Otherworldly Merchant

Song Longji furrowed his brows. "Not really."

I said, "The carrot! Yesterday, I also put a carrot in the pot."

Song Longji gaped. Then, after a long while, he looked at me and asked, "...I can assure you that no one entered this place last night."

I smiled. "Yes, I know."

"In that case... where did the carrot go?" Song Longji asked.

I pointed at the corpse of the street cleaner. "It's inside the stomach of the corpse. Do you want to dissect it and see?"

Song Longji gulped. He felt nauseated and went to look for a trash can where he could throw up.

"Mister Zhang, you’re a man with great abilities, so I'll just take your word for it. But, what does the missing carrot prove? That the corpse can still eat things?"

I shook my head. "Human Bones Necklaces can be produced from many different kinds of materials, and one doesn’t necessarily have to use the skulls of three-month-old infants. Cat bones, tiger bones, and rhinoceros horns can be used as well. As long as the level of negativity is enough, a Human Bones Necklace will be born. Think about it, among these animals, which one likes to eat carrots the most?"

Li Mazi said, "I really like to eat carrots. They increase body fluids, quench one's thirst, nourish one's skin, and even stimulate the appetite!"

I glared at Li Mazi and said, "Who asked for your opinion? Shut up and go pull the carrot out of the corpse's stomach!"

Li Mazi felt like throwing up. "I can't, it's too disgusting!"

Song Longji pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps the rhinoceros?"

I nodded. "Correct, the rhinoceros. This is why I believe that the raw materials used to produce this particular Human Bones Necklace were rhinoceros horns. Among the animals I've listed, rhinoceroses are the one with the largest appetite, and also the ones with the strongest negative attribute! Eating the intestines of dead people is definitely not enough to keep up with its consumption of strength. This is the reason the killer decided to feed it living souls."

Song Longji asked, "Mister Zhang, do ghosts really exist in our world?"

I replied, "I'm not sure if ghosts do exist, but if certain conditions are met, it's possible to give birth to strange phenomena or bestow supernatural powers upon an item. This is how our Human Bones Necklace was born."

Song Longji sighed, seemingly in deep thought.

Once we got out of the morgue, Yin Xinyue came over and asked, "Did you discover anything?"

I explained, "We unveiled the background of the Human Bones Necklace. Now, the real search begins."

Yin Xinyue brought us back to the hotel and made a call, telling me to update her boss on the situation.

From beginning to end, it was just me talking. The person on the other end didn't say a word.

I cursed inwardly: This guy’s really arrogant, not even bothering to say a word!

However, just as I was about to hang up, the person on the other end said hoarsely, "Thank you."

His voice was rather strange. He sounded like someone at death's door, but at the same time, the voice was very loud. I was quite confused. Perhaps, he’s just a young man with a very hoarse voice?

Li Mazi asked, "What do we do now? Where do we look for the Human Bones Necklace?"

I replied, "Do you guys know what Hong Kong's scariest and most dangerous 'haunted' place is?"

Li Mazi said without hesitation, "It's Hong Kong's countryside! The movie 'A Wicked Ghost' also took place in the countryside. That ghost lady really ruined my childhood."

I continued, "Is there any other place aside from the countryside?"

Hong Kong's countryside was too big, while I was looking for was a specific place. Like some large buildings in disuse with a high level of negativity.

Yin Xinyue said, "I might know of a similar place, the So Uk Estate. It's a famous haunted place in Hong Kong, comparable to the Fengmen Village in mainland China."

I urged Yin Xinyue, "Can you tell me more about this So Uk Estate? What makes it so special?"

Yin Xinyue forced a smile. "You should just check online. It won't sound that scary if I’m the one telling you about it!"

I was rendered speechless. It wasn’t like I was looking for a thrill.

Since Yin Xinyue was unwilling to talk about it, I didn't force her and directly grabbed the laptop.

After a quick research, I discovered what kind of place the 'So Uk Estate' was in the eyes of Hongkongers. Just like Yin Xinyue had said, it was basically Hong Kong's version of the Fengmen Village.

Strange things had never stopped happening since the completion of the So Uk Estate in the 80s up until now. If one looked up the words 'So Uk Estate, strange happenings' on Baidu, they would find more than 3 million results. The place was definitely very famous.

Most of the stories that had spread were about ghosts. According to the stories, the abandoned buildings in the area were now the dwellings of the dead.

Since after its completion, the So Uk Estate had given birth to an endless cycle of death. Almost every month, someone would commit suicide by jumping off the buildings. Moreover, the majority of the deaths were concentrated around the Azalea House.

It was said that the suicide victims refused to leave their dwelling even after their death, and many residents claimed to have seen ghosts after sunset.

No one dared had to live close to the 'Azalea House' since then, and the story about the place being the dwelling of the dead had spread far and wide...

I smiled and pointed with my finger. "This is the place! We’re going to the So Uk Estate tonight."

Li Mazi retorted, "Why are we going there? No one dares to go to that place in broad daylight, let alone at night!"

I said, "The owner of the Human Bones Necklace has to find a place with high negativity if they want to recharge the Human Bones Necklace, and the So Uk Estate just happens to be such a place! If we’re lucky, we might get the chance to meet the other party."

Then, I turned toward Yin Xinyue. "There’s no need for you to go. You should call a few bodyguards and have them stand by and wait for orders in the hotel. If I manage to find the target, I'll give you a call, and you can send the bodyguards over to chase after that person."

However, Yin Xinyue shook her head. "No, if you’re going, I'm going as well. It's an order from my boss and also my duty. I have to guarantee your safety."

I forced a smile. I wonder who’s guaranteeing whose safety.

Since she wanted to go, I could only comply. Nothing bad would happen as long as we were a little careful.

After having lunch, we headed to the So Uk Estate.

The area was very big, filled with multi-storied buildings. However, the buildings weren't plain like in the past, and there was a thick commercial aura around them now. It seemed that they’d been renewed.

Yin Xinyue said, "These buildings were built anew after tearing down the previous ones."

I nodded, deep in thought.

I had Li Mazi ask around if someone had died close to the Azalea House lately.

However, the residents would look at us vigilantly each time we mentioned the name 'Azalea House', and the first thing they asked was: Why are you asking us about that place?

We asked a few other people, but their answers were the same.

They seemed to know that there was something strange about the Azalea House, but they didn’t wish to share the details with us. In addition, they urged us not to go there.

But, the more they acted like this, the more curious I became.

Since the sky wasn't dark yet, we seized the opportunity to visit the place.