Otherworldly Merchant

When I returned to the hotel, I found Senior Shu hugging his life-bound rat; he was sobbing. Let alone him, even I had started considering the life-bound rat a member of our family as he had fought shoulder by shoulder with me a few times. 

I told Senior Shu about Zhao Feiyan’s decision and how her pet had followed her. Then, I handed him the skirt. Although I liked this skirt a lot, as Senior Shu had lost his little brother, I had to refrain myself and offered it to him. 

However, Senior Shu, who had always been greedy, didn’t want the skirt. He turned and silently put more ointment on Li Mazi’s body. 

As I had rushed away to chase after the white cat, I hadn’t taken a close look at Li Mazi. At this moment, he looked so thin, and his entire body was pale. There were many decomposing spots on his skin. His important, masculine part was swelling to the point that it couldn’t be recognized. He looked like a dried corpse that was unearthed from a random tomb. 

“How did he turn into this?” I was stunned. 

Senior Shu snorted. “He’s like the dog that never quits the habit of eating poop. I’m sure he was bewitched by some beauty. If my life-bound rat hadn’t sacrificed its life to save him, I’m sure he wouldn’t even have a piece of bone left.” 

Although I was so mad at this foolish man, I was still worried about him. “What should we do now?” 

“He won’t die. I’ve used my special ointment to cover his festering wounds. They won’t worsen further. He should eat more nutritious foods, though. He will recover soon.” After that, Senior Shu didn’t talk anymore. He quietly applied the ointment all over Li Mazi. 

Li Mazi woke up the next afternoon. However, when he spoke, he sounded like he had aged twenty years. I thought I was talking to an old man who had experienced enough ups and downs. 

Senior Shu prescribed some traditional Chinese herbal medicines. He asked me to make them and apply the medicine to him daily. Afterward, he packed up. It seemed he wanted to leave. 

“Grandpa, where are you going?” 

“I’m going to find the Undead Grass,” said Senior Shu with sad, red-brimmed eyes. 

“Undead Grass?” It was the first time I heard about this name. I was curious. “What is it?” 

“Undead Grass is a sort of fungi that grows on one-thousand-year old coffins. It can revive the dead,” explained Senior Shu. “Of course, this Undead Grass is only able to revive those who didn’t live up to their lifespans. It can’t help someone who died in their bed at a ripe old age. My life-bound rat’s fate was changed by me. Its lifespan wasn’t that of an ordinary rat anymore. I’m sure I can use the Undead Grass to save it!” 

“I’m going with you, Senior Shu!” I said seriously. 

No matter what, Senior Shu had been taking care of Li Mazi for me. As this bad thing had happened, I couldn’t let him bear the consequences alone! 

Moreover, Senior Shu had started to treat me much better. He had stopped showing off and taking advantage of his old age. He treated me fondly and caringly.

“Grandson, I can do this alone. You should take Li Mazi back to Wuhan as soon as possible.” 

However, from the way he was speaking, I was even more worried about him. I asked Li Mazi to go home alone while stubbornly pestering Senior Shu. 

Senior Shu knew he couldn’t shake me off, so he had to agree with me. “All right, here, keep this iron swallow. It’s the commission for you to escort me to find the Undead Grass.”

He gave the iron swallow back to me. 

Moreover, we finally knew the identity of the iron swallow. This iron swallow was the sculpture Emperor Cheng of Han had dedicated to Zhao Feiyan. It was put on top of Weiyang Palace. When Zhao Feiyan lost her husband’s favor, the iron swallow was removed. In the end, it was buried with her… 

From the craftsmanship of this iron swallow and its historical value, it was a top-quality item. With a conservative assumption, I guessed I could sell it for around three million renminbi. I would find a chance to sell this item later. 

Needless to mention, the skirt was also an excellent representative of ancient handicraft and manufacturing. Moreover, it had witnessed the beautiful yet sorrowful love between Emperor Cheng of Han and Zhao Feiyan, which made it a priceless treasure!

I didn’t have any plans to sell it. I would wait until the Yin energy on the skirt scattered. Then, I would give it to Yin Xinyue. When she had free time, I would ask her to dance for me. 

In the end, after Zhao Feiyan’s case was completed, Senior Shu had gotten nothing but the loss of his life-bound rat. He even tried to give me most of the money, which didn’t seem to be his working style. 

I felt strange anxiety. “Senior Shu, is something bad going to happen?” 

He shook his head and didn’t answer.

I had to quit querying but kept probing about the Undead Grass. “Senior Shu, where is the Undead Grass?” 

“The Undead Grass is only found in the deep mountains of Yunnan Province. The people there were good at using insects and corpses in the past. To prevent the deceased bodies from being eaten by snakes or worms, they would put mysterious herbs into the coffin. These herbs have been nurtured by the Yin energy inside the coffins. Slowly, they have grown fungi and become the Undead Grass!” 

I noticed that Senior Shu’s eyes had kept moving while he was talking. It seemed he didn’t know much about the Undead Grass, anyway. 

“Have you ever seen the Undead Grass before?” I asked. 

He shook his head. “No, I’ve only heard rumors about it. That’s why I just want to try my luck this time.” 

After listening to him, I recalled the time we had given our all to find the Night Dragon Bait to save Chu Chu. However, when we got the Night Dragon Bait, Chu Chu had already passed away...

After making the comparison, I could feel how much Senior Shu loved his life-bound rat. I made up my mind. No matter what, I had to help him find the Undead Grass. 

