Otherworldly Merchant

Our trip to Sanya was overall pretty nice.

Although we encountered some unexpected events, that was part of the highs and lows of life.

As a result of the trip, Li Mazi and Ru Xue officially got into a relationship. At the same time, Yin Xinyue and I became more intimate. When we came home, Yin Xinyue gave me her first time.

It was a clear night with a gentle breeze, and the bright moon was high in the sky. I bought two bottles of good red wine and poured the wine into two high-stem glasses. I then lit up two candles and turned off the light. Under the gentle light of the candles, Yin Xinyue looked like a flower waiting to bloom. When I saw her, my heart started to race, and I wished I could keep looking at her forever.

After a passionate night, I overslept, waking up at noon the next day.

When I got up, Yin Xinyue had already left for work. She had prepared a simple but warm breakfast for me and left a small note with a loving message.

Life is truly wonderful! I wolfed down my breakfast. I was in a very good mood.

As I ate my breakfast, Mr. Bai, the owner of the shop next to mine, knocked on my door. He said with a smile, “Good afternoon, Little Zhang. You had a girl stay overnight, eh?”

I nodded and felt embarrassed. I was a virgin not too long ago, so I didn’t feel confident talking about this matter.

Mr. Bai laughed. “It’s all right. You guys are adults already. Why do you have to be shy about this?”

I didn’t want to talk about this any longer, so I asked, “Mr. Bai, what brings you here today?”

“Two days ago, someone came to find you. They looked like they were in a rush. However, your shop was empty and there was no way to contact you, so they left a note and asked me to give it to you.”

Then, he handed me a piece of paper.

“I got it. Thank you, Mr. Bai.”

After seeing Mr. Bai off, I threw the paper aside. There was no need to read it because the sender probably wanted me to help them with an otherworldly item. My happy life had just started; I didn’t want to part from Yin Xinyue, nor did I want to accept dangerous tasks!

A few days later, Mr. Bai came to me. “You haven’t called that number, have you?”

“How did you know that?” I was surprised.

Mr. Bai sounded angry. “Before leaving, that person also asked for my number. They’ve been calling me these days!

Anyway, your behavior is deplorable. They are really in a pinch right now, and you completely ignored them. Are you even an otherworldly merchant?”

I kept quiet. Mr. Bai couldn’t understand my difficulties.

I was exhausted, and I just wanted to spend a few days as an ordinary man.

Anyway, Mr. Bai was a stubborn man. If I didn’t make the call, he would keep bothering me, so I could only agree to call the client.

However, Mr. Bai didn’t feel at ease and forced me to make a call right in front of him.

After the call went through, a hoarse voice came to my ear. “Who are you looking for?”

“I’ve heard you came to my antique shop a few days ago.”

“Ah, you are Mr. Zhang, the owner of the antique shop!” The gloomy and hoarse voice of the person changed instantly. In an excited tone, the person said, “Mr. Zhang, please help us. My daughter is about to die! I don’t know what to do. Please, come over. I’m going to send a car to pick you up!”

“Wait a minute,” I urged. “Don’t get too excited. Stay calm and tell me what happened. I need to know what’s going before accepting the task.”

The person on the line wanted me to come over immediately. “It’s really complicated. I can’t tell you clearly through the phone.”

I was helpless. Since that person was so persistent, I couldn’t refuse. “All right, give me your address. I’m coming over to your place.”

I wanted to call Li Mazi as I passed by his house, but seeing that he was happily cooking with Ru Xue, I decided not to disturb him.

I drove alone to the address.

It was an apartment in the school district area. Normally, apartments near the school were extremely expensive. If this family could buy an apartment here, they must be rich.

I guessed I could earn some money this time.

I stood in front of the building and called the person. Soon after, a middle-aged but beautiful woman came downstairs. Although she had some makeup on, it couldn’t cover her tired face.

When I told her who I was, she burst out crying. “There is finally hope for my daughter! My daughter will be saved!”

