"Faces?"
At Tiger's remark, both Lu Fei and Wan Chunhui were taken aback.
"Boss, step back a bit and squint your eyes. You'll see it," Tiger suggested from behind them, standing furthest from the wall and surprisingly able to discern something.
Lu Fei and Wan Chunhui stepped back and squinted.
The rough, chaotic blood patterns, like oil paintings that were too close to be comprehensible, suddenly revealed their contents when viewed from a distance.
"Faces!" Wan Chunhui's scalp tingled.
They were twisted, eerie faces with sharp features and eyes like gaping, crimson holes, glaring ferociously at everyone in the room.
"Yes, they're women's faces!" Lu Fei's brow furrowed.
Once the nature of the drawings was recognized, the faces became unmistakably clear, crowding the walls with grotesque smiles as if ready to break through the surface.
Wan Chunhui quickly averted his gaze, unwilling to look at the horrific faces any longer.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and asked, "Why women's faces?"
"Perhaps it's what the guard saw in the painting," Lu Fei speculated. "There's only one woman in the painting, the bride inside the palanquin."
"But I remember the bride being veiled, her face hidden," Wan Chunhui said, both uneasy and puzzled. He'd glimpsed at the painting before, knowing a bit about its contents.
"Evil objects don't follow logic. Whatever he saw must be tied to the painting," Lu Fei said.
"It doesn't matter what he saw. As long as you can remove the evil from that painting, that's what counts," Wan Chunhui said, waving his hand. He reminded Lu Fei, "But remember, you can't damage the painting."
"Don't worry, I'll be careful."
Outside, the sun had just set below the horizon.
"It's time to head back to the auction house."
The three of them left the hospital room.
The guard, still oblivious, continued smearing blood on the walls with his mangled fingers.
The faces on the blood-streaked walls seemed to watch the trio leave, their gazes cold and unwavering.
As darkness fell over the city.
At Tenlong Auction House.
The two guards at the entrance shivered as they looked at the dim, empty hall.
"Hey, with that painting being so haunted, we won't run into trouble tonight, right?"
"What are you afraid of? Didn't Manager Wan bring in a specialist?"
"That kid looks like a pretty boy. How much of a master could he be? And that big guy with him—how much use could he be? We'd better stay sharp. If anything happens, don't rush in without thinking."
"True, no job is worth risking our necks for. If we end up like Xiao An, blind and crazy, no amount of money is worth it."
They whispered nervously.
One of them suddenly fell silent, staring wide-eyed at something behind the other.
"What is it? What are you staring at?" The man, now unnerved, slowly turned his head.
The hallway, dim and empty, was spotless and deserted.
The lights flickered twice.
"Damn it, are you trying to scare me?"
"Didn't you hear that?"
Just as he was about to retort, a faint sound of drumming reached them.
It came from the direction of the storeroom, distant and ghostly.
"It's back!"
His hair stood on end, and he shifted uneasily.
"Don't panic. Manager Wan said that hearing the sound is fine as long as we don't look at the painting," the other guard said, swallowing hard and trying to maintain his composure.
They huddled together and took cautious steps back, trying to ignore the sound.
But the drumming grew louder, as if rushing down the hallway towards them.
"Mother of—!"
They screamed and stumbled towards the entrance.
"What are you two doing?"
A stern voice came from outside.
They looked up to see Wan Chunhui and Lu Fei.
"Manager Wan, the drumming—it's back," they stammered, shaking.
Lu Fei's expression darkened. "You didn't touch the storeroom, did you?"
"God as my witness, we stayed right here. We didn't touch anything!" The guards swore.
With a serious look, Lu Fei sprinted down the hallway.
"Boss!" Tiger hurried after him.
The drumming echoed in the dim corridor, a haunting rhythm that sent chills through them.
Lu Fei's expression shifted as he reached the storeroom, where the ghost-repelling charm on the door had faded and was on the verge of losing its power.
"Boss, the charm?" Tiger gasped.
"It's been soaked with evil energy—it's failing! The sun has set, and with the night comes the dominance of yin energy. The painting's power is far stronger now," Lu Fei said, his chest tightening.
"Shopkeeper Lu, what's happening now?"
Wan Chunhui and the guards arrived, panting.
"Manager Wan, open the door," Lu Fei ordered.
"Right."
Wan Chunhui tossed the keys to a guard, who fumbled nervously before finally inserting them into the lock.
Click.
The door cracked open.
The drumming intensified, slamming into their ears like a physical force.
The guard's face went pale, and he stumbled back.
Lu Fei gripped the ghost-whipping switch and pushed the door open cautiously.
The instant the door fully opened, the drumming stopped.
The cold storeroom lay silent, with the ancient painting resting in its glass case, partially unrolled.
The ghost-headed knife Lu Fei had left was now on the floor.
The ghost-repelling charms on the walls had disintegrated, leaving behind bits of ash.
"Good thing I left the ghost-headed knife here," Lu Fei said, picking it up with a sigh of relief.
Without it, the painting's evil energy might have already escaped.
"Shopkeeper Lu…" Wan Chunhui called from the doorway.
"Don't come in!" Lu Fei shouted immediately.
Wan Chunhui froze mid-step and carefully backed away.
The guards clustered around him.
"Night is the domain of yin energy. This is when evil objects are most powerful. Stay outside," Lu Fei said sternly.
"Understood."
Wan Chunhui, now fully aware of the danger, led the guards to a safer distance, but kept an eye on the storeroom.
"Tiger, stay alert tonight," Lu Fei said, positioning Tiger with the ghost-headed knife while he laid out seven ghost-repelling charms in the formation of the Big Dipper, creating a small containment array to keep the evil energy from spreading.
"Boss, I'm not scared! We have this killing blade, don't we? Let any evil show up, and I'll chop it down!" Tiger said, more to bolster his own courage.
"I hope it's that simple," Lu Fei said.
With the setup complete, Lu Fei surveyed the storeroom and prepared for the night's showdown.
The auction house fell into an eerie silence.
Outside, Wan Chunhui and the guards anxiously watched the storeroom from a safe distance.
One guard, perhaps too nervous, crossed his legs and whispered to Wan Chunhui, "Manager Wan, I need to go to the restroom."