I kept in touch with Li Mazi via phone. In case something unexpected happened to him, I could come and rescue him in time. 

However, it seemed like Li Mazi was doing well. I hung up the call after Li Mazi had knocked on Qingqing’s door. 

Unfortunately, after no more than five minutes had passed, Li Mazi called me, his voice filled with fear. 

I asked immediately, “What happened?”

Li Mazi was panting as he said that it was hard to say over the phone. He then promised to explain everything when he came back before asking me to prepare meat and drinks to comfort him. 

My anxiety increased. It was rare that something could scare Li Mazi so much that he started stammering. 

I went to buy a bag of duck necks and two bottles of alcohol from Jingjia Distillery. Then, I waited to have a good chat with Li Mazi. When he’d consumed liquor, he’d become livelier, and perhaps he could give me some clues. 

It didn’t take long for Li Mazi to arrive at my shop, his face set in a grimace. Upon seeing me, he threw me a resentful glance, scolding me for giving him such a dangerous mission!

I forced a smile. “If you want to earn money, you have to take risks, right? Quickly, tell me, what did you see over there?” 

Li Mazi took a deep breath as he stared at me fearfully. “Even if I tell you, you probably won’t believe me.” 

Li Mazi grabbed two tumblers of wine. 

Back then, he’d peeped through the window and saw Qingqing taking off her necklace before going to bathe. Then, he’d knocked on her door. When Qingqing came to open the door for him, she wasn’t wearing the necklace, and she was only dressed in a bathrobe, her wet hair cascading down her shoulders.

I could imagine how beautiful that scene would be. I wondered if Li Mazi had controlled himself. 

Li Mazi had told Qingqing that he was from an express delivery company and that he needed her signature, using this chance to observe her. 

She looked quite normal, with nothing blatantly wrong about her. After Qingqing had signed the receipt and lifted her head to hand the receipt back to Li Mazi, he then found something strange. 

He saw something black on Qingqing’s chin. At a closer look, he realized that it was a beard!

Qingqing had grown a beard! Although it was just a thin layer, when this beautiful lady wore such a beard, it was still shocking to Li Mazi. 

When Qingqing was about to close the door, Li Mazi suddenly made an offer. “My lady, you’re so noble. Why don’t you have a necklace around your neck? I happen to have a necklace I prepared for my girlfriend. But, we had a fight and then broke up. Do you want it? I can give it to you for only half price.”  

Qingqing gave Li Mazi a disdainful glance. “Would a man like you have something authentic?” 

Li Mazi smiled. “Don’t think that I’m just a delivery guy; I’m mature and rich. Perhaps you aren’t even as rich as I am.” 

The way Li Mazi talked had provoked Qingqing’s envy, and she stared at him as if she wanted to eat him alive. “What are you babbling here? I have an item in my house that is more valuable than what you can earn for your whole life.” 

Li Mazi said, “You have a golden necklace? I don’t think so.” 

Qingqing then brought the golden necklace for Li Mazi to see. She said that her golden necklace could buy a hundred necklaces like the one in Li Mazi’s hand. It was made from an ancient golden ingot. 

Li Mazi said, “I don’t believe you. It’s just a counterfeit.” Qingqing was so mad that she began to scold Li Mazi. She even said that she wanted to buy Li Mazi’s house to prove how rich she was!

Then, bizarre things happened from here. While Qingqing was scolding Li Mazi, she unconsciously rubbed her chin, her hand even moving as if she was actually stroking her beard. 

Her beard was short, yet Qingqing’s hand repeatedly moved all the way down to her chest when stroking the beard. At that moment, she didn’t look like a woman, but a man. 

Li Mazi’s gaze accidentally met the mirror behind Qingqing.

When Li Mazi saw the image in the mirror clearly, he shrieked in fright! 

He didn’t see Qingqing’s reflection in the mirror, but a man wearing an elegant, ancient long robe. The man had a thick beard, and his red eyes were staring at Li Mazi from his hairy face. 

As Li Mazi saw his hairy face moving, he knew that the man was scolding and cursing him. 

Li Mazi was so scared that he almost peed himself. He had to run for his life, rushing all the way to my antique shop. Even though he was in my antique shop, he couldn’t calm down. He still felt someone watching him. However, when he turned around to check, there was no one there. 

I scoffed, “Do you want to die? Someone’s watching you, and you didn’t tell me immediately?” 

I pulled Li Mazi over to the full-sized mirror in my shop and told him to stay put.

It seemed that seeing that picture in the mirror had really scared Li Mazi. Thus, as soon as he saw the mirror, he shivered. “What are you going to do? Has that bearded man followed me here?” 

I asked him to keep silent, and no matter what he was about to see, he shouldn’t talk unless he wanted to be with something foul for the rest of his life. 

Li Mazi became terrified when he noticed my serious expression, so he took a deep breath to adjust his mood. I quickly gathered a big bunch of joss sticks, burning them in front of the mirror. I asked him to stay put and just imagine that he saw nothing. 

Afterward, I stood in a blind corner where the mirror couldn’t reflect, carefully observing the situation. 

