Otherworldly Merchant

“When the fatty came to me, his glabella had turned black, and his vitaliy was also weak. I thought that some vengeance-seeking ghost was pestering him and decided to wait beside the villa in the hopes of finding the root of the issue,” said the man in the Kumamon t-shirt.

“Before you guys came yesterday, everything inside the villa was normal. But, as soon as you showed up, ghosts began appearing. I guessed that it might be due to some otherworldly item you had on you that stimulated the ghosts inside the villa. And, it was possible that their deaths were related to said item.”

“Then, when I saw the jade lamp in your hand, I understood everything,” the man in the Kumamon t-shirt continued.

“This jade lamp was probably the cousin’s family heirloom. The fatty knew about the priceless lamp, and he pretended to be a good guy, bringing his cousin’s family to the city to enjoy a good life. However, the truth was that he just wanted to steal the lamp. Then, his cousin probably caught him during the act, and out of embarrassment, the fatty killed both his cousin and sister-in-law. His frightened niece picked up the lamp and ran away to the abandoned school. The fatty followed her and decided to end things. He raped his niece, killed her, and burned her body. Unfortunately, while burning her corpse, he was careless and dropped the lamp in the fire. That’s why the jade lamp looks like it was burned.”

But, when he discovered that the jade lamp was an otherworldly item that would bring endless bad luck to people, he decided to give it away. That’s why he sold it to you,” explained the man in the Kumamon t-shirt.

What he said makes sense...

I wondered, “However, there’s one thing I don’t understand. There are so many shops in that street, so why did the fatty decide to sell it to me?”

The man in the Kumamon t-shirt shook his head. “I don’t know yet. Perhaps that fatty is related to the Longquan Villa.”

Fuck, the Longquan Villa again! 

My heart was in turmoil.

Who did I offend while doing business? Who wants me dead that badly?

I must carefully investigate this matter, but I have to find a way to deal with the jade lamp first. 

So, I asked the mysterious man, “Is there any way to return the jade lamp?”

He hesitated a bit before saying, “That’s easy. In a few days, I’ll secretly place the lamp back in the villa.”

I kept quiet. It turns out that the mysterious man was quite the schemer.

The white cat led us all the way back to the abandoned school.

The iron gate was locked, so we could only leave the car and find a way to climb over the wall.

When the fatty saw the school, his face darkened. He probably had a guilty conscience.

I glared at him, which made him feel awkward. He rushed toward the mysterious man and asked, “Is my niece’s body inside this school?”

The man in the Kumamon t-shirt nodded and jumped over the iron gate, getting into the school. The fatty followed suit, but due to him being fat and slow, he failed several times before succeeding.

I grabbed Yin Xinyue, helping her over the gate before following.

The school had been abandoned for years, and some of the rooms had collapsed already. Weeds grew everywhere, and spiderwebs covered most of the classrooms.

There was no wind, but the weeds were still leaning to one side, and we could also hear an occasional rustling sound.

The mysterious man kept walking forward, following after the cat.

Shortly after, the cat stopped in front of a toilet and sat on the ground, meowing in a mournful way.

The mysterious man stepped forward and looked into the toilet, returning to us immediately after.

There was definitely something inside the toilet. Out of curiosity, I craned my neck to check, getting a fright from what I saw.

There was half a female body inside. The reason I said ‘half’ was because her upper body had been burned until it was unrecognizable. As for her lower body, it was naked and covered with blood. It was truly a shocking sight.

A young, beautiful girl was tortured and killed inside a toilet…

My heart ached.

Yin Xinyue’s face paled from fright. She gritted her teeth and shouted, “If we catch the murderer, we must shoot him dead!”

When the fatty saw the young girl’s body, he cried bitterly. If people didn’t know the inside story, they’d definitely think that he loved his niece and was heartbroken.

Seeing his performance, I felt nauseated and turned my head away.

We put the girl’s corpse into a plastic bag and placed it in the car. Along the way, I didn’t speak much. I suggested a few times to report the matter to the police, but the man in the Kumamon t-shirt refused, saying that it would just cause us more trouble.

Still, I felt sick at the thought of that beast freely roaming around without getting any punishment.

The mysterious man comforted me. “Sooner or later, that guy will be punished for what he’s done.”

After we’d returned, the fatty seemed to be in a good mood. He paid the mysterious man 200,000 renminbi for the job, and even held a funeral for his niece to show how much he cared.

When night fell, the man in the Kumamon t-shirt bid us farewell and carried off the jade lamp.

Over the next few days, I paid special attention to the fatty. The mysterious man had already returned the jade lamp to where it belonged, and I was curious to see if the ghost in the lamp had found the fat guy and taken her revenge.

One week later, something really did happen to him.

I was reading the newspaper like usual when I found an interesting news article.

After reading the story, I couldn’t help but gasp.

A fire of unknown origin had spread in the fatty’s villa, burning him to death.

Experts said that house owner experienced unbearable pain before his death. He’d crawled for ten or so meters while on fire and died right as he was about to reach the doorstep.

That fire… it must be related to the jade lamp. 

A few days later, another news report shook our city.

A white cat would lay in front of a girl’s grave every day, not leaving despite the wind or the rain. It seemed that it really missed its master.

Some people recognized the white cat as the girl’s pet when she was alive, and the story of the ‘white cat repaying the master’s kindness’ began to spread around.

Although cats and dogs weren’t as smart as humans, they’d repay the kindness of their owners even though they were no longer there.

On the other hand, humans wouldn’t hesitate to kill their own relatives under the temptation of wealth and power.

They truly made us feel ashamed of ourselves!