Otherworldly Merchant

The lumberyard finally went back to normality.

Lin Longshan recognized my talent and wanted me to stay; he even offered me a two hundred thousand renminbi wage. However, I didn’t want to be tied down by working for someone else, so I went back home with Li Mazi.

Li Mazi didn’t want to owe anybody. The first thing he did when we returned was to find Chuyi to pay him back.

Too bad that it wasn’t going to be easy. Chuyi came and went without leaving a trace; it was really hard to meet him. That was why we kept the money and waited for him to reappear.

As we were waiting for Chuyi, the doctors told us that Chu Chu’s cells were aging and deteriotating at a fast pace. They hadn’t found the cause yet and were still running tests.

It was a subtle way to tell Li Mazi that she didn’t have much time left.

Although Li Mazi looked calm on the outside, his heart was dying. As soon as the doctors left, he found an empty room and cried his heart out.

Li Mazi openly showed his feelings while Chu Chu suffered in silence. However, I didn't know how to comfort either of them.

After Li Mazi calmed down, he took me to a local restaurant where we ordered alcohol and some side dishes.

While eating, I comforted him, “How about we ask Chuyi for help? I’m sure he could do something.”

Li Mazi said begrudgingly, “I have to face reality. I don’t wish anything else but for Chu Chu to depart without suffering further. I want her to be happy.”

I eased him by saying, “Chu Chu’s a kind-hearted girl. She’s done a lot of good deeds. I’m sure she’ll go to heaven.”

Li Mazi drank from his tumbler. He lifted his head and asked me, “Have you ever heard about the Perpetual Joy Coffin?”

“The Perpetual Joy Coffin?” I was clueless as I looked back at Li Mazi. “Why are you asking about it?”

I knew about the Perpetual Joy Coffin. Chuyi had mentioned it when we were in Wild Dog Ridge.

The Perpetual Joy Coffin was an extraordinary otherworldly item. Rumor said that no matter how wrongfully someone had died, if the corpse was kept inside the coffin, it would always wear a smiling, satisfied face.

No matter how strong the resentment of the deceased was, the Perpetual Joy Coffin would wash it away. The person would have a peaceful afterlife.

However, Chuyi said that such an object was like the Night Dragon Bait; it was something that you could only bump into with luck. Only people of the higher echelons with a lot of connections could make use of this sort of coffin—members of the royal family for example—because it was really hard to find one.

Is Li Mazi planning to look for the coffin? 

I was astonished by his bold idea. I turned to look at him.

Li Mazi said, “Actually, I have some clues about the Perpetual Joy Coffin. Senior Shu told me about it and he agreed to go with us. If he comes with us, I’m sure we can find the coffin.”

I fumed and said, “That damn old man has one foot in the grave already. I think he wants to use the Perpetual Joy Coffin for himself. You shouldn’t listen to his nonsense. He only wants to deceive us.”

“No, that’s not it,” Li Mazi said resolutely, “We spoke about the matter in detail. Chu Chu will use it first once she passes on. After her burial, the Perpetual Joy Coffin would be useless; Senior Shu can take it then. It’s a win-win situation.”

I was a little baffled. “That old man actually has a heart?”

Li Mazi checked his watch and said, “He’s about to arrive!”

Only then did I discover that Li Mazi had made an appointment with Senior Shu. At first, Li Mazi had wanted to have a meeting in a hotel, but Senior Shu was worried that he would be exposed. As a result, he suggested booking a table in this local restaurant.

Senior Shu arrived late, and he still had that crafty look. People who didn’t know him could mistake him for a thief. Once he saw us, he happily walked forward, asking, “Are you done discussing? We should be on our way soon!”

Li Mazi said, “We’re done; we can leave at any time. Senior Shu, are you sure your information is correct?”

Senior Shu smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Just do as I say. I’m sure it’ll be all right.”

Li Mazi wanted to ask for more details. However, Senior Shu said, “It’s not convenient to talk in such a crowded place. We should continue this in the car.”

I was speechless. “We haven’t even prepared anything. Do we have to go right now?”

Senior Shu sneered. “Kid, we need to seize each second to get the Perpetual Joy Coffin. Someone else will snatch it if we’re late by even a second…”

Given their obsession with the coffin, they were ready to throw caution to the wind. Li Mazi didn’t even bid Chu Chu farewell. He left after sending her a short text message.

Senior Shu patiently explained all the details related to the Perpetual Joy Coffin as we drove away.

