Lu Fei stepped into the narrow alley.
Tiger, glancing around nervously, quickly followed.
The trash cans at the corners emitted a foul stench, and overhead wires crisscrossed like a spider's web, cutting the sky into fractured pieces.
Buildings were so close that one could shake hands with someone across the way from their window.
The construction was chaotic, with a maze of narrow alleys that could easily disorient a first-time visitor.
But Lu Fei moved purposefully, his pace quick, until he reached a seven-story self-built structure.
"This is the place!"
Lu Fei looked up at the seven-story building.
It was a typical rental, with multiple small rooms on each floor.
"Boss, which floor? I'll go drag him down right now!" Tiger, already rolling up his sleeves, was ready to pounce. "Daring to rob from the Evil Pawnshop—this guy must be tired of living!"
"Calm down. We need to retrieve the darkwood, but confronting a ghost breeder requires caution." Lu Fei glanced around, spotting a small mahjong parlor diagonally across from the building.
"Come on, I'll treat you to some tea."
They entered the tea house and sat by the window, ordering two cups of tea.
"Tiger, you rest first. I'll keep watch," Lu Fei said, sipping his tea.
"No way, boss. How could I sleep while you're on lookout? You should rest; I can handle this." Tiger protested.
"The ghost breeder emits a unique aura that ordinary people can't see."
"Then I'll stay up too and keep you company!"
"I said sleep, so sleep. If you're tired later, how will you fight?"
Lu Fei shot him a look, prompting Tiger to begrudgingly recline against the chair and close his eyes.
Surprisingly, despite his earlier defiance, Tiger was snoring within seconds.
Lu Fei was a bit envious of his ability to fall asleep so quickly.
Shaking his head, Lu Fei glanced at the paper effigy in his hand and turned his eyes to the rental building opposite.
Despite having gone two nights without sleep, the simmering anger in his chest kept him alert.
The inner-city village was home to all sorts of people.
People came and went from the building, but Lu Fei could tell at a glance that none were the ghost breeder.
He was angry, but he remained patient.
He slowly sipped his tea and even ordered some snacks to keep his stomach full.
As evening fell, a man dressed in black emerged from the building.
He was short and gaunt, and even in the waning sunlight, he exuded an aura of gloom.
"A ghost breeder!"
Even from across the street, Lu Fei could see the dark energy surrounding him.
"That's him!"
"Tiger, wake up. Time to work!" Lu Fei nudged Tiger awake.
Once the man was gone, they entered the rental building. Guided by the paper effigy, Lu Fei easily located the door.
"Boss, I'll get this open!"
Tiger scanned the area—these shabby rental buildings had no surveillance cameras. He folded a piece of paper into a thin strip and inserted it into the lock.
A few twists later, there was a soft click, and the door opened.
"Tiger, impressive," Lu Fei raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"Had to learn all sorts of things to survive," Tiger grinned sheepishly. This wasn't a skill to be proud of, and under other circumstances, he wouldn't use it.
Tiger stepped in first.
The room was small, barely over ten square meters, with simple furniture.
The drawn curtains made the already dim room even darker.
The air carried a faint scent of incense ash.
They soon spotted a small altar in the corner, with the darkwood urn standing on it.
"Great! Good thing he didn't take it with him!" Tiger said, elated.
"This isn't luck. He wouldn't take it outside. The spirit was whipped with the willow branch and needs to recuperate away from sunlight," Lu Fei explained as he approached the altar.
"Then let's take it and go!" Tiger reached out.
"Watch out!" Lu Fei yanked him back just as several dark shapes shot at them from the corner.
Their green eyes glowed with an eerie light.
It was the ghost crows from the previous night.
"Tiger, take this!" Lu Fei shoved a grayish-white bundle into Tiger's hands.
Tiger looked down to see that it was a shed snake skin.
"What's this..."
Before he could ask, the ghost crows were upon him. Instinctively stepping back, he noticed that the crows halted suddenly, seemingly fearful and unable to get closer.
"Huh, what's going on?" Tiger took a step forward, and the crows retreated further.
"Everything has its counter. What you're holding is a natural enemy of birds," Lu Fei said with a faint smile.
There were two pieces of shed snake skin, just enough for each of them to hold one.
The crows flapped their wings nervously, circling them but never daring to come closer, emitting anxious caws.
"This is amazing! Boss, is this another Evil Pawnshop treasure?" Tiger felt emboldened.
Calmly, Lu Fei put on gloves and retrieved the urn from the altar.
"Stop right there!"
*Bang!*
The door was kicked open, slamming against the wall with a loud thud.
Standing at the doorway was the man in black.
He was panting, eyes sharp with hatred as he glared at Lu Fei.
"Put the urn down!" he commanded coldly.
"Why should I?" Lu Fei wasn't surprised; any of the crows in the room could have acted as his lookout.
That was the ghost breeder's method—using spirits as eyes and ears.
"If you dare take her, I'll make sure you die without a burial place!" the man threatened, eyes fierce.
"You're welcome to try," Lu Fei pulled open the curtains, letting the last rays of sunset stream in. He lifted the urn towards the sunlight.
"Before I'm dead, she'll be ashes first."
"Don't you dare!" the man roared in rage.
The crows circled Lu Fei and Tiger, cawing furiously but unable to approach due to the snake skins.
"Why wouldn't I?" Lu Fei's tone was indifferent. "I only need the darkwood, not the spirit inside."
The man had risked stealing the darkwood, indicating that the spirit was extremely important to him.
"Bastards!"
As expected, the man clenched his teeth, unable to make a move. He couldn't understand why the crows couldn't get close; he could only curse in frustration.
"You're the bastards! Helping that vile woman for money! People like you deserve to rot in hell!"
"Shut the hell up!" Tiger's fury flared. "You're the one breeding ghosts to harm others for money, and now you dare accuse us? If I don't beat you to a pulp today, I'm not Zhao!"
He tucked the snake skin into his clothes and charged at the man with a raised fist.
The man's eyes twitched as he commanded the crows to attack.
But they couldn't get close to Tiger. In just two strides, Tiger was in front of him and landed a heavy punch.
*Bang!*
The man dropped to his knees, blood streaming from his nose.