"What's there to talk about with you people?"
Mr. Lai, who closely resembled a reincarnated toad spirit, hung his head dejectedly for a while before raising it to glance at Lu Fei and snort coldly.
"I'm just fat!"
"That slimming treasure of yours is completely useless. You are all frauds! A black shop..."
Hearing this, Liu Fugui quickly waved his hands at him, "You can't just say anything like that! You can't just say anything like that! Mr. Lai, do you know what happened to the last two people who slandered Sinisterium Pawnshop..."
"I don't care what happened to them! My belly hasn't gone down one bit. You said yourselves, if it doesn't work, you'll refund the money!"
Mr. Lai vented his emotions by shouting loudly. He tried to stand up, but his body was too fat and got stuck in the chair; he failed several times to get up.
Hu Zi, who had originally wanted to step forward and teach him a lesson, almost burst out laughing at his comical appearance.
"Mr. Lai, we need to be reasonable!" Liu Fugui was also unhappy. This man was clearly being unreasonable, but he still maintained a patient expression on his face.
"We all just saw your belly shrink, but it swelled up again in no time! It's your belly that has a problem, not our Slimming Treasure that's ineffective!"
A refund is out of the question.
Asking him for a refund is like asking him to cut off a piece of his own flesh.
No matter how fat a normal person is, how could their stomach possibly make croaking sounds like a frog?
He couldn't let anyone tarnish the reputation of the Slimming Treasure, especially not in front of Lu Fei. His mind raced, wondering if this man was possessed by some evil spirit.
Otherwise, Lu Fei wouldn't have said what he did earlier.
"Mr. Lai, are you suffering from some kind of evil sickness or have you encountered something supernatural? If you really have a problem, tell us, and we'll help you find a solution!" He spoke earnestly, even forcing a sincere expression.
Lu Fei watched from the side, trying not to laugh.
He thought to himself, as expected of a cunning merchant, really good at putting on an act.
"What solutions can you offer? You hyped up this so-called Slimming Treasure, but it's still useless!" Mr. Lai shouted angrily.
"Mr. Lai, you don't know who this boss is yet!" Liu Fugui smiled slightly and extended his hands toward Lu Fei.
"This is the famous Sinisterium Pawnshop's shopkeeper! Do you know about Sinisterium Pawnshop? They collect evil objects and rid of evil affairs. He is truly renowned!"
"Sinisterium Pawnshop...collecting evil objects?" Mr. Lai was taken aback, and he looked at Lu Fei with half-belief. He asked tentatively, "What kind of evil objects do you collect?"
"Any evil object, we collect it all," Lu Fei replied with a faint smile, "Does Mr. Lai have an evil object?"
Although this fat man had a bad temper, he didn't need to argue with someone who was about to die.
He observed for a while and was certain that there was something strange in the fat man's belly.
Mr. Lai thought for a moment, and an uncertain expression appeared on his broad face, "I'm not sure if what I have counts as one."
"Why don't you tell me about it?" Lu Fei gestured, inviting him to speak.
Hu Zi immediately brought a chair for Lu Fei to sit and listen at ease.
Liu Fugui perked up his ears curiously.
Mr. Lai hesitated for a while before speaking: "It's a jar of wine, made with 81 live creatures..."
"Live toads?" Lu Fei said.
Mr. Lai was taken aback: "How did you know?"
Lu Fei rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking, with your appearance, who couldn't guess!
However, like Liu Fugui, he didn't show it. Instead, he said, "Everything in the world has a spirit! If you kill them in a normal way, it's no big deal, but if you use alcohol to slowly drown live creatures, it's equivalent to torture. They will harbor resentment and naturally seek revenge on you."
Mr. Lai's face changed drastically, and he wailed, "I didn't do it on purpose! I heard that wine made with live toads, known as Golden Toad Wine, can... can strengthen the body! I used to be in poor health, and my wife despised me... I spent a lot of money buying those live toads, and after drinking it just three times, my stomach..."
"You should be thankful you only drank it three times! Otherwise, you wouldn't even have the chance to stand here," Lu Fei shook his head.
Mr. Lai's face grew even more grim: "Manager Lu, is there any hope for my situation?"
Lu Fei could see the problem at a glance. Mr. Lai no longer had any doubts and looked at Lu Fei with a pleading expression, his tone much more respectful.
"What kind of hope are you asking about, losing weight or staying alive?" Lu Fei smiled faintly, looking at him indifferently.
He was taken aback, finally coming to his senses, and hastily said, "Survive! Survive! The Slimming Treasure is fine, I won't lose weight anymore, as long as I can live! Boss Lu, can I live?"
"I haven't seen your jar of wine, so I can't say for sure." Lu Fei shrugged.
"Then I'll go back and get it right away!"
He spoke anxiously, getting up, but his bottom got stuck in the chair and he couldn't stand up for a while.
Liu Fugui and Huzi held back their laughter, one helping him up and the other pulling out the chair, finally rescuing him.
"Boss Lu, Mr. Liu, please wait for me for two days. My home is not in Jiangcheng, and it will take two days to go back and get the wine."
After saying that, he left twenty thousand yuan and hurriedly left with his heavy body.
Liu Fugui and Huzi exchanged a glance, and then burst into laughter.
"At this walking speed, maybe he would be faster if he hopped on the ground!"
"If he had told the truth earlier, it would have been better! He's lucky to have met us at Sinisterium Pawnshop, otherwise, who could have saved him?"
"But speaking of which, Brother Lu, what's really going on in his stomach? Could there really be a toad inside?"
The two exchanged a few words and looked at Lu Fei curiously.
"You're asking me?" Lu Fei shrugged, "I don't have X-ray vision, how would I know? All I can confirm is that he's under a curse. If we leave it untreated, he won't last long."
Animals seeking revenge is an ancient practice, and the methods are varied and bizarre.
Without understanding the specific situation, Lu Fei couldn't make a definitive judgment.
"Anyway, he's our guest. If we can save him, we should," Liu Fugui added.
Hu Zi gave him a glare: "Old Liu, do you need to tell my boss how to do his job?"
"Can't I even say a word? What kind of tone are you using with me? I'm at least Brother Lu's strategic partner!"
The two started bickering like they always did.
Fortunately, more customers arrived for their scheduled slimming appointments, keeping Liu Fugui busy and away from another argument with Hu Zi.
Huzi watched curiously from the side, repeatedly marveling at how even these disgusting leeches could be useful.
It's still our boss!
After Liu Fugui finished this busy period, Lu Fei settled a payment with him and then went to find Jing Jian.
The meeting place was arranged at Master Mo's shop.
"Brother Jing, Master Mo."
Lu Fei led Huzi in and immediately saw Jing Jian chatting with Master Mo.
Jing Jian was wearing a clean white robe, and his Seven Star magic sword was carefully wrapped in silk and placed in his backpack.
Master Mo was very friendly towards him this time, even serving him tea.
"It's Shopkeeper Xiao Lu who has arrived."
Master Mo smiled and nodded at Lu Fei, his eyes slightly squinted.
"It's been a while, Manager Xiao Lu, your demeanor has become even more composed! Please, have a seat!"
"Master Mo, you flatter me."
Lu Fei sat down beside Jing Sword.
Huzi stood by the boss on his own initiative and nodded at Jing Sword.
"Huzi, you're back too." Jing Sword showed a warm smile, "You don't know how much you missed last time, we got some great stuff from Bulong Mountain..."
Huzi's face fell instantly.