Otherworldly Merchant

Previously, I had noticed some letters at the bottom of the tripod. However, there was green rust on the bronze material, which might have explained why I had not paid close attention to it.

After giving it a closer look, I now recognized that there was some ancient writing. However, I didn’t know what it meant.

The shaman said with a smile, “It’s the word, Zhou.”

The word, Zhou (纣)? 

Why would a bronze tripod have the Zhou engraved at the bottom? 

The shaman said, “Do you know King Zhou of Shang? He was the last King of the Shang Dynasty. He was one of the most infamous Kings in history because he invented torments like the hot pillar punishment and scooping of the eyes and the heart. Back then, he killed Bo Yikao, son of Ji Chang – Duke of the West. Then, he turned Bo Yikao into mince meat and cooked him in this tripod.”

I felt frightened after listening to her. This little bronze tripod would be the oldest otherworldly item I had ever encountered. It was dated back to the Shang Dynasty.

The story of Ji Chang eating his son’s flesh was popular.

Rumor had it that King of Zhou was afraid that the Duke of the West, Ji Chang, would rebel against him, so he imprisoned him. He captured Ji Chang’s son, Bo Yikao, as a hostage. Then, he started to enjoy the performance in his palace.

To add insult to Ji Chang, King Zhou of Shang found a big bronze tripod and boiled Bo Yikao alive. Then, he cooked the poor man into meat soup and fed it to Ji Chang, his father. He did that because of a rumor that said Ji Chang was a saint, and a saint would never eat his son’s flesh.

He didn’t expect that Ji Chang would bear the insult and eat that bowl of meat soup! Ji Chang then earned the King of Zhou’s trust. Shortly after, he was released to his state.

Before Ji Chang left, King Zhou of Shang purposely invited him to see the big brass tripod he had used to cook Bo Yikao. Bo Yikao’s body was chopped and minced, but his head had been held inside a smaller tripod.

Of course, Ji Chang understood that the cooked head inside the tripod was actually his son’s…

However, he wasn’t enraged. Out of expectation, he begged King Zhou of Shang to bestow him the tripod that held his son’s head. When he came back, he hugged the small brass tripod and cried for three days. He then pledged in his heart to take revenge for his son. Then, he engraved the name Zhou at the bottom of the tripod!

Years later, Ji Chang’s state overthrew the Shang Dynasty. King Zhou of Shang was forced to set fire to himself and was burned to death.

After looking at the small bronze tripod, I shivered inwardly.

This plain-looking small tripod had an extremely horrible and cannibalistic history behind it.

No wonder this tripod had tried to run toward Li Mazi’s head. Did it want to cook Li Mazi’s head altogether?

When Zen Master Baimei heard this cruel story, he chanted ‘Merciful Buddha’ twice then left the room.

Chu Chu gawked in shock. Ghost doctors saved people, but this bronze tripod was the opposite, it only killed people.

Although she had a difficult time growing up in Baisha Village and didn’t have nice neighbors, there were only trivial quarrels. They would never do something cannibalistic like this. When she listened to her mother’s story, her eyes turned red and she even gritted her teeth angrily.

The enemy had found such an infamous bronze tripod to be the otherworldly item. They had invested a lot of effort!

If this tripod was handed over to the country, it would become a first-class national treasure for sure.

Even if it was circulated around, it could be sold for a high price.

However, I didn’t have the intention of selling this tripod. It was really malicious. If it fell into the hands of bad people, it could create endless calamities.

The old shaman placed the small brass tripod back on the table and took Chu Chu out of the shop. She told us they were going to buy something.

I wanted to go with them as I was worried that they could face danger. If I accompanied them, we could watch out for each other.

However, the old shaman told me to stay and watch over Li Mazi. She told me that I shouldn’t let anybody get close to him. If his condition worsened, she couldn’t do anything to save him.

I nodded and returned to my senses. I stayed and watched over Li Mazi.

I soon understood the old shaman’s worries. I saw several strange people that sneaked around the antique shop. I thought about capturing and interrogating them. However, I didn’t have any evidence. Additionally, if we caused a ruckus and the police was alerted, I didn’t dare to imagine what would happen to Li Mazi’s tonight…

I couldn’t do anything else but suppress my anger. My eyes didn’t leave Li Mazi for even a second.

When everybody gathered in the room, the sky had turned dark. I looked at the old shaman and saw that she had brought a red rope and a big rooster.

I didn’t have a clue of what she was going to do. I caught a glimpse of Chu Chu. She was restlessly worried.

Did the old shaman tell Chu Chu that things didn’t look too optimistic? 

I didn’t know what the shaman had told Chu Chu and I wasn’t in the mood to find out. Since she didn’t want us to know, why would I pursue that? Was it any different from making people hate me?

After dinner, the old shaman took action. At first, she cut off the rooster’s crest. Blood streamed from the chicken’s head while the animal struggled in pain.

Then, she asked me to dig a hole in the yard and use the red rope to tie the rooster’s legs together. After that, the rooster was to be buried in the muddy soil.

I took a deep breath. I didn’t know why the shaman had to do this. I actually thought that she needed the rooster for something else.

However, I followed her instructions and buried the big rooster in the backyard. It seemed that she was worried that the rooster was still alive. The old shaman came to the pit and stomped the ground to compact the soil. After she confirmed that there was no movement underneath, she returned to the room and put the rooster’s crest into the small brass tripod.

I was a little doubtful. Didn’t the Duke of the West, Ji Chang, bring only one small tripod home? 

How on earth am I seeing two tripods in front of me? There’s another one here. What happened?

Since the old shaman was taking care of Li Mazi, I didn’t ask her. However, Chu Chu was standing next to me, so I asked her.

Chu Chu giggled. “How are you so slow? You’ve just spotted the thing now…”

I said defensively, “No, it’s not that I’m slow-witted. I was too worried about Li Mazi, so I didn’t think much.”

“The other tripod is actually a replica people cast. They used the method the King of Shang had used. The big bronze tripod he had used to cook human flesh was scaled and recast to make this replica. Now we have a pair.”

I was speechless.

Then, Chu Chu and I watched the door while Chuyi, Zen Master Baimei, and the old shaman sat by Li Mazi in a triangle.

We sat like this until 11 PM when suddenly, a rooster crowed from the backyard and broke the silence.

I immediately turned and looked at the backyard. I was scared out of my wits!.

The rooster I had buried was alive now. It was standing on top of the pile of soil I had buried it in. The rooster was still bleeding from the cut of its crest, which had wetted its head and eyes.

The rooster’s congested eyes gazed at me. They were full of resentment.

I was scared and quickly turned my head around.

The old shaman suddenly spoke up. “It’s here!”

Immediately, the three people in the room sat upright and squinted. They didn’t move. It was as if they were meditating.

The big rooster continuously crowed and it began to walk around the backyard. When it passed by the door, it spread its wings and flew up. Then it landed on my shoulder.

I was frightened. Instinctively, I wanted to pat the rooster and shoo it away.

Chu Chu stopped me. “Don’t move!”

I couldn’t do anything but stay put. I didn’t want to alert the big rooster but my entire body was now damp with sweat.

What does the rooster want to do? It’s obviously dead. What force is controlling it?

I was anxious and watched the shaman in hopes that she would do something quickly to solve this matter...