Otherworldly Merchant

I returned to the shop with heavy footsteps. Li Mazi still hadn’t woken up yet.

Seeing my distressed look, Chu Chu came straight to me. “When will Li Mazi get better?”

I sighed and didn’t dare to look at Chu Chu’s yearning eyes. “I’m sorry, Chu Chu. We’ve failed. They have stolen the pregnant corpse, and they even killed the man who watched those corpses. I’m sorry…”

Chu Chu gave me a slight nod. She didn’t say anything, but I still blamed myself.

Chu Chu walked over to Li Mazi’s bed and used her porcelain-like hands to carefully wash his face. “Li Mazi, you’re like this because of me. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. Even if I have to use the reversing witchcraft of our ghost doctor inheritance, I won’t regret it!”

Zen Master Baimei looked surprised. “Merciful Buddha. Benefactor, is there still someone who knows how to perform the reversing witchcraft?”

Chu Chu nodded. “My mother.”

Zen Master Baimei comforted her. “The situation isn’t that serious yet. We have to be flexible. If they want to play with us, we’ll give them something to play with.”

“Zen Master Baimei, what did they want to gain from stealing the corpse? How can we counterattack them?” I asked.

Zen Master Baimei explained, “Actually, the Thai mind-control sorcery works in two phases. There is the pre-control phase and the post-control phase.

“During the pre-control phase, they will cast a spell that will harm the victim. During the post-control phase, they will make the victim go into contact with some otherworldly item. Then, they will cast a spell on the said otherworldly item. After the item receives the curse, it will be passed onto the victim.

“We have disturbed their pre-control phase. They were enraged, so they are planning to use the post-control phase to deal with Li Mazi!”

I dropped my jaw in shock. “It works that way too?”

“Yeah, actually, Thai sorcerers based their post-control phase on the reversing witchcraft of ghost doctors. Once they use the technique, no one will be able to solve the curse. However, I think they didn’t expect that some of us know how to use the reversing witchcraft.”

Chu Chu understood immediately and cheered up. She said, “It seems I understand your idea, Zen Master Baimei.”

Zen Master Baimei nodded with a smile.

I also understood Zen Master Baimei’s idea. His idea was that we should use the reversing witchcraft to shift the evil mind control back to its practitioner.

It was like playing ping-pong. They hit us with the ball and we had to send it back.

Of course, this was just our theory. I didn’t know if we could use this method or if there would be some difficulties. I asked Zen Master Baimei. He didn’t sound confident. “Merciful Buddha, we should try it first! If we fail, we will think of a second option. We can’t afford to have casualties…”

I nodded and asked Chu Chu to invite the old shaman to meet with us.

When I returned to Baisha Village, all the villagers treated me with great respect. They insisted that I stay for dinner.

However, as this was an emergency situation, I didn’t dare to delay even a minute. I directly went and saw the old shaman.

When the shaman learned that someone had tried to harm her future son-in-law, she was enraged. She decided to leave the mountain.

However, when I told her that we needed her to perform the reversing witchcraft, she kept silent.

Chu Chu became anxious. “Is there anything wrong?”

The old shaman sighed. “This reversing witchcraft is a forbidden technique, even to the ghost doctors. If one is careless, they might die on the spot.”

Although she had mastered ghost doctor techniques, she had only used the technique once when she was young. After that time, she had lost her strength and couldn’t leave her bed for a month.

From that time onward, she never performed such witchcraft. She didn’t know if it would work this time.

After listening to the old shaman, my heart chilled. Chu Chu also stayed silent.

It wasn’t different from using the old shaman’s life in exchange for Li Mazi’s. If she succeeded, her vitality would be badly affected. If she failed, the two would die right then and there. It wasn’t fair to the shaman either way.

I turned to look at the old shaman. “What do you think about this matter?”

If the old shaman refused, I wouldn’t pester or force her. No matter what, it was too dangerous. She didn’t have the responsibility nor obligation to do this.

The old shaman suddenly asked me, “How did Li Mazi get mind controlled?”

