Otherworldly Merchant

After Zen Master Baimei halved the Night Dragon Bait, the pearl melted into a puddle of liquid. We then threw it into the fire, where it burned into ashes.

Even though we had saved Li Mazi, his soul had yet to recover. As such, he always felt dizzy and couldn’t walk straight. Ru Xue stayed by his side and caringly took care of him. She didn’t want to leave even after Li Mazi had fully recovered.

Ru Xue’s dedication and care eventually melted Li Mazi’s heart, and his attitude toward her became much better.

Eileen Chang used to say, “The best way to forget someone is to spend time with a new lover.”

I had a feeling that if they could develop their relationship further, Li Mazi could walk out of the darkness of his late wife’s death.

Not long after this case, Yin Xinyue and I started to consider getting engaged. We understood each other well and deeply cared for the other. We felt the time was right.

One day, after we took some pre-wedding photos, I brought Yin Xinyue home and returned to my shop. I was exhausted.

When I got home, I saw someone squatting in front of my shop.

At first glance, I thought it was a customer. I didn’t want to get involved with an otherworldly item before my wedding. However, if this person came to my shop, then it wouldn’t be nice to reject the request, either. Otherwise, it would affect my reputation.

When I came closer, I saw that the person was sleeping at my door. They wore a black cloak, and a veil covered their face, which only revealed the eyes. They also wore gloves. It was hard to tell if this person was a man or woman.

Seeing them squatting in front of my shop, I thought that it was a beggar. I tried to wake the person up by calling them, but it did not work. I had no choice but to kick them gently. “Hey, wake up!”

After I kicked them, they finally opened his eyes and looked at me with a drowsy face. “How long have I slept?”

“How could I know that?” I fumed and said, “This is my shop. I want to open for business. If you want to rest, find a motel!”

I wanted to shoo him away.

To my surprise, the man didn’t want to leave. Instead, he wanted to play tough. “This might be your shop, but is the street yours as well? Do you own this land? I’m going to sleep here. What are you going to do about that?”

I knew I had bumped into a thug; he was sort of blackmailing me. I was enraged but still took one hundred renminbi from my pocket and threw it at him. “Get lost!”

The man just sneered and then took out two one-hundred-renminbi notes. “Here, take this. It’s my rental fee. I won’t leave. I find it comfortable to sleep here.”

Then, he closed his eyes and slept.

I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. This fellow sure was strange. My place wasn’t a hotel, yet he wanted to sleep here. It was so annoying.

I was angry, and my mood was ruined. I ignored him, went into my shop, and carefully closed the door.

The pre-wedding shooting had worn me out, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I guessed anybody would be worried about such a situation. A strange man was sleeping at my door, and I didn’t know what he wanted.

The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. Eventually, I got up and walked out to talk to the man. I decided to threaten him and told him that if he continued to sleep at my door, I would call the police.

When I mentioned the police, he became scared. He shook his head reluctantly then left.

I exhaled in relief and climbed back to my bed.

However, at around 3 AM, I was awakened by my phone ringing. Dreamily, I reached for the phone and asked, “Who is it?”

Yin Xinyue’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Brother Zhang, are you sleeping?”

I yawned. “No, not yet. Are you okay?” “Can you come here?” Yin Xinyue seemed scared. “A strange man’s sleeping in front of my door. I’m scared.”

I frowned. I had a feeling that the strange man Yin Xinyue mentioned was the same guy I had just kicked out.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I couldn’t panic. If I panicked, Yin Xinyue would be more frightened.

“Xinyue, you don’t need to be scared. Close all the windows. Do not go out. Tell me, what does he look like?”

“He’s wearing black, and he’s squatting at my door. He isn’t moving, and he sometimes looks at my house. I’m scared. Do you think he’s some sort of gangster?” asked Yin Xinyue.

I said, “Don’t panic and don’t act rashly. I’m coming to your house now! Don’t worry. Not all men in black are gangsters!”

After I hung up, I felt myself fuming in rage. I forced him to leave, but he actually ran to Yin Xinyue’s house? If I don’t give him a good lesson, I won’t be worthy of Yin Xinyue!  I put on some clothes and called Li Mazi. If that man was really a criminal, having someone with me would be better.

When we arrived at Yin Xinyue’s house, I saw the man in question. Sure enough, it was the same fellow. I stormed forward and gave him a kick.

