Otherworldly Merchant

However, the middle-aged man came to me again the next day and I finally understood what had happened. 

It turned out he had used that piece of jade to test me!

I’d used my actions to prove that I wasn’t a swindler. So, the middle-aged man now wanted to introduce me to the real client. 

How arrogant! The feeling of being toyed around was really irritating. But since it was business introduced by the man wearing the Kumamon t-shirt, I could only be patient and endure it.

I didn’t expect that the middle-aged man would take me to the city government office and arrange for me to wait in a reception room. After entering the government complex, my temper cooled. I could see clearly that this matter was related to an important official. It was no wonder why the other party was being so careful and skeptical! 

If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have accepted this business. My grandpa used to teach me that, no matter what, try your best not to provoke or get involved with people from the government. Even if the profits and other advantages are there, the risks will be greater too.

After waiting for around an hour and three rounds of tea, to my surprise, I had calmed down completely as the real client finally arrived. 

The middle-aged man accompanied a bald old man. The old man had a big belly and was wearing an official suit. As soon as he talked, I recognized his authoritative tone. “I’m sorry, my little comrade, I kept you waiting for a long time! I had a lot of work I couldn’t get away from.” 

“Sir, you’re being too polite. You have a lot of governmental work and I’m just a little citizen. I can afford to wait,“ I said. 

“Little comrade, you got good sense.” The old bald man smiled. “Have you ever thought about pursuing a political career?” 

“Thanks for the flattery.” I waved my hand immediately. “But I don’t have the ability. I just try to make ends meet in the city.” 

I didn’t know how long I had been speaking like this, bantering back and forth with him. At some point, I didn’t even know what to say.

Then, the old man finally said, “Little comrade, you’re our distinguished guest. Secretary Ye, prepare a private and quiet room, I want to talk to my distinguished guest.”

The middle-aged man nodded. He made a call and then brought us to a private room in a five-star restaurant. 

On the way there, my heart was filled with anxiety. 

Should I take the commission after I help him solve his problem? If I take his money, would he feel offended? But if I don’t take the money, he might suspect that I would disclose his secrets.

The more I considered, the more worried I became. Eventually, I asked the old man, “Can I invite my partner? He’s also a master in this business.” 

I thought Li Mazi was really good at negotiation and persuasion. In such a situation, he would definitely be able to hold his own. 

At first, the bald old man didn’t agree. However, when he heard that it was my partner, he didn’t object. I immediately called Li Mazi to come down. He didn’t shirk away. To him, it was also a good chance to make a connection with someone in a high position. 

Li Mazi was indeed an experienced boot-licker. We chatted about random stuff for a long time and even finished lunch, but the old man still hadn’t told me the situation that required my assistance. I felt like I was sitting on tenterhooks. Discreetly, I kicked Li Mazi several times under the table. 

Then, Li Mazi began to speak seriously, “Sir, you’ve honestly done many services for the people, it will be our honor to serve you. Please tell us what has troubled you recently.” 

The excitement on the old bald man’s face faded instantly. He sighed then said, “Recently, I don’t know what happened. I always hear buzzing noises and I can’t eat or sleep well… 

“I went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor told me that my body is really healthy with no sign of sickness. He said perhaps it was my long hours and travel that exhausted my mental health, so he prescribed me some medication for my mental health.

“However, even though I took the medication, my situation didn’t get better. The buzzing noise has become louder and more frequent. When I calmed down to listen, guess what I heard?”

I became tense. “What did you hear, sir?”

“It felt like a group of monks chanting in my head. And it was Sanskrit prayers! Sigh, it has been torturing me for days. I can’t sleep and it affects my work during the day.

“If I didn’t consider that this country still needs my old bones, I would have asked for retirement. It’s not easy to work as an official!” The old bald man sighed again.

Li Mazi felt so touched that his eyes teared up. He walked forward and gently gave the old bald man a pat on his back. “Sir, because of us, you’ve worked so hard. Even if we’re to say that you’re the contemporary Kong Fansen [1], it won’t be too excessive.” 

The scene was disgusting to me. Looking at his big belly and this lunch in a five-star restaurant, it seemed he was one of those corrupt officials. However, I wondered if the old bald man’s illness was really related to otherworldly items…

Why did he come to find me? Could it be something to do with the antiques he owned? 

So, I asked him, “Sir, are you carrying something cursed on you?” 

The old man slammed the table loudly, which startled me as I thought I had said something I shouldn’t. 

However, he exclaimed excitedly, “Little comrade, you do have talent. You’ve identified the crux with just one glance.” 

Then, the old man took out a set of Buddhist prayer beads, also called ‘mala’, and placed it on the table. “Little comrade, you see this, yeah? Take a careful look. Is there something strange about these prayer beads?” 

Immediately, I picked up the prayer beads to inspect them closely. 

From the material and the scent, I guessed it was made of black sandalwood. Each bead was carved with the image of a monk sitting cross-legged on one side and some Sanskrit words on the other. It should be a set of Buddhist prayers.

These Buddhist prayer beads were carved meticulously. I could see that the facial expressions of each of the monks carved onto the beads were different. Some looked enraged, some looked happy, some looked greedy with desires, and so on. The prayer beads should be from a very excellent handicraftsman, and it was definitely old. 

In short, these prayer beads had high value.

However, I couldn’t see any hint that it was related to otherworldly items.

No matter what, as it was related to an important government official, I decided it would be better to be cautious. At first, I gave a lot of compliments about the prayer beads. I said, “This mala must be Buddhist prayer beads with the strong mental power of a senior monk in it. It can protect the wearer and repel bad luck. However, if it’s used improperly, there will be side effects. Sir, your merits are well-known, that’s why you will be protected by your citizen’s power of belief. I think that since you have these prayer beads in your hands, it might somewhat contradict the people’s power of belief. Have you ever thought about throwing the prayer beads away?” 

Once an otherworldly item was taken away from the owner, it couldn’t use its power on the owner anymore. As I couldn’t see anything evil in these prayer beads, it would be better to just take them away. Everything would be all right then, right?

However, the old man shook his head. “It won’t work. No matter where I threw the prayer beads or even gave them away, they would stealthily come back. I’ve tried several times…” 

I was startled. Were the prayer beads that evil? They could even fly back and return to its owner!

So I suggested, “All right, let’s do this! Today, please give me the beads. If it does have any problems, I will come up with a solution to deal with it.” 

The bald man was elated. “I can see you are very discerning! Don’t worry, as long as you can help me resolve this, if you need help my help later on, just call me and I’ll try to do my best.”  

It took a while to see him off. I exhaled in relief afterward, balling on my seat. “Li Mazi, you’re really tough. If you don’t work for the government, it will be a big waste.” 

Li Mazi rebuked me in reply, “I don’t want to be like that, it’s life that forced me to. Brother Zhang, have you figured out the origin of the prayer beads?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. We should go back and study them.”

After getting back to my antique shop, I used a magnifying glass to inspect the beads. All kinds of otherworldly items must have had close contact with the deceased, and some were even made of human bones. As long as I observed carefully, I would be able to find some clues!

However, I rolled the beads around and checked with the magnifying glass. I even used fine salt and boiling water, but I did not find anything suspicious. I was skeptical if the prayer beads were a real otherworldly item or not… 

1. http://www.china.org.cn/china/60th_anniversary_people/2009-09/17/content_18547250.htm