After a brief silence, Luo Yang told the truth. "I'll be honest with you. You've been buried for thousands of years, and times have changed. This knife is a cultural relic, so I can't take it away. But I can't leave you alone either, because you'll keep hurting people. This is simply your fate."
"Thy Witch Artifact, that mask. I can dwell within it."
Luo Yang shook his head. "That's my founding master's Witch Artifact. It already has an artifact spirit. Although it can't compare to you, I can't destroy it just to put you inside."
Besides, his sense of justice wouldn't allow it. When had anyone ever seen the protagonist make a deal with an evil spirit in a fantasy movie or TV show?
The witch had reached Luo Yang. She was a middle-aged woman with a face full of wrinkles, smeared with blood and radiating sinister energy.
"I wish to live. Any object upon thy person-would that suffice?" The evil spirit's voice held a pleading note.
Luo Yang was astonished. "That works too?"
"It does."
An idea suddenly occurred to Luo Yang, and he asked, "Would a phone work?"
"What is a phone?"
Luo Yang said, "Never mind that for now. Just tell me what to do."
The evil spirit's voice sounded. "Pry free mine eye, transfer it to the phone, and secure it with a Spirit Infusion Seal. Once done, nourish me with spiritual energy, and I can awaken. Is this agreeable?"
A faint smile appeared on Luo Yang's lips. "Sure."
Perhaps it wasn't so bad. The one who had chopped people's heads off was the witch from Sanxingdui, not the spirit. Strictly speaking, it was a victim too...
Double standards had always been a wonderful thing.
The Spirit Communication Technique ended, and Luo Yang's consciousness returned.
The eye on the knife's handle flickered with green light. He couldn't tell whether it was trying to convey something. Outside the spirit communication state, Luo Yang couldn't communicate with it, but he could easily imagine how nervous it must have been.
Luo Yang took out his phone and waved it in front of the eye. "This is a phone. It's very important in today's world, and I usually keep it with me at all times. I don't know whether this will work, or whether the phone will still function once you move into it, but let's save your life first."
The eye on the knife's handle blinked once, seemingly in response.
"Then I'll get started. Let me see how to pry this eye off." Luo Yang leaned closer and carefully examined the eye on the handle.
The eye on the knife's handle blinked repeatedly.
Luo Yang said, somewhat exasperated, "Close your eye. I can't get to work with you blinking like that."
The eye on the knife's handle closed.
Luo Yang got a clear look at it. The eye was actually glued on, and it was made of skin. He couldn't tell what animal the skin came from, or whether it was a human eyelid. Whatever kind of skin it was, though, it must have undergone special treatment. Otherwise, it couldn't have survived until now.
Luo Yang caught one corner of the eye with his fingernail and carefully applied pressure, peeling it up little by little.
Something eerie happened. Red liquid seeped from the corner of the eye, making for a horrifying sight.
It took Luo Yang almost two minutes to pry the eye off. His hand was covered in red liquid too, though he couldn't tell whether it was blood. Then he picked up his phone, thought for a moment, and stuck the eye beside the cameras on the back.
His phone was a Huawei P30. He had used it for several years and had never been willing to spend the money to replace it. Now, who knew when his hopes of upgrading would ever come true?
There were three cameras in the upper-left corner of the Huawei P30's back. With the eye attached, there were now four.
The eye stayed closed, looking like an anesthetized patient lying on an operating table.
Luo Yang extended his Primordial Medical Finger and inscribed a Spirit Infusion Seal on the eye. During the process, he discovered that the red liquid was gradually soaking into his hand. A strange feeling arose between him and the eye, almost as though they were connected by blood, and he also sensed certain things...
On the same floor, in the director's office.
Ma Zhonghua paced back and forth in the open space between the desk and the sofa, his expression anxious.
Ye Yiming, who was drinking tea on the sofa, set down his cup and offered some reassurance. "Ma, don't worry. Luo may be young, but he's dependable. Nothing will go wrong."
Ma Zhonghua couldn't possibly relax. He still looked deeply worried. "Sir, every cultural relic here is incredibly precious. I don't even know what method Luo intends to use to remove the spirit from that Bronze Knife. If the relic gets damaged, I'll be held responsible."
"Curator Ma, why don't I go take a look?" Bai Jing volunteered.
Shi Fei said, "I'll go with you. It's been almost half an hour. He should be nearly done."
"Then let's go take a look." Ma Zhonghua could no longer sit still. He wanted to see what was happening over there too.
Ye Yiming said, "Going over like this will interfere with Luo's work. Why rush him now?"
"We'll just look from the corridor. We won't interfere." As he spoke, Ma Zhonghua had already opened the door and walked out.
Bai Jing, Shi Fei, and Su Changming followed him out.
Ye Yiming sighed, then got up and left the room too.
Just as he came out, Luo Yang emerged from another office.
Everyone's gaze settled on Luo Yang. Ma Zhonghua was the most anxious. "Luo, how did it go?"
Luo Yang said, "It's done. Come take a look."
They hurried over and entered the office Luo Yang had just left.
The Bronze Knife lay on the desk, perfectly intact. Not even a clump of the dirt stuck to its blade had fallen off.
"Luo, it... it won't release any more energy that affects people's brains, will it?" Ma Zhonghua couldn't wait to confirm it.
Luo Yang smiled. "No. Otherwise, you'd already be affected, standing here."
Ma Zhonghua felt an enormous weight lift from his shoulders. He patted Luo Yang on the shoulder, his face beaming. "Luo, thank you for solving this problem for us."
"You're welcome. If anything like this happens again, just give me a call," Luo Yang said.
Ma Zhonghua: "..."
One incident like this was enough of a headache. You want another?
Just then, Su Changming suddenly spoke. "Luo, I remember there was an eye on the handle. Why is it gone?"
"Well... the problem lay in that eye. Once I removed the spirit, it disappeared," Luo Yang said.
Su Changming looked at Luo Yang with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
Luo Yang returned his look with a smile, his conscience clear.
During the transfer of the eye, the red liquid had soaked into his palm, establishing a connection between him and the eye and allowing him to sense certain information. In fact, even if he hadn't pried the eye off and had simply removed the spirit, the eye would have lost its spiritual energy and crumbled into dust afterward. It wouldn't have remained on the handle, because spiritual energy was what had preserved it until now.
So, whatever choice he made, the eye wouldn't remain on the Bronze Knife's handle. The only way to preserve it was to leave it alone, but that would mean the Bronze Knife remained a dangerous Witch Artifact. Viewed from that perspective, prying the eye off and sticking it onto his phone wasn't an act of vandalism against a cultural relic. It was a choice made when there was no other choice.
Shi Fei leaned over the Bronze Knife. After examining it carefully, he said, "The relic is intact. I never saw that eye, but a knife having an eye is downright sinister. Dr. Luo handled it professionally."
Luo Yang glanced at Shi Fei, feeling a trace of gratitude.
"Then let's leave it at that. Luo, stay at the Museum tonight. If nothing else happens with it, we'll consider our agreement fulfilled," Ma Zhonghua said.
Luo Yang nodded. "All right."
Before you continue