Sinisterium Pawnshop: Exclusive to Malevolent Objects

　　"You have so many teeth in your mouth! Rows and rows of sharp teeth! As if your mouth is like an alien's from those TV shows."

　　Lu Fei endured the discomfort, took a photo of Hu Zi, and showed it to him.

　　Seeing the photo, Hu Zi trembled all over; his already sallow face turned even more bloodless.

　　"How did I grow so many teeth..."

　　A normal person only has two rows of teeth, but in his mouth, there were dense rows of sharp fangs poking out from the top.

　　It was as horrifying as it could be.

　　Lu Fei said, "Hu Zi, you've probably been tricked! Did that old man explain where this copper coin came from?"

　　"He only said something like he dug it up from his family's grave. Don't all the people who sell antiques say that?" Hu Zi replied with a despondent look on his face.

　　Lu Fei mused, "Even if it's a burial item, it shouldn't be this vicious. There are plenty of burial items on Antiques Street. Unless..."

　　"Unless what?"

　　"It's a hushing money placed in the mouth of a corpse!"

　　Hu Zi's face turned pale in an instant.

　　As a member of the antique world, he certainly knew what 'pressure mouth money' was.

　　Pressure mouth money, also known as 'holding mouth money,' is an ancient funeral custom. A piece of jade or a copper coin would be placed in the deceased's mouth, symbolizing that they held treasure, which would protect their descendants, or ensure they would be reborn into a wealthy family in the next life.

　　Wealthy families used jade, while ordinary families used copper coins.

　　It was said to be the only wealth the deceased could take with them.

　　Imagine, if you had worked hard your whole life and finally saved up some money, only for it to be taken by someone else at the end. Wouldn't you be filled with resentment?

　　Therefore, anyone who dared to take this money would be haunted by the dead until their own death. Even the greediest tomb robbers would not dare to touch it.

　　"That old bastard, knowing it was pressure mouth money, still sold it to me! I've been thoroughly tricked!" Hu Zi cursed furiously.

　　But now was not the time to settle scores; saving his own life was more important.

　　"Lu Fei, this pressure mouth money must be an evil object, right? You need to get rid of it quickly!" He looked at Lu Fei with pleading eyes, as if seeing a savior.

　　"It can be collected, but you must first resolve the grudge on it; otherwise, you will still die," Lu Fei said.

　　"How do I resolve it then?"

　　"The easiest way is to return the copper coin and offer some offerings, sincerely apologizing to the deceased. But if you do that, I won't be able to collect the money. You can handle it yourself."

　　There were only seven days left in the month. Although Lu Fei was eager to acquire the second dark object as soon as possible, he still needed to make things clear to the person.

　　Sinisterium Pawnshop never engages in deceitful business.

　　It would never force a customer to take risks just to collect a malevolent object. If there is a simpler solution, they would always inform the other party.

　　"What?" Hu Zi's face turned bitter, "I don't even know where the person is buried. That old turtle is probably a fraud, and he may not even be from that village. I might starve or vomit to death before I find him!"

　　"Lu Fei, are there any other ways? Preferably something that works immediately today."

　　As he spoke, Hu Zi rubbed his cheeks with his thick fingers, as if his teeth were itching again.

　　Lu Fei thought for a moment and said, "There is, but it's more risky, and I'm not sure if it will work."

　　"As long as I can get rid of this thing, I'm not afraid of any risks!" Huizi nodded eagerly.

　　"Alright, go and prepare some things first."

　　Lu Fei found some paper and a pen, and wrote a list for Huizi.

　　"Buy everything on the list, don't miss anything. Try to buy as much incense, candles, and joss paper as you can."

　　Huizi took the list and squinted his eyes, the more he looked, the less he understood.

　　"Pork head meat, white rice soaked in water, raw eggs, white tofu, locust flower wine, incense, candles, paper effigies... What does all this mean?"

　　"These are all things that ghosts like to eat! Whether you were tricked or cheated, the fact is that you took someone else's belongings. First, prepare a table of offerings to the underworld, to apologize to them."

　　"But why are there still copper coins at the end of the list?"

