Otherworldly Merchant

The ship owner didn’t want to admit that he had given the rights of the ship to his wife last night. He argued with his wife and accused her of using dirty tricks.

Of course, his wife was enraged. Resolutely, she called the notary who had been there last night. She even showed him the video recording and the signed contract.

The ship owner gawked in shock. He insisted that he had signed the paper while sleep-walking. He claimed he wasn’t clear-headed at the time.

Of course, no one believed him. Eventually, his wife called the police to arrest the ship owner and charged him for deliberately starting a fight.

These two were really interesting. I couldn’t hold in my laughter. Indeed, it was more melodramatic than any soap opera I had ever watched…

Of course, as it had nothing to do with me, I didn’t really care.

It was good that the ship owner was arrested. At least I could sleep better at night now.

We spent the next few days in Nanjing. Yin Xinyue had told us, “If we don’t spend our money to the last dime, I won’t leave!”

My hands were tied in front of such a beautiful lady. Feeling helpless, I accompanied and traveled around Nanjing with her.

Around one week later, we were so tired after coming back from the Purple Mountain Observatory. We couldn’t even walk quickly.

When we returned to our ship lodge, we found a beggar squatting by Qinhuai River Bank.

That beggar was really bold to come to this scenic area.

Wasn’t he afraid of the city’s management force coming and arresting him?

Anyways, it wasn’t easy to earn a living. We just walked away and didn’t pay much attention to him.

However, the moment we walked past him, the beggar lifted his head to look at us. Then, he stormed over like a hungry man that saw a slice of bread. “Benefactors, please save me! Benefactors!”

We were startled by the beggar’s sudden move. When he wiped his dirty fringe that covered his face, we gawked in shock.

This beggar was none other than the ship owner!

Gosh, two days ago he still looked neat and clean. How did he turn like this after getting out of the police station?

The foul smell from his body made people retreat. I hurried and took two steps back.

Li Mazi also recognized him. He dropped his jaw in astonishment; his mouth was so wide open that I could put an egg in it. “Well, well, isn’t this our ship owner? What’s going on? Are you trying to experience life in a better way?”

Li Mazi teased him. The ship owner had become a beggar and Li Mazi was still teasing him. Was it really necessary to act like this?

However, the ship owner looked strange.

He was rich because of tourism. How could it be possible for him to change into this pathetic appearance just after several days?

He had called us his benefactors and asked us to save his life… I was perplexed and didn’t know what he was up to.

Yin Xinyue pulled me and signaled for me to ignore him and hurry up!

I give her a slight nod.

However, the ship owner persistently held us back. He stood in front of us. Then all of a sudden, he got on his knees. “Benefactors, please save my life. Someone wants to kill me. Only you can save me.” What’s going on here?

 I couldn’t help but laugh and asked him, “You want money, don’t you?”

He shook his head. “No, I have money. I have money. If you save me, I will give you money…”

Then, he thrust his dirty hand into his pocket. Shortly after, he fished out a stack of cash. All of them were one-hundred yuan banknotes. Although they looked dirty, they weren’t fake. 

What’s going on? He has money and he’s acting as a beggar?

“I haven’t eaten anything for several days. If you don’t help me today, I will be killed.” The ship owner talked in a disorderly manner. His words didn’t match up and he made me greatly confused.

“You’re too kind.” Li Mazi put the money into his bag. He patted the ship owner’s shoulder. “Come, let me take you out for dinner.”

The ship owner shook his head continuously. “No, I can’t! I can’t talk to them! I can’t reveal myself. They will kill me!”

I frowned and asked, “How many people were killed during the Nanjing Massacre?”

“Three hundred thousand,” answered the ship owner without hesitation.

“Where were the 2008 Olympic Games held?”

"Beijing."

I asked him several questions in a row about well-known topics. The ship owner had answered all of them correctly. I verified that he didn’t just babble out of madness. This was actually something he had experienced.

If he came to us, he must have known who we were. I guessed he was troubled by some otherworldly item.

I took a deep breath. “Okay, come with us. I will get you some food.”

I bought some cooked food and followed the ship owner to his place. We let him shower and change into clean clothes. After he had some food and water, some color returned to his face.

I asked, “Why do you want us to help you? What can we do to help you?”

The ship owner was devouring roasted duck and said, “I know you are otherworldly merchants and that you collect strange items.”

After listening to him, I felt an ache. 

How did he know my identity? 

The ship owner told me that many people in Nanjing knew me.

As Nanjing had been the imperial city of six dynasties, the antique business here was really flourishing. As such, there was a good chance of seeing an otherworldly item. It was the reason why otherworldly merchants were more than welcomed in Nanjing.

After the auction of the Golden Perianth by Qinhuai River, many otherworldly merchants had arrived. Naturally, my story became widespread.

It seemed like we shouldn’t stay here anymore. Otherwise, the people from the Longquan Villa would soon come to me.

The ship owner also said that he was an admirer of antiques. He had enough antiques in his house to open a museum.

I nodded and felt pensive.

He suspected that he was keeping an otherworldly item in his house! He felt that the item had caused all of his troubles. He didn’t have any other wish but for us to help him find that otherworldly item. As long as we agreed to help him, he would pay whatever we wanted.

I furrowed my brows. I had heard about murderous otherworldly items, but I had never heard anything about any otherworldly item that could turn a man into a beggar.

“What is the real problem in the end?” I hurriedly asked.

The ship owner sighed helplessly. “Haiz, I have two problems. The first problem, I drink too much and I love bragging. The second problem, I’m too faithful to my words. As long as I have said it, no matter how difficult, I will have to fulfill the promise. Sigh, it has tormented me a lot…”

I furrowed my brows and didn’t quite understand him. “You said you always have to keep your words. That’s why you’ve turned into this?”

The ship owner nodded repeatedly. Then, he told us what had happened to him recently.

He told us about the night he was running around naked on the ship.

When he made a bet with Li Mazi, he said that if he lost, he would shut his mouth. Otherwise, he would run around the ship naked. After he lost the game, he changed his mind.

Later that night, he woke up and found himself naked and running around the ship. He didn’t understand it and felt very scared.  

Another example happened several days ago. In order to trick his wife into agreeing to a divorce, he said that he would give her the ship.

Then, he handed the ship to his wife during the night. In both these situations, he had done them unconsciously.

He had done the same things before many times.

In the past, he had a metal workshop. Business wasn’t bad. However, after bragging about a football game with his buddy, he said he would give away his metal workshop if the Chinese team got to the next round.

That year, the Chinese football team didn’t play badly. They successfully reached the next round…

His friend thought that he was just joking and didn’t actually believe it. However, at night, the ship owner came and gave his metal workshop to his buddy. Up to now, that friend was still lamenting about the owner’s wealth and that he was a man of his word.

His properties and assets had been given away or closed one after another because of his bragging. Once a rich man, he was now a beggar on the street.

I didn’t know why but I wanted to laugh.

This otherworldly item was really special. It wasn’t like the others! This was the first time I had encountered such circumstances.

I smiled and patted the ship owner’s shoulder. “Then what happened? You said someone wants to kill you. What happened?”

The ship owner thought that I didn’t buy his story and determinedly lifted his shirt to show me his belly.

After seeing his stomach, I was sweating in fright!

His stomach had so many wounds. There were cuts from knives, scratches from spoons, forks, and puncture wounds by sharp objects. I could even see some teeth marks. His skin was almost bitten off.  

Feeling disgusted, Li Mazi quickly asked him to cover his belly.

The ship owner sat on the chair in dismay. “If you don’t save me tonight, I will have to die…”

“Who wants to kill you?” I asked.