Otherworldly Merchant

It had been ten years since my grandpa’s death, and I didn’t even have the chance to see him one last time. Now, I had finally found him. I couldn’t suppress my excitement!

I hated that we couldn't be reunited immediately. I wanted to tell him how much I had missed him during these ten years.

I forgot the time, the location, and the bizarre set of clothing that was following me. I even forgot about the wild animals and venomous snakes nearby. Only when my legs started feeling heavy did I notice that a snake had bitten me. I didn’t bleed much, but the wound had turned black, oozing mucus.

I turned pale with fright as the snakes here were extremely dangerous. If I delayed the treatment, the consequences would be horrible. I could even lose my limb.

I used a dagger to cut the wound open, trying to squeeze out the poisoned blood. It was very painful, but I gritted my teeth and endured.

However, it didn’t work. The toxin quickly spread in my body, and shortly after, my entire leg had turned purplish-black.

I knew I couldn’t descend the mountain to seek help under such circumstances, so I took out my phone to make a call. However, there was no signal.

Will my life end like this? Will I die on this deserted mountain? 

I don’t want to die just yet. I haven’t even seen my grandpa!

Just as I was feeling desperate, I heard someone rush through the bushes. I turned around and saw a shadow approaching me. The figure seemed to be looking around.

I tightly grabbed my Sirius Whip. If I felt threatened, I would attack without hesitation.

It was very late at night, so it was unlikely that the other party had good intentions.

However, as soon as the shadow came close, I recognized who he was. It was Li Mazi!

Li Mazi looked at me as I lay paralyzed on the ground. His face grimaced. “Little Brother Zhang, did a venomous snake bite you?”

I relaxed a little after seeing Li Mazi. I smiled and gave him a nod.

Although this fellow didn’t have any special skill, whenever I was in a hopeless situation, he would appear by my side and help me.

"You still feel like smiling? How can you smile in this situation!” he took a sachet out of his pocket and nagged. “I knew that you were an idiot and would rush to the mountain alone, so I had to come here to help you. If I hadn’t come, you would be dead already. Sigh, you’re really good at making me worry…”

I joked and said, “Li Mazi, you’re a real friend. You saved my life! If I were a girl, I would definitely marry you.”

“Enough with this nonsense.” Li Mazi couldn’t help but shiver. “I’m not even sure if you’ll make it.”

Anyway, it turned out the uncle was really worried when he discovered that I’d gone to the mountain alone. He told Li Mazi that there were a lot of venomous snakes in the forest, and not even the experienced local hunters dared to come here.

Li Mazi thought that I would only focus on finding my grandfather and ignore the danger. He grabbed some antivenom and climbed up the mountain to find me. Eventually, his guess turned out to be correct.

The antivenom was produced locally and was very effective. He then squeezed the poisonous blood out of my body and wrapped my wound. After everything was done, Li Mazi gasped for his breath. “How is it going? Have you found him yet?”

I shook my head and forced a smile. “I didn’t find him and almost lost my life.”

Then, I turned to look at that set of clothes hovering not far from me. It almost seemed as if it was keeping an eye on me.

Li Mazi followed my gaze and jumped in fright. “Crap… It’s her… Why the heck is she here?”

I knew that Li Mazi was seeing a stunning woman instead of that set of ancient garments.

“Ignore her,” I told him.

Li Mazi was scared and looked at me nervously. “We should leave this mountain as soon as possible. This female corpse is too wicked. Moreover, we’re on a wild mountain, and it’s midnight! We’re at a disadvantage here; we can’t provoke her.”

I said, “There’s no need to be scared. It’s just a lifeless otherworldly item. Since it didn’t attack us, it means we have something on our bodies that it’s scared of.”

Li Mazi said, “What? An otherworldly item? What are you talking about? That’s a corpse!”

I said reluctantly, “It’s a long story, and I’ll explain later. Come and hold me up. I need to find my grandpa.”

Li Mazi was enraged. “How can you be this stubborn? If the venom spreads further in your body, you will die!”

I told him, “If I can see my grandpa one last time, I’m willing to sacrifice my life. Please, help me up.”

Seeming me so resolute, Li Mazi sighed and said, “All right, all right!”

As he pulled me up, the ancient garments shook a few times. It buzzed and issued a metallic sound.

At first, I thought that it was trying to bewitch me, so I immediately covered my ears. Li Mazi looked at me and did the same.

However, the sound seemed to be very ordinary and didn’t have any effect on me. Quite the contrary, it helped me clear my mind. I felt much more refreshed, and my hearing also became more sensitive.

Right after that, I heard a rattling noise coming from the grass. It sounded like something was moving through the tall blades.

When a venomous snake showed up right in front of me, my nerves went tense immediately.

