Antique Shop Zero: Disfigured School Beauty Becomes a Succubus to Pay Off Debts

.......

Three o'clock in the morning, at Zero Antique Shop.

Jiang Chaosheng parked the vintage car at the back door of the shop, entered through the back door, walked through the corridor, and put the Grim Reaper's Scythe and the Soul-Sealing Magic Jar back on the shelf.

He looked at the empty front hall.

Dozens of brass candlesticks hung down from the dark beams.

The candles will light automatically at night, without the need for fuel.

The antiques, bathed in soft light, exuded an air of antiquity and profoundness that permeated every corner.

Jiang Chaosheng's gaze was fixed on the main entrance. It was still raining outside, and the night had not yet dissipated.

Dawn will break in a few hours, and if I'm still outside, something terrible will happen.

Because he is cursed by the Antique Shop Zero, he can only walk among humans on rainy nights.

Jiang Chaosheng pursed his lips and walked up the stairs, which were covered with brass candlesticks, to the second floor.

Zero Antique Shop has two floors.

The first floor is a shop used for buying and selling antiques and forbidden items.

The second floor is the living area, which includes a kitchen, bedrooms, and a living room.

The master bedroom was very large, with red curtains hanging and exquisitely embroidered screens, resembling an emperor's bedroom.

The wardrobe also contains all kinds of clothes, including long gowns from the Republican era.

This was purchased by the previous owner before he was cursed and imprisoned.

Each shop owner is immortal and indestructible; the mundane things of ordinary people have no meaning to the owner.

Looking at the clothes in the closet, many still have their tags on.

Jiang Chaosheng entered the study.

The bookshelves contain books from all over the world.

Books are the only pastime people use to alleviate loneliness and pass the time.

Apart from the brass hand-cranked landline phone on the counter, there is nothing in Zero Antique Shop that can connect you to the outside world.

In the Zero Antique Shop, a connected mobile phone is no different from a brick.

Jiang Chaosheng sat on a pear wood chair and took out a notebook from his desk drawer.

By the light of the brass candlestick, he wrote in his notebook with a fountain pen:

"It's been a month since I took over the Zero Antique Shop, and finally, the first rainy night has arrived."

Today was quite fruitful; I traded a forbidden item and successfully recovered another lost forbidden item.

Since taking over this place, Jiang Chaosheng has developed the habit of writing a diary.

He feared that in the long years, he would forget time and be forgotten by time.

Jiang Chaosheng pictured the previous manager in his mind.

He was a middle-aged man dressed in a long gown, looking like a private tutor from the late Qing Dynasty.

Even though the owner of Zero Antique Shop was beyond the Three Realms and not subject to the Five Elements, Jiang Chaosheng saw many things in that guy that made him uneasy.

Numbness, madness, fear.

The manager has only two tasks, but if either is not completed, a curse will be inflicted.

First, every month, a sufficient amount of soul power must be contributed to the forbidden sculpture in the basement.

Although the Soul-Sealing Jar can refine ordinary souls into soul power, it takes time and the amount of soul power it can produce is also limited.

Therefore, the best way to obtain soul power is through trading rules, by trading soul power from buyers.

For example, the previous manager traded half of his lifespan with Zheng Xiuhua.

That half of my lifespan was obtained through the trading rules of the Zero Antique Shop, so it was an extremely pure soul power.

Secondly, after the buyers die, the forbidden items must be recovered from them, or new forbidden items must be taken in.

However, the rarity of forbidden items is incomparable to that of precious antiques; there are probably very few forbidden items in the entire world.

The previous manager lost twelve forbidden items, forcing him to leave the Zero Antique Shop on rainy nights, creating many inconveniences for trading soul power.

Jiang Chaosheng gazed at the rain outside the window, his eyes filled with melancholy.

"My biggest problem right now is that I can't get out of the Zero Antique Shop. I need to find a way to break out of this predicament."

A method to recycle forbidden items and accommodate new forbidden items without me leaving the antique shop.

......

Outside the window, raindrops pattered against the ground.

