Otherworldly Merchant

Shortly after I collapsed, the door sprang open. However, no one entered the cottage; I knew they were checking on us. If we got up now, they would know we weren’t unconscious and would close the door immediately.

Since we didn’t move, people started to flood in. They talked to one another in low voices.

“Mr. Secretary, is this really all right?”

“Of course it is.” It was Old Zhao’s voice. “Otherwise, do you want to be the one to die? If we sacrifice the two of them, we can save the entire village. Which option do you think is better?”

“What if they are really capable? Perhaps they can deal with those damn crystals and no one will be killed.”

“You fool, these two are nothing but kids. Do you really think they are some experts? Perhaps they will drag down our entire village with them. I would rather make them die now.”

Then, they lifted us up and took us out of the cottage.

Although my consciousness was blurry and I couldn’t properly understand their conversation, I could pick out keywords and phrases like, ‘crystals’ and ‘save the entire village.’

Those crystals were probably the Corpse Scattered Essence. As for the sentence ‘saving the entire village’, it seemed they already knew that the ancient tomb wanted to kill them all.

The more I thought about it, the colder my heart became. I was pretty sure that Uncle Duan wanted to use these people to kill us!

I felt that they put me inside something narrow and made of wood. After they laid me down, I tried to open my eyes. I was shocked to see that it was actually a coffin.

My vision was blurred, and I couldn’t see the real shape of the coffin. However, I could smell the faint aroma that exuded from it.

Since I took over the otherworldly merchant business from my grandfather, I had to deal with many real antiques. Old wooden items belonged to one of the categories in the antique trade. From the faint aroma I had just smelled, this wooden material could possibly be gold-threaded cedarwood!

The bottom of the coffin wasn’t even, and I felt like I was touching something very cold. I grabbed it and tried to take a look at it under the pale moonlight. They were granular crystals.

This must be the rumored Corpse Scattered Essence... This freaking coffin is filled with Corpse Scattered Essence! 

If Uncle Duan wanted the Corpse Scattered Essence, he could have just sent two guys here and gotten a lot of it! Why did he send us here to die?!

While I was fuming, a red figure appeared in my vision.

I was startled. My eyes shot open, but the red figure was already gone.

I was too focused on the Corpse Scattered Essence earlier, so I didn’t really pay attention to my surroundings. However, I felt that the red figure should be a woman wearing a red dress.

I knew that the woman in red would return, so I tried to keep my eyes open.

I waited and watched my surroundings; soon after, the red figure returned and hovered above my head.

It didn’t seem like the villagers could see her. They held the coffin and continued to move forward.

I carefully studied the figure. She was actually a beautiful woman wearing ancient clothes.

She had white teeth and pink lips. Her long hair blew in the wind while her red silk clothes swirled, which gave her a delicate and exquisite appearance.

She hovered and looked down at me, gazing at me with her crystal-clear eyes. A moment later, she smiled and started to press on me.

What is she doing? Is she a ghost or a fairy?

I had worked as an otherworldly merchant for many years, but I’d never seen such a breath-taking female ghost. Whether it was her aura or beauty, they were out of this world.

Anyway, no matter how beautiful she was, I knew we lived in different worlds. We shouldn’t have direct contact with one another. I immediately grabbed the coffin and tried to get up.

However, my strength hadn’t recovered yet. The ghost pressed onto me and almost suffocated me. Moreover, I couldn’t even scream for help. Only God knew what these folks would do to me if they knew I was wide awake.

The female ghost gently landed on me. She didn’t move further and just reached her hand to pat my shoulder.

I was startled. What is she doing? Is she comforting me? 

Right after that, she parted her succulent, red lips, and showed her tongue. Gently, her tongue brushed my lips. The tingling, cold sensation was really comfortable. It was so comfortable that I forgot to fight back.

A tender tongue began to wreak havoc in my mouth. Her playful expression was intoxicating. I forgot everything else and sank into this passionate moment.

Then, my throat felt frozen. But soon after, this cold sensation was shooed away by a warm flow. The soft tongue disappeared and was replaced by some grains and a sharp twinge of pain.

I immediately spat the thing in my mouth. When I saw the grains, I gawked in shock.

It was the Corpse Scattered Essence! I was really embarrassed after thinking about how I was seduced. I knew that it was the Corpse Scattered Essence’s doing. That substance was truly mysterious.

Through the corner of my eye, I examined my surroundings. I saw a red figure that hovered above the coffin next to mine. After floating in the air for a while, it slowly sank into Li Mazi’s coffin.

My heart started to race. Li Mazi wouldn’t be able to deal with that woman in the red dress. Even if he woke up, he would happily have a sensual time with her. If he swallowed the Corpse Scattered Essence, that lousy man would never wake up again!

How could I save him?

At this moment, that warm flow was still spreading in my body. I reached and found the source of the warmth. It was my Peach Soul Flower.  

Oh right, the Peach Soul Flower! How could I have forgotten about it? 

I took the Peach Soul Flower out. At this moment, the flower produced a faint pink halo. That glow had helped me expel the female ghost.

I cheered up and hastily threw the Peach Soul Flower into Li Mazi’s coffin.

I hoped that the villagers wouldn’t see it. If they spotted the flower and saw that we weren’t harmed by the red-dressed ghost, they would beat us up to death.

Lucky for us, the villagers didn’t notice the flower. They still carried the coffins and moved forward.

“Girl, don’t go. Please don’t go.”

While I was restlessly worried, I heard Li Mazi’s voice come from the coffin. I was startled. This pervert will never change! 

Anyway, we were in trouble now. This time, the folks would definitely notice that something was amiss.

I didn’t care anymore and shot up from the coffin. I called, “Li Mazi, you got us into trouble this time!”

Li Mazi wore a perplexed face and looked around. Then, he looked at me and asked while trembling, “Little Brother Zhang, you… Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“What?” I lowered my head to check. Immediately after, I gawked in shock.

Behind our coffins was a delegation of more than one hundred people. It seemed all the villagers were here.

All of them wore mourning clothes. The first row had two people, both of whom wore a red-and-white rose on their chests.

In addition, all of them held their heads up high and had white crystals in their wide open mouths. Without a doubt, those granular crystals were the Corpse Scattered Essence.

The villagers seemed to be in daze. After every three steps, they stopped, looked upward, and prayed. Then, they continued to move forward.

They kept repeating these actions over and over again.

They were bewitched by the Corpse Scattered Essence. I was sure they weren’t even aware of their behavior.

“Jump! Little Brother Zhang, quick!” Li Mazi called, “If we don’t jump, we will die!”

I turned to look in the distance. We were headed to the Heavenly Dragon Lake. The people carrying our coffins were actually stepping into the water. The water level was now at their knees.

Without waiting for me, Li Mazi jumped out of the coffin. “Little Brother Zhang, what are you waiting for? Jump before they notice!”

I took a deep breath and said with a lump in my throat. “But… If we leave like that, these folks will be in danger, right?”

“Who cares!” Li Mazi screamed, “Why are you still thinking about these people when they wanted your life?! They were ready to sacrifice you. You don’t need to care about them!”

I took a deep breath and said, “Li Mazi, go home and contact Chuyi. I’ll stay here.”

Li Mazi looked at me in disbelief. He gritted his teeth and said, “You… You are really hopeless!”