　　"The copper coins are the most important! Since you have to pay me back with copper coins, naturally you need to buy some to compensate them! It's best to get ancient copper coins from around the same time period, make sure they're not fake, don't cheat the dead."

　　Lu Fei urged.

　　"Stop dilly-dallying and go get ready. Everything must be bought before sunset, and we need to send it off tonight."

　　"Okay!"

　　Given that his own life was at stake, Hu Zi did not dare to delay; he immediately took the list and went out to do the shopping.

　　On the other hand, Lu Fei prepared some other things.

　　In the afternoon.

　　Hu Zi returned with bags in both hands, sweating profusely.

　　"Finally, I've got everything..."

　　He was so exhausted he could barely catch his breath, plopping down on the ground and panting heavily.

　　Under normal circumstances, carrying these few items would have been no problem for him, as his job was to run errands for his boss, relying on his strength to earn a living.

　　However, he had been tormented by the copper coins and had not eaten or drunk for several days, leaving him severely weakened. The fact that he could still move now was due solely to sheer willpower.

　　"Brother Lu Fei, the things you wanted were so miscellaneous, I had to run around several places to gather them all. Take a quick look, are they okay?"

　　Lu Fei checked each item and nodded: "These are all fine. What about the copper coin?"

　　"It's here. I was afraid of losing it, so I put it in the innermost pocket."

　　Tiger wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and pulled out a copper coin from his trouser pocket, a pained expression on his sunken face.

　　"I didn't dare ask my boss for it, I bought it from another antique shop. Just this one coin cost me 2,000 yuan."

　　"Adding these other things, the total came to several thousand. Ugh, that old bastard really took me for a ride. When I get better, I'll definitely settle the score with him!"

　　"Don't worry about the money, just consider it as spending for peace of mind." Lu Fei took the copper coin and examined it, his brow furrowing, "Something's not right, this coin is fake!"

　　"How is that possible? The owner of Zhenbaozhai personally guaranteed it was genuine." Tiger was stunned, "I even checked it myself."

　　"Your expertise isn't good enough. This copper coin is well-made, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. But it lacks the flavor of time, what we call the 'old taste.'" Lu Fei shook his head.

　　"So I've been cheated again?" Tiger, supporting his bony frame, struggled to get up, "Damn it, this is just too much! I'm going to get him!"

　　"There's no point in going; once the item leaves the counter, the transaction is final. He won't acknowledge it if you go to him now."

　　"What should we do then? Can we still send that dead person away without this copper coin?" Hu Zi was at a loss.

　　"Don't worry, I'll help you figure something out. Wait here for me." Lu Fei left with these words and went to find Liu Fugui at Linglong Pavilion.

　　Liu Fugui brought out an entire box of ancient coins and let Lu Fei choose whatever he wanted.

　　Lu Fei picked through them and finally selected one with the closest year of origin.

　　"Uncle Fugui, how much is this?"

　　"Mentioning money is too formal. If you like it, Uncle will give it to you as a gift." Liu Fugui waved his hand generously.

　　"That's not right. Even brothers should be clear about money. You must take the payment." Seeing the sudden generosity, Lu Fei, who usually had a keen eye for profit, suspected something and insisted on paying.

　　Liu Fugui symbolically took one hundred from him and said with a smile, "You can deal with evil objects, right? I have a friend who seems to have encountered something unclean."

　　So, he had something to ask. No wonder he was so generous.

　　"Oh, what is it?"

　　"He recently brought a deity statue home, and it was said to bring good luck. But shortly after the statue arrived, his family members started having problems one after another. They suspect that there might be something wrong with the statue. What do you think?"

　　"I can't say for sure without seeing it. But inviting deities has many rituals and precautions; if not done carefully, you might end up inviting something else."

　　"Can you take care of something like that?"

　　"If it's an evil object, I can, but I need to finish this task at hand first."

　　Lu Fei was eager for the business.

　　But he was currently busy and needed to resolve Hu Zi's problem first.

　　When he returned to the Sinisterium Pawnshop, Hu Zi was already very anxious. Before Hu Zi could speak, Lu Fei picked up the items on the ground.

　　"I've bought the real money. Let's go, we need to find a sparsely populated crossroads now."