Chapter 37 Box: A Somewhat Odd Wooden Box

Chapter 37: The Box: A Somewhat Odd Wooden Box

Since it was a rare trip to Mikano and there was still time, Old John decided to take Everly around the area for a bit of fun.

It happened to be the weekend, and a flea market was open just two blocks from the dental clinic. The two discussed it briefly and decided to go check it out.

At flea markets in America, you could find just about anything: second-hand furniture, vintage records, all kinds of antiques, cheap trinkets, car parts... Just browsing without buying was fun in itself. However, since most of the vendors at flea markets were immigrants and the goods came from all sorts of sources, you had a high chance of buying fakes—especially antiques and second-hand luxury goods, which were the worst for counterfeits. So if you wanted to score a bargain here, you needed a sharp eye for telling real from fake.

Everly wasn't short on money. She was secretly loaded—besides the trust fund Old John set up for her every month, he'd also let her keep all 50,000 Mido from the cockroach infestation in Lemort Town.

Everly, the little rich girl, circled the flea market once, then crouched down at a second-hand furniture stall that caught her eye and started checking out chairs. She'd grown taller again, and the chair she used at her desk now seemed too short. She wanted to buy a new chair to take home—maybe grab a dog bed too, since the old one at home was almost chewed to shreds by Buddy. If the dog beds here were cheap, she might as well pick one up...

As she wandered around browsing, Everly suddenly froze.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a somewhat odd wooden box.

It was an old wooden box, completely black. The box was spherical with eight sides, each painted with strange, bizarre patterns, looking like some kind of specially crafted art piece.

Crouched in front of the box was a black-haired woman, chin resting on her hand, studying the wooden box with great interest.

The moment she laid eyes on that wooden box, Everly felt a chill run down her spine, cold sweat breaking out all over. The familiar sense of danger gripped her instantly. Just as the woman was about to reach for the box, Everly quickly spoke up, warning in a low voice, "You'd better not touch that."

"What?" The black-haired woman turned her head, looking at Everly with some surprise, revealing a face that was distinctly Latin American.

She looked around twenty, with striking features and large, expressive eyes. Her black hair was cut in a mullet, curling and bouncing on her shoulders, and beneath her messy sideburns, her ears were full of piercings, adorned with a dozen or so silver studs. She wore a flashy printed maxi dress and an antique-looking crystal necklace at her chest—her style was both trendy and retro, a very contradictory vibe.

"I mean, that box in front of you gives me a bad feeling... Of course, it's just a feeling, so what you do about it is entirely up to you." Everly gave the woman a harmless smile.

"Everly, what's going on?" Old John, who had been picking out items nearby, noticed something was up and stood up to walk over to his granddaughter. He looked pretty intimidating—tall and burly, with thick white hair, but his exposed arms were covered in muscle. People with bad intentions would usually take the hint and back off at the sight of him.

But the young woman clearly wasn't fazed.

"Hi, I was just chatting with this Little Miss here. She told me that this wooden box on the ground isn't a good thing." She smiled and winked at Everly, pointing at the box.

"Is that so, Everly? You again...?" Old John asked carefully.

Everly nodded.

"Well then, miss, you might want to take my granddaughter's words into consideration. As they say, 'Children have the clearest eyes in the world.' Maybe she's noticed something..." Old John didn't want to expose Everly's special ability, but he couldn't bear to see an innocent person meet with misfortune, so he gave a vague hint.

The young woman laughed, revealing a pair of sharp little canines that made her look playful and youthful: "Yes, of course, I know the Little Miss means well, because this happens to be a box that sealed away an evil spirit. Once opened, the evil spirit inside would latch onto its owner, tormenting their nerves with all sorts of accidents, until the owner couldn't take it anymore and killed themselves, getting sucked into the box to become food for the evil spirit... In the Middle Ages, this kind of witchcraft box was often used to curse and kill people. Later, during the witch hunts, the makers of such boxes were arrested in droves, and the method of making them was burned. I thought that after such a long time, this kind of evil thing should have gone extinct, but I didn't expect to run into a real one here..."

As she spoke, the woman picked up the box from the ground.

Seeing this, Everly and Old John both took a step back in unison, ready to bolt if things went sideways.

"Oh, don't worry. This is a puzzle box—until it's opened, the evil spirit inside can't get out." The young woman, pleased with her little prank, raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously, then turned to the vendor and asked, "Hello, how much is this box?"

"300 Mido."

The mullet-head's eyes went wide: "What? Didn't you hear me? This thing has an evil spirit sealed inside! If someone's not careful, it'll bring disaster to its owner. I'm willing to take it off your hands, and instead of being grateful, you're charging me 300?!"

The vendor was a silver-haired old lady with stylish curls. Hearing the mullet-head's protest, she set down her knitting needles and gave her a look of disbelief through thick lenses: "You said it yourself—this is an antique from the Middle Ages. Genuine, rare goods. Asking 300 is more than fair."

"100, and it has an evil spirit in it!"

"300, it's the real deal."

"150, I really can't go higher."

"300, a rare one-of-a-kind piece."

"Ugh... 180, how about 180? That's enough!"

"If you're serious, 280."

"..."

Everly watched as the scene instantly shifted from eerie and supernatural to a lively, down-to-earth haggling session, a cold sweat dripping down her forehead as she stood there speechless.

She exchanged a glance with Old John, who shook his head at her, so she turned around, deciding not to get involved. To her surprise, after all that bargaining, the mullet-head actually had the nerve to walk over to Everly, press her palms together at her chest, and shamelessly ask to borrow money.

"Dear Little Miss, I really need that box. Could you lend me some money?"

Everly: "..."

