Otherworldly Merchant

Elder Brother Yan Liang clenched his teeth and said, "It was that road-blocking ghost again! I was driving when I suddenly saw a woman in white lying in the middle of the road. I panicked and my first thought was to run her over, but I didn't expect a giant python to come out of the ditch and hit me with its tail, making the tractor crash into a big tree."

Then, he looked solemnly at Fourth Uncle. "Fourth Uncle, we have to find a way to deal with this matter. That road-blocking ghost has already caused enough damage to the village! All the investors were frightened away, and we are getting poorer and poorer..."

Fourth Uncle squatted at the entrance and took out a cigarette. After he finished smoking, he threw the cigarette butt on the ground and said, "It seems we have to resort to violence! You just think about recovering from your injuries. Tomorrow, we'll gather the villagers and go look for that snake."

"Our honored guest here cut off its tail, and I'm sure it didn't go far. We can easily find it by following the blood trail."

However, I had the feeling that Fourth Uncle was jumping the gun. Wasn't our top priority to determine whether the python was friend or foe?

If a python hurt other animals, it could only be for one reason—hunger. However, not only the python didn't eat those people, but it even saved them. There was definitely more to this.

I wanted to discuss this matter further with Fourth Uncle, but Yin Xinyue grabbed the hem of my clothes and shook her head.

I knew that the people of the Dai Clan were riled up and that I would be isolated if I said too much. Therefore, I could only swallow back the words I was about to say.

Fourth Uncle and the others finished their meeting and went from house to house to notify the others. The plan was to gather all the young villagers tomorrow morning and go hunting for the python in the forest.

They were convinced that the python was the physical manifestation of the road-blocking ghost, and as long as they killed it the ghost would also disappear.

Since I had cut the tail of the python, Fourth Uncle publicly gave me a silver medal with the words 'Men Xi' engraved on it.

Yin Xinyue later explained that the silver medal was only for the bravest person in the village. It belonged to one of the ancestors of the Dai Clan and had been passed down from generation to generation. The words 'Men Xi' meant 'Warrior' when translated into modern Chinese. According to the legend, that ancestor was a hunter and he once killed an undead that caused trouble to the village.

The villagers held him in high esteem, and they forged this silver medal as a gift to him. Later, this medal was passed down from generation to generation.

I felt guilty carrying the medal, and I was angry at myself for being rash and hurting the python earlier.

I pondered for the whole day, but I was unable to come up with an idea. When I woke up the next day, I felt dizzy.

Upon opening my eyes, I saw that Li Mazi was glaring at me while holding colorful flowers, several clothes of the Dai Clan, and a small bag.

I couldn't help but laugh as I asked, "Are you going to worship Buddha so early in the morning? What are you doing with all that stuff?"

Li Mazi cursed at me, "Little Brother Zhang, you're going overboard now! Is Yin Xinyue not enough for you? Now you even want to steal my woman?"

I was puzzled and thus asked Li Mazi, "What are you talking about?"

He cast aside the things he was holding and paid me no more attention.

Later, I discovered that I had become the hero of every girl in the Dai Clan—courtesy of the silver medal I was awarded. The girls there liked neither handsome boys nor rich men, but they loved warriors.

As a result, Yin Xinyue also started to get jealous, stating that I was really good at picking up girls. I didn't have the time to get into it with her, so I told her not to overthink things. I would return the gifts and tell them that I had a girlfriend. Yin Xinyue said, "That's more like it."

When I exited the room, I saw a dozen young men standing at the entrance. They had bare arms and were holding all types of weapons, hoes, hunting knives, and so on.

Fourth Uncle stood at the front of the group. "I won't bother listing all the evil things that the python has done to our village. All of you should already know..."

"Hmph, let's kill it!" someone shouted. "That thing ate my rabbits!"

"My grandfather once got into an accident due to that road-blocking ghost. Now, he's unable to go to the fields and work!"

"When I was a kid, I saw that python slip into a coffin and eat the corpse inside..."

Fourth Uncle waved his hand, indicating for everyone to calm down. "What we are going to do this time is very dangerous. If any of you don't want to go, you can leave now. I won't force you to come."

However, none of those present budged.

"Very well! Let’s make things clear. As soon as you see that thing, go for the kill. Otherwise, it might eat you. Don't show any mercy, got it?"

"Got it!" The young men repeated one after another.

Then Fourth Uncle turned to look at me. He walked over and patted my shoulder. "Warrior, you can also come with us. You are the first to truly injure the python, a hero to our people."

At the same time, he gave me a special hunting knife of the Dai Clan.

I knew that I could not back down. If I decided not to go, the people present would surely fly into a rage.

I had no choice but to accept the hunting knife.

Everyone was looking at me with gazes full of admiration.

I coughed and said, "That python is very dangerous, and I feel it would be best to prepare something to scare it off. If things go out of control, we can force it to flee, which is still better than suffering casualties."

Fourth Uncle said, "Don't worry, we are prepared. We have realgar powder and German shepherds with us. Do you feel that there is still something missing?"

"Maybe torches? Did you prepare any?" I asked.

"Ah, silly me!" Fourth Uncle smacked his forehead. "You're right. Snakes are most afraid of fire. You guys head back to get some torches. If things get out of control, we can burn the snake on the spot."

I heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily Fourth Uncle listened to my words.

I had no intention of harming the python, and this was the reason I asked them to bring torches. Snakes were afraid of fire, so it would definitely run away as soon as it saw us coming at it with torches.

Given how fast the python was, it would be very difficult for us to catch up to it.

After preparations were complete, we set out, arriving at the dirt road at the entrance of the village. There, we started following the traces the python had left while escaping.

Even though it was daytime, entering the nearby luxuriant forest was enough to make one shudder. The trees were taller than what I had initially imagined, and the deeper we went, the taller the trees.

The lighting was scarce even though it was daytime. And the dew and the morning fog further complicated our trip.

We followed the blood trail and entered the depths of the forest. However, the trail got fainter as we advanced, completely disappearing at some point.

In my heart, I was hoping to not find any clues.

However, Fourth Uncle was an expert when it came to catching snakes, and he knew their habits. He lay down and sniffed carefully. Then, he told us to keep moving forward. The smell was still fresh, which meant the python was nearby.

I started to get uneasy. I didn't expect Fourth Uncle to be that skilled. He was able to find the snake's trail just from the smell.

Unfortunately, our chances of finding the python had increased now...

Everyone except me was excited.

I was well-aware of how dangerous pythons could be. I once read online that a python had easily killed two animal keepers in a foreign country.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as I hoped. As we followed the trail and entered the depths of the forest, Fourth Uncle crouched and sniffed again. Then, he found the carcass of a hare in a nearby patch of grass.

The carcass had been torn into two. Fourth Uncle examined the wound and said in excitement, "It was the python! The wound matches a python's bite!"

Everyone prepared for battle. They held their weapons tight and started to search for the snake's hiding place.