Otherworldly Merchant

It was a call from a 110 call center!

Damn, why did the police call me? Did Li Mazi get drunk last night, doing something crazy on the street?

I picked up the phone, and an operator's voice came from the other end of the line. “Good morning. Are you Mr. Zhang? Do you happen to know a man called Chen Changsheng?”

“Chen Changsheng? Yes, I do. What about him?” I exhaled in relief. It wasn’t about Li Mazi.

“Sir, there’s a problem with Chen Changsheng. Could you come over to the police station?” said the other party.

“What’s going on?”

“We can’t explain through the phone. It’s better if you come here,” said the operator before hanging up.

I quickly put on some clothes and rushed to the local police station.

Chen Changsheng was there. He had bruises on his face and was crouching in one corner, motionless. When he saw me, he looked at me pleadingly.

I was enraged. “What’s wrong with you guys? Hitting people is against the law!”

“Against the law?” A beautiful policewoman, who was nearby, flared up. “He sexually assaulted a woman, and he was beaten up.”

I glared at Chen Changsheng. “You sexually assaulted a woman?”

Chen Changsheng yelled, looking very wronged. “I have no idea what happened! I was sleeping when I dreamt of getting out of home. Then, I lost control and messed with someone. When I got a hold of myself, I was already at the police station.”

I looked at him gloomily. “I understand. Officer, he’s still a minor, and he learned his lesson already. Can you let him go?”

“Take him home,” said the beautiful policewoman. “This pervert should be grateful that he wasn’t beaten to death.”

I took Chen Changsheng and left the police station.

Chen Changsheng looked at me, somewhat dejected. “Sir, I didn’t do it on purpose. I’m afraid that thing is pestering me…”

I snapped, “Stop talking nonsense. What happened? Tell me in detail.”

“I’m not sure what to say. I was sleeping when I dreamt of running naked on the streets. I didn’t feel shame but quite enjoyed it; it felt very artistic. Then, I saw a couple on the street. I got jealous and couldn’t help but harass the woman. Someone beat me up, and when I woke up, I was at the police station.”

“Is that so?” I got a headache. He ran naked on the streets and even felt that it was very artistic? What‘s wrong with his head?

I looked at him. “Do you remember anything else? Maybe something that left an impression on you.”

Chen Changsheng tried to remember. “Something that left an impression on me? Ah, I remember one thing. When I was still in a daze, someone slapped me. That slap scared me out of my wits and allowed me to return to my senses. I guess it was the policewoman who hit me.”

“So, the policewoman scared you, allowing you to return to your senses? From what I can infer, the evil spirit was afraid of the policewoman and left your body.” I pondered.

“In hindsight, I don’t even find the policewoman scary. She’s really pretty,” said Chen Changsheng.

I gave him a faint smile. “Everything in this world has a nemesis, and I think we found the nemesis of that evil spirit! Let’s head back.”

Then, I turned around, heading back to the police station.

Chen Changsheng was anxious. “Why are we heading back? Aren’t you afraid that the policewoman might arrest me again?”

“Your life is in her hands now. If we don’t contact her to understand the situation better, I can’t deal with that opium pipe.”

Chen Changsheng was reluctant but had no choice.

When we got back to the police station, the policewoman was surprised. “Why did you come back?”

I smiled. “I want to report a case to the authorities.”

“What case?” she asked impatiently.

“My brother was assaulted. That’s what I want to report,” I said.

“He deserved that,” the policewoman said coldly. “He’s a pervert and harassed a person.”

“The other party didn’t have the right to hit my brother. By hitting him, they violated the law,” I said. “Moreover, I suspect that he wasn’t beaten by the victim but by another person, who abused their power to give my brother a lesson.”

According to what Chen Changsheng had told me, the person who hit him was the policewoman.

As soon as I said that, the policewoman became nervous. “This case of yours doesn't make sense. Even if you report it, your brother will be charged for sexual assault. You should think about it carefully.”

I smiled. “We might refrain from reporting the case, if you help us with a small matter.”

“What matter?” The policewoman exhaled in relief.

“I want to know your eight horoscopic characters and your name.”

The opium pipe’s evil spirit was afraid of this policewoman, and I wanted to know why.

“No way.” The policewoman was enraged. “Why do you want to know that stuff?”

“All right, I’ll be honest with you.” Although I knew that the policewoman wouldn’t believe me, I decided to try. “An evil spirit is pestering this little brother of mine. However, you managed to scare off that thing when you beat him up. I suspect that you might be the nemesis of that evil spirit, and I want to know why it’s afraid of you. That’s the only way I can help my little brother here.”

As expected, the policewoman burst out laughing. “You must be really good at picking up girls. Your stories aren’t half bad.”

I said helplessly, “It seems we’ll have no choice but to report the case. Actually, you don’t lose anything by telling me your eight horoscopic characters. I can even read your fortune for free.”

The policewoman lost her patience. “You sure like to chatter! If you want my help, prove to me that you're telling the truth!

How the hell am I supposed to prove it? I can’t capture a ghost on the spot and show it to you, can I? 

Eventually, I told her, “How about you come to my brother’s house tonight? There’s a ghost there, and I can show it to you.”

The policewoman looked pensive. In the end, she nodded. “All right, if you can prove that you’re telling the truth, I can even find you some customers.”

I forced a smile. “Let’s leave the business talk for later. Dealing with this case is tiring enough; I really want to take a vacation after this matter is over.”

The policewoman laughed. “You sure like boasting, don’t you? You talk as if it’s true.”

Before leaving, she gave me her business card, saying that she would call me after getting off work. I nodded and left with Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng was still worried. “What if that policewoman is just making fun of us? She’s a police officer, would she even believe in ghosts?”

I mused. “It didn’t seem like she was joking. Moreover, I think she needs my help with something. Anyway, we're just wasting time thinking about it. We’ll see tonight!”

On the way back, I kept wondering why that evil spirit was afraid of the policewoman.

Since she was a police officer, her body exuded a certain authority, which could scare off ordinary ghosts. However, that ghost wearing a queue wouldn’t be afraid of something like that.

However, there was definitely a reason for the strange behavior of the evil spirit. Perhaps it was scared by something she had on her person, or perhaps the policewoman’s ancestor was its arch-enemy!