Afternoon. South Sea. A fine, misty rain.
Jiang Chaosheng sized up the woman who had just walked into the antique shop.
"What are you looking for?"
The woman looked very nervous.
"Excuse me, do you sell antiques here?"
Jiang Chaosheng glanced at the room full of antiques, then looked at the woman as if she were an idiot.
The woman whispered:
"I heard the antiques here... are quite potent."
A trace of surprise flashed through Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes.
"My antiques are very expensive. Are you prepared to pay the price?"
The woman took off her mask, revealing large burn scars, and pleaded:
"As long as it makes me beautiful, I don’t care how much it costs. I’ll pay any price!"
Jiang Chaosheng nodded, rising to head for the back room.
"Please wait a moment."
....
This shop was named Antique Shop Zero.
The front hall of the shop was filled with antiques from every dynasty.
The back room of the shop, however, held some unbelievable objects.
Jiang Chaosheng’s gaze wandered over the shelves in the back room.
Wriggling black threads, a blood-stained bronze mirror, a green wolf’s fang, an inverted Silver Cross pendant, a beating heart, a rusty sickle, a puppet hanging with an eerie smile...
Taped to a blank space on the wall next to the shelves was a sheet of paper.
[Antique Shop Zero]
[Rule 1: The Manager can use the Taboo Items in the shop that defy the laws of nature to trade with customers.]
[Rule 2: Every month, the Manager must offer a certain amount of Soul Power (lifespan) to the most terrifying Taboo Sculpture in the basement.]
[Rule 3: After a buyer’s death, the Manager must retrieve the lost Taboo Item, or take in a new Taboo Item to fill the vacancy.]
[Note: Violation of the three rules above will result in the owner being Cursed by the Antique Shop.]
[Rule 4: The Manager’s soul is protected by Antique Shop Zero, making them immortal and indestructible.]
[Rule 5: After the shop is transferred, the previous Manager’s memories will disappear.]
A month ago, a disheartened Jiang Chaosheng stumbled into Antique Shop Zero.
The original owner begged Jiang Chaosheng to trade for anything at all.
Jiang Chaosheng chose to trade for the shop, at the cost of binding his soul to Antique Shop Zero.
The original owner was ecstatic, because he had lost twelve Taboo Items and was already Cursed by the shop.
The Curse was—he could only leave Antique Shop Zero on rainy nights.
Now, that Curse had been transferred to Jiang Chaosheng.
Jiang Chaosheng didn’t think it was a bad deal.
Between being a beast of burden, held hostage by life, or being the owner of a mysterious shop, Jiang Chaosheng had chosen the latter.
Jiang Chaosheng was confident he could retrieve one Taboo Item every rainy night and lift the Curse on himself.
The only thing that concerned him... were the last words of the previous Manager before he left.
That Manager, who looked just like a scholar from the late Qing dynasty, had warned him with a bitter smile:
"If you want to control this shop, you have to be ruthless."
"If you’re a soft-hearted scholar like me, you’re bound for a miserable end."
Other Managers passed on Antique Shop Zero because they were tired of living, but that guy did it because he couldn’t survive any longer.
...
Jiang Chaosheng came out from the back room holding a seal.
The woman immediately grew expectant.
Jiang Chaosheng sat behind the counter and said:
"Let’s talk about the price."
"What price are you willing to pay to become beautiful?"
The woman’s eyes were glued to the seal, which was emitting a strange fragrance.
Her name was Jin Meiting, and she was the campus belle of her senior class at South Sea University of Technology.
A fire a few days ago had destroyed the beautiful face she was so proud of.
What was most hateful was that her frenemy had posted a photo of her disfigured face in their class group chat and mocked her viciously.
And wouldn’t you know it, in a couple of days, her frenemy was organizing their graduation dinner and insisting that she attend.
A white swan had suddenly become an ugly duckling. How could she bear such a fall from grace?
She had thought about going to a cosmetic surgery clinic for treatment, but she couldn’t afford the exorbitant fees.
A few days ago, on a niche website, she had heard an urban legend.
When night falls, a strange and mysterious antique shop appears in the suburbs of South Sea City.
Its magical antiques could grant any human wish.
Like a drowning person clutching at straws, Jin Meiting had searched the suburbs of South Sea City every night.
Today, she had finally found it!
Jin Meiting looked at Jiang Chaosheng and pleaded:
"Boss, I know your antiques are very expensive."
