Chapter 152: Runes in the Black Umbrella

　　Jing Jian thought about it all the way but still didn't understand what was wrong with his mouth.

　　Chen Jinfah dropped Lu Fei and the other at the Antique Street, and Jing Jian got off here as well.

　　"Manager Lu, I will contact the master of magical artifacts tomorrow. You wait for my notification."

　　Waving his hand, he disappeared into the night with that comical attire.

　　Returning home.

　　Lu Fei first recorded the evil objects pawned today in the ledger.

　　Yin Dog monster, living collateral.

　　The total number of evil objects received is 9, one step closer to the goal.

　　Then, he curiously took out the black umbrella and examined it carefully.

　　The ticket stated that this black umbrella could connect to the netherworld and capture souls and ghosts.

　　He had already witnessed its power to capture souls today, but he wondered how it would capture ghosts.

　　Moreover, what did it mean by connecting to the netherworld?

　　Could this umbrella be linked to the underworld?

　　The more Lu Fei looked at it, the more he felt that this black oiled paper umbrella was a good thing.

　　As he opened the umbrella, dark red flowers slowly bloomed inside, exuding an indescribable eerie beauty.

　　The flowers were captivating.

　　It seemed as if a pair of cold eyes were hidden within them.

　　While Lu Fei was looking at it, it was also looking at Lu Fei.

　　If you look at it for a few more moments, an illusion that the world is about to blur will arise.

　　Perhaps due to an increase in magical power, Lu Fei found that he could now gaze directly at the flowers inside. He steadied his mind and leaned in for a closer look.

　　"What kind of flower is this... Wait, what is this?"

　　Lu Fei usually didn't pay much attention to flowers and plants, so he couldn't identify what kind of flower it was.

　　However, he was surprised to find that the dark red petals were actually composed of some peculiar runes.

　　The runes were very small, about the size of ants, and could not be seen without a close look.

　　Moreover, these runes seemed somewhat familiar to him.

　　"I think I've seen them somewhere before?"

　　Lu Fei scratched his head hard, trying to recall.

　　"Right! It seems like... the map!"

　　A moment later, he seemed to think of something, his eyes suddenly widening as he hastily picked up his phone and found the photo of the goatskin map.

　　"It's this kind of rune!"

　　Lu Fei was so excited that his heart was pounding; he zoomed in on the photo of the goatskin map, brought it under the umbrella, and repeatedly compared it with the runes forming the petals.

　　Although the runes were not exactly the same, they clearly belonged to the same type.

　　It was like English; even if you couldn't understand the meaning of the words, you could definitely tell which language it was.

　　It turned out that the symbols on the map were not characters, but runes. No wonder he had been studying ancient scripts for so long without making any progress.

　　"What kind of rune is this?"

　　Lu Fei had never seen such strange runes before; they did not seem to belong to either Daoism or Buddhism.

　　But at least there was a breakthrough, and he hadn't expected it to come from this black umbrella.

　　"Could it be that Grandpa collected this umbrella because it was related to the goatskin map?"

　　Lu Fei had a hunch that this might not be a coincidence.

　　Although he was somewhat physically exhausted, he had no intention of sleeping. Lying on the bed, he held the black umbrella and his phone, with his mind filled with thoughts of the red flower and the rune.

　　He decided to find Fortuneteller Feng the next day. The black umbrella was pawned to the Sinisterium Pawnshop by her, so she must know what the rune represents.

　　It was just beginning to get light out.

　　Lu Fei jumped out of bed and, after a quick wash, left Hu Zi to watch the shop. He then took the black umbrella and hurried over to Fortuneteller Feng's residence, barely able to contain his impatience.

　　The courtyard gate was deserted, with no one in line.

　　Fortuneteller Feng's cultivation was now wasted, and naturally, no one would come to seek her services anymore.

　　The door was ajar.

　　Lu Fei pushed the door open and, before he even stepped inside, he was hit by a strong stench of dead rats.

