The two of them were greatly startled.
It was a completely black bird that looked very much like a crow, but its eyes were an eerie green.
"Where did this strange bird come from? Get away!"
Seeing the black bird diving for the urn, Hu Zi hastily reached out to hit it.
To his surprise, his fingers passed right through the body of the black bird.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that the black bird was made of a dense clump of black fog.
"This is a ghost bird!" Lu Fei was shocked; this kind of bird, formed by yin energy, had no physical substance at all.
Seeing the bird's claws already grasping the urn, he quickly picked up the willow branch and struck at it.
The ghost bird flapped its wings and dodged nimbly, then flew out the window with the urn in its claws.
"Let go of me!"
Huzi, quick-eyed and swift-handed, managed to grab the lower part of the urn in time.
The black bird paused for a moment, then immediately turned around and tried to peck Huzi's hand with its sharp beak.
"Huzi, let go quickly!"
Lu Fei shouted anxiously and swung a willow branch whip at the ghost bird.
If the ghost bird pecked Huzi, the yin energy would enter his body and his hand might be ruined.
Luckily, the ghost bird dodged the willow branch whip and didn't manage to peck Huzi. However, it was extremely agile and fast, and Lu Fei missed it several times with his whip.
"Damn it, after all the trouble to subdue the ghost spirit, how can I let this ghostly thing get the upper hand."
Huzi held onto the urn tightly, his arm muscles bulging and his knuckles whitening from the force, and he managed to pull the urn back with brute strength.
Seeing this, the ghost bird opened its beak and let out two strange caws.
In the next moment, a large group of ghost birds flapped their wings and charged towards the two people.
"Tiger, let go!"
This was no longer a number that could be dealt with by willow whips. Lu Fei took out the Eight Trigram Mirror and shone it at the dark flock of birds.
A golden light lit up.
The ghost birds hit by the light instantly turned to ashes. However, the mirror's illumination range was limited, and several ghost birds flew in through the window, viciously pecking at Tiger.
"Tiger, let go quickly!" Lu Fei shouted anxiously.
Tiger reluctantly let go, and the urn was immediately taken out of the window by the ghost birds.
In the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
"Damn! Where did these ghostly things come from, trying to steal our stuff!" Tiger stomped his feet in anger.
"Tiger, don't worry, what do you think this is?" Lu Fei picked up a few black hairs covered in dust from the window.
"What's this?" Hu Zi asked in confusion.
"My sister Ling's hair. During the struggle, the urn cracked and some of her hair mixed with the ashes leaked out.",
"What's the use of the hair? Aren't we after the sunken wood?
"With the hair, we can find the sunken wood!"
Lu Fei gazed out of the window in the direction where the ghost birds had disappeared, his eyes narrowing coldly.
"To dare to take something from Sinisterium Pawnshop, I'm eager to see who they are!",
He couldn't swallow the insult of letting the prize he had almost won slip away!
The sky began to lighten in the east.
It was dawn.
Lulu woke up groggily, and the first thing she did when she opened her eyes was to look for Lu Fei.
"Mr. Lu!"
Seeing that Lu Fei and Hu Zi were in the room, she felt slightly relieved.
The sunlight shone through the window.
"Am I saved this time?" she asked cautiously, feeling an indescribable emptiness and loss, as if something important had been lost.
"Your sister's spirit has separated from your body, and you have temporarily saved your life," Lu Fei replied.
"Temporarily?" Lulu was very sensitive and noticed Lu Fei's choice of words.
"The urn was stolen, and your crisis has not been completely resolved. But rest assured, I will find the person," Lu Fei said calmly.
But Lulu felt a chill from his calmness.
"Stolen? Who?" She couldn't understand who would steal such an ominous thing.
"Of course, the one who raises ghosts with dark wood."
"What! Isn't that the one who deliberately harmed me?" Lulu angrily clutched the corner of her clothes.
"It should be." Lu Fei glanced at her, "You'd better leave this apartment and find a place far away to hide for a few days. I'll contact you when everything is settled."
"All by myself?"
"Your sister Ling has cut off all contact with you. As long as you don't tell anyone where you are, they won't find you."
"I still want to stay with you." Lulu looked at Lu Fei pitifully; she felt safe only with him around.
"No, you would just be a burden!" Lu Fei firmly shook his head.
If Lulu stayed, her sister Ling would have another chance to take advantage, and all the efforts he and Hu Zi had made would be in vain.
"Okay." Seeing that there was no room for negotiation in Lu Fei's tone, Lulu could only reluctantly agree.
She quickly packed a few things and checked into a hotel near the Antique Street.
She chose this place because it was close to Sinisterium Pawnshop, and if anything happened, she could easily seek help from Lu Fei.
In the pawnshop.
Lu Fei took out a few black strands of hair wrapped in a tissue.
"Boss, can we really find the person who stole the dark wood with just these few strands of hair?" Hu Zi was not doubting Lu Fei's ability; he was merely anxious and angry.
"Hu Zi, do you remember when I told you that evil objects also seek their own home?" Lu Fei said calmly.
"Of course I remember." How could Hu Zi forget it?
At that time, the sight of the copper coin standing up by itself had deeply shaken his worldview.
"These hairs are the same; they will also seek their own remains!" Lu Fei found some yellow paper and scissors, cut out a small paper figure, and then wrote a birth date on it.
"Isn't this Lulu's birth date?" Hu Zi asked curiously.
"Did you forget? Lulu's birth date is the same as her sister Ling's." Lu Fei smiled faintly and tied the strands of hair to the paper figure.
Then, he lit a white candle and placed it in front of the paper figure.
A moment later.
It seemed as if a cold wind blew, and the candlelight turned green.
The paper figure that had been lying on the table suddenly stood up by itself.
"Good heavens!" Hu Zi felt his worldview being challenged once again.
"Following this paper figure, we can find the urn.
Lu Fei took the paper figure in his hand, went to the storage room to get something, and then left the antique street with Hu Zi, hailing a taxi.
"Hey, where to?" the driver asked.
"Just drive straight ahead for now. I'll tell you which direction to go later," Lu Fei said.
"You're just looking for trouble, aren't you..." the driver was about to glare at him.
Lu Fei pulled out two hundred-dollar bills: "Keep the change."
"Alright, let's go!" The driver took the money, and his attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. With a broad smile, he stepped on the gas.
The taxi merged into the traffic.
"Turn left."
"Got it!"
"Take the next right at the intersection!"
"Roger that!"
Under the influence of the 'money power,' no matter which direction Lu Fei pointed, the driver would happily comply.
The taxi weaved through the city's streets and alleys, turning left and right all the way.
"Stop here."
Screech!
The driver immediately slammed on the brakes and stopped.
"Thanks, Master, you have good driving skills!" Lu Fei nodded slightly at the driver, opened the door, and got out of the car.
Huzi followed closely behind.
"Take care, handsome, hope to see you in my car again sometime!"
Looking at the 50 yuan on the meter, the driver drove away cheerfully.
Lu Fei stood in front of a long, filthy alley.
On both sides of the alley were a disorderly collection of buildings.
This was an urban village, the most chaotic and dilapidated part of Jiangcheng.