Otherworldly Merchant

Zen Master Baimei placed the small bronze tripod on the table and observed it. He said with a dark face, “I have never seen such a haughty Thai sorcerer before. It’s a declaration of war to the entire otherworldly item circle! If we don’t retaliate, no one would have the face to do this job anymore.”

“I don’t care about the war declaration,” I said, “As long as we can save Chu Chu.”

Zen Master Baimei nodded. “Benefactor, it’s not as simple as you think. I can subdue that person myself, but…”

“But what?” Li Mazi arrived but we could barely recognize him with that pitiful face. “Zen Master Baimei, no matter what price I have to pay, I want to save Chu Chu. Even if I have to die.”

“What an infatuated couple!” Zen Master Baimei sighed. It seemed he had just remembered his old love story and tears lingered in his eyes.

“I’m worried about Chu Chu’s health, she may not endure until the end of the fight between both sides. I’m afraid her life will be at risk if unexpected things happen,” Zen Master Baimei said reluctantly.

“What can I do?” Li Mazi was restless as he looked at Zen Master Baimei.

“You…” Zen Master Baimei paused slightly. “Actually, you can share her pain. But I’m worried that it would harm the both of you. Fortunately, Chu Chu has been practicing ghost doctor techniques since she was a kid. Her body has developed resistance against magic. However, you’re just an ordinary person.”

“It’s okay.” Li Mazi didn’t waver. “As long as Chu Chu survives, it doesn’t matter how painful it is. But it will be a misfortune to my child…”

Then, Li Mazi turned to look at me.

I knew Li Mazi wanted to entrust his son to me.

What should I do? Agree with him so that he wouldn't worry about his death? I shook my head repeatedly. “Nonsense! You’ll be alright! Don’t even think about giving Li Meng to me. I’m not going to take care of him.”

“Try your best, alright?” Li Mazi forced a smile.

He knew that even if he didn’t say anything. I wouldn’t just stand idly if something happened to him.

Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi got busy after our discussion.

Chuyi bought a disposable syringe and took a sample of Chu Chu’s blood, with the intention of injecting it into Li Mazi’s vein.

“Can’t he just drink it? It would be bad if the blood is rejected,” I suggested.

Chuyi said, “No, we can’t do that. If the blood gets into his stomach, the consequence would be even more serious.”

I could only watch helplessly as Chuyi injected the blood into Li Mazi.

Following Chuyi’s instructions, Li Mazi lay down next to Chu Chu right after the injection and fell asleep.

Chuyi asked me to place the two small tripods on top of their chests and make sure they wouldn’t fall. Then, he asked me to stay and watch the couple; I would have to monitor them and call him when the tripods began to buzz.

Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei went to take a rest afterwards. There would be a fierce fight tonight, so they had to be at their peak condition.

Meanwhile, I stayed behind to watch Li Mazi and Chu Chu and tried my best not to blink.

While asleep, their faces were all pale and their breathing short and weak. It looked as if they had just died. I was deeply worried by this, so I had an urge to check Li Mazi’s pulse every other moment.

They lay like that, sleeping until midnight without moving in the slightest.

It made me worry even more!

Eventually, when the clock ticked at 1 AM in the morning, I heard the small tripods buzzing. It seemed as if someone were crazily beating them.

I checked the bronze tripods and saw them vibrating at a high frequency, as if they were trying to get rid of the bond!

Li Mazi and Chu Chu looked even paler and their breathing was shorter. Their bodies were also shaking along with the tripods’ vibrations.

I immediately rushed to the bedroom and woke Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei.

They checked the tripods and became serious, asking me to open all the doors and windows to ventilate.

Chuyi took out the handkerchief he had used to collect the sticky saliva from the pregnant corpse. Then, he lit the handkerchief and divided it into two parts, one for each brass tripod.

Once that step was done, he threw a talisman into each tripod. Instantly, blue flames rose from the two tripods!

Those flames were like venomous snakes, slithering everywhere. The bronze tripods began to vibrate harder and faster. It seemed as if they were trying to move toward Chu Chu’s and Li Mazi’s heads.

I was so worried. What if the tripods fall and burn them? 

 With that thought, I made a move to adjust the tripods.

However, Chuyi shouted, “Don’t touch them!”

I hurriedly retracted my hand.

Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei sat down cross-legged, mumbling something very quick.

The brass tripods on Chu Chu and Li Mazi moved toward their heads and then returned repeatedly.

I figured out what was happening. Their faces would seem to be in a lot of pain whenever the small tripods got close to their heads, and they would look better if the tripods moved further away…

From the looks of it, Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi were using their magic methods to control the bronze tripods. They were trying to keep the bronze tripods from getting closer to their heads, while the spell caster was attempting the opposite.

I had no idea what would happen if the tripods reached their heads.

I vaguely heard someone chanting an unintelligible text through the window. I went to check and found a white van that was parked in front of my antique shop. The chanting seemed to be coming from that van.

The sorcerer is in that van?

My face turned purple with anger. Despicable bastard, how dare you come to my house and harm my brother like this. What kind of person would I be if I didn't give you a lesson!

I was about to charge over.

However, I managed to get a hold of myself. What if there were more people in the van? I would be unable to do anything if I went alone. That would also give them a chance to disrupt Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei’s efforts!

I gave up on vengeful thoughts and forced myself to clear my head, as I could tell that the Thai sorcerer wasn’t alone in that van.

They probably didn’t try to disturb Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei because they wanted to kill people discreetly, without exposing their whereabouts.

The police would have a reason to arrest them if they made a mess in the open.

However, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t try. There were so many reckless people on earth. What if they couldn’t beat Chuyi and the Zen Master’s magic and decided to play hard? Let alone keeping Chu Chu and Li Mazi safe, I was afraid that Chuyi and Baimei would also be in danger!

After considering the possibility, I quickly came up with a plan. I sneaked out through the shop’s back door and ran to the nearest gasoline station. I bought a barrel of gasoline and a pipe. When I came back, I slowly extended the pipe toward the white van.

I inserted a steel wire inside the pipe to prevent the pipe from meandering. Shortly after, the pipe had reached under the van! Then, I immediately poured gasoline through the pipe.

All the gasoline was poured under the van to create a puddle. I took out a lighter. The moment the gasoline touched the spark, it immediately started burning. The fire had completely encircled the white van.

The people in the car panicked. They hurried to get out and check to see what was going on. When they saw the surrounding fire, one of them screamed, “Quick! Drive the van!”

However, it seemed the engine was affected by the sudden burst. They tried getting the engine started several times without success. They were quite flustered by the rising flame and quickly got out of the van and started pushing it.

The Thai sorcerer in the van was distracted by the sudden event. I could see the small tripods moving farther away from Chu Chu’s and Li Mazi’s heads. Chuyi and the Zen Master seized the chance and stood up, chanting louder and louder.

Eventually, Chuyi drew the long, blue sword on his back. He used one hand to support himself on a chair to make a beautiful turn, hacking the small tripods with his sword.

The bronze tripods fell to the ground. And, just as the tripods fell, I heard someone shrieking in the van. The van’s window rolled down, and I saw a Thai man whose seven orifices were bleeding.

He glared at me with indignation, then screamed, “Go…”

Right at this moment, their engine finally started. They immediately ran away like stray dogs, leaving the antique street.