"I'll go right away."
The two of them didn't even have time for breakfast and started preparing immediately.
Fortunately, they were on the antique street, where bronze mirrors and similar items were easy to find.
Lu Fei took some incense ashes and found a piece of yellow cloth.
By the time Huzi returned, the sun had already risen in the sky.
But the weather was not good today, with weak sunlight.
Lu Fei had Hu Zi spread the yellow cloth in the part of the courtyard that got the most sunlight. He removed the black cloth from the ghost-head saber and placed it in the center of the yellow cloth, then sprinkled a circle of incense ashes around it.
Finally, he placed the four bronze mirrors in the east, south, west, and north directions, each one facing and shining on the ghost-head saber.
This made the ghost-head saber gleam like a light bulb.
Though the method was simple, it had its origins; this was called the Four Yang to Dissipate Yin Formation.
Sunlight is the best way to dispel killing energy.
The time required for neutralization depends on the intensity of the killing energy; the stronger the energy, the longer it takes.
Under the intense rays of the sun, wisps of black mist rose from the saber.
Hu Zi went out to buy breakfast and returned. The two ate while they waited.
Perhaps because they hadn't slept all night, they both felt especially sleepy at this moment.
Thinking it was broad daylight and the ghost-head saber was exposed to the sunlight, they relaxed and began to doze off.
In a daze.
Lu Fei felt the sun had become smaller.
He opened his eyes, initially feeling disoriented.
"Has it gotten dark so quickly?"
Then, he was greatly surprised.
A thick gray fog pervaded the entire courtyard, rising up and seemingly blocking the sun, causing the light in the courtyard to dim.
"What kind of fog is this?"
Lu Fei thought to himself that it was not good; if the fog blocked the sunlight, wouldn't the killing aura on the ghost-head saber be unable to dissipate?
He hurriedly went to check the ghost-head saber.
Fortunately, the saber was still there.
It's just that the knife has been moved, it was originally placed horizontally, but now it is at an angle, and there are some incense ashes on the tip of the knife.
"This knife wants to avoid the sunlight!"
Lu Fei sprinkled some more incense ashes around, but with the thick fog and weak sunlight, almost no black gas was emitted from the knife.
At this moment, Hu Zi also woke up and was full of astonishment when he saw the thick fog in the courtyard.
"In such hot weather, where did this fog come from? And it's a grayish color." He had never seen such fog before in his life.
"Hu Zi, go outside and see if there's still any sunlight in the sky," Lu Fei said.
"Okay!"
Knowing something was amiss, Hu Zi ran out quickly and returned within two minutes, shouting as he ran: "There's no sun outside either, it's become overcast today."
"Looks like the weather has changed, giving this ghosthead knife a chance to avoid the sunlight." Lu Fei knew that it was impossible to completely eliminate the killing aura from the ghosthead knife today.
This thick fog is probably the ghosthead knife's way of self-protection.
If the sun is strong, this fog will dissipate quickly and won't be able to hide the Ghosthead Saber.
Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating today.
Lu Fei checked the weather forecast.
It seems that the rainy season has arrived, and there will be several consecutive days of overcast and rainy weather.
"We can't afford to wait."
The Ghosthead Saber is a deadly weapon, and the longer it stays, the more dangerous it becomes. We need to find another solution.
After some thought, Lu Fei went to the kitchen and brought back ginger and vinegar, then wiped them on the Ghosthead Saber.
This method can also remove the killing aura.
Some kitchen knives that have frequently been used to kill chickens and ducks can also develop a killing aura and become inauspicious, and this method can be used to remove it.
However, such a small method is of limited effectiveness when dealing with something as powerful as the Ghosthead Saber.
After wiping for a while, the thick fog in the courtyard slowly dissipated.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, indicating that it might rain.
Lu Fei rewrapped the ghost-head saber and affixed a ghost-restraining talisman on it, which temporarily suppressed it.
Before coming up with a solution, neither of them dared to let their guard down, and they took turns sleeping.
The morning was relatively peaceful.
When it was Lu Fei's turn to rest at noon, he had just closed his eyes when he heard miserable cries in his ear.
"Pain, so much pain!"
"It's too painful!"
This time, it wasn't the voice of a child, and there were more than one; both male and female voices mixed together, making Lu Fei extremely agitated.
He really wanted to give them a slash!
When he realized he had that thought, he was startled and knew it was the Ghost Head Saber at work again.
But it was now midday.
"Boss, boss, it's happening again!" Hu Zi's voice rang out in panic across the courtyard.
Sure enough, he heard it too.
He clutched his head in agony; the wails were driving him almost to the point of bursting.
Without any protective magic, he was easily influenced; the power of evil entities could not be resisted by willpower alone.
"Hold on! We need to go somewhere with more people."
Lu Fei put the Ghost Head Saber in his room and pasted a ghost-repelling talisman on the door, then hurriedly pulled Hu Zi onto the street.
The voices in his head gradually grew fainter.
The two stopped, breathing heavily as they gazed at the pawnshop at the end of the street.
"What's going on? It's causing trouble in broad daylight, much more intense than last night." Lu Fei frowned.
Last night, there was only the cry of one child, but today, dozens of different voices were roaring together.
Forget about Hu Zi; even with his magical powers, he was finding it hard to handle.
Evil entities usually cause trouble at night. This is the first time I've seen them be so active during the day.
Hu Zi looked up at the sky, where fine raindrops were falling, landing on the two of them, feeling cool.
"It's raining, boss. Is it related to the weather?"
"Even without the sun, daytime is still better than nighttime. There must be another reason. I didn't expect there to be so much resentment on the knife. It's really strange that there's more resentment during the day than at night."
The two of them waited outside for a while and then cautiously returned to the pawnshop, only to find that the screams had not started up again.
The influence of the ghost-head knife on people seems to have a time limit.
"Could it be related to the time?" Lu Fei seemed to be deep in thought, as if he had figured something out.
Night.
The two continued to keep watch over the spirit cleaver.
Around 1 AM, the sound of a child crying appeared again.
This time, well-prepared, both remained calm. Hu Zi had the ghost-repelling talisman attached to his body, which could prevent him from being affected by the killing aura of the spirit cleaver.
The night passed without incident.
However, around noon the next day, the wails of dozens of vengeful spirits suddenly rang out again.
Hu Zi was on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy.
Lu Fei glanced at the time and instead smiled.
"I know what's going on!"
He took Hu Zi out of the pawnshop, and after half an hour, they returned, and the wailing sounds indeed did not occur again.
Huzi was completely baffled: "Boss, what's really going on? This sound comes and goes."
"It's because of the time," Lu Fei pulled out the ghost head knife, removed the black cloth and took a look. He stated definitively, "This is a dull knife!"
"The executioner's ghost head knife has two blades, one sharp and one dull."
"The sharp blade can quickly decapitate people, sparing the prisoner from more suffering. If the prisoner's family offers some money, the executioner uses the sharp blade."
"And for those prisoners with no one to care for them, or for serious criminals whom the authorities want to punish, the dull blade is used."
"A dull blade cannot kill in one stroke; the entire execution process is extremely painful for the prisoner, hence the greater resentment after death."
Huzi still didn't understand: "So, what does this have to do with time?"
Lu Fei said, "Think about it, in ancient times, when did they usually execute prisoners?"