Chapter 48: Bewitched

“This…” Pei Dafu’s face was filled with surprise as he turned to look at the audience around him. As expected, everyone was nodding in agreement, all supporting Tang Chunqiu’s words.

“That’s right, Boss Pei, just agree to it. None of us will hold it against you.”

“Even this young man has forgiven you, so why are you still leaving?”

“Your reputation is excellent in our eyes. If you leave, we won’t know where to buy jade artifacts anymore.”

Persuaded by the crowd, Pei Dafu finally nodded gratefully and said, “Very well, thank you, Elder Tang, and everyone else for your trust. Here, I will bow to all of you as an expression of my gratitude.”

With those words, he knelt down and kowtowed three times before everyone!

After rising to his feet, he personally instructed his staff to prepare one hundred million yuan, and walked over to Lin Feng with the bank card in hand, speaking respectfully, “Mr. Lin, I was in the wrong just now. I failed to recognize your abilities and behaved disrespectfully. I hope you will forgive me.”

“This one hundred million is my way of making amends for your loss. Please, you must accept it.”

“Boss Pei, I absolutely cannot accept this.” Lin Feng shook his head, refusing without hesitation. Such a large sum of money was not something he could ever accept.

Unexpectedly, Tang Chunqiu stepped forward at this moment, smiling as he said, “Little brother Lin, you should accept it. If you don’t, he won’t be able to continue running his business here.”

“These are the rules of our antique trade. There’s no need to be overly reserved.”

“That’s right, Mr. Lin, please accept it. This is what you deserve,” a middle-aged man in the crowd also urged, and soon many others echoed his words.

Unable to refuse everyone’s earnestness, Lin Feng could only nod and say, “Very well, since everyone insists, I’ll accept it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lin.” Pei Dafu finally seemed at ease.

Coming back to himself, he once again looked at the jade pendant from earlier. Each time he recalled what had happened, he was filled with self-loathing. He picked it up, ready to smash it on the ground.

But at that moment, Lin Feng hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, speaking sternly, “Boss Pei, you mustn’t break this jade pendant.”

“Mr. Lin, I, Pei Dafu, cannot tolerate counterfeit antiques. Please, let me destroy it,” Pei Dafu insisted.

“That’s not what I mean. I’m saying that this pendant actually harbors a strong sinister energy. If you break it, that energy will enter your body and could cost you your life,” Lin Feng said gravely.

“Sinister energy? Mr. Lin, are you saying this is an evil artifact?” Pei Dafu asked in shock.

The crowd around them was thrown into panic!

In the world of antiques, evil artifacts are among the greatest dangers. At worst, they bring misfortune and calamity, sometimes even death itself.

Yet, on second thought, everyone was puzzled. The pendant was just a high-quality imitation—how could it be an evil object?

Lin Feng nodded earnestly, explaining, “That’s right. This is indeed an evil object. Although it’s a replica, it’s been buried underground for over a hundred years, absorbing the resentment of the dead and gradually becoming corrupted.”

“Now it has absorbed the life force of many, making its sinister energy even stronger. If it’s shattered, that energy will be released.”

“Then what should we do?” Pei Dafu asked in terror.

“Why not entrust it to me? I have my own ways of dealing with it,” Lin Feng replied with a faint smile, taking the pendant from his hand.

At this moment, a young man in the crowd gave a cold snort and stepped forward, saying, “Mr. Lin, since you claim to know how to handle it, why not dispose of it in front of us all?”

“If you take it away, who knows what you’ll do with it? If you sell it for profit and it goes back on the market, wouldn’t others be harmed?”

“That’s right. Mr. Lin, your appraisal skills are impressive, but we don’t know your character. If greed overcomes you and you sell it, people who can’t tell real from fake will be at risk.”

“You’re talking nonsense! Lin Feng is not that kind of person.” Li Bing’er could no longer keep silent and stepped up to defend him.

But the young man remained disdainful, continuing, “Am I wrong? Even Elder Tang didn’t say there was evil energy in that pendant—what makes him so sure?”

“As I see it, he just wants to keep the pendant for himself and sell it at a high price.”

“You—”

“Enough.” Tang Chunqiu stepped forward to stop them, then turned to the young man and said, “I may not have seen the sinister energy in the pendant, but I believe little brother Lin. He would never harm others for profit.”

“Elder Tang, words alone are not enough. Unless he smashes the pendant in front of us, we won’t be convinced,” the young man insisted, and as soon as he finished, he stepped up himself, gave another cold snort, and said, “If he won’t smash it, I will. Whatever happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”

“Hey, don’t!” Lin Feng cried out as he saw the young man take the pendant from the counter and raise it high, preparing to smash it to the ground.

But before Lin Feng could finish speaking, the young man had already hurled the pendant down.

The moment the pendant hit the floor, there was a sharp crack, and it shattered into four pieces.

Yet, nothing Lin Feng had described occurred—at least, not immediately.

The young man glanced at the broken pieces, sneering, “See? Everything Lin Feng said was a lie. He just wanted to keep the pendant and sell it to harm others.”

“Old Wu, y-your back…”

His companion suddenly noticed a swirling black mist rising slowly behind him, wrapping around him inch by inch.

He slowly turned his head, only to see the black mist suddenly take the shape of a skull, its mouth gaping wide as it lunged at his face!

“Ah! Help me! Help!” The young man screamed in terror, trying to flee, but before he could take two steps, the black mist caught up with him and shot into his body in a flash.

In an instant, his face went blank, his entire body lost consciousness, and he moved like a zombie, slowly staggering toward the crowd.

Those nearby, witnessing this, turned pale as death and instinctively backed away.

Tang Chunqiu had never seen such a supernatural event before; his eyes widened in shock, utterly at a loss.

“Everyone, step back!” Lin Feng’s brows furrowed sharply as he shouted. In a flash, he charged to the young man’s side and struck him firmly on the back.

The young man showed no expression, but suddenly turned, fixing his gaze on Lin Feng.

Lin Feng met his gaze without a trace of fear and, in a blur of motion, rapidly jabbed his fingers at several of the young man’s acupoints, each strike swift and fluid. Waves of energy poured into his body.

It seemed as if the young man’s body was now controlled by Lin Feng’s force, his steps halted, and the crowd slowly regained their composure.

But then!

As Lin Feng’s final finger struck the center of his chest, the young man suddenly went wild, throwing back his head and letting out a furious roar. All the black energy inside him burst forth!

With a violent spurt, the young man vomited a mouthful of fresh blood on the spot!