Boom!
Sparks flew as flames suddenly leapt several meters high before extinguishing.
The ghost bride's figure completely vanished.
"Rest in peace," Lu Fei whispered.
Although the ghost bride's fate was pitiful, time had passed, and her enemies were long lost in the tides of history. It was not right for more innocent people to suffer because of her.
Lu Fei felt no guilt in dealing with harmful supernatural objects. If the ghost bride hadn't ended things herself, he would have taken action.
An evil object was an evil object.
Compared to the initial chaos when he first started dealing with such things, he was now much more composed. Although this process had been troublesome, it was ultimately successful.
He opened the doors and windows to let the smoke disperse.
The meeting room gradually cleared.
"Mr. Wan, it's over," Lu Fei said to Wan Chunhui.
"Did it work?" Wan Chunhui asked anxiously.
"The soul-binding spell is broken, and the bride's resentment has been removed. This painting is now just an ordinary antique," Lu Fei replied with a smile.
Not every supernatural object possessed special properties.
"That's great!" Wan Chunhui, his limbs still weak, got up from the floor and looked at the painting on the wall.
Despite being exposed to the smoke, the painting showed no damage, and the images within were intact.
Truly remarkable!
He took down the painting and carefully inspected it. Other than a slight smoky scent, there was nothing wrong with it, and the weight on his heart was lifted.
Previously, he had been worried that the painting would be damaged by the smoke and fire.
"And them?" He pointed to the unconscious employees tied to the chairs.
"Their souls are back, so they'll be fine. However, those two guards' eyes won't recover," Lu Fei said.
Returning the souls allowed them to regain their sanity, but it couldn't restore the eyes that had been gouged out.
As for why the ghost bride gouged out their eyes, perhaps it was due to her resentment toward those who turned a blind eye in her time of need.
With Lu Fei's confirmation, Wan Chunhui's heart settled.
Although he had witnessed the return of the souls, the process had been so surreal that he couldn't help but double-check with Lu Fei.
"They are employees of Tianlong, and Tianlong will take full responsibility. All future medical and compensation expenses will be covered by the company."
He then carefully put the painting away, unable to hide the joy on his face.
"Boss, what about him?" Tiger asked as he got up and stretched, noticing that the security captain hadn't moved.
His eyes were vacant, as if in a daze.
"It's nothing serious, just shock. He'll be fine in a few days. He was lucky; when his body left the incense ash circle, the ghost bride was already weakened, so his soul wasn't taken," Lu Fei said calmly.
Fear was a normal human reaction when facing unknown horrors, so he couldn't be entirely blamed.
"Useless!" Wan Chunhui, however, was displeased with his performance and would likely not employ him again in the future.
Still, he was lucky enough—not blind or insane.
Wan Chunhui called the people outside to come in and clean up.
He invited Lu Fei and Tiger to the VIP lounge and personally poured them water.
Everyone had experienced the smoky chaos of the meeting room and was covered in soot, parched and thirsty.
Lu Fei thanked him and drank deeply.
Tiger gulped it down like a bull drinking water.
After a brief rest, Wan Chunhui eagerly began to ask questions.
"Little Shopkeeper Lu, your methods were truly eye-opening! Although the problem is resolved, there are still many things I don't understand. I hope you can enlighten me."
"Please ask," Lu Fei replied patiently.
"You mentioned that breaking the soul-binding painting required using fire. Why did you use wet wood instead of dry? That stuff doesn't burn well and produces a lot of smoke."
"The fire was used to draw out the bride's blood from the painting, and wet wood's smaller flame minimizes the risk of damaging the antique. As for why elm wood, have you heard of the sacred elm tree?"
"Oh? What's the story behind that?" Wan Chunhui asked, intrigued.
"It's said that elm wood is one of the sources of fire and has the power to purge all filth from the world." Lu Fei took a sip of water and continued explaining.
"Some cultures even regard elm trees as symbols of sacred protection, worshipping them as village guardians believed to ward off evil and ensure prosperity."
"That powerful?!" Wan Chunhui exclaimed in amazement. "I should suggest planting a couple of elm trees at the auction house."
"A real sacred tree isn't so simple; it would have to be hundreds or thousands of years old," Lu Fei said with a smile. "But regular elm wood does have purifying properties, similar to how peach wood wards off evil."
"In fact, breaking the soul-binding painting is straightforward—burning it with elm wood fire to draw out the blood in the pigment and dispel the evil energy. But this time, we needed to recover the souls of the three employees first, which is why we used smoke to slowly cleanse it."
"Brilliant! Truly brilliant!" Wan Chunhui said, full of admiration. "The methods of Evil Pawnshop are not exaggerated! Absolutely enlightening!"
"You flatter me, Mr. Wan."
Lu Fei set down his cup and looked at Wan Chunhui seriously. "Mr. Wan, I have successfully exorcised the evil from the painting. Can you now share the information about the sheepskin map?"
He felt a bit anxious, but the other party shouldn't go back on their word now.
"Of course. Please wait while I report this good news to my boss!"
Fortunately, Wan Chunhui kept his word and quickly made a phone call.
Soon, he returned with a smile.
"Little Shopkeeper Lu, my boss is very pleased! He'll send the map details shortly. Also, he instructed me to adhere to the traditions of the Evil Pawnshop."
"The traditions?" Lu Fei was puzzled.
"Of course, this means we'll pawn the painting to Evil Pawnshop," Wan Chunhui laughed. "However, my boss wishes to keep the painting as part of his collection, so it'll be a living pawn."
"That's not necessary. Just having the map information is enough. This was agreed upon in advance."
"No way! My boss insisted—no breaking the rules of Evil Pawnshop."
Under Wan Chunhui's firm insistence, Lu Fei had to issue a pawn ticket.
A living pawn, priced at ten thousand, with a term of one day.
Wan Chunhui transferred thirty thousand on the spot as a service fee.
Whether dead or living pawns, Evil Pawnshop never ran a loss.
Seeing the transaction, Lu Fei couldn't help but think that breaking even seemed almost impossible.
However, he wasn't concerned about the money. This effort was all for the information on the sheepskin map, to find clues related to his grandfather.
Ten minutes later.
Wan Chunhui received a message and immediately sent a photo to Lu Fei's phone.
"Little Shopkeeper Lu, please check it!"
"Thank you!"
Lu Fei eagerly opened the image.
The photo was clear, showing that the map's material was very old, with black-and-white patterns that were somewhat blurred.
Lu Fei frowned.
The map's design was highly abstract, and the text was unfamiliar to him.
It looked like some kind of ancient script.
"Take your time to study it, Little Shopkeeper. But there's one thing I must remind you of!" Wan Chunhui said, smiling meaningfully.