　　Covering his nose, he looked inside and immediately felt his scalp tingle.

　　Flies were swarming in the courtyard, dead rats were everywhere, and it was unclear how long they had been dead; their bodies were already rotting and emitting a strong stench.

　　"Where is Fortuneteller Feng?"

　　Lu Fei had a bad feeling and dashed into the house at top speed, but indeed he could not find Fortuneteller Feng.

　　The room was in a mess, with tables and chairs overturned and items strewn all over the floor, showing signs of being ransacked violently.

　　"Could someone have come looking for Fortuneteller Feng?"

　　Finally, Lu Fei found a large pool of blood by the window in the bedroom.

　　"She couldn't be already dead, could she?"

　　Lu Fei's eyebrows twitched nervously.

　　Fortuneteller Feng was not a good person, perhaps an enemy had come for her.

　　She deserved to die, but this cut off Lu Fei's lead.

　　Lu Fei was unwilling to give up and, enduring the stench, searched everywhere inside and outside the house, finally making a discovery.

　　He found a piece of tattered fabric behind the door.

　　On it was embroidered the character for 'kill'.

　　The fabric was crumpled and stained with blood, as if it had been deliberately torn off.

　　"Could it be that the person who took Feng Shenpo was wearing this clothing with the word 'kill' on it?" Lu Fei surveyed the entire disheveled house and the chaotic footprints on the ground.

　　"It seems more than one person; it doesn't look like a vendetta, but rather like they were searching for something."

　　Could it be this black umbrella?

　　A heavy feeling settled in Lu Fei's heart. He looked around, wiped away any traces of his presence, and quietly left via another route.

　　After taking several detours to ensure he wasn't being followed, he didn't return to the pawnshop but instead went to Sanwei Teahouse.

　　"Sister Hong, is there any sect in the martial world that wears clothing with the character 'kill' embroidered on it?" He found an unoccupied spot and asked Sister Hong in a low voice.

　　"Embroider the word 'kill' on clothes?"

　　Sister Hong's slender willower-leaf eyebrows slightly raised, her eyes narrowed as she looked at Lu Fei with a strange gaze.

　　"Young Master Lu, what made you think of asking about this?"

　　"Sister Hong, as I recall, buying information at the Sanwei Teahouse doesn't require a reason, right?" Lu Fei looked at her calmly.

　　"I spoke too much." Sister Hong smiled. "This is just an assassin organization called the Blood Kill Society. As long as you can pay, they can kill anyone. Young Master Lu... Are you thinking of killing someone?"

　　"Of course not, I was just asking casually. Please hurry up with the leads on my grandfather and Jia Banxian."

　　"That's what I thought. Young Master Lu, you've just entered the jianghu, how could you be in a rush to kill so soon?" Sister Hong patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we're close to getting news on Jia Banxian. My informant heard that he might be coming to Jiangcheng recently. As soon as he shows up, I'll let you know right away."

　　"Thank you."

　　Lu Fei didn't say more, paid for the tea, and left in a hurry.

　　Since it was an assassin organization, it was unlikely to get any information from them, so he had to come up with another plan.

　　He walked down the street, heavily burdened with thoughts, wondering where he could find someone who knew these runes.

　　At that moment, his phone suddenly rang; it was from Hu Zi.

　　But the voice on the other end was Jing Jian's.

　　"Manager Lu, why aren't you at the pawnshop? Where did you go? I've been waiting for you for a long time."

　　"Do you have something?"

　　"You didn't forget, did you? I said I'd take you to see the master of ritual implements. If you're free now, let's go. The master isn't available every day. My peachwood sword is broken and needs to be fixed right away."

　　Lu Fei was not in the mood initially.

　　But then he thought, the master of ritual implements was well-informed, and many ritual implements had runes inscribed on them. Perhaps the master could recognize the runes on the goatskin map?

　　Anyway, since there was no better option, he might as well try his luck.