Sinisterium Pawnshop: Exclusive to Malevolent Objects

　　Alarm bells rang in Lu Fei's head as he dodged away from the hand, only to see a familiar face.

　　"Huzi?!"

　　Lu Fei was filled with shock.

　　The tall, burly man standing before him could be none other than Huzi.

　　Though Huzi wasn't as thin as before, it had been just a few days and he looked haggard, as if he had endured yet another hardship.

　　"Huzi, are you okay?" Lu Fei asked with concern.

　　He had only just resolved the Hungry Ghost curse when trouble struck Duobao Xuan. The shop owner and his family were all gone, and there was no way for him to stay and work there. He had no idea where he would go to make a living now.

　　"Ah! Why am I so unlucky!"

　　Huzi, with bloodshot eyes, stared at Duobao Pavilion, his eyes filled with deep fear.

　　He would never forget the terrifying scene he saw that day.

　　"Huzi, my condolences." Lu Fei patted Huzi's shoulder and glanced back at the alley behind them.

　　The alley was empty, not a single person in sight.

　　But just now, he clearly felt that someone was watching him from that spot.

　　This wasn't the first time he had felt this way. Could it be that someone was following him?

　　Who could it be, without any reason?

　　"Brother Lu Fei, can you do me a favor?"

　　Huzi's plea for help brought Lu Fei back to his senses.

　　"Go ahead."

　　"I still have some clothes and luggage in Duobao Hall, but I don't dare to go and get them alone. Could you accompany me inside?"

　　"No problem, but..." Lu Fei thought of the conversation he overheard from the passersby earlier. It was about to get dark, and if there really were ghosts in Duobao Hall, it wouldn't be safe to go in now.

　　So, he changed his words: "You haven't eaten yet, right? Let's have a meal first, get a good night's rest, and we can go pick up your things tomorrow. It's not too late."

　　"I've always stayed in a small room behind Duobao Hall. If I don't go back, I won't have a place to stay..."

　　"It's okay, you can stay at my place. Come on, let's go eat first."

　　Lu Fei took Hu Zi to a nearby noodle shop.

　　They each had a bowl of noodles and ordered some braised meat and side dishes to go with it.

　　Hu Zi seemed to be really hungry. He didn't bother being polite with Lu Fei and started eating ravenously.

　　"Take it easy, Hu Zi. If you need more, just let us know."

　　If not for Lu Fei personally removing the Hungry Ghost Curse, he would have thought he was still possessed by a starving ghost.

　　After finishing a bowl of noodles, Hu Zi even drank all the soup, and his face finally regained a bit of color.

　　He sighed, "It feels so good to have a full meal! These past two days, I've been at the police station cooperating with the investigation, being questioned over and over again. I couldn't eat or sleep well."

　　Lu Fei ordered another bowl of noodles for him and said, "You're not the murderer, why are they still interrogating you?"

　　"Mainly to cooperate with the investigation. It's just my bad luck. After the Hungry Ghost Curse was lifted, I was so happy I went to an internet cafe and spent the whole night there. The next day, Duobao Xuan didn't open on time. I called the boss, but he didn't answer, so I climbed over the wall to get in..." Hu Zi's rugged face was filled with bitterness.

　　"The moment I stepped in, I smelled something off. It was like the stench of fresh blood from a pig slaughter in the countryside."

　　"As I walked further in, I saw the boss sitting in the middle of the room, covered in blood."

　　At this point, Hu Zi shivered.

　　"Next to him were the heads of the boss's wife and Qiang Qiang. Even the family pet, the lion dog, had its head displayed there, arranged in a neat row."

　　"I was terrified and ran out. My fingerprints and footprints were all over Duobao Xuan, and I had blood on me, so the police also had to investigate me."

　　"But I was at the internet cafe all night, and there are surveillance cameras, so the police didn't suspect me; they just asked me to stay and cooperate with the investigation. It's mainly this thing with my boss, it's too bizarre."

　　"The police who were handling the case said they had never seen such a horrifying case!"

　　"My boss doesn't admit that he was the one who did the cutting!"

　　Lu Fei exclaimed, "Could it be that he is not the murderer?"

　　"It was him! The police have done tests, and the blood on the knife is from the boss's wife and Qiangqiang, and the dog. There were only his fingerprints on the knife. Plus, there was some other evidence from the scene analysis... In short, it was him. The police won't wrongfully accuse him."

　　"With such overwhelming evidence, why does he still not admit it?" Lu Fei was puzzled, too distracted to even eat his food.

　　"Who knows? Maybe he doesn't want to die. But though he might be a bit shady in business, he was always good to his wife. He was a total henpecked husband, scared of her all the time, and now..."

　　Huzi shook his head, a look of confusion on his face.

　　Lu Fei speculated, "Maybe being controlled by his wife for so long, he was already very discontented, and it just suddenly exploded. But even so, how could he kill his own son?"

　　Even the family dog wasn't spared.

　　"Could it be, the boss's wife had an affair, and the child is not his?"

　　Huzi still shook his head: "The police have already analyzed all that you've mentioned. Tests have been done, and Qiangqiang is indeed the boss's biological son. He is also mentally sound, but he insists he did not commit the murder."

　　Lu Fei widened his eyes: "Then who did he say committed the murder?"

　　"He said..." Huzi swallowed hard, his face turning pale, "He said, the boss's wife and Qiangqiang cut off their own heads."

　　Lu Fei was stunned for a full two seconds, then said, "How could that be possible? Setting aside the fact that Qiangqiang is just a six or seven-year-old child, even an adult can't cut off their own head, right? And what about the dog?"

　　"Yeah, but he insists they did it themselves, including the dog. Who would believe that? The police brought in micro-expression experts and used a polygraph. Can you guess the results?"

　　"What were they?"

　　"The analysis showed that he was not lying!"

　　Lu Fei felt a chill down his spine: "But all the evidence points to him being the one who did it."

　　"I know, the police say it might be because he has extremely strong mental fortitude! I asked, and they said he'll most likely get the death sentence."

　　An eye for an eye is the natural law, especially when the ones killed are his wife and children. However, since the culprit was his own boss, Hu Zi could not help but feel a mix of emotions.

　　But if one were in their right mind, who would use such an outlandish excuse to justify themselves?

　　Lu Fei was silent for a moment, then asked, "Hu Zi, didn't your boss receive an antique recently?"

　　"He has received quite a few antiques. Which one are you referring to?"

　　"The one wrapped in black cloth that he wouldn't let anyone see."

　　Hu Zi thought for a moment and said, "There might be such an item. I don't know what it is; he was very secretive about it and wouldn't let me see it either."

　　"Is that object still at Duobao Xuan?"

　　"I'm not sure. During those two days, I encountered a hungry ghost and took leave from him. I don't know if he sold it or not."

　　Hu Zi seemed to realize something and looked up at Lu Fei, tense, "Brother Lu Fei, why are you asking about this? Is there something wrong with that object?"

　　"I heard that he might have received something unclean."

　　Tiger's eyes widened to the extreme: "You mean, it really wasn't him who did it, but some dirty thing?"

　　"That's not what I meant; I just heard it from somewhere. I trust the police's investigative abilities," Lu Fei waved his hand.

　　How can unfounded rumors on the street compare to the evidence in the hands of the police?

　　But Tiger took it to heart. He lowered his head, chewing his food without tasting it, as if he had made a decision, and then raised his head again.

　　"Brother Lu Fei, I have one more thing to ask of you!"

　　Lu Fei was taken aback, guessing what he was about to say.