That thing was summoning snakes! I was startled and asked Li Mazi to take me away.

However, it was already too late. There were around seventy or eighty snakes wiggling and slithering around us. They created a big circle around us, making it impossible for us to escape.

Li Mazi was shocked, and his trypophobia arose; he even forgot to support me. We both squatted on the ground and shivered. “T-There are so many snakes! Why did they suddenly appear here? Little Brother Zhang, tell me, do you owe them money or something?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed the ancient set of garments had decided to take action.

The venomous snakes had us surrounded. I could recognize banded kraits, sharp-nosed vipers, and even cobras. They held their heads in the air and tucked their tongues out.

I sneered and provoked them, “Come if you have the courage! Let’s see if who’s stronger — your venom or my Sirius Whip!”

I was ready to give my all and battle against the venomous snakes.

“Don’t move.” Li Mazi held me back and said nervously, “Something is off. That female corpse doesn’t seem to want our lives. She wants to hold us as hostages!”

“What?” I gawked and looked at Li Mazi.

Li Mazi nodded and said, “She wants to hold us as hostages to force your grandfather to show up.”

“What?” I glared at the set of ancient garments. “If you have the courage, come over! We will have a fair battle. Stop playing tricks!”

The other party ignored me. Perhaps, from its point of view, I wasn’t qualified to be its opponent.

While I was thinking, a small tornado swept over and wrapped around us. My vision was instantly clouded.

“What’s up with this strange wind?” Li Ma Zi tensed up and struggled to get away from the small tornado.

However, I felt a familiar feeling while inside the tornado, just as if a rough palm was rubbing my face…

I was certain this tornado was created by my grandfather.

I was overjoyed. He knew that we were here!

I hurried to stand up and called, “Grandpa, where are you? Please, come out. I’m your grandson. I’m Zhang Jiulin. I’m here to find you…”

Only the howling wind answered me. I couldn't see anyone else around me.

“Buzz!”

The set of ancient garments buzzed again.

The noise it created seemed to have magical power. It stormed forward and swirled into a tornado that spun counterclockwise.

The two tornados neutralized each other and disappeared. The venomous snakes swarmed toward me and tucked out their tongues threateningly. It looked as if they would attack me at any moment.

“Don’t even dream about using me to threaten my grandfather!” I gritted my teeth and wielded the Sirius Whip as I faced the advancing snakes.

The whip did wonders and easily dispersed the Yin energy controlling the snakes. The snakes returned to their senses and scattered in fear.

However, the ancient clothes buzzed one more time, and the pit of snakes that had just recovered was controlled again. They sizzled and crawled toward us.

I didn’t dare to stop and continuously lashed my Sirius Whip.

However, I knew the Sirius Whip wouldn’t work for a long time. I asked Li Mazi to make a fire to expel the venomous snakes.

I whipped the snakes seven times, but I could only shoo away a very small number of snakes. The rest continued to gaze at us.

Li Mazi set up a ring of fire that circled around us, but it wasn’t very effective. Since the snakes were being controlled, they weren’t afraid of death. Some lunged through the fire and burned themselves.

As the venomous snakes were about to swarm us and bite us, a stern, powerful voice came from the dark. “Stop immediately!”

It was my grandfather’s voice! Tears fell from in my eyes as I turned around to look.

In the distance, I saw an old man wearing a Chinese tunic suit.

He glanced at me with his hawk eyes, his expression stern but loving. Although his face was full of wrinkles and his hair white, I recognized him immediately.

Grandpa is finally here!

I felt overjoyed. “Grandpa, you’re here!”

My grandpa nodded and looked at the set of ancient clothes. “Let them go. I’ll go with you.”

“No!” I felt a heartache and tried to stop him. “No, grandpa. Don’t listen to it. Just run, please!”

My grandfather smiled at me. “Grandson, I’m a dead man. You don’t need to waste your time on me. Go back, you don’t need to bother with this matter.”

Then, he floated toward the shining ancient garments.

His feet didn’t touch the ground as he glided away. However, although he was in his soul form, he still had a righteous aura that deserved respect from others.

“Grandpa!” I cried my lungs out. “Don’t go, don’t listen to it! Please, run!”

“I’ve lived a long life but didn’t leave anything valuable to you. During my career as an otherworldly merchant, I had accumulated a few items. If you dig for around three meters under my bed, you will find them. Go home and live well. When you have a baby with that girl, come at my grave. That’s how you will please your deceased grandfather.”

Then, he gave me a faint smile.

I was short of breath. How could our reunion be so short? I had a lot of things I wanted to tell him. How could he disappear like that?

I cried my heart out, but it was to no avail. My grandfather ignored me and went straight toward the set of ancient garments, disappearing into thin air.