Those sticks weren’t any ordinary joss sticks. They were made with the ashes from murderers sentenced to death, which contained great resentment. I was about to use ‘poison to treat poison’ to expel the thing stalking Li Mazi! 

At the beginning, everything was normal as the burning joss sticks released smoke. The wisps of smoke swirled and rose into the air, permeating the not-so-big room. 

However, soon, the smoke began to fly askew, entering the mirror entirely! The mirror acted as if it was a big ventilator, not a mirror. 

As the smoke was absorbed, the joss sticks started burning faster. Instantly, the sticks looked much brighter. 

My eyes were glued to the mirror. 

Because of the smoke, I couldn’t see the mirror clearly. However, I could still vaguely see a shadow. It wasn’t Li Mazi’s reflection since it stood still and looked really slender. 

A pair of red, congested eyes gazed at Li Mazi. 

Apparently, Li Mazi spotted those terrifying eyes as he was shivering. I mentally cursed him for not having any courage. I stood behind him and gave him a good kick. 

Reluctantly, he tried to steady himself. He opened his eyes wider, showing his ‘fierce and evil’ expression as he stared at the mirror. 

He stood like that until the joss sticks were burned down. As the smoke dissipated slowly, the mirror returned to normal. It looked like nothing had happened. 

Li Mazi cocked his head to one side as he looked at me. “Little Brother Zhang, was that thing expelled yet?” 

"Expelled?" I forced a smile. “That would be nice. Apparently, he wasn’t willing. I’m afraid that he’ll start stalking you again.” 

“What?!” Li Mazi was pissed off. “You’re not nice at all. No wonder you didn’t go and stalk that slut yourself. It turns out that you were worried about getting followed!” 

I spat, “Since I’m here, what are you worried about?” 

Now, I could conclude that Qingqing’s change of heart was because of some otherworldly item. I was one hundred percent sure that it was the golden necklace around her neck. We had to think of a way to steal it to study its origin. 

Li Mazi hurriedly waved his hand in dismissal. “If you want to steal it, you can do it yourself. I don’t dare go there one more time…” 

I told him, “Who asked you to steal it? Of course, I have a nice plan.” 

Then, I phoned Yin Xinyue. 

It seemed that Yin Xinyue was sleeping as her voice was somewhat languid. 

I told her that I wanted Qingqing’s rich boyfriend’s number. 

Yin Xinyue sounded upset as she asked me why I’d want Qingqing’s boyfriend’s phone number. I told her it was possible that Qingqing was affected by an otherworldly item. 

After listening to me, Yin Xinyue was startled. She hurriedly asked me, “Is that true? Have you verified it?” 

I told her it was verified, and that the problem came from Qingqing’s golden necklace. I now needed a way to touch that necklace. That was why I needed Qingqing’s boyfriend to work with me. 

Yin Xinyue kept silent for a while, then told me she’d call the boyfriend! That man was really busy, and most of the time, his secretary would pick up the phone. “Anyway, it’s really late already. How about calling him tomorrow?” 

I nodded. I actually didn’t care about sorting it out tonight. 

Li Mazi didn’t dare to go home to sleep since he was worried that he’d bring something foul to his home. I was too lazy to ask him to leave, so he slept on my couch. 

Early in the morning, Yin Xinyue came over, her eyes red and her face exhausted. 

Li Mazi joked, “You didn’t sleep because you’re scared of the otherworldly item?”

Yin Xinyue snorted at him. “No, yesterday I tried to finish my work early so that today I could help you guys slay demons and expel evil spirits.” 

I didn’t have time to let them quarrel as we needed to prepare. Otherwise, my mind couldn’t relax. 

Yin Xinyue called Qingqing’s boyfriend. Soon, she was connected. She asked him to come to my shop as we needed to talk about something very important. 

Qingqing’s boyfriend seemed busy. “How about tonight? I’d like to invite you guys to have dinner together.” 

Yin Xinyue asked for my opinion. I frankly received the phone from her, saying with a smile, “Brother, if you want something bad to happen to your girlfriend, it doesn’t matter if you come here tomorrow.” 

Then, I hung up. 

The man called us several times later, but I asked Yin Xinyue to ignore the calls. 

Eventually, he sent a short message, telling us that he’d come over as soon as he finished his current business. 

Of course, the moment the man arrived, he looked utterly pissed off and he started screaming. Compared to his elegant manner of a gentleman yesterday, he was a completely different person today. 

I didn’t mind him, and just sat calmly in my shop. 

If we didn’t put him in place, he’d push for a meter if he got a centimeter! 

As soon as he saw me, he asked fiercely, “You told me that something happened to my girlfriend. What is it? Do you know you’ve delayed many business deals of mine?!” 

My hands were tied. I didn’t expect him to be so in love with Qingqing. 

As naturally as possible, I said, “Have a seat please, I’m going to tell you now. Your girlfriend had possibly been possessed by something foul. That’s why she changed so suddenly and so bizarrely.” 

The man was bewildered at first. Then, he stared at me. “You’re talking nonsense. Do you think that you can deceive me for my money?”