Sinisterium Pawnshop: Exclusive to Malevolent Objects

　　Lu Fei's eyelid was twitching incessantly.

　　Either there was no business, or the first customer would bring something ominous.

　　Was this intentional by heaven?

　　But in front of the customer, he couldn't show any fear. He calmly said, "Miss Xie, my grandfather won't be back for a short while. Whatever you need to do, you can tell me. Whatever my grandfather understands, I understand as well."

　　"You?"

　　Xie Yao's eyes were full of suspicion.

　　The reason is simple, Lu Fei is too young.

　　Can a pawnshop owner identify the quality of items without sufficient knowledge and rich experience? Moreover, what she wants to pawn is an evil object that concerns her life.

　　Lu Fei could understand her feelings, after all, no one would feel at ease entrusting their life to a stranger.

　　You have to show something genuine to convince the other person.

　　So, he said very kindly, "Miss Xie, you must have been feeling tired and weak lately, having frequent nightmares? Moreover, your sense of touch has become numb, making it hard to perceive hot and cold. Even if you drink newly boiled water, it would be difficult for you to feel the heat."

　　Xie Yao was slightly startled and looked at him, saying, "How did you figure that out?"

　　Yesterday, she almost scalded her esophagus. At that time, she was at home, and no outsider had any way of knowing about it.

　　Lu Fei smiled without giving an explanation.

　　Come on, with such a long string of filthy things following her, it would be hard not to notice!

　　Of course, she couldn't see them herself.

　　This was Lu Fei's ability; he was naturally able to see more than others.

　　"Miss Xie, forgive my bluntness, but if this continues, I'm afraid you will be bedridden with a serious illness within three days."

　　"Only three days?! Are you sure?"

　　Xie Yao's eyes widened as she tried her best to control her emotions.

　　"Miss Xie, if you don't believe me, you can leave now. We at Sinisterium Pawnshop never beg people to do business with us!"

　　Lu Fei had already put it quite diplomatically, without directly saying that she would be out of a job in three days.

　　"But given that you have my grandfather's business card, I will say one more thing. Why not show me the item you want to pawn first so I can take a look? If you are not satisfied with the result, you don't have to go through with it."

　　"If you find it acceptable, we can proceed further."

　　Taking a look is trade jargon, which means to appraise.

　　Xie Yao weighed her options for a moment; it seemed there were no better choices. She gritted her teeth and took out a palm-sized black jewelry box from her handbag, placing it on the coffee table.

　　"The item I want to pawn is inside."

　　"Ever since I put this on, my nightmares began."

　　"To be honest, I hope even more than you do that you can figure out what this thing really is. But right now, I'm not putting my faith in you, but in this business card."

　　"Rest assured, Miss Xie, I will certainly do my best."

　　Lu Fei put on the special gloves with great seriousness.

　　After all, this was his first time formally appraising an item, and there was a high possibility that the contents could be extremely ominous. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

　　Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself.

　　He cautiously opened the box, but upon seeing what was inside, he was instantly dumbfounded.

　　What is this???

　　Full of doubt, he looked up at Xie Yao, whose face was as pale as a sheet, and tentatively asked, "Miss Xie, are you sure this object has been affecting you?"

　　"I am absolutely certain! Ever since I put it on, I have had the same nightmare every night!" Xie Yao said with firm certainty, "No, it's not a dream, it's real!"

　　Lu Fei became even more puzzled and asked, "What kind of dream?"

　　Xie Yao seemed very reluctant to recall, her pale fingers clutching her designer handbag tightly.

　　After a pause, she continued, "In the dream, there is a very blurry, human-like black shadow standing by my bed, staring at me. I'm very scared, but I can't move or make a sound."

　　"I don't know how to describe that feeling. Even though I can't see its face, I can feel its gaze full of malice."

　　"If it only appeared once, I wouldn't think much of it."

　　"But it appears at my bedside every night. I am fully conscious, even without opening my eyes, I can see it. This is not something a dream can explain."

　　"I suspect it's not just a simple piece of jewelry, so I threw it in the trash outside."

　　"But by night..."

　　Her long eyelashes were trembling, and uncontrolled fear welled up in Xie Yao's eyes.

　　Lu Fei listened attentively without interrupting.

　　"The figure did not disappear; instead, another one appeared! When I woke up in the morning, that thing I had thrown away was back around my neck."

　　"I tried many methods after that. Whether I threw it into the river, burned it in fire, or smashed it, nothing worked. It only made it angrier."

　　"Each time I threw it away, there would be one more figure in my dreams... until last night, when they were densely packed by my bedside."

　　"They are all watching me!"

　　Xie Yao stared intently at Lu Fei.

　　"Can you imagine what it feels like?"

　　"You don't know what they have done to you or why they are watching you. You can only feel yourself withering rapidly, running out of time."

　　Lu Fei nodded; if what she said was true, it was indeed quite terrifying.

　　Xie Yao took a deep breath and said, "So, Manager Lu, can you tell me what this thing is? Why is it haunting me?"

　　However, Lu Fei pushed the jewelry box back to her.

　　"I'm sorry, Miss Xie, I can't help you."

　　"Why?"

　　"Because you are lying. What's inside is not an evil object at all!"