Otherworldly Merchant

The woman had left already, and Lei Long was lying flat on the ground, panting like an ox.

I hurried to lift him up. He was so weak that he couldn’t even stand up on his own. He screamed in pain when I touched him.

I took his shirt off to check, and his whole upper body was covered in moldy spots. Some had even turned black.

It was a disgusting sight. He looked like a big chunk of pork that had been exposed to hot weather for a month.

Mucus was continuously oozing through the dried, cracked skin; the smell he was exuding was awful.

Li Mazi shivered when he saw this. I guessed he was picturing the same thing happening to his butt.

Lei Long weakly asked, “Grandmaster… Can you, can you satisfy my last request?”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I know… I know I can’t live for long,” Lei Long said. “The ghost is too powerful. You won’t… You won’t be able to subdue her. In case… In case I die... I hope you could free my soul so that I can reincarnate. I don’t want to end up mingling with that ghost. I don’t want to be tortured after I die.”

Lei Long had lost all hope.

I hurried to comfort him. “Don’t worry. I’m here now, and you will be all right.”

Lei Long sighed, still unconvinced. “Do you have any plan?”

I said, “If we can’t use force, we can try a soft method! I can’t tell you any details for now, but when the time comes, you’ll have to listen to me.”

It was hard for Lei Long just to nod his head. “Grandmaster, I’m well aware of my situation. My life is in your hands, so just do what you can. If you can solve this matter, please do. If you can’t, please give me a quick death. To be honest, I disgust myself when I see the mold on my body.”

“Okay, just listen to me tonight.”

I then started my arrangements.

I wanted to turn the room into a wedding room. Of course, as it was a ghost marriage, every decoration should be in white.

We hung up a pair of white couplets on the door: ‘The bounds of Earth and Heaven are separated by twilight and dawn. Borderless love crosses the Mundane World and the Netherworld!’

I had hired an old teacher to write these couplets. He specialized in performing ghost marriages, and I had asked him to teach me everything he knew.

Then, I started to decorate the wedding room.

We hung white banners and set up two chairs with backrests, placing a portrait on each chair.

The left portrait was Lei Long’s.

The other portrait should be the bride’s. However, we didn’t know how she looked like, so we only framed a white paper.

I added a white ribbon flower on the portrait frames. Lei Long had an eerie look in the black-and-white portrait; his face was bony, and his eyes blank.

I also added some drawings on the wall behind the chairs, including drawings of Emperor Hongwu, the Matchmaker Deity, as well as the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced guardians of Hell.

I had bought those drawings from the old teacher. Emperor Hongwu represented the bride’s parents. Since she had lived in Emperor Hongwu’s time and we didn’t know her parents, we could only invite Emperor Hongwu to represent her family.

Of course, the Matchmaker Deity was there to connect the groom and the bride, while Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced guardians would stand as witnesses. After the ghost marriage was celebrated, the union would hold, no matter if they were alive or dead.

White linens were also used in the bedroom. Once everything was arranged, we waited until night time.

Darkness came fast. I took out the soul summoning banner from underneath the bed. This banner had a lot of bells attached to it. The slightest wind would make the bells jingle unceasingly.

The golden bowl and the pair of golden chopsticks were placed underneath the soul summoning banner. This would make it easier to summon the evil spirit.

When the time came, I held the soul summoning banner and stood by the golden bowl. My voice turned heavy, “Today, you have received the gifts, and both of you are willing to unite in a ghostly marriage! According to the birth chart of the groom, this is the best time to get married. Why don’t you hurry to come out and get married?”

After speaking, I gave Li Mazi a nod. Li Mazi picked up the chopsticks and knocked on the bowl.

A strange, evil wind blew from the golden bowl. The bells attached to the soul summoning banner began to jingle.

Lei Long respectfully got on his knees in front of the two chairs while Li Mazi turned off the light in the room. I immediately saw a figure kneeling next to Lei Long. Although she was wearing a long robe, her feminine curves were discernible. She was kneeling very close to Lei Long, her shoulder almost touching his shoulder.

Lei Long couldn’t control his curiosity. He turned his head to take a glance at his bride. He shivered right after. I guessed it was due to the bride’s face.

I also wanted to see her real face. Could she be so ugly she couldn’t get married in her time? Otherwise, how could she be obsessed to the point of looking for a groom even after being dead for such a long time?

“Today is an auspicious day. Although you are a match, you two live in different worlds. Yet, you’re bound to be together. Today, we’ll hold a special ghost marriage for you two. From now on, unless your soul vanishes, your marriage will last forever. First bow, bow to earth and heaven!” I raised my voice.

Lei Long shakily bowed. The woman's shadow also bowed.

“Second bow, bow to your parents,” I called again.

The two bowed again.

“The groom and the bride shall bow to each other.”

The two turned around and bowed, face to face.

Lei Long didn’t dare to look at her face. He closed his eyes as his face twisted. I took the chance to finally look at her real appearance. I gawked in shock right away.

She didn’t have a face! Her facial skin was covered with rotten, white fluffy hairs. I couldn’t see even an inch of her bare skin.

However, she had a pair of pure black eyes; they released a frightening light. I suddenly felt they were a perfect match. They were a beautiful, moldy couple.

“Enter the wedding room!” I raised my voice once more. It was a part of the ceremony, so they had to retreat to their chamber. I didn’t have time to observe her face further.

Lei Long anxiously got up, pulling the big, white ribbon flower on his chest. This white ribbon flower had long trailing ribbons on the other end, which the woman immediately grabbed. She looked shy but wide-awake as she walked behind Lei Long.

A cold wind blew the bedroom door shut after the two had entered the chamber. Li Mazi looked cheery. “I have seen dogs and chickens do it, but I have never seen ghost sex. Let’s go. I want to see.”

I quickly stopped Li Mazi, who was about to peep through the bedroom’s door slit. Since this was the most critical moment of our mission, I couldn’t afford to offend the ghost just because Li Mazi wanted to peep.

I took Li Mazi to the toilet, where I had installed a monitor camera.

Li Mazi was elated. “Oh, I didn’t expect you to be this prepared. Peeping uprightly, are we?”

“Can you be serious for a moment?” I was so tense and nervous that my forehead was sweating. The mission tonight would be very taxing. If we were careless, Lei Long would die, the ghost would take out her anger on us, and Li Mazi’s moldy spots would never heal.

I didn’t dare to take my eyes off the monitor. I didn’t even blink.