The black soul envoy float in mid-air. His robe flapped about gently, just like a ghost in the western legends.
Luo Qiu sized him up. It was at this time that the altar disclosed some information to Luo Qiu.
The club needed a stream of steady clients to prevent the boss from dying. The usage of black cards were an effective way to attract customers. The black soul envoys of the club were like moving billboards, wandering about in society, spreading the information about the existence of the club from the shadows.
These black soul envoys were created from souls--- those that were given to the club as transaction fees.
If one felt that the souls were useful or strong, they could be left in the warehouse. After a period of time, they would transformed into black soul envoys and sent out as unpaid labour for the club.
The new boss was satisfied with these free workers. They were loyal and required no pay.
“And also greetings to Ms. You Ye.” It gave You Ye the same respect.
“Master, would you like to listen to the report from No.9?” You Ye asked.
Luo Qiu felt weird that the envoy would be named after mere numbers rather than a real name. So he looked at You Ye. “Yes, it…should be necessary.”
You Ye explained. “The former boss gave me the authority to deal with everything.”
Luo Qiu smiled, “I’ll just listen.”
“No.9, go ahead,” You Ye nodded and ordered.
No.9 spoke in glum voice. “Master, No,9 has successfully let 7 potential customers realize the existence of our club.”
All of a sudden, his robe opened up. 7 white cards flew from within the black smoke towards Luo Qiu.
No.9 black soul added, “Master, please have a look the information for these 7 people.”
Luo Qiu was able to skim through the information sealed in the cards just by placing his finger on it. It was great that, he didn’t need to read through tedious documents or listen to boring introductions. Without further ado, he tapped on one of the white cards.
You Ye was worried Luo Qiu didn’t know the rules here, so she said lightly, “Master, you can pick several appropriate ones among these 7 new potential customers, and bestow to them the right to have a discount through the black card. Of course it’s not necessary to create more black cards. Our black souls are very experienced in this assignment, 70% potential customers chosen by them will eventually end up looking for us anyway.”
The discount given by the black card was merely a way to tempt customers into entering more transactions. However, people with urgent needs would come even if no discount was given, such as the butterfly monster---Dance.
These potential customers had to undergo a strict selection criteria to ensure that they could pay the price and not go back on their word. Vastly different from those that did not have the black card nor know about the legend and merely stumbled onto the club by chance.
The black soul called this its mission. The more people they found, the more transactions would be completed. Thus they would obtain better results, and with better results come better benefits.
For instance, it could possess a body, recover its memories or obtain its freedom from the club.
Well, actually the last one benefit could be scratched of the list.
Because no black soul had ever obtained it ever since the club was established.
……
While Luo Qiu was reading the information from the 7 white cards, he asked You Ye, “How many black soul envoys do we have?”
“We have 21 at the moment,” You Ye reported the amount quickly.
Luo Qiu was surprised, “Why so few?”
You Ye explained, “Master, you should realize that there are also various oddities who have weird abilities living in this world, such as friars and monsters. The black soul envoys are similar to evil souls, and will often be targeted by some officious exorcists.”
You Ye then gave a clearer explanation. “Because in their opinion, the club is an evil existence…”
Luo Qiu listened to her quietly.
“They have been eager to eradicate the club these years in the name of righteousness.” You Ye laughed grimly. “But the reason our club hasn’t taken any action against them is because they are also potential customers that can provide us with a large deal.”
“We require more black soul envoys to entice them, instead of getting our revenge directly. As long as they have desires, they would have weaknesses. An exorcist with a gracious soul full of justice can be worth more than tens or hundreds of souls of the common folk.”
Luo Qiu had no comment on that issue. But then he frowned and said, “Then why there are only 21 black soul envoys left here?”
You Ye answered, “One reason is for a show of weakness. If there’re too many envoys, the exorcists would believe their cause to be in vain. Then would give up on nurturing new talent, which means that there would not be a next generation of exorcists. Hence, important customers that could be charged a high transaction fee would vanished. The other reason was because the former boss never paid attention to his work. The black soul envoys that were stored had all been used destroyed in recent years without being replenished.”
Luo Qiu nodded. He stored the white card and glanced at No. 9. “Go back to work, I’ll read these materials slowly.”
No. 9 didn’t say anything and just left the club silently.
Luo Qiu then turned to You Ye. “I’d like to go and check the room of Boss Asas.”
Boss Asas was the former boss of the club. His room had always been locked.
Luo Qiu thought it was time he went to take a look inside.
As the old door opened, its hinges made a ‘squeak’ sound.
An unpleasant smell filled his nostrils since no one had aired the room in a while.
The room was rather old-fashioned, which made sense since Asas was not of this century.
