Chapter 59

Chapter 59

A Yin Pawn is a request that cannot be refused.

I took out the Pawn Ticket and the seal. Li Qingying was already beside me, helping me grind the ink.

I carefully filled out the Pawn Ticket and then handed the brush to the girl.

Ever since she pulled that Supreme Lot from her mouth, her entire soul body had been fading.

Now, as she reached out to take the brush, her hand passed right through it. She couldn’t hold it at all.

She grew visibly anxious, trying several more times, but her hand shook more with each attempt, growing fainter and fainter.

She stood before the counter in a panic, tears of blood streaming down her face. A gurgling sound rattled in her throat, and her eyes were filled with absolute despair.

I started to panic as well, unsure of how to help her.

The girl’s soul body was on the verge of dissipating. If she couldn’t sign the Pawn Ticket or leave a thumbprint, the ticket wouldn’t be valid, and the transaction would be void.

Just then, the girl seemed to remember something. She turned and ran toward the west side of the veranda outside.

Realizing what she was doing, I vaulted over the counter and rushed out after her.

By the time Qingying and I reached the veranda, we saw the girl’s soul body turn into a wisp of green smoke and vanish into the Hexagonal Palace Lantern.

“A Soul Sacrifice!”

This was the second time I had witnessed a Soul Sacrifice since reopening the Pawnshop.

The first time was Fu Wan.

However, after Fu Wan’s Soul Sacrifice, a tiny flicker of her Essence Spirit had remained within the Hexagonal Palace Lantern, where it was still being bathed in the golden light of Merit.

But after this girl’s Soul Sacrifice, she had completely vanished into the Hexagonal Palace Lantern. Nothing was left behind.

Why?

Was her obsession not strong enough? Or were her Souls already incomplete to begin with?

Or was it something else entirely?

Regardless, that didn’t matter right now.

What mattered was that the girl had performed a Soul Sacrifice for the Hexagonal Palace Lantern and left behind that Supreme Lot. It was now my responsibility to seek justice for her.

I sighed and returned to the counter. I looked at the blood-stained Supreme Lot lying quietly on the wood, then at my own injured arm, my thoughts racing.

This incident reminded me of Mei Linshuang.

The opportunity for Mei Linshuang to appear had come when I was nearly pinned to death inside a Red Coffin by a Coffin Nail at the Town Head’s Residence. My blood had cracked the Seal on the Red Coffin, allowing Mei Linshuang to follow me back to the Pawnshop.

It was the same for this girl.

Back at Jiyu Temple, my arm had been scratched by the Supreme Lot held by the Red Dress Girl, drawing a bit of blood.

That must have been when this girl latched onto me.

I rubbed my neck. No wonder I had felt a chill there the entire way back.

From the looks of it, the girl definitely came from Jiyu Temple.

Furthermore, she had that Supreme Lot shoved in her mouth, an object that belonged to Jiyu Temple in the first place.

“This stick looks a lot like the ones from Jiyu Temple,” Li Qingying said, sounding puzzled. “That Red Dress Girl today was so excited to get a Supreme Lot; it’s supposed to be a good thing. So why was this one shoved into this girl’s mouth?”

“It’s a Sealing Sign,” I explained. “It serves the same purpose as a Sealing Coin or a Sealing Sword.”

Rumor has it that if someone dies with a great grievance, their soul will go to the Underworld and plead their case to King Yama, asking him to grant them justice.

To prevent the deceased from filing a complaint, someone with ill intent will stuff a specially made copper coin into the deceased’s mouth or drive a small, specialized sword through it.

That way, even if the soul reaches the Underworld, they cannot speak of their immense grievances and are forced to accept their fate.

With that explanation, Li Qingying immediately understood. “But this stick came from Jiyu Temple. Why would Jiyu Temple want to silence this girl?”

Indeed, why?

I pondered the question as I began to file the blood-stained Supreme Lot into our records.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought crossed my mind. I immediately picked up my phone and dialed Jin Wuya’s number.

The phone rang once before the call was abruptly cut off.

I glanced at the pitch-black sky outside, thinking that Jin Wuya must be fast asleep at this hour. I was likely disturbing his dreams.

I had no choice but to give up. After putting away the Supreme Lot, I prepared to drag Li Qingying out the door.

Just then, Jin Wuya called back. I answered it instantly.

On the other end, Jin Wuya’s voice was hushed, as if he were intentionally keeping it low. “Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu, do you need something?”

I spoke quickly. “Boss Jin, you’re closer to Jiyu Temple and more familiar with it. Can you go stake out the area around the temple right now? I suspect something abnormal might happen there tonight.”

Jin Wuya remained silent for a moment before saying, “I… I was just staking out the perimeter of Jiyu Temple. It wasn’t convenient to answer the phone earlier. I’ve just gotten back into my car, so I’m returning your call now.”

I was stunned. “So, you noticed something wrong with Jiyu Temple during the day too?”

Jin Wuya fell silent again.

He sounded as if he were in a great deal of pain.

I asked cautiously, “Boss Jin, where is your car parked? I’ll come find you.”

“No need,” Jin Wuya said. “It’s almost three in the morning. Nothing more will happen tonight. I’ll come find you tomorrow. Let’s meet at that same Teahouse.”

With that, he hung up.

Li Qingying and I exchanged a look. I felt a strange weight in my chest, an unsettling feeling that wouldn’t go away.

Finally, Li Qingying said, “It’s late, Xiao Jiu. Get some sleep first. No matter how big the problem is, you need to keep your strength up to handle it.”

I nodded. I closed the Pawnshop doors, and we went to our respective rooms to rest.

I barely slept for the rest of the night.

With such matters weighing on my mind, how could I possibly sleep soundly? I replayed my experience at Jiyu Temple over and over again, but clues were almost non-existent. All I knew was that the girl who had drawn the Supreme Lot during the day might be in danger.

But we were just strangers passing by. Even if I wanted to save her, finding her would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

The only solution I could think of was to have Jin Wuya keep watch. Since he hadn’t spotted anything unusual tonight, perhaps I was just overthinking things.

I could only comfort myself with that thought.

It wasn’t until dawn began to break that I finally managed to drift off for a bit, only to wake up again around seven.

Jin Wuya called me just before nine, saying he had already arrived at the Teahouse.

I set off for the Teahouse immediately.

We were in the same private room as last time. Jin Wuya had ordered two cups of green tea, but he hadn’t touched his. He sat blankly at the table, looking terrible; the dark circles under his eyes were so heavy it looked like he’d been punched.

I walked over and sat down across from him.

Jin Wuya finally snapped out of his daze and forced a small smile as a greeting.

As soon as I sat down, I asked, “Boss Jin, why did you go to stake out Jiyu Temple last night?”

Jin Wuya didn’t answer my question. Instead, he asked, “What did you discover, Shopkeeper Xiao Jiu?”

I didn’t hide anything and gave him a general account of what had happened the previous night.

After listening, Jin Wuya’s eyes first filled with shock, then gradually faded into a look of agony. He muttered, “So that’s how it is.”

I asked curiously, “What?”

“The reason I rushed back to Jiyu Temple in the middle of the night to keep watch was because of the Supreme Lot that the Red Dress Girl drew during the day,” Jin Wuya explained. “My master was very tight-lipped. No matter how much I asked him before he died, he wouldn’t say who harmed him.”

“It wasn’t until he was on his deathbed that he kept unconsciously muttering three words.”

“Those three words were… Supreme Lot…”