Otherworldly Merchant

Li Mazi's hometown was in Kaifeng County, Henan Province. Since we went there just a short while ago, I more or less knew the road.

His parents had died long ago, and the only relative he had there was his second aunt.

Therefore, when we went over, I made sure to bring along a bag of nutrient food, which moved second aunt's family to tears. They begged us to stay and have dinner with them, but we politely refused.

Li Mazi knew that the village wasn't in a good condition, and the hygiene was also lacking. While heading over there, we brought quite a lot of fast food, instant noodles, instant rice, and so on.

After eating in the car, we went directly to the place of that sluggard.

At this time, the sun was already setting, and we didn't have much time left.

Anyway, that sluggard was someone worthy of his name. He wore tattered clothes, had disheveled hair, and the room was a mess. There wasn't even enough space to stand.

But, the most disgusting thing was the stench in the room, which assailed my nostrils and forced me to cover my nose.

Li Mazi stood in the courtyard and cursed. However, the sluggard only laughed foolishly and said, "Brother Li, don't curse. I've already gotten used to this smell. If you were to send me to live in a big city, I would also feel out of place."

After seeing that Li Mazi wanted to curse some more, I stopped him and said, "Let's get down to business and take a look at that blue and white porcelain first."

The sluggard had placed the blue and white porcelain in the bedroom. We lifted the door curtain and took a look at it.

On the surface, this blue and white porcelain wasn't much different from an ordinary set of porcelain. It had a bluish color, was sparkling, and emitted an ancient aura. It was smooth and shiny, and I could tell at a glance that it was a good piece.

However, if one looked more carefully, they would discover that there was something strange about this blue and white porcelain.

From childhood all the way to adulthood, I’d never heard or seen of such blue and white porcelain!

Protruding square-shaped patterns were present all over the body of this blue and white porcelain. The dense patterns covered its body, just like the scales of a snake.

In addition, its upper part was very thick, while the lower part rather thin—completely the opposite of ordinary sets of blue and white porcelain.

How could this thing be described?

It was like a child with a big head and teeth growing all over the body.

I took a deep breath, and stench in the room assailed my nostrils, making me cough. I’d more or less guessed what the deal with this blue and white porcelain was.

This type of human-shaped blue and white porcelain was called 'Blue Head'.

Generally speaking, there were two reasons that would lead to the creation of such blue and white porcelain.

First reason: It was manufactured with the usage of human organs, bone ashes, and similar things, which would be later mixed to form the raw earthenware and then placed in the kiln to bake. This type of blue and white porcelain was used to commemorate the dead, hoping that they would stay in this world forever, just like the porcelain.

Second reason: During the baking process, the body of the porcelain would frequently get slightly deformed due to the high temperature. Then, some artisans living in an 'ivory tower' would seal themselves and the blue and white porcelain into an earthen kiln, using the last moments of their lives to perfectly preserve the shape of the porcelain.

Each time an artisan used their body to manufacture a set of blue and white porcelain, the resulting product would be of extremely high quality.

Regardless of the type of blue and white porcelain, they would end up absorbing the soul of the deceased during the baking process, turning it into an otherworldly item.

I stretched out my hand, placing it into the blue and white porcelain before gently stroking the internal wall.

Surely enough, it was different from other types of blue and white porcelain. The internal wall wasn't smooth and felt rough to the touch. The craftsmanship was by no means good. Therefore, I excluded the second possibility. This blue and white porcelain was likely made from human ashes.

After I explained the situation, the sluggard was at first dumbfounded, and then shouted, "How is this possible? Who would be so crazy as to use human ashes to manufacture a set of blue and white porcelain?"

Li Mazi said impatiently, "If he said this is the case, it has to be it. Do you think yourself to be as knowledgeable as him?"

The sluggard no longer spoke. He only looked at the blue and white porcelain with a gaze filled with fear.

Li Mazi asked, "What should we do this evening?"

