Short, Light, Free Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Ghost Market (Part 3) II

Uncle Fu walked into a room, leaving the door open behind him for us .

We noticed that the people behind us did not follow .

"You're not coming?" Dahai asked them .

"It's Uncle Fu's personal s.p.a.ce so no one's allowed in there," a lady replied faintly .

"What's in there?" I questioned .

"Only important guests know," she answered before walking off .

Dahai and I entered the room . The special thing about wooden rooms is that they block out sunlight .

Uncle Fu flipped a switch and his work desk lit up .

We finally caught a glimpse of the interior of the room . It wasn't big and its decor was minimal and plain, but everything that was necessary was present .

From razor knives to magnifying gla.s.ses, from cleaning clothes to alcohol burners, Uncle Fu has them all in his workstation .

"Bring it over," he said, pointing at the watch . "What do you want me to do?"

"You fixed it before, right? How did you do it?" Dahai inquired .

Uncle Fu opened the watch up and nodded . "This is the one I've fixed for him previously . "

"Just briefly explain the steps to us and what you saw when you opened it up," Dahai continued .

"There was something strange inside this but Pang Guang only told me to get it fixed so I did not mention it to him . "

"Strange? How so?" I immediately asked .

"He brought this watch over and asked a bunch of questions that I really don't remember now . However, I remember getting a shock upon opening it because there were many odd inscriptions on the inner sides . It is a pointless design, especially since it's an old model and the inner sides can't be seen anyway," he shared .

"Pointless design," Dahai repeated .

Without responding, Uncle Fu put on an eyepiece and started dismantling it .

He opened a small crack and said, "You'll understand soon . "

After prying both sections open, we saw that the inner sides were black .

"Look at this," Uncle Fu called out .

Uncomprehending, Dahai asked, "What about it?"

Uncle Fu took his eyepiece down . "Clip this on and you'll see even more clearly .

After trying it, Dahai's eyes widened and he quickly handed me the eyepiece .

I got a shock too, upon realizing that there were black silhouettes .

"What are these?" I questioned .

"Human figures . This watch seems rather old and it doesn't look fake, but isn't this redundant? I was surprised too when I opened this," Uncle Fu explained .

Dahai turned to me and murmured, "These figures are so vivid . Do you remember Pang Guang's looks?"

"Big bald head?"

He pointed to the inside of the watch . "Look at this black silhouette . "

I followed his finger and felt every hair on my body stand up .

It was exactly the same as Pang Guang's figure .

"I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, but there are a lot more black figures now," Uncle Fu mused in confusion .

I quickly diverted the topic by pointing at the meter dial . "How did you fix the needles?"

Uncle Fu pointed at a display wall and said, "I opened up another similarly sized watch for its needles . "

Dahai leaned in again and whispered, "He said that the shapes have changed . I think the additional figures are all members of the Pang family . "

I shuddered at his conjecture .

"There's something else that's different about this watch," Uncle Fu supplemented .

"What else?" I asked .

"Its inner sides are extremely exquisite like it's man-made"

"Aren't pocket watches all like that?" Dahai said .

"This is an old craftsmans.h.i.+p . Modern pocket watches are not quite the same, but regardless, all watches usually come with inscriptions of the manufacturing time, location, and date . There's nothing on this watch, however, and I suspect that it is different inside . The gold outside must've been artificially added, but since it belongs to Pang Guang, I was in no place to cut it open . "

"You mean this outer gold-plated sh.e.l.l is added later on?"

"It's very possible," Uncle Fu affirmed .

"Can you open it now that we're requesting you to?" Dahai tried .

Uncle Fu replied, "I'll need an hour . "

"We'll wait for you . Go ahead," Dahai said .  

I handed the eyepiece back to Uncle Fu .

He then put it on and started grinding the watch with a sanding tool .

"Can I use the paper and pen here?" Dahai asked .

"Use anything you need . "

Dahai turned to me . "You remember her appearance, don't you? The grandmother? Draw it . "

"Me?"

"Of course!" Dahai laughed .

I took the pen and started to draw .

"The nose is too high," he commented .

"How would you know?"

"I was beside you . I saw her, too . "

"Why am I the one drawing her, then?"

"Because I can't draw," he answered simply as I continue to draw . I'm not gifted in this department so even after an hour, there was only a 60% resemblance . It was barely recognizable .

"I'm managing the market now so I can easily get the southern side to take note . "

"That's great,"

"It's done," Uncle Fu called and we dashed over to him .

The whole watch was now pitch black . Holding the watch face, he informed us, "The words are a little unclear now that I've sc.r.a.ped a bit of them off . There's no manufacturing location but the date is there . 1463 . The first pocket watch was made in 1462, so you can tell how much of an antique this is . "

Dahai and I were shocked at this piece of information .

Uncle Fu turned the face around . "The pattern on this side is simply terrifying . "

Our backs turned cold as we caught sight of an eye .

Uncle Fu hasn't cleaned the surface but that eye was already clear and distinct .

It was open and extremely frightening .

"They had this in the past?" Dahai exclaimed .

Uncle Fu shook his head . "I don't know much of the history of foreign items . " 

"How do we settle this?" Dahai asked me quietly .

I took a few pieces of paper from the side and wrapped the watch in them before stowing it away in my pocket .

