Otherworldly Merchant

Chuyi nodded and said with a smile, “You should hurry back.”

We nodded and took the Night Dragon Bait, starting our car.

Chuyi stayed behind and said that he needed to solve some other matters here.

Li Mazi quickly drove back. To cheer up his spirits, he played some music. Unexpectedly, it was the ancient music piece, “High Mountain – Running Water.”

A modern radio channel was playing this classical music piece? That was really rare.

I couldn’t help but recall Boya and Zhong Ziqi’s story.

I could tell that Boya and Zhong Ziqi were truly each other’s soul mates. Even if they had met only once during the time of war and chaos, they had been waiting for more than one thousand years just because of a promise.

A jar of old wine, a bright moon, and a soul mate—this was everything that one needed.

However, people nowadays had their eyes blinded by greed. The old wine was still there, the moon was also high in the sky, but billions of people did not have a friend to share things with.

People say that no friendship lasts forever, while the benefits stay behind for eternity. However, I don’t agree with that. It isn’t that there isn’t such a friendship. It’s your heart that has changed.

Li Mazi, Chuyi, and Zen Master Baimei, and I… Weren’t we sincere friends?

The moment we reached the hospital, Li Mazi was so worn out that he didn’t look like his usual self.

When we arrived at Chu Chu’s patient room, we saw an empty bed. Li Mazi was dumbstruck. He rushed to see the doctor. “Chu Chu’s really sick, how could you let her roam around?”

The doctor sighed reluctantly. “I’m so sorry, we tried our best…”

“Where did Chu Chu go? Tell me!” Li Mazi grabbed the doctor’s collar, his eyes bloodshot. “I’m going to find her now!”

“I’m so sorry!” The doctor didn’t dare to look Li Mazi in the eye. “She passed away last night. Her family has received her remains and has sent her to the funeral home for cremation.”

“No, impossible!” Li Mazi shouted and yelled crazily. “Chu Chu… I’m sure she’s just hungry. She went out to buy some fruit. I’m going to find her...”

Then, Li Mazi stormed out of the room like a crazy man.

I stood still and looked at the empty room. Just like Li Mazi, I couldn’t believe that Chu Chu had left like that. Her voice, her face, her smile, and even the image when she furrowed her brows—they were still in my head. She was a kind and gentle wife…

Tears rolled down my face, and my heart ached.

“Sir, actually, we notified Mister Li yesterday,” the doctor told me.

Li Mazi already knew about this? 

I stood dumbstruck and looked at Li Mazi, who was searching among the crowd downstairs to find Chu Chu.

Was he in so much pain that he chose to forget this piece of memory?

I didn’t know how to comfort him, so I went out and sat next to him.

“She said that she wanted to see a meteor shower because she had never made a wish in front of one. I want to take her to see a meteor shower,” said Li Mazi.

"Yeah, sounds good,” I said.

Li Mazi left with Chu Chu’s urn.

Last night, the old shaman had brought Chu Chu away. Then, she followed her daughter and left this world. Her spirit and vitality were all drained, and her bloodline also came to an end.

I took the Night Dragon Bait and returned to my shop. The grief in my heart couldn’t be described with words. Could this be fate? You can’t keep the one you’re not allowed to keep. It’s just like holding sand and letting it run away through the slits between your fingers.

If we had used the Night Dragon Bait to save Chu Chu, it would have gone against the heavens’ will. That was why the heavens had taken a step ahead of us and brought Chu Chu away.

However, the heavens still fulfilled Chu Chu’s last wish.

On the third day after Chu Chu’s death, the meteor shower from Leo constellation, which would happen every thirty years, had awed Beijing’s night sky. Scientists hailed it as a miracle.

As I looked at the sparkling beams in the dark, velvet night, my tears fell uncontrollably.