I kept silent for a moment and then walked toward the entrance to smoke, saying calmly, "The most important thing to do right now is to find out how those wounds appeared on his body. As such, we’re staying overnight..."

After hearing my words, Li Mazi immediately became nervous. "If you want to stay over, stay by yourself. I would rather sleep in a pigpen than this place!"

"Alright," I said with a smile. "In that case, you can forget about seeing even a cent."

Li Mazi sighed deeply, and then said, "Okay, you win."

I felt that staying in the same room as the sluggard wasn't too wise. First, we would likely get discovered by the otherworldly item. Second, it was definitely not worth the effort if we got injured.

So, after inspecting the house of the sluggard, Li Mazi and I decided to go on the roof and keep an eye on everything happening from there.

It was somewhat cold there. As such, Li Mazi borrowed two quilts from his second aunt. We wrapped the quilts around our bodies and removed a few tiles from the roof, starting to watch carefully.

Very soon, the sky darkened.

The village was extremely quiet, and the caw of a crow could be heard once in a while, which made us feel very uncomfortable.

Then, I took out the onion I’d prepared beforehand and squeezed out its juice, sprinkling it on the quilts.

Li Mazi asked, "What are you doing?"

"Onion juice can cover up positive life-energy, preventing us from getting discovered," I replied.

The sluggard was eating steamed buns alongside stringy salted vegetables, seemingly enjoying the meal a lot. From time to time, he would raise his head and look at us, revealing a row of yellow teeth and asking us if we wanted to eat as well.

Seeing his disgusting appearance really made me feel like throwing up. I was quite confused in my heart... the man was clearly still young. As such, how had he fallen to this point? Even if he went to the city to do odd jobs, his condition would be much better than his current one.

I really couldn't understand that person.

Anyway, forget it. Everyone had their own aspirations, and there was no need for me to manage a sluggard.

Time passed, and the sluggard finally got in bed, preparing to sleep. When he took off his shoes, he released a deadly smell.

At this time, I didn't even dare to blink my eyes in fear of missing any important details.

However, the sluggard slept very soundly, and he didn't even toss and turn much during his sleep. Up until one o'clock in the morning, nothing happened.

Li Mazi yawned repeatedly, and said, "Little Brother Zhang, from the looks of it, nothing is happening tonight. Should we also sleep in the car a little?"

I said to Li Mazi, "Let's wait some more. The period between 11 PM and 1 AM just ended, so it's pretty normal that that thing didn't cause trouble yet. Actually, negative energy is at its strongest when the sun is about to rise in the morning, with the yang ready to overtake the yin. I feel that that period of time will be the most dangerous..."

Li Mazi steeled himself and nodded.

Then, we endured until 3 AM, and the sound of grinding finally echoed in the room.

I saw that the good-for-nothing Li Mazi had unexpectedly fallen asleep. I quickly slapped him awake.

Just as Li Mazi was about to say something, I covered his mouth and pointed downward, hinting to him that there was something going on in the bedroom.

When we looked downward, both of us were stunned.

Without us noticing, the sluggard had gotten up and was staring at us, the upper half of the body naked.

I was sure that he was definitely looking at us!

He gnashed his teeth, and his facial features twisted like that of a malicious ghost. The grinding sound just now was caused by his teeth grinding together.

While we were looking at each other, the corner of the sluggard's mouth rose, and he revealed a strange smile. Next, he stretched out his hand and grabbed his back.

In the next moment, five bloody holes appeared on his back!

After taking another look at his back, we discovered that it was covered in scratches, with most of them still having to heal.

My heartbeat sped up. The scene in front of me was simply too bloody!

I felt that I couldn't sit by and watch, because the sluggard was seemingly suffering from an unbearable itch. He was continually scratching himself, without any signs of stopping.

Just as I was about to go down and save him, Li Mazi screamed.

I was startled and hurriedly moved some tiles aside, looking downward. But, what I saw next almost made me fall from the roof!