Otherworldly Merchant

The evil spirit knew about our plan, so he gritted his teeth to prevent the policewoman from pushing the jade pendant into Chen Changsheng’s mouth.

Chen Changsheng tightly gripped the opium pipe and kept his mouth shut. The policewoman was helpless.

Perhaps because she was scared by Chen Changsheng’s ghastly appearance, her hands were shaking nonstop, which caused the jade pendant to fall a few times.

I yelled at her, “You don’t need to be afraid of him! He’s the one who is scared of you! Open his mouth and force the pendant in!”

The policewoman shot me a pleading look. “I… I can’t do it…”

All of a sudden, the bedroom door was pushed open, and Li Mazi stormed in. “Bastard, who do you think you are? I’m going to kill you!”

He then held Chen Changsheng’s chin and tried to pry his mouth open.

The evil spirit was afraid of the policewoman but not of Li Mazi. He wielded the pipe and hit Li Mazi in the face.

Chen Changsheng was unnaturally strong, and he almost fractured Li Mazi’s skull with that blow, causing a lot of blood to gush out.

The policewoman was petrified and stared blankly. After a good while, Li Mazi roared, “Why the hell are you standing over there?! Stuff the pendant into this mouth!”

The policewoman finally reacted and shoved the jade into Chen Changsheng’s mouth.

Chen Changsheng shrieked and twitched all over before slumping onto the ground. The opium pipe also left his hands.

I instructed the policewoman, “Stand guard at the entrance. Li Mazi, you quickly get out.”

I had the Sirius Whip, while the policewoman was a descendant of Heshen, the evil spirit's nemesis. We could both protect ourselves, but Li Mazi had nothing to keep the spirit in check. That was why I asked him to leave.

Li Mazi nodded and quickly ran away. The policewoman stood guard at the entrance, both of her hands holding the door tightly.

A strange wind blew from Chen Changsheng’s body, and the room’s temperature dropped sharply. A dim shadow appeared after the wind was gone. It stood in one corner, ready to flee.

“You bold evil spirit, you have nowhere to run! Surrender immediately!” I cracked my Sirius Whip, and righteous energy rushed towards the evil spirit.

The spirit was overwhelmed by the righteous energy, shrieking in pain. Then, it charged toward me in frustration.

Seeing the bony, charcoal-like figure coming at me, I was a little afraid. However, it didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to put up a fight. Quite the contrary, my fighting spirit was stronger than ever.

I wielded the Sirius Whip and attacked continuously, preventing the other party from approaching. Seeing that it couldn’t get past me, the evil spirit charged towards the policewoman.

The woman was frightened as she could see the evil spirit due to her jade pendant. Seeing the charred ghost approach, she screamed and turned around to run away.

Li Mazi had already guessed that she might try to run away, so he had been standing behind her since the beginning.

When the policewoman turned around, he held her down, forcing her to stand guard at the entrance.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. How could a policewoman have so little courage?

I roared, “If you don’t want to die, stand guard at the door! That thing will hunt you down if it manages to escape!”

Of course, I was just trying to scare her. The evil spirit dreaded her, and there was no way he would look for her on his own.

After I screamed at her, the policewoman calmed down. She craned her neck and screamed, “Go… Go away!”

As she looked fiercer now, the evil spirit was even more scared. The charred figure retreated into one corner of the room.

I said coldly, “I’m giving you a chance to survive. If you stay put in the pipe and don’t harm others, I’ll leave your soul intact. Otherwise, I’ll have to destroy you completely. If you surrender, nod your head.”

As he had no way out, the evil spirit immediately nodded when I shouted at him.

I exhaled in relief. “Where’s Chen Changsheng’s father? Why isn’t he here with you tonight?”

“Gone… reincarnated.”

The evil spirit had used his mind to communicate with me.

This soul didn’t seem to be evil. Otherwise, my Sirius Whip wouldn't have been enough to subdue it.

“All right, return to the pipe.” I waved my hand to dismiss the soul. The spirit didn’t hesitate to enter the opium pipe, not making a sound afterwards.

The policewoman asked me, her voice trembling, “Is it over?”

As soon as I gave her a nod, she slumped on the ground like a deflated balloon. “Oh my God, I just saw a ghost! Ghosts really exist...”

I burst out laughing. “A bold policewoman like you is actually afraid of ghosts?”

The policewoman was still scared, so she didn’t retort to my sarcastic remark. “W-What do I do next? I’m a police officer, and most of the cases I’ve been dealing with are related to murder!”

I comforted her, “No need to worry. Since you’re a police officer, your body exudes an aura of authority, which would prevent ordinary ghosts from approaching you.”

However, my words weren’t enough to ease her mind. She was still tense as she glanced at the opium pipe.

Li Mazi carried her to the couch as her body was still soft. “This jade pendant… I don’t want it. I’m selling it to you.”

“Er, why?”

“If there is a ghost in that opium pipe, I’m sure there is one in my jade pendant as well,” the policewoman said. “I don’t want to have dealings with ghosts every day!”

I was delighted. These two otherworldly items were born to be enemies. If I could get both of them, they would definitely come in handy later.

If someone dared to provoke me, I would have the opium pipe pester them. Then, after having some fun, I could use the jade pendant to solve the problem.

Other than taking revenge, I could even earn some money!

Of course, it was just a random thought. I wasn’t that type of person, and I would never resort to such means. Li Mazi, on the other hand...

Anyway, I decided to keep the pendant and the pipe together, which would ensure that the opium pipe wouldn’t cause trouble.

The jade pendant was an antique that dated back to the Qing dynasty, so it was a valuable item. I asked the policewoman, “How much do you want for it?”

She didn’t really seem to care about money. “If you help me with something, I can give it to you for free.”

As expected, the policewoman hadn’t come here on a whim. She had come to test my abilities and see if I was the real deal.

I shook my head. “Maybe later. I want to take a break first.”

Soon after, Chen Changsheng also woke up. He still remembered being possessed, so he kept screaming. I had to comfort him for a good while to calm him down.

After he got a hold of himself, he asked, “What about my father? Did he ascend?”

I said with a smile, “Don’t worry, everything has been dealt with. Your father has already entered the cycle of reincarnation.”

Hearing my words, he heaved a sigh of relief.

On the way back, Li Mazi happily asked me, “How much are those two antiques worth?”

“At least several million renminbi,” I answered.

Li Mazi was overjoyed. He took out a cigarette and lit it. “It’s time for me to come out of retirement. I would be a fool not to collect all the money lying around!”

As soon as Li Mazi took out the cigarette, Ru Xue snatched it from him. “You’re not allowed to smoke.”

Li Mazi was enraged. “Why am I not allowed to smoke? Who do you think you are?”

“Hmph! I said you’re not allowed, so you’re not allowed!”

“Give me a reason!”

“A man who smokes is irresponsible,” fumed Ru Xue.

Her words made me sigh with emotion.

She had a point, because smoking was definitely an irresponsible behavior. Not only would it harm oneself, but also the people around them!

Ru Xue’s righteous words rendered Li Mazi speechless. Eventually, he threw the cigarette pack outside the car window. “Forget it, no smoking!”