Otherworldly Merchant

Li Mazi returned shortly after; he told me he’d arranged everything.

I said with a smile, “That’s good. We should rest then. Everything will be clear at dawn.”

Li Mazi was really worried about Qin Yu. He couldn’t sleep all night, and he frequently went to check his tent.

It was around 4 AM, and some people had already started getting up to admire the sunrise. Li Mazi was also eager to enter into action. “Hey, wake up. Isn’t it time to see if an otherworldly item is pestering Qin Yu?”

I checked the time, and it was right about time. I stretched my sore back and headed toward the sandy beach.

The moment we reached Qin Yu’s tent, we noticed a shadow moving within it. I didn’t know what Qin Yu was doing, but I guessed he also had a sleepless night.

However, after I moved closer, I discovered that things didn’t look good.

Sea water was salty, so it should have left some salt crystals on the tent after seeping into the fabric and evaporating.

However, there were no salt crystals on Qin Yu’s tent, and only a faint watermark remained.

The eel blood had also disappeared, which was even stranger.

Li Mazi was nervous. “Did you find anything?”

I nodded as I contemplated. “I’m now sure that your friend has been pestered by some evil thing.”

Li Mazi exhaled in relief. “See? I told you so. There was no way my friend would change so much for no reason! Okay, wait here. I’m going to call him. We need to gain his trust first if we want to help him.”

I gave him a nod.

Li Mazi approached Qin Yu’s tent. However, he screamed in fright right after peeking inside. He hurried back with a pale face.

“Something’s wrong. There’s definitely something strange going on.”

“What is it?” I began to worry as I looked at Li Mazi. “Did something happen to Qin Yu?”

“That’s not it,” Li Mazi said. “But… There’s no one inside the tent.”

“That’s impossible.” I took a deep breath. “I clearly saw a shadow moving around earlier...”

Li Mazi wore a reluctant face. “Yes, I saw it too. But there’s no one there.”

I took another look, and the shadow was now gone.

Our eyes had never left the tent, so it would have been impossible for Qin Yu to slip out without us noticing.

I concluded that the shadow we had just seen was a ghost!

“Where do you think Qin Yu could have gone to?” Li Mazi sounded cautious.

After hesitating for a moment, I lowered my voice to reply, “Let’s check around and see if we can find him.”

Then, Li Mazi and I walked around the sandy beach.

I had a feeling that Qin Yu would go to a deserted place, so we walked out of the camping area as we searched.

It was early morning. The sea wind was strong, and waves surged one after another. It was freezing cold, and there was a bright, white slit on the horizon where the sky met the sea.

However, the sun seemed to be stalling its rise, radiating a blood-red halo all over the sea. The seawater was dyed in red at the moment, producing an eerie sight.

Anyway, it didn’t take me long to spot a suspicious shadow!

That figure was sitting on the shore, watching the sea with his back to us.

Strong waves came and crashed on the beach, submerging the man’s body. However, the strong force of the water was unable to shake him. He sat there like a statue fixed to the ground.

There was a bottle of Maotai wine in his hand. He would take a good gulp from the bottle every time the waves subsided. Then, he would scream and cry.

His heartbreaking cries lingered in the air, chilling people’s hearts…

I took a deep breath and called Li Mazi.

Li Mazi saw Qin Yu soaking himself in the sea and instantly felt pity for him. “Is he out of his mind? It’s damn cold right now... he’s going to end up with rheumatism or another joint disease if we don’t get him out of there soon.”

Then, he rushed forward to pull him out of the sea.

I felt helpless. Even after being mistreated, Li Mazi was worried about his friend getting rheumatism. He was a true brother.

In comparison, Qin Yu was really a petty person.

I was worried that Li Mazi would be drawn into the sea by the strong waves as this place was not considered safe. I stormed forward to help him pull Qin Yu back to the beach.

However, Qin Yu didn’t want to leave. He kept chilling in the water while drinking and crying.

