As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 31

Su Fan once again found himself face-to-face with the detective’s stubbornness. He’d already witnessed it when the man chased Jamie all the way to Ravens Fair. Now, even these two dead Voodoo practitioners had led him on a cross-state investigation.

“So you came all this way just to tell me this?” Su Fan asked, slightly exasperated. Still, he handed the detective a cup of tea. Basic hospitality was a must.

“Of course not,” the detective replied, taking the warm tea and taking a sip before continuing. “Guess who I ran into during the investigation?”

“…Just spit it out.”

Seeing that Su Fan wasn’t in the mood for games, the detective dropped the teasing tone and sighed. “It was Jamie.”

“He went to Louisiana too?”

“No, he’s been traveling since he left Ravens Fair. He said he just came back to town to handle some recent business. We bumped into each other and chatted for a bit.” The detective paused here, then lowered his voice mysteriously. “My guess is he ran into something he can’t handle and came back to find you.”

That got Su Fan thinking. With Mary Shaw gone and the curse on Jamie’s family broken, he shouldn’t have any more ties to the supernatural. Unless it involved someone close to him.

As Su Fan was pondering, the detective’s phone rang. He answered it, his responses growing more cheerful as the call went on. A wide smile spread across his face after he hung up.

“The higher-ups are very pleased with the rescue operation at the orphanage. They called to commend our precinct and gave me a special mention!” The detective was practically beaming. Good news really lifts the spirits.

“Congratulations.”

“Too bad I couldn’t convince them about the Voodoo stuff, no matter how hard I tried. Otherwise, we could have publicized your role and gotten your antique shop some free advertising.” The detective looked genuinely disappointed.

After a moment of sighing, the detective stood up. “I’ve got things to handle back at the precinct. I should get going.” He waved goodbye to Su Fan and left the shop.

With nothing else to do, Su Fan went back to studying his compendium of talismans.

[You have studied the compendium, growing more familiar with the talismans recorded within. Your proficiency in talisman creation has increased. Drawing speed improved.]

The occasional notifications in his mind didn’t break his concentration. The recent fight had shown him that his combat methods were still lacking. Controlling the wind had certainly destroyed the Voodoo ritual, but it was a brute force approach. If he had known how to draw a Spirit Suppression Talisman back then, he might not have expended so much Qi. Overpowering an opponent was simple, but it was also incredibly draining.

After days of study, Su Fan had mastered several new types of talismans. Combined with his frequent practice drawings, his failure rate was now less than one in ten. The progress was substantial.

Just as he finished his daily talisman practice and was about to review the Huangting Scripture, the shop door opened again. Su Fan looked up to see Jamie’s familiar face.

“Su.” Jamie greeted him and walked in, taking a seat across from Su Fan.

“So the detective was right?” Su Fan asked, noting Jamie’s hesitant expression.

“Su, I came to ask for a favor… you know, the kind you specialize in…”

“Don’t tell me you’re haunted again.” If this guy kept running into evil spirits, he must have some special constitution. Su Fan made a mental note to check Jamie’s birth chart using Zi Wei Dou Shu astrology another day.

“It’s not me. It’s a friend. She’s going through something terrible, just like I did.” Jamie looked embarrassed. It felt wrong to show up after so long just to ask for help, but Su Fan was the only person he could think of for this kind of problem.

“Tell me about it.” Su Fan motioned for him to elaborate.

Jamie hesitated. “I signed a non-disclosure agreement. I can only give you the details once we’re there. But don’t worry, I told them your help wouldn’t be free. They agreed immediately. The client will cover all travel, food, and lodging expenses. They also promised a generous reward once the problem is solved.”

Now Su Fan was interested. Jamie had paid him $200,000 last time, a fact Jamie was well aware of. For someone to still call their offer “generous” after knowing that precedent suggested substantial wealth. Combined with all the secrecy, this client was probably a public figure.

However, going in completely blind was a disadvantage. Who knew what kind of trouble he might be walking into? This world wasn’t just about vengeful spirits; a significant portion involved evil gods and similar entities. While Su Fan was confident in his abilities, he wasn’t about to blindly accept any request.

As Su Fan was weighing the pros and cons, Jamie slid a check across the table. “This is the advance payment from the client.”

Su Fan glanced at the amount on the check and cleared his throat. There was a saying that was right: enough money could make a devil push a millstone. He had wanted to refuse, but the offer was simply too good.

“Alright, I’ll take a look. When do we leave?”

Seeing Su Fan agree, Jamie grew excited. “We can go now!”

…

Su Fan’s guess was correct. The client was located in Hollywood. Someone from the film industry, most likely.

After driving through the streets, Jamie brought Su Fan to a residential area. From the back seat, Su Fan could already see a house surrounded by a crowd. Clearly, a film crew was shooting there. And unsurprisingly, Jamie’s car headed straight for that set.

After they got out, Jamie led Su Fan to a nearby café. As soon as he stepped inside, the rich aroma of coffee washed over him. The café wasn’t large, but it was thoughtfully decorated and quite pleasant.

Soon, Su Fan noticed a woman sitting in a corner booth, waving them over.

“Jamie! Over here!”

Spotting her, Jamie quickly walked over and gave her a hug. “This is the master I told you about, Su Fan.”

Hearing the title “master” gave Su Fan a slightly odd feeling, but he didn’t show it.

The woman turned her attention to Su Fan, her expression one of surprise. When Jamie mentioned bringing a master to solve the problem, she had expected an older priest-like figure. She hadn’t anticipated a young Chinese man.

“Su Fan, this is my good friend, Rachel Delaine.”