At 11:50 PM, the lights on the old street were almost completely out.

A thin layer of mist hung in the alley, as if someone had deliberately scattered ashes in the air. The moonlight, filtered by the fog, became turbid, casting a sickly green hue on the bluestone slabs. At the end of the alley, a faded red lantern swayed gently in the wind, the words "Sanji" (Three Ji) printed on the paper appearing and disappearing, as if something were licking it from behind.

The young shopkeeper, Lin Mo, squatted behind the counter, clutching a handful of cinnabar. The pawnshop counter was made of old locust wood, and with age, countless indescribable stains had seeped into the wood grain. A close sniff revealed a strange odor, a mixture of incense ash, copper rust, and a certain sweet, decaying smell.

"A lot of 'customers' tonight," Lin Mo muttered to himself, as the cinnabar leaked through his fingers onto the yellowed ledger. The red particles seemed to have life, wriggling and arranging themselves on the paper, gradually forming lines of twisted text. Lin Mo narrowed his eyes, the small mole at the corner of his eye trembling slightly with his expression.

The Sanji Pawn Shop had been on this street for ages; even the oldest residents couldn't quite pinpoint when it first opened. During the day, it operated like any other pawnshop, accepting gold and silver jewelry, antiques, and paintings. But at midnight, the red lanterns at the door automatically lit up, and the "customers" it welcomed became quite different.

Lin Mo pulled a handful of realgar from the drawer and began chewing on it. The pungent flavor exploded in his mouth. It was much more potent than chewing gum and could ward off evil spirits. His grandfather often said, "Those in our line of work who don't have a little realgar in their mouths are more vulnerable to foul things in the middle of the night."

Thinking of his grandfather, Lin Mo's eyes darkened. On that rainy night three years ago, the old man lay in his hospital bed, his withered hands clutching his wrist tightly. A gurgling sound emanated from the old man's throat, as if something were stuck. At that moment, Lin Mo saw—

Thirty seconds.

The deceased's memory of the last thirty seconds of his life played before him like an old movie. This was a power inherited from the Lin family bloodline, and the very foundation of Sanji Pawn Shop's existence in both the Yin and Yang realms.

"Ding—"

A copper bell rang, but not on the wind. The sound seemed to come from far away, yet it also seemed to ring directly into his head. Lin Mo looked up, and the kerosene lamp on the counter suddenly dimmed, its flame shrinking to the size of a soybean, plunging the entire shop into a hazy yellow.

A woman stood outside the door.

She wore a dark red cheongsam, the material looking like blood-soaked, then dried silk. The buttons were tied all the way to her neck, revealing a sliver of pale skin at the collar. The strangest thing was that she was standing in the rain—it had begun raining at some point—but not a single drop of water on her body. "Republic of China style? You're quite retro, sister." Lin Mo grinned, his temple throbbing slightly as his hand quietly reached for the mahogany sword under the counter.

The woman didn't speak, simply slowly raising her hand. Her nails were painted bright red, and in her palm lay a button, embroidered with gold thread, but now blackened, as if burned.

Lin Mo's smile froze. He could smell that familiar, sweet, fishy smell of decay, the same one that seeped through the wood grain of the counter.

"Pawning? Exchange? Take this cheongsam and the button, and find the blood-stained cheongsam you're looking for?" Lin Mo's voice trailed off unconsciously.

The woman nodded, her long hair motionless, like an ink mark painted in the air.

Lin Mo fished out the bone abacus from under the counter. It was his grandfather's legacy, its beads made from the finger bones of a great monk. The sound of "clicking" when plucked was particularly piercing in the quiet shop. "A cheongsam, a button, tainted by yin energy, clinging to resentment..." He muttered as he calculated, his peripheral vision catching sight of the cinnabar handwriting on the account book shifting, as if forming sentences: "Tsk, the interest is a bit high."

The woman remained silent, but Lin Mo noticed the hem of her cheongsam trembling slightly, as if something was moving within.

