Otherworldly Merchant

I had a headache. Seeing how Niu Dazhuang was acting, it seemed like they thought that I just had to use my finger to poke them and they would be healed.

The bigger the hope, the bigger the disappointment. Perhaps, when it turned out not to be what they had expected, these insane folks would kill me!

I felt like I should pour a bucket of cold water on him. At least, I had to make him recognize the current situation. “Actually, I came to Baisha Village to save someone. Not the villagers but my friend over there… To be honest, I couldn’t do anything to cure his illness. That’s why I came to Baisha Village for some clue.”

Niu Dazhuang smiled, but he didn’t buy it. “I got it, I got it. I know you’re an expert, and it’s not good to disclose your secrets! If you need anything, just tell me.”

I wanted to cry out but I couldn’t. It was obvious that Niu Dazhuang was convinced that I could solve this matter.

Talking more would be useless at this moment. The most important thing to do now was to find the otherworldly item’s origin.

While I listened to Niu Dazhuang’s narration, I realized that we might be looking in the wrong direction.

Perhaps the otherworldly item wasn’t those skeletons or the clay jar. No matter what, the skeletons were burned, and the jar was thrown to the bottom of the lake. Even if they were some otherworldly items, their effects should be reduced rather than getting stronger and stronger.

Now I had only one explanation for this.

There’s another otherworldly item here!

I asked Niu Dazhuang, “What is the most suspicious item you have taken out from that tomb?” Since I hadn’t joined the unearthing raid, I didn’t know the details.

Niu Dazhuang pondered for a while then said, “Aside from the clay jar, it’s the kneecap inside the clay jar. Anyway, all the folks have some symptoms with their knees…”

I smacked my forehead. Right, it was so obvious and I didn’t have even think about it. I’ve shamed my title as a professional otherworldly merchant! 

I asked Niu Dazhuang immediately, “Where is that kneecap?”

“I threw it away,” Niu Dazhuang said without a bit of hesitation.

“You threw it away?” I gawked. “Are you joking, brother? You threw the kneecap away?”

Niu Dazhuang sighed. “I thought it was something that would bring bad fortune. You know, it’s a kneecap! Was it important? Don’t worry. I’ll ask the folks to go find it. We’re going to find it right now.”

I stopped him. “No, there is no time. I can’t go with you to find the kneecap. We must divide into two teams. One must go and find the kneecap, and the others will go with me to find the clay jar. As soon as we fish up the clay jar, we will be alright.”

Niu Dazhuang agreed then left to arrange things and people.

I woke Li Mazi up and asked him, “How do you feel now?” From his appearance, I knew his situation wasn’t really promising. But there was nothing I could do. I let him lie back down and asked people to take care of him. We needed to find the kneecap and the clay jar before we could do anything else.  

In Baisha Village, Niu Dazhuang’s repute was really good. He had arranged the required things neatly in just a short time. I sighed in relief. At this moment, Niu Dazhuang was leading a group of people to go to the lake and find the clay jar.

Although Baisha Village was in a remote area, the scenery there was really good. Branches of willow swayed in the breeze, which made the air always feel refreshing like it was after a cool rain. The temperature was a little low now. The distant mountain was covered in green. A serene lake reflected the mountain. In general, it was a pleasing sight.

If nothing strange had happened, I would have considered building a villa here. After I retired, I would stay here and enjoy my elderly life.

Niu Dazhuang brought some helpers from the village. Most of them were women because all their men were injured from the disease and couldn’t move from their houses. Niu Dazhuang had to use a staff to support himself.

Before we had even reached the lake, I blinked in surprise as waves of pungent smell came to us from the lake. Black duckweeds floated at the surface, which created a contrast scene to the lake’s surroundings.

I furrowed my brows as I spotted something white and light-reflecting under the black duckweeds. I used a stick and poked it. Immediately, dead fish arose with rotten bodies, looking utterly disgusting.

There were so many of them that we couldn’t even count how many fish had died in this lake.

A middle-aged woman stepped out of the team, crouching and crying on the ground. Niu Dazhuang sighed reluctantly. He asked the women to get up from the ground and told her that after this matter was solved, the village would give her some compensation.

It turned out that the woman was the person in charge

of the lake. As all the fish in the lake were dead, she felt really distressed.

I asked, “Aunty, do you know why so many of the fishes here have died?”

She replied, “It must be because of that clay jar. It’s in the lake.”

After ruling out the possibility of deliberate poisoning, I started to think about the clay jar.

