"City management is here, run!"

A sudden shout rang out in the bustling marketplace.

In a split second, all the street vendors quickly packed their goods, hopped on their electric tricycles, and sped off.

The baffled customers were left behind, frantically chasing after the tricycles, shouting, "Boss, you haven't finished frying my noodles yet! Wait for me!"

In a corner of the marketplace,

Shi Qi was sitting on his own white robe, his head nodding, his whole body feeling groggy.

What was even more comical was that Shi Qi had a hairstyle that looked exploded, as if from a fart, wearing red and green tattered thermal underwear. His shoes had holes, with his toes exposed and shaking from cold.

His small face was as dark as if it had been smeared with pot ash.

He looked like he had just crawled out of a garbage pile.

With the surrounding commotion, Shi Qi was startled and his wobbly body tumbled forward.

Holy cow!

Shi Qi widened his eyes, and his pitch-black face almost intimately touched the ground.

He hastily propped himself up with both hands and let out a sigh of relief.

Patting his chest, and as he lifted his head, he saw three men in uniform, striding towards him in a confident and vigorous manner.

Shi Qi blinked, a bit confused, was this some kind of uniform play?

"Also, where are the people around here?"

Three urban management officials stood in front of Shi Qi, one of them grumbled, "What's the era come to? How come there are still beggars?"

Shi Qi's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?"

Before Shi Qi could explain,

Another one began to criticize: "Young lady, you are physically capable, why would you be a beggar? Don't you feel ashamed? Aren't you embarrassed?"

"You are simply a disgrace to society!"

The man almost spat on Shi Qi's face.

Shi Qi felt so wronged!

She was merely set up a stall to slay demons, how did that turn into begging?

Three days ago, she was transcending a tribulation at the edge of the cliff, when a lightning bolt struck her storage bag and it fell off the cliff and disappeared.

Now she was penniless. Otherwise, she wouldn't have to set up a stall here to slay demons.

"I'm not begging, how did you conclude that I'm begging?"

The official pointed at Shi Qi's tattered clothes, then at the shiny coins on the ground.

"Do you need evidence? It's all right here!"

Shi Qi looked over, there were indeed a few coins piled together.

"Darn it, which kind soul threw coins at her while she was napping!"

"No, no, Uncle, let me explain... I mean, clarify!”

The leading city management officer furrowed his brows, waved his hand: "Hurry up and leave, what are you doing here!"

Shi Qi quickly stood up.

"I'm not a beggar, I'm here to banish ghosts and demons!”

Upon hearing this, the officer scowled again. Shi Qi quickly pointed at the white robe she sat on, which was her sect's uniform, to prove her innocence: "See, I have it written here.”

The officer glanced at it, where it was faintly written:

“To banish demons and devils, not for ninety-eight thousand, just for nine hundred and ninety-eight, nine hundred and ninety-eight! Pay first then we begin to banish! Small business, honesty comes first!”

Shi Qi giggled: "See, I told you! I'm not begging! You can't just falsely accuse me, us cultivators value our integrity very much.”

The city management officer, upon listening, looked up at Shi Qi, making her feel uncomfortable.

"What? Is it too expensive? How about ninety-eight?” Shi Qi whispered tentatively.

"Nine point eight? Can't, can't go any lower! Any lower and I can't afford meals."

Hearing this, the city management officer scoffed coldly: "Very well, promoting feudal superstitions. Let's go, to the police station!”

Shi Qi:???

In the police station, Shi Qi was proclaiming her innocence loudly.

Why would Shi Qi, be so ill-starred? It was practically a tragedy.

She was a cultivator, an apprentice of Master Ming Yue, and belonged to the Clear Wind Sect.

A year ago, she had sensed the threshold of forming the Golden Elixir. However, even when she had experienced the Thunder Tribulations, she was still unable to crystallize this Golden Elixir.

Her numerous attempts to succeed were to no avail.

Instead, each passing Thunder Tribulation seemed stronger than the last, increasing her inner tension under the pressure of being the worst cultivator of her sect.

At her wit's end, she approached her master for counsel. As her master played his game, nonchalantly urging his character to push the tower, he told her,

"You've accumulated deep karma in your previous life that needs to be compensated for in this life. You need to annihilate enough wicked demons and ghosts and accumulate enough merit to offset it."

"You also need to find your relations in this life, and resolve the karma and relationships."

Ignoring everything else for the moment, how was she, an orphan, supposed to find kin?

Her master merely grinned impishly without giving her an answer, choosing to dive back into his game deep in amusement.