I hadn’t opened my mouth that Chu Chu started to cry. “Mother, Li Mazi got mind controlled because of me! He has shared half of the curse someone had cast on me. I’ve been practicing ghost doctor techniques since I was young. That’s why I’ve recovered. But he couldn’t endure it…”

All of a sudden, the old shaman smiled. “Sweetheart, do you know how your father and I met?”

Chu Chu shook her head. I was bewildered and looked at the shaman. I didn’t know why she suddenly mentioned this.

“That year, I was bitten by a seven-colored centipede of the Miao Clan. My life was about to come to an end, but your father ignored his family’s opposition and transferred the venom in my body into his. Although I was saved, his health became worse. It cost him a lot to recover. However, we had a happy life, much happier than anybody else.

"So, my sweetheart, if you meet a man who is willing to die for you, you must hold onto him tightly. Actually, I didn’t like that man Li Mazi. He has a sweet tongue, and he looks greedy and lustful. However, what he’s done this time went way beyond my expectations. Us ghost doctors favor this kind of person! So, even if I have to lose my life this time, I will bring this man back from hell for you!” The old shaman’s spirit was aroused.

Chu Chu was worried. “Mother, how about you teach me the reversing witchcraft? He’s my man. I’ll save him.”

The old shaman lovingly rubbed Chu Chu’s head. “You silly kid, I’m old now. I can’t live for long. But you’re different. You’re still very young. You need to have children with this man and continue our ghost doctor lineage!”

Chu Chu was helpless. She didn’t say anything but cried. The old shaman kept a smile on her face the entire time.

I knew she was happy because Chu Chu had found a good man.

When we arrived at the antique shop, Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi were waiting for us at the door.

However, I didn’t expect to see that Zen Master Baimei, who had always worn his gray monk robe, had changed himself a little bit. He trimmed his beard and wore a moonlight-colored kasaya.

From a distance, he looked like an aloof immortal.

Seeing the old shaman, Zen Master Baimei was deeply moved. He strode forward and greeted her. “Linglong, I never would have thought that I would have another chance to meet you in this life.”

The old shaman glanced at Zen Master Baimei and said casually, “You’re involved in this?”

Zen Master Baimei nodded.

“Then you should watch my back tonight,” the old shaman said. Then she turned her eyes to Chuyi. “And this mister is…”

Chuyi answered with a cold voice, “An anonymous junior from Mitu Temple in Hong Kong. My Daoist name is Chuyi.”

The old shaman looked pensive and studied Chuyi. Eventually, she took a deep breath. “Really similar...”

I knew Chuyi’s identity wasn’t that simple. However, I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t want to share his information with me.

Since he didn’t want to tell me, I couldn’t chase him. It’d be better not to ask about it.

Then the old shaman checked on Li Mazi. Her face darkened immediately. “This doesn’t look like the pre-control phase, does it? Is this… the post-control phase?”

“Right, it’s the post-control phase.” Zen Master Baimei nodded.

“In other words, I should wait until the Thai sorcerer tries to kill Li Mazi. Then I will use my reversing witchcraft to send the power of the curse back to him?” said the old shaman.

“Right.” Zen Master Baimei nodded again.

“What did they use to curse Li Mazi?” asked the old shaman.

I immediately picked up the small brass tripod on the tea table. “It was this.”

The old shaman studied the bronze tripod carefully. All of a sudden, she sighed deeply. “Do you know the origin of this bronze tripod?”

After hearing this question from the shaman, my interest was aroused.

Working in this business, we shared the same interests. When we dealt with otherworldly items, we weren’t moved the most by subduing the items. Instead, it was the moment when we learned about the history and the stories behind the items.

No matter what, each otherworldly item had an interesting legend behind it.

Because of these surprising legendary stories, the otherworldly merchant business never declined after several hundred years.

I immediately pricked my ears up to listen to her.

“Take a look at the small letter engraved at the bottom of the tripod. Do you recognize it?” asked the old shaman.