Otherworldly Merchant

Chuyi shot me a cold glare. “Pick it up. Keep burning it.”

Putting my fears aside, I picked up the candle and continued to burn it.

The pregnant corpse’s mouth opened wider. Burping sounds were continuously echoing inside her throat. She also hiccupped; sticky saliva oozed from the corner of her mouth every time she hiccupped, which painted a really disgusting sight.

She looked horrible. Her eyes bulged, showing more white than black as she gazed blankly at the void.

For some reason, I had the feeling that the pregnant woman was looking at me with resentment. I had goosebumps on my back right after thinking about it.

Chuyi would use his handkerchief to wipe the drool every time the pregnant corpse burped. Shortly after, his handkerchief had turned into a gruesome dark yellowish color.

Eventually, Chuyi signaled, “That’s enough.” I immediately threw the candle aside and rubbed my sore arm.

“What are you going to do with that?” I asked.

Chuyi checked the pregnant corpse’s chin. There was only a small burnt spot, which would only be visible with a closer look.

“Let’s go!” Chuyi stood up, carefully wrapping the handkerchief. “Tell the man who incinerates the corpses to contact us as soon as the Thai sorcerer appears. Money is not a problem.”

I immediately nodded. I found Old Qi and advised him, then we left the funeral house.

When we returned, I simply told the others that the Thai sorcerer had also gone to the funeral parlor to find a pregnant corpse. Zen Master Baimei was so angry his face turned purple. “Those Thai people are really vicious and merciless! They used Bodhisattva Congee!”

I felt nauseous because I could guess what the Bodhisattva Congee was. It was actually the pregnant corpse’s drool; her saliva did resemble rice congee…

“What are you going to do?” Chuyi asked Zen Master Baimei.

“Merciful Buddha. As long as the pregnant corpse is all right, we could take them down in one go.”

I heaved a sigh of relief, seeing that Zen Master Baimei seemed to have everything under control.

Everything was ready, and we were just waiting for the right chance. I decided to invite them to have lunch at a nice hotel since we had nothing else to worry about.

During lunch, Li Mazi took the opportunity to invite Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei to his wedding.

Zen Master Baimei looked embarrassed. He pondered for a while before replying. “Benefactor, I wonder if I should tell you something.”

“Oh, what is it?” asked Li Mazi.

Zen Master Baimei counted on his fingers. “The date of your wedding isn’t really ideal. How about I propose an auspicious date for you?”

I was interested in this, so I asked, “Is your wedding day something that should be picked carefully?”

Zen Master Baimei smiled. “Of course. The combination of Yin and Yang requires the Yin and Yang energy from earth and the heavens. If the hour you choose isn’t right, it will have a strong effect on the rest of your life.”

Li Mazi immediately asked Zen Master Baimei to show him the right date.

Zen Master Baimei used his fingers one more time. Then, he advised the couple to push back their wedding for two months, which would help them blend beautifully with their Yin and Yang, so they could love and take care of each other well.

Li Mazi thanked Zen Master Baimei since he and Chu Chu had been quarrelling a lot these days. Li Mazi was satisfied by the outcome and decided to pay for everyone’s lunch. In any case, he had several hundred thousand renminbi at the moment. This small amount of money wasn’t an issue.

After paying, a waiter approached us as we were about to leave. He asked, “Excuse me, is Ms. Chu Chu here?”

Chu Chu was clueless. She asked the waiter, “That’s me. What’s wrong?”

“There’s a mister who asked me to deliver this box to you. He said it’s your birthday present,” the waiter answered.

We looked at Chu Chu, and asked, “Today’s your birthday?”

Chu Chu frowned. “I actually don’t know when my birthday is…”

Li Mazi smiled. “It’s free anyway. You shouldn’t waste it.”

Then, Li Mazi offered to take the big box for her. He trembled a little bit since the thing inside was somewhat heavy.

He handed the box to Chu Chu. “Chu Chu, it’s your birthday gift. You should open it. I’m going to get you a cake. We should celebrate your birthday later today…”

Chu Chu nodded with a warm and tender smile.

However, we gawked in shock when Chu Chu opened the box.

Unexpectedly, there was a tripod inside the box, the same one that had appeared in Li Mazi’s house.

I immediately knew that something was wrong. I called the waiter and asked, “Who told you to deliver this box? Where is he?”

“Gone… He already left.” The waiter was scared and shaken because of my stern questioning.

“Go get him!” I thundered then immediately departed.

I was sure that this box had been sent by the Thai sorcerer who had cast the spell on us. Although I didn’t know his motive, I was certain it wouldn’t be anything good.

Chuyi and Baimei followed me.

I saw a sneaky figure watching us, hiding near the hotel’s door. He got in his car and left the moment he saw us come out.

Chuyi pulled me back as I was about to take a taxi. “No! Chu Chu’s in danger. We should head back.”

Prior to entering the private room, we heard Li Mazi screaming like a pig being slaughtered. “Chu Chu, are you okay?!”

I rushed into the room and saw Chu Chu leaning in Li Mazi’s chest. A trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth. She was completely still, with her eyes tightly shut.

Li Mazi got on his knees once he saw Chuyi enter the room. “Brother, please help Chu Chu. She just vomited blood…”

I hurried to pull Li Mazi up. “You don’t need to say that. Let him check the situation first.”

Chuyi felt Chu Chu’s pulse, his sword-like eyebrows arching.

From his expression alone, I knew things were bad and couldn’t help but feel really anxious.

“How is it? How is it?” Li Mazi grabbed Chuyi’s arm. He was so worried his tears began to roll.

Chuyi shook his head. “It’s the backlash from the otherworldly item. We can’t be too optimistic.”

“What?” I was taken aback. “How could an otherworldly item act that? I have never encountered such a situation before, even if it were an evil item.”

“It’s not an ordinary otherworldly item,” Zen Master Baimei said, “It’s the otherworldly item controlled by the Thai sorcerer. Its evil effect was definitely enhanced. And, given that your wife subdued this otherworldly item previously, when it bursts, it will affect her first…”

Li Mazi didn’t understand, he just begged the two to save Chu Chu with a pained expression.

Chu Chu was a kind and naïve woman who unfortunately had a rough childhood. I couldn’t ease my heart, since she had received the backlash as she tried to save me and Li Mazi...

I said, “Zen Master Baimei, Chuyi, no matter what, you must save Chu Chu!”

Chuyi said, “Don’t worry. I will think of a solution. We should get back to the shop.”

Li Mazi hugged Chu Chu close to his chest as he cried. I didn’t know how to comfort him.

I was truly useless. I could drink with him and even kill someone with him, but I didn’t know how to comfort him.

After we returned, Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei stayed there and continued talking about the matter at hand.

I invited several doctors to check Chu Chu’s condition. However, they couldn’t figure out what kind of disease she had so they couldn’t give her the right treatment. I couldn’t do anything else but to give them some money and see them off.

Around an hour later, Zen Master Baimei called me, saying that he wanted to explain the situation to me first.

I immediately sat down. “Zen Master, how’s the situation?”

Zen Master Baimei chanted, “Merciful Buddha, it seems they knew our whole plan. They gave us a lesson, warning us about not meddling in their business…”

I gritted my teeth in anger. “Damn, doing dark deeds behind our backs. If they have the ability, why don’t they show themselves!”

Zen Master Baimei said, “The Thai sorcerer has indeed done some sneaky deeds, but that’s also his strong point. We must be very careful from now on.”

I then asked, “Zen Master Baimei, what could we do to treat Chu Chu’s injury?”