"It’s just that I’ve just started my internship, so I don’t have much money on me right now."
"I’m willing to work myself to the bone for the rest of my life to pay you back for your antique."
Jiang Chaosheng raised an eyebrow and asked:
"A lifetime for this thing?"
Jin Meiting nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Chaosheng said thoughtfully:
"Trading your freedom for it... that’s acceptable."
’Since I can only leave Antique Shop Zero on rainy nights, I really need someone to help me handle things on the outside.’
Jiang Chaosheng handed the seal to Jin Meiting.
Jin Meiting took it apprehensively.
She was both expectant and worried.
Hoping the legend was real, fearing it was fake.
’Anyway, I don’t have to pay right away, and there’s no contract to sign. Even if it’s fake, I haven’t lost anything except a bit of time.’
Jiang Chaosheng reminded her:
"Stamp it on your lower abdomen."
Ignoring the fact that Jiang Chaosheng, a man, was still there, Jin Meiting impatiently lifted her clothes, revealing her fair lower abdomen, and pressed the seal onto it.
The pattern on the bottom of the seal bizarrely vanished, and an alluring heart-shaped design appeared on Jin Meiting’s lower abdomen.
Jin Meiting was stunned by this change, but in the next second, an even more shocking change occurred.
She looked in the mirror.
In the mirror, the burn scars on her face were rapidly fading.
Even the fine wrinkles and faint acne marks on her face vanished completely.
Her whole face looked like it had been professionally retouched, every single flaw Photoshopped away.
But it wasn’t over.
Jin Meiting watched, wide-eyed, as her body seemed to go through a second puberty.
Her breasts grew fuller, her waist became slimmer, her hips more rounded, and her thighs grew shapely and long.
Jin Meiting stared blankly at her reflection in the mirror.
’My face is more beautiful, my body is better... is this the magic of Antique Shop Zero?’
’It’s like a dream.’
Then, something bizarre happened.
Jin Meiting’s pupils had turned into pink hearts.
Two goat horns sprouted from the top of her head.
A heart-tipped tail poked out from behind her jeans.
This image... it was exactly that of a Succubus from Western legend!
"AHHH!!!"
Jin Meiting let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the floor, staring in horror at her reflection.
Her delicate body trembling, she slowly turned her head to look at the indifferent Jiang Chaosheng and stammered:
"Wh-what’s going on...?"
Jiang Chaosheng said calmly:
"Item 4-18, the Succubus Crest."
"Using it transforms you into the most beautiful creature in the world."
"You traded your freedom for it. A good deal for you, I’d say."
"Because if I didn’t need an employee, your freedom would be worthless to me."
Jin Meiting took short, deep breaths, desperately trying to process what had happened to her.
She had never imagined that the way to become beautiful would be... this!
After ten-odd minutes, she finally accepted the reality of having become a Demon.
’Looked at from another angle, not only have I become more beautiful, but I also have Supernatural Power, right?’
’But... what exactly is the price of giving up my freedom?’
Jiang Chaosheng seemed to have seen through Jin Meiting’s thoughts.
"You have seven days to sort out your affairs."
"After seven days, you are to return here and begin your work."
"You may leave now."
Jin Meiting stood up. When she looked at Jiang Chaosheng again, there was a new trace of fear in her eyes.
’Casually turning a person into a Demon... what kind of terrifying power is that?’
’From now on, this being is my boss?’
Jin Meiting didn’t consider running away or backing out of the deal.
Anyone who wasn’t a complete fool would know how horrifying the punishment for breaking the contract would be.
’Actually... if everything that happened wasn’t so bizarre, I kind of liked the feeling of being controlled...’
’That kind of punishment and control was a secret desire, hidden deep in her heart.’
Jin Meiting bowed to Jiang Chaosheng, then paused at the door.
’I look beautiful like this, but if I go out with a pair of goat horns, I’m afraid someone will call the cops and have me arrested, right?’
As she thought this, Jin Meiting felt a switch flip inside her.
With a mere thought, her Succubus form vanished.
Jin Meiting was pleasantly surprised. She bowed to Jiang Chaosheng once more and left Antique Shop Zero.
Jiang Chaosheng looked outside.
A misty, rainy night was the most captivating of all.
He murmured:
"I can’t let this rain go to waste."
After waiting for so long, a rainy night had finally come.
He could freely leave Antique Shop Zero to retrieve the lost Taboo Items.