....
3:00 AM. Antique Shop Zero.
Jiang Chaosheng parked the vintage car behind the shop, went in through the back door, walked down the hallway, and placed the Scythe of Death and the Soul-Sealing Demon Jar back on the shelf.
He looked out at the empty front hall.
Dozens of brass candelabras hung from the dark, heavy beams.
As soon as night fell, their flames would ignite on their own, requiring no fuel to burn.
The antiques reflected the soft light, and an air of ancient, profound history filled every corner.
Jiang Chaosheng’s gaze fell upon the main entrance. It was still raining outside, and the night had not yet receded.
’In just a few more hours, the sky will brighten. If I’m still outside then, something terrible will happen.’
He was bound by the curse of Antique Shop Zero, permitted to walk the Human World only on rainy nights.
Jiang Chaosheng pursed his lips and ascended the staircase, which was lined with brass candelabras, to the second floor.
Antique Shop Zero had two floors.
The first floor was the shop, used for trading antiques and Taboo Items.
The second floor was the living area, complete with a kitchen, bedroom, and living room.
The master bedroom was vast, with red drapes and an exquisitely embroidered screen, resembling the sleeping quarters of an Emperor.
The walk-in closet also contained all sorts of clothing, including long gowns from the Republican era.
These had been bought by the previous Manager before he was imprisoned by the curse.
Every shop owner was immortal and indestructible. Mundane, mortal possessions held no meaning for the Manager.
Just look at the clothes in the closet—many still had their tags on.
Jiang Chaosheng walked into the study.
The bookshelves were lined with books from all over the world.
Books were the only pastime the Managers had to dissolve their loneliness and while away the time.
Other than the brass, hand-cranked rotary phone on the counter, nothing in Antique Shop Zero could contact the outside world.
Inside Antique Shop Zero, a networked smartphone was no different from a brick.
Jiang Chaosheng sat down in a pearwood chair and took a notebook from the desk drawer.
By the light of a brass candelabra, he began to write in the notebook with a fountain pen:
"It has been a month since I took over Antique Shop Zero, and the first rainy night has finally arrived.
Today’s harvest was bountiful. I traded one Taboo Item and successfully recovered a lost one."
Since taking over this place, Jiang Chaosheng had developed the habit of keeping a diary.
He was afraid that in the long, drawn-out years, he would forget time, and be forgotten by it in turn.
An image of the previous Manager surfaced in Jiang Chaosheng’s mind.
He was a middle-aged man in a long gown, looking like a private tutor from the late Qing dynasty.
The Manager of Antique Shop Zero was supposed to be a being beyond the Three Realms, unbound by the mundane world, yet Jiang Chaosheng had seen many unsettling things in that man.
Numbness, madness, and fear.
The Manager had only two duties, but failing to perform even one would result in a curse.
First, every month, a sufficient amount of Soul Power must be offered to the Taboo Sculpture in the basement.
Although the Soul-Sealing Demon Jar could refine ordinary lingering souls into Soul Power, the process took time and didn’t yield much.
Therefore, the best way to obtain Soul Power was to trade for it with customers, according to the shop’s rules of exchange.
For example, the previous Manager had traded for half of Zheng Xiuhua’s lifespan.
That half-lifespan, obtained through Antique Shop Zero’s rules of exchange, was an incomparably pure form of Soul Power.
Second, after the customers died, he had to recover the Taboo Items from them, or contain new ones.
But the rarity of Taboo Items was not something that could be compared to valuable antiques; there were likely very few in the entire world.
The previous Manager had somehow managed to lose twelve Taboo Items, which resulted in the curse that only allowed him to leave Antique Shop Zero on rainy nights, creating numerous difficulties for trading for Soul Power.
Jiang Chaosheng stared at the rain outside the window, his gaze distant. He thought:
’My biggest predicament right now is being unable to leave Antique Shop Zero. I need to find a way to break this stalemate. A method to recover lost Taboo Items and contain new ones without me having to leave the shop.’
....
Outside, rain continuously pelted the ground with a pitter-patter.
Jiang Chaosheng breathed in the fresh air drifting in from the window, his mind slowly turning.
