Otherworldly Merchant

I had felt that there was something wrong about Chuyi since day one. 

He proactively sought us out for help. Moreover, he had specially requested for Yin Xinyue to join them, which was completely out of character. 

The usually cold-faced man then enthusiastically helped Zhou Laoshi. In the past, he would have opted to stab the other person with his sword if someone treated him like that. 

While we were in the forest inside the mountain, Chuyi directly took us back when we encountered some danger instead of caring about his teammate. That was even harder to explain. He had always valued camaraderie; he would rather suffer than to see his friends in danger. 

All the signs showed that Chuyi was hiding something!

Could someone be impersonating him? If so, why would he want to do that? I can’t think of a reason. 

Was Yin Xinyue in danger then? It was also possible that Zhou Tufu and Zhou Laoshi were also the pawns arranged by the possibly fake Chuyi. 

The thought gave me the shivers. My bright eyes gazed at the man’s slender back; I hated that I couldn’t just tie him up to question him. 

I was aware of his skills. He could easily turn things around and beat me me if I tried ambushing him. 

But I can’t just sit here and wait for death. No, I must do something. 

I forcefully cleared my mind and thought hard to come up with a plan. 

I walked out of the room moments later. Chuyi stopped me when I reached the door. “What are you doing?”  

I yawned. “I need to pee.” 

He then let me go.

The toilet in that place was next to the poultry yard and the pig pen. 

The so-called ‘toilet’ was just a pit. I came up with that excuse to find a chance to flee. I had to go to the mountain to find Yin Xinyue. I couldn’t let her stay suffering up in the mountain, even if the path was fraught with danger. 

I observed the surroundings while I peed and found that it wasn’t hard to escape. I spotted a good place and prepared to jump over the wall. 

Just as I was about to take action, a fair-skinned arm suddenly jutted out from the other side of the wall. It scared me out of my wits! 

I couldn’t afford to be flustered at that moment, so I tried to calm down and stay put; even the slightest detail could be important. Maybe the person is trying to tell me something? 

The pale hand was holding a piece of paper. I hurried over and grabbed it before it fell into the pig pen. 

It was clearly a message for me, since it was sent right at that moment. Even though I didn’t know whether the person was a friend or an enemy, that piece of paper had to contain something very important. 

I was moved after giving the paper a glance. It’s him. Yeah, it’s definitely him! 

Somehow, I understood what happened. 

My heart was mollified after receiving that piece of paper. I quietly checked the surroundings and found that Chuyi wasn’t paying attention to me. I seized the moment and burned the paper into ashes. I casually walked out of the pig pen, acting as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

I discreetly kept monitoring the man’s expressions. He didn’t doubt me at all. 

I felt more at ease thanks to that piece of paper. As long as I stayed away from the mountain, things would be fine. That piece of paper contained three messages. 

First of all, the Chuyi we were traveling with was an impostor. He wanted to plot against me. 

The second message had to do with Chuyi’s plan. He asked me to cooperate with his impersonator. However, he told me about three taboos— Do not stay near the red river, stay far from the talking well, and don’t go to the moving mountain.

The last message stated that Yin Xinyue was safe. Chuyi asked Yin Xinyue to sign her name on the back of the paper so I would believe it.

Indeed, her delicate and beautiful handwriting was unmistakable. 

I tried waiting until the break of dawn. Nothing dangerous happened. 

I urged the fake Chuyi to go to the mountain as soon as the sky brightened up and he didn’t take it badly. We went on our way after we had a simple breakfast.  

Li Meng was still in bed feeling sick. He didn’t look well so I asked the fake Chuyi to allow him to stay resting in the village. However, I secretly handed him a piece of paper before we left. “You must seize the chance to escape after we leave. Don’t stay here.”  

That place wasn’t safe. I was also worried about Li Meng’s wellbeing; it was possible that the fake Chuyi had partners helping him.

I wanted to ask Li Meng about what had happened the day before. I didn’t get the chance to though; the impostor always kept an eye on us. I resolutely shut my mouth and refrained from asking. The fake Chuyi took me to the mountain shortly after.

The message in the paper kept flashing in my head. Do not go near the red river; stay away from the moving mountain and the talking well. 

The three taboos Chuyi mentioned were all unnatural. Which river would turn red? Which mountain was able to move? Which well was able to talk?

All right, I don’t care. I’ll act according to the situation!

The trip would have been worth it if I could see those three ‘wonders’ of the world. 

We followed the muddy trail as we got deeper into the mountain. Soon we arrived at the area we had reached the day before. 

There was no road. I didn’t know how I had managed to make my way there. 

The place was barren and quite far from the orchards. Wild plants and grass surrounded the place like a natural jail. It gave off a suppressing feeling. 

I asked the fake Chuyi, “Which direction should we take?” 

