"Nine Idle People" is set in a modern city. It tells the story of Lin Wei, an unemployed young man who scorns superstition. When he is desperate, he breaks into the "Scavenging House" hidden in the demolition area and is involved in a bizarre world.
When she first entered the bookstore, she scorned the talismans, compasses and herbs written by Master Chen Jiu, treating them as just a means of making a living. However, from strange diseases in the south of the city to neighbors in danger, from strange shadows in night markets to ghosts in mountain villages, the strange events she experienced time and time again forced her to re-examine the "dross" that had been abandoned by modern science. Taoist Master Chen Jiu's advice, the inspiration from wordless ancient books, the warmth of peach wood charms, and the tranquility of the fragrance of herbs gradually planted seeds in her heart - it turns out that there is really a flow of "qi" in this world, there is really a entanglement of "yin", and there is also a "human" responsibility.
Lin Wei wanders between the nine-to-five workplace and the mysterious "Shilizhai". During the day, she is an urban white-collar worker writing plans, and at night, she learns to identify the calming grass, draw peace charms, and read compass needles. She was once afraid of the black air at the end of the alley, and hesitated whether to return to a stable life, but when she stepped forward time and time again, she understood that the so-called "nine-rate idlers" were never bystanders separated from the world, but guardians hidden in the fireworks. They guard the forgotten rules, protect the peace of ordinary people, and use seemingly "superstitious" methods to fill the gaps that modern society has no time to take into account.
When the cognition of materialism was completely broken, when the struggle for survival was intertwined with the fear of the unknown, Lin Wei finally understood the motto in the wordless book: "The Tao is within yourself, not elsewhere." She is no longer the confused unemployed young man, but has taken over the cinnabar from Chen Jiu's hand.
