Otherworldly Merchant

“Clang!”

The ear-piercing sounds of metals clashing together echoed.

I checked the uncle’s chest. The Millennial Icy Sword had left a dent on his upper garment, but it didn’t look serious.

I took a deep breath. This gold-jade clothing was really formidable. Chuyi’s previous stab was strong enough to pierce through steel, but it couldn’t damage this thin-looking gold-jade garment.

Terrifying thunderbolts crashed without end. A big fire burned inside the village, and even the rain was unable to put it out.

People screamed and scattered around the village. Cattle and poultries also shrilled in fright. Coupled with the cries of ghosts came from the lake, the scene looked like hell on earth.

However, it further stimulated the uncle, who recovered and started to attack. “All of you must die! I want to take revenge! I’ll do it with my own hands. Haha! You all have to die!”

He had completely lost his mind, and there were only murderous thoughts on his mind. If he killed one person, he’d feel relaxed. If he killed two people, he’d feel even better. That’s why he wanted to kill more and more…

It didn’t look like Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi could handle him anymore, and I couldn’t find an opportunity to join the battle, either. His movements were so fast that we couldn’t lock him down. We could only dodge his attacks and hope to sneak on him.

His twin souls were really formidable. Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi were forced to back off. In the end, they fell to the ground and spurted a mouthful of blood.

The uncle laughed evilly. “Haha, you’re too weak. I trained myself whenever I had free time, and I’ve done that for dozens of years. Do you know how hard I trained during these years? Haha, come at me!”

The uncle suddenly faced the sky and screamed. He threw both of his hands into the air. A lightning strike fell down and hit his body.

When the lightning struck him, electricity sparked and crawled all over his body. He screamed in pain and dropped on one knee. However, he got up shortly after.

Zen Master Baimei sighed and said, “He dares to use heavenly punishment to tame his twin souls. Just how strong is this man?”

Chuyi looked desperate. “He’s too strong. I’m afraid we can’t stop him.”

I retorted, “That might not be the case!”

“What do you mean?” Zen Master Baimei and Chuyi turned to look at me.

I smiled and grabbed the Millennial Icy Sword. “If the Millennial Icy Sword absorbs the energy from the lightning, will it be able to deal with him?”

While the monk and the Daoist priest exchanged looks, I grabbed the icy sword and raised it high in the sky to attract the lightning.

Immediately after, a powerful lightning strike descended from the sky, aiming at the Millennial Icy Sword.

I knew that my body couldn’t resist the heavenly punishment. After I raised the sword to attract lightning, I quickly loosened my grip and rolled away from the attack range.

The Millennial Icy Sword got hit and remained suspended in the air, discharging electricity from time to time.

“That’s a good method.” Zen Master Baimei smiled and said, “Did you already have this plan in mind?”

I said with a smile, “My grandpa just told me.”

When I said that, a shadow slowly detached from the Millennial Icy Sword. It hovered in the air while holding the Millennial Icy Sword. The murderous aura exuding from its body awed all the people present.

“Still insisting on walking on the wrong path, are we?” said the shadow. His voice was ethereal, but it even suppressed the loud thunder.

After hearing the hoarse voice, the uncle couldn’t help but shiver. He worriedly looked at the shadow.

Then, his face began to twist. “It’s been one thousand years, and you’re still this stubborn! Good, we shall put an end to this matter today!”

With that, the uncle dashed toward the Millennial Icy Sword.

The shadow holding the Millennial Icy Sword snorted. “You overestimate yourself.”

Right after, it also sprinted forward. The duo was quickly entangled in a fight. Dust and sand swirled up alongside sparks of electricity and fire.

I stared at the scene and dropped my jaw in shock. They were too incredible, much more intimidating than the characters in Kung Fu movies!

Lightning strikes came one after another, and the village soon turned into a sea of fire. I wondered if Li Mazi and the villagers had left already. 