I felt helpless and tried to clear things up. “Ma’am, I don’t even know what happened to your daughter. I can’t promise you anything. If it’s beyond my capacity, I won’t be able to do anything.”

The middle-aged woman nodded. “Mr. Zhang, I know you’ll find a solution. I’ve heard of you, and I’m sure you can help me.”

She was trying to trick herself into believing that everything would be fine. I could tell that she must have been under a lot of pressure recently.

I couldn’t do anything else but wave my hand. “I need to see the patient first. We’ll discuss later.” The middle-aged woman led me to an elevator to get to the fifth floor.

Inside the elevator, the woman told me that her last name was Wu. Her daughter was about to take her university entrance exam when something strange happened.

As her mother, the middle-aged woman was very worried. The university entrance exam was a big turning point and could greatly affect the teenager’s life. If things didn’t go well, it would be a lifelong regret.

Along the way, the woman talked nonstop and almost caused my eardrums to ache. However, I understood that she was just a mother worried about her daughter, so I didn’t interrupt her.

After entering the apartment, she asked me to wait in the living room while she went to her daughter’s room to ask her to dress properly. It was quite a long time later when she showed up again supporting a young girl.

I had to admit that her daughter was really pretty. She was slim and tall, and she wore a floral blue dress. The young girl looked graceful and gentle.

However, her small, dimpled face was pale, and her body was so weak that she couldn’t walk alone. If her mother didn’t support her, she would stumble and fall.

After just two steps, she was gasping for her breath. However, she still greeted me with a smile, “Good afternoon, Uncle.”

“Child, don’t force yourself. There’s no need to talk.”

I turned to ask her mother, “Why didn’t you take her to the hospital to get a checkup? She looks malnourished.”

Ms. Wu sighed. “If doctors could treat her, I wouldn’t need to invite you. We’ve visited many hospitals, even the ones in Beijing, but they couldn’t help her. Previously, we had tried a traditional treatment and it worked. However, her situation turned for the worse after some time. Now, she can’t even walk properly…”

As Ms. Wu explained, she cried again. Her daughter hurried to wipe her mother’s tears.

“All right, answer my questions. Since when did your daughter start to have this disease? Also, did she touch anything strange or offend anybody?”

Ms. Wu explained the situation to me.

Ms. Wu was divorced and raised her daughter alone. Although they had rough times, Ms. Wu was very happy seeing her daughter grow up healthy.

As her daughter was about to take the university entrance exam, Ms. Wu planned everything with great care. She cared about every detail, from eating to sleeping, her lessons in class, and even her extra classes. She’d perfectly fulfilled her duty as a mother.

However, around two months ago, strange things started happening.

One day, after returning home from school, her daughter said that she didn’t feel well.

Strangely enough, she couldn’t tell which part of her body was hurting. She only knew that she felt powerless and that her head throbbed. She wasn’t in the mood nor did she have the strength to study.

Ms. Wu felt anxious and thought that her daughter had fallen ill. She took her to the hospital for a checkup, but the test showed that she was fine.

Ms. Wu thought that her daughter was too tired and stressed from studying. They had a discussion, and she eventually cooked her some foods that could help her relax.

After her daughter ate the foods and supplements, her condition improved. However, early the next morning, she found her body abnormally heavy. Her head buzzed, and she couldn’t even walk.

She told her mother that she felt as if there was a big rock pressing on her chest. She couldn’t walk or breathe like normal.

Ms. Wu was shocked. The university entrance exam was nearing, and if her daughter got sick and couldn’t take the exam, it would be a disaster.

Ms. Wu took her daughter to a bigger hospital where she had a full body checkup. However, there was nothing wrong with her body according to the test result. Ms. Wu had searched for famous doctors everywhere, but it was useless.

The woman was desperate. She had set all her hopes on her daughter, and if something were to happen to her, she didn’t know how she could carry on with her life.

However, that wasn’t even the worst. The worst thing had happened just a few days ago...