The fake man glanced around and then said, “Follow me!” 

He headed to the summit of the mountain. I felt suspicious so I hurriedly followed him. 

The summit was filled with fruit trees; people would normally go there to water them or to add fertilizer. Yin Xinyue would have been spotted sooner if she were held hostage there. Why would he want to go to that mountain?

Even though I had to avoid them, I felt that I would see those three ‘wonders’ of the world soon. The fake Chuyi was definitely leading me to them with evil intentions. 

I heard the distinct sound of running water moments after we continued on our way. 

I furrowed my eyebrows because of it. It was a stream... Was it the red river mentioned in the message?

The fake Chuyi moved faster once he heard the sound. He also urged me to speed up. 

Soon we arrived at the nearby sound source; it was a stream running down the mountain. The water was cool and clear and I could see fishes swimming back and forth. All in all, it was a nice scenery. 

I exhaled in relief after seeing that the stream water wasn’t red. 

The impostor washed his face and gestured at me to do the same. 

Since arriving in the village yesterday, I had yet to wash my face. It had been over a day so I was feeling uncomfortable. I squatted down and scooped the cool water with both hands to splatter it on my face; I could feel my tiredness and depression being washed away. 

The fresh air entered my nose. I couldn’t help but close my eyes to enjoy that pleasant feeling. 

However, the moment I opened my eyes, I was startled by what I saw. The clear and quiet stream had changed into a murky brown-red hue and it was running faster. 

I could sense the faint smell of blood in the air! 

The red river. It’s the freakin’ red river! 

I shivered in fear and hurriedly prepared myself to run away. However, the moment I turned around, I saw the fake Chuyi standing on one side while wearing a cold smile on his face. 

My heart sank once I noticed that sneer. 

What does that mean? Am I trapped? Oh right, I just got close to the red river!

I kept worrying for a while, since I didn’t know what would happen to me at this point. 

The fake Chuyi simply looked at me as I stood bewildered. He said, “Let’s go.” 

I hurried to follow him. I kept reminding myself to keep a sharp eye after that. I had to do my best to avoid the other taboos; the moving mountain and the talking well. 

We saw shrubs and trees on our way. Soon we found the trail used by the farmers to get to the mountain peak. The fake Chuyi looked at the peak and told me, “Zhou Tufu often goes to the mountain to collect wood. He has a lodge there. It’s possible that he might be restraining Yin Xinyue at the peak of the mountain.” 

I was surprised. I looked at him and asked, “How do you know so much about Zhou Tufu?” 

“I’ve tailed him before,” the fake Chuyi said casually. 

“If that’s the case, have you been suspicious of Zhou Tufu for a while?” 

He didn’t answer me and simply walked ahead, leading the way to the mountain. I wondered if he didn’t want to answer me, or whether he simply didn’t hear my question. 

I observed the area before climbing up that mountain, trying to see if it could be the one mentioned in the message. 

All right, there are no signs that the mountain is moving. The place looked normal; it had abundant shade and lush trees, which made it a nice place to take a rest. 

The mountain path was bumpy, but we were lucky that there was a path at all; it was much easier than to go through the shrubbery as we did before. We reached the summit not long after.

The mountain wasn’t high but it offered a wide vision, giving the feeling that you could see the entire world while standing on its peak. 

The blue sky was high above our heads and white clouds bobbed around. The ripe apples looked inviting so I picked one and sank my teeth into the flesh. The sweet nectar immediately seeped into my heart and my burning throat felt much better. 

The cool wind blew over and took away the heat radiated by my body.

However, the next time I looked down made me gawk in shock! 

The clouds hovering around the mountain flanks were slowly moving and thickening. I couldn’t see the ground anymore. 

All those elements and motion made me hallucinate. I thought it wasn’t the clouds that moved... The mountain itself was moving! 

The moving mountain! 

Not good, the message on the paper told me to steer clear from the moving mountain. And yet I climbed it! 

Panicked and distressed, I couldn’t help but turn around and look at the fake Chuyi. I could tell his cold smile was widening. 

However, he swiftly hid his sneer away and returned to his emotionless face when I looked at him.

What should I do? Do I still have a chance to make my way down the mountain? It may be impossible since I violated two taboos… 

I anxiously watched the fake Chuyi, feeling like a pawn in his hand; he could do with me as he pleased. 

That damn note! Why did it have to say ‘the red river’ or ‘the moving mountain’? Just tell me that I shouldn’t go near the small stream or the orchard mountain. It would have been much better. Sigh, it’s not nice to ponder over each word! 

The fake Chuyi urged me, “Move. Let’s see if we can find Yin Xinyue in the area.”

I didn’t dare to follow him, as I would surely go near the talking well if I complied. I had to try my best to break that deadlock and avoid being led by the nose!