Qian Yi was a rickshaw puller. He earned six copper coins a day, ate two meals of coarse rice, lived in a shantytown south of the city, and shared one room with four other people. His greatest dream was to buy a rickshaw of his own and bring his old mother up from the countryside.
A man in black hired his rickshaw.
From the south of the city to Xiaguan, three li. The rickshaw grew heavier with every pull, and the road stretched longer with every step. In the middle of the night, the Qinhuai River made no sound. All that could be heard were countless people crying out in hunger from the darkness.
Qian Yi got the rickshaw there. His passenger paid him a silver dollar and left a mark on his shoulder.
From that day on, he grew stronger. He could eat five steamed buns in one sitting, and when hunger struck, he wanted to gnaw on the walls. Old Sun, who shared his room, came down with a high fever. His eyes rolled wildly as he cried out for food. Old Sun had eaten three meals that day.
Zhang Bohua of Tong Ren Tang told him, "There's a ghost inside you called the Starving Corpse. If you can't keep it under control, it'll devour everyone around you."
Qian Yi didn't run. He had nowhere to go and no money to get there. He bought a rickshaw of his own, brought his mother up from the countryside, and opened a rickshaw company by the roughest docks in Nanjing. By day, he pulled his rickshaw; by night, he killed ghosts. He used the Starving Corpse to devour ghosts, used ghosts to maintain his rickshaw, earned money with the rickshaw, and supported his family with the money.
