Chapter 56 :The Price of Magical Instruments

“Buy a Dharma artifact? What kind are you looking for? For calming the spirit and protecting the home, attracting wealth and prosperity, warding off evil and dispelling malice, or praying for blessings and increasing luck—I have everything here,” the shop owner said confidently.

In fact, he had reason to be confident.
The display shelves in the shop were lined with rows of exquisite Dharma artifacts, each one shimmering with spiritual light, which proved he wasn’t lying.
These were all genuine Dharma artifacts.

I looked at Xiao Qing.
She, of course, knew I wanted to buy a Dharma artifact to compensate her.
She quickly said, “Just buy any one, any function will do. My previous bronze mirror only cost eight thousand.”

The shop owner listened thoughtfully.
A Dharma artifact priced at eight thousand yuan was already in a very cheap category.
However, this suited the identities of the two young ladies before him.
In fact, eight thousand yuan would be considered a very expensive price for two female students.

It seemed he wouldn’t be able to make a big profit this time.
But a customer was a customer.
Just as the shop owner was about to lead them to the low-priced section, he heard the exceptionally beautiful girl say, “Then let’s buy a Dharma artifact that can ward off evil and exorcise ghosts.”

“Hmm? Little sister, you want a Dharma artifact that can ward off evil and exorcise ghosts? It seems you’ve run into some trouble. But these types of Dharma artifacts are relatively expensive. I’m not sure if you can accept the price,” the shop owner kindly reminded them.

“No problem, let’s take a look first. And we want a portable protective Dharma artifact, not one of those large ones that can only be placed at home,” I said.

“Hehe, alright, please come with me. In fact, large Dharma artifacts generally have better effects, but they are also more expensive. The downside, of course, is that they are difficult to carry around,” the owner said, leading us to a corner of the Feng Shui shop.

Every Dharma artifact here was a masterpiece, and the aura they emitted was generally stronger than those on the other counters.
After all, without a sufficiently strong aura, it would be impossible to exorcise ghosts and ward off evil.

“Little sister, what do you think of this one? A sachet, filled with evil-warding flowers like Buddha’s hand citron, clivia, and peach blossoms. Ghosts and monsters will not approach where its fragrance spreads,” the owner said, taking out a beautifully embroidered sachet.
The floral scent entered my nose as soon as it came close.

But the spiritual light of this sachet was very weak, even weaker than the Dharma artifacts on the other shelves.
I frowned and asked, “Sir, can this Dharma artifact really exorcise ghosts and ward off evil? It feels like there’s a certain gap between it and the surrounding artifacts.”

“You’re right. Strictly speaking, this sachet isn’t entirely a Dharma artifact, but it can have an effect similar to one, at least in terms of warding off evil. It’s very cost-effective,” the owner said, looking at me.

Indeed, this sachet only sold for five thousand yuan, which was almost the cheapest among the evil-warding Dharma artifacts.
The owner probably took into consideration that we were students and specifically chose a cheaper one for us.

“What level of ghost can it repel?” I asked directly.

The owner understood immediately.
These two female students were here to buy a Dharma artifact with a purpose, not just as a precaution.
They might have really seen a ghost.

With the thought of not wanting to cheat them, the owner said, “If you carry the sachet with you, ordinary lonely ghosts and wild spirits won’t come near you. Even ghosts with resentment will generally not choose you as a target.”

“In other words, rather than resisting ghosts, this sachet’s function is more like making them feel repulsed and stay away. If it’s a malevolent ghost with a specific target or even hatred, the sachet would be useless, right?” I asked.

“That’s right. If you want a Dharma artifact that can directly resist ghosts, then you’ll have to look over here. But the prices are quite high,” the shop owner’s voice became serious, and he looked at me earnestly.

“Um, Xiao… Sister, I think this sachet is quite good. Wearing it normally can also be refreshing and add a nice scent. Let’s just buy this one,” Ou Zhiqin said, not wanting me to spend too much.

“Since we’re here to buy a Dharma artifact, we should definitely buy one that’s truly effective. Otherwise, it’s useless to buy it,” I said.
The ghosts targeting me right now, whether it was the Painted Skin Ghost or Xia Yubing’s parents, were all coming for me.
The sachet would be completely useless.
I wanted to buy a Dharma artifact that could truly protect Xiao Qing.

My gaze had already shifted to the counter with the truly high-quality Dharma artifacts.
I directly ignored those priced at ten or twenty thousand, or even twenty or thirty thousand yuan.
Their spiritual light wasn’t even as strong as my jade pendant’s.

The more expensive Dharma artifacts were a dazzling array of all styles.
What surprised me the most was that there was actually a silver cross among them.
Looking at its aura, it was quite solid, emitting a faint silver light.

“Your shop even sells crosses?” I felt the style was a bit off.
Moreover, this silver cross was priced at one hundred and fifty thousand yuan, already a high-quality item.

“Just tell me if it’s a Dharma artifact or not. This cross is said to have been personally worn by a cardinal. If you’re talking about exorcising demons and warding off evil, this cross is absolutely effective, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. The effect is even better if you are a devout Christian,” the shop owner said with a smile.

Indeed, the aura of this cross was already stronger than my jade pendant’s.
It was definitely a powerful Dharma artifact.
Moreover, the silver light it emitted was sharp and aggressive, with more of an offensive quality compared to the gentle nature of my jade pendant, making it more suitable for actively attacking malevolent ghosts.

Unfortunately, Xiao Qing wasn’t a Christian, otherwise I think buying this artifact would have been quite suitable.
Next, I bypassed the cross and started choosing from the other Dharma artifacts.

I discovered something strange.
Although most Dharma artifacts were indeed stronger the more expensive they were, within the same price range, their auras were not all the same.
Some even had weaker auras than lower-priced artifacts.

“Sir, this jade qilin and this hand-string, why are they the same price? I feel like this hand-string is more effective,” I said cautiously, afraid of making a mistake since I was an amateur.
After all, I could only judge based on the strength of the aura.

A strange look flashed across the owner’s face, and his tone towards me became more respectful, “Miss, you are indeed quite professional. There is a certain gap in the efficacy of these two Dharma artifacts, but the price also needs to consider the materials and cost.”

I understood immediately.
Because that jade qilin was a work of art, and its material was a single piece of natural jade, the cost was of course higher than a hand-string made of wood beads.
But the aura of the hand-string was stronger than the jade qilin’s.

“What about this bronze plaque?” I picked up a dull-colored bronze plaque with some characters written on it.
The aura of this bronze plaque was similar to the hand-string’s, but its price was a whole lot more expensive.

“Miss is truly someone who understands Dharma artifacts. This one is an antique, said to be the identity token of a military general from the Ming Dynasty, so it’s more expensive,” the owner no longer called me ‘little sister’.
He was now certain that this young lady was an expert who could tell the strength of a Dharma artifact at a glance.
It would be basically impossible to scam her.