My name is Guo Zhixin, I come from the Maoshan lineage, and I make a living by exorcising evil spirits for others. I have a cold temperament and tough methods. I only recognize cause and effect but not human kindness. I just finished refining a piece of Yinsha jade that day, and a trembling young man walked in from the door. His face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He was holding a black wooden box tightly in his arms. A vague and non-existent fragrance floated in along the crack in the door, which made me tighten my eyebrows.
"Taoist Master, save me!" The young man fell to his knees with a trembling voice. "My name is Zhang Lei. I found this box from the flea market three days ago. I started having nightmares that night. There is always a woman in my dreams who strangles me and asks me to pay for my life. I have lost all my hair in the past two days and am completely weak. I will definitely not survive if I continue like this!"
I glanced at the black wooden box. The body of the box was carved with twisted patterns, and there were light black water stains in the gaps. The strange fragrance came from the box. It was not ordinary spices, but corpse fragrance. The corpse fragrance was dyed with resentment and could enchant the soul. I pinched it with my fingertips, and a pale golden light glowed from my fingertips. When I swept the box, the golden light suddenly dimmed, and the lines on the box's body turned faintly red.
"What's in the box?" I asked coldly.
Zhang Lei trembled and opened the box. Inside it was covered with dark red silk and satin, and there was a silver hairpin with a begonia flower carved on the head and stained with black blood, making the corpse smell even stronger. I picked up the silver hairpin, and the moment my fingertips touched it, a biting chill ran up my arm, and a woman's sobs could be faintly heard in my ears, resentful and shrill.
"This hairpin is stained with the soul of a person who died in vain, and is filled with resentment. If you take it, it is equivalent to shouldering a debt for someone else." I threw the silver hairpin back into the box and took it out.
