I racked my brains trying to figure out what I had that could move him.
To be honest, I don't want to reveal our information.
The more information they have about us, the easier it is for them to get entangled with us.
Because of my profession and Li Huai's fate, we were supposed to encounter ghosts every day.
If they continue to spread our information in the ghost market, they can forget about living a normal life.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, and acted quickly. The items on the looter that might fit the criteria—the lightning sword and the three-edged bone needles—were absolutely not to be touched.
After all, the lightning sword is a rare magical weapon.
As for the three-edged bone needle, that's a family heirloom. If I were to trade it away, my grandfather wouldn't be able to rest in peace in the afterlife. He'd probably want to come up and kill me, his unfilial son.
As for consumables like talismans and cinnabar, he probably wouldn't even look at them.
The same principle applies to chicken throat bone powder and grave soil.
As I was groping around, my fingers accidentally touched a hard object. It was a flat tin box, smaller than a cigarette box, with some rust on the edges. Inside it was not medicine, but adipocere.
This is a special item that is sometimes used in the trade of cobblers.
It was taken from the surface of corpses that had been dead for a long time.
If a corpse is left for too long, the corpse oil seeps out onto the surface, forming this waxy substance that is a mixture of oil and resentment.
Its usage is also very simple. In certain situations, it can temporarily seal the acupoints of a corpse to prevent the rapid dissipation of yin energy or the sudden outburst of resentment.
This thing isn't used very often; it's an old item left to me by my grandfather.
I've only used it twice in all these years, to the point that I'd completely forgotten it existed.
My eyes lit up suddenly; this was exactly what he needed.
I've carried it close to my body for so many years, it's long been imbued with my personal charm.
Most importantly, this thing, being a water ghost with heavy yin energy, should have a considerable attraction.
I hesitated for a moment, then gritted my teeth and pulled the tin box out of my inner pocket.
To be honest, I'm a little reluctant to give this to him. After all, it was left to me by my grandfather, and it's a keepsake.
But I had no other choice; I really couldn't come up with anything else besides this.
"Take a look, is this okay? If not, then we don't need this comb."
I opened the box and revealed something dark brown inside that looked like a candle.
The moment the box was opened, a smell mixed with the stench of corpses and old spices wafted out.
The old man's gaze was instantly drawn to it; his previously cloudy and empty eyes seemed to light up the moment he saw the paraffin wax.
"Adipocere, and it's old adipocere!" the old man said slowly. "It was made using a special method, mixed with realgar and cypress ash, and it's quite old, at least thirty years old..."
I looked at the old man with some surprise; he was actually able to tell the origin and composition of the adipocere.
"Well? Give me a straight answer."
Looking at the old man, I felt pretty sure of it.
He didn't agree immediately, but instead stretched out his withered hand, gesturing for me to hand over the box.
I hesitated for a moment, thinking that he wouldn't just snatch it and run away, so I placed the small box in his outstretched palm.
He picked up the tin box, but instead of touching the paraffin inside with his fingers, he brought it to his nose and smelled it carefully again.
Seeing this, I couldn't help but twitch my lips. Although I treasured this thing, I didn't smell it. After all, it was made from corpse oil and had a stench of decay.
Honestly, this thing is probably only treasured by experts. Who would want it if it were just an ordinary person?
The next moment, to my astonishment, he actually used his fingernail to scrape a small piece of wax from the edge of the block and gently licked it.
I gagged violently, my stomach churning. Luo Tianhe and Li Huai looked at me with some confusion; they didn't know what this thing was, they just thought it smelled a bit bad.
But the old man only licked it once. Maybe he has pica or something. Is it really necessary to have such a big reaction?
The old man smacked his lips, seemingly savoring the moment, his eyes narrowed, and after a long while, he nodded.
"Very well, this comb is yours."
When I saw that he agreed, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. I had finally managed to get the comb.
He closed the metal lid, stuffed it into his pocket, and looked at me, saying:
"Young man, I am very satisfied with what you gave me, so let me remind you, when using this 'spirit-combing comb,' you should follow the natural flow, don't force it, especially when combing your hair with that pieced-together thing you mentioned. Also, it's best to use it at midnight, when the yin energy is at its strongest..."
Hearing this, I was a little confused. This thing is already considered eerie, and to do it when the yin energy is heavy is even more strange.
Putting everything else aside, combing your hair in the middle of the night is inherently an ominous thing.
Seemingly sensing my confusion, the old man explained:
"The reason I asked you to comb her hair in the middle of the night is because the yin energy is stronger at night. After all, she fought her way to success, and the different resentments within her body will cause the yin energy to become active and pull against each other. She may not be able to suppress it."
Wow, there's such a saying? I nodded; it does make some sense.
As people age, they become wiser, and so do ghosts. This old man has been dead for who knows how many years, but he still has some knowledge and skills.
"If the comb suddenly gets stuck at a certain point, or if you feel obvious resistance, or even hear faint crying or cursing, stop immediately!"
The old man suddenly said seriously,
"After you stop, gently pull the comb down in the opposite direction and then slowly pull it out. Never pull it hard. This means you've hit the core of the problem. If you keep losing, either the comb will break or your resentment will get out of control, and you'll be the one who suffers."
His detailed instructions were completely unexpected.
We've seen a few of the ghost's transactions before, and they're basically just cash on delivery with minimal conversation.
But the old man had an unexpected enthusiasm.
"Why are you telling me so much?" I couldn't help but ask.
The old man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "You're a smart kid. The things you gave me are pretty good in my opinion. Consider this a bonus. Maybe we can make another deal later."
"There are more and more chaotic things in this world. It's never a bad thing to have one more young person who knows a thing or two and doesn't die so quickly."
After he finished speaking, he handed me the comb: "Take this, and remember what I said! Also, if you exchange things in the ghost market, you'd better leave quickly and don't look around."
I nodded, took the comb, and stuffed it into my clothes. This trip to the ghost market wasn't a waste; I actually had some unexpected gains.
Luo Tianhe and Li Huai also showed joy, finally they had a way to deal with Zhou Wenxiu.
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