Xu Xiaonan was a senior student at Zhongzhou University. With graduation approaching, she still had one subject exam she hadn't passed.
She needed to retake it in two days.
Their university was a key institution and always very strict. If she couldn't pass this time, it would likely affect her ability to receive her graduation certificate later.
Currently, she had found a good job, successfully joining Longcheng Group, Zhongzhou City's largest enterprise.
After she became a full-time employee, the benefits would be excellent.
However, if she couldn't smoothly obtain her graduation certificate, she might lose this hard-won job.
Therefore, she took this exam very seriously.
But as the exam approached, she lacked confidence and felt uneasy.
Unexpectedly, she had actually summoned The bixian today, so she had a sudden idea to ask The bixian about her exam.
Her eyes were fixed on the pen tip on the paper, waiting for an answer with both anticipation and fear.
For Lin Yuan, predicting such a future was not difficult at all.
The key was whether Xu Xiaonan truly wanted to know the answer to this question.
Those who made wishes to him had to possess a desire commensurate with the wish.
If Xu Xiaonan did not have a strong desire, he would not be able to extract enough wish power from her, and thus would not be able to foresee this future.
When he used his ability to help people fulfill wishes, the wishers' own "luck" would convert into wish power at a 1:1 ratio; he himself would not consume any power.
And after helping the wishers fulfill their wishes, he would also gain a certain amount of wish power, which was 10% of what was consumed to complete the task.
The bigger the matter, the more he gained; the smaller the matter, the less he gained.
Overall, this transaction followed the principle of equivalent exchange.
No one could violate this principle; even he, if he violated the principle of equivalence, would bear "karma."
In Xu Xiaonan, he sensed sufficient desire. Since that was the case, she could receive an answer.
"It seems I can earn a bit more."
Lin Yuan's thought moved, extracting that wish power from Xu Xiaonan. A scene and information appeared before his eyes.
Xu Xiaonan had failed her exam, but not by much.
She only needed to answer two more questions correctly to pass the exam.
Lin Yuan held the pen, controlling the tip to move across the white paper, drawing an 'X' to indicate a negative answer.
Xu Xiaonan's expression changed, though this result was not entirely unexpected.
She was quite clear about her own grades, but she still felt a sense of loss.
For this exam, she had prepared extensively. During this period, whenever she had free time, she would ask Jiang Huihui to tutor her.
She hadn't expected to still fail.
"Oh my, what am I supposed to do?"
Xu Xiaonan helplessly rubbed her forehead. Suddenly, she thought again, perhaps The bixian could help her.
"The bixian, may I ask if you can help me pass this exam?"
After asking, her heart was filled with anticipation.
Asking a ghost to help her pass an exam was quite an outlandish idea of hers.
But since ghosts existed, such a thing wasn't impossible.
Moreover, she had no other options now. What if it worked?
On the paper, the pen tip continued to move. This time, The bixian actually wrote a sentence directly on the paper.
"All who seek shall find!"
Looking at the words on the paper, Xu Xiaonan's face was filled with surprise.
This The bixian was too good; it actually said it would grant all requests.
But soon, an uneasy feeling arose in her heart.
This was a ghost. Why would it help her? What kind of price would she have to pay for it?
She knew that nothing in the world could be free.
Any seemingly fated gift was secretly marked with a price.
"The bixian, please, what do I need to pay?"
The pen tip continued to move on the paper, and soon, a few words appeared on the paper.
"Equivalent!"
This was also easy to understand. The bixian meant that she needed to trade something of equivalent value.
But what did she have that she could trade with a ghost?
She couldn't figure it out, but she felt inexplicably much more at ease.
Whether it was a person or a ghost, if they gave to her without expecting anything in return, she would feel uncertain, even suspecting a conspiracy.
But if the price was clearly stated, the feeling was much better.
Because this was a transaction where both parties got what they needed.
She continued to ask, "What do I need to use to pay the price?"
The pen tip moved again, and another word appeared on the paper.
"Luck."
"Luck?" Xu Xiaonan wasn't very clear about what The bixian meant by "luck," and she hurriedly asked.
"What is luck?"
But this time, the pen didn't move, mainly because it was too complicated to explain, and Lin Yuan couldn't write so many words on such a small piece of paper.
Moreover, he felt that anyone with a brain should be able to guess it.
Seeing that The bixian didn't reply, Xu Xiaonan roughly guessed.
The answer to the question must be complex, which was why The bixian didn't answer.
This word was not difficult to understand.
In this context, it was nothing more than fortune, destiny, or perhaps it would affect her future luck or something similar.
In that case, she could accept it. To gain something, one always had to give something.
After pondering for a moment, she decided to let The bixian help her this time.
"Alright, The bixian, our transaction is complete. I request your help to pass the exam."
As soon as she finished speaking, the pen tip drew a checkmark on the paper.
Receiving a response, Xu Xiaonan breathed a sigh of relief.
This The bixian gave her a good feeling; it shouldn't be anything evil.
She suddenly looked at Jiang Huihui beside her and whispered, "Hui Hui, do you have anything you want to ask The bixian?"
"N-no!"
Jiang Huihui quickly waved her hands. Her face was ashen. She didn't want to ask anything, nor did she dare to, only saying very softly,
"Nannan, quickly let... let The bixian leave!"
"Alright then," Xu Xiaonan's gaze fell on the paper and she said,
"The bixian, we have no more questions. May the green mountains remain unchanged and the clear waters flow on, we shall meet again. Please return to your place.
If you have already left, please move the pen off the paper."
As soon as she finished speaking, the pen tip moved on the paper, drawing a straight line until the pen was moved off the paper and fell onto the table.
Seeing this, the expression on Xu Xiaonan's face completely relaxed.
The bixian had left.
This The bixian was really good; it answered when asked, granted all requests, and left without dragging things out.
After meeting this The bixian, she felt that perhaps ghosts weren't so scary after all.
"Nannan, The bixian, is it gone?"
"It should be gone," Xu Xiaonan looked at the pen lying on the table, got up, walked to Jiang Huihui, and gently pinched her pale cheek.
"Don't be scared, it's alright."
Jiang Huihui's complexion gradually calmed, but soon worry reappeared.
"Nannan, did you make some kind of deal with The bixian?"
"Yes, but it's fine. The bixian said it was an equivalent exchange. If that's true, then I won't have any problems with this exam."
"But, that's a ghost. Can you really trust it?"
"I think it should be fine."
Xu Xiaonan didn't have any proof; it was just her feeling.
"But it doesn't matter. If it doesn't come true, I shouldn't have to pay anything.
But if it does come true, even if there's a small price to pay, it's nothing."
Jiang Huihui still felt uneasy, worrying for her friend.
"What if the price is something we can't bear?"
"It shouldn't be that bad," Xu Xiaonan reassured her, "Relax, it said it was an equivalent exchange."
Xu Xiaonan then looked into Jiang Huihui's eyes, understanding her worry, and continued,
"It probably has no reason to deceive me. I'm just an ordinary person; what could it gain by deceiving me?
I trust my intuition. This time, I'm definitely going to pass my exam."
Xu Xiaonan's heart was filled with joy. Having a ghost help her pass an exam, she thought it was too cool.
She could brag about it for a lifetime.
As for the price, as long as it was an equivalent transaction, she should be able to afford it.
After all, it was just one exam. No matter how serious, it wouldn't cost her life, right?
"Alright, I hope so."
Jiang Huihui said helplessly.