Sinisterium Pawnshop: Exclusive to Malevolent Objects

　　"Lead the way!"

　　Lu Fei gave Old Man Zhao a push.

　　Old Man Zhao stumbled, leading the two to run behind the small building, and kicked a board in the corner with his foot.

　　The board lifted, and Lu Fei moved it aside, revealing a one-meter-high small hole in the wall.

　　Outside the hole, waist-high wild grass grew densely.

　　"This is the tunnel those people dug to escape."

　　Old Man Zhao wriggled into the hole like a worm, clearly showing that he was especially desperate to escape.

　　Lu Fei and Hu Zi followed closely behind.

　　The village chief and the elders had already chased in.

　　"Stop! Stop..."

　　The villager's voice roared from behind, and Lu Fei and Hu Zi followed Old Man Zhao, who was crawling and rolling, running a long distance until the lights of Huangjiao Village were out of sight, only then did they stop to catch their breath.

　　The mountain wind blew by, and faintly, some unwilling howls could be heard coming from the direction of the village, like those of wild beasts, making one's heart race with fear.

　　Cold sweat soaked through his clothes, and Lu Fei's back felt icy cold.

　　Hu Zi, supporting himself against a tree trunk, let out a frightened curse, "Damn flesh-eating village, I think calling it a man-eating village would be more fitting..."

　　"Hu Zi!" Lu Fei suddenly called out in a different tone, pulling his arm and warily moving away from Old Man Zhao.

　　"What's wrong?" Hu Zi's heart sank as he looked at Old Man Zhao.

　　Old Man Zhao stood hunched among the weeds, in the dim light of the flashlight, his cheeks were deeply sunken, but his belly had swollen up like a balloon.

　　The hungry ghost curse has taken effect!

　　Old Man Zhao's wrinkled mouth opened, and saliva dripped down from the corners of his mouth. His greedy eyes stared fixedly at the two of them.

　　Immediately after, it let out a chilling howl, opened its mouth full of sharp teeth, and pounced towards the two people.

　　The two dodged to the side.

　　Old Man Zhao's hands were tied behind his back.

　　Lu Fei stepped forward and pressed his foot on the old man's back, firmly pinning him down so he couldn't get up.

　　"Huzi, come help!"

　　Lu Fei took out the rope that had previously bound Old Man Zhao, and together with Huzi, they quickly and clumsily tied the emaciated old man up again, making sure he was securely bound.

　　Old Man Zhao struggled like a dying fish, emitting incoherent, strange cries from his throat.

　　Lu Fei sprinkled some incense ashes into his mouth and used three black rooster feathers to pierce his glabella and the temples on both sides, drawing out a lot of black blood. Only then did he gradually calm down.

　　"Brother Lu Fei, I won't have an episode tonight, will I?"

　　Huzi looked at Old Man Zhao, who was neither human nor ghost, and realized what a terrifying sight he must have been when he was possessed by the hungry ghost. Before, he had felt mostly the torment of pain, but now he felt more fear.

　　He dared not imagine what the consequences would be if he really ended up biting someone without finding Lu Fei...

　　"It shouldn't, the effect of the talisman water can last for three days." Lu Fei also did not dare to give a hundred percent guarantee.

　　"How about you tie me up too? I'd rather die than eat people..." Just thinking about this, Hu Zi felt an uncontrollable wave of nausea.

　　"You being able to think like that means you are very clear-headed, nothing will happen." Lu Fei comforted, "If you are really scared, hold onto the rooster feather. It wards off evil and can suppress malevolent entities."

　　"Okay!"

　　Hu Zi hurriedly clasped the rooster feather in his hand. Whether it was a psychological effect or not, he really did feel much better.

　　After waiting for a while, seeing that he was still very clear-headed, Hu Zi finally relaxed.

　　"Brother Lu Fei, what should we do with this old turtle?"

　　"Once the hungry ghost miasma is dispelled, he will also return to normal," Lu Fei said. "But we cannot dispel it at night, otherwise, the evil spirits will fight us to the death. We have to wait until after dawn."

