Chapter 1381: Fantasy Antique Shop Work Log 15

Guli took a deep breath, but she couldn't inhale fresh air no matter what; her face quickly turned red from holding her breath, her lungs felt as if they were also being pinched, and the growing sense of suffocation brought her to the brink of despair.

「Li Er! 」 「Sister! 」 「Second Aunt! 」

Everyone stood up and rushed toward Guli, but they dared not get too close, fearing it would affect her breathing.

「Make way! Let the old Taoist come! 」

Grand Master Xuan Gui raised his arm and formed a seal with his fingers; two fingers held the talisman as it flipped up and down, and he chanted incantations.

「Five Organs Profound Darkness… Azure Dragon White Tiger, the formation is chaotic…」

The Tranquil Heart Divine Incantation was issued; the talisman paper was applied to Guli's throat, instantly producing a sizzling sound.

Guli breathed in small gulps; just as she was recovering, she clutched her heart and screamed.

「This… shouldn't be happening! 」

Grand Master Xuan Gui was dumbfounded: "An evil spirit possessing someone—how could it cause heart pain?"

Doctor Jeff clutched his head, his fearful expression no less than Guli's: "God! How could this happen!"

Jin Chen quickly sealed Guli's chest acupoint; seeing Ying Wu Shu about to tear open with bare hands the thread that was nearly tightening around Guli's heart, he suddenly frowned.

He grabbed Ying Wu Shu's hand, with one hand quickly folded paper into a blade; after spiritual energy was attached, it became the sharpest ghost-slaying blade.

Ying Wu Shu took it in sync, invisibly cutting the black silk threads binding Guli's body; after they broke, they quickly dissipated.

Jin Chen again used spiritual energy to sustain, holding Guli's breath, his palm hovering over her throat.

「Golden Light Swiftly Appears, Covering and Protecting the Body. 」

A red-gold seal emanated from Jin Chen's palm, imprinted into Guli's throat, leaving a faint mark on her skin.

「Brocade Gate Seal?! 」

Grand Master Xuan Gui exclaimed in shock: "Are you… the main disciple of the Brocade Gate?!"

Originally, Jin Chen's recent display of folding paper into a blade would have been enough to astonish Grand Master Xuan Gui; if not for Luo Qiu holding him back, he would have wanted to step closer to observe.

He even considered inviting this young man to the Profound Gate, but then saw Jin Chen flick a Brocade Gate Seal with his backhand.

Jin Chen rose, arms crossed, still aloof; under Grand Master Xuan Gui's astonished, pleading gaze, he slowly uttered four words.

「I won't tell you. 」

Grand Master Xuan Gui: "……"

He nearly made the old man topple over from anger.

No doubt! This infuriating, death-defying attitude is practically a direct inheritance of the Brocade Gate lineage!

Guli could finally breathe smoothly, leaning into Chang Yi Qian's embrace as she wept, drawing deep breaths of fresh air.

Gu Meng secretly rolled her eyes, then looked toward Ying Wu Shu and Jin Chen: "You two are truly masters; I was blind."

Jeff turned and ran off, returning the psychology manual and bank card entirely to Gu Pan: "God, this is absolutely terrifying! I won't accompany you in this act—I don't want money, I want to go home!"

Gu Pan: "……You!"

He stared at the crowd, "What are you looking at?! Those among us who truly wish Guli well, you know it in your own hearts!"

Having said that, he tossed the book and hurried upstairs.

The scene below was too chaotic; Guli cried herself exhausted, leaning on Chang Yi Qian, half-asleep, utterly fatigued.

Ying Wu Shu wore a detached smile and said to Chang Yi Qian: "First let Miss Guli rest; we'd like to speak with you privately to learn a few things."

「Eh, you two please wait. 」

Chang Yi Qian helplessly shook his head, then scooped Guli up in a horizontal hold and carried her upstairs.

Gu Meng frowned, displeased, and questioned: "What matters require keeping us in the dark? I grew up with my sister; I know just as much as he does!"

Ying Wu Shu slightly tilted his head and said politely: "The cause of the matter doesn't lie with Miss Gu Meng; or perhaps you also know something?"

He sat upright and noble, the smile in his eyes seeming to pierce people's hearts, profound and meaningful.

「I…」

Gu Meng instinctively clutched the cushion tightly; her freshly done nails dug into it, her expression strange.

Gu Cun couldn't help but say: "Young Aunt! What time is it now—what could possibly be unspeakable?"

"What business is it of yours?" Gu Meng retorted, then glanced at the spiral staircase leading upstairs.

