Otherworldly Merchant

Looking at the ship owner’s appearance, we knew he was about to collapse. As we were at a critical juncture, if he collapsed, it would be extremely adverse for us.

I hurried to comfort him so he wouldn’t be fearful. I lied to him that we had solved the otherworldly item issue, and there would be no more danger to him.

The owner exhaled, feeling relieved. However, he was still scared, his face ashen. “I almost lost my life. That was damn scary!”

I asked him to check if any of his antiques were missing or been replaced.

The ship owner nodded. He started to walk around and check every item of his collection. Eventually, he screamed, “Oh, where’s my Ban Liang [1]? I put my Ban Liang here. How could it become a bronze spoon? Who snuck into my collection room?”

“Ban Liang?” Li Mazi was dumbstruck. “What’s that?”

I thought for a moment then explained, “The Ban Liang must be a type of common currency in the Qin Dynasty, right?”

The ship owner nodded repeatedly. “Right, it was a currency back in the Qin Dynasty.”

In that era, Qin Shihuang unified the six nations, creating the first feudal court in history: the Qin Dynasty.

To make it easier for the people to trade, Qin Shihuang created a currency that was used nationwide. Since these coins weighed around half a tael each, the folks called them ‘Ban Liang’ coins.

“Do you know that wall clock?” I suddenly changed the topic, pointing directly at the wall clock.

The ship owner checked the wall clock, immediately scoffing, “Who brought to this room the clock Empress Dowager Cixi used to have? It’s a national-level treasure that I have always kept in a safe.”

“Open the wall clock and see if you can find your Ban Liang there…” I could guess what had happened so I calmly directed the ship owner.

The ship owner immediately walked forward and opened the wall clock. When he opened it, he saw his Ban Liang coin, tied to the clock’s pendulum. He said strangely, “Did you do this?”

I shook my head. “We’ve been with you the whole day. And we don’t have the key to this cabin. Think about it, who has the key to this room?”

The ship owner pondered for a while. Then, he yelled in uncontrollable rage, “Only my wife has it! That little bitch plotted against me! When I get out of here, I’m going to kill her!”

If things had gone as he’d said, everything would make sense.

It was possible that the ship owner’s wife was coveting his assets, which made her arrange for an otherworldly item to be sent to him. That thing had affected him, making him ‘do as he said.’

And now, as she had gotten the ship under her name, in order to keep the secret from us, she hid the Ban Liang coin inside the wall clock. She intended to murder us indirectly.  

Damn, what a venomous woman!

And, when I contemplated this, I suddenly remembered something.

It seemed that it also was her scheme for us to stay on this ship...

At that time, she had tugged on the tour guide and winked. However, she tried to avoid us so we would not see her face… Then, the tour guide suggested that we stay and enjoy the night over the Qinhuai River.

Her purpose was simple. She wanted to frame us.

Or, she had already planned how to kill the ship owner but needed an alibi for his death. The police wouldn’t believe the story of some otherworldly item killing a person.

Thus, she took advantage of the fact that we were looking for the otherworldly item to design her murderous scheme. Then, she would barge into the room — the murder scene — with the police. With witnesses and evidence, we wouldn’t be able to wash ourselves of this crime even if we jumped into the Yellow River.

I shared my thoughts with the others. After they heard what I thought, they couldn’t hold in their rage. They all wanted to find that evil woman to settle things with her!

However, when we went to open the door of the small cabin, we gawked in shock. The only door to the chamber had been locked from the outside and it seemed that there was something pressed against the door. No matter how hard we pushed, it didn’t budge.

We tried to peep through the slit and found yellow sand spilling through from the other side of the door.  

She wants to trap us here!

The ship owner was so enraged that his green veins were bulging out. He went on a tirade in this small storage. Taking out his phone, he tried to make an emergency call, however, there was no signal.

We couldn’t continue like this. We had to find an exit!

I hurriedly called out to the ship owner, “Are there any ventilators?”

The ship owner shook his head like a rattle drum. “There’s only one door in this cabin and no ventilators. Since we’re above water, the moisture is high. I was afraid it would go through the ventilator and affect my antiques.”

I said, “Then we must try to save oxygen, or else, we will die from suffocation.”

The ship owner sat down in annoyance. He took out a bronze vase from a glass box and hugged it. I asked him, “What are you doing?” He answered, “I’m trying to calm down.” He indeed loved his antiques as much as he treasured his life.

I suddenly remembered the woman who had been following us and that we had captured her in our photos. So I asked Yin Xinyue to show the ship owner her photo and see if he knew her.

It wasn’t surprising that when the ship owner saw the photo, he gasped and asked, “It’s my wife! Why was that bitch following you guys?”

Everything had come to this, and the ship owner hadn’t realized the truth. I admired his stupidity.  

I told him my conclusion and the ship owner became even more desperate. “I knew it! How can it be so coincidental that you guys are staying on my ship! Now I remember that it was my wife’s friend who told me about you guys, that you are otherworldly merchants and you could help me! Damn it, she plotted everything!”

I glanced at Yin Xinyue and noticed something wrong. She was always cheerful but now she was balled in a corner, immobile and silent, her face pale.

Even when we had faced death, I had never seen her that frightened. I hurriedly approached her and asked, “Yin Xinyue, are you all right?”

Yin Xinyue spoke with difficulty, “I-I... can’t breathe… I feel like I’m suffocating…”

It was impossible though. Although this cabin was closed tight, we still had sufficient oxygen. It shouldn’t cause any breathing troubles for the time being.

However, I soon understood. Perhaps Yin Xinyue had claustrophobia.

I tried to coax her, “It’s okay. That door’s not completely closed. There’s more air coming through the slit.”

However, she was still terrified. I couldn’t do anything else but lead her to the stairs connecting to the door and seat her there. I told her that oxygen is lighter than carbon dioxide so it would float above and that sitting there would help her breathe easier. My suggestion worked as some color returned to her face.

The ship owner asked, “Have you solved the otherworldly item problem? Will I continue to try and kill myself later?”

I sighed. “It’s still giving me a headache. I’m sure it’s not going to let you go yet. It will still torture you to the point that you would rather die.”

But, if the ship owner died here, I was afraid we wouldn’t get out alive. We would be accused of murder.  

Thinking about it over and over, I couldn’t come up with any other solution but to tell the ship owner. “If you don’t want to die, you must be tied to the chair again…”

He was reluctant, but he knew there was no other way. He could only nod in agreement.

Right when we had just prepared the chair and the iron chain to tie the ship owner again, the lights in the chamber turned off one after another. 

Crap, it seems that the ship owner’s wife just cut off the power! She must have been lingering out there and eavesdropping on us! 

The ship owner instantly went mad, screaming and shouting. However, his wife seemed to be very patient. She didn’t answer, just staying silent outside.

However, while the ship owner was screaming, he suddenly paused

It wasn’t natural. A moment ago, he was still talking. But all of a sudden, his voice disappeared as if someone had muted him by covering his mouth.

I tensed, looking in the ship owner’s general direction. However, in the pitch-black room, I couldn’t see anything. It wasn’t a normal silence and made us flustered as we could sense something had happened. Li Mazi couldn’t endure it. He hurried to ask, “Brother, hey, are you okay? Why did you stop cursing?”

However, the ship owner didn’t answer, and the room remained dead silent.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ban_Liang