"What?" Liu Fugui was taken aback by the question.
"Did you take anything when we left Xiaomei's place?" Lu Fei asked, eyes fixed on him.
Liu Fugui hesitated, fidgeting under Lu Fei's intense gaze. Finally, he pulled a small glass bottle, about the size of a hand, from his pocket. The bottle contained a yellowish oil.
"Corpse oil?!" Lu Fei's eyes widened, his voice laced with exasperation. "What on earth were you thinking, taking this stuff?"
"I saw how effective it was and thought I'd bring it back to you. Maybe we could sell it for a good price..." Liu Fugui explained sheepishly.
"Oh, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness!" Lu Fei groaned, utterly speechless.
Even Tiger, who was driving, couldn't help but glance back at Liu Fugui. "Old Liu, I have to hand it to you—you never miss a chance to make money, do you?"
"It's all for the good of the Evil Pawnshop! You know we deal with cursed and supernatural items. So, how valuable is this corpse oil, Little Lu?" Liu Fugui asked, a grin stretching across his chubby face.
"What value? It's only useful for making someone hopelessly infatuated. This stuff isn't to be sold lightly; it could cause serious problems," Lu Fei replied, exasperated.
Still, corpse oil was rare. Beyond its use in love potions, it had unique applications in certain occult practices. An unexpected find, for sure.
They reached the antique market's parking lot. When they stepped out of the car, they saw that Liu Fugui's business vehicle looked utterly wrecked. The windshield was cracked, the front caved in, the exterior was dented and scraped all over. The fact that they had made it back in one piece was nothing short of a miracle.
"My car!" Liu Fugui moaned, the fat on his face quivering with distress. This nightmarish ordeal had cost him dearly—physically and financially. He was steeped in regret.
"Stop wailing already! It's just a car. If it's beyond repair, get a new one. At least you're still breathing!" Tiger scoffed at Liu Fugui's miserly attitude.
"You don't understand. A car is a man's second wife. If your wife got hurt, wouldn't you be upset?" Liu Fugui muttered, gently rubbing the scratches on the car with his sleeve.
"Fine, then stay with your car as long as you want. We're heading in," Lu Fei said, shaking his head as he walked out of the parking lot. After expending so much energy dealing with the head creature and enduring a harrowing chase, all he wanted now was rest.
Tiger followed Lu Fei, leaving Liu Fugui behind.
"Wait for me!" Liu Fugui hurriedly locked the car and ran after them, trying to keep pace with his two companions.
"Brother Lu, don't worry. I won't forget that you saved my life. I'm not one to let you work for nothing. It's just that I'm strapped for cash right now, and fixing the car is going to cost a lot. But rest assured, I'm good for it," he said, rubbing his hands in embarrassment. "Still, for now, I'll cover our living expenses. I'm not one to mooch."
Lu Fei hadn't helped him for money, so letting Liu Fugui stay a few more days was fine. Besides, there was always the bottle of corpse oil, an unintended bonus.
Back at the Evil Pawnshop, Lu Fei immediately took a bath and changed into fresh clothes. In the yard, he set up a fire pit and tossed his corpse-stained clothing into the flames. The stench couldn't be washed out, and throwing them in the trash could bring bad luck to whoever found them. Burning them was the safest way to dispose of them.
Tiger and Liu Fugui, seeing this, also burned their clothes.
By the time they finished, it was already late at night. They were all exhausted and didn't say much before heading to bed.
The night passed without incident.
Lu Fei woke up around noon and opened the shop for business. That was the perk of being his own boss: opening whenever he pleased.
Tiger handled cleaning and other chores, while Liu Fugui was in charge of getting meals. Life wasn't half bad.
But Lu Fei didn't just lounge around. After lunch, he went to the storeroom to retrieve the dark, aged wood and prepared it for the night.
That night was the opening of the ghost market.
He intended to bring the dark wood to the market, hoping to trade it for a suitable material to craft his own weapon.
The ghost-head blade and willow whip were useful, but each had its drawbacks. The ghost-head blade was powerful for warding off evil but was too heavy and unwieldy. The willow whip was flexible and excellent for dealing with spirits but fell short against other types of malevolent entities.
Lu Fei hoped to find a tool that was both effective against evil and light enough for nimble use. With the right item, he could imbue it with his power and make it his life-bound tool.
In the occult world, accomplished practitioners often created a life-bound instrument for themselves. With such a tool, one's cultivation would progress more smoothly. But successfully forging such a tool was rare.
Yang, the master employed by Su Mingxuan, was knowledgeable in the occult arts but didn't possess a life-bound tool and wasn't considered top-tier. Even the old necromancer who sent a ghost to attack the Evil Pawnshop didn't have one, which led to his downfall.
Lu Fei's grandfather had possessed a life-bound tool known as the Sima Scale. Normally, a scale used to weigh gold in pawnshops, this particular one was forged with special materials and infused with his grandfather's blood, becoming a formidable tool for combating evil. The scale's weight acted as a seal, and the beam could repel evil, making it highly effective. It was also light and easy to carry.
But once a life-bound tool was created, it became part of its master, inseparable and non-transferable. Their fates were intertwined.
When his grandfather passed, he took the Sima Scale with him. Lu Fei would have to forge his own tool from scratch.
"I'm counting on you to help me find the right material," Lu Fei murmured, securing the aged wood. He then returned to the desk and opened a book on ancient script.
Finding a tool was one thing; finding his grandfather was another. Lu Fei wasn't one to give up easily. Once he set his mind on something, he would see it through to the end.
As for the necromancer, Lu Fei doubted he would actually come. Even if he did, Lu Fei felt confident. This was Guwan Street, not some isolated wilderness.
Tiger and Liu Fugui left Lu Fei to his reading. Liu Fugui arranged for someone to tow his car for repairs, then lounged in the shop, playing on his phone and occasionally bickering with Tiger in low tones.
Amid the quiet, shadows flitted by the entrance. Two men rushed into the shop.
The first was a short, stout man with a large gold chain around his neck, sharp eyes, and thick arms adorned with various bead bracelets—a walking image of nouveau riche. Behind him stood a tall, burly bodyguard with a face full of menace.
"Is the shopkeeper of the Evil Pawnshop here?" The stout man's voice was loud, his gaze darting around the shop, scanning the three men inside.
"I'm the one. What can I do for you?" Lu Fei closed his book and stood up from behind the counter, his expression friendly and professional.
"You? So young!" The man looked Lu Fei up and down, surprised. "I heard the Evil Pawnshop deals with supernatural objects. My construction site dug up something strange. Dare you take it?"