Otherworldly Merchant

I shook my head and said, “It’s hard to explain in a few words. Anyway, when you were controlled, you had lost your mind. That’s why you don’t remember.”

Lei Long asked, “What should I do now?”

I looked at his pale face and trembling lips. He was frightened, which made him easy prey for any evil spirit to possess.

If Lei Long got possessed and I wasn’t prepared, I might get hurt.

“Lei Long, take two deep breaths. Calm down and then repeat after me,” I said as I started to teach him the ‘sacred text of Daoism.’

After reading the text several times, Lei Long finally quieted down. I heaved a sigh of relief.

Then, I walked around his house to see if I could find any clue.

After a quick check, I discovered that the place with the heaviest Yin energy wasn’t the kitchen but the bedroom.

It was strange. Since the kitchen had so many dead animals inside, the Yin energy should have been the strongest there.

It seemed something very powerful was stored in his bedroom.

I pushed the bedroom door, but it was locked. I asked Lei Long to open it for me.

Lei Long frowned. “After those events, I started sleeping in the living room. To prevent me from doing dangerous things with that knife, my wife took away the key to this bedroom.”

Such being the case, I could only ask Lei Long to kick the door open.

Although he looked weak, he had an abnormal amount of strength. He was able to kick the door open with only one attempt.

After he kicked the door open, I saw a shoe print on it. I grabbed the door to stop it from moving. Then, I looked carefully and saw a moldy shoe print on the board of the door.

Lei Long also saw the molded print and lifted his foot to check it. He shrieked right after.

Lei Long’s shoe was moldy and rotten. A layer of white fluff was growing on it, and his foot oozed mucus.

Lei Long screamed in fear. “Oh no... How come I don’t feel anything? Why don’t I feel any pain?!”

Although he didn’t feel pain, he couldn’t stand up anymore. He sat on the ground and blankly looked at his moldy feet.

I had to enter the bedroom to check things out myself.

His bedroom was clean and well-ventilated. The room looked like something you would see in the series, Balala the Fairies. It was a typical princess room. Children’s products and toys were displayed on the shelves and cupboards. It was totally different from the kitchen.

I searched around the bedroom and didn’t find anything strange.

I walked out and asked Lei Long, “Did you buy anything right before the incident? The closer the time, the better.”

Lei Long contemplated for a while then said, “I bought my son clothes, milk bottles, and some toys before the accident.”

“Is there anything else? Was there anything peculiar?”

Lei Long thought for a while. Then, he patted his head as if he had just remembered something. “I remember now! I bought a golden bowl.”

He crawled into his bedroom and opened a safe. Eventually, he took out a small golden bowl. “Grandmaster, here it is. Can you tell me if it has a problem? I bought it for my son’s birthday. When I returned home that night, all those strange things started to happen…”

“This is an important detail. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I held the golden bowl and carefully examined it.

That golden bowl looked very different from the ordinary ones you could find at a jewelry shop. A new golden bowl would have a bright gold color with clear carving patterns. It also should sparkle and reflect in the sunlight.

But the bowl in front of me was different. Its surface was dim. There were dabs of dirt here and there, and the patterns looked worn out. It looked as if it had been used for quite a long time.

Moreover, the patterns on the surface were strange. It wasn’t the image of the God of Longevity, a figure that was popular on the market. Instead, the design was some flowers and vines.

I held the bowl in my hands; it was cold and strangely heavy. I doubted that it was a pure golden bowl. It should just be a gold-plated bowl.

“Grandmaster?” Lei Long felt impatient as he watched me scrutinize the golden bowl. “Did you find anything?”

I contemplated then said, “Where did you get this golden bowl?”

Lei Long hesitated then said, “From an antique shop. Is that a problem?”

I was startled. “Why did you go to an antique shop to buy a golden bowl? An item like this should be bought from a jewelry shop.”

I could conclude that this golden bowl was an otherworldly item. Also, since it was bought from an antique shop, it was definitely an antique.

Lei Long said, “One of my friends works at an antique shop. This golden bowl is the new treasure they had recently collected from a countryside area. They said it’s from the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty. He didn’t want to sell the bowl to me, but I insisted a lot to get it. Is there something wrong with it?”

I was puzzled. “Tell me, why did you buy this golden bowl? If you wanted to celebrate your son’s birthday, wasn’t it better to go to a jewelry shop to buy the item?”

“Because…” He looked hesitant. “I didn’t have enough money on hand, and the jewelry shop didn’t take credit. I bought it from that friend on credit.”

I understood it now.

“However, this golden bowl is evil. Didn’t your friend tell you that? It should have caused some problems while it was with him.”

Lei Long sighed and said, “My friend had just gotten it from the countryside. He didn’t have it long enough before I bought it from him. I guess he didn’t know that the bowl was evil. Otherwise, he would have never sold it to me… We are close friends.”

I sneered. “Is that so?”

Lei Long was shocked. “You mean that... my friend purposely did that to harm me?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure. However, better safe than sorry.”

Lei Long gritted his teeth. “I’ve always considered that bastard a good brother. I never thought that he would treat me like that. If he actually did that to me, I will kill his entire family!”

I hurried to calm him down. “We don’t have any evidence. We can’t accuse him just yet.”

Lei Long got a hold of himself. “What should we do now?”

“You said that if you sleep at my antique shop, your desire to eat children is subdued, right? I think the geomancy of my antique shop might be able to affect this golden bowl.”

Lei Long nodded. “Right, how about we bring this golden bowl to your shop to see the results?”

I shook my head as I wasn’t a fool.

I was about to get married, and if I took this bowl to my shop, it would be no different from bringing bad luck to myself. I was okay if it brought me bad luck, but what if it affected my shop’s geomancy? I would lose more than what I could gain.

I used to hear from my grandfather that although our antique shop was in a remote corner, it was located in the eye of the city’s geomantic formation. It could also absorb spirit energy from the surroundings. If this golden bowl ruined my shop’s geomancy, perhaps it would ruin the geomancy of the entire city. If that happened, I would regret it forever.

I had come to the conclusion that my grandfather had told the truth… So many years had passed and countless fires and car crashes happened on other streets, but nothing terrible had happened on our street. Moreover, there were several times when the buildings in our street were to be demolished, but those plans were ultimately canceled. I guessed a lot of it was related to the geomancy of my antique shop.

This particular geomancy setup was known as ‘Fortune Congregating Setup.’ After dozens of years, the economy of the city developed, and my antique street’s value had also increased.

Since I had rejected his idea, Lei Long became distressed. “What should we do then?”

“It’s simple. Even the soil from an area with great geomancy holds power. We just need to bring some soil here; its aura should create the same effect!”

I immediately called Li Mazi and asked him to go to my shop and dig up some soil.

It was dangerous to run around with this golden bowl, so it would be better if Li Mazi delivered some soil directly to our current location.