Antique Shop Zero: Disfigured School Beauty Becomes a Succubus to Pay Off Debts

Peng Guanhai clutched his waist in terror, shrinking into the corner of the hospital bed, his eyes wide with fear, as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

"Who are you! Who are you!"

The nurse was so startled by the sudden outburst that she took two steps back.

"I'm Xiao Sun, Uncle Peng. Don't you remember me?"

"Little Sun?"

Peng Guanhai's pupils dilated for a moment, then suddenly focused.

He stared intently at the nurse's face, as if trying to find some flaw in that familiar countenance. After a long while, his voice lowered:

"Is it really Xiao Sun?"

The nurse breathed a sigh of relief and forced a smile:

"Yes, I'm Xiao Sun, please don't get agitated."

She tentatively took a step forward:

"Come, let me help you lie down."

Peng Guanhai's expression changed.

A fierce glint suddenly flashed in those cloudy old eyes, like a wild beast that had been lying in wait for a long time.

"You're not Xiao Sun at all!"

The moment the slap was delivered, Peng Guanhai's movements were faster than those of an elderly man nearing the end of his life.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out in the ward.

A bright red handprint appeared on the nurse's face. She covered her face, tears welling up in her eyes, her lips trembling as she couldn't speak.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Peng Guanhai burst into maniacal laughter, grabbed a pillow and blanket, and started throwing them at the nurse.

"You're not Little Sun at all! You're trying to fool me?! I'm White Cat! The White Cat that can never be caught!"

"Grandpa! What are you doing?!"

Peng Zhenni's scream came from the doorway.

She was still holding the fruit basket she had just bought, and she stood there frozen, her face filled with disbelief.

Peng Guanhai suddenly turned his head, squinted at his granddaughter, and stared at her as if she were a stranger:

"And who are you?"

Peng Zhenni bit her lip, her eyes reddening:

"Grandpa, you don't even remember me anymore?"

"grandfather?"

Peng Guanhai paused, a glimmer of clarity flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Are you Jenny?"

Peng Zhenni walked quickly to the nurse, her face full of apology:

"Sister Sun, I'm so sorry, I've made you..."

The nurse wiped her eyes, her professionalism preventing her from shedding tears in front of the patient's family.

She covered her face, her voice muffled:

"fine."

He glanced back at Peng Guanhai and lowered his voice, saying:

"Uncle Peng shouldn't get too excited right now, Jenny, you should spend more time with him these days."

Yesterday...Grandpa Peng injured the head nurse, and the doctor finally prescribed a sedative before the injection could be successfully administered.

"Sister, let me do it."

Peng Zhenni quickly squatted down to help pick up the blankets and pillows.

She carried the pile of things toward the hospital bed, her back to Peng Guanhai, completely unaware of the danger behind her.

The moment the nurse looked up, her pupils contracted sharply.

Peng Guanhai pulled his hand out from under the blanket and held a small peach wood sword.

The sword was only the length of a palm, crudely made, and looked like something you'd find for a few dollars at a street stall.

But when held in Peng Guanhai's hand, it carried a chilling murderous intent.

"Be careful!"

The nurse grabbed Peng Zhenni's arm and dragged her backward.

Almost simultaneously, the peach wood sword grazed Peng Zhenni's clothes and pierced through the air, missing its mark.

"Namo Amitabha Buddha! Jesus, help me!"

Peng Guanhai shouted hoarsely, his eyes bloodshot, like a mad old dog.

Peng Zhenni was pulled and staggered a couple of steps. After regaining her balance, she turned around and saw the peach wood sword in her grandfather's hand.

Her tears streamed down her face.

"You old geezer, you really don't remember me anymore!"

Peng Guanhai sneered, holding the peach wood sword horizontally in front of him, staring at her warily:

"You think you can fool me by pretending to be my granddaughter?"

Peng Zhenni wiped away her tears, turned to look at Jiang Chaosheng, and gave a helpless, bitter smile:

"I'm sorry you made a wasted trip."

Jiang Chaosheng stood at the door, not moving at all from the moment he arrived.

"Peng Guanhai," he said, his voice not loud.

"I borrowed your mirror."

Peng Zhenni sighed:

"It's no use talking to Grandpa. He doesn't know anything. Just take the mirror and don't ask him anymore."

Peng Guanhai's body trembled violently.

The emaciated body trembled violently as if struck by lightning.

His two old eyes widened as he stared intently at Jiang Chaosheng.

His gaze slid across Jiang Chaosheng's face and landed on his neck.

There hung an old-fashioned key there, copper-green in color, as if it had been dug out of some ancient tomb.

This is the key to Zero Antique Shop.

Peng Guanhai's pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.

With a "whoosh," he jumped off the bed, his knees hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"Greetings, sir!"

Nurse Zhang was stunned.

Peng Zhenni was also stunned.