　　"Isn't that letting him off too easily?" Hu Zi was very unwilling.

　　"You decide what to do; I'm only here to collect the evil objects," Lu Fei said as he found a relatively dry spot to sit down and rest.

　　He took this risky trip not for the sake of revenge for anyone. The Sinisterium Pawnshop only deals with the troubles brought by evil objects, nothing else.

　　Tiger stopped talking but occasionally glanced at the unconscious Old Man Zhao.

　　The night finally passed.

　　When the sunlight beamed into the forest, Lu Fei pulled out the hungry ghost coin, the grave soil he had collected, and a bottle of cooking oil he had prepared in advance.

　　First, he buried the ghost coin in the grave soil, then sprinkled it with cooking oil, waiting for the soil to be fully soaked. Next, he placed it under the sun to bake.

　　Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

　　The soil started boiling, making the sound like stir-frying in a wok, emitting clouds of black smoke.

　　After the black smoke dissipated, Lu Fei dug out the copper coin, wiped it clean with a tissue, and examined it in the sunlight, breaking into a broad smile.

　　"It worked!"

　　"Is it resolved just like that?" A look of realization crossed Hu Zi's face. The Hungry Ghost Aura, which had tormented him to the point of wishing for death, was actually so easily dispelled by Lu Fei?

　　"I can now guarantee one hundred percent that you're fine!" Lu Fei patted his shoulder.

　　Hu Zi hurriedly licked the roof of his mouth with his tongue and found that the extra sharp teeth were all gone. Basking in the sunlight, he felt an overwhelming excitement as if he was being reborn.

　　"Brother Lu Fei, you are truly amazing!" He admired Lu Fei to the utmost.

　　Then, he looked at the old man Zhao on the ground, his eyes turning cold.

　　"Is he the same then?"

　　"That's right."

　　"What about the people of Huangjiao Village?"

　　"Same."

　　Hu Zi took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on the old man Zhao, saying solemnly, "Brother Lu Fei, I can't bring myself to kill, but I can't just let this go either. Please wait a moment."

　　"Okay." Lu Fei nodded, although he was curious, he didn't ask Hu Zi what he was going to do.

　　Hu Zi picked up Old Man Zhao's feet and dragged him, bumping along, towards the direction of Huangjiao Village on the mountainside, his tall figure gradually disappearing among the trees.

　　That old man is a bad one, and Lu Fei had no sympathy for him.

　　Lu Fei sat under a big tree, examining the hungry ghost coin with a complex expression.

　　Behind such a small copper coin, there were so many lives and sins hidden.

　　"I wonder who this so-called master is."

　　He recalled Old Man Zhao's words, and he felt that the master's actions were using the people of Huangjiao Village to nurture the hungry ghost coin.

　　The idea of sacrificing living people came from the master, and it was also the master who instructed placing the suppression money.

　　What did he intend to do with the hungry ghost coin?

　　"Oh well, it's none of my business. Anyway, the money is mine now."

　　Lu Fei couldn't figure it out, so he shook his head and put the confusion behind him, looking happily at the copper coin.

　　The malevolent energy was neutralized, and the hungry ghost money could no longer harm people, but it still had its unique value.

　　Two hours later.

　　Huzi returned from the mountain.

　　He was physically exhausted, but there was a sense of satisfaction, as if vengeance had been achieved, in his expression.

　　Lu Fei did not ask what he had done.

　　The two found the van and rushed back to Jiang City with their hearts set on returning home.

　　In the pawnshop.

　　'Huzi, how do you want to pawn this hungry ghost money? How much should we pawn it for?' Lu Fei took out the pawn ticket and a pen.

　　'How could I possibly take your money?' Huzi waved his hand.

　　"This is the rule, dead pawn or live pawn, how much is the price?" Lu Fei said earnestly.

　　Huzi scratched his head, thought for a while, and then smiled, "I heard that Sinisterium Pawnshop can turn evil objects into treasures. How much could this thing sell for outside?"