"Miss, you should know your place. Jordan Turner is a famous movie star."
"Him borrowing your shop for a photo shoot is your good fortune. The number of customers he'll bring to this place is beyond your wildest dreams."
The man in front of me introduced himself as the manager of the renowned actor Jordan Turner. He was called Casey Anderson.
As he spoke, wisps of black smoke kept escaping his mouth with every word.
I frowned and took a small step back.
"Sorry, I don't allow photo shoots here."
Jordan Turner stood behind him, biting the arm of his glasses.
He casually strolled toward me, glancing at the joss paper offerings as he went.
"Miss, you just want money, right?" He narrowed his eyes and gave a cold smile.
"Plenty of people beg me to take photos at their shops, and I don't even bother. If I shoot here, your shop will become a hotspot. Then, the money you'll make will be more than you can count—so why get hung up on a little profit now?"
I shook my head. "Sir, even if you gave me money, I couldn't use it. This shop only serves a special group of customers, and the items here aren't meant for the living."
Seeing my lack of interest, he frowned, clearly annoyed. The manager beside him looked even more menacing.
"I have a hundred ways to make sure your shop never opens again!"
As he spoke, a cold, ghostly wind swept through, and at the entrance appeared a female ghost in tattered clothes.
She hunched her shoulders, and a chill poured from her mouth. Wisps of white mist drifted into the shop, and the temperature inside dropped instantly.
I glanced at the door, then turned my gaze back to Jordan Turner and his manager, doing my best to remain polite.
"Gentlemen, if you'd like to buy something, please feel free to look around. If not, I'd appreciate it if you didn't disturb my business—there are customers waiting at the door."
Both of them looked toward the entrance, but saw nothing. I explained, "My shop welcomes customers from all over, but not everyone who comes in is actually alive."
Whether it was the chill from the female ghost or my words that scared them, both men immediately turned pale.
"You'll regret this!" Jordan Turner put on his sunglasses, tossed out a threat, and strode straight out of the shop.
His manager hurried after him, muttering something about bad luck under his breath.
The female ghost at the door, seeing the living leave, slowly drifted inside.
"I'm so cold... I want a new set of clothes..."
I gave her a warm smile.
"Of course, ma'am. Please come this way and pick something out."
It wasn't that I didn't want to take photos for the movie star—it was that I truly couldn't.
This joss-paper shop was opened to serve spirits of the dead.
Aside from the dead, only those on the verge of dying or people tainted by misfortune can see it.
To everyone else, it just looks like an empty building.
No matter how much money the movie star offered, I couldn't use it—because I am a paper effigy.
When I was little, my parents and I were in a car accident. They died instantly, but I was left barely clinging to life, refusing to let go.
My grandfather couldn't bear to lose me, so he used Maoshan arts to make a paper effigy and sealed my soul inside it.
I have to accumulate merit to stay in the human world.
I serve the spirits of the dead, and in return, they share the merit they earned in life with me. That's the only reason the underworld officials haven't come to take me away.
I looked it up online—the man who came today is the famous star Jordan Turner.
He became famous young, and everything has gone smoothly for him. A few hit TV dramas made him a sensation, and when he moved into film, he easily won the Best Actor award.
I dug a little deeper, but there was no news online about any of his relatives passing away.
There was only one reason he could see my joss-paper shop.
He's about to die!
As I was scrolling through his profile, a notification for his livestream suddenly popped up.
My hand accidentally brushed the screen, and I tapped to watch. On the livestream, that familiar face appeared.
He looked completely different from his arrogant self earlier in the day—now he was all bright smiles, friendly like the boy next door.
Curious, I watched for a while. He seemed to be promoting his new film.
His fans were flooding the chat with lively comments, messages scrolling nonstop across the screen.
[Hey, I saw you today! You were taking pictures at the shopping district!]
[You look good no matter where you stand—every shot is a perfect photo.]
[That’s right, our star shines so bright, you should always walk the path of flowers!]
