Chapter 585

I picked up the Pawn Ticket and glanced at it; my brow furrowed instantly.

The seal on this Pawn Ticket's endorsement indeed bears the stamp of the Chenghuang Temple's Heaven and Earth Pawnshop, Yin Dang Hang.

The endorser's name is Ā Chén.

What I don't understand is, this is a living pawn ticket.

For a living pawn, both parties agree on a redemption deadline; if it's not redeemed by then, the living pawn ticket becomes void automatically, and the pawned item belongs to the pawnshop thereafter.

That's the rule of living pawn.

So, a living pawn ticket must clearly state the time of pawn and the agreed redemption period.

But this Pawn Ticket has no pawn time written, and the redemption period is actually "eternally valid".

What kind of living pawn is this?

But no matter what, the Pawn Ticket is genuine, and both parties had agreed to this; since someone now presents the Pawn Ticket to redeem, I must act according to the agreement.

Although Wufu Town Pawnshop changed its name to Wufu Town Yin Dang Hang and indeed took over the original Yin Dang Hang's business, … I only took over the name; the items in Yin Dang Hang were not handed over to me!

For example, the item corresponding to this Pawn Ticket is a key.

When the pawnor Ā Chén pawned it, the loan he received was half a piece of phoenix-shaped blood jade.

And the agreed redemption payment for the key is… the Yuānyāng Tóngxīn Suǒ that corresponds to the key.

"In one month, I'll come to take the lock."

The cloaked man dropped those words, flashed his body, and vanished.

The air retained only a faint scent of incense.

And the Pawn Ticket in my hand spontaneously combusted without fire, turning to ashes in an instant.

My head is pounding.

First, where is the key? Second, why do I keep feeling that something is off, that something doesn't add up.

The Yin Dang Hang was struck by lightning and collapsed into ruins.

If those pawned items were stored in the Yin Dang Hang, Old Three should have been the first to dig them out of the ruins.

If I find Old Three, will I be able to get the key?

Thinking of this, my heart jolted.

Old Three had already been recruited by the Nether Realm before we rushed to the Yin Dang Hang.

Was he really recruited?

If so, he should have a position.

Having a position means you can investigate.

If not… then they must have come for the things in Yin Dang Hang.

Old Three's situation is rather dangerous.

It's not yet ten o'clock; I hurriedly tried to contact Tang Xun, asking her to go invite the Seven Halls Yama to help check on Old Three's recent situation.

I also specially told them that this is a bit urgent, and please ask the Seven Halls Yama to go to extra trouble.

We waited like that until the latter half of the next night, when Tang Xun said she had found Old Three, but his condition was not good; he is now in the Feng Clan, and Tang Xun said she would first help look after him, so that I could come over when I have time.

I returned to the Feng Clan overnight.

Old Three lay on the bed; although he had changed into clean clothes, visible wounds could be seen on the exposed skin.

Seeing me, he struggled to get up from the bed, and I told him to lie down quickly.

Old Three sat on the bed, opened his mouth to speak, his voice sounding as harsh as a bellows.

"I wasn't conscripted; I was captured by someone."

"Yin Dang Hang was struck by heavenly thunder; I worried that valuables inside would be lost, so I rummaged through the ruins, but before I could find anything, a group of people came and directly seized me."

I asked: "Do you know who seized you?"

Old Three shook his head: "I don't know; I was knocked unconscious, and when I woke up, I was in a solitary cell, with two cloaked underworld officials interrogating me; I couldn't see their faces, and their cloaks bore no distinctive markings."

I continued asking: "What were they questioning you about?"

"They were asking where the pawned items in Yin Dang Hang were." Old Three recalled, "Later, finding that I couldn't provide useful information, they asked me again whether I had seen a key."

"A key?!" I exclaimed urgently, "Did they give you a detailed description of what the key looks like? Did they mention the key and where its corresponding lock is?"

Old Three shook his head.

So, the key is not in Old Three's hands.

And this key is extremely important; if I'm not mistaken, there should be more than one group searching for it.

"Right." Old Three suddenly recalled something and said, "Shopkeeper Yu specifically instructed me before leaving Yin Dang Hang that if she doesn't come back, when I see you again, remind you to visit her Funeral Shop more often and help her guard it."

This isn't the first time Yu Nian has sent a message asking me to return to her Funeral Shop more often.

If this had happened before, I wouldn't have thought much of it.

But now, I always feel that Yu Nian's words have hidden meaning.

So I let Old Three temporarily stay in the Feng Clan to recuperate; once he's recovered, if he still wants to work in Yin Dang Hang, he can come find me anytime.

Old Three agreed.

I then turned and went to Huicheng.

Not long ago I had just come here once.

The Funeral Shop remained as before, unattended, with a layer of dust.

So I rolled up my sleeves, cleaning, tidying, and looking to see if I could find that key.

Yu Nian's belongings aren't many; the Funeral Shop mostly contains paper money and some paper craft items; I tidied for half a day but found nothing.

The counter was covered in dust and paper scraps; I took a rag to wipe the counter.

When I wiped the gold ingot, I reached out and picked it up; just as the rag was about to wipe past, I froze.

I flipped the gold ingot in my hand, not right.

The weight is not right.

I had handled this gold ingot before; back then it wasn't this heavy.

Could it be that during the time Yu Nian was away, thieves entered the Funeral Shop?

Did someone swap the real gold ingot for a fake?

I brought the gold ingot to my lips and gave it a light bite, trying to discern its authenticity.

But that bite went wrong.

This gold ingot is actually hollow!

One bite, the thin outer skin cracked, clanging, and something fell onto the counter.

It was a totally black ball; the moment it hit the counter, it somehow triggered a mechanism, suddenly unfolded, and turned into a key!

Key!

This key is about the length of a middle finger, covered in characters and patterns I can't read, made of stone-like material, and heavy.

As the ball unfolded, a small slip of paper fell out.

The paper slip looks quite old; its handwriting looks somewhat familiar.

I recalled, and suddenly realized: this handwriting resembles the signature "Ā Chén" on that pawn ticket.

Could this slip have been written by Ā Chén back then?

The slip bears only one line: "Jūnzhú Shān, Shíjiǔ Dòngtiān, Tiěsuǒ Qiáo, danger abounds, be careful! be careful!"

I stared at the slip, then picked up that heavy key, and instantly understood.

The Mandarin Duck Heart Lock should be in Jūnzhú Shān, at a place called Shíjiǔ Dòngtiān.

There stands an iron-chain bridge; only after crossing it can one see the Mandarin Duck Heart Lock.

Yet this iron-chain bridge is not easy to cross.

I quickly pulled out my phone, searched for Jūnzhú Shān, and sure enough, it exists!

Jūnzhú Shān actually lies within River City; at its foot stands an ancient City God Temple, its incense still thriving…