If the kneecap was an otherworldly item, why had the clay jar created such a horrible scene after it was thrown into the lake? 

What if both the kneecap and the clay jar are otherworldly items?

Impossible. Normally, only things that existed in pairs could become otherworldly items together. For example, it could be a pair of embroidered shoes, or a sword and its sheath.

I had never heard about the case of a kneecap and a clay jar.

Right now, I could only think about two possibilities. The first one, the clay jar and the kneecap, under some special circumstance, had become otherworldly items together.

And, the other possibility was that the kneecap was in this lake, too.

I asked Niu Dazhuang, “Are you sure you threw the kneecap on the ground somewhere but not this lake?”

Niu Dazhuang nodded his head. “I’m pretty sure. I didn’t throw that thing into the lake. At that time, we were focusing on the clay jar. We didn’t really care about the kneecap so we just threw it aside nearby.”

I looked pensive, observing the lake and its tranquil surface. Looking for a while, I turned to talk to Niu Dazhuang, “All right, tell the people who are looking for the kneecap to go home! They can’t find it.”

Niu Dazhuang was frightened. “What’s happened?”  

I didn’t answer him but borrowed a fishing rod from a villager. I released the thread to the longest length then hurled it toward the lake. Then, I wound the thread back to pull in a dead dog.

“Dahuang? How did Dahuang die there?” A young girl screamed and whined when she saw the dead dog. She stormed over as if she was about to hug the corpse of the dog.

I hurried to stop the girl. “Don’t come close. The dog is still alive.”

“Still alive? How is that possible?” The others couldn’t understand.

It was true. The dog reeked of a horrible stench. Its jaw was dropped open, and its fur peeled off. It looked disgusting.

I said it was still alive because there was something in its stomach! I could quite clearly see the dog’s stomach heaving up and down. It looked like… the dog was breathing!

I asked the crowd to back off then set a ring of fire around the dog. After checking to see that the ring of fire had circled the dog completely, I picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the dog’s stomach.

There might have been some gas inside the dog’s stomach. The moment the rock hit the dog’s stomach, it exploded, splattering gruesome fluid everywhere.

I carefully watched the dog’s stomach and didn’t dare to blink.

The dog’s stomach had burst open. From where I stood, I could see the dog’s internal organs.

At first glance, I felt like retching.

Layers of translucent blisters covered the dog’s internal organs. These blisters were similar to what Li Mazi had on his legs. Brown-red blood liquid filled the bubbles, and countless small worms were wiggling inside.  

I took a deep breath to calm myself. I was naïve to think that the blisters were just some skin disease. I didn’t expect that they could seep through the skin and grow on internal organs.

I could imagine that if Li Mazi’s disease turned worse and the blisters grew on his internal organs, he would die of agony...

Perhaps due to the high heat, the bubbles were broken, releasing countless worms. They crawled toward the ring of fire. Crackling sounds arose unceasingly.

I felt irritated listening to the constant bursting sounds. I increased the heat and burned the entire dog.

The group of people around me hadn’t pulled themselves together yet.

They all studied me with bright eyes.

I knew they were worried that those blisters could fester inside their son’s or husband’s bodies.

I tried to comfort them. “No need to worry now. The situation of the victims in the village hasn’t come to this horrible level. The sickness on their knees can’t reach their bodies.”

They heaved a sigh of relief when they heard me. However, they couldn’t help but be worried still.

“We shouldn’t stay idle. It’s more important to get the clay jar now,” reminded Niu Dazhuang.

I talked to Niu Dazhuang, “We don’t need many people. It could be more trouble if we have many people here. You should ask the women to leave. You and I can do that.”

Niu Dazhuang looked at me, hesitating. “But I… I can’t row the boat. The clay jar was thrown to the center of this lake.”

I smiled. “It’s all right. You don’t need to do that. I can row. Many people staying here could alert that thing.”

Niu Dazhuang nodded and told the female farmers to go home. They all left in a hurry.

They didn’t want to stay here anyway. Although they liked to gossip, when they bumped into situations like these, they were all scared.

Niu Dazhuang said, “I will bring the boat to the lake, then we will row to the middle. There were quite a lot of fish here before, but they are all dead now. If your rowing skills aren’t good enough, our boat will turn over after several meters.”

I smiled, “No need to find a boat or to fish up the clay jar. I know how to deal with this otherworldly item.”

Niu Dazhuang was taken aback, gazing at me in astonishment. “How? Tell me quickly.”