Chapter 124: Chapter 124: The Price of a Red Envelope
"Tiger, what are you doing?"
Lu Fei stepped into the shop and saw Tiger squatting at the door.
"Boss, there's a red envelope at the entrance. No idea who left it. Looks like there's a lot of cash in it. I was going to pick it up and keep it safe until the owner comes back..."
Tiger's hand was just about to touch the envelope.
"A red envelope?"
Alarm bells went off in Lu Fei's mind. He quickly shouted and rushed over.
"Wait! Tiger, don't touch that envelope!"
"What's wrong, Boss?" Tiger froze and looked at Lu Fei, puzzled.
"Think about it. Our shop is in a quiet area, with hardly any foot traffic. Why would someone drop a red envelope here?" Lu Fei said, carefully examining the envelope.
"Now that you mention it, it *is* odd," Tiger muttered, scratching his head. "Looks like there's a lot of money in there. Whoever lost it should be frantic, but no one's come looking for it."
"Tiger, go make me a cup of tea," Lu Fei instructed.
"Got it."
Tiger brewed a cup of tea and brought it over.
Lu Fei poured the tea over the red envelope.
As steam rose, the exposed "cash" began to change color—turning green.
It was *spirit money.*
"Dead man's cash?!" Tiger exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"This is *death money*," Lu Fei explained grimly. "There's likely hair and fingernails tucked inside the envelope as well. If you'd picked it up, your life would've been forfeit to someone else."
Death money is part of a sinister folk ritual often performed by shamans or sorcerers. When someone is critically ill or plagued by misfortune, they might seek out a shaman to ward off disaster. The shaman would take some of their hair or nails, wrap them in money and red cloth, and leave it on the street.
Whoever picks up and spends the money would then absorb the ill fortune meant for the original owner.
"What the hell! Who would be so vile?" Tiger cursed angrily.
"Who else? It has to be that old shaman from yesterday," Lu Fei said with a cold snort. "If this is the extent of her tricks, there's nothing to worry about. This might fool someone clueless, but trying it on me? Laughable."
"Uh... Boss, am I really that clueless?" Tiger scratched his head sheepishly.
"Be confident. Drop the 'clueless' part," Lu Fei quipped before setting the death money ablaze.
Burning it would send the ill fortune back to its originator, giving the old shaman a taste of her own medicine.
If she had any sense, she'd know to back off. If not, Lu Fei was ready for whatever came next.
After making sure the doorway was cleaned, Lu Fei reopened the shop as usual.
Back at the counter, he brewed a fresh cup of tea and tried to immerse himself in studying ancient texts. But his thoughts wandered.
*I wonder when Sister Hong will have news...*
Tiger interrupted his musings with an exclamation.
"Boss, what's with college students these days? Another one jumped to their death at Jiangcheng University!"
"Jiangcheng University?"
Lu Fei's heart skipped a beat. That was his alma mater. He quickly found the news article.
"Another student jumped to their death at Jiangcheng University early yesterday morning. Is it a curse, or mere coincidence that deaths occur every September?"
"That school has people dying every year. It's creepy!" Tiger said, scrolling through the comments. "Look, everyone says the campus is haunted. Boss, have you heard of this?"
"I studied at Jiangcheng University," Lu Fei replied, pointing to a photo of an old, decrepit building in the article. "That's the so-called 'haunted dorm.' People say it's cursed, and anyone who dies there is claimed by a ghost."
"Whoa, for real?" Tiger leaned in, fascinated.
"I never saw anything personally, but the school does have an eerie reputation. Every year, someone dies there," Lu Fei admitted, recounting the campus legend.
Jiangcheng University had two campuses: a modern one and an older one separated by an artificial lake. Most buildings in the old campus were abandoned, with a few exceptions for lectures. Several dormitories had been sealed off entirely after repeated suicides.
Among them, one building stood out—every year, at least one person would leap from it.
Over time, rumors spread that the dorm was haunted and that the ghost sought a new victim each year.
"So is it true? Is there a ghost?" Tiger asked eagerly.
"I don't know. One of my dormmates went exploring once and came back unscathed, claiming the stories were fake," Lu Fei said.
"The school didn't want us near the old dorms, let alone talking about them. So I didn't dig deeper."
Back then, Lu Fei had been preoccupied with his grandfather's disappearance. Distraught and disengaged, he hadn't paid much attention to campus rumors.
Tiger watched more videos and shook his head. "Something's definitely up. People say that dorm had suicides and even murders. If it's tied to a cursed object, we could investigate!"
"Not every haunting involves a cursed object..."
Lu Fei froze mid-sentence as he read the article more closely.
"Guo Haitao? The jumper's name was Guo Haitao? That's the same name as my old dormmate! Could it be...?"
He quickly checked his university alumni group chat.
It was already buzzing with activity.
"Did you guys hear? Guo Haitao from our class jumped from the haunted dorm two nights ago."
"Didn't he just start dating someone? Why would he do this?"
"It wasn't a breakup. He must've been cursed. Don't you remember? He went exploring in the haunted dorm back then."
"What a shame. I heard his girlfriend was really pretty, too."
"Come on, stop spreading superstitions. This was clearly a tragic accident. Lots of people visited that dorm, and not all of them died."
"If it's not a curse, then why do people keep dying? And who else went with him back then?"
Lu Fei's head spun as he read the messages, struggling to process the news.
Guo Haitao, his dormmate from college, was dead.
Could the haunted dorm's curse be real?
Memories of their time together—grabbing meals, attending lectures—flashed through Lu Fei's mind. His chest felt heavy.
That evening, the group chat was still lively with discussions.
Class president Wang Feng organized a visit to Guo Haitao's parents to offer condolences, inviting everyone to join.
"Lu Fei, are you there?"
"You've probably heard about Guo Haitao's accident. We're planning to visit his family. You were close to him. Are you free to come tomorrow?"
Lu Fei quickly replied, "I'll be there."
There was no way he wouldn't go.
"You're actually in the chat?" Wang Feng was surprised. "You've never spoken in the group since graduation, and you've skipped every reunion. I thought you'd left Jiangcheng."
"Family matters kept me busy. I don't check the group much," Lu Fei deflected. "By the way, can you reach out to the others who went to the haunted dorm with Guo Haitao?"
"I managed to get in touch with one. He'll be there tomorrow, too."
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