Anyway, there was a big gap between us and those two, and it was impossible for our group to interfere. Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei directly sat on their spots and chanted some spells to support the shadow.

I opened my eyes wide and tried to understand how the fight was going.

Eventually, after a horrible shrill, three shadows appeared before my eyes. They crashed onto the ground with a loud thud.

One of them was the uncle, and he dug a big hole in the ground as he landed.

At this moment, his body was covered with wounds. The gold-jade garments on his body were also gone.

When I turned to look at the battlefield, I saw that the Millennial Icy Sword had stabbed through the gold-jade garments, pinning them onto the ground and suppressing them with cold air.

As for the other two shadows…

As I had expected, the other two shadows were the twin souls of the uncle, who had now left his body. One of them was my grandpa, and the other was the granny.

The old woman looked really weak as her figure hovered in the air. She looked as though she could vanish at any time.

My grandpa looked better. He stood firmly with his hands clasped behind his back. His face beamed at me.

“Benefactor Zhang, we meet again.” Zen Master Baimei smiled and greeted my grandfather. “Why do you still linger in the mortal world instead of heading to the Netherworld?”

“Haha.” My grandpa said, “This kiddo hasn’t given me a great-grandson yet. How can I leave for the Netherworld just yet?”

I couldn’t help but laugh. My grandpa was dead, but he still wanted to see his great-grandson.

I was so happy that I had tears in my eyes. I walked up to him, then got on my knees. “Grandpa!”

“Kid, get up.” When he saw me, his voice softened. “You’ve finally become an otherworldly merchant. You’re doing well, and you didn’t embarrass our Zhang family.”

I forced a smile. “Grandpa, you’ve never left, right?”

“I’m now a messenger of the Netherworld, and I can freely move in the world of the living. Kid, do you remember what I’ve told you?”

“What is that, grandpa?” I was somewhat confused.

“When that girl gives you a baby, don’t forget to bring him to my grave. Anyway, I’ve used a lot of my energy, and I need to find a good place to rest. Chuyi, please take care of him.” Grandpa waved his hand faintly.

Chuyi nodded and said, “Senior, don’t worry.”

After talking to us, my grandfather left silently.

I had a lot of things I hadn’t told him yet, so I called his name and chased after him.

However, Zen Master Baimei stopped me. “Don’t follow him. His soul is really feeble right now, and he can’t stay with the heavenly punishment here.”

I was gloomy. “Zen Master Baimei, will I meet my grandfather again?”

Zen Master Baimei nodded and said, “Of course. I didn’t expect that he had planned this far. I was really amazed.”

“What’s a messenger of the Netherworld?” I asked.

“As you might know, some people have the ability to peer into the world of the dead,” said the monk. “Your grandfather is the opposite, and he can peer into the world of the living. He can come to our world to deliver messages from the deceased to their families.”

I nodded and still felt pensive. Then, I turned to look at the uncle.

The uncle absentmindedly looked at the gold-jade garments. He looked dejected and wanted to secretly pick up the garments. I rushed to stop him.

I didn’t try to be polite and kicked him away. “You still haven’t accepted your defeat?! You really are shameless!”

The uncle looked desperate. “Why did it come to this? I’ve cultivated for more than forty years, devoting my life to this cause. Is this what I get in exchange? Why are the heavens so blind?!”

Zen Master Baimei brought his palms together in front of his chest. “Merciful Buddha, if you continue to walk on the path of evil, you will never ascend or achieve what you desire. If you had used this obsession to follow a good path, you would have gained great achievements already.”

“You old bastard, it’s all your fault!” fumed the uncle. “If it weren’t for you, how could I fail?!”

“Merciful Buddha, you still refuse to come to your senses. It seems I’ll have to judge you in place of the heavens.” Zen Master Baimei picked up the Millennial Icy Sword and walked toward the uncle, “Benefactor, you should end things by yourself!”

Then, he threw the sword in front of the uncle.