Chapter 529: Ghostly Opera

　　Wang Xiaoqiang had returned crying for help.

　　Neither Lu Fei nor Hu Zi showed any surprise.

　　This fool's greed had driven him to steal that ancient stage garment for sale - of course it would bring disaster.

　　"Xiaoqiang, what's happened to you?"

　　Hu Zi cleared his throat, feigning ignorance.

　　"Brother Hu, that costume... it's too horrible... it wants my life... I'm still young, I don't want to die..."

　　Wang Xiaoqiang clutched Hu Zi's leg desperately, mucus and tears mingling on his face.

　　"Serves you right! My boss warned you before, but you wouldn't listen!" Hu Zi pushed him away in disgust.

　　People are like this.

　　They cling to Gambler's mentality, refusing to shed tears until they see the coffin, until finally taught a harsh lesson by evil forces.

　　"Brother Hu, I was wrong before! The troupe leader kept delaying wages, and with my mother sick and needing urgent money, I resorted to wicked schemes... I know I messed up! For the sake of our brotherhood, please ask Boss Lu to save me... If I die, my mother will have no one..."

　　Wang Xiaoqiang pleaded pitifully.

　　Hu Zi visibly softened.

　　He'd warned this fool, and part of him relished seeing karma strike.

　　Yet abandoning someone to death violated his conscience.

　　But the decision wasn't his to make. He turned to Lu Fei with questioning eyes.

　　"Boss, what do you think?"

　　Lu Fei didn't rush to respond. Instead, he sat down and gazed calmly at Wang Xiaoqiang.

　　"I'll ask you a question first. Answer truthfully, and I'll consider helping you."

　　"Boss Lu, please speak!"

　　Wang Xiaoqiang, seeing a glimmer of hope, wiped his tears and eagerly agreed.

　　"When you invited Hu Zi to the opera that day, was the address you sent truly a mistake, or was it intentional?"

　　"I..."

　　Wang Xiaoqiang froze, lowered his eyes, and dared not answer for a long time.

　　Seeing his guilty expression, Hu Zi immediately understood.

　　"Damn it! Where did I wrong you? I kindly invited you all to a meal, and you actually tried to screw me over!" Hu Zi was fuming with rage.

　　"Brother Hu, I'm sorry! I just felt jealous seeing you doing so well... I only wanted to scare you a little, nothing more. I was wrong—I've been too petty... Brother Hu, please forgive me for the sake of the days we shared a bed..."

　　With a sorrowful face, Wang Xiaoqiang apologized to Hu Zi repeatedly.

　　"Hu Zi, this is your friend. You decide whether to save him or not," Lu Fei gestured to Hu Zi.

　　"Brother Hu..."

　　Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaoqiang nearly knelt before Hu Zi.

　　"I, Zhao Hu, have no such brother!"

　　Hu Zi's face darkened, refusing to even glance at Wang Xiaoqiang, his teeth clenched.

　　"Boss, we collect cursed objects! Whether it's a man or a dog that comes—as long as we get the cursed item, saving his wretched life is just a side task."

　　"Woof?"

　　Xiao Hei, standing nearby, tilted his head to look at Hu Zi.

　　"Fine," Lu Fei nodded.

　　"Thank you, Brother Hu! Thank you for saving me!"

　　Wang Xiaoqiang bowed repeatedly to Hu Zi, overwhelmed with relief.

　　"Enough! Our brotherhood ends here! You're just another ordinary customer of Sinisterium Pawnshop now!" Hu Zi crossed his arms coldly.

　　"Yes, yes. Whatever Brother Hu says goes."

　　Wang Xiaoqiang nodded awkwardly.

　　"Now, explain—how is that opera costume trying to kill you?" Lu Fei tapped the armrest of the sofa.

　　"Yes, Boss Lu."

　　Wang Xiaoqiang dared not withhold anything, recounting every detail of how the haunted opera costume had plagued him.

　　He and Hu Zi had once worked odd jobs at the same construction site, but both left after unfair treatment from the foreman, seeking new livelihoods.

　　After drifting for a time, Hu Zi found work at the antique street and settled down.

　　Wang Xiaoqiang, however, struggled—bouncing between temporary jobs before finally joining an opera troupe as a handyman.

　　He originally had no problem with basic sustenance, but after falling in with a group of unsavory friends who constantly invited him to drink, gamble, and sing, he soon became intoxicated with this extravagant lifestyle. To maintain such lavish living, he borrowed heavily from online lenders.

　　The interest snowballed, growing larger and larger.

　　It became an astronomical figure he couldn't possibly bear.

　　Meanwhile, the opera troupe's business kept deteriorating, with the troupe leader often unable to pay wages.

　　Trapped by online loans, in desperation he turned his attention to that ancient opera costume.

　　The day he noticed Lu Fei's interest in the ghostly opera robe, he thought it might be a valuable item. After the troupe leader brought the costume back, he secretly stole it.

　　Unexpectedly, Lu Fei detected his dishonesty and refused to accept it. Humiliated and enraged, he decided to sell it to others.

　　After touring Antique Street, only one or two shopkeepers were willing to make offers, but the prices were far lower than he imagined - mere drops in the bucket compared to his online debts.

　　Unwilling to concede, he brought the costume back to his rented room, planning to research market prices online.

　　But that very night, terrifying events began to occur.

　　He first searched for information on a secondhand computer, but finding no leads quickly lost patience and started gaming instead.

　　Just as he was getting into the game, he suddenly felt someone pat his shoulder from behind.

　　"Stop messing around!"

　　He shrugged his shoulder without turning around.

　　After several repetitions, it suddenly dawned on him.

　　He was alone in the room!

　　Who could be patting his shoulder?

　　A chill ran down his spine. Trembling, he turned to look and nearly fell under the desk in terror.

　　Standing behind him was that white ancient opera costume!

　　The antique garment fluttered gently, its long sleeves continuously drifting toward him like a female ghost beckoning.

　　"Oh my god..."

　　He shrank back with a scream, but after waiting a few seconds, found the ancient opera costume merely swaying in place.

　　Summoning courage to look again.

　　It turned out the window was open. The breeze made the antique opera costume hanging by the wardrobe flutter its long sleeves, which happened to brush against his shoulder.

　　"Damn it! Scared the hell out of me!"

　　It was a false alarm. He let out a long sigh of relief, but found himself in no mood to play games anymore.

　　"I'll sell you tomorrow! Even a fly has meat on its bones - something's better than nothing!"

　　He cursed viciously before turning off the light to sleep.

　　Yet after lying down, he kept feeling the opera costume was watching him.

　　His mind restless, he tossed and turned sleeplessly before finally getting up to store the costume in a box, which he shoved under the desk.

　　Midnight.

　　He was sleeping soundly.

　　Suddenly he heard the voice of someone practicing vocal exercises - "Ee~ ee~ ya~ ya~"

　　Such sounds were commonplace in opera troupes.

　　But he was currently in his rented room.

　　His rented room was very small, with no air conditioning, usually stuffy and hot. Sometimes he couldn't sleep from the heat.

　　Yet tonight it was as cold as if the air conditioning was set to the lowest setting.

　　The cold woke him.

　　"Who the hell is making that ghostly wailing in the middle of the night..."

　　He shivered as he got up.

　　The light turned on, and the sound of vocal warm-ups abruptly ceased.

　　Yet he couldn't feel happy.

　　Because the camphorwood chest that should have been stuffed under the computer desk had inexplicably appeared by his bedside.

　　The lid was half-open, a section of white sleeve protruding from the gap.