Otherworldly Merchant

I decided not to sell the ink slab for the time being as I had to make sure that the soul living inside was completely gone. It was not only for the safety of my customers, but also to keep my reputation.

But when I returned to my antique shop, I saw a familiar figure squatting in front of my place.

It was the gold-toothed man from the Zhang family.

Why did he come here? Is he trying to lure me into another trap? 

I was still angry at the Zhang family for using me. I couldn’t believe that this bastard was squatting in front of my door!

Li Mazi couldn’t contain his anger, either. He clenched his teeth and stormed forward. He grabbed the gold-toothed man’s collar and glared at him. “You little bastard, how you dare come here!”

The gold-toothed man closed his eyes and said differently, “If hitting me can help vent your anger, please do it—”

Before he could finish, Li Mazi had already punched him. “Did you really think that I wouldn’t hit you?”

The gold-toothed man screamed and covered his swollen face. “Crap, you really hit me! My jaw!”

I gave Li Mazi a thumbs up. “Nice hit!”

The gold-toothed man forced a smile. “Young Master, I thought you would see the big picture and not concern yourself over these small details. We had to do what we did in order to protect our remaining branches. It was the only way to stop the Longquan Villa from destroying our Zhang family.”

I shot him a glance. “I’m not a three-year-old.”

Then, I ignored him and walked into my antique shop.

The gold-toothed man hurried to catch up to me and entered the shop.

Actually, I understood why the Zhang family had to do that. After putting myself in their shoes, if I were the head of the Zhang family, I wouldn’t hesitate to do the same.

It was akin to making a small sacrifice to maximize the profits.

Since Chuyi had joined our side, we could somewhat suppress the Longquan Villa’s momentum. Otherwise, given our bad relationship, a horrible fight would break out.

If that happened, even if the Zhang family wasn’t eradicated, several branches would be destroyed, and our thousand-year-long legacy would be gone. Let alone the Zhang family, I would also feel sad. Moreover, the grudge between the Longquan Villa and I ran deep. I was very likely on their hit list.

The Zhang family’s plan not only harmed the Longquan Villa, but it also dragged Chuyi into this battle, which made me feel happy and relieved.

However, I couldn’t bear the fact that I was used. I had to vent out this anger.

Although the gold-toothed man tried his best to explain, I still wore a cold face. As I was ignoring him, the gold-toothed man kept ranting.

“All right, all right. Stop talking.” I was really annoyed, so I had to stop him. “Tell me, why have you come here?”

The gold-toothed man said, “Our Zhang family isn’t that despicable. Since we know that we offended you last time, I’m here to apologize.”

“Tch, tch.” Li Mazi smirked and said in a mocking tone, “Are you going to apologize with words alone?”

“Of course not,” answered the gold-toothed man. “I’ve brought along a generous gift.”

Li Mazi and I assessed the gold-toothed man from head to toe. We didn’t see anything on his person that could be a ‘generous gift.’

“What is it?”

The gold-toothed man explained, “Don’t misunderstand. We know that you two are men with virtues. Even if we were to give you money, you wouldn't want it. Also, you could just earn that much by yourselves.”

“How do you know that we wouldn’t want it?” I sneered. “We’ll gladly accept your money. If you haven’t brought money with you, get the heck out of here.”

The gold-toothed man gave a wry smile. I guessed he didn’t expect that I had learned to be thick-skinned like Li Mazi.

“Anyway, we want to buy that ink slab, and we can buy it for five times the market price. Besides, I’m going to offer you a business deal. Not only will you receive the payment from the client, but we will also give you a big bonus. This is a big act of generosity.”

I glanced at the gold-toothed man. “Are you really that kind? No, I’m not going to accept it. Who knows if it’s a trap again.”

The gold-toothed man looked reluctant. “Young Master, this time, we have no ulterior motives! We feel ashamed of our previous actions, so please receive this generous gift.”

I looked at Li Mazi to see his opinion. Actually, I was a little moved as I hadn’t had a case in a few months. I did need the money.

Li Mazi’s situation wasn’t better than mine. After considering things, he proposed a neutral solution. “All right, show us your goodwill first. Buy the ink slab to show us your good intentions. Then, we will consider whether we should accept the case.”

The gold-toothed man hesitated then nodded. “Okay. Young Master, name a price.”

“You told me you’ll buy it five times the market price. The market price is around five hundred thousand, so it should be two million and five hundred thousand renminbi. However, I’ll give you some face and take two million only.”

Although this price was a rip-off, the gold-toothed man didn’t bargain. He gave us a nod, then called his family. One minute later, we received the payment.

“You received the money, right? When will you depart?”

I chuckled. “Did I agree to go? I just finished a case, so I’m going to have a vacation.”

The gold-toothed man was so anxious that he almost cried. “Young Master, please. If you don’t accept this mission, I will be punished when I get home. I’ve sent you the money already…”

“I said I’m tired. You should leave.” I closed my shop and prepared to get a good sleep.

The gold-toothed man hurried to block my door. “Young Master, are you trying to push me into a pit of fire?”

“Don’t try to act clever in front of me. I can accept the case, but you have to tell me all the details. I want to know what could happen at the worst and what traps lie ahead.” My eyes sparkled as I spoke.

“But there’s no trap this time. How can I tell you about it if it doesn’t even exist?”

“Then, you better create one, because I’m not going to accept the case otherwise,” I told him coldly. “I’m giving you three seconds. After three seconds, I’ll pay you no more attention.”

I started to count down. “Three… Two…”

“All right, don’t count, don’t count! Sigh, I have a headache now. Let me think about it… Okay, I’m going to tell you. You two really got me.” The gold-toothed man began to sweat and eventually lost his balance, landing on his butt.

I opened the door with a smile. “That’s more like it. Now, spit it out.”

“Actually, it’s not a big deal. However, it’s related to your grandfather, and our Zhang family finds it inconvenient to get involved.”

“What?” I was startled. “My grandfather? How could it be related to my grandfather? Tell me the details.”

The gold-toothed man nodded.

The client this time was one of the Zhang family’s old clients. When my grandfather was still working under the Zhang family in Jiangbei, he had been in charge of this client.

However, when my grandfather had a fight with the Zhang family, they had snatched this client from him.

When they snatched his client, my grandfather warned the Zhang family about the danger of that otherworldly item. He couldn’t subdue it, only seal it. Around fifteen years later, that otherworldly item would break the seal. And, except for him, no one could seal it again. He hoped that the Zhang family would consider this matter.

However, the Zhang family was blinded by the benefits. They didn’t believe him and thought that he was trying to deceive them.

Unexpectedly, fifteen years later, that otherworldly item really broke the seal and wounded four experts of the Zhang family!

The Zhang family was ready to let go of the case, but the client’s family was really powerful. If they chose to ignore the case, they would be in big trouble.

Left with no choice, they came to me. They thought that my grandpa had taught me how to seal the otherworldly item and wanted to see if I could help them!