Before she could question further, her master fled that very night. And he left behind a stack of debts, each piece of it thick as sin.

Each debt note was ornamented with her master’s flamboyant signature.

The debt collector came around, slamming the stack of debt papers on the table. Coldly, he intoned, "A debt owed by the father is paid by the son, and in the same vein, a debt owed by the master should be paid by the disciple!"

"Pack up! Pack up! Bring out all the valuable things!"

Despite their reluctance, the senior brothers had to bring out most of the things they could. Yet, it was far from enough.

The senior brothers looked grim and upset, grinding their teeth in frustration. They had no other choice but to go down the mountain to work and earn money to repay their master's debt.

Before they left, they had a heart-to-heart talk with her, their little chicken, showing considerable concern.

They left her a pile of treasures kept in a storage bag.

In this way, she was still a little rich girl. She didn't need to worry about resources!

Originally, she had planned to stay in the sect to accumulate merit and find her relatives.

However, her unreliable master had reached a new low - he even mortgaged the sect's residence to repay his debts.

Well, now the Qingfeng Sect truly had nothing left but a single loose sleeve.

Shi Qi was forced to leave her sect, descend the mountain, and enter the mortal world.

And then, what happened three days ago occurred.

As a result, she was now destitute and white, having starved for three full days.

This was indeed a great torment for a young girl who hadn't yet experienced the world!

Just as she thought of a way to earn some money to eat, she ended up being taken to the police station.

As Shi Qi thought more about it, she became even more distressed. Tears streamed down her cheeks, leaving two pale streaks on her dark face.

"Officer, I'm a good person! A really really good person!" Shi Qi cried as she wiped her tears, looking quite pathetic.

The police officer looked at Shi Qi's amusing face, trying to suppress a grin from appearing, showing his white teeth through a wide smile.

Thank goodness for professional training.

He tapped the table and cleared his throat.

Shi Qi quickly shut her mouth, her eyes full of tears.

"What's your name?"

"Shi Qi." Shi Qi answered honestly, being incredibly cooperative.

"Where do you live?"

"I don't have a home."

The officer raised his eyes, tapped the table again and spoke sternly, "Comrade, you must tell the truth to the police."

Shi Qi helplessly spread her hands, "I really don't have a home, it was taken as a collateral for a debt."

The policeman was skeptical, "Then how old are you?"

Shi Qi blinked. "I'm 18 years old."

"You're not in school?"

Shi Qi scratched her head, "I've never been, but I can read!"

The policeman's eyes shifted, becoming more cautious.

"Your family doesn't allow you to go to school?"

Shi Qi scratched her head, not quite understanding the meaning of the question.

She mumbled vaguely, "Sort of."

The policeman's hand paused mid-air. Looking at the girl in her dirty clothes, he couldn't help but imagine her background – a father addicted to gambling, a mother that had been remarried, and a childhood tainted by domestic violence.

The policeman slapped the table and complained, "Unbelievable! To think that there are still cases who slipped through the cracks of the nine-year compulsory education system!"

Shi Qi had a confused look on her face.

"Why does what he's saying sound increasingly strange?"

The policeman said sternly, "Give me your family's phone number. I have to call them to come over here. I need to have a thorough talk with them.”

Shi Qi nervously twisted her hands together.

Usually, she communicated with her master and senior brothers through a communication stone. But the communication stone was in her storage bag, and the bag was lost.

She only had the mobile number her master used, which she never called before.

Looking at the policeman, Shi Qi gritted her teeth and gave the number to him. Perhaps, if the police tried to find him, the old man might come out on his own.

Shi Qi watched as the policeman dialed the old man's number.

As she heard the prelude of the ringtone, Shi Qi had a feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Sure enough!

A resounding rap blared from the phone: "Winner takes all, losers be gone. My pineapple can't be outdone! Big pineapple, so impressive, here comes the pineapple spell!"

Booming music blasted through the solemn police station, accompanied by an embarrassing rumble from Shi Qi's stomach.

She craved for pineapple, now of all times…

The policeman looked at her in silence, unable to find words.

With a sheepish smile, Shi Qi awkwardly asked, "Um... do you have anything to eat? I'm a bit hungry."

Wordlessly, the policeman drew a loaf of bread from his drawer.

In less than ten seconds, Shi Qi had it unwrapped and was devouring it quickly.

To the policeman, this situation spurred another line of thought.

How could her family not even feed her?

The ringing didn't stop until just before the call was about to disconnect.

A strange voice came from the other end, "Hello? Who is this?"

If Shi Qi had been in the room, she would have realized that the person on the other end was definitely not her master!