"Has Chang Yi Qian told you that he recently went to retake wedding photos?"

Ying Wu Shu nodded: "He has mentioned it."

Gu Meng bit her lips until they turned pale, a hint of guilt showing: "That wedding dress shop was introduced by me; it's a manor specializing in ancient Chinese-style photography."

"They hadn't even finished the shoot a few days later when the shop manager suddenly contacted me, saying… saying the staff had made a mistake, giving them funeral attire to wear for the shoot…"

Luo Qiu: "Damn it!"

"What a huge blunder!"

"Young Aunt! How could you keep such an important matter hidden until now?" Gu Cun rolled up his sleeves in anger, his handsome face flushing red: "What are you thinking?!"

Gu Meng suddenly burst into tears, large drops falling: "I'm scared! If my sister gets angry, I… I won't get that sum of money."

"I'm already trying to fix this! Besides, I don't believe my sister became like this just because of that set of funeral clothes!"

"I think Chang Yi Qian isn't any good either; you shouldn't doubt him as a bedmate!"

The volume rose eight decibels, nearly lifting the roof.

Everyone in this world who's a stranger is so noisy.

Jin Chen covered his ears, sat a bit behind Ying Wu Shu, his face full of coldness.

Grand Master Xuan Gui worriedly stroked his beard, never expecting this employer to be so outrageous.

At that moment, the butler came downstairs to report.

"Miss Guli still feels unwell; she requests that Second Uncle accompany her to sleep, and asks everyone to wait two more hours while the kitchen prepares dinner."

Second uncle-in-law also said, the house might also be unclean, hope everyone also checks.

The butler left after delivering the message.

Ying Wu Shu suddenly asked Gu Meng again, "Do you have a photo of that set of mourning clothes?"

Gu Meng thought for a moment, found the picture and showed it to them, saying, "This one really looks too much like traditional Chinese wedding attire; who would know it's for the dead."

"But the shop said it was a new set, so I thought I was fine."

Yet Ying Wu Shu's expression changed slightly at the sight of the photo, and he instinctively looked toward Jin Chen.

He realized in his heart that this was not as simple as being haunted by a resentful spirit.

Jin Chen glanced at it, his eyes meeting Ying Wu Shu's, nodded, and commented, "A whole house of unlucky people."

Luo Qiu also looked, but his yin-yang eye could see nothing through the screen; curiously peeking left and right, he squeezed between his two companions' shoulders and asked, "What the heck!"

Jin Chen, his face blackened with lines, pulled him away, saying, "This isn't mourning attire."

Mourning clothes are mostly worn by the dead about to be buried; before being put on a corpse, aside from the tailoring, they are no different from ordinary clothing.

Ying Wu Shu took over, his tone grave, "These are wedding garments stained with human lives, stripped from those who died unjustly."

Afraid of frightening ordinary people, Ying Wu Shu spoke euphemistically, but Jin Chen gave no face at all.

"On their wedding night, the couple died together in injustice, and the resentment can linger on the clothing for nearly a hundred years without fading."

Jin Chen's voice is naturally icy; he deliberately slowed his tone, making listeners' skin crawl.

"Perhaps it has become a vengeful ghost or rakshasa, seeking to claim lives."

Master Xuan Gui also looked at the photo, shook his head, and sighed.

"Exactly the same—it's terrifying; just looking at it is frightening!"

A moment of silence.

Gu Meng suddenly burst into tears, his body trembling.

"I… I didn't mean to; I didn't know the shop would make a mistake."

Gu Cun was bewildered, "Such strange clothing—even a new employee shouldn't have it."

"Young Aunt, could you have been set up? Now how many eyes are watching our family? Even… Young Uncle, over that inheritance, has turned against us."

Gu Meng shook his head. "I don't know."

Inheritance.

Jin Chen raised his eyebrows and suddenly looked toward Gu Cun.

The original plot did mention the Gu family's huge inheritance, but in the end no one from the Gu family managed to obtain it; instead, it was wholly inherited by some unknown 'capable person.'

【Don't sleep, get up and check.】

【Oh! Okay.】

Just then, Ling Gun Gun, who was watching the Ling Qing Du point, turned over and returned to the sea of consciousness to check the original plot.

【Oh—hey! Host! Guess who this person is!】

【……If you keep with the riddles, you'll have no dinner tonight.】

【It's Jeff! The Doctor Jeff who just fled!】

Jin Chen suddenly looked toward the main gate, startled to his feet.

"Not good!"