On the outskirts of Jingdu, a car roared through the night.
Through the rearview mirror, Jin Si glanced at cars that kept chasing after him.
"What's up ahead?"
He asked with a cold voice and languid tone, conveying his icy arrogance.
"Yunu Bay."
His subordinate, who was driving, replied, with slight hesitation, "It's said that something supernatural happened over there. Many people have ever witnessed that a female ghost dressed in a white dress appeared by the bay in the middle of the night."
The stretch of suburban road they were driving through right now had one side free of any tall buildings, revealing a bright moon and a sea of shimmering stars.
At Yunu Bay, a dense fog covered up any view of the sea. Suddenly, large waves burst through the calm and still sea.
Whoosh!
Out of nowhere, a young woman dressed in white and soaked to the bone appeared in the middle of the sea.
Her long black hairs clung to her body as the gentle moonlight shone down on her fair and delicate skin, making it look even more beautiful.
The young woman dazedly stood there for a very long time before she eventually moved her limbs in a mechanical and stiff manner.
The memories that surfaced in her mind were a vast difference from the calm, blue sea by which she was surrounded.
The rebel army's fires had been unstoppable as the inferno engulfed the palace and the divine temple, wiping out all of their glorious riches and rot housed within.
As the high priestess, she had been confined within those walls from birth. Thus, she had chosen to commit suicide when the rebel army marched into the temple.
She had not expected her soul to wake up in a new body and a strange new world, however.
Qi Wu was the name of the girl she now lived in. After her parents died when she was just a child, she was adopted by her uncle and aunt. However, they did not treat her well as they had only adopted her to get their hands on the inheritance her parents left behind for her.
Over a decade of living in someone else's house gave her a fragile and sensitive mind. Hence, after her crush and cousin betrayed her, she threw herself into the sea, choosing death over the agony she felt.
Every memory about this world, other than what Qi Wu had experienced, was all a blur.
Still, she would not let herself down in dejection. The body she was occupying was filled with life. Staring up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, she said with an ethereal voice that rang through the air, "I'm sorry. Please allow me to live on for you."
She suddenly noticed bright car lights behind her as she heard cars honking while tires screeched against the tar road.
When Qi Wu turned around to look, her entire face was so brightly lit up that the full moon seemed dull in comparison.
The radiant glow of her face came from a beauty that emanated from her very core that made her face seem exquisite yet not at all sharp. Her eyes did not gleam with a brilliant blaze, but they were unforgettable.
As she walked out of the sea, her white dress, translucent from the dampness, clung to her beautiful curves. Even so, she ignored it and continued walking with a calm and indifferent look on her face.
Qi Wu observed the objects on the road with her head tilted in belated recognition.
The memories sleeping within the body told her they were a means of transportation in this world. That meant humans could be found within.
With that in mind, she walked up the shore.
Meanwhile, the men sitting in one of the cars chasing after the first car frowned when they noticed their target suddenly slowing down.
"Why are they slowing down?"
"Well, it's great news, right? If the man inside there really is the Xi family heir, our fortunes will be reversed! "
"Stop dawdling. We are at Yunu Bay where it is known to be haunted! It's so late at night that I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it. Bro, overtake them!"
"Wait-"
One of the men noticed something was off about the situation and tried to stop them, but it was too late. Their car had already sped up.
Excited grins spread across the men's faces. Just as the car was about to overtake the first car, a bright white shadow flashed before them.
Sometime during the excitement, Qi Wu appeared before the car. Even when the car was about to crash into her, she did not dodge. Instead, she calmly raised a hand and placed it on the car bonnet while staring at it.
Although her slender fingers looked so very delicate and fragile, what happened next… Screech!
The entire front of the car crumpled under her fingers, forcing the car to a sudden halt. The remaining energy of the car's momentum swung the car's body up in the air until it was nearly perpendicular to the ground.
For a moment, the whole world seemed to stop. A deathly silence filled the still air.
The men inside the car stared with shocked and terrified eyes as Qi Wu took a few steps backward.
Then, she calmly let go of the car, causing it to slam into the ground with an earth-shattering bang that left the car swaying in the air as it might break apart right then and there.
The loud crash caused the other cars on the road to pull to a stop.
Qi Wu turned to look at the men inside the car she just destroyed and stutteringly asked, "Excuse me…"
To her surprise, she was immediately interrupted by the pack of men loudly shrieking, "It's a ghost!"
"Huh?"
She stared in confusion as every car on the road promptly raced away at full speed as though fearsome debt collectors were chasing them.
Everything had happened so fast that they were all gone from view within a few seconds of the crash.
Upon seeing that, Qi Wu had no choice but to turn her attention to the only remaining car in view.
Jin Si glanced at his subordinate, who was evidently suffering from immense shock, and said with a faint smirk on his lips, "The ghost you were talking about is here."
Lou Ying stiffly turned to look at him. "Sir, she just stopped that car with one hand. That's insane! No average human being can do that."
That meant the legend of Yunu Bay was true!
Jin Si stroked his chin in solemn thought for a moment before nodding. "She's quite strong."
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed a white figure appear before him.
He was only able to have a clear view of Qi Wu's face after she started walking over to them.
His breathing faltered for one uncontrollable moment.
While he had been surrounded by women of unparalleled beauty since young, all of them frankly seemed lifeless compared to her eyes.
"S-Sir, s-she's walking over!"
Lou Ying's horrified exclamation snapped Jin Si out of his thoughts.
Jin Si frowned.
Then, he rolled down the car window and looked at the young woman who quietly stared back at him.
"What is it?"
As Qi Wu was still pondering on how she was supposed to interact with the people of this world, she spoke very slowly. "Excuse me, can you take me away?"
Silence fell.
The two men inside the car were immediately rendered speechless.
Unlike Lou Ying who did not speak for a long while, Jin Si quickly reacted to her request. He could not help but smile when he noticed the innocent look in her eyes. It was as if she was someone who had just arrived in this world.
He soon nodded. "Okay."
Lou Ying was shocked.
For a moment, he lost control of himself and turned to look at Jin Si in horror.
Had Jin Si gone crazy from the constant nagging to get married? Was he going to bring a ghost home?
"You'll have to pay us though."
"Pay you?"
As per habit, Qi Wu tilted her head in confusion.
When she finally understood what he meant, she shook her head and sincerely stated, "I don't have any money on me."
In this world, money was everything. One could not do anything without any money at all. That was what Qi Wu had gathered from the instincts and memories left inside this body.
Hence, she needed money to survive.
"It's okay. You can pay us by working for me."
Jin Si's voice was like a chilly breeze blowing through the air, causing others to inadvertently follow along his lead.