"Mr. Wan, don't be in a hurry. Before that, I'd like to ask where you got this ancient painting from?" Lu Fei asked.
Wan Chunhui hesitated for a moment before saying, "We bought it from an old man who was selling things on the roadside. The old man didn't know the origin of the painting either; he said it was given to him by a friend as collateral."
"That friend was addicted to gambling and had lost all his property. He also borrowed a lot of money from relatives and friends, and couldn't pay it back. He got hold of a painting, claiming it was an antique, and used it as collateral."
"But after that, that friend disappeared, and no one could get in touch with him. The old man said that he must have gone to another place to hide from his debts. It's unknown whether the painting is genuine, and he tried to sell it to see if anyone recognized it."
"The boss found the painting very unique and didn't care whether it was an antique, so he bought it."
After finishing, Wan Chunhui looked at Lu Fei.
"Young Master Lu, are you asking this because you think there's something suspicious about the origin of the painting?"
"This isn't even a painting meant for viewing!" Lu Fei said.
"Oh?" Wan Chunhui was very puzzled, "If a painting isn't for viewing, then what is it for?"
"This is called a Soul Sealing Painting. It's an ancient technique that seals the soul inside the painting. By mixing the blood of the deceased into the paint and using the blood to paint, the purpose is to seal the soul within, preventing it from ever escaping!"
After Lu Fei finished speaking, Wan Chunhui stared at him in shock, eyes wide open.
"So, there's a ghost in this painting?"
Huzi said angrily, "It's another evil practice that harms people!"
"To be more precise, it's a grudge! The grudge of the bride," Lu Fei said solemnly, "Mr. Wan, do you still remember the content of the painting?"
"Isn't it just a scene of an ancient wedding procession?"
"That's right, it is a wedding procession, but the figures in the procession are not real people, they are paper effigies. This bride is being sent to accompany a dead person in burial."
"Sent to a dead person, why?" Wan Chunhui was utterly shocked.
"Mr. Wan, try to recall, wasn't the gate of the mansion in the painting narrower at the top and wider at the bottom?"
Wan Chunhui thought for a moment and nodded, "It seems to be the case."
"It's not a mistake in the painting. That door is in the shape of a coffin. The bride is marrying a dead man, so naturally, the coffin is her bridal chamber!"
"This painting depicts a ghost marriage!"
After listening to Lu Fei's explanation, Wan Chunhui gasped in shock.
He had thought it was a festive scene of an ancient wedding, but he never expected it to be so inauspicious!
"I understand now, this is a ghost marriage!" Hu Zi said angrily.
"This has happened in our village before! A girl died in an accident, and her parents sold her body to a neighboring village for a ghost marriage with a dead son for money!"
"They even sold their own daughter; they have no conscience for earning that kind of money! The whole village despised them, and when people passed by their house, they would spit at their doorstep!"
"The situation you described is slightly better, at least the person is already deceased and cannot feel pain." Lu Fei shook his head and sighed, "The bride in the painting was forced to marry a dead man while she was still alive."
"Ghost marriages in ancient times were very cruel. After the wedding ceremony, the bride would be buried along with the dead man; it's not an exaggeration to call it live burial!"
"A good girl, dying in such a cruel way at the prime of her youth, how could she not harbor resentment in her heart?"
"Heartless wretches! The person is already dead, and they still want to marry her off? It's one thing to find a corpse for him, but to actually have a living person be buried as a companion!" Hu Er clenched his fists, making them crackle.
"They say it's because they're afraid their son will be lonely down there without a wife. But won't the son also be without his parents down there? Why don't they go down to keep him company?"
Wan Chunhui understood and said, "Little Manager Lu means that this painting seals the ghost of a bride in a ghost marriage?"
"That's right. The people who force brides into ghost marriages know that their actions are morally wrong, and they're afraid the bride will come back to seek revenge, so they usually ask sorcerers to suppress the spirits."
"Some evil sorcerers use the bride's blood to paint and cast a spell to seal her spirit in the painting."
"So this kind of painting is also called 'Bride's Resentment.'"
At this point, Lu Fei showed a hint of confusion.
"In the lower right corner of the ancient painting, there was originally a magic seal. This seal was used to suppress the bride's resentment. For some unknown reason, the seal has faded."
"Yes, there was originally a stamp pattern in the lower right corner of the ancient painting," Wan Chunhui nodded vigorously. "But when the boss was looking at the painting, he accidentally knocked over a water cup and spilled water on it."
"But strangely, after the boss wiped the water off, there was not a trace of moisture on the ancient painting; only the seal had disappeared."
"The boss thought the painting was extraordinary and asked me to take it to the auction house for an expert appraisal."
"Who knew, something happened that very night."
Lu Fei could not help but look at him: "Such important information, why didn't you mention it at the beginning?"
Wan Chunhui said innocently, "Uh, I didn't think they were related... But, Junior Manager Lu does live up to being the successor of Sinisterium Pawnshop. Even without me saying anything, you still figured out the truth about the ancient painting, didn't you?"
No wonder, although the boss and the employee both looked at the same painting, the boss was fine, but the employee encountered trouble.
Lu Fei said speechlessly, "The dharma seal vanished, and with no suppression, the bride's resentment emerged. Suppressed for so many years, the hatred must have been overwhelming, which is why the malevolent energy of the ancient painting was so fierce. Anyone influenced by the painting would be drawn into it and forced into a ghost marriage."
Wan Chunhui, puzzled, asked, "Aren't they all in the hospital?"
"Mr. Wan, come and look at this painting." Lu Fei gestured, inviting Wan Chunhui to the cabinet where the ancient painting was stored.
Wan Chunhui, initially too afraid, finally mustered the courage to take a look after repeated assurances from Lu Fei.
He exclaimed in surprise, "How did two more grooms appear? They weren't there when the boss bought this painting!"
"Mr. Wan, look at their faces again. Aren't they identical to the two security guards who had the accidents?"
"It's them! What on earth is happening?"
Lu Fei explained, "The souls of those people are in the painting. The woman becomes a bride, and the men become grooms." He continued, "Without their souls, people will become foolish and insane."
Wan Chunhui suddenly realized, "No wonder Lingling has been putting on makeup every day and mumbling about getting married."
"Usually, if the soul is lost for more than seven days, it can never be recovered, and the person will become completely insane or foolish."
"Yes, yes, yes, we have the same belief in my hometown!" Hu Zi chimed in, "There's a fool living next door to us, and the elders say he was actually very smart before, but he turned into a complete fool because his soul was lost when he was young and never came back."
Wan Chunhui quickly calculated the time, frowning deeply, "The first security guard who had the accident has already been in the hospital for five days... Is there still hope for him?"
"As long as the soul is found within seven days, there is hope, although it will be more complicated," Lu Fei pondered.
"After all, they are employees of the auction house. Please, Mr. Lu, think of a way to help them," Wan Chunhui said sincerely.
"That will depend on whether Mr. Wan is willing to cooperate." Lu Fei smiled.
The conversation went in a big circle and came back to the original point.
Wan Chunhui couldn't help but be even more curious: "Exactly how should I cooperate?"
Lu Fei said only one word.
"Fire."