Live Ghostbusting: I Made It Big with Talismans

Chen Jiuchuan is 28, a licensed Daoist priest, and the owner of a funeral shop in an old Yangcheng alley. Sweet-talking but ruthless, he takes on all kinds of weddings and funerals, exorcising evil spirits and treating illnesses for a living. His livestreams telling ghost stories go viral, with fans cursing him even as they shower him with gifts. The paper effigy shop opens in the middle of the night, and a doll meant to serve as a substitute washes up by the river. He always finds a way to make money in the most sinister places. But the more popular his livestreams become, the more debts to the dead he incurs. And the secret buried beneath the old city, hidden for thirty years, is gradually coming to light. He’s greedy for money, but never crosses the line. He lies, cheats, and swindles, yet truly saves lives. In this line of work, you earn incense money and repay debts of karma. He likes to say he’s in the service industry: he handles every kind of trouble, and attracts every kind of ghost.