What kind of person does that? Why would she ignore an adult like Old John and chase after a minor to borrow money?!

She turned her head away, intending to ignore the mullet-head, but the mullet-head wouldn't give up. Seeing Everly dodge, she switched directions and pestered her again, pressing her palm to her cheek and playing the pity card: "Just lend me a little, only 100 Mido—surely that's nothing for the Little Miss... I'm actually a fortune teller who's really good at Mayan astrology. The Little Miss has been plagued by bad luck lately, maybe..."

"Hey, that's enough! I'm calling the police!" Old John's face darkened, and he shoved his bear-like frame between the two, blocking the mullet-head.

Fortune teller? Mayan astrology? That was new to her.

Behind Old John, Everly grabbed her grandfather's arm and shook it, stopping him from getting angrier, while poking half her head out from behind his arm and asking curiously: "You can tell fortunes?"

"Yes, whether it's tarot cards, astrology, or crystal balls, the Little Miss can pick whichever she likes."

Everly asked again: "What do you want that box for?"

"Oh, naturally to contain it, so that someone who doesn't know what it is doesn't buy it and accidentally become a snack for the evil spirit."

The mullet-head answered with all seriousness, but Everly wasn't buying it: "How am I supposed to trust you?"

What if the mullet-head bought the box to harm others? Then lending her the money would make Everly an accomplice.

"Oh, I can't prove I'm a good person... Well, if that's the case, why doesn't the Little Miss just buy the box herself? I can tell you're a good person, and you'd never abuse the power of the ghost inside—don't worry, as long as you don't open the mechanism on the box, it's perfectly safe." The mullet-head said, throwing all caution to the wind.

Everly waved her hands repeatedly. She wanted nothing to do with such a hot potato. In her view, dangerous things like that were best kept as far away as possible.

The mullet-head scratched her head, making her mullet even messier: "Oh, this is tough... How about this: I'll take the box, and the Little Miss can leave my contact info and come check on it anytime. Does that work?"

Everly thought it over and decided it was acceptable.

First, this fortune teller named "Rebecca" didn't give her any bad vibes. Second, Everly reasoned that if she were really a villain planning to use the box to harm people, she wouldn't be so openly spreading the word that the box contained an evil spirit. Third, Rebecca was straightforward and open, as if she genuinely didn't mind the box being bought by Everly.

It was only 100 Mido anyway...

Rebecca shouted "Yes!" and jumped up from the spot.

"Then I'll go get the money. Please, Little Miss, keep an eye on this box for me."

With that, the mullet-head made a "wait a moment" gesture to Everly and the others, turned, and jogged over to a fortune-telling stall nearby. She greeted the girl dressed like a Gypsy woman at the stall, then reached under the small table holding crystal balls and pulled out a black backpack.

"Honestly, this box is way too expensive. Me being willing to spend this much to buy it—I'm just too selfless..." She muttered while walking back to Everly, unzipping the bag and rummaging through a pile of crumpled textbooks for her wallet. Everly's sharp eyes caught a small card among the books—it had the mullet-head's photo on it, along with the emblem of a notoriously shady local university in Mikano, looking like a student ID. So this fortune teller was also a college student, and at that local diploma mill that even dogs wouldn't bother attending?

Everly's image of the mullet-head as some reclusive master instantly shattered into pieces.

Still, she kept her promise and lent Rebecca the 100 Mido.

"Thanks, Little Miss, and you too, sir. Let's exchange contact info, and I'll pay you back later."

"No need. You're doing a good deed too. Consider this 100 bucks my contribution to eliminating the evil spirit." Everly waved her hand. For various reasons, she and Old John were very protective of their personal information. Even when going to the dental clinic, most of the patient info they filled out was fake. There was no need to reveal too much over such a trivial matter.

"You're so kind and generous. Your God will surely bless you!" Rebecca exclaimed dramatically, then enthusiastically suggested, "How about a fortune reading at my stall? I'm quite accurate, you know."

Everly continued shaking her head. Although she had basically ruled out Rebecca being a bad person, she still steered clear of fortune-telling activities, because in some movies, disasters occurred after engaging in such superstitious practices.

Let her dealings with the wolf-tail girl end at 100 bucks.

Rebecca seemed a little let down. She thought for a moment, rummaged through her backpack, and finally pulled out a translucent zip-lock bag from an inner pocket. Inside the bag was a flat, dried toad, painted with symbols Everly couldn't decipher.

Rebecca pressed the bag into Everly's hands. "This is a protective charm my mother gave me when I left home. Take it—consider it bought with your 100 bucks... Remember, always remember, when you feel something's off about yourself, burn it to ashes and swallow it with water."

"What?"

What did 'feeling something's off' even mean? And drink this thing? Burned to ashes and mixed with water? Who would do that? Ew, that's disgusting!

Everly didn't really want to accept this somewhat eerie gift.

Despite Everly's reluctance, Rebecca was uncharacteristically insistent. She dropped her playful smile, calmly looked at the girl before her, raised a finger to her lips, and slowly shook her head. "*He* is watching. I can't say too much... When the time comes, Little Miss, you'll understand. Take it. I won't harm you."

"He? Who is He? What do you mean by giving me this?"

Everly felt something was off. She grabbed Rebecca's arm, trying to press for more answers, but Rebecca slipped free with surprising ease—which was strange, given Everly's grip. Yet Rebecca twisted her body slightly, and the fabric Everly held slid away like it was greased.

"Little Miss, remember my words~"

After breaking free, Rebecca flashed a grin, revealing her sharp little fangs. She waved at Everly and Old John, then cheerfully clutching her brand-new hundred-dollar bill, hopped over to the stall owner to buy the box.

"..."