Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Saturday, August 19th.
It was the thirteenth day of the summer vacation.
Odd Zhuo was in an unusually good mood today, for his cheap shifu Wang Ling had invited him to accompany Wang Ling to that flower and bird market from over ten years ago to look for clues on the scabbard.
Wang Ling had already checked out the vendor who sold swords and scabbards – the market stalls all had numbers, and the shop that sold swords was still in operation.
Odd Zhuo drove the two of them there. As they entered the shop, they saw a silk banner at the entrance with the words ‘Ten Years Gold Class Shop’ on it. The flower and bird market had changed tremendously in the last ten years, so for the shop to survive this long was truly remarkable.
Wang Ling walked behind Odd Zhuo. He wore a blue hooded sweater and his hands were in his pockets, the lack of expression on his face making him look unhappy. The truth, however, was that this was his normal appearance, which Odd Zhuo was already used to.
It was very easy to tell whether his shifu was angry or not: he just needed to see if his shifu’ s dead fish eyes had gotten smaller. If his pupils contracted, that meant he was angry… To blunt his anger, you had to prepare crispy noodle snacks for times like these – one crispy noodle snack packet could be used for every micron Wang Ling’s pupils shrank.
You couldn’t give him less, but he’d be haughty if you gave him more…
Odd Zhuo felt that he was the only one who could make his shifu’ s pupils return to normal.
“Is the boss in?” Odd Zhuo was wearing his work uniform as usual and looked like an elite.
“Welcome, are you buying something? Our boss just went out to get some things, and will be back soon. My name is Ling Huan.” The person who received them was a shop assistant. Odd Zhuo and Wang Ling were their first customers today, so Ling Huan smiled very happily.
Wang Ling looked around and realized that the shop specialized in selling magic artifacts for exorcism; various kinds of exorcism artifacts lined the walls or were displayed in cabinets.
Wang Ling still remembered when Teacher Pan taught them the basic techniques for summoning and releasing ghosts in her Dao talisman class at the beginning of the semester. Whether it was summoning or releasing them, they had in fact only touched the surface.
Golden Core universities offered specialized exorcism majors with specialized courses on summoning and releasing ghosts.
“Ours is an established shop in this flower and bird market, specializing in exorcism and fair bargains. Let me give you a brief introduction!”
This shop assistant Ling Huan was very friendly, and he pointed to the counter at the very front. “See the peach wood sword, yellow talisman, wooden fish and candle under the glass? These items were used back then by the king at controlling vampires, Mr Zheng Ying 1 , who bought them in our shop! While they might be obsolete now, our shop bought them back at a high price and exhibit them here as our crowning glory.”
“Are they for sale?” Odd Zhuo raised his eyebrows.
“No.”
Ling Huan shook his head and said righteously, “Our shop’s most precious treasure is not for sale.”
“Ten million HNY.” Odd Zhuo raised one finger.
Ling Huan took a deep breath. “WeChat… or Alipay?”
Wang Ling: “…”
Odd Zhuo: “Where’s your integrity?”
Ling Huan sighed and said resentfully, “How can we survive on integrity nowadays to make a living?!”
“Are you the only one here besides the boss?” Odd Zhuo asked. Not wanting to dampen the boy’s enthusiasm, Odd Zhuo took five hundred HNY out of his pocket and put it in Ling Huan’s as a tip.
Ling Huan was fired up once again and his tone changed. “Hahaha! Indeed, it’s just me, and I just look after the shop for the boss. But I’ve worked here for a long time! I’m the only shop assistant the boss has. Our boss is pretty busy and normally has to go out to perform exorcisms.”
Odd Zhuo nodded and straightaway took out a photo of Jingke from his pocket. “Have you ever seen this peach wood sword? It was bought from your shop ten years ago.”
Ling Huan’s face instantly turned serious. “Ten years… that’s past its warranty. Our shop’s policy is that products cannot be returned after ten minutes of purchase! In the case of unexpected damage, you need to produce proof that it was an accident!”
“…” Wang Ling and Odd Zhuo sucked in their breaths.
How unscrupulous!
Odd Zhuo: “I’m not here to return it, I just want to ask where this peach wood sword came from. Since it was your shop that sold it, do you know its origins? When it was purchased back then, it didn’t have a scabbard, and we’re looking for clues on it.”
“That’s all?”
Ling Huan breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned. “Ten years ago, our shop wasn’t in the habit of giving our products serial numbers; we recorded all the purchases and sales of our goods by hand. Ten years ago… your peach wood sword would have been a popular exorcism product! Back then, peach wood swords were all the rage thanks to Mr Zheng Ying, and a good peach wood sword would have sold for a sky-high price in the market.”
“Do you still have the written record? I want to take a look,” Odd Zhuo said.
“Unfortunately, there was a big fire in our shop five years ago, and all our handwritten invoices burned.”
Ling Huan spread his hands and looked carefully at the photo provided by Odd Zhuo. “This peach wood sword is in an old style, but we should still have some in our old warehouse. If you want, I can go take a look.”
“998 HNY for one?” Odd Zhuo asked.
“That was ten years ago.”
Ling Huan said, “It’s 9.9 HNY now.”
Wang Ling: “…”
Odd Zhuo: “…”
Ling Huan: “Since going out of fashion, peach wood swords are just preschool toys now, and are basically sold to kindergartens as teaching aids to help kids in the middle and top kindergarten classes to develop an interest in spirit swords.”
While Ling Huan was explaining the situation, a middle-aged uncle with mushroom hair stepped into the shop. He was as big and tall as a massive bear, and Wang Ling was completely covered in his shadow.
“Boss,” Ling Huan greeted the huge figure.
Seeing that the boss had returned, Odd Zhuo was about to ask the boss a question – who knew that when the boss saw Odd Zhuo, his face actually turned pale. “Damn! It’s a cop!”
Odd Zhuo: “???”
Wang Ling: “…”
After that, the boss swung his arm, which was like a steel cannon, and aimed a punch at Odd Zhuo’s face.
Want me to help?
Wang Ling gazed at Odd Zhuo and asked the question telepathically in a light tone.
“For a petty thing like this, there’s no need for shifu to lift a finger…” Odd Zhuo snorted. As he stepped forward, his arteries bulged like earthworms, and streams of spirit energy burst forth from his body to coalesce in the sky and actually form… a giant raccoon!
“Raccoon Licking Dog Limitless Punch!”
The raccoon made out of spirit qi just stuck out its tongue to block the boss’s punch.
Wang Ling gazed at this raccoon with rapt attention and actually couldn’t help applauding on the side… This self-created boxing technique was so brilliant!