"You know the rules, right?" Lin Mo looked her straight in the eye. "Within three days, either redeem it, or..." He paused, his lips curling up in a smile that didn't quite register. "Or I'll take what's left of you."

"...I can afford it."

The woman's voice seemed to echo from underwater, a muffled echo. Lin Mo noticed a trace of dark red liquid seeping from the corner of her mouth as she spoke, but she quickly licked it back.

He pulled a yellowed piece of contract paper from the drawer. It was made of a special material that felt as soft as human skin. With a flick of the cinnabar pen, the words appeared on their own, as if manipulated by an invisible hand. "Press your fingerprint." Lin Mo pushed the contract over.

As soon as the woman's fingers touched the paper, the entire contract suddenly ignited without fire. The flames were an eerie green, casting a ghostly shadow on her face. Ashes drifted into the bronze incense burner behind the counter. Of the three incense sticks in the burner, the leftmost one snapped.

Lin Mo stared at the broken incense stick, his heart skipping a beat. The three incense sticks represented heaven, earth, and man; a broken incense stick was not a good omen.

As the woman turned to leave, the hem of her cheongsam dragged across the ground without a sound. Lin Mo stared at her back until she completely disappeared into the rain, then breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked down at the account book; the cinnabar writing had changed.

"One blood-stained cheongsam, one button, interest: one of the three souls."

"You really pick the right time," Lin Mo muttered, suddenly feeling a chill on the back of his neck, as if someone was blowing air into it. He turned sharply, only to see only his own shadow on the wall—it seemed taller than usual, and... like it had an extra head?

A muffled "thump" sounded from beneath the floorboards, followed by the sound of nails scratching against the wood. Lin Mo sighed and stamped his foot. "Be quiet! It's not your turn yet."

The scratching stopped, but was replaced by a faint sob, as if something were crying in the cellar. Lin Mo frowned. This wasn't a good sign. The "thing" imprisoned in the cellar had been quiet for three months, and tonight it suddenly stirred. It was probably related to the cheongsam and the buttons.

He squatted down and lifted the secret door in the floorboards. A putrid odor immediately surged up, mixed with the scent of realgar and cinnabar, forming a nauseating, strange smell. In the darkness, something moved, making a gurgling sound. "If you keep making trouble, I'll sell you to the coffin shop next door and pawn you off as their treasured treasure," Lin Mo threatened, sprinkling a handful of cinnabar.

The sobs immediately turned into sharp screams, but soon subsided. Lin Mo closed the secret door and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Tonight might be a turbulent night. It seems I need to prepare some supplies in advance.

[Sanji Pawn Shop - Current Account]

1948 - Midnight

Pawn Items: One blood-stained cheongsam, one button (blood-stained)

Pawner: Anonymous (female, spirit body)

Pawn Period: Three days

Interest: One of the three souls (unpaid)

Note: The incense is broken, but the resentment lingers. The unusual noises in the cellar have intensified, suggesting unforeseen circumstances.

— Lin Mo's Notes

Appendix:

At 3:30 PM, the seal on the cellar loosened. Three qian of cinnabar and two liang of realgar were added.

At the beginning of the Chou hour, a woman was heard sobbing outside the wall. I suspected the pawned items were causing trouble.

As the Yin hour approached, three incense sticks continued to burn, but the smoke was bluish-black, a very ominous sign.

[Sanji Pawnshop - Yin De Account File]

Account Name: Chen Mo (Yingdi Agent)

Account Opening Institution: Yinsi Tiandi Gongde Bank, Jiangcheng Branch

Device: Nokia N93i (Yingdi Customized Edition)

Account Opening Date: July 15th, Lunar Year of the Dinghai Year (Zhongyuan Festival)

Exchange Method: Yin De Points can be exchanged for Yang Life Points; conversely, Yin De Points can be exchanged for Yang Life Points.

Other Functions: To be discovered...

"Virtue is like currency; it can be accumulated or spent. However, the Yin market is unpredictable, so proceed with caution."

—"Three Realms Economic Records - Yin De Chapter"