Otherworldly Merchant

Strangely enough, as soon as the one-eyed man had the bead in his mouth, his mind was much clear.

He took a deep breath. With an excited face, he grabbed Yin Xinyue. “Move, you’re coming with me!”

Li Mazi immediately said, “No, don’t take her. She’s too weak. She can’t run fast. How about you take Chu Chu as a hostage?”

The one-eyed man sneered then let go of Yin Xinyue. He turned to grab Chu Chu’s collar and pulled her away.

“Hold on,” screamed Li Mazi. “Can you remove the tape on her mouth? She has sinusitis, so she won’t be able to breathe well through her nose. If you shut her mouth, she will suffocate. You don’t want to kill anybody, do you?”

“You’re freaking annoying,” cursed the one-eyed man. However, he believed Li Mazi and tore the tape away. Then, he grabbed Chu Chu and left the room.

I looked at Li Mazi in puzzlement. I wondered what he had planned.

After the one-eyed man had taken Chu Chu away, I immediately walked forward to untie Yin Xinyue. I looked at Li Mazi and saw him standing still. I was flustered. “Li Mazi, why are you still standing there? Hurry, go after him!”

Li Mazi smiled coldly. “Don’t worry. Chu Chu will be alright.”

What?

I didn’t get him.

A moment later, Li Mazi’s phone rang. He checked his phone and said, “Excellent.”

Then, he rushed out at maximum speed.

I didn’t understand anything but still followed after him.

We ran all the way to the garden outside the motel. We saw Chu Chu there.

The one-eyed man was rolling in pain on the ground. He was grabbing his own throat. Foam had gathered in his mouth as Chu Chu was angrily stomping on his body.

Li Mazi couldn’t stay calm anymore. He hugged Chu Chu and repeatedly apologized.

I pinned the one-eyed man onto the ground and tied him up with the rope he had used on Chu Chu. Then we carried him back to the motel.

Eventually, Li Mazi explained what had happened. It turned out Chu Chu had used an insect on the man when he was peeling the tape off her mouth. The insect was now in his body.

Since everybody was all right, we heaved a sigh of relief. I asked Chu Chu to relieve the effects of the insect in the one-eyed man’s body so that I could ask him some questions.

The one-eyed man got a hold of himself a little later.

He still watched Chu Chu cautiously. He was scared.

I smiled coldly. “Chu Chu, how will this guy die? He doesn’t have the antidote, after all.”

Chu Chu said, “The worms will gnaw on his internal organs. Uhm, this process will take roughly one month…”

The one-eyed man gawked in fright. He had experienced Chu Chu’s skills so he didn’t doubt her. He slumped and almost knelt to beg for Chu Chu’s forgiveness.

I rubbed his head. “As long as you cooperate with us, we will give you the antidote.”

The one-eyed man immediately blurted, “I will, I will. I will tell you everything. Please don’t kill me! I still have parents and children to feed. My family depends on me!”

“Why did you want the Grave-Digging Scale? What does it do?” I asked.

The one-eyed man greedily glanced at the Grave-Digging Scale in my hand but turned his gaze aside shortly after. His yearning expression quickly faded. It seemed the Grave-Digging Scale had some magic that could make people sink in it.

“This Grave-Digging Scale could ensure that one’s bloodline will continue, preventing it from ending without a descendant…” said the one-eyed man.

“Prevent the bloodline from ending?” I furrowed my brows.

Why did the young man’s father want to give his son the Grave-Digging Scale? Did he know that his family would end in this generation?

I told the one-eyed man my doubts.

The one-eyed man sighed. “It’s a long story…”

Li Mazi was also interested because of the phrase ‘without a descendant.’ He understood that there was a story behind this Grave-Digging Scale. He kicked the one-eyed man off the sofa and then lifted his cup of tea. He posed as if he was enjoying this. “Spit it out. What’s going on here?”

The one-eyed man then slowly told us the story from start to finish.

The young man’s father was known as ‘Brother Guo’ in their line of business.

Brother Guo had earned this name because he wasn’t afraid of death. When he had just joined this profession, his fearlessness was spread all over. Eventually, he had built a reputation in the circle of tomb raiders.

After he obtained a relatively high position in this profession, he created his own band of tomb raiders, which then traveled around the country, visiting places with good geomancy to find a certain thing.

They originally thought that Brother Guo didn’t like the antiques found in small tombs, so they didn’t dig further into the story. However, one time, when Brother Guo was drunk, he revealed the item he was seeking for. It turned out he wanted to find the bead that was now lying in my hand, the Grave-Digging Scale.

Being drunk, Brother Guo told them the story behind the Grave-Digging Scale.

From ancient times, tomb raiding was a profession that would leave people without a descendant. Their family would end at the tenth generation.

In other words, even if a tomb raider had a family, bad luck would still follow his descendents. A tomb raider’s family could not grow past the tenth generation.