Jordan Turner smiled as he replied to each fan comment.
One message caught everyone’s attention:
[Hey, I saw you go into a shop today. Are you planning to buy it and start a business?]
The Best Actor read the comment, let out a small sigh, raised his eyebrows, and put on a look of regret.
“That shop is really special. I actually wanted to go in and talk to the shopkeeper about taking a few photos. Since I’m filming a horror movie right now, I thought it’d be cool to take some pictures at a joss-paper shop, and later I could sign them and give them to you all. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper turned me down. I begged, but she wouldn’t budge. So I guess I’ll have to put that idea on hold for now.”
Hearing this, I frowned.
He begged me?
He threatened and pressured me, his attitude was downright awful.
Not wanting to listen to his nonsense anymore, I was about to exit the stream.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the comments exploded like wildfire.
[Who does she think she is!]
[Our star wanted to use her shop and she acts all high and mighty!]
[What a nasty woman—because of her, we don’t get autographed photos!]
[Hey, is the shopkeeper a girl? Is she just trying to use this as an excuse to get close to you?]
Jordan Turner gave an awkward laugh.
“The shopkeeper is a girl, but she didn’t mean anything by it. Honestly, I don’t think she even knows who I am.”
The comments just got wilder.
[What? There’s actually someone out there who doesn’t know Jordan Turner?] [The Qing Dynasty has fallen, and there are still people living like it’s the feudal era!]
[She must be so poor she doesn’t have a TV or a phone, never goes out, that’s why she doesn’t know you.]
[Hey, lady upstairs, you mean the rat in the sewer, right?]
[Ha ha ha!]
Jordan Turner didn’t say anything more, switching the topic to his new film.
But the comments kept buzzing about the shop incident.
[I know where that shop is, I’ll go check out what kind of fancy place dares to act so high and mighty!]
[If she doesn’t want to open, just smash it!]
[Yeah, drop the address, we’ll go smash that shop!]
Jordan Turner stayed silent, but I was sure he saw those comments.
Because he narrowed his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling into a strange, twisted smile.
Dawn was breaking. I finished serving the last spirit of the dead and got ready to make a few more joss paper offerings.
"Thud!" Suddenly, an egg hit the shop window.
I looked outside but saw no one.
I ignored it and kept weaving bamboo strips in my hands.
About half an hour later, daylight had fully arrived, and people started filling the street.
"Thud! Thud!"
Eggs kept hitting the glass, one after another.
Yolk and white smeared together, sticky and dripping down the window, blocking my view of the outside.
I stepped to the door and saw a few girls—probably high schoolers—gathered in a group of three or five.
They held eggs in one hand, phones in the other, as if talking to someone.
"We’re at the shop, but it looks empty inside, there’s no one here!"
"Okay, hurry up and get over here."
Soon, more people gathered, holding eggs and leafy greens, all their eyes fixed on one person.
That person seemed to be the leader, with everyone else standing behind her, waiting for her command.
The woman at the head of the group looked older than the others.
"President, this shop seems empty. A few of the kids couldn’t help themselves and threw some eggs, but no one’s come out." The woman frowned, stepped away from the crowd, and made a phone call, speaking quietly: "Hello, Casey Anderson, we’re here."
"Yes, it’s the shop between the two clothing stores, the one with no sign."
"Alright, we’ll go in and take a look."
She hung up and turned back to call out to the group: "Let’s go in and see what kind of shop dares to act all high and mighty with him!"
The crowd quickly responded.
"Yeah!"
"That’s right, who do they think they are!"
A group of people stormed into the shop.
Seeing the commotion, some curious bystanders joined in as well.
I stood by the door, watching them coldly.
They peered through the glass, then pushed the door open and stepped inside.
As soon as they entered, everyone looked confused.
They wandered around the shop, but aside from four white walls, there was nothing in the room!
Whispers rippled through the crowd: "Did we go into the wrong shop?"
"Yeah, there’s nothing here at all."
Of course, they couldn’t see it!