The previous Managers had always traded Taboo Items for Soul Power—that is, for lifespan.
This was because Soul Power was the scarcest resource for every Manager.
After all, they had to provide Soul Power to the Taboo Sculpture in the basement every month.
For the previous Managers, successfully trading for enough Soul Power was cause for a grand celebration.
But this also created many inconveniences.
For example, after a customer’s death, the Taboo Item would be lost to the outside world.
The Managers had no effective means of recovering these Taboo Items.
If all they knew was to trade for Soul Power, the number of lost Taboo Items would only grow, and the Manager would eventually sink into a quagmire from which they couldn’t escape.
Jiang Chaosheng felt that only trading for Soul Power was an incredibly wasteful practice.
He thought of Jin Meiting, who had traded for the Succubus Seal today.
’If I use Taboo Items to trade for things like loyalty or freedom, wouldn’t that be like gaining a group of powerful servants? With such servants, both recovering and containing Taboo Items would become much more convenient.’
He had to remember that he could only leave Antique Shop Zero on rainy nights, which made recovering and containing Taboo Items incredibly difficult.
The most fatal part was, you could never be sure when the next customer who had obtained a Taboo Item would die.
When a customer died, the Taboo Item in their possession would become "lost." If he failed to recover it in time, the curse on him would likely intensify.
’Once the curse deepens, it’ll probably be like constant torture. The horrifying part is that I’m immortal. It would be a living hell.’
Jiang Chaosheng murmured to himself,
"Once the customers help me recover the lost Taboo Items or contain new ones, the curse on me will be completely lifted."
Jiang Chaosheng’s eyes gradually lit up.
"What if I build an organization based on my customers?"
In this organization, every member would possess a Taboo Item, and every one of them would have pledged their loyalty to him.
In other words, it would be an... Extraordinary Organization absolutely loyal to him!
Jiang Chaosheng picked up his fountain pen and wrote in the notebook:
"In the future, I will only conduct two types of trades..."
First, trades for Soul Power, to ensure there is enough Soul Power for the Taboo Sculpture in the basement each month.
Second, trades for loyalty or freedom, to recruit members for the Taboo Association.
Jiang Chaosheng paused his pen and muttered to himself,
"Perhaps I’ll need other things in the future. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Jiang Chaosheng turned to a new page in his notebook and wrote down two words, ’Taboo Association’, continuing:
"The Taboo Association currently has two main objectives.
First, to use their own advantages to help me recover lost Taboo Items.
Second, to gather information on new Taboo Items and assist me in containing them."
Before being contained, every Taboo Item was a terrifying object. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be called ’taboo’.
Even if the members of the Taboo Association possessed Taboo Items of their own, they wouldn’t necessarily be a match for these uncontained entities.
’When the time comes, I’ll have to take action myself.’
’After all, I’m immortal and can use any of the Taboo Items in the antique shop at will.’
’In terms of Combat Power and sheer unpredictability, I am the most terrifying taboo in this world.’
Jiang Chaosheng paused his pen, his lips pursed and a light flickering in his eyes.
’The members of the Taboo Association need to help me recover and contain taboos, so it would be best if they have some status in the mundane world.’
Not just anyone could be a member of the Taboo Association. Take a simple example.
Suppose he just happened to discover a Taboo Item in Meiqi Country.
He would need a Taboo Association member to help him survey and investigate.
If it were an ordinary student, they would arrive on-site completely lost, not even understanding the local language. How could they possibly be of any value?
But it would be a different story if the member were a wealthy merchant or even a powerful government official.
Not only could they handle the physical labor involved in containment, but they could also help him pull strings and create a comfortable "hunting ground" for him in the local area.
Forget Meiqi Country; just look at the Xia Kingdom’s society, which runs on personal connections. Without money or social relationships, it’s nearly impossible to get anything done.
Therefore, Jiang Chaosheng needed the members of his Taboo Association to have societal influence.
Jiang Chaosheng put down his pen.
’Once Jin Meiting reports in, it will be time to find the first member of the Taboo Association.’
Jin Meiting was currently the most important card Jiang Chaosheng held.
She possessed Supernatural Power and could freely enter and leave Antique Shop Zero.