"Mr. Hua, I've caused you some trouble," Lu Fei said with a smile.
"Not at all, it's a trivial matter, as long as Shopkeeper Lu keeps his promise," the bald man replied with an easy smile, seemingly already confident of victory.
"Of course."
Lu Fei walked around the bald man, pretending to observe his condition, and then suddenly stopped, his face turning serious. "If I'm not mistaken, there are seven infant spirits clinging to Mr. Hua's body."
"Mr. Hua often hears the crying of babies at night because he is being haunted by these infant spirits. Though they are small, they feed on your vitality, and over time, this could be life-threatening."
"Is that so?" The bald man's smile faltered slightly, a hint of surprise and urgency in his eyes. "Does Shopkeeper Lu have a way to get rid of these little things?"
"We at Sinisterium Pawnshop happen to have an exorcism talisman that can ward off baby ghosts." Lu Fei took out a ghost-repelling character and said, "Mr. Hua, when you sleep at night, place this talisman under your pillow, and the baby ghost won't dare to approach."
"As long as your head doesn't leave the pillow and you hold out until dawn, these baby ghosts won't dare to bother you again."
The bald man took the ghost-repelling character and looked at it, his expression half-believing and half-doubting.
"Can this talisman really work?"
"If you don't believe it, give it back to us! Others would be eager to buy it, but they can't. Do you know Su Liguuo from the Su family? He paid nine hundred thousand for three talismans!" Hu Zi said impatiently.
"How could I not trust Manager Lu?" The bald man immediately changed his expression, happily putting away the ghost-repelling character.
"Thank you, Manager Lu. I will place this talisman under my pillow tonight. If it can help me get rid of these nasty things, I will be eternally grateful."
"As long as Mr. Hua follows my instructions, it will surely keep you safe! It's getting late; we should go back now." Lu Fei smiled faintly and pulled Hu Zi to leave Moonview Manor.
On the way back, Hu Zi asked angrily, "Boss, why help this kind of person? Can't we just fool him with something random? I feel like this guy isn't trustworthy!"
Even though the child wasn't at Moonview Manor, Hu Zi still didn't like this smiling tiger.
"Of course, he's not an honest person. Dealing with someone like him requires patience; we must find evidence," Lu Fei said calmly.
"Boss, what do you mean? What evidence?" Hu Zi was a bit confused.
"The evidence of them abducting the child, of course!"
"What? The child is really with them? How did you figure that out, boss... Then why didn't you tell Mr. Yu?" Hu Zi was so anxious he could hardly speak clearly.
"I wasn't completely sure, so I couldn't confront the bald man openly!"
Lu Fei didn't say more and walked quickly.
Watching their figures walk away, the bald man's lips curled into a contemptuous sneer.
"Honey, they didn't find anything, did they?"
A young woman with a birthmark on her face came over from the side, asking worriedly.
"We have done everything flawlessly; what could they possibly find?"
The bald man took out the ghost-exorcising talisman, looking smug.
"However, it can see the baby spirit on me, so it's not entirely a fake. I'll test this charm tonight."
"That's good." The young woman sighed with relief, "I hope this charm works, so I won't have to worry about you all the time. Maybe, once the baby spirit is gone, we should quit. The money we've earned now is enough for us to live comfortably back home for the rest of our lives..."
"What is a little money?" The bald man glared at her, then quickly softened his tone, holding her shoulders gently, "Honey, I promised to give you the best life, and what we have now is far from enough."
"I'm thinking about our future. Don't you want a child? Once my body recovers, we can have a child. We need money to raise a child properly."
"Okay, it's getting late. Go prepare the eels for tonight."
The young woman looked at him, then turned and walked into the bungalow.
Antique Street.
As soon as Lu Feiyi returned to the pawnshop, he began to make preparations.
He first had Hu Zi buy some aged mugwort and boiled a large pot of mugwort water, filling it into water bottles.
Then, he packed some mineral water in the backpack.
Finally, he took the thunder-struck jujube wood stick and spirit dispelling ghost head knife as well as other ritual implements.
"Boss, aren't we looking for evidence? Why are we carrying so much water?" Hu Zi, with his heavy backpack, asked in confusion.
"Whether we can find the evidence or not depends on this water."
Lu Fei narrowed his eyes, glancing at the sky that was about to darken.
Nightfall.
The business at Moon Gazing Mountain Villa was still booming.
Vehicles came and went, continuing until late into the night, when the diners gradually left.
The lights of the villa dimmed, and it became quiet.
After waiting for a long time, Lu Fei and Hu Zi, with their heavy backpacks, cautiously approached the villa.
"Tiger, can you climb walls?"
"Pretty good."
Lu Fei and Tiger came to a wall in the dark. Lu Fei had already noticed during the day that this area was a blind spot for surveillance.
They looked around and carefully climbed over the wall.
With their feet on the ground, the two first observed their surroundings.
The small building and the bungalow were pitch black; the bald man should have gone to sleep.
The ghost-charming character Lu Fei gave was genuinely effective, preventing the infant spirits from getting close to the bald man, ensuring he could have a good night's sleep tonight.
"Let's go."
Quietly, under the cover of night, they came to the bungalow. Tiger picked the lock with a small iron wire, and the two immediately slipped inside.
The air was filled with the thick smell of moisture and fish, and occasionally, there was a slight sound of water from the pool.
The two of them followed along the wall, directly feeling their way to the storeroom where the baby lambs were kept.
The storeroom had no windows, so Lu Fei turned on his flashlight directly.
The dim light illuminated the scene, revealing the little lambs huddled quietly in their cages, lifeless and still.
"Hu Zi, pour the aged mugwort water over them."
Lu Fei put down his backpack and took out a bottle containing the aged mugwort water from inside it.
"Boss, aren't we here to find evidence? What are we doing?" Hu Zi didn't understand, but he followed the instructions nonetheless.
"You'll know soon enough."
The two of them poured all the aged mugwort water over the baby lambs in the cage.
Then, Lu Fei made a hushing gesture to Hu Zi, and they both watched the lambs in the cage with tension.
One second.
Two seconds.
Under the faint light of the flashlight, the originally dazed and listless lambs slowly began to move, as if waking up from some kind of state.
They frantically retreated to the back of the cage, their frail bodies trembling, looking at the two strangers with deep fear in their eyes.
Although their mouths were open, they could not make a sound.
"As expected..."
Lu Fei's heart tightened as his guess was confirmed.
"Boss, what's wrong with these lambs? Their eyes look like human eyes," Hu Zi shivered.
"They are human," Lu Fei said in a heavy voice.
"What, human?!" Hu Zi gasped, his face full of disbelief.
"This is a very ancient evil spell called 'Zaochu,' which can turn humans into livestock! It was used in ancient times to kidnap people!" Lu Fei quickly picked up the bottled water from his backpack and walked toward the frightened lambs.
"There's no time to explain now, save them first! Give them water, and they'll return to their human forms! Hurry up!"
"Got it!"
Huzi, enduring the numbness in his scalp, opened the cage and approached a trembling little sheep.
Lu Fei had already unscrewed the cap of the bottle.
But at that moment.
Splash!
A loud splash came from the direction of the pool.
Then.
Rustling sounds echoed in the darkness, as if something was crawling out of the water.