Chapter 136: The Flaying Knife

　　If it's an ancient torture instrument imbued with the resentment of prisoners, it could very well turn into a malevolent weapon.

　　The executioner's ghosthead sword is the best example of this.

　　Lu Fei looked at the photo again.

　　The photo was taken from many different angles.

　　But Lu Fei still shook his head: "I can't tell anything from the photos. I need to see the actual object to be sure. Where is the knife now?"

　　"The knife was sold several years ago and has changed hands multiple times," Liang Ge said, holding a cigarette in his mouth. "Fortunately, I asked a friend in the team to help me look into these buyers. We've found the last buyer and have already made contact. We have a meeting set up for today!"

　　"If it really is this knife that's been used for flaying and killing, and this year marks the seventh year, then the most recent buyer is very likely to become the next victim," Lu Fei said.

　　"That's right." Liang Ge nodded, puffing out a mouthful of smoke, "This knife is a kind of niche cultural plaything. Some knife enthusiasts really like it and buy it for collection."

　　"These obscure playthings are the most likely to be haunted by malevolent spirits."

　　"The weapon used in the skinning case wasn't this knife, so I never thought about it from this angle before. But the massacre on the antique street gave me a hint; the real weapon might not have been the one used by the victim."

　　Liang Ge was extremely excited, a cold case that had remained unsolved for years now finally saw a glimmer of hope.

　　He checked the time.

　　"Oh, it's about time. We can go now. Mr. Lu… or should I just call you Lufei? It rolls off the tongue better. I'll have to ask you to help appraise the knife when we see it."

　　"No problem!" Lufei said readily.

　　Liang Ge closed his notebook, stuffed it into his backpack, pulled the door shut, and went downstairs without even locking it.

　　Teahouse.

　　"Mr. Xu, we're almost there."

　　Liang Ge, with his bedhead, pushed open the large door of a teahouse, looked around, and quickly locked onto his target.

　　"Mr. Xu Sixian."

　　He led the two others, including Lu Fei, and walked briskly over.

　　"Are you Mr. Xie, the one who wants to buy the knife?"

　　Behind a teatable by the window, a well-mannered man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stood up, looking at Liang Ge with considerable surprise.

　　The man was around thirty, dressed tastefully, seeming to come from a good family.

　　"That's me," Liang Ge said, completely unconcerned about his unkempt appearance, flashing a carefree smile before even sitting down, and eagerly asking, "Mr. Xu, did you bring the knife?"

　　"I did bring it..." This man, named Xu Sixian, looked at them somewhat cautiously, his hand resting on the suitcase, hesitating to open it.

　　It was just that these three people were too strange.

　　One of them was a slovenly, smoke-smelling, utterly disheveled middle-aged man.

　　A tall and muscular man, it's unclear whether he is a thug or a security guard.

　　There's another one, with a clean and gentle appearance, looking like a college student.

　　He doesn't seem like someone who would be interested in ancient knives at all.

　　What kind of group are these three people?

　　Could they be scammers?

　　"Mr. Xu, rest assured, we are not scammers."

　　Under his messy hair, Liang's sharp eyes instantly saw through his thoughts and laughed, "With so many people in the teahouse, do you think we could grab something and run? There are surveillance cameras everywhere on the streets; even if we took the knife, we wouldn't be able to escape, right?"

　　"I'm sorry, I was overthinking it."

　　Xu Sixian smiled, placing the small leather suitcase on the table and turning the combination lock to open it.

　　The box was turned around.

　　The three of them, with six eyes, hurriedly turned to look over.

　　Embedded in the thick black surface of the sea was a small knife, about ten centimeters long. Its shape was exactly the same as the skinning knife in the photo, except that it was more real and colder.

　　The knife was very clean, and its blade reflected a cold silver light.

　　It could be seen that Mr. Xu took very good care of this knife.

　　"Lu Fei, how is it? Is it?" Liang Ge looked at Lu Fei anxiously.

　　"Just a moment." Lu Fei signaled him to calm down, put on his gloves, and asked, "Mr. Xu, may I pick it up and take a look?"

　　Xu Sixian hesitated for a while, but seeing him in gloves looking very professional, he finally nodded and said, "Sure."

　　Only then did Lu Fei reach out, take the knife out of the box, and examine it carefully over and over again.

　　"Lu Fei, what's the verdict?" Liang Ge couldn't wait any longer and asked impatiently.

　　Hu Zi also looked at Lu Fei, full of curiosity.

　　"Brother Liang, I'm afraid this knife is not what we're looking for." Lu Fei shook his head and put the small knife back into the leather case.

　　"What? It's not!" Brother Liang was incredulous. His eyes, which always seemed half-asleep, suddenly widened, "This is clearly an antique skinning knife used on criminals in ancient times. How could it not be? You, take another look?"

　　"Brother Liang, I've looked at it repeatedly. There is no trace of evil energy on this knife," Lu Fei said confidently.

　　When it comes to evil objects, there was no way he could be mistaken.

　　"All the conditions were met, why isn't it..."

　　Brother Liang deflated like a punctured ball, his entire being sagging with deep confusion and disappointment.

　　"Wait, wait, may I ask what you two are talking about?" Xu Sixian, sitting across the table, looked at the two of them with a puzzled expression, "What do you mean by a skinning knife and evil energy?"

　　Brother Liang, in a complete funk, frowned and didn't want to say a word.

　　Lu Fei said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Xu, we were looking for a very special knife. We thought it might be the one in your collection, but now it seems it isn't."

　　"You mentioned earlier that this is a skinning knife, what do you mean by that?" Xu Sixian asked with a slight frown.

　　"Mr. Xu, didn't you know?" Lu Fei was taken aback for a moment. "This kind of knife was specifically used in ancient times to skin major criminals. In fact, such an executioner's knife is very inauspicious and should not be collected at all."

　　"A skinning execution knife?!" Xu Sixian was full of astonishment. "Are you sure you didn't make a mistake? The vendor who sold me the knife said it was a small personal knife of a general from ancient times, which was supposedly given to him as a reward by the emperor after winning a battle. It is said to have great historical value."

　　Lu Fei and Hu Zi exchanged glances.

　　This trick was all too common on Antiques Street.

　　"Mr. Xu, you might have been duped. If you don't believe me, you can check the information yourself."

　　"What?!"

　　Xu Sixian felt utterly terrible, and then he clenched his hands in anger.

　　"Those vendors on Culture Street are just too despicable! They lie without blinking an eye just to sell their goods!"

　　"You bought it on Culture Street?"

　　Lu Fei raised an eyebrow, seemingly thinking of something.

　　"Brother Liang, turn on the computer. I need to compare the photos again."

　　"Didn't you already look at them clearly?" Brother Liang reluctantly turned on the computer and brought up the photos.

　　Lu Fei picked up the small knife from the suitcase once again and compared it with the executioner's knife in the photo from different angles repeatedly.

　　"No! This knife is a fake!"

　　After a long while, his eyes lit up, pointing at a tiny notch on the knife in the photo, he said happily, "Look, this knife doesn't have this flaw!"