Markus collapsed to his knees when Stein said there was no way to save him. "I don't want to die!" he cried. "I still have parents to take care of at home. I'm the only son in my family—I can't die!" He begged us to save him.
I quickly helped him up. "Don't be like that. If it were just a ghost, it would be nothing against my Tattoos of Gods and Ghosts. But your situation is more complicated—it might involve more than just a ghost, so giving you a tattoo now wouldn't be wise."
I was more interested in the bald woman than the ghost Brzenska. What was her story?
I asked Stein, "What's the purpose of that little girl's dead man's comb? Both are ghosts' combs—why does the bald woman want the girl's specifically?"
Stein admitted he wasn't entirely sure. "The obvious difference is that one belonged to an innocent child, the other to a vengeful ghost."
That said, he'd heard many legends about dead man's combs. "No matter what kind of ghost it comes from, a dead man's comb should never be used on a living person's head. What that bald woman wants with it... I can't figure out."
We debated for hours without reaching any conclusions—until Stein asked a crucial question: "Markus, did you bring that dead man's comb?"
Markus nodded and pulled out a black comb.
It looked ordinary—a simple moon-shaped comb you could find anywhere. But since it was a dead man's comb, both Stein and I only stared at it, afraid to touch it.
"Try burning it," I suggested.
Markus immediately recoiled. "I can't! Unless you cure my itchy scalp, getting rid of it would kill me!"
Nothing seemed to work. I'd have to think carefully about what to do—or what tattoo might help.
No wonder everyone Markus consulted shook their heads. This was too tricky. Exorcising a ghost would be simple, but this curse from the dead man's comb couldn't just be removed—he was addicted to using it. How could we fix that?
Stein told Markus to go home for now. "Come back in a few days if we find a solution. And whatever you do, don't overuse that comb—or you might drop dead any day. A vengeful ghost's comb drains yang energy fast."
Markus nodded repeatedly. On his way out, he begged us again and again to save him.
After he left, Stein said, "There's actually a profession better suited to handle this than us—shavers."
"Shavers? Like barbers?" I laughed. "You're joking. Those shampoo boys and haircutters deal with... this?"
Stein shook his head. "Not those. I mean ritual shavers—ones who shave heads in yin-related ceremonies."
The so-called "shaver in yin-related rituals" refers to those who shave the heads of the deceased - another form of yin work, just like ours. The razors in their hands are also magical tools.
This was a profession I'd never heard of before, and it was quite eye-opening to hear Stein talk about it.
Stein said he knew a shaver and suggested we consult him for advice. "If we can get him to handle this case directly, it would be ideal. We shouldn't pass on business unless we absolutely can't handle it ourselves."
Stein had a point. Markus's case was stranger and more complicated than any we'd dealt with before. We needed to investigate thoroughly, but we couldn't just pass the buck.
I immediately asked Stein to take me to meet this shaver, but Stein explained the man had returned to his rural hometown and wouldn't be easy to find. "I'll need to dig up his contact information. This tattoo parlor hasn't been open for twenty years, and many old contacts have been idle just as long. Back then, communication networks weren't as developed as they are now, so reconnecting won't be simple."
I urged him to hurry. "We can't afford delays - we don't know when Markus might die. This needs to be handled as soon as possible."
Meanwhile, I'd have Antonio search for that bald woman. "There aren't many nunneries around Vervecity - finding her shouldn't be too difficult." I wanted to meet this bald woman personally. Whatever was happening to Markus clearly involved her too. I refused to believe she'd randomly targeted Markus out of pure madness - there had to be more to this story.
Antonio set off for the nunnery while Stein went upstairs to search through old contacts, leaving me alone in the shop.
By nightfall, Stein had finally located the shaver's phone number. Antonio still hadn't returned, and his phone went unanswered.
"Antonio can handle himself - he's a skilled fighter. I'm not worried about his safety," I remarked. "My only concern is he might injure someone and stick me with the medical bills."
Stein explained that this shaver, named Strass, used to perform yin-related head shavings throughout Vervecity. "He's shaved heads for countless corpses - rich and poor alike, thousands over his career."
After retiring from the business, Strass had returned to his hometown. "He's probably living in retirement now, but his skills should still be sharp."
Stein tried calling, and by some miracle, the call went through - the number was still active after all these years!
When the call connected, Stein called out "Strass?" and received a response. The two old friends immediately began catching up.
After exchanging pleasantries, Stein got straight to the point, recounting Markus's entire story before asking Strass for his professional opinion on how to proceed.
A moment of silence followed on the other end... then Strass said something that left us completely stunned.