She Can See Ghosts

"Are you trying to rob me?"

"Hey, how can you speak like that?"

The portly Maitreya Buddha shop owner wasn't pleased. He stretched out his chubby finger adorned with an Ink Jade Pixiu ring, pointing at each item on the table, "This here, a talisman pen made from five-hundred-year-old Thunderstruck Peach Wood. Do you know how long five hundred years is? Houses get demolished generation after generation, not to mention it's been struck by lightning, truly a rare find!"

"And look at this piece, at least three hundred grams of Cinnabar, and it's a thousand years old. Who knows, maybe an Emperor used it to select his top scholars!"

"Then there's this Yellow Paper. I'm telling you, this isn't that rough stuff they sell in bundles for ten yuan outside the cemetery. Feel it, how smooth and tough it is. This is made from top-quality bamboo harvested right on the Dragon Boat Festival, made with the finest Curcuma powder, an old craft you might not even know!"

"And this black dog blood, it looks like a lot when it's liquid, but once it's processed and dried under the moon, it's just a few grams! Ten pounds of black dog blood makes only five hundred grams of powder! Besides, to get this blood, you have to kill a dog, which is a sin! Who would do it if it were cheap? It affects your moral virtue! Three thousand yuan per gram, a bargain, right? Is it a bargain? Tell me, is it a bargain?"

As the shop owner got more animated and spat flew, He Qing glanced at the items on the table and scornfully said, "Not a bargain!"

He Qing took out Professor Lin's pen from her bag and placed it on the table, "Boss, if that pen of yours can sell for five hundred thousand, then someone should be clamoring to buy this one for one million."

The shop owner's face immediately changed.

The pen that He Qing pulled out looked plain and even a bit old, but those in the know could instantly tell it was supported by an exceptionally clear and balanced charm, making talisman drawing twice as effective and incredibly facile... although it did shed a bit too much.

The shop owner waved his hands, his expression brightening again with a much more genuine smile this time, "Ah, turns out you're an expert! It's like the big flood hitting the Dragon King's temple... Such a young girl, so capable, so capable!"

He carefully wiped his hands, picked up Professor Lin's old pen, examined it, "The charm is full, the rhythm balanced... Miss, would you sell this pen? I offer this amount!"

As he spoke, his chubby finger formed a "two."

He Qing secretly chuckled, "Two million?"

"Oh my dear lady, two million, you really jest. Just look at how chubby I am. If I give you two million, I'd become a dried-up ghost! I meant two hundred thousand!"

The fat shop owner leaned closer, "This is an old pen after all, two hundred thousand, that's quite enough!"

He Qing tilted her chin, indicating the row on the counter, "Yours is new, for five hundred thousand... What's the use?"

The fat shop owner wasn't even a bit embarrassed: "Well, I didn't know you were a connoisseur."

Saying that, he left a word "Just a moment," twisted around and entered the storeroom behind him. Not long after, he came out holding a stack of items.

This time, all were genuine articles.

He Qing looked at the row of items the fat shop owner laid on the counter: four talisman pens, two blocks of Cinnabar, three boxes of Cinnabar powder, four boxes of Yellow Paper, one box of black dog blood powder.

Four talisman pens, one made of bamboo, one peach wood, one sandalwood, one locust wood; among them, He Qing favored the bamboo one because she felt the Spiritual Energy within the bamboo, although it lacked luster, was unmistakably veiled... But she was not familiar with the market, unsure if the owner would ask a high price because of that.

Cinnabar... Blocks would require grinding when needed; in urgent times, that could be maddening. Better to use Cinnabar powder, just add some material and it's ready.

He Qing opened the paper wrapping inside and carefully smelled: hardly any impurities, and the material seemed to be quite old, very good!

Checking the Yellow Paper, the four boxes varied in quality, but all were cut into talisman paper size with no frayed edges, far better than what He Qing had used before.

The last item, the black dog blood, just a thin layer, probably less than ten grams, looked quite good too...

"How much?"

He Qing feigned composure; she only had one thousand yuan in her bag, a student working part-time, and she had to help ghosts for free, very poor indeed.

The fat shop owner smiled, "Talking about money damages the mood, doesn't it..."

He Qing: ... how nice!

"Talisman pens range from two thousand to eighteen thousand yuan. Cinnabar powder goes for three hundred yuan per gram, and solid Cinnabar costs twenty thousand yuan per piece. Yellow Paper is priced from left to right: five hundred sheets for one hundred yuan, one hundred sheets for one hundred yuan, twenty sheets for one hundred yuan, one sheet for one hundred yuan."

He Qing's smiling face collapsed instantly.

"And this black dog blood, one hundred percent sun-free, five hundred yuan per gram."

He Qing: ...

I knew they were expensive, but I didn't think they were this expensive!!!

She reached out and pointed at the box of five hundred sheets of talisman paper for one hundred yuan, "I'll take five hundred sheets of this one."

The shopkeeper looked at her, and she also stared back at the shopkeeper.

"Is that all? You don't want anything else?"

The portly shopkeeper couldn't believe it: After all this hassle, just spending one hundred yuan?!

He Qing, "Just this one for now... Do you buy talismans here?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The portly shopkeeper eagerly leaned in, "Do you have any? Are you selling? What kind of talisman?"

He Qing thought for a moment, glanced at his eager expression, rummaged in her bag for a while, and pulled out a roughly folded piece of talisman paper, "An amulet, disposable."

The shopkeeper: ...

Seeing his thunderous expression, He Qing quickly unfolded the paper package and flattened it out for him to see. This was her first successfully drawn talisman; it was a permanent one, but it could only prevent one disaster, pretty useless. She was so excited at the time that she wanted to keep it as a souvenir, so she just, just folded it up for fun...

The talisman was good, brimming with Spiritual Energy; it was clear at first glance. Moreover, it was a rare disaster prevention charm... As for what He Qing said about it being disposable, aren't all disaster prevention charms disposable?

Unfortunately... the craftsmanship was too rough. The shopkeeper looked at the bits of Yellow Paper that had fluttered down when He Qing forcefully opened it, feeling distressed! It was a waste of talent!

Nowadays, there are hardly any people who can draw talismans; it's hard enough to draw one, who would want to sell it? It's rare to encounter a young girl who looked quite poor yet turned out to have such skills!

He carefully touched it with his fingertips for a long time, then looked up, feigning composure, and said, "The talisman is alright, just a bit rough."

Though he wanted to drive the price down, he also dared not criticize too harshly. These days, those willing to sell talismans are the real bosses! Who knew which family's naive child this was, such a spendthrift, even selling talismans… but he wondered if there were any more?

As for the price... the portly shopkeeper grimaced in pain and decided to play the long game for a bigger payoff, offering a fair price first, lest she choose not to sell here again. What then?

So he opened his mouth and gave the final price: "This talisman, given the rough materials, at most one hundred thousand yuan, that's really all there is."

He Qing: ...Huh?

One hundred thousand yuan?!!!

Her face expressionless, she pinched herself hard. After feeling a sharp pain at the root of her thigh, it took her quite an effort to restrain herself from shouting aloud.

The shopkeeper, seeing her silent, thought she was hesitating, but this price was already causing him considerable distress, so he also dared not speak...

"Fine, let's settle on that price, sold."

After a moment, He Qing heard her own voice.

Then the shopkeeper across from her also finally let out a secretive sigh of relief.