It also happened that the young man’s ancestors were tomb raiders. After doing the math, the young man turned out to be the tenth generation. In other words, he would be cursed by the bad luck his ancestors brought him. He wouldn’t be able to live past the age of eighteen.

After Brother Guo had learned this from his genealogy tree, he became distressed; he tried really hard to find a way to lift this curse.

Also, it was recorded in his family records that only a legendary item called ‘Grave-Digging Scale’ could lift this curse.

In order to save his son from dying on his eighteenth birthday, Brother Guo decided to enter this tomb raider profession. As people had looked down upon this profession, Brother Guo didn’t dare to tell his son and his folks. One day in the early morning, he watched his son sleep. Then he left in tears…

In the past years, in order to find the Grave-Digging Scale, Brother Guo had traveled to the North and then the South. He had experienced hardships normal people could never endure. He had almost died many times. However, he had miraculously survived everything.

Because in his heart, he knew that his son was home, waiting for him!

Heavens didn’t mistreat people who had a good heart. Eventually, Brother Guo found the Grave-Digging Scale, and a silk roll with it.

The silk roll recorded details on how to use the Grave-Digging Scale.

Actually, the Grave-Digging Scale couldn’t really lift the curse. It could only ‘transfer the curse.’ In other words, it would transfer the curse from the son to his father.

Brother Guo decided to die instead of his son.

He was willing to bear the endless resentful energy and the pain of never being able to reincarnate!

This agony was something ordinary people could never imagine, because you would feel the peach stake stab your body bit by bit. Later on, your body would rot and stench.

However, after Brother Guo died, his son didn’t do as he had wished. That was why Brother Guo’s plan backfired and he was swallowed by the resentful energy, turning into a walking corpse.

Although he was now a walking corpse, his son was still on his mind. He had to deliver the Grave-Digging Scale to his son’s door!

The one-eyed man and his team were in the same tomb raiding profession. They all knew the consequences so they all had the same thoughts about stealing the Grave-Digging Scale.

When Brother Guo was still alive, they didn’t dare to steal it from him. But when he died, they were no longer afraid. Unfortunately for them, Brother Guo had become a zombie. He chased them to the village and killed two of them. The one-eyed man was lucky enough to escape.

Earlier, the one-eyed man had kept track of us. That was why he knew about Yin Xinyue and Chu Chu and kidnapped them. He wanted to threaten us in giving him the Grave-Digging Scale.

It was only when the young man touched the treasure that Brother Guo wouldn’t react!

When he reached this part of the story, the young man’s silent weeping turned into a loud wail.

Yin Xinyue couldn’t control her tears. Feeling sympathetic, she came forward and patted the young man’s shoulder.

The one-eyed man said in distress, “Nephew, I’m so sorry. I lost my mind earlier and I did that to my brother. Please, forgive me! I’ve already lost two of my brothers!”

I now remembered the two dead people that laid in the young man’s house. Then, I let the young man go home with the Grave-Digging Scale.

The young man sighed and put the Grave-Digging Scale into his pocket. He mumbled, “Father, I’m willing to live no longer than eighteen years instead of seeing you in great pain because of me. Please help me take out the peach wood stakes from his body and help him ascend!”

I was bewildered. This young man doesn’t want to live anymore? Did he forget the curse of the tenth generation?

I tried to talk to him but he didn’t listen to me.

“Whenever I think about how my father had endured the hardships even after he was gone, I feel so much pain. Not to mention, no one will know if I will die early or not. Who has ever verified that a tomb raider’s family will not have the tenth generation?”

Eventually, I nodded in agreement.

We took the peach wood stakes out of Brother Guo’s body then burned him. We put his ash into an urn and sealed it with a mixture of rooster blood and soot from the bottom of a pot.

I told the young man to bury the urn after forty-nine days.

With tears in his eyes, the young man thanked us and bid us farewell.

He also insisted on giving us the Grave-Digging Scale.

At first, I didn’t want it. No matter what, the young man needed it to save his life. However, he was too persistent and said that he didn’t want to keep it with him.

Feeling helpless, I told him I would just keep the bead for him and return it when he turned eighteen-year-old.

Later, I sent him a monthly allowance. However, after one year, the young man left Qingshan Village.

I heard that he got married, had children and was living in a big city.

I went to the graveyard and found that the young man had brought his father’s ashes with him.

Although I got nothing to do with this business case anymore, the memory still lived in me.

Whenever I remembered how his father had watched him with loving eyes for the whole night when he returned, even when they had nothing to say to each other, I couldn’t help but want to cry.

Then, I would silently read “The View of My Father’s Back” by Zhu Ziqing one more time.

The love of a father is silent but persistent. A father’s love is selfless. 

 No matter how tall you are or how far you’ve traveled, don’t forget your father. He is the one who loves you more than his life!