Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhao Qi did not waste her money traveling. She soon recognized that it was a shop dealing in antique articles. Just glancing at it at random, she could see that there were ancient utensils from all over the world in this shop. Of course, they were all imitations. If they were genuine goods, they could not be displayed casually, even without someone to look after them. Were they really not afraid that someone would come in quietly and pick up a few pieces?
However, the ordinary thief would really not be tempted by these things. After all, it was hard to change it to cash, and even if they stole it, it would be wasted in their hands. It was better to steal a few Apple phones and to disassemble them and sell the parts.
Just then, a figure shook behind the screen deep in the shop, and a thin old man came out with a feather duster in his hand. He had pressed a button somewhere, and all the lights in the shop switched on.
The dark and depressing feeling was totally gone in an instant.
“I did not know that you two ladies came, and I was late to welcome you. Please feel free to look around,” the old man said with a smile.
Shi Shi was straightforward, and her mouth was quick. She asked, “You’re the owner of the shop?”
“Eh, my small shop has very few people coming here, so I was reading books behind just now, and I came over because I heard people talking,” the old man answered.
The truth was, whether it was Zhao Qi or Shi Shi, they were both not very interested in the things in the shop. But this was quite good as well, for when they shopped in shops selling premium products, they could not control their own hands. It was not like that here. They would definitely only look around but not buy.
Shi Shi randomly picked up a sharp shard of black stone. Its surface seemed to have been polished before and was bumpy. It was very roughly made and did not seem like something that was worth money.
She asked, “Shop owner, what is this? A gemstone?”
“It’s not wrong to call it a gemstone,” the old man said, “but more accurately, it’s actually obsidian fragments used by Aztec warriors to stab enemies, inserting them into grooves in wooden sticks, and slam them at enemies or prey, which is very effective against targets without armor protection.” He made a chopping gesture with his hands.
Shi Shi blinked. “This is definitely not a real one, right?”
The old man smiled slightly. “This one is a real one. The wood stick that had been embedded in it has already rotted away, and the stone itself has been left behind.”
Shi Shi’s facial expression changed a bit, her gaze continuously flitting to the obsidian. “You’re saying… this thing killed people before?”
“This, no one knows,” the old man answered. “Perhaps it has killed people before, perhaps it has killed wild beasts before, perhaps it had yet to get bloodied after being produced before the Aztec people became extinct… These are all possibilities.”
Shi Shi hurriedly threw the obsidian back, a face full of disgust as she said, “How disgusting!”
Zhao Qi glared at her, thinking in her heart, You are so careless, aren’t you scared that it would be shattered? What if this thing is very expensive, can you afford to pay for it?
“Shop owner, do you think the obsidian is really an antique from the Aztec? You aren’t deceiving us, right? Is there any proof?” Zhao Qi asked doubtfully. After all, if it was true, it would be of great value. How could such an unknown shop in Binhai City possibly have real antiquities?
“Proof, ah… There isn’t. This thing was also given to me by someone else. It would not be good for me to chase them for evidence.” The old man smiled and said, “I’ll use an old phrase—if you believe it, it is, but if you don’t, it’s not.”
Zhao Qi was speechless. She felt that this old man’s attitude was too casual, and no matter how she looked at him, he did not seem like someone who was actually doing business. No wonder his business was not doing very well.
“Who would buy this?” Shi Shi asked. “What would they buy it for? To put it in the house to admire? But it’s not good looking!”
“There are people who will buy this,” the old man answered confidently. “This obsidian fragment comes from the tiger warriors of the Aztec tribe. Although it is an absolute evil, it can play a certain role in warding off evil spirits. If one’s house is not at peace, placing one in the house can possibly have the use of cleansing the house… But when I look at the faces of you girls, you two don’t seem to be bothered by evil spirits, so you don’t need to buy it.”
Zhao Qi said nothing.
The more the old man talked, the more mysterious he became. At first, she had a good impression of him. Now, it seemed that he was infinitely closer to a charlatan…
Shi Shi patted her chest. “Don’t scare me, I’m very scared of ghosts! I don’t even dare to watch horror films!”
The old man smiled and explained, “Little girl, you don’t need to be so fearful. You need to know that while humans are 30 percent scared of ghosts, ghosts are 70 percent scared of humans. As long as your actions are upright, and you walk on the correct path, there is no need to fear evil things bothering you.”
Zhao Qi could no longer stand to listen. She was different from Shi Shi, this little girl. She was only scared of overdrafting on her card and was not scared of ghosts. She could not help but cut in and say, “What ghosts? Why have I not seen them before even though I’m already this old?”
“There are a lot of things humans have not seen before. How can you come to a conclusion there isn’t? Words concerning ghosts and gods are weak and floaty, you can’t totally believe it, but you can’t not believe it.” The old man did not defend himself and smiled lightly.
Zhao Qi shook her head and pulled Shi Shi. “Let’s go, it doesn’t seem like they are selling things here. Instead, it seems like they are looking at geomancy and predicting your future.”
Shi Shi had wanted to leave a long time ago, and apologetically said to the old man, “I’m sorry, we still have something on, we’ll leave now.”
“Please walk slowly as you leave. I apologize for not being able to send you off too far.”
The old man’s words towards Zhao Qi were not angry or annoyed, and he walked to the doorway, watching their figures leave. He was just about to return to the shop when he suddenly saw a white cat with short fur lying on the top of the wall.
He had often fed the stray cats near here in the past, but he had never seen this one before. Furthermore, after he returned to Binhai City, the stray cats seemed to have all disappeared, like they had been scared away by something.
He squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky. He seemed to feel something. He whispered to himself, “Yi? Half an acre of square pond opened, the sky and clouds wandered together. Why is it that the evil atmosphere that has been hanging over the city for many days has been swept away? No wonder the stray cats are back in action…”
After thinking for a while, he still could not understand what was going on, but this was something good for his cats. Ever since he went back to Binhai City, his cats had always been hiding in the shop and not daring to come out.
He took out the remote control from his sleeve, once again switched off all the lights in the shop, and returned to behind the shop.
Shortly after he left, Vladimir jumped down from the eaves of the shop and onto the opposite wall. He said to Little White with a serious face, “Tonight… No, let me think about it, it’s better to go tomorrow night, comrade cats have just been busy all night recently. They are too tired. Tomorrow night, pick out some of your elites and come here to join me—remember, it’s the quality, not the quantity.”
Little White nodded and made some gestures to ask if the old man just now was the target it had ordered them to find.
“We must spare no effort in finding things. We cannot waste any effort!” Vladimir’s eyes were lit with a flame. “Little White, you’ve done a good job. He’s the one I’m looking for! What a surprise! He lives in Binhai city, too! How small the world is!”
If the Holy Cat Statue was still alive, it would definitely agree with its enemy’s thoughts, because when it walked around at night in the dark of Binhai City, it had deeply felt that point.