Jiang Chaosheng breathed in the fresh air flowing in from the window, his mind wandering.

Previous managers had been trading soul power, or lifespan, for forbidden items.

Because the power of the soul is the rarest thing for every manager.

After all, every month, they have to provide spiritual power to the forbidden sculptures in the basement.

For the previous manager, trading enough soul power was like celebrating the New Year.

However, this has also caused many inconveniences.

For example, if the buyer dies, the forbidden item may be lost.

The authorities lack effective means to reclaim forbidden items.

If one only knows how to trade soul power, the number of forbidden items lost will increase, and the person in charge will always be trapped in a quagmire from which they cannot escape.

Jiang Chaosheng felt that only knowing how to trade soul power was a rather wasteful behavior.

He recalled Jin Meiting, who had used the succubus seal in today's transaction.

If forbidden things are used to trade for loyalty, freedom, etc., wouldn't the master just have a group of powerful servants?

With those servants around, it's much easier to either retrieve or store forbidden items.

You have to understand that now I can only leave the Zero Antique Shop on rainy nights, and there are many, many difficulties in recovering and storing forbidden items.

The worst part is that you can't be sure when the next buyer who has acquired the forbidden item will die.

If the buyer dies, the forbidden item in their possession will be lost. If the buyer does not retrieve it in time, the curse on them will likely intensify.

As the curse deepens, it will likely be like torture, and what's terrifying is that one will be immortal and indestructible, which will truly be a living torment.

Jiang Chaosheng murmured:

"Once the buyers helped me retrieve the forbidden items or took in new forbidden items, the curse on me was completely lifted."

Jiang Chaosheng's eyes gradually brightened:

"Why not build an organization based on the buyers?"

Within this organization, everyone possesses forbidden items, and everyone has pledged their loyalty to themselves.

In other words, this is an absolutely loyal... extraordinary organization!

Jiang Chaosheng picked up his pen and wrote in his notebook:

"In the future, I will only engage in two types of transactions..."

First, in exchange for soul power, a sufficient supply of soul power will be provided to the forbidden sculpture in the basement every month.

Second, they recruit members for the Taboo Society by offering loyalty or freedom as a bargaining chip.

Jiang Chaosheng paused, writing to himself:

"Maybe I'll need something else in the future, we'll see then."

Jiang Chaosheng turned to a new page in his notebook and wrote the three words "Forbidden Society" on it:

"The Taboo Society currently has two main objectives."

First, they can use their own advantages to help me recover the lost forbidden items.

Second, gather information about any new forbidden objects and cooperate with my containment efforts.

Before being contained, every forbidden object is a terrifying thing; otherwise, it wouldn't be called forbidden.

Even if members of the Taboo Society possess forbidden items, they may not be a match for those items.

I'll have to take action myself then.

After all, he was immortal and could freely use the forbidden items in the antique shop.

In terms of combat prowess and cunning, I am the most terrifying taboo in the world.

Jiang Chaosheng paused, his lips pursed, a glint of light in his eyes:

"Members of the Forbidden Society need to help me reclaim and contain the forbidden, so it would be good if they had some status in the mortal world."

Members of the Taboo Society cannot be just anyone; to give a simple example.

For example, he might just discover that the United States has a forbidden item.

He needs the help of members of the Taboo Society to survey and investigate.

If an ordinary student arrives in a new place completely bewildered and doesn't even understand the local language, how can he possibly be of any use?

It would be different if it were a merchant or even a powerful official.

They can not only do the physical labor of sheltering animals, but also help themselves build connections and create a comfortable hunting ground for themselves in the local area.

Leaving aside the United States, just considering the Chinese society, where personal connections are paramount, without money and social connections, it would be difficult to get by.

Therefore, Jiang Chaosheng needs the influence of the Taboo Society members in society.

Jiang Chaosheng put down his pen:

"Once Jin Meiting reports for duty, we should start looking for the first member of the Taboo Society."

Jin Meiting is currently Jiang Chaosheng's most important asset.

Possessing supernatural powers, he can freely enter and exit Antique Shop Zero.