In the darkness.
The old man clutched his chest, gasping for breath, taking a long time to recover from the pain.
The ghost crow placed the now semi-transparent imp before him.
"Damn it!"
Another sharp pang gripped his heart.
He had painstakingly acquired a piece of Yinwood, intending to refine it into a life-bound artifact, only for it to be stolen by a traitor and then end up in the Evil Pawnshop.
Any cursed object that entered the Evil Pawnshop was never easy to retrieve.
There had been rumors in the underworld that Lu Qingxuan had died. Seeing that the young Lu family boy appeared scholarly and frail, he had thought to take advantage of him.
But to his surprise, that boy dared to stand up to him!
He had planned to use his aura to intimidate the boy, but Lu Fei was defiant and wouldn't budge. As a ghost-raiser, engaging in physical combat in daylight was disadvantageous, so he had swallowed his pride for the moment.
After waiting for two days, seeing that the boy had lowered his guard, he had sent the imp to the Evil Pawnshop in secret.
As long as he retrieved the Yinwood and refined it, even if Lu Qingxuan came for him, he would be fearless.
But things had gone awry.
The imp not only failed to find the Yinwood but nearly got killed, leaving him gravely injured by backlash.
A miscalculation!
"Careless!"
The black-robed old man regretted underestimating Lu Fei.
Who would have thought that the young Lu family boy would know an imp's weakness?
Refining a green-skinned imp was no easy feat; it had cost him immense effort and his own blood. They shared their fortune—when one was harmed, so was the other.
He had lost at least half of his power and would need an unknown amount of time to recover.
This time, he had to accept defeat.
"There's always another day! Lu family boy, you'll pay for this!"
A flash of malice crossed the old man's eyes as he collected the imp and disappeared with the ghost crow into the night.
Inside the pawnshop.
"Boss, it's all my fault for not being alert enough. If I'd noticed earlier, you wouldn't have gotten hurt!"
The yin energy in Lu Fei's body had been expelled. Aside from the pain of the wound, he was fine, but Tiger was filled with guilt.
As the shop assistant, he felt it was inexcusable not to notice the incident immediately.
"It's not your fault. That imp was created by cutting a pregnant woman open before the fetus reached full term. The hatred it carries is immense and fierce—ordinary people wouldn't stand a chance."
"Monstrous! The methods of ghost-raisers are despicable! They must have hearts as black as coal!" Tiger said through gritted teeth.
"In fact, ghost-raising techniques were originally meant to help guide stillborn spirits to peace, a practice of accumulating virtue. But later, unscrupulous sorcerers turned it into a harmful art."
Many rituals and practices originally aimed at good often ended up twisted by human greed and selfishness.
Lu Fei shook his head.
After bandaging his wound, he put his leg down and moved it slightly, noticing something odd—a sudden warm flow from his dantian to his injured ankle.
When the warm flow reached the wound, the pain lessened immediately.
"Is this... spiritual energy?"
Lu Fei was stunned.
Spiritual energy in the arcane arts could not only aid spells but also heal the body.
But he hadn't practiced any cultivation—where did this spiritual energy come from?
"Why don't people like him get punished sooner? If they don't dare confront us openly, they resort to underhanded tactics," Tiger kept cursing. "Boss, how about I start sleeping in the shop to keep watch from now on?"
Lu Fei, generous as he was, didn't blame him. But Tiger felt he needed to reflect as an assistant.
"That's not necessary. I was just one needle away from killing that imp. The ghost-raiser must be suffering severe backlash..." Lu Fei's mind clicked.
Could the sudden surge of spiritual energy in his body be the ghost-raiser's?
He glanced at the last silver needle in the box.
Stabbing an imp at its vital spot drained its ghost energy—essentially its life force—causing it to dissipate.
The imp was composed of yin energy, resentment, and the ghost-raiser's own spiritual energy.
When he was scratched, ghost energy had invaded his body. But after expelling the yin energy, had the spiritual energy remained?
Lu Fei's heart raced.
The odds of such a thing happening were slim.
Green-skinned imps were so fierce and agile that most people couldn't even get close enough, let alone stab one with a needle.
If this really was spiritual energy, then he had hit the jackpot!
It took many years of grueling cultivation for most practitioners to gain spiritual energy, but he had obtained it through sheer coincidence.
"I hope that ghost-raiser suffers backlash to the point of death! Let him never raise imps or harm anyone again!" Tiger kept muttering angrily.
Lu Fei, on the other hand, felt a surge of excitement. Although it was just a theory, the warm flow healing his wound confirmed that it was indeed a good thing.
But it was late. He would test it tomorrow.
After closing up.
Tiger insisted on staying to keep watch.
Lu Fei let him.
That night, Lu Fei felt the warm flow coursing through his body, as if it were cleansing his limbs. By morning, the wound on his ankle had scabbed over.
He felt rejuvenated.
Eager to test his new ability, he visited several markets and finally bought a small bottle of six-year-old rooster comb blood from an old farmer.
The Evil Pawnshop could create protective talismans, though different from those used by traditional Taoist sects. They specialized in crafting ghost-repelling symbols.
Previously, Lu Fei had used blood from his own middle finger, which took a toll on his body and allowed him to make only one talisman every three days—hardly efficient.
If he truly had spiritual energy, he could use rooster comb blood or black dog blood instead, making multiple talismans at once.
He laid out yellow paper.
Dipping a brush in rooster comb blood, he took a deep breath and began to write.
Tiger watched from the side, sensing that his boss seemed different today.
He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.
Lu Fei concentrated fully, carefully writing each stroke.
*Ghost-Slaying Symbol!*
The symbol came to life.
"It worked!"
Lu Fei couldn't contain his excitement as he successfully made seven ghost-repelling symbols in a row.
Spiritual energy! It was real!
He felt an unexpected urge to thank the ghost-raiser for this gift.
"Tiger, take one for protection."
Lu Fei generously handed one to Tiger, keeping the rest for himself.
"Thank you, Boss!"
Tiger was overjoyed, feeling an unprecedented sense of security.
Though he didn't understand the intricacies of the spells, he could tell that today's ghost-repelling symbols were more potent than those Lu Fei had written on his palm before.
That's it!
He realized what was different about Lu Fei today—there was a new, commanding aura about him.
No matter the reason, he was sticking with this boss for good!
After they were done, night had fallen.
Tiger went to close up the shop.
Suddenly, a breeze swept through the doorway, causing an old wind chime in the corner to sway and ring with clear, crisp chimes.
"The wind chime's ringing?!"
Lu Fei's heart tightened.
His grandfather had once told him that the wind chime had no clapper inside and would only ring when a special customer appeared.
Since opening the shop, Lu Fei had never heard it ring.
"What kind of customer could it be?"
He looked out the door.
In the dim light, a headless woman stood quietly in the night.