As An Antique Shop Owner, It's Only Reasonable That I Know A Bit Of Magic - Chapter 80

On Earth in his previous life, three major ways to court death were widely known.

Among these three, one was tax evasion in the United States.

What made tax evasion such a terrifying prospect?
The answer was right in Su Fan’s hands.

The Internal Revenue Service.

In the land of America, all income is subject to taxation, including illegal activities like money laundering, drug trafficking, robbery, and theft.

In his past life, Su Fan had even heard that mysterious shops in Qsante had to pay taxes.

The reason many people turned pale at the mention of the IRS was largely due to its Criminal Investigation division.

The tax agents there possessed law enforcement powers far exceeding those of regular police officers. When apprehending suspects, they weren’t required to give Miranda warnings, and suspects had no right to remain silent.

They could even bypass confidentiality laws and access all kinds of documents.

Kicking down doors without permission and opening fire were minor occurrences; the most outrageous part was their ability to make arrests first and present evidence later.

In short, on this free land, you could commit crimes, but you couldn’t avoid paying taxes.

Otherwise, once they set their sights on you, you were in for a world of trouble.

Su Fan had been running around lately, engrossed in his cultivation, and hadn’t filed his tax forms.

And so, the document had found its way into his hands.

He skimmed through it. Because Su Fan hadn’t paid his taxes on time, it included tax interest.

The tax systems of China and the US were quite different. In China, the more money you earned, the more tax you generally paid. But in the US, it was the middle-income group that paid the most taxes.

It wasn’t exactly that their tax system blatantly favored high-income earners.

Rather, wealthy Americans had various ways to exploit legal loopholes to avoid taxes.

The fact that a big boss like Trump paid just over $700 in taxes a year was a prime example.

So, the question was, with Su Fan’s current net worth of less than two million dollars, was he considered wealthy here?
All tallied up, it amounted to several hundred thousand dollars gone.

Su Fan looked at the notice in his hand, then at the hexagram he had just finished interpreting on the table, and sighed.

Well, at least the hexagram was accurate.

————

A familiar, chilling sensation enveloped Jamie, confirming he had come to the right place.

Arriving at the door of 514, Jamie tried pushing it and found it was unlocked.

He took out his flashlight, carefully stepped inside, and continuously scanned his surroundings.

The simply arranged furniture was covered in a thick layer of dust from long disuse.

But what was spine-chilling was the presence of black, muddy footprints on the floor!
Jamie didn’t attempt to touch them immediately.

He remembered Su Fan’s warning: carelessly touching things left behind by these entities could bring anything from minor misfortune to serious illness.

The warmth emitted by the evil-suppressing talisman in his arms created a small restricted area around Jamie, preventing the cold and damp air from invading his body.

[Sorry, Su.]

Originally, Su Fan had given Jamie two Talismans for Suppressing Evil, intending for him to keep one for his own protection. But, worried about Quinn being harmed by the vicious ghost, he had given one away.

Now he only had one talisman left; he had just one chance.

After searching for a long time, Jamie didn’t encounter any apparition. Instead, he noticed something odd.

All the furniture and objects here were covered in dust, except for a bed in one of the bedrooms, which was as clean as new.

Judging by its position, this seemed to be directly above the bedroom in Quinn’s apartment downstairs.

The reason for Quinn’s nightly nightmares seemed to have been found.

Not daring to delay, Jamie immediately took out his remaining Talisman for Suppressing Evil and placed it on the headboard.

The moment the talisman made contact, the yellow paper suddenly emitted a strong golden light, so intense that Jamie had to shut his eyes.

While Jamie was active in the apartment, two blocks away…

Two girls were sitting on the curb, chatting.

“You seemed off during your audition today, distracted. Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
“Actually, while I was performing, I saw a shadow… it broke my concentration.”

“A shadow?”

One of the girls nodded and began to explain.

As she spoke, her Latina friend, Maggie, suddenly understood.

“So, the reason you wanted to conduct a séance was to talk to your mom?”

“Yeah. I know it sounds absurd, but I miss her so much, Maggie.”

The girl looked despondent.

“I tried many methods, none worked. Only this one got a response.”

“It’s just, I don’t know why, but ever since then, I’ve been having nightmares off and on.”

Hearing this from her best friend, Maggie immediately grew wary.

“That’s too dangerous, Quinn. How can you be sure that the one responding to your call, making those noises, is your deceased mother?”

Quinn looked surprised, turning to her friend.

“You sound exactly like the medium I saw the other day.”

“She told me that this kind of call wouldn’t be heard by just one spirit… she warned me to stop, lest I attract something bad.”

“Then why won’t you listen?”

Maggie couldn’t understand what Quinn was thinking and spoke urgently.

“As long as there’s the slightest possibility, I won’t give up.”

A stubborn look appeared on Quinn’s face.

Suddenly, something caught the corner of her eye – a figure.

A black shadow stood at the edge of the streetlight’s glow, waving incessantly at her.

Drawn by it, Quinn immediately stepped into the middle of the road to get a better look.

But before she could see clearly, the shadow vanished as if it had never been there.

Puzzled, she failed to notice the car behind her, skidding uncontrollably despite its driver’s frantic efforts to brake!
THUMP!

With a dull sound, Quinn’s body was thrown into the air, and her consciousness went blank!
Maggie was terrified by the scene, but she immediately dialed for an ambulance.

The paramedics arrived swiftly and rushed Quinn to the nearest hospital.

However, upon reaching the emergency room, Quinn’s EKG flatlined.

As the ER doctors prepared the defibrillator for resuscitation, Quinn’s consciousness suddenly found itself in a dark, icy-cold space.

Staring at her semi-transparent hands, she couldn’t comprehend what was happening and could only search around for a source of light.

The freezing air made her hug her arms, while the gloomy environment caused fear to rapidly grow in her heart.

These negative emotions coiled around her heart like vines!
Huuuuh…

A heavy, rasping breath sounded from the darkness behind her. A sinister cold crept up her spine to the nape of her neck.

She turned her head slowly and saw a terrifying specter wearing an oxygen mask!
Greyish, dead skin, pupil-less eyes, and beneath the oxygen mask, a mouth twisted into a sinister grin as it reached out a hand towards Quinn!

At this moment, Quinn felt as if her soul was imprisoned, unable to move a muscle.

She could only watch helplessly as the specter’s hand drew closer and closer!

Suddenly, its hand stopped.

A golden light flared up, scorching the specter’s palm!

It let out an inhuman shriek and fled back into the darkness!

The next second, in the operating room, Quinn’s eyes snapped open, and she gasped for air like a drowning victim finally breaking the surface!