"What do we do?" Dahai persisted .

"We need to some research while we wait for that grandmother to appear in the market again . "

Uncle Fu walked into a room, leaving the door open behind him for us . We noticed that the people behind us did not follow . You 39 re not coming Dahai asked them . It 39 s Uncle Fu 39 s personal s.p.a.ce so no one 39 s allowed in there, a lady replied faintly . What 39 s in there I questioned . Only important guests know, she answered before walking off . Dahai and I entered the room . The special thing about wooden rooms is that they block out sunlight . Uncle Fu flipped a switch and his work desk lit up . We finally caught a glimpse of the interior of the room . It wasn 39 t big and its decor was minimal and plain, but everything that was necessary was present . From razor knives to magnifying gla.s.ses, from cleaning clothes to alcohol burners, Uncle Fu has them all in his workstation . Bring it over, he said, pointing at the watch . What do you want me to do You fixed it before, right How did you do it Dahai inquired . Uncle Fu opened the watch up and nodded . This is the one I 39 ve fixed for him previously . Just briefly explain the steps to us and what you saw when you opened it up, Dahai continued . There was something strange inside this but Pang Guang only told me to get it fixed so I did not mention it to him . Strange How so I immediately asked . He brought this watch over and asked a bunch of questions that I really don 39 t remember now . However, I remember getting a shock upon opening it because there were many odd inscriptions on the inner sides . It is a pointless design, especially since it 39 s an old model and the inner sides can 39 t be seen anyway, he shared . Pointless design, Dahai repeated . Without responding, Uncle Fu put on an eyepiece and started dismantling it . He opened a small crack and said, You 39 ll understand soon . After prying both sections open, we saw that the inner sides were black . Look at this, Uncle Fu called out . Uncomprehending, Dahai asked, What about it Uncle Fu took his eyepiece down . Clip this on and you 39 ll see even more clearly . After trying it, Dahai 39 s eyes widened and he quickly handed me the eyepiece . I got a shock too, upon realizing that there were black silhouettes . What are these I questioned . Human figures . This watch seems rather old and it doesn 39 t look fake, but isn 39 t this redundant I was surprised too when I opened this, Uncle Fu explained . Dahai turned to me and murmured, These figures are so vivid . Do you remember Pang Guang 39 s looks Big bald head He pointed to the inside of the watch . Look at this black silhouette . I followed his finger and felt every hair on my body stand up . It was exactly the same as Pang Guang 39 s figure . I 39 m not sure if I 39 m remembering correctly, but there are a lot more black figures now, Uncle Fu mused in confusion . I quickly diverted the topic by pointing at the meter dial . How did you fix the needles Uncle Fu pointed at a display wall and said, I opened up another similarly sized watch for its needles . Dahai leaned in again and whispered, He said that the shapes have changed . I think the additional figures are all members of the Pang family . I shuddered at his conjecture . There 39 s something else that 39 s different about this watch, Uncle Fu supplemented . What else I asked . Its inner sides are extremely exquisite like it 39 s man made Aren 39 t pocket watches all like that Dahai said . This is an old craftsmans.h.i.+p . Modern pocket watches are not quite the same, but regardless, all watches usually come with inscriptions of the manufacturing time, location, and date . There 39 s nothing on this watch, however, and I suspect that it is different inside . The gold outside must 39 ve been artificially added, but since it belongs to Pang Guang, I was in no place to cut it open . You mean this outer gold plated sh.e.l.l is added later on It 39 s very possible, Uncle Fu affirmed . Can you open it now that we 39 re requesting you to Dahai tried . Uncle Fu replied, I 39 ll need an hour . We 39 ll wait for you . Go ahead, Dahai said . I handed the eyepiece back to Uncle Fu . He then put it on and started grinding the watch with a sanding tool . Can I use the paper and pen here Dahai asked . Use anything you need . Dahai turned to me . You remember her appearance, don 39 t you The grandmother Draw it . Me Of course Dahai laughed . I took the pen and started to draw . The nose is too high, he commented . How would you know I was beside you . I saw her, too . Why am I the one drawing her, then Because I can 39 t draw, he answered simply as I continue to draw . I 39 m not gifted in this department so even after an hour, there was only a 60 resemblance . It was barely recognizable . I 39 m managing the market now so I can easily get the southern side to take note . That 39 s great, It 39 s done, Uncle Fu called and we dashed over to him . The whole watch was now pitch black . Holding the watch face, he informed us, The words are a little unclear now that I 39 ve sc.r.a.ped a bit of them off . There 39 s no manufacturing location but the date is there . 1463 . The first pocket watch was made in 1462, so you can tell how much of an antique this is . Dahai and I were shocked at this piece of information . Uncle Fu turned the face around . The pattern on this side is simply terrifying . Our backs turned cold as we caught sight of an eye . Uncle Fu hasn 39 t cleaned the surface but that eye was already clear and distinct . It was open and extremely frightening . They had this in the past Dahai exclaimed . Uncle Fu shook his head . I don 39 t know much of the history of foreign items . How do we settle this Dahai asked me quietly . I took a few pieces of paper from the side and wrapped the watch in them before stowing it away in my pocket . What do we do Dahai persisted . We need to some research while we wait for that grandmother to appear in the market again .