Due to respect or veneration for the former boss, You Ye didn’t follow Luo Qiu inside; she only stood by the entrance.
Of course it might have been due to some other reasons.
This room was a treasure trove to any historian. Actually, the entire club could be said to be a treasure trove.
Luo Qiu walked up to the window. The curtains were made of black gauze. A round table and a wooden sleeping chair were near it. Some scratches could be seen on the floor, most likely due to the chair being pulled out often.
Luo Qiu sat down on the chair and closed his eyes. He hoped to understand more about the previous boss when he sat there.
He wondered what would the former boss’s gaze be drawn to as he sat here?
A moment later, Luo Qiu stood up. He had not obtain any insights. Then he walked around the room. There was a tatty desk on the other side of the room but the drawer inside was empty.
As for the wardrobe in the room, there was only a suit in it. Besides that, all he could see were a bed and a bedside table with a candlestick on it.
Luo Qiu didn’t see the so-called wind-up music box which You Ye had brought up before.
He was depressed that he didn’t find anything. Just as he was about to leave, a thought came over him. He walked back to the round table, squatted and stretched out his head to peer beneath it.
He then did the same to the desk, and even upturned the bed and the drawer in it. Finally he moved the wardrobe aside. However all he saw was a crack on the wall and the back of the wardrobe.
“Nothing is left…Did I think too much?” Luo Qiu muttered to himself.
Finally, he gave up and put everything back in its place.
Without his noticing, it was already time for the sun to rise. The gentle breeze blew against the gauze, and sunshine entered through the stained glass window. Just then, Luo QIu discovered beautiful patterns on the floor due to the sunlight coming through the window.
The sunlight slowly brightened the room.
Luo Qiu walked over to the window and opened it. Outside was the familiar shopping street, devoid of any people at dawn.
When Luo Qiu closed the window, the patterns emerged again.
The patterns were arranged neatly in order. It appeared to be some kind of ancient language.
Luo Qiu took a few photos because it would vanish once the sun moved. However, at that moment, the words turned indistinct, then merged together and scattered..
Luo Qiu showed the pictures to You Ye. “You Ye, do you know these words?”
You Ye shook her head and showed a surprised expression.
She had never been into Asas’s room even though she had been working here for more than 300 years.
She didn’t recognized them. Perhaps it even older than 300 years.
Luo Qiu tried to get the answer using his identifying ability, but altar merely gave him such a reply.
---The contents have been damaged, do you wish to use a thousand years of lifespan to restore and retranslate the contents?
Then another message was sent from the altar again.
---You may also use ten years worth of lifespan to purchase the origins of the source.
“What the f*ck!” Luo Qiu blurted out these three words.
“Master?”
You Ye tried asking the silent Luo Qiu.
Luo Qiu took a deep breath, calming himself down. “I’m alright. At least it wasn’t all for nothing. Besides, now I’ve got a goal, which would motivate me.”
He then commanded You Ye to continue her work, then went back home.
At that time, Ren Ziling was still asleep.
It was ridiculous to exchange ten years worth of life for the origins of the source, so Luo Qiu copied all the photos onto his computer, then chose some clear ones and put them all together into one big picture.
Next, he uploaded the new picture onto the internet and asked, “Does anyone know what the language in this picture is?”
Now all he had to do was wait for a reply. If no one replied him, he might consider asking it on Quora.
If still no one replied…then he had no choice but to earn more lifespans.
When he thought of earning more lifespans, Luo Qiu glanced over the information of seven potential customers given by Black Soul No. 9.
In theory, the black cards with stamps should only be given out to whom they could profit from, after taking the discount into consideration.
After managing to close some deals, Luo Qiu knew that he too, was a customer of the club---the only difference was that he was its biggest one, and his life was the only transaction fee that could be used.
Most problems could be settled by paying a portion of his remaining lifespan, whether it be information on the customer, the identification of items, or even releasing the soul trapped in the white jade token, etc.
The next rule was storing the transaction fee in the warehouse---once an item was stored there, it would not be able to be tributed. In other words, Luo Qiu could select any of the items used as transaction fees and keep them by sacrificing the chance to gain more days to live.
The first white card appeared in Luo Qiu’s palm, then it broke and became a streak of light, enveloping his head like a bundle of mist.
Luo Qiu closed his eyes.
……
……
Jiang Chu went back to the hospital early.
He was a 40-year-old doctor well versed in neurosurgery, and also reknown for his gentlemanly attitude.
He had both wealth and fame. Plus with his talent and since he was currently divorced, many young ladies at the hospital adored him.
Jiang Chu made a cup of coffee, then sat down at his office table and prepared to check the medical records of his patients. Suddenly a black card with a strange golden pattern silently appeared between one of the several medical records…
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