Otherworldly Merchant

The secretary smiled. "Mister Zhang, you don't need to find one. We know about your skills, and we only want you to make a trip to Hong Kong and appraise a Human Bones Necklace that we already have. You only have to determine if the item is genuine or not. The item is rather expensive, and we don’t wish to be cheated."

I trembled. "You... found a Human Bones Necklace?"

The secretary nodded, her chest also moving up and down.

I furrowed my brow. "I only have to appraise the item?"

"Yes, that's the only thing you have to do."

"Fine," I said. "It seems I can't refuse your offer."

I was just a small merchant of antiques, and there was no way I could pick a fight with a huge entertainment company. I still wanted to keep running my shop after this matter was over!

"I'll give an account of the situation to my boss. If everything goes according to the plan, we'll set out for Hong Kong tonight. Also, it’s a pleasure doing business with you," said the beautiful secretary before leaving.

Li Mazi kept staring at her back and long legs as she exited the room, returning to his senses only after a while.

I lit a cigarette and muttered, "Li Mazi, I feel that things aren't as simple as they appear..."

Li Mazi wore a dirty smile on his face. "It doesn't matter. I've just met my goddess, and even if she wants me to become part of a Human Bones Necklace, I'm willing! Oh, right. What the hell is a Human Bones Necklace?"

I patted his belly and asked, "Do you like eating stir-fried intestine with vegetables?"

Li Mazi was confused by the sudden question but still nodded. "Now that you mention it, I feel a little hungry."

I continued, "You see, the Human Bones Necklace also likes to eat human intestines, especially if freshly extracted from the body."

Li Mazi was scared out of his wits, and even his face turned pale. "Little Brother, you’re joking, right?"

I said sternly, "I'm not joking. That's why I told you that things aren't as simple as they appear. The Human Bones Necklace is an extremely dangerous item."

Li Mazi kept silent and stared at the table in front of him in a daze.

Then, he patted my shoulder and said, "Little Brother, don't worry. Even if you die, I'll make sure to burn paper money as an offering to your soul every New Year's day. Take care!"

He then stood up and prepared to leave.

I immediately blocked him. "Where do you think you’re going?"

"Home!" said Li Mazi. "My son is waiting for me, and those guys were looking for you, not for me."

At the same time, the door was pushed open, and the beautiful secretary said, all smiles, "Mister, you can be at ease. The members of our company have already picked up your son, and they’re serving him delicious food as we speak."

"Is that so?" Li Mazi did a 180-degree turn. "I really feel relieved if that’s the case..."

Then, he obediently sat by my side. He also knew that he wouldn't be able to get away today.

The secretary continued, "It's about time. If we set out now, we’ll still have time to catch the last flight for Hong Kong."

I looked at her, perplexed. "You’re coming with us?"

The secretary nodded. "Yes, I'll be in charge of your everyday life during this trip."

Afterward, she made the necessary arrangements, and we went straight to the airport.

Along the way, we discovered that the name of the secretary was Yin Xinyue. She was previously an actress, but was now working as the private secretary of a CEO. She’d given up on her acting career.

As for how she’d gone from a third-rate small actress to becoming the secretary of a CEO, I could probably write a book about it.

After arriving in Hong Kong, we prepared to spend the night in a hotel.

Yin Xinyue said, "We'll rest today and go to appraise the item tomorrow. I've booked the room next door. Feel free to give me a call if you need anything."

Once she’d left, Li Mazi asked in a low voice, "What did she mean by 'need'? What if it’s a 'physiological need'?"

I replied, "I don't know. Why don't you give her a call and ask?"

Li Mazi hesitated for a while, but in the end, he didn’t call.

After dealing with the Snake-Fostering Blade, I’d seemingly gotten used to the feeling of danger and didn't have trouble sleeping. I soundly slept until dawn.

On the contrary, Li Mazi’s eyes were all swollen when he woke up. I asked out of curiosity, "Hey, what's the matter?"

He suddenly burst into tears. "I really miss my wife..."

Sigh, this guy is really hopeless...

As we finished eating breakfast, Yin Xinyue knocked on the door, entering the room alongside another man.

The man, who wore a smile on his face, shook hands with us and introduced himself. "Hello, I'm the leader of the special investigations force of Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, Song Longji. You can just call me Aji. It's a pleasure to work with you."

I was dumbfounded. What’s a police officer doing here? Is this a movie shooting or a treasure-hunting reality show?

Yin Xinyue said with a smile, "Let's sit down and talk."

Song Longji sat down and opened his briefcase, taking out some files and placing them in front of me. "Mister Zhang, these are the records of the police station. You can take a look to get a rough understanding of the situation."

I was still confused and had no idea what was going on.

Yin Xinyue explained, "We need your opinion on this matter. We wish to know if this case is related to the Human Bones Necklace."

At last, I understood what was happening. They didn't invite me here to determine if the Human Bones Necklace is genuine or not... they want me to find the Human Bones Necklace after looking at the case!

I was furious and cast the records aside, saying coldly, "Miss Yin, this isn't what we agreed upon!"

Yin Xinyue didn't get angry and kept a smile on her face. "Mister Zhang, didn't you agree to appraise the Human Bones Necklace for us?"

Are you trying to juggle with words now?!

I knew that I’d been tricked. I could only quietly pick up the records and take a look.

After reading the files, I was shocked. I lit a cigarette to allay my fear.

The case was about a series of suicides, and the way the victims had died was rather bizarre. All of them had cut their bellies open and pulled out their intestines before their deaths.

Still, a case where people were pulling out their intestines wouldn't be enough to connect it to the Human Bones Necklace.

However, some very strange matters took place after these people had died, and this was what had attracted the attention of the entertainment company.

First Case: The street cleaner of a certain residential area had died in their rented apartment. The cause of death was rather strange as the intestines had been pulled out of the victim's body. According to the autopsy, the intestines had been boiled in hot water after getting extracted, and then swallowed again by the victim.

Second Case: The employee of a certain express delivery company didn't come to work for three days.

On the fourth day, a strange package was delivered to the company, and the mailer was none other than the missing employee. After opening the package, the staff found a piece of intestine inside. The company sent someone to look for the courier, and that's how they found the body. Once again, the cause of death was intestines getting pulled out of the body. According to the traces left at the site, the employee had pulled out their guts on their own and then mailed them to the company.

Third Case: A university student in the Tsim Sha Tsui district was found dead on Valentine's Day in their dormitory room. Again, the cause of death was intestines getting pulled out of the body. The six-meter-long intestine was still attached to the body and laid out on the ground in the shape of a heart.

According to the investigators, the victim had committed suicide and then laid out the intestine in the shape of a heart.

Once I finished reading the records, I shivered and broke out in a cold sweat.

Even if one ignored the victims suddenly pulling out their intestines and only concentrated on what had happened after the deed, the whole situation was still suspicious as hell!

It was common knowledge that a person would die within two minutes after their belly was cut open due to the excessive loss of blood.

As such, how had those people managed to do all those things within two minutes?

For example, thoroughly boiling their intestines in hot water and swallowing them would take at least ten minutes.

As for wrapping up the intestines and sending them by mail... let alone the time spent, did the victim go to mail the package while covered in blood? No one noticed anything amiss?

Finally, as for laying out the intestines in the shape of a heart... was that person trying to be artistic?

I was momentarily at a loss and didn't know how to proceed.

So, I asked Song Longji, "Aji, what does Hong Kong's police force think of these cases?"

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