She realized what was happening and quickly went to help Peng Guanhai up.

"Grandpa, what are you doing!"

Peng Guanhai knelt on the ground, his knees seemingly rooted to the spot, and Peng Zhenni couldn't budge him no matter how hard she tried.

Jiang Chaosheng frowned: "Get up."

Peng Guanhai immediately stood up, so fast that Peng Zhenni's hand was still hanging in mid-air and she didn't have time to retract it.

Nurse Zhang and Peng Zhenni both looked at Jiang Chaosheng, their faces filled with disbelief.

Why...why would I listen to this young man so much?

A psychologist?

Hypnosis?

Jiang Chaosheng walked to a chair and sat down.

He crossed his legs, one hand casually resting on the armrest, his fingers tapping idly.

Even in such a casual sitting posture, one gets the illusion of sitting on a throne, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

He crossed his legs, casually rested one hand on the armrest, and tapped his fingers absently.

Even in such a casual sitting posture, one gets the illusion of sitting on a throne, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

"Sit back down."

Peng Guanhai obediently sat on the bed, his back straight, his hands on his knees, like a primary school student.

Nurse Zhang shook her head in astonishment:

"This, this is truly a miracle. Perhaps we won't need a sedative today. I'll go and tell the doctor."

After she finished speaking, she hurriedly left the ward.

Peng Zhenni's gaze darted back and forth between her grandfather and Jiang Chaosheng, her exotic face filled with shock.

She had never seen her grandfather like this before.

This is the famous detective White Cat, someone even the head of the police station has to treat with respect!

Jiang Chaosheng... or rather, who are Jiang Chaosheng's elders?

Just who is this distinguished person?

Peng Guanhai suppressed his excitement, his voice trembling and his words incoherent:

"I, I've finally waited for you."

Although you've changed a lot, I still recognized you. I...I...

A hint of sadness appeared in Peng Zhenni's eyes.

What do you mean by "his change is significant"?

They clearly mistook someone for someone else.

He mistook Jiang Chaosheng for his grandfather's friend.

Why wait for "me"?

he asks:

"You can go to the South China Sea to find 'me'."

Did I tell you that you were forbidden from coming to the South China Sea to see me?

Peng Guanhai shook his head:

"No, you never said that."

A hint of doubt crept into Jiang Chaosheng's voice:

"If you've been wronged, why didn't you come to me?"

If Peng Guanhai encounters any unusual events, his first reaction should be to seek refuge with the person in charge.

Instead of running off to Jiangchuan, opening a detective agency, and driving himself to the point of becoming neither human nor ghost.

A deep fear was evident in Peng Guanhai's eyes.

"They...they won't let me see you!"

His voice trembled:

Five years ago, when you first warned me, I wanted to find you.

They killed my daughter and son-in-law!

This is their final ultimatum!

"If, if I go to you, they will kill Jenny!"

He covered his old face in anguish, his shoulders trembling violently.

"They have been tormenting me for years, taking away things that are important to me."

Lucy, Laura, and my children—they all took them away.

They killed Lucy and Laura the first time they warned me.

I wanted to find you, but they killed my daughter and son-in-law.

Peng Zhenni looked at Peng Guanhai in disbelief: "Lucy? Laura?"

Jiang Chaosheng cast a questioning glance at him.

Peng Zhenni explained:

"Lucy and Laura were my grandfather's dogs, and they were run over by a car five years ago."

She suddenly remembered something, and her pupils trembled:

"Three days before my parents were in a car accident, Lucy and Laura died."

Could it be that it really wasn't an accidental death, but rather a warning and revenge issued to Grandpa?!

She walked quickly to her grandfather, squatted down, and grabbed Peng Guanhai's trousers tightly:

"Grandpa, who is the murderer?!"

Peng Guanhai's body trembled even more violently.

He shook his head, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The hand that had once held the peach wood sword now resembled a withered branch in the wind, trembling precariously and utterly vulnerable.

Jiang Chaosheng uttered three words softly: "I'm here."

The three words were so light, like a feather falling on the water.

But Peng Zhenni felt that the entire ward trembled when those three words were spoken.

She glanced back at Jiang Chaosheng.

The young man sat in that chair, legs crossed, his fingers tapping the armrest at a leisurely pace.

When he said "I'm here," his tone was as flat as if he were saying "The weather is nice today."

But Peng Zhenni heard something else.

It was an absolute, unquestionable confidence.

It was as if, as long as he was there, this small hospital room was an impenetrable fortress, and nothing could get close.

What exactly does he do?

Peng Guanhai's body gradually stopped trembling.

He hung his head and remained silent for a long time. The ward was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of leaves in the wind outside the window.

Finally, he relented.

"It all started with a disappearance case seven years ago."

The old man's voice was hoarse and weary, like a rusted knife slowly being drawn from its sheath, "That was the last case I handled..."