This Taoist Master Is Not to Be Messed With!

Zhang Tiezhu: 25 years old, 175 centimeters tall, slightly chubby, with a round face and small eyes that narrow into slits when he smiles. A young man born and raised in the Zhang family village at the foot of Changbai Mountain. As a child, he was taken on as the last disciple by Wu Laoliu, an aging “spirit medium” from the village who was on his last legs. The reason? “You've got thick skin and a silver tongue, kid. You must be fated to work with our spirits.” (Mostly because he could con people into bringing offerings.)

· Personality:

· A smooth talker: He speaks in a thick Northeastern accent and can spin all kinds of crooked logic.

· Stingy and money-hungry: He knows the Northeastern rule of survival: “Money can't solve everything, but without it, you're helpless.”

· Kind at heart: He may seem like he doesn't take anything seriously, but when he sees a genuine injustice, he steps up. He's got the loyalty and warm heart of an old-school Northeastern man.

· A bizarre skill set: His specialty is “inviting spirits” (though they often flake out or make demands). He also knows “family folk remedies” (which work only sometimes), and he's an expert at “spirit-medium calisthenics” and “the psychology of swindling people.”

· Golden finger: Sealed inside him is a gluttonous spirit with a terrible temper and an unknown past. It doesn't care for incense; it only wants human food, especially iron-pot stews, barbecue, and sweet-and-sour pork. Whenever Tiezhu asks it for help, he has to offer up something delicious first, or it'll pretend to be dead. Its powers wax and wane according to its mood and the quality of the offerings.