Otherworldly Merchant

Since the poor woman’s soul wasn’t there, where did the baleful aura in the uncle’s house come from?

The uncle said that his mother had talked to him in his dreams. That was why he asked me not to investigate the case any further.

However, it made no sense. People in the countryside took filial piety very seriously. There was no way he would just watch his mother’s soul endure this torment, giving up on the only chance to fix things.

Everything told me that there was something wrong with him, so I couldn’t just ignore him. After all, this matter was related to my grandfather.

I knew I couldn’t handle this opponent alone, so I called Chuyi to ask him if he had time to help me with this case.

Soon enough, the call went through. Before I could talk, Chuyi asked, “Where are you?”

“I’m on my way back to the antique shop.”

As soon as I was about to ask him to help me, Chuyi said, “I’m in your shop. Come back as soon as possible. There’s something we need to solve.”

Then, he hung up the phone.

I was puzzled. Why would Chuyi be at my shop at this time? He said that we need to solve something... What was he talking about?

Chuyi was the sort of man that wouldn’t show up unless things were serious.

Did he come to help me solve my grandpa’s issue? I thought that it was possible.

After I got off the bus, I took a taxi and headed back to the antique shop.

After returning to the shop, I found not only Chuyi but also Zen Master Baimei. They were enjoying tea and chatting in my shop.

I had given Chuyi the key to my shop in the past.

“Chuyi, Zen Master Baimei.” I stepped forward to greet them. “You both came at the right time!”

“Merciful Buddha.” Zen Master Baimei said, “Old Zhang issued an order. How could I not come?”

“Old Zhang? Do you mean my grandfather?” I was startled.

Zen Master Baimei nodded. “Yes, your grandfather. Chuyi and I already know the story. You should do what you have to do. Chuyi and I will protect you.”

“Did my grandfather talk to you in your dreams?” I was overjoyed. “Who am I fighting this time? Even my grandfather couldn’t defeat it and had his coffin stolen.”

Zen Master Baimei smiled. “It’s just a Ghost King. Don’t worry. It’s not that intimidating. Evil will never defeat goodness. That thing can’t rise against the tide.”

Although Zen Master Baimei said so, I knew that he just wanted to comfort me. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to come here.

However, there was no time to waste. I did as my grandpa had asked and took them to the room he used to stay in.

I had turned his bedroom into a storage room where I kept the antiques. I cleaned the room and located the bed’s position. Then, I started to dig the ground.

Since my house had a thick concrete floor, it wasn’t easy to dig. I had to borrow an electric drill from my neighbor to break the concrete layer before I could dig the soil with a shovel.

After digging for around three meters, I found something.

It was a big, black slate. It was thick and had a rough surface. Many smaller pebbles were inlaid on it. The pebbles were arranged into the word, ‘Subdue.’

It looked very odd.

Grandpa wanted me to unearth this black slate? What can it do?

I cleaned the slate then gently knocked on it, discovering that there was a hollow space underneath it. I thought there might be a small chamber hidden under the slate, so I decided to drill through the rock slab.

The drill had pierced through for around a dozen centimeters, but it did not reach the other end of the slab.

After I drilled it, the slab abruptly broke into half. Since I was standing on it, I lost my foothold and almost fell down.

I threw the electric drill aside to free my hands and support myself. Fortunately, I didn’t fall.

Soon after, my lower body felt cold, just as if I had stepped on an iceberg. It was so cold that my feet went numb…

Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei immediately pulled me up. I lowered my head and saw a deep cave, a dry well to be precise.

It seemed the black slate was used to cover the dry well.

Why did my antique shop have a dry well underneath? Also, why was it so chilly? I could even see white wisps of cold air surge out; it was like a refrigerator.

I looked down but couldn’t see the bottom of the well, only darkness. After a while, the cold air sent a chill to my heart, and I had to retract my head.

I pointed at the deep well. “My grandfather asked me to find something. I guess it’s in this dry well. However, it too deep and strangely cold. It’s hard to get anything up from down there.”

Chuyi contemplated then said, “Huang Tong, go down there and check.”

Then, a strange wind brushed past me.

I couldn’t help but shudder. Who was Chuyi talking to? Was it that young Daoist boy he’s raising? That little boy’s always been here, but I didn’t even notice! 

Shortly after, Chuyi received a reply.

“The Millennial Icy Sword is down there. It’s so cold that it froze the entire underground stream of water. Moreover, the sword’s energy is really sharp. It almost hurt Huang Tong.”

“The Millennial Icy Sword?” I was startled. I had never thought that every corner of my tattered antique shop had hidden treasures… Deep down the dry well was the Millennial Icy Sword.

Still, how could we take it out? This was a big problem.

I immediately thought about the firemen. Since we weren’t professionally trained, we might suffocate if we got down there. It was better to ask the firemen to help us fish up the sword.

However, I couldn’t tell them the truth as they might alert the police; all unearthed treasures belonged to the government.

Left with no choice, I threw a golden ring into the well and made a call to their department. I lied and said that I needed help to retrieve my precious ring worth a million renminbi.

The firemen came with professional equipment to collect items. They dropped down an underwater camera to see the situation in the well.

Through the monitor, I immediately saw the Millennial Icy Sword.

It was shining black and covered in a thick layer of ice. It continuously exuded cold air that swirled in the well.

The golden ring lay next to the Millennial Icy Sword. It was already half-frozen.

I said, “No wonder I’ve never found that sword! It was a piece of art that belonged to my grandfather. Turns out it fell into this deep well. Brothers, please help me bring it up too. Thanks in advance.”

Then, I gave the team leader two thousand renminbi. “Brothers, sorry for troubling you. Please have some drinks later!”

The team leader smiled and received the money. “Don’t worry. It’s just a sword, consider it done!”

Shortly after, they retrieved the Millennial Icy Sword. As soon as it was brought to the surface, the chilly air expanded and filled the room. The temperature dropped sharply, and the fireman who stood closest to the sword had a layer of frost on his gloves.

“Boss, you can save a huge sum of money this summer. This toy can replace the air conditioner in your house,” said the fireman as he smiled.

I smiled awkwardly and said, “Haha, I think it’s the well. It’s too cold.”

After sending the firemen off, I began to assess the icy sword.

The sword had a simple design and a shiny black body. The handle was decorated with a copper coin. It looked common, and the words written on it were unclear due to the rust.

I touched the sword and felt an icy chill. It felt colder than an ice cube!

It was a very intimidating otherworldly item as it was covered in strong Yin energy. It looked absolutely formidable!

I thought that only a great general or an emperor was worthy of this icy sword.

I asked Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei, “Do you know the story of this ancient sword?”

Zen Master Baimei studied the sword then held it in his hand. He said, “From the appearance of this sword, I guess it’s from the Han dynasty. But it’s not easy to guess its owner. Anyway, the cold and sharp energy from the sword is really strong. If we don’t subdue it, it might cause a disaster. We should store it very carefully.”

I knew I didn’t have the ability to subdue the Millennial Icy Sword. “Zen Master Baimei, after we’re done with this matter, let’s take it to your Dabei Temple. We can use the power of Buddha to subdue it.”

Zen Master Baimei nodded.

Then, we all rushed toward the remote village.

From a distance, I saw black clouds hover above the village. The mist had started to appear as well. Although it wasn’t thick, we could see human faces inside it, which made our hearts shiver in fear.

Those were definitely the signs of a great disaster.

When Chuyi lifted his head to look at the black clouds, he sighed. “We’re a little late!”