Senior Shu had traveled far and wide, making friends everywhere. This time, he found out about the Perpetual Joy Coffin through an old friend of his. His friend was from the Miao Area, and everybody knew about the strange burial custom there, which was to hang the coffins off the cliff sides. They called them ‘hanging coffins.’

Sometimes, people would come across cliffs that were packed with hanging coffins, getting scared to death if they saw this at night and did not know about such tradition.

Recently, Senior Shu’s old friend had climbed a mountain to pick herbs and carelessly fell on a hanging coffin.

At that time, his situation was really terrible as he had broken his leg.

Death was the only option after suffering a serious injury in such a desolate area. He was scared and he spent a long time crying for help, but no one heard him.

Out of despair, he sat on the coffin and gathered his strength in hopes to be lucky enough to leave the place.

However, he inadvertently drifted off to sleep. When he woke up, he found his surroundings so dark that he couldn’t see his own fingers. He groped around and found that he was locked inside the coffin.

To make things worse, there was a soft and warm body underneath him. He was shocked by this, since it felt as if the person had died recently, but the coffin seemed to be a couple hundred years old.

Not thinking twice, he kicked the lid open and jumped out.

The moonlight helped him to see the fresh corpse inside the coffin. It wasn’t decayed or rotten; it was very well preserved.

However, he didn’t understand why the corpse was wearing an official uniform from the Ming dynasty; he also carried an ancient bronze sword. His earnest face made him think that it had to be a high ranking official of the imperial court. Although it was a corpse, he was wearing a smile as if he were just sleeping.

However, most of his clothes had decayed, matching the worn-out appearance of the coffin. The man realized that the court official had been dead for several hundred years, so there was only one reason for his remains to be intact… that was the Perpetual Joy Coffin.

Only the Perpetual Joy Coffin could preserve a corpse for hundreds of years and could even make the deceased smile!

However, the confirmation came from his own body; the injury on his leg was already half-recovered after only one night. Only a red spot on his skin remained.

That wound was unable to trouble him any longer, especially as he was an experienced herbal doctor. He eventually climbed up the cliff and reached safely. Once he got home, the first thing he did was to call Senior Shu since the old man had asked him to be on the lookout about any leads related to the Perpetual Joy Coffin.

The Perpetual Joy Coffin was an otherworldly item with powerful effects, which made it hard to deal with.

Although Senior Shu was experienced and had visited places from North to South, he was old. There were many things that required strenuous labor he couldn’t do anymore. That was why he thought about us.

I didn’t hold big expectations for this Perpetual Joy Coffin, since I came to think that otherworldly items and men were the same. No one was good. Using such a coffin was no different from going against the will of the heavens.

Although it could give the deceased person some benefit, so what? Was it a good thing that the corpse wouldn’t decay? How did a smile on the dead person’s face do any good?

But I understood that I couldn’t say anything right then. Li Mazi and Senior Shu were two stubborn fools.

Soon, we entered Hunan’s territory. Although Yin Xinyue’s hometown was also in the Miao Area, it was around Yunnan’s border, which was very far away.

While we travelled on Hunan’s provincial road, our car made several turns; I didn’t even know if we were still in Hunan or not. We eventually reached a valley inside a small mountain range.

The place looked desolate. The further we traveled, the narrower and more meandering the road had become.

I was somewhat annoyed. “Senior Shu, do we have to go through this narrow road?”

Senior Shu was all smiles as he nodded. “I’m going to call my old friend to ask him to come and pick us up.”

We would probably lose our way in these mountains if we didn’t have a guide.

However, Senior Shu called three or four times but he couldn’t contact his friend. Since the sky was getting dark, I suggested, “How about leaving this place first? We can come again tomorrow. It would be safer.”

Senior Shu disagreed. “Actually, this place has a nice scenery. I think it would be a good idea to camp here.”

Li Mazi nodded repeatedly.

How could I not know what they had in their minds? Of course they were worried about someone seizing the Perpetual Joy Coffin. They wanted to stay here and keep watch.

I couldn’t change their minds, so I helplessly agreed to stay. Fortunately, the area had a lot of good things. Senior Shu directed us to dig two traps and we caught two Siberian roe deers shortly after.

My worries vanished once I thought about the delicious roe deer meat. The last time I had roe deer meat was with Yin Xinyue while we were in the Dai people’s territory. My mouth was already watering.

After eating the roasted meat, we got in the car and locked the door to sleep. The place did have a good scenery. The afterglow had dyed half of the sky red and the wind blew through the mountain. Inadvertently, I drifted off to sleep.

As I dreamt, I felt that something was pressing on my body!