The Qian Family?
Shen Bai frowned slightly.
Ordinarily, Shen Bai wouldn't mind giving someone directions, but an inquiry about the Qian Family right now reminded him of the matter with Master Qian.
Not long ago, Master Qian had suddenly died of a vicious illness. It was said that before his death, he had acted like a mad dog, biting everyone he saw.
Several servants and maids had been bitten and injured.
Not long after they managed to subdue him, Master Qian died, his eyes wide open.
In recent days, rumors had spread that Master Qian's figure could be seen in the family's kitchen and other places, smiling at people.
But Master Qian had been buried for days.
Shen Bai was suspicious, so he didn't speak immediately.
The old Daoist explained, "You misunderstand, Shopkeeper. The Qian Family hired me to perform a ritual."
Shen Bai snapped out of it and pointed in the direction of the Qian Family's residence. "Go this way, and you'll reach the Qian Family's estate in a few streets."
The old Daoist clasped his hands in a Daoist School salute and turned to leave.
By now, it was getting late. After acquiring the Sword Dance Technique, Shen Bai was preoccupied with grinding his Skill Level, so he closed up shop early.
As for the Qian Family's affairs, he was curious but didn't dwell on them.
'I'm just a pawnshop keeper. What does it have to do with me?'
Shen Bai lit the oil lamp on his desk and continued grinding his Sword Dance Technique.
Having reached Level 2, every one of Shen Bai's sword movements produced a faint, ringing sound.
Not only that, but his Swordsmanship also carried a righteous, magnificent aura, as if it could vanquish all evil.
With each swing, his Skill Level for the Sword Dance Technique increased.
By the time Shen Bai performed his three-hundredth sword movement, the time it takes for an incense stick to burn had passed.
'The more I practice, the more of that Qi stream it consumes.'
The Qi stream in Shen Bai's Dantian was depleted, and his Skill Level stopped increasing.
Every sword movement used up the Qi stream, forcing Shen Bai to rest.
Inside his body, the depleted Qi stream began to gradually recover.
After Shen Bai finished recovering, the soreness in his arm gradually faded as the Qi flowed through it.
Then, Shen Bai resumed his sword practice.
[Sword Dance Technique +1+1+1...]
As always, each sword movement deepened Shen Bai's understanding of the Sword Dance Technique.
Shen Bai discovered that Skill Level wasn't as simple as he had thought.
The further he progressed, the slower his Skill Level increased; it often took several movements to gain a single point.
But as long as it was still increasing, it wasn't a major problem.
The night passed quickly. When the next day arrived, Shen Bai stretched and moved his aching arm.
The soreness in his right arm was being washed away by a constant stream of scorching Qi, allowing it to slowly recover.
A line of smoke materialized before Shen Bai's eyes, gradually forming into text.
[Sword Dance Technique Lv. 2 (Swordsmanship +2, Anti-Demon +2): 1000/1000]
[Qualitative Transformation available. Requires one wisp of Evil Qi.]
This was the result of his work last night. His Sword Dance Technique had reached Second Level Perfection, but a new problem had emerged.
The "Qualitative Transformation" became available after reaching Second Level Perfection, but the condition for it was a wisp of Evil Qi.
Shen Bai didn't know what Evil Qi was, so for now, he was stuck.
'I should open the shop first. Life has to go on.'
After thinking for a long time without figuring out how to obtain Evil Qi, Shen Bai decided to open the shop for business.
Even a righteous Hero needs to eat. In this day and age, not many people owned a shop like Shen Bai did, so naturally, he had to take care of his business first.
Besides, his Sword Dance Technique seemed to have hit a bottleneck. He could do business while thinking about what to do with his Swordsmanship.
After grabbing a bite to eat at an outdoor stall, Shen Bai returned to the pawnshop.
'Old Zhang isn't here yet?'
Shen Bai poured himself a cup of tea and took a light sip.
Normally, Zhang Chaofeng should have arrived long ago. Shen Bai didn't know why he was so late for work at the pawnshop.
But pawnshop business had always been inconsistent. Sometimes, taking in a single item could cover living expenses for several months, so Shen Bai wasn't too concerned.
Lying back in his chair, Shen Bai waited for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn before Zhang Chaofeng finally walked in, a gossipy look on his face.
The moment Shen Bai saw Zhang Chaofeng's expression, he figured the man must have heard some interesting tidbit somewhere.
Shen Bai knew Zhang Chaofeng well; the man was an incorrigible gossip.
Sure enough, before Shen Bai could say a word, Zhang Chaofeng spoke up.
"Shopkeeper, big news! Someone else has died at the Qian Family's!"
Shen Bai put down his tea. "Who died at the Qian Family's this time?" he asked, puzzled. "Are they cursed?"
The death of Elder Qian was already a huge blow to the Qian Family. They were probably all thinking about dividing the inheritance by now.
With another death, Shen Bai figured the inheritance would be even messier to divide.
"It wasn't a member of the Qian Family."
Zhang Chaofeng said mysteriously, "It was an old Daoist. They say the Qian Family hired him for an exorcism. He was in the middle of setting up an altar and performing a ritual when he suddenly went mad and started biting people. Not long after they restrained him, he died."
An old Daoist?
Hearing those words, Shen Bai immediately sat up. "Was he carrying a Peach Wood Sword?"
Zhang Chaofeng nodded. "That's right. And that Peach Wood Sword looked pretty familiar. It looked like... Hiss... Shopkeeper, it couldn't have been from our pawnshop, could it?"
Shen Bai's mouth twitched. "It probably was."
Zhang Chaofeng was first stunned, then terrified. "Shopkeeper, everyone's saying the Qian Family residence is haunted! The old Daoist died, and he got the Peach Wood Sword from our shop... He's not going to turn into a ghost and come looking for us, is he?"
Shen Bai waved his hand dismissively. "What are you thinking? Just focus on your work and don't mention this again."
After Shen Bai's rebuke, Zhang Chaofeng didn't dare to continue, but he remained somewhat distracted.
Shen Bai didn't pay him much mind. It was like how, in his previous life, people would be paranoid for a few days after watching a horror movie. He'd get over it in time.
What Shen Bai found strange, however, was that the old Daoist had died so suddenly.
'Looks like the Qian Family has a big problem,' Shen Bai thought.
But none of that had anything to do with him. What he was thinking about now was how to get his hands on some Evil Qi, or find something similar to the Lady Sword Dance Painting to see if he could develop another ability.
The rest of the day passed with Zhang Chaofeng in his paranoid state. A few people came in to pawn items, but they were all worthless trinkets.
It wasn't until Zhang Chaofeng left in the evening that Shen Bai closed the door.
...
The oil lamp on the desk cast a dim, yellow glow.
'This can't go on. Tomorrow morning, I'll wander the streets and see if I can find anything related to Evil Qi.'
Shen Bai made up his mind.
Since he needed it for the Qualitative Transformation of his Sword Dance Technique, Shen Bai was determined to acquire some Evil Qi. He decided to try his luck around town tomorrow.
Having a plan but no other skills to grind, Shen Bai prepared to rest early.
Just then, a sudden knock echoed from the door.
Shen Bai frowned. "Who is it?"
From outside the pawnshop, a hoarse voice seeped through the crack of the door.
"Shopkeeper, I've come to retrieve the Peach Wood Sword..."