“Wake up!”

The man in black opened his drowsy eyes and lifted his head to look at me. “Why are you here? Stop following me around like a ghost!”

This man knew how to shove false arguments down people’s throats. I snapped, “This is my house. Why are you sleeping at my door?”

He looked bewildered and said, “Is this place your house too? Stop bragging. You’re just a little shop owner. How could you live in this luxurious villa? Tch.”

Since I had woken Li Mazi while he was having a good sleep, he was already infuriated. And now, this fellow’s arrogant attitude made him even madder. “There’s no need to waste time with him. Just use our old method! Chop one of his legs!”

“Geez, stop scaring me.” The man in black smirked. “Are you pretending to be some gangsters? I did illegal stuffy when you guys were still wearing diapers.”

Li Mazi snorted. “Is that so?”

He took out the watermelon knife he’d brought along, weighing it on his palm. “We’ll take your left leg.”

Then, he used the knife to hack at the man’s thigh.

The man in black was scared. He flexed and jumped up. “You’re crazy! I just wanted to find a good place to sleep, but you two insist on disturbing me!”

Although he didn’t look pleased, the man in black didn’t dare to stay. He turned and left.

After the man left, Yin Xinyue cautiously walked toward me. She hadn’t gotten a hold of herself yet. “Why is that man dressed up so strangely? I was so scared. He was covered in black, and we could only see his eyes.”

She didn’t dare to sleep in her villa alone, so I brought her back to my shop.

I guessed that the man in black wouldn’t dare to come back again after this recent warning.

However, although he was gone, I was left with a lot of doubts. What was the deal with that man? It didn’t look like money was the reason. He didn’t do anything threatening to us, either. Why did he linger at my shop and in front of Yin Xinyue’s house? What is he trying to do? What are his intentions?

Since I was puzzled, I couldn’t sleep well for the rest of the night.

Yin Xinyue was a conservative woman. Since we were not married yet, she only allowed me to hug her. I felt itchy for the whole night.

Early the next morning, I received a call from Fengshen Nana.

Some time had passed since Old Chef’s incident, and Fengshen Nana hadn't called me since. If she called me this early in the morning, it meant that something bad must have happened.

I picked up the phone, and Fengshen Nana said in a mocking tone, “Tch, tch. Mister Zhang, you’re really bold. You even dare to go this far. I was wrong to trust you.”

I was bewildered and asked her, “What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean!” Fengshen Nana sneered. “Come to the police station. Otherwise, I’m going to arrest you myself.”

"You’re crazy.” I was annoyed by her tone. That odd man in black bothered me yesterday, then I watched Yin Xinyue for the whole night without being able to touch her, and now Fengshen Nana was mocking me. Even if I was a sage, I would be enraged.

Fengshen Nana also sounded mad. “You have thirty minutes to get your ass here. Otherwise, I will send the criminal police to arrest you.”

Then, she hung up. I called her again, but she didn’t pick up.

I wondered if I had offended someone these days. Maybe that was why I had such bad luck.

From Fengshen Nana’s tone, she didn’t sound like she was joking. Good citizens wouldn't annoy police officers, so I headed to the police station.

As it wasn’t a big police station, I quickly found Fengshen Nana.

Fengshen Nana coldly rubbed her nose. “I was about to send my guys out to arrest you.”

“What happened?” I fumed. “I’m very busy, and I don’t have time to linger here and joke with you.”

Fengshen Nana said, “Your partner in crime already confessed. Let’s go to see him.”

When I saw the one she called my ‘partner,’ I was mad.

It was the man wearing the black cloak from last night. I was certain that he had falsely accused me of something.

I was really angry. “I don’t know this fellow. No matter what he did, it doesn’t relate to me.”

“You don’t know him?” Fengshen Nana looked at me in surprise. “How is that possible?”

“I said I don’t know him,” I couldn’t help but snarl. “Isn’t the police supposed to investigate the matter properly before summoning someone?”

Fengshen Nana angrily looked at the man in black. “Do you know him or not? Did he give you the orders?”

Unexpectedly, the man in black got on his knees. “Grandmaster, please help me! I had eyes but failed to see. I didn’t know that you were an expert and offended you last night. Please save me!”

He knelt and cried, making me feel very awkward.