Otherworldly Merchant

Shortly after, Li Mazi woke up. He clutched his head and groaned in pain.

I poured him a glass of warm water.

After drinking it, Li Mazi said to me in a daze, “Little Brother Zhang, why am I here?”

I sneered and said, “How did it feel to get possessed by a ghost? Was it fun?”

Li Mazi was bewildered. “What? Possessed by a ghost possessed?”

I pointed to Chuyi and Mu Wan. They lay unconscious on the bed.

Li Mazi looked at the two lying on the bed and was startled. “Oh shoot, you took me here to bust this illicit affair? How could they do that!”

“Cut it off!” I immediately scolded him. “You’re shameless. You and Mu Wan were having an affair!”

Li Mazi rolled his eyes at me. “You’re talking nonsense. I only have Chu Chu in my heart. How could I have an affair with Mu Wan?”

This man sure sounds very confident. 

I couldn’t do anything else but tell Li Mazi everything that had happened.

Li Mazi was baffled. After a moment of shock, he unbuckled his belt and checked his crotch. When he confirmed everything was still there, he heaved a sigh of relief. “Good, there’s no problem. Otherwise, I’d have definitely killed this woman! Oh right, tell me, why did Mu Wan want to dip her golden hairpin into semen?”

“How do I know,” I answered.

Li Mazi walked over to study Mu Wan. Eventually, his eyes focused on the golden hairpin in Mu Wan’s hand. He wanted to take it to have a close look.

I hurried to stop Li Mazi. “Stop. Don’t touch that golden hairpin! It’s an extremely evil item. Something foul is living inside. It’s better if you don’t touch it.”

Li Mazi drew his hand back in fear. However, he was still very interested in that hairpin and studied it.

We waited like this until the break of dawn. Mu Wan finally woke up. She opened her drowsy eyes and looked at me and Li Mazi in puzzlement.

Li Mazi and I put up our guards, as we were afraid that she would flee.

“You… What do you want?” Mu Wan looked at us. She shivered in fear. She wanted to get up. However, as soon as she did that, her body felt like jelly. She fell back to the bed.

Li Mazi and I exchanged looks. Why was she scared of us now?

She said, “I remember you! I met you two at the hospital the other day.”

This time, it was the two of us who were dumbstruck. What’s going on? Is she pretending to have amnesia?

Since Mu Wan had treated him badly, Li Mazi didn’t sympathize with her. He said coldly, “Don’t pretend that you lost your freaking memory. Look, I’ve also lost my memory, and my father is Li Jiacheng!” [1]

“You should better release me,” she shivered, “Otherwise, I’ll call the police!”

“Call the police? Good,” Li Mazi smiled, “You should do it. Haha, you murdered your husband. That’s enough to give you five death sentences.”

“I didn’t kill them!” Mu Wan suddenly screamed, heart-broken. “I didn’t want things to end like this. I know that I’ve harmed my husband. I didn’t even want to marry him, but he didn’t listen to me…”

Then, she burst out crying.

Li Mazi and I exchanged looks. I could tell that he was puzzled.

“Do you remember anything that happened last night?” Li Mazi asked. “I was almost killed by you. Don’t say you don’t know.”

“What are you talking about?” Mu Wan looked baffled. “What happened yesterday? I have no idea!”

“Oh, she is saying she doesn’t know,” Li Mazi looked at me. “Little Brother Zhang, do you buy it?”

Actually, Mu Wan’s expression and responses showed that she wasn’t aware of the situation. Should I agree with her and say that she doesn’t seem to know? But if I did that, Li Mazi would definitely strangle me to death…

While we were in this struggling situation, Chuyi jolted up. All of us were startled.

I immediately approached him. “Are you okay?”

Chuyi shook his head.

Later on, he walked to Mu Wan and assessed her from head to toe. Then he asked, “Could you let me see the golden hairpin you’re holding?”

Mu Wan hesitated for a while but still gave Chuyi the hairpin. “My brother gave me this hairpin.”

“Your blood brother?” Chuyi asked.

"Yes.” Mu Wan bit her lower lip.

“How is the relationship between the two of you?” asked Chuyi.

Li Mazi couldn’t help but ask, “Brother, since when did you like to gossip? We don’t care if her relationship with her brother is good or bad. She’s killed many men. We must talk to her family.”

Chuyi waved his hand and signaled us not to talk.

Mu Wan was scared of us. She didn’t want to say more.

Chuyi gently comforted her. “Don’t be scared. We’re not bad guys. Something has happened to you, and we want to know how to deal with it.”

Mu Wan told us, “My brother really cares about me.”

“Cares about you?” Chuyi’s brows raised higher. “I’m afraid he wants to harm you.”

Mu Wan shook her head. “No, he really loves me. He gives me all the money he has while he lives in a dilapidated house.”

“Why didn’t you think of returning this golden hairpin to him? He could sell it and use the money to marry and raise his kids, right?”

Why did Chuyi suddenly ask something so strange?

Although Mu Wan thought it was weird, she still answered the questions. “I did try to return the golden hairpin to him. He persistently refused it. He wants me to keep the golden hairpin with me at all times.

“I understand.” Chuyi contemplated and nodded his head. “Tonight, I’m taking you home.”

“Home?” Mu Wan was taken aback. “Why do I have to go home? If my brother knows I’ve harmed another husband, he will feel so hurt…”

“He won’t,” Chuyi said, “I’m sure he knows by now, and he must be very happy.”

“What?” Mu Wan was clueless as she looked at Chuyi. “Who are you, after all?”

“If you don’t want anything bad to happen to your brother, you’d better stay in the hotel. If your brother calls you, tell him that you will go home tonight. If you don’t listen to me, your brother will die because of you.”

Mu Wan was even more bewildered. “Why do I have to believe you?”

"It doesn’t matter whether you believe me or not. Your brother’s life is in your hands,” said Chuyi.

Then he prepared to leave. Before leaving, he glanced at me and Li Mazi, signaling us to go as well.

Li Mazi waved his hand. “You should go first! I’m staying here to watch over her. If she’s plotting something and runs away, I would be in danger, right?”

Chuyi said, “Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

Li Mazi was still worried, but I grabbed him and left the room. If it weren’t for Chuyi, Li Mazi would have been killed already. One would suffer if they did not listen to Chuyi.

After we walked out, I couldn’t help but ask Chuyi. “What game is Mu Wan playing? I can tell she had no idea about what happened last night.”

Chuyi said coldly, “Indeed, she didn’t know anything.”

“What?” Li Mazi was dumbstruck. “How is that possible?”

“Her hairpin has bewitched her.” Chuyi said, “After sunset, Mu Wan isn’t herself anymore. Six souls from the Song dynasty controlled her. They are the owners of the six series of footprints we saw the other night. Mu Wan’s husbands died one after another. I’m afraid it’s the dark deeds of the Song dynasty souls. They must have some secret they don’t want anybody to know.”

“What’s about Mu Wan’s brother?” I asked.

Chuyi told me, “Tonight, everything will be revealed.”

He stopped right there, even though we wanted to learn more. However, since I knew his personality, I didn’t have the guts to break his silence.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Ka-shing