. Who was to blame? Wang Hou, that reckless idiot, for his wild maneuvers—braking hard, swerving left and right as if his junk van could drift like a race car. Luckily, Hongye and I were in the back seat, or we’d have been thrown out.

I was about to curse him out when, before I could speak, a pair of small hands suddenly descended, covering my face and mouth.

If that wasn’t odd enough, the person began yanking furiously on my hair. The pain and suffocation startled me—how could someone be on top of my head?

A moment later, I realized it was the dwarf, Ah Si, seeking refuge atop my head.

I honestly wanted to bite him, but with his grip on my hair and blocking my mouth, I couldn’t move.

Once he finally let go, I managed to squeeze out a few words: "Get off me! Are you part monkey?"

Ah Si, still shaken by the sudden stop, was pale as a sheet. After a long moment, he muttered, "I didn’t want to, but if it weren’t for your hair, I’d have flown out the window!"

"Get down!" I ordered.

The short, dark dwarf grinned sheepishly and clambered down my neck, stepping on my shoulder for good measure, which disgusted me to no end.

I didn’t want to look at him, so I turned to Hongye beside me. Remembering my earlier blunder, I offered her an apologetic smile.

Her cheeks reddened as she nodded. Perhaps to ease the awkwardness, she quickly looked away and asked Wang Hou, "Brother Hou, what happened? Why did you brake so suddenly? Is something ahead?"

Wang Hou, sweating profusely, seemed still dazed by the shock. Only after a long pause did he reply, "I just hit a child with the van..."

"A child?" I exclaimed, incredulous.

How could I believe that? I’d been staring out the window the whole time. Not only were there no children on this highway to Shandong—I hadn’t even seen a stray dog. For him to suddenly claim he hit a child was chilling.

"It was a child!" Wang Hou insisted, staring at the rearview mirror, still shaken. "At first, I thought it was a plastic bag in the road, but as I got closer, it suddenly stood up! Five or six years old, dressed in black, a pale face, white... so white..."

He broke off suddenly, turned, and pointed out the rear window. "Look! Isn’t that it?"

His outburst made us all turn to look.

My heart skipped a beat.

Behind our van, two twisted parallel skid marks stretched back some thirty meters, and at their end, something black and shapeless writhed in the wind.

It was hard to make out, but judging by size and outline, it did seem to be a five- or six-year-old child.

Staring at that dark mass, we all fell silent—except for Ah Si.

Due to his height, he couldn’t see a thing, but he still craned his neck and bared his blackened teeth, pestering me for details.

Still shaken, Wang Hou kept muttering, "I hit someone! I hit someone! How could there be a child? How could anyone be on the highway..."

I said nothing, Hongye looked shocked, while Ah Si seemed unfazed. Looking at his small frame, I suddenly thought being short had its perks—at least you’re spared the sight and the worry.

After a while, everyone calmed down a little, so I tried to comfort Wang Hou, who was still ill at ease. "Don’t worry, Lao Wang. Maybe... you just imagined it?"

"Exactly!" Ah Si piped in. "Don’t worry, Brother Wang. The traffic laws are clear—if you hit a pedestrian on the highway, you’re not responsible! Don’t be afraid. Let’s just follow procedure—the law will protect us!"

"Shut up!" Wang Hou and I snapped in unison.

Once Ah Si fell silent, I turned to look at the vague black mass and said to Wang Hou, "Lao Wang, Ah Si has a point. We didn’t do anything wrong. Pull into the emergency lane, and let’s go check. Put out the warning sign."

Wang Hou nodded, started the van, and managed to pull into the emergency lane.

I grabbed the emergency triangle and was about to step out when Hongye grabbed my hand.

"I’ll go with you," she said. "I’ve trained in first aid. If it really is a child, I can help."

"Ah?" Her words left me wide-eyed.

No way could I let her go. Even if I could handle it, Wang Hou couldn’t.

So, I wisely declined. I told her the highway was dangerous and that it was best for only one person to go. If anything happened, she could come help then.

As I was about to get out, Wang Hou stopped me.

"I’ll go! I’ll put out the triangle," he said, eyes fixed on the black shape in the mirror, still unsettled. "I have to see what it is for myself, or I won’t be able to rest easy."

Without another word, I handed him the sign.

Ah Si piped up, "Safe travels!"

"Shut up! Traitor! No one wants to hear from you!" Wang Hou and I retorted together.

Wang Hou got out and, treading carefully, walked toward the dark shape.

Watching his nervous figure through the window, I felt anxious. After all, if it really was a child, no matter whose fault it was, we’d all feel terrible.

In the silence, Wang Hou gave the thing only a quick glance before hastily setting down the warning sign and scurrying back.

"Good heavens! That scared me to death!" were the first words out of his mouth as he got back in.

His words confused me, so I asked tentatively, "You didn’t really hit a child, did you?"

Wang Hou shook his head. "I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life. I actually... knocked over a brazier on the highway."

"What?!" Ah Si and I both exclaimed. "Someone was burning things on the highway?"

Wang Hou nodded. "The key thing is, it looked like there was spirit money burning in the brazier!"