Otherworldly Merchant

Chuyi said coldly, “So it was them.”

I felt a little depressed for a while. “Why the Longquan Villa again?”

“I heard it’s because of the Myriad Corpse Lamp. I don’t know the details,” said the old man.

The Myriad Corpse Lamp? I took a deep breath. It was just an otherworldly item. Why did that organization want to kill me over it?

Chuyi did not want the old man to say too much. He threw him a glare, which made him shut his mouth.

If the mysterious man didn’t want me to know, I wouldn’t ask further. I just asked him, “How should I deal with the golden silk quilt tonight?”

Chuyi furrowed his brows. “Do you know who the owner of that quilt is?”

I shook my head.

“It belongs to a prostitute in the Ming Dynasty. Her name was Liu Rushi,” the man explained. “I’m guessing you already know her story?”

“Liu Rushi?” I was startled. I never thought an ordinary-looking otherworldly item could be related to Liu Rushi. Immediately after hearing this, I understood the importance of the quilt.

Of course, I knew Liu Rushi’s stories. It was because of her legendary beauty and talents that were enough to move anybody who worked in the Cultural and Literature industries.

Liu Rushi was a smart and eager-learning girl. However, due to her poor family circumstances, she was sold and became a prostitute in Qinhuai River’s Red Light District. Not only was she young and beautiful, but she was also talented in writing poems, playing chess, playing musical instruments, and drawing. Shortly after, she had become the head of ‘Qinhuai’s Eight Beauties.’ She held the label of ‘selling her talent but not her body,’ which had touched a lot of young men’s hearts from noble and rich families.

Although Liu Rushi married three times, all of her marriages ended in tragedies.

In her brightest days, she used to be the wife of a Grand Secretary. This status had made the entire Qinhuai River’s Red Light District envious of her.

She was such a beautiful woman with exquisite talents. However, during the worst moment of her life, no man came to see her. She was wrapped in a quilt and left this world with a deep grudge.

We were all frightened by the history of the quilt. No one could imagine that it was the last possession of an unrivaled and talented woman before her death.

The old man said, “That’s not right. Didn’t Liu Rushi die in Changshu, Jiangsu Province? How could her body appear here?”

Chuyi explained, “It’s true that Liu Rushi died in Changshu. On the day of her death, the noble officials and the rich men that had promised her the world all avoided her because of her special identity. No one showed up. Eventually, the other prostitutes had to collect money and move Liu Rushi’s coffin to some other place to bury…”

“In the circle of otherworldly items, this quilt is called Golden Perianth. Rumor has it that if any woman wraps this quilt around her body, Liu Rushi will favor her. She will become devastatingly beautiful. No man will be able to resist her beauty. But, who could ever have thought that this quilt was full of Liu Rushi’s resentment?”

“That’s morbid,” Li Mazi said. “Who would think that wrapping a dead person’s remnant around their body would make them devastatingly beautiful? They don’t have brains, do they?”

Chuyi said, “No matter whether it’s spring, summer, autumn or winter, this quilt is always icy cold. If it’s used to wrap the body, even in mid-summer, the body won’t become decomposed. The corpse will even look like it’s smiling. That’s why people strongly believe that the quilt has some supernatural power.”

“That icy cold power comes from Liu Rushi’s heart,” Yin Xinyue said. “She devoted herself to her lovers for her entire life, just to find out that no man had feelings of true love for her. At this moment, anybody could feel that her heart was as cold as ice.”

I sighed heavily.

The old man said fiercely, “Don’t make her look that innocent! She was dead already, but why did she have to kill my grandson too?!”

Chuyi rolled his eyes at the old man. “If your grandson didn’t provoke the quilt, would something happen to him? I’m sure he had harassed Liu Rushi’s body. That’s why he got a nasty end.”

The old man smiled awkwardly. He didn’t say another word.

“Zhang Jiulin, tonight you will deal with the Golden Perianth!” All of a sudden, the mysterious man pointed his finger at me.

I was scared. “Are you sure I can do that? Isn’t it too dangerous? I’ve seen how fierce the Golden Perianth is.”

The mysterious man said, “Don’t worry. As long as you listen to me, there won’t be any danger.”

The sky quickly turned dark. After the man had checked his items, he brought us to the graveyard.

The temperature was a little chilly tonight. The northern wind was raging and there was not a single twinkling star in the sky.

I was anxious since Chuyi had asked me to be the bait. That meant that I had to sleep with that quilt!

After we got there, Chuyi and the others hid. I took a deep breath and puffed a cigarette. I even had two sips of strong liquor to warm up my body and get more courage. Then, I proceeded toward the quilt.

Recently, two people had died in this graveyard. Under such circumstances, if I said that I wasn’t scared, that would be a lie. However, my heart was assured after thinking about Chuyi and the other people watching over me.

I faced the quilt and bowed to greet it. I said to the quilt, “It’s getting late. We should sleep.”

Then, I got under the quilt.

The quilt had a stench of mud and the smell of corpses, which was a horrible combination of smells. It made me nauseous, but I tried not to vomit. Then, I forced myself to think about good things in order to drift into sleep easier.

The Golden Perianth was really cold. It felt like a mini freezer. Feeling so cold, I shivered.

I was in a strange situation. In such a chilling environment, it was abnormal that people could sleep. However, I was yawning constantly. I felt like I couldn’t control my mind and I was very sleepy.

I bit the tip of my tongue to warn myself to not sleep at any cost. If I closed my eyes, perhaps I would never be able to open them again!

While I was heavy with drowsiness, a familiar voice arose in my ears. It was a woman’s voice that came from the unearthed grave.

My nerves went tense immediately!

Shortly after, I felt someone lift a corner of the quilt and slither in.

That thing felt so cold, but it had an intoxicating body fragrance that made me feel extremely restless.

I knew it must be the spirit living in the Golden Perianth.

Her hands rubbed my chest and gave me warmth. However, I couldn’t open my eyes so I could only say what Chuyi had told me. “It’s getting late. We should sleep already.”

“Darling.” The other party suddenly cried, “I’ll leave you soon. Would you be sad?”

“Don’t be silly,” I answered.

“Haiz,” she sighed. “Do all men deceive women like this? Turn around.”

I turned around and found that I could open my eyes now. At first glance, I was dumbstruck.

At this moment, I was in a lavish room.

From the decoration and furniture arrangement, I knew I was in a brothel in the Ming Dynasty with carved screens and lovebird candles. I was in bed with a beautiful woman.

This woman looked gorgeous. She had red lips that outlined her white teeth. Her bright eyes studied me. Her mouth hung a faint smile, but it had a touch of sadness and pain.

Under the gaze of her deep eyes, I felt my heart soften. At the same time, I was filled with fear and inferiority.

Looking at her noble beauty, I felt I had a higher social status.

She asked, “Darling, if I become ugly and poor one day, will you ever leave me?”

I smiled. “Why would you say such silly things? I wouldn’t do that. Once husband and wife, lovers forever. I will continue to favor you. No matter how much you change, I will stay by your side. I will never leave you.”

She heaved a sigh and talked quietly. “I’m afraid you’re lying to me. You men don’t love me. You’re just playing around.”

“I am telling the truth,” I answered.

“Really?” She suddenly sneered. “Then, let’s see if you truly love me.”

Everything went black in front of my eyes. When the surroundings lit up again, I was scared out of my breath!