Li Mazi was enraged; he didn’t hesitate to slap him. “You bastard, are you even a man?! Suck it up and don’t bring shame upon the Qin Yu I knew! We can help if you have any difficulties.”

Qin Yu suddenly turned his head around, gazing at us with a strange look. “You want to help me? Then kill me.”

“Damn!” My heart sank. Qin Yu wasn’t himself at the moment. He was possessed!

I hurried to pull Li Mazi aside.

Li Mazi was confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Qin Yu seems to be possessed. We can’t provoke him.”

Li Mazi didn’t listen and was enraged when he heard that Qin Yu was possessed.

He seemed to have lost his mind as he roared, “I know you’re not Qin Yu! Who are you? Why do you want to hurt my buddy? Come out and fight me if you have the balls! Why are you hiding inside someone else’s body?!”

Qin Yu punched him as soon as Li Mazi finished his sentence, knocking him away.

I was shocked and directly took out a Ksitigarbha Talisman from my pocket. The ghost seemed to have recognized the item as it left immediately after. Qin Yu’s body collapsed to the ground.

I ignored Qin Yu and hurried to check on Li Mazi. That punch was pretty strong, and Li Mazi’s face was all swollen…

However, Li Mazi was still worried about Qin Yu. “Is he okay? His body is submerged in water!”

“You barely survived. Yet, you’re still worried about others?”

Li Mazi forced a smile. “I’m not going to die that easily.”

Qin Yu had already made his way out of the water when we went to save him. It seemed he had no idea as to what was happening. He kept looking at the freezing seawater with a blank face.

He returned to his sense when he saw us, beginning to spew curses. “Li Mazi, were you hoping to drown me? You would have taken my wealth and my wife after that, right? You just wait! I swear that I’m not a man if I don’t retaliate!”

Then, he bolted away.

“He’s beyond saving…” Li Mazi sighed.

We didn’t have the mood to go sightseeing after the incident and directly took Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue back to the hotel.

Li Mazi had an appointment with San Bao. We were supposed to meet at the hotel around 3 PM.

We had a simple lunch at the hotel restaurant, then we went back to our rooms for a short nap.

It was still 1 PM, so there was some time left before the appointment.

After waking up from my nap, I felt that something was off. Things didn’t feel right.

My head felt somewhat heavy, and my sight was blurred. My neck was also stiff, which was a first for me. Does it have something to do with the mattress? Still, it’s strange...

While I was deep in thought, Li Mazi called out, “Where’s my son? Where’s Li Meng?”

I turned to check the bed.

Our room had two beds. I had claimed one, while Li Mazi shared the other with his son. But now, only Li Mazi was there. His son was nowhere to be seen.

“Li Meng, where are you? Come here!” Li Mazi screamed.

However, no one answered.

“Wait a minute.” I suddenly started connecting the dots.

The door and the windows were closed, while the air vents were blocked. Moreover, our room was filled with a strange smell.

Coupled with my stiff neck and Li Meng’s disappearance… I was sure that someone had used sleeping gas on us!

I checked the clock, and it was 5 PM. Our short nap had lasted for a whole four hours!

I rushed out of the room, afraid that Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue had also been drugged. I found them asleep when I reached their room, so I hurried to wake them up.

Yin Xinyue was still drowsy as she asked me, “What’s wrong? Why are you so worked up?”

“Hurry, come to my room.”

I glanced at their window; it was open, and the air vent was working as usual. Their room didn’t have any signs of intrusion. I exhaled in relief.

When the two women saw the stern expression on my face, they knew something bad had happened.

Li Mazi looked around the room but couldn’t find Li Meng. The moment he saw Ru Xue and Yin Xinyue, he immediately asked if they had seen him.

The two women were astonished. “Wasn’t Li Meng with you guys?”

Li Mazi was getting more and more worried. “Did a thief barge into our room?”

I hurried to calm him down. “The corridor should be equipped with cameras. We should go and ask them to check the surveillance videos.”