Chapter 14: Beneware and Malifact

That person kept pushing through the crowd, watching with a cold stare.

It was the same young woman who bought that hairpin from the café this morning. I recognized her right away. Wasn't she the boss's wife who just left the karaoke bar?

Didn't her husband die? How is she so chill... Oh, right, from her attitude this morning, she only cared about his money. Now that her husband died mysteriously, she was set to inherit everything.

People changed, right?

Wait a minute!

It hit me—this woman owned that karaoke bar. So, Fiona, the university student she mentioned, must be the one who caught her husband's eye.

The entire commotion likely stemmed from the hairpin I discovered for her. If Fiona truly played a role in this girl's demise, she would face imprisonment, fulfilling the woman's desires.

What should I do?

I was freaking out. The girl's family was grabbing Fiona by the collar in the clinic, ready to drag her out. The woman, seeing her plan work, smirked and turned to leave.

"Everyone, look! This quack doctor killed my daughter!" the girl's mom shouted.

"Yeah, it was just a cold, but after one dose of medicine, she..." her dad added. "The ambulance is on its way. We can't let her get away!"

I was so anxious, looking at the girl lying on the stretcher at the door, and I noticed a faint black mist on her forehead!

I couldn't be sure, but I immediately thought the girl was under some evil influence!

No time to waste. I pushed my way in. "Fiona, I have a solution!"

The girl's parents were stunned, then started cursing me along with Fiona. "Are you the quack's brother? Then you're no good either. Let me tell you, you..."

I stomped my foot in frustration. "If you want to save your daughter, shut up!"

Everyone instinctively stopped their commotion.

I took the chance to walk over, first patting the scared Fiona, then bending down to check the girl's heart, confirming her heartbeat was normal. I then gently tapped her forehead!

A faint black mist suddenly emerged and then disappeared into the girl's pocket!

I was stunned and quickly reached into her pocket, pulling out the familiar hairpin!

No time to think. I called Fiona over. "Fiona, get a dose of the rapid-clearing medicine quickly!"

Fiona hesitated for a moment, then went inside and brought out a bottle of Tiger Balm. I frowned, took it, and applied a drop to the girl's forehead and another to her philtrum. A few seconds later, the girl suddenly woke up, coughed, and returned to normal.

The girl's parents cried with joy, and the surrounding people, seeing there was no more excitement, muttered a few words and dispersed.

By the time everything settled down, it was already seven in the evening.

Fiona ordered takeout and kept watching me while she ate.

Feeling a tad uncomfortable with her stare, I asked, "Fiona, why are you giving me the eye like that?"

She sighed. "Dennis, how did you know that girl was under some evil influence?"

I thought for a moment and then took out the hairpin, placing it on the table. It looked like an ordinary object now, with no trace of Sinwaft.

"What is this?"

I gave her a quick rundown, and Fiona got all excited. "My sweet brother, where did you learn this stuff?"

I mentioned that I picked up a few tricks from my dad when I was young, thinking it was all just for kicks and never imagining it would come in handy.

Fiona clapped her hands. "Dennis, if you help me out in the future, we'll be rolling in money!"

I thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay, but I have one condition."

Fiona put her arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll split the money evenly!"

"That's not it." I looked at her seriously. "I mean, we can't deceive or harm people. Only then will I help you."

Fiona smiled. "Don't worry, I don't want to harm anyone either. I promise you."

We talked for a long time until ten at night, and then I headed back to the café.

In the following days, Lorenzo didn't go anywhere but started teaching me some divination techniques.

He also explained in detail about the things I was most curious about: Beneware and Malifact.

Beneware and Malifact were objects influenced or even parasitized by their owner's aura. Most are ancient items, like the hairpin, whose original owner was poisoned. The strong resentment attached to it.

When used as a Malifact, it would do anything to make the person under the spell leave the man who posed a threat to her.

If I hadn't broken the Sinwaft at that time, Fiona would be in jail now, naturally leaving the already deceased karaoke bar owner.

Beneware, on the other hand, was the opposite.

Lorenzo told me a little secret: Alicia had poor high school grades and couldn't attend college.

But before the exam, Lorenzo found a "Pen of Knowledge," which contained the power to grant infinite knowledge. It once belonged to the most respected sage in ancient Greek city-states, imbued with the wisdom to comprehend infinite knowledge!

This pen was used as Beneware for Alicia, and as a result, she successfully got into a university.

Lorenzo told me that every Beneware and Malifact was mysteriously connected to the stars, though he hadn't figured out the mystery.

However, his master had once mentioned that there existed twelve incredibly malevolent Malifacts and twelve profoundly virtuous Benewares in the world. Each artifact had the potential to bestow unimaginable power!