As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 106

Who knows, maybe he could even buy a few books for her to study accounting, so she could handle tax filings later.

Su Fan recalled an interesting theory he’d heard in his previous life.

If ghosts truly existed, they would inevitably be discovered.

Because such beings aren’t protected by labor laws, have no human rights, and don’t get tired, making them the ideal choice for capitalists running sweatshops for assembly line work.

Thinking about it that way, they really do seem useful… Ahem… That’s just diabolical.

Su Fan quickly shook his head, dispelling these twisted thoughts.

There wasn’t that much work in the shop anyway.

Besides, he could afford to hire someone; there was no need to be that stingy.

As for the Astrologer, Su Fan had other uses for her.

Simultaneously, a prompt timely arrived in his mind.

[You have subdued an evil spirit for your own use, providing valuable experience for subduing other evil spirits in the future.]

[In the future, you will be more adept when subduing evil spirits.]

This reward was quite good.

But he wondered, on this land of the free, how many evil spirits like the Astrologer were qualified to become his subordinates?
Before Su Fan could continue his musings, another prompt arrived in his mind.

[Because your contract overrode the previous one, your aura has attracted the attention of a presence in the darkness.]

Something was targeting him again.

Su Fan was already used to this by now.

Exorcists easily earned the hatred of evil entities, and an exotic exorcist from the East was an even bigger target.

The contract was already signed. If ‘it’ wanted to come, then let it come.

Su Fan put away the Tarot cards in front of him and sat down cross-legged.

As his exorcisms continued, Su Fan was bound to encounter more evil spirits.

How could he not continue to improve his strength?

Cultivation must not stop for a moment.

Open the shop for business in the morning, close up and cultivate until dawn.

Repeating like this, his days were quite fulfilling.

Haley and the others delivered the payment not long after, with the chubby guy obediently handing over a hundred thousand dollars.

He brought along a somewhat lanky young man.

It was only upon learning that the young man was the chubby guy’s roommate, and that his name was Peter Parker, that Su Fan noticed the chubby guy’s face looked somewhat familiar.

After repeatedly confirming that the young man couldn’t scale walls, Su Fan felt relieved.

While it had integrated horror movies, thankfully it hadn’t merged with any of those… peculiar worlds.

……

“Detective asked me to ask you something.”

Carl, wearing his patrol officer’s uniform, sat in front of the counter, accepted the tea from Su Fan, thanked him, and continued the topic.

“What is it? Another paranormal case?”

“No. He was hoping you could serve as a Special Crimes Consultant for the LAPD, just in name only.”

Carl shrugged and spread his hands at this point.

“Once a person’s perspective broadens, it’s hard to turn a blind eye to certain things.”

“The Detective wants to investigate many things carefully, but they keep getting summarily classified as accidents or suicides by the higher-ups.”

Hearing this, Su Fan shook his head.

“With that attitude, he won’t change anything.”

He understood the Detective’s obsession with catching perpetrators clearly enough.

But he didn’t understand the operating logic of this country.

Often, it wasn’t that the upper echelons didn’t know, but that they felt taking action was worse than taking no action.

If you dug deeper, it came down to worthiness.

Train derailments were commonplace; why weren’t they solved? Did the railroad companies not know?
It was because the cost of repairs was too high, and the compensation paid to the families of the deceased was negligible in comparison.

So far, there hadn’t been any large-scale supernatural incidents.

If they made a big fuss and caused public panic, who would bear the responsibility?

As for the people who died, just rule it an accident.

There were plenty of missing persons every year anyway; a few dozen more wouldn’t matter.
If anything really serious happened, let the people from the Church handle it.

“So, Su, what do you think?”

“I’ll consider it.”

Su Fan didn’t outright refuse.

“The Detective said if you didn’t agree immediately, to just let it be.”

Carl’s tone was relaxed.

“He knows perfectly well that this shop is the most important thing to you.”

“Any special plans lately?”

As he spoke, Carl pulled a voucher from his pocket.

“A while back, the Detective referred those… not-so-bright college students to you, right?”

“He thought they were a bit unhinged and probably caused you a lot of trouble, so he sent you a travel voucher.”

Carl stood up, adjusting his police vest.

“Message delivered, item delivered. I won’t disturb you further.”

“Bye.”

After a brief farewell, Carl walked out of the shop to continue his daily patrol duties.

Su Fan glanced at the address on the voucher.

Some small town in Washington State.

He ran a quick mental search.

That area, unlike dry, rain-scarce California, was known for its constant drizzle.

This town was probably often shrouded in fog, with forests not too far away.

Whether to go or not, he hadn’t decided yet. He’d just keep it for now.

Su Fan set it aside.

But just then, Su Fan felt a sudden, inexplicable premonition.

Was it the travel voucher?
Su Fan was a bit puzzled.

No, it was the person outside the door.

Su Fan looked up to see a young woman pushing open the antique shop door.

She seemed distracted, not looking at the shop’s furnishings, and came straight to the counter.

Not here to buy something, so she must be here for an exorcism…

“Excuse me, are you Master Fan Su?”

“That’s me.”

Su Fan nodded.

“I’ve heard you have quite a reputation in paranormal circles… I came to ask for your help in removing… an abnormality from my body.”

“This might sound crazy, but I seem to have recently awakened some… special power.”

The woman spoke haltingly, as if embarrassed to bring it up.

Special power?
Su Fan studied her carefully, confirming she wasn’t joking.

“Special how?”

“When I’m angry or intensely focused, I can see people’s cardiovascular systems, and other tissues… I feel like I could even… damage them…”

“…I’m sorry, I feel like I’m going insane, but it’s true.”

“Because, because…”

The woman hesitated for a long time, finally gritting her teeth and speaking.

“A while ago, my boss was seriously injured by this power… he’s still in the hospital recovering…”

Hearing this, Su Fan became interested.

Tong You (Spiritual Sight).

At this moment, the woman suddenly saw a faint glow seem to appear in Su Fan’s eyes, and his gaze became as sharp as if it could pierce through her body.

A moment later, the divine light in Su Fan’s eyes faded, and his look towards the woman held a little less skepticism.

The woman did indeed have a mysterious power contained within her body. It was just that the source of this power wasn’t anything good.