My antiques shop only takes in objects with a sinister past...
Years ago, people in the spirit-medium trade used to say, “A flash of light can save a life; a killer strikes without a trace.”
Those in the trade might worship Celestial Master Zhang or the Supreme Old Lord, or they might worship King Yama or Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
But my grandfather kept a pitch-black old steelyard in the main room, with a rust-covered counterweight beside it.
A few years later, my grandfather vanished without warning, and I was framed and tainted with dark karma.
To protect myself and recover our lost family heirloom, I had no choice but to start collecting sinister old objects. I never expected it to pull me into an even greater maelstrom.
A yin-object koi, a spirit snake, a suspended-thread puppet, a resentful coffin and brocade box...
The objects grew more sinister, the dangers greater, but I grew stronger along the way and made it through every crisis.
It's still the same smell, I just can't go back to it