He knelt down with a thud, grabbed Ye Xingchen's leg and cried, "Mr. Ye, you've finally come! Help! Please save me! My brothers are all dead!"
"Get up and talk." Ye Xingchen helped Mr. Wu up and turned on the indoor lights.
Mr. Wu sat in his chair and stammered for a long time before Ye Xingchen finally understood what was going on.
The market was supposed to be closed today, which was a rule set by Mr. Wu that the market would not be open on the full moon (15th of the lunar calendar).
After all, people like them who run the black market deal with all sorts of people, and they're probably just asking for trouble.
However, today a young man came to him with something and asked him to appraise it.
Mr. Wu originally said the market was closed today and asked him to come back tomorrow, but the young man said that if Mr. Wu missed what he had, he might never come across it again.
Mr. Wu himself was knowledgeable about antiques, and on a whim, he agreed.
That item was a jade Pixiu, exquisitely carved. Judging from its age, it should be an artifact from the Tang Dynasty. It was indeed a very fine piece.
After being valued at three million, Mr. Wu accepted the deal.
After acquiring it, he invited a few of his brothers who stayed behind to drink together. During the drinking session, he took out the item to show everyone what it was like. However, just as he took it out, something strange happened.
"Get to the point, how did you release that thing?" Ye Xingchen said.
“This…” Boss Wu hesitated for a moment, then said with lingering fear, “I originally just took it out to show the brothers.”
"As soon as it was taken out, the Pixiu became extremely hot to the touch, as if it had been heated red by fire. Then the surrounding area turned black, and then a... skinned monster appeared."
When talking about these things, Mr. Wu's teeth were chattering.
Thinking back on what had happened, he felt terrible.
Mr. Wu had been to ancient tombs before, and had even come face-to-face with dead people to retrieve things, but the sight of a skinned monster was still extremely shocking to him.
"And then it started hunting you down?" Ye Xingchen asked.
"Yes, this thing moves quickly, is impervious to blades and bullets, and can tear a person in half." Boss Wu's voice trembled: "My brothers are all dead. I was carrying a blessed talisman, which is why I hid in this storage room to call you."
"What about the Pixiu?" Ye Xingchen asked.
"I don't know where it fell in the panic, but it should be near area C," Mr. Wu said tremblingly.
"Okay, stay here and don't move. We'll go out and find it." Ye Xingchen nodded.
"Mr. Ye, what exactly is that thing?" Mr. Wu stood up and asked.
"A spirit is the soul of an ancient ferocious beast, sealed within a device using secret methods and nourished with yin energy, thus forming a spirit," Ye Xingchen said. "This thing is an extremely ferocious creature. You've really hit the jackpot by encountering one."
“He killed more than a dozen of my brothers,” Boss Wu said through gritted teeth. “I’m not done with him.”
"You should stay here and save your life first," Ye Xingchen said. "This kind of thing is hard to come by even once in decades, and you actually ran into it. Should I say you're lucky or unlucky?"
"This..." Mr. Wu was speechless for a moment. He had encountered something that no one had encountered in decades. His luck was truly beyond the heavens.
"Alright, you can stay here. I'll put another talisman on you. As long as you stay here and don't leave, that thing can't do anything to you." Ye Xingchen took out another talisman and put it on.
“This is lightning-struck wood with runes and magic circles carved on it. If that thing really tries to force its way in, just throw the lightning-struck wood next to it.”
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Ye." Mr. Wu quickly took the lightning-struck wood and held it tightly in his hand; it was his lifesaver.
Ye Xingchen and Si Qianyu went to Zone C.
The black market run by Boss Wu is neither very big nor very small, and the jade Pixiu that was shaped into a spirit should only be the size of a thumb. It would be really not easy to find such an item here.
"Be careful, that thing can transform into human form," Ye Xingchen warned Si Qianyu.
"Understood." Si Qianyu held two knives in her hands and separated from Ye Xingchen to search.
Suddenly, a transparent shadow hidden in the darkness appeared on either side of the two.
The shadowy figure lurked around Ye Xingchen and Si Qianyu.
It made a series of funny faces in front of the two people, and after confirming that it was out of sight, it waved to one side.
More transparent shadows appeared, surrounding the two and making intimidating gestures.
Si Qianyu looked around warily and searched forward.
A transparent shadow followed behind her, its arms outstretched, then its hands came together and it reached for her neck.
After several attempts, it seemed that he had found Si Qianyu's weak point. He clasped his hands together and suddenly grabbed Si Qianyu's neck.
Suddenly, Si Qianyu turned around sharply, and two sword lights, one long and one short, flashed past.
puff……
The shadow behind him had its head sliced in two. It staggered back a few steps, then let out an incredulous roar before collapsing to the ground and turning into a cloud of ashes.
With a single slash, all the remaining shadows were exposed.
A group of dark spirits howled and rushed towards Si Qianyu. Si Qianyu didn't hold back. Her two swords worked together seamlessly, and several sword energies roared out. Instantly, the world fell silent.
Ye Xingchen also slew more than ten dark spirits. In an instant, the two of them were surrounded by a strong wind, forcing the remaining dark spirits to stop coming forward.
"Are you alright?" Ye Xingchen put away Chixiao and found Si Qianyu.
“It’s alright, but these dark spirits are essentially formed from malevolent energy. If the main body doesn’t deal with them, there will be more and more of them,” Si Qianyu said.
"If we find the Pixiu, the problem will be solved." Ye Xingchen looked around: "But where exactly did this thing go?"
"Take your time searching." Si Qianyu bent down and began to search.
Finally, in a corner, they found a small Pixiu, about the size of a thumb, carved from white jade.
Its craftsmanship is exquisite, and it is engraved with countless tiny runes.
Ye Xingchen took out the thing and examined it repeatedly in his hand: "It seems that I was right, this thing was not leaked by accident."
"Was that deliberately released?" Si Qianyu asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Judging from their methods, it's the same as what they used in Yinshan." Ye Xingchen sneered, "They're after me."
"They know about your relationship with Boss Wu, so they put this with Boss Wu so he can contact you, their goal is to trap you?" Si Qianyu instantly understood.
"Perhaps they want to test my strength," Ye Xingchen said calmly. "They know they can't trap me with this."
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