Otherworldly Merchant

Driver Liu’s headless body was still kneeling by the window. Blood kept on flowing from his neck; its red hue looked particularly frightening in the quiet of the night.

It wasn’t just Lin Longshan; the other driver had also fainted due to the fear. I rushed forward and kicked the body away, closing the window.

The beheaded statue was gone. The only thing left was the chicken head lying in a puddle of blood. Its bloodshot eyes were still wide open.

Li Mazi was also scared. He was on high alert with his back against the wall, holding the shotgun tight.

I didn’t waste time and went to press Lin Longshan’s and the driver’s philtrums to wake them up.

They crouched in fear as soon as they regained consciousness. The only thing I could do at the time was to ask them to stay in their beds while I sat by the door to keep watch.

I was also helpless, since I wouldn’t be able to do a thing if the statue showed up again.

However, no one else was supposed to die that night, since it had already seized a life.

Nevertheless, it was still nerve racking to wait until the break of dawn. I started the car once we saw the first light beam coming from the East, and we quickly left the lumberyard.

This time, we didn’t bump into anything strange on our way out, but Lin Longshan was still too shaken to speak when we reached his house.

I did my best to comfort him and calm him down. Our priority was to find something to deal with the decapitation platform. We had to go back and deal with it tonight!

However, Lin Longshan was terrified at the idea of going there. “Brother, I’ll… give up my lumberyard, you should leave. I don’t care about it anymore.”

“How can you say that?” I said, “Even if you don’t want the lumberyard, the thing inside is still wreaking havoc. Those bandits will keep on killing.”

“I don’t care,” Lin Longshan said, “I just want to live. I have to take care of my family and children…”

“Hmph,” Li Mazi snorted and replied, “Do you think they would forget about you if you leave things be? Remember who provoked them in the first place! You’re the main culprit. If you don’t get rid of them, they will go after you and even your family. I’ve never heard about anyone who could survive after getting targeted by bandits’ souls!”

Li Mazi managed to scare Lin Longshan, who nodded with difficulty. “What are the chances of us winning?”

I hesitated. “If you listen to me, I’m one hundred percent sure we’d win.”

Lin Longshan had a questioning look once he heard my reply, so I had to tell him my plan.

Lin Longshan was still doubtful after he heard the whole thing. “Will it… work? What if it doesn’t? Won’t we all be in grave trouble?”

I gave him a cold smile. “If you don’t believe in me, there is nothing we can do. Actually, I would have already left if Chuyi hadn’t asked me to do this.”

Although Lin Longshan was reluctant, he could only nod his head. “All right, I’ll do as you say.”

I didn’t get to sleep the previous night so I was completely exhausted. I held the Sirius Whip tightly while resting in Lin Longshan’s house.

Lin Longshan was already back with a dozen lumberjacks when I woke up; the house was full and boisterous. However, everybody quieted down as soon as I walked out of the bedroom. They were all giving me strange looks.

I cleared my throat. “If you guys follow my instructions tonight, I’m sure I can solve the problem with the decapitation platform. Our deceased brothers will be able to finally rest and the lumberyard will be back in operation!”

The atmosphere became strange after I said that. People started to mutter and whisper to each other.

In the end, an old man stood up and roared, “Boss Lin, you were not honest. You called us here to give us compensation. We didn’t expect that you would trick us into coming to deal with that thing.”

Lin Longshan answered, “Guys, don’t panic. This brother here is a famous exorcist. There’s nothing in this world he can’t deal with. You guys just need to follow us to the lumberyard. I promise to hand out your payments and a bonus after that. Of course, you would be our lumberyard heroes if you guys still want to work with me after this. I would double your wages!”

Birds would die for food, while humans would die for money. After listening to Lin Longshan, the men discussed again. However, this time, their resistance had lessened considerably.

The old man asked me, “How are we going to deal with that evil thing? What do we need to prepare?”

“It’s simple. I just need you guys to follow us to the lumberyard, since your presence would bring Yang energy; the more people, the better. Those foul spirits would have to retreat if they bumped into us. I’m sure there would be no danger.”

“You think it’s that simple?” the old lumberjack said, “We saw two workers getting killed in front of our eyes. No matter how many of us go there, those spirits won’t be afraid…”

“It’s because you were afraid of them back then!” I sneered. “The softer you are, the stronger they will become. It goes both ways: they will be afraid of you if you’re not afraid of them!”

It seemed they didn’t trust me completely. I asked Lin Longshan to show them the items I had told him to prepare.

Lin Longshan walked downstairs and brought up a chest. He opened it and showed them the Kuomintang uniforms. [1]

I frowned. “Lin Longshan, I asked you to find military uniforms of the Eighth Route Army, didn’t I?”

“They were really hard to find. I borrowed these from a studio. They had to use the Eighth Route Army uniforms today, so they lent me the Kuomintang uniforms instead. Would this cause a problem?”

“Whatever, these ones will also do.”

“Anyway, think about it. What do bandits fear the most? They’re afraid of armed forces sent to suppress them. Tonight, we will pretend to be soldiers. There’s no way they wouldn’t fear us!”

“But they’re ghosts already, will they still be afraid of armed forces?” someone asked.

“Whether human or ghost, dead or alive, the fear for our nemeses will never change. I need you to show a bold front. Don’t be soft and everything will be all right.”

People looked pensive. After a while, they nodded and started to discuss loudly.

Eventually, Li Mazi agreed to pay them two thousand renminbi each as a service fee, and everyone accepted the task without a bit of hesitation.

We distributed the soldier uniforms and headed toward the lumberyard.

The blood streaks were still there when we arrived. However, Driver Liu’s head was gone, which was a blessing of sorts; I didn’t want these people to be scared from the get-go.

I asked them to change into the Kuomintang uniforms. Then, everybody carried a shotgun and marched toward the decapitation platform.

The decapitation platform was back in its original position. I wondered if it moved by itself or if someone had moved it. I tried but it was really hard to lift; the stone statue weighed at least five-hundred kilograms.

I walked to the platform and sat down. “Guys, get ready.”

The men busied themselves and loaded their shotguns with soybeans. Once the shotguns were fired, they would blast the soybeans into a powder that could affect the bandit ghosts.

Any person who made a living in the forest would be a certified hunter; all the lumberjacks knew how to use a shotgun. Soon, they had prepared everything. I looked at the big sun above our heads; it was making its descent to the West, and the day was getting darker.

About an hour later, darkness would come and cover the area. We would take action at the time.

Nothing happened while we waited, except for a wolf that came out of nowhere. However, the lumber workers quickly shot it down.

The night fell, and it was so dark that we couldn’t even see our own fingers. I immediately asked them to set up a bonfire and I splashed some corpse oil over it.

The heavy Yin energy from the corpse oil could lure the bandits out. Once they were out, I would subdue them and seal the beheading platform!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang