The room was very dim, and the air was filled with a faint smell of incense ash.
The flickering candlelight cast half of the face of Granny Dong into light and the other half into shadow.
She closed her eyes, and a voice not her own came out of her mouth.
"Dad, Mom, are you doing well?"
"Zhihao! Zhihao!"
The elderly couple excitedly called out their son's name, leaning forward to see more clearly.
But Granny Dong had instructed beforehand that the living and the dead are separated, and they must not cross the altar in the middle, or it would disturb the spirits, preventing them from resting in peace.
"Zhihao! We are so sorry for not taking good care of you! You were so young, and we let this happen to you..."
The elderly couple, filled with guilt, spoke through sobs.
"Dad, Mom, how can you blame yourselves? The King of Hell said my time on Earth was up, it was my fate. I was very happy to be your son in this life."
"I won't be able to accompany you in the days to come, so take good care of yourselves, or I won't be at peace down there..."
The young voice gradually faded, and the body of Aunt Dong shook once again.
"Zhihao! Zhihao..."
The elderly couple shouted with great reluctance.
Aunt Dong slowly opened her eyes, breathing slightly as if she were very tired.
The divination was over.
"Zhihao..." The elderly couple, supporting each other, sobbed uncontrollably.
Lu Fei carefully observed the entire process of the divination and was one hundred percent certain that no spirits had appeared at all.
However, he said nothing.
After everything was over, the elderly couple felt much more relieved and decided to cancel the ice coffin and have their son buried for his final rest.
After leaving their home, Aunt Dong made a fist salute to Lu Fei in gratitude.
"Landlord Lu, I know you have keen eyes and could tell that I was just acting! Thanks for not exposing me!"
"In our line of work, how can we always summon real ghosts? More often, it's a matter of playing god and ghost to reassure the living."
"But I did see that Zhihao's grudge has dissipated, and his soul has returned to the underworld. Thanks to you, the evil thing that killed him has been dealt with. Otherwise, neither the dead nor the living in this family would have found peace."
"Sinisterium Pawnshop, for righteousness!"
Saying this, Aunt Dong solemnly bowed to Lu Fei.
"Aunt Dong, you give me too much credit! Sinisterium Pawnshop is in the business of dealing with evil things." Lu Fei hurriedly supported her, smiling, "If there are more evil things in the future, feel free to come to me."
"I will definitely keep an eye out." After saying this, Aunt Dong suddenly showed a warm smile and took out her phone.
"Landlord Lu may be young, but he is of good character and capable. It's time for him to settle down and start a family."
"I have many beautiful girls from reputable families. Take a look, if you like any of them, I'll introduce you to her..."
Without waiting for his consent, she pulled Lu Fei to look at the photos.
"Well, Aunt Dong, I've got a pot boiling at home, so I'll be off now."
Lu Fei left in a hurry, almost as if he was fleeing.
He returned to Sinisterium Pawnshop.
He took out the ledger and made a record.
Carnal Lingzhi, malevolent object +1, the total number of malevolent objects collected so far is 18.
Then, he called Hu Zǐ over.
"Hu Zǐ, we agreed last time that you would get some time off. There's nothing major happening these few days, except for attending the welcoming ceremony of the Lingyin Association tomorrow, which is just for socializing. Would you like to go back to your hometown for a bit?"
"In that case, I will go back!" Hu Zǐ was overjoyed.
It had been several years since he came out, and he had long been homesick, especially after drinking the corn wine at Zhao Fengchun's place last time.
"Is a week enough?"
"Enough, enough! I can get home in a day by car."
Lu Fei picked up his phone and transferred some money to Hu Zi.
"Boss, what is this for?"
Hu Zi stared blankly at the transaction notification, feeling a bit dizzy.
"It was time to give out the salary anyway. How could you go back to your hometown empty-handed?"
"But isn't this too much money?"
"You deserve it all. We agreed that you would get a bonus for every evil object sold. Remember to buy more things for your uncle and aunt, and don't embarrass Sinisterium Pawnshop," Lu Fei said without even looking up.
"Boss..." Hu Zi's eyes welled with tears.
"Stop! Hurry up and pack your things. I'm getting tired of seeing your face every day! This will give me a few days of peace," Lu Fei waved dismissively.
"Yes!"
Tiger rubbed his head and skipped off to pack his things.
He could hold back when Lu Fei didn't mention it, but as soon as the holiday started, his heart was no longer able to contain his longing to return home.
However, before he left, he meticulously cleaned Sinisterium Pawnshop from top to bottom before loading his bags and boarding the bus back home.
"Boss, while I'm away, you have to take good care of yourself. Call me if you need anything, and I'll come right back!"
"Don't worry about me! Before you came to Sinisterium Pawnshop, I was doing just fine, wasn't I?"
After sending Tiger off, Lu Fei's only worry was that there would be no one to clean up after the little black dog.
The little guy may not be big, but his droppings are so foul they could rival biochemical weapons.
"Black, let's talk. Since your Brother Tiger is away, how about you eat a bit lighter?" Lu Fei crouched down to negotiate with the little black dog.
"Woof!"
"Oh, when you bark, it means you agree!"
"Woof woof!"
"Bark twice to show your agreement."
"Woof woof woof!"
"Barking three times means no problem!"
"..."
The little black dog was dejected, looking at the food bowl full of vegetables, and finally remembered a bit of good about Hu Zi.
Nighttime.
Lu Fei sat cross-legged on the bed, feeling the power in his dantian.
Intervening in this matter had once again earned him merit, and his magical power had consequently increased.
After circulating his magical power for three cycles, Lu Fei felt refreshed all over. His magical power, which was originally like two cups of water, had now grown to three, becoming even more abundant.
Excitedly, he wiped the sweat from his brow and picked up the thunderstruck jujube wood staff, sensing it carefully.
As the magic power increases, the life-bound magical instrument will also become correspondingly more powerful.
Infusing it with magic power, the might of thunder and lightning erupts.
Electric light flickers on the jujube wood staff.
Lu Fei tried waving his hand, and to his surprise, the electric light seemed to have a tendency to fly out.
He was both shocked and delighted at this moment.
"If the power of thunder and lightning can fly out, wouldn't that achieve a long-range attack?"
The inability of the jujube wood staff to perform long-range attacks had always made Lu Fei feel somewhat passive. If he could remedy this small defect, the staff would be invincible.
Extremely excited, he hurriedly walked out of the room and tried swinging the jujube wood staff in the courtyard.
However, after many attempts, the electric light disappeared as soon as it left the jujube wood staff.
"It seems I still need a bit more power! I need to find another magical object, no, not just one, the more, the better!" Lu Fei's eyes lit up with anticipation.
Last time, after the thunderstruck wood absorbed the power of the Fish Startle Stone, the heavenly thunder's power opened two doors. It elevated from a slight electric current to being able to unleash the might of lightning.
The innate magic weapon complements the cultivator.
This time, his magical power has been enhanced, giving him the qualification to open the third door, and the magical object is like the key to opening the door.
"This staff doesn't absorb just any evil object. Last time it was the Fish Startle Stone, so it seems I should pay more attention to things on monsters..."
Lu Fei held the jujube wood staff, so excited that he couldn't sleep well all night.
As long as he collects more evil objects and accumulates more merit, enhancing his abilities, he can get anything like the Rain Summoning Stone or the Red and White Plagues...
The next day, he overslept successfully.
If not for Jing Jian's call to urge him, he would have been late for the welcoming ceremony.