As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 16

The couple looked puzzled at Su Fan’s words.

“Su Fan, you might be mistaken. Esther is Russian—pale skin is normal for her…” John explained, clearly dismissing Su Fan’s concern.

But Kate’s reaction was different.

“Su Fan, do you have medical training?”

As an educated woman from a well-off family, Kate knew a little about traditional Chinese medicine and understood its diagnostic methods differed from modern medicine.

“Yes, I’ve studied it at the shop. Lately, I’ve been learning bone-reading.”

Su Fan nodded, his eyes never leaving the little girl standing beside John.

“Bone-reading?” Kate asked curiously.

“It’s a method of assessing bone development and age by feeling the structure of the hand…”

At these words, the girl’s serene expression shifted—first to panic, then wariness, and finally to a glare so venomous it seemed she wanted to devour Su Fan whole.

“You can determine that without an X-ray? That’s incredible.”

Kate looked impressed, but John remained unconvinced.

After a brief farewell, Su Fan left under their gazes.

…..

“So, do you believe him?” John asked his wife.

“Whether I do or not, a checkup wouldn’t hurt, would it?” Kate mused.

“Oh, come on, Kate. That’s just the rambling of some kid with no medical license.”

John didn’t believe a single word Su Fan had said.

“Think about how we were at his age. Young people always try to stand out by pretending to know things. A little lie is nothing to them.”

“…”

Kate frowned at her husband’s words.

He wasn’t wrong, but something about it unsettled her—as if ignoring Su Fan’s warning would lead to disaster.

“Daniel! Come down for dinner!”

Ignoring his wife’s unease, John called for his son. When the boy appeared sullen, he joked,

“What’s wrong, champ? Did your crush at school reject you?”

“No.”

Still smarting from his mother’s scolding, Daniel vented about his earlier encounter—conveniently omitting his racist remarks and rudeness toward Su Fan.

Hearing this, John grew even more displeased with the young Chinese man who’d visited.

He deliberately raised his voice.

“Daniel, what do you think? Does Esther look sick to you? That kid actually suggested we take her to the hospital for a full checkup.”

“He doesn’t know shit about medicine. Probably just a scammer. Esther’s perfectly healthy.”

Bitter over the earlier confrontation, Daniel didn’t even glance at Esther before cursing Su Fan and dismissing his claims.

“What do you think, Esther?”

John crouched to her eye level, his tone gentle.

“The nuns at the orphanage took us for regular checkups. I’ve always been healthy.”

Esther spoke without a trace of resentment, her voice timid.

“But if you and Mommy are worried… I’ll go for a checkup.”

Her pitiful,委屈 expression melted John’s heart.

In a surge of protectiveness, he declared,

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We know you’re healthy. And we won’t let anyone ruin our family’s happiness!”

With both her husband and son opposed, Kate reluctantly dropped the matter—and Su Fan’s warning.

Esther, meanwhile, played the乖巧 role perfectly, chiming in sweetly with Daniel and John.

None of them noticed the icy malice in her eyes.

…..

As Su Fan’s taxi drove away, he gazed at the sunset through the window.

A wife traumatized by a miscarriage, haunted by nightmares, adopts a girl to heal her pain…

The plot reminded him of a famous horror film from his past life—Orphan.

Earlier, when no one was looking, he’d channeled qi into his eyes, activating his Tongyou vision. What he saw confirmed his suspicions:

A swirling aura of red resentment clung to Esther.

Not because she was a ghost—but because she’d already taken lives.

This “little girl” wasn’t a child at all.

She was a thirty-something-year-old psychopath.

A rare pituitary disorder stunted her growth, trapping her in a child’s body. After bouncing between orphanages, she’d been adopted by kind-hearted families—only to murder them.

To verify, Su Fan had studied the family’s faces.

Dark energy clung to all three—a sign of impending doom.

From lightest to darkest: Kate, Daniel, John.

Especially John. His aura was practically drenched in death. The poor bastard would likely be the first to die.

Daniel wasn’t far behind, teetering on the edge of mortality.

Kate had the best chance of survival.

That’s why Su Fan had dropped that hint before leaving.

Take the advice, and you’ll live. He could only hope Kate would stay alert.

As for Esther?

Bringing up bone-reading had been deliberate.

The freak hated having her true age exposed.

Truth was, Su Fan barely knew traditional medicine.

He just wanted to rip off her mask of innocence.

A withered crone playing the sweet little girl—disgusting.

[With the warning, Kate might stay cautious…]

The psycho’s only advantage was her deceptive appearance.

Once a full-grown adult saw through her, she’d be powerless.

Just then, a prompt flashed in Su Fan’s mind:

[The deranged woman has marked you for death. You are now her enemy—proceed with caution.]

Su Fan paused.

Then smirked.

Oh, the ugly goblin’s got a grudge against me now?

Bring it on, bitch.