Merchant of the Underworld

Chiba took us to a warehouse behind the main hall specially used to store sacrificial supplies. The warehouse was neatly packed and had a strong smell of incense. Rows of bamboo shelves held exquisite costumes, small drums, and fans. etc.

She walked deep into the warehouse, knelt down in front of a mahogany cabinet, clasped her palms together and prayed for a while, and then opened the mahogany cabinet.

Inside the cabinet is a wooden box with an antique brass handle on each end. She dragged the box out. The box was wrapped with red threads one after another, and there were several broken Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva talismans attached to it. I asked in surprise: "Where did you get these talismans?"

Chiba said that the talismans originated from her grandmother's generation. There was a demon in this box. A gentleman from China surrendered the demon and put these talismans on it.

The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva talismans are painted in different ways, just like a set of boxing techniques passed down to each disciple. I looked carefully at these talismans and saw that the dragon and phoenix dancing strokes on them have the charm of my grandfather.

I thought to myself, could it be grandpa? His old man never mentioned that he had been to Japan, maybe it was someone else from the Zhang family in Jiangbei.

"Can I see this box?" I asked.

"Okay." Chiba nodded.

I moved the box in front of me. This box was sealed very carefully. The red line on it showed a sealing formation of a six-pointed star. Several Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva talismans served to strengthen the seal. It was obviously made by an expert.

However, these talismans were incomplete and had no effect at all. The red lines had also been bitten off in several places, and the seal had long been broken.

"Is this cabinet always locked?" I asked.

"Only the high priest and I have the key to the cabinet." Chiba replied.

The man in the T-shirt picked up the broom and swept out a lot of dead flies from the cabinet. Chiba was shocked and asked me what was going on.

I checked the bottom of the box and found that someone had drilled a hole. Then I picked up the body of a fly and put it under my nose and smelled it. There was a smell of blood.

The man in the T-shirt and I exchanged glances, and we already guessed the reason. Someone was deliberately sabotaging it!

I explained to Qianye that the flies were raised in the blood of crows and had a very strong yin energy. Someone stuffed them in through the hole at the bottom of the box. The seal itself was very yang qi, and the yin and yang interacted with each other. The flies will start destroying the seal out of biological instinct. Although one fly has limited power, many flies exhaust their lives and eventually bite through the seal.

This method is also very creative. I think the person behind the scenes must be very familiar with Chinese magic.

Chiba didn’t understand the theory of yin and yang very well, so he blinked and asked me, “What will happen if I destroy it?”

"The demon inside will come out." I said.

"Can you ask Mr. Zhang to re-seal it?"

I shook my head: "It's hard to contain it. It has already escaped. There is no point in sealing this box. By the way, can you open it and take a look?"

"Okay!" Chiba untied the red rope and opened the box.

My eyes lit up. What was inside turned out to be the fox statue, which was well protected by layers of silk cloth.

I was a little puzzled and asked Chiba if this thing is not displayed with floats in the evening? But looking at the dust on it, it has not been opened for a long time.

Chiba said with a smile that every year those put on display are fakes made by skilled craftsmen. The genuine ones are so precious that even junior shrine maidens are not allowed to take a look at them.

I wanted to take it out and check it. Chiba said wait a moment and went to get two pairs of gloves for us to put on.

This fox statue is made of sterling silver and is very heavy. The surface has become oxidized and blackened over time. The T-shirt man and I carefully took it out and placed it on the silk cloth. The shape of this statue is that of a squatting fox, with ears attached to the head and a thin body, a bit like a dog. It is beautifully cast and even the fur is very realistic.

This thing should not be an ordinary object. As a magical weapon from the emperor's era, other things are often put inside when it is cast, such as the relics of eminent monks, the blood of the emperor, the bones of monsters, etc.

But I didn't notice the yin energy. On the contrary, I clearly felt the threat on the fake statue in the afternoon.

"Why is this place empty?" the man in the T-shirt asked, pointing to the fox's eye sockets.

"Sir Silver Fox's eyes are empty to begin with, right?" Qianye looked puzzled.

"No, there should be two eyes here." The man in the T-shirt said.

"I don't know, I've only seen it three times, and I don't have eyes." Chiba said in confusion.

I guessed: "We saw a demon fox that turned into a boy in white in Osaka, and tonight we saw another demon fox that turned into a girl. Could it be that they were transformed by the eyes of this silver fox?"

In this case, the fox I saw at the festival in the evening must be the girl. She was attached to the fake, which made me think it was a feminine object. She saw the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva talisman that I gave to the oden owner, so she quietly took it off and put it here. Then she tried every possible means to trick us into coming over. It's just that I can't figure out why she would do this. It doesn't seem to be good for her, right?

I told the T-shirt man my guess, and the T-shirt man said, "Maybe she wants us to help Miss Chiba, right?"

"That is to say, the young man in white is outside helping the tyrants. The girl wanted him to turn back, but she couldn't do it with her strength, so she planned such a scene to lead us here." I analyzed: "But the young man in white is far away. In Osaka, do we have to go back? Maybe the Yamaguchi group is looking for us all over the city."

"Jilin, who do you think broke this seal?" the man in the T-shirt asked.

"Did that boy do it?" I suddenly realized: "You mean, he will still come here?"

The man in the T-shirt nodded.

Chiba was confused as she listened, so I told her what happened in Osaka and what happened when she was teased by the demon fox tonight. She covered her mouth in surprise: "Are they the incarnations of the Fox Fairy?"

"It seems so." I said to Qianye: "To be honest, my job is to subdue these evil things."

"Yin object, what is that?" Qianye asked in confusion.

I explained to her the origin of the femininity. After listening, Chiba said: "This is really great. Please ask Mr. Zhang for help from the shrine. I will tell the high priest about the reward."

"If we come forward, the price is not low!" I said with a smile.

Chiba frowned and said seriously: "The shrine doesn't have much savings. I hope Mr. Zhang's price will be more reasonable..."

I couldn't bear to tell her the rules of this business, and it was up to me to resolve the incident.

After all, the thing in front of me is a national treasure. Not to mention that Chiba can't make the decision, the high priest of the shrine probably won't agree, right?

I glanced at the man in the T-shirt and asked for his opinion. He said calmly: "We have accepted this commission."

I thought about it and thought of it as a good deed to maintain the relationship between the two countries.

"That's great!" Chiba said happily: "Thank you, thank you Mr. Zhang and Mr. Chu Yi."

At this time, Yin Xinyue called and asked why we haven't gone back yet? Only then did I realize that it was already eleven o'clock, so I said goodbye to Chiba first.