Sinisterium Pawnshop: Exclusive to Malevolent Objects

　　There were only three people in the villa.

　　Apart from Lu Fei and Xie Yao, who else could have locked the door from the outside?

　　The answer was clear enough.

　　Rattle rattle!

　　At this moment, the human bone beads had already rolled up the stairs, like a series of malevolent eyes, swiftly approaching the two of them.

　　"We have to get out of here quickly!"

　　Lu Fei didn't have time to think about it; he set down Xie Yao, took a deep breath, and used all his strength to ram the door.

　　The door, made of solid wood, was extremely heavy. Even with Lu Fei's full force, it only trembled slightly.

　　"If we can't get out, then we'll just have to take a gamble!"

　　Watching the human bone bead approach, only a few steps away from them, Lu Fei, ignoring the intense pain in his shoulder, bit into his middle finger and forced out two drops of blood, dripping them into the incense ash.

　　Lu Fei sprinkled the incense ash, which was mixed with his blood, around to form a circle, enclosing himself and Xie Yao within it.

　　As soon as the circle was complete, the human bone bead rushed up but was held back, outside the circle.

　　The human bone bead jumped frantically, glaring at the two with malice, but dared not cross the boundary of the incense ash circle.

　　It works!

　　Lu Fei breathed a slight sigh of relief.

　　Living people carry three fires, commonly known as yang fire.

　　The two drops of blood from the middle finger represent two yang fires.

　　By sprinkling the incense ash, mixed with his blood, around, he could create a protective circle burning with yang fire.

　　"It's impossible to subdue this thing tonight; we can only do our best to hold on until dawn!"

　　Night is Yin, and day is Yang.

　　Evil beings can usually only wreak havoc at night. Once the sun rises, those vengeful spirits will return to the beads.

　　The human bone bead glared menacingly, and Lu Fei gritted his teeth with all his might, trying to hold on.

　　He spent a night in constant fear, feeling that time had never dragged on so slowly.

　　Just when he could hardly endure any longer, dawn finally broke.

　　The human bone bead fell to the ground with a clink, transforming into a necklace that lay still.

　　Lu Fei's tense body finally relaxed.

　　The human bone necklace was no longer a threat for now.

　　Catching his breath, Lu Fei forced himself to wipe away the incense ash on the floor, then carried Xie Yao down to the gym and hid her there.

　　A long time passed.

　　There was a click, and the lock turned.

　　The basement door was pushed open, and a plump face of a middle-aged woman poked in. After looking around, she stepped down the stairs.

　　It was the nanny, Aunt Wu.

　　"Huh, where are they?"

　　When she reached the gym and couldn't find the two people, Aunt Wu couldn't help but look puzzled.

　　"Are you looking for me?"

　　A cold voice sounded from behind her.

　　She was greatly startled. Just as she turned around, a knife handle came crashing down on her.

　　Bang!

　　The knife handle hit her right in the face. Aunt Wu cried out in pain, stumbling backward, with blood streaming from her nose.

　　Lu Fei, not wanting to prolong the fight, carried Xie Yao out of the basement in one go and locked the door.

　　Returning to the living room, he tossed the boning knife aside, placed Xie Yao on the sofa, and then pulled open the thick curtains to let the sunlight in.

　　After doing all this, he could no longer hold himself up, leaning against the large French window, breathing heavily as if he had just collapsed from exhaustion.

　　Bang! Bang! Bang!

　　Sounds of pounding and ugly curses came from the basement door.

　　Lu Fei paid no attention to it.

　　After a long time.

　　Xie Yao opened her eyes, still dazed and confused.

　　"My head hurts so much, I was dreaming again..."

　　She rubbed her head, struggling to sit up from the sofa, and looked at her necklace first, only to be taken aback.

　　There was nothing around her neck, no necklace at all.

　　"Miss Xie, you're awake."

　　Lu Fei's voice came from the side.

　　Xie Yao turned her head and saw Lu Fei coming out of the kitchen with two plates of food. Although he looked very tired, his expression was calm.

　　"Manager Lu, am I saved?" Xie Yao asked quickly.

　　"Yes."

　　Lu Fei placed one of the plates in front of Xie Yao and started eating from the other without any hesitation.

　　Receiving Lu Fei's affirmative reply, Xie Yao's tense shoulders relaxed, and tears uncontrollably streamed down her face.

　　She covered her face with her hands and it took a while for her to calm down.

　　"I'm sorry, I lost control."

　　"It's alright."

　　"I seemed to have dreamt a lot last night, what exactly happened?"

　　"Miss Xie, there's no rush, eat something to regain your strength, I'll tell you everything slowly."

　　Lu Fei pointed to the milk and bread in front of her.

　　Xie Yao was anxious, after drinking a few sips of milk, she looked at Lu Fei with her eyes.

　　"This necklace is not just a simple human bone necklace, it's a deliberately crafted evil object, called a soul-sucking chain."

　　Lu Fei placed the human bone necklace on the coffee table, and while eating, he explained slowly.

　　"Besides the Kapala, there is another type of jewelry made from human bones."

　　"Some people, in order to remember their deceased loved ones, will make jewelry out of the dead person's bones and wear them. Although it may seem a bit twisted, the sentiment is understandable."

　　"Your necklace, however, is different. It was made by skinning and extracting the bones from a living person. Therefore, it carries a great deal of resentment."

　　"As long as someone wears this necklace, the tormented and vengeful spirits will vent their grudges on the wearer, haunting them every night and driving them to mental collapse."

　　"When the wearer's spirit becomes unstable, it is then that their soul will be sucked into the necklace."

　　"Each bead made of human bone represents a vengeful soul filled with resentment."

　　"The dark shadows you saw in your dream are the souls that have been sucked into the necklace before you. They all vent their grudges on you."

　　"They will come out one by one, tormenting you as time goes on, until your soul is also sucked into the necklace."

　　Xie Yao's face turned deathly pale.

　　"If you hadn't found me, would I have died last night?" she asked, her voice trembling.

　　"No, you wouldn't have died," Lu Fei shook his head. "You would have become a living dead person, a soulless being, obeying only the commands of the necklace's master."