Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Her mother sat by the bed, complaining that she shouldn't have listened to others' random suggestions when renovating the house and used such cheap tiles. If they had used better non-slip tiles, this wouldn't have happened. Hu Xiaoyi quickly comforted her, saying that all tiles are similar and will slip when wet.
Qin Zhenzhen was somewhat surprised to see me, but she didn't say anything. I walked over and asked how she fell. Qin Zhenzhen felt a bit embarrassed to answer, but her mother explained a few things. On the surface, it seemed like a pure accident and not particularly unusual. Every year, millions of people fall in the bathroom. However, I still believed that the Drum Set was the cause.
Perhaps this was a preconceived notion and quite irrational. Hu Xiaoyi, knowing my intention, asked if anything else had happened besides the fall.
Qin Mama sighed and said, "Don't mention it. The new drum she bought was working perfectly fine until the neighbor's child came over and started banging on it. Qin Zhenzhen, who treasures her belongings so much, couldn't let him mess around with it, but that kid was too mischievous and refused to return the drumsticks. While they were arguing, they ended up puncturing the drum. Nowadays, people can't even teach their own kids properly; I think the adults in that family are just as bad! Once Qin Zhenzhen is discharged from the hospital, we must make them pay for it!"
The drum was broken? I was somewhat shocked and thought to myself that no wonder she broke her arm; it seemed there was something supernatural involved.
To confirm this matter, I asked Qin Mama what happened to that child now. Qin Mama shook her head and said she didn't know. Just then, Qin Dad returned home. He needed to stay in the hospital for a while due to his broken hand, so he came back to get some bowls and chopsticks. After greeting us inside, he casually mentioned that child, saying, "Isn't it ironic? Just as Qin Zhenzhen entered the hospital, our neighbor's child cut his hand while playing with a kitchen knife. It seems pretty serious; I don't know if they can reattach it."
Hu Xiaoyi and I exchanged glances and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
Hu Xiaoyi found an excuse to pull me outside and quietly asked, "Do you think their accidents are because of that drum?"
I replied, "If I hadn't seen this drum, I would definitely say it's just a coincidence, but now it seems more likely that it's being haunted."
"What should we do?" Hu Xiaoyi asked. "Is there any way to remedy this? Otherwise, you should just get rid of that thing."
I said, "Do you think just anyone can take care of it? It requires professionals. I've already told her not to buy it; she insisted on getting it. Something so good being sold at such a low price must have issues; even if it's not haunted, it shouldn't have been bought."
Hu Xiaoyi knew that I had some resentment about this matter, so he kept trying to persuade me. In fact, I was also considering helping; I just wanted to find a way to back down. After about ten minutes, I called Second Uncle to inquire about the relevant matters. Second Uncle said, "If there is a spirit involved, it is usually someone closely related, like the previous user. If you want to drive the spirit away, you can ask Ajan to perform a ritual, which costs twenty thousand."
"Twenty thousand! That's too expensive, isn't it? Didn't it only cost ten thousand for Qin Senior Sister to perform a ritual?" I said.
"That was an internal friendship price. Now, I'm not going to discuss friendship with you, little brat; it's a fixed price. If you want it, pay up," Second Uncle replied.
I frowned, thinking that even if it were only ten thousand, the Qin family probably wouldn't be willing to pay. More likely, they would just kick us out as frauds since most people don't know much about Ajan and naturally wouldn't believe us. With no other option, I had to ask if there were any other solutions. Second Uncle already anticipated my question and said, "There are other methods, but they are a bit troublesome. You need to figure out why that spirit has resentment and help it finish what it needs to do. Once the resentment dissipates, everything will be fine."
I let out a sound of realization and was about to say something else when Second Uncle cut in: "Either pay the money or do it yourself; there’s no third option. Think it over and let me know; otherwise, I'll report you for harassment!"
After hanging up, Hu Xiaoyi saw my distressed expression and thought the situation was difficult. When he heard that we needed twenty thousand to hire Ajan, he looked shocked and said, "That's so expensive; they definitely won't be willing to pay. If it were three or four thousand... But honestly, even I find this hard to believe. If it weren't for following you in Thailand..."
Hu Xiaoyi stopped mid-sentence and fell silent. I didn't pick up on that thread and said, "If that's the case, then there's nothing we can do; let's see how lucky she is."
"Isn't there still the second method? If we can eliminate the spirit's resentment..."
"That's too difficult," I replied. "We don't even know the spirit's background or how to communicate with the dead; how can we help? If it were that easy, who would still practice? How would Ajan make money?"
Hu Xiaoyi didn't share my view; he believed that things could be achieved through effort. Without trying, how would we know the outcome? Considering that Qin Zhenzhen treated us to lunch on our first day here, I reluctantly agreed to go with him to find Instrument Store Boss.
When we arrived at the store, Boss remembered us and greeted us with a smile, asking if we wanted to buy something. He assured us that everything they sold was good quality and worth buying. I couldn't be bothered with pleasantries and asked, "What about that set of drums you sold last time? Where did you get them from? You better tell me the truth; otherwise, there will be trouble."
"Drums? Oh, you mean the DW set? Didn't that girl who was with you two buy them?" Boss replied.
I deliberately scared him, saying, "You said the drum was sent by a relative, but yesterday the police came knocking, saying it was stolen property taken from a murder scene. Now the police are asking us where we bought it and want to hold someone accountable for selling stolen goods. If you don't want to end up in jail, you better tell us who your supplier is; otherwise, we'll tell the police that you sold it."
This made Boss panic. He kept saying, "I don't have any supplier; I'm just a legitimate businessman. I won't hide it from you; I got this drum from a recycling station. At the time, I found it strange that such a good item would be sold as scrap; I didn't expect it to be stolen..."
I frowned. A recycling station? They have all sorts of things there, and countless items come through. Even the people collecting scrap can't clearly say where they bought their items. I couldn't be sure if they remembered the origin of this Drum Set. Seeing that we were silent, Boss thought we didn't believe him and repeatedly assured us that he was definitely not lying this time.
At that moment, my phone rang. I picked it up to see it was my dad calling, asking when I would be back. I made a few casual replies and suddenly had an idea; I adjusted my phone. After hanging up, I asked Boss a few more questions, but before he could finish answering, my phone rang again. I picked it up and put it to my ear, saying, "It's me, yeah, I'm at the store now. What? The police are coming again? This has nothing to do with us. Forget it; I don't even want to ask. The owner can't explain himself either; just tell the police it was him who sold it. We can forget about that drum; it's like throwing money down the drain."
As soon as I hung up the phone, the store owner exploded in panic. He grabbed my hand and said, "Little brother, I've made myself very clear; I really bought it from a recycling station. You can't just make stuff up to the police!"
I pretended to be impatient and said, "No matter where you got it from, you sold it, and that's a crime. Don't you know selling stolen goods can land you in jail? The police are pressing hard on this; we came here secretly because we didn't want to get involved in this matter. Besides, didn't you pocket that eight thousand? We don't want it anymore; you can explain everything to the police yourself later. Of course, we'll only tell the truth and won't embellish anything."
The store owner was sweating profusely in his panic. He ran back to the counter and took out a stack of cash, forcefully stuffing it into my hands while pleading, "Little brother, please help me out. I'm running this store to support my family; I never intended to sell stolen goods. If you expose me, my whole family will starve! Here’s seven or eight thousand dollars—it's all the cash I have in the store right now—take it for now. If it's not enough later on, just tell me how much you need; I'll do whatever it takes. I'm begging you to help me cover this up..."
Hu Xiaoyi stood by watching in shock, somewhat at a loss for words.
Comment 0 Comment Count