Otherworldly Merchant

I was really puzzled. We were here to help Zhang Ai, but why did she sound so annoyed when she answered us?

Soon after, a girl dressed in casual clothes and flip flops descended the building. She looked really cute and had a slender build. Her feet were especially eye-catching.

The girl rolled her eyes at me and asked, “Did that group of weirdos send you?”

What weirdos?

I was surprised, but I reacted quickly. She was probably talking about the people from the Zhang family.

I nodded.

The girl helplessly waved her hand and said, “Come in! Sigh, why do they have to send so many people? They are really exaggerating.”

I could tell that this girl didn’t believe in the supernatural. The fact that the Zhang family was sending more people to help her investigate the otherworldly item case was simply excessive to her.

Even Li Mazi got the same impression. “Hey Miss, it seems you don’t believe in the supernatural, right? On the way up here, I saw two bloody little ghosts sitting on your balcony. If you don’t believe in evil spirits, I can open your Yin and Yang eye tonight and let you see what a ghost look like.”

“You really like to talk big, don’t you?” Zhang Ai rolled her eyes at Li Mazi. “Why don’t you try to guess which apartment is mine?”

"Number 314.” Li Mazi continued, “I can tell from the aura on your body. That was too easy.”

Zhang Ai was startled. “You... How did you know that? I didn’t tell them my address. Did you investigate me before coming here?”

“Of course not.” I cooperated with Li Mazi and said, “The document we got didn’t even have your home address.”

Then, I showed Zhang Ai the document the gold-toothed man had given me.

Zhang Ai glanced at the document and seemed to be convinced. However, she was still skeptical. “I know that you’re deliberately trying to be mysterious. However, how is it possible for ghosts to exist? If a person becomes a ghost after they die, why do so many murders survive? This world would have already become a quiet place if ghosts could take revenge!”

I couldn’t help but smile. It was pointless to tell her the reason as she wouldn’t believe us until she saw things first-hand.

I glanced at Li Mazi, who understood what I meant. “Oh hey, please excuse me. I need to get some food.”

As for Zhang Ai’s words… It was usually not possible for resentful ghosts to take the lives of their murderers. Firstly, one’s life and death were already determined. Secondly, when criminals killed people, they would accumulate evil energy. This energy could intimidate ordinary ghosts, so it was hard for the ghosts of the victims to take revenge.

Zhang Ai brought us to the third floor and then into her apartment. Her apartment was cozily decorated in a pink color. She had dolls, teddy bear clocks for display. Every corner of this apartment had the cuteness of a girl’s room.

A girl that appeared to be a stern officer had arranged her room in such a cute manner. I was somewhat speechless…

She glared at me as if she knew what I was thinking about. She snarled, “What? Is it your first time seeing such a beautiful apartment? I’m warning you, don’t casually touch my things. You can stay in the room next to mine. After I solve this case, I’ll finally be promoted. You’ll soon witness the female version of Conan.”

Then, she turned around to leave.

I couldn’t hold in my laughter and wondered where she got her confidence. I thought she was like a newborn calf that wasn’t afraid of tigers.

“Do not let her go out alone,” said Senior Shu. “This little girl’s glabella has turned dark, and her eyes lack focus. Moreover, I can sense strong death energy on her nape! If she goes out, something bad will happen to her. If she gets involved in a car accident, it would be very troublesome.”

I hurried to stop Zhang Ai. “Hey, stop! You can’t go out.”

“Why?” Zhang Ai snapped back and glared at me.

She was already displeased earlier. Now, she was truly enraged.

I opened my mouth and said, “You have a dark—”

“You fool, I have dark circle under my eyes because I stayed up late last night! I’m going out now. I’ll get mad if you try to stop me!” Then, she pushed the door open and prepared to leave.

Left with no choice, I used my body to block the entrance. “Miss, why don’t you calm down a little? What if something happens to you? How are we supposed to explain it to the Zhang family?”

Zhang Ai stamped her feet and threatened to call the police.

I could only take a step back. “If you really want to go out, I’ll have to go with you.”

Left with no choice, Zhang Ai finally agreed.

“Senior Shu, do you want to come with us?” I asked.

“No. Moreover, you guys will be coming back very soon.”

Sure enough, Senior Shu was right. We couldn’t even leave the building that we were forced to come back. Zhang Ai’s luck was terrible, and she had an accident along the way.

While descending the stairs, her heel broke. She tripped and rolled down the stairs; she hit her head and started bleeding. As if that wasn’t enough, the buttons on her chest also opened, which exposed her bra.

When I saw her bouncing ‘bunnies,’ I was amused and felt like laughing. This girl was petite, but her bosom was huge.

Senior Shu gave Zhang Ai a smile. “See? You didn’t listen to the old man and suffered a loss.”

Zhang Ai glared at Senior Shu. “Shut up! It happened because you kept saying inauspicious things!”

Senior Shu shrugged. “Little girl, you sure have a temper. If you want to keep suffering losses, please do.”

Zhang Ai glared at Senior Shu again. She was so angry that her face turned red and her eyes watery. It looked as if she was about to cry.

I felt that we had gone too far. I wanted to comfort Zhang Ai, but she stomped her feet and charged into her room. She didn’t want to talk to us any longer.

After Zhang Ai returned to her bedroom, someone knocked on the door. Li Mazi was back.

I smiled at him. “How did the preparations go?”

Li Mazi nodded. “Don’t worry, everything is fresh.”

I nodded and brought Li Mazi and Senior Shu to the other room to rest.

From time to time, I knocked on Zhang Ai’s door as I wanted to ask about the Wordless Heavenly Book. However, she didn’t answer.

I couldn’t do anything but sigh. I’m sorry. We didn’t want to scare you, but we can only use this method to save you!

When I returned to the room next door, I asked Li Mazi, “How did you know that Zhang Ai lived in this apartment?”

“It’s simple. There was a police uniform hung at the balcony of No. 314. Even an idiot could spot it.”

I smiled. When it came to power of observation, I was far behind Li Mazi. Using Buddhist terms, he had an ‘all-seeing mind.’ It was believed that such people were very suitable to become Buddhists.

If Li Mazi practiced Buddhism, he would definitely achieve something. However, if he was asked to fast and stay away from meat, wine, and women, he would rather kill himself.

As the time approached, I asked Li Mazi to open his bag. There were two willow twigs, two bottles of sorghum liquor, some ox hairs, and broken spider webs.

I poured the liquor into two glasses and stirred them with a willow twig before placing them in front of Zhang Ai’s bedroom. The ox hairs were mixed with the spider webs and placed from her room to the balcony.

To enhance the effect, Senior Shu even put a blood jade on the balcony, which had the power to attract evil creatures. It could greatly amplify the effects of our Ghost Summoning Formation.

Soon after, the Ghost Summoning Formation worked. The wind howled crazily outside, and the windows clanged. However, the mix of ox hairs and spider webs didn’t move a bit.

Something’s coming! I looked through the peephole.

The strange wind outside reached the balcony and vanished shortly after. Then, two shadows silently headed towards us!