Senior Shu determinedly bought a map of Yunnan. He recalled a location on the map. When he showed me the map, I saw that the area he had circled was the western part of Yunnan. 

My deepest impression of the western area of Yunnan was the famous Western Yunnan Anti-Japanese War. Every time I heard the name Western Yunnan, I would have the image of brave Chinese people wrestling against Japanese soldiers in the Nu River. 

The mountains in Yunnan were full of waters and evil spirits. Of course, the landscape there would be extreme. There would be countless dangers deep in the mountain. To assure our safety, before we departed, Senior Shu brought me to his home to pick up a craft item that looked like a walking stick. 

“This thing is called the Holy Mother Scepter. It’s an otherworldly item I’ve subdued. It used to be the weapon of the Holy Mother of the White Lotus Cult in the Qing Dynasty. She made use of religion to lead the people to strike against the brutal Qing rulers. In the end, the rebellion failed, and they were executed.”  

Then, he took out a shining Emei Piercer[1] and gave it to me. “Your whip only works seven times. You need to equip yourself with more defensive weapons.” 

“What kind of treasure is this?” I asked with a smile.

Senior Shu waved his hands, “Kid, don’t feel content. I’m just letting you borrow this Emei Piercer to use during the trip. When we come back, you have to return it to me.” 

I nodded repeatedly. He had given me the jade skirt and the iron swallow. I would feel shame if I coveted his other items. 

“This Emei Piercer is a magic weapon. It used to belong to the Head of Emei School, Madam Beimi,” added Senior Shu. 

“Don’t try to show off, grandpa! Emei School? Why didn’t you say it’s from Wudang School?” I pursed my lips. 

Senior Shu palmed me at the neck. In an irritated voice, he said, “You’re still a kid. There are so many things you don’t know yet. Take ordinary people as an example. Do they believe in the existence of otherworldly merchants?” 

I thought it was reasonable, so I didn’t continue with this topic. I packed up the good stuff. Then, we took a flight to Kunming. 

After arriving in Kunming, we went to Tengchong County in Baoshan City. It was where the three great rivers gathered.

Tengchong borders Myanmar. In history, every time the Central Plains changed the ruling dynasty, this place would have a bloody baptism. After the Reform, the place opened up to tourists, which helped the area’s economy. 

Senior Shu and I arrived in Tengchong at around twilight. We checked around and didn’t find any suitable hotels. It was fortunate that the weather was good. We walked under the bright moonlight and left the town to the remote and mountainous area. 

“The older the mountain is, the higher the possibility of finding the Undead Grass,” said Senior Shu. Thus, our target was clear. We were headed to the highest mountain in our sights. 

After midnight, the temperature started to drop. We felt cold and tired. Determinedly, we set up a simple tent and camped in the middle of the mountain flank. 

When it drew close to dawn, I woke up because of a natural need. I crawled out of the tent and found a place to ease myself. When I turned around to return to the tent, I heard a strange noise echoing from the depths of the mountain. 

It sounded like a squeaking fox. When I quieted my mind to listen, it sounded like a woman crying. Since it was too far away, I couldn’t distinguish what it was. I stood at my spot and observed the surroundings. I didn’t see anything strange, so I returned to my tent to sleep. 

When I woke up, it was noon. The weather wasn’t so good and there were no people on the small path to the mountain. The two of us ate some canned foods before packing up and continuing our hike. 

I remembered the fox call I had heard during the wee hours, so I told Senior Shu about it.

Senior Shu nodded. “Yeah, in a place like this, there should be many strange phenomena. Don’t mind it. As long as it doesn’t affect us, just ignore it.” 

After walking for the whole day, we reached Mount Horse Saddle. There were many volcanoes in the Tengchong area. Mount Horse Saddle was the most famous one. The mountain got that name because its shape looked like a horse saddle. 

Although it used to be a volcano, the mountain had three freshwater lakes and lush vegetation. There were aquatic plants by the foothills, and the area had gradually become the local graveyard. 

As such, there were many graves at the foothills. However, the higher we climbed, the fewer graves we saw. Anyway, I could see that the graves on the higher elevations were also older. Some of them were unearthed, with the coffin lids scattered on the ground. There was no doubt that the tomb robbers had visited this place many times. 

Along the way, we sometimes saw the signboards that the authorities had left behind. It meant that Mount Horse Saddle had been exploited already.

I felt a little distressed and said, “Senior Shu, this place has become a scenic sight. Will the Undead Grass be able to grow in such conditions?” 

“My silly boy. Scenic sights like this always have forbidden areas. Didn’t you read the news? Many tourists die in scenic areas every day. I guess they court death themselves.”

Senior Shu lit up a cigarette and said with irritation, “I’m sure they wanted to satisfy their curiosity, so they entered those forbidden areas!” 

I listened to him and agreed with his guess. I stopped talking. 

Indeed, at around noontime, we saw an obstacle that blocked the road. A barbed-wire fence was set up around the peak of the mountain. Along with the thorny shrubs and big trees, the way up to the mountain peak was blocked.  

A signboard read that there was some construction going on at the mountain peak. However, the paint on the board was partly peeled off. It seemed it was just a disguise. I couldn’t help but give Senior Shu a thumbs-up. The old man smiled disdainfully and took out two pairs of hiking boots from his bag. 

After changing into hiking boots, I cut two sticks the size of a child’s arm. We carefully started to walk into the thorny, bushy area. 

This mass of thistles and thorns was really large, around two square miles. The spiky bushes grew above some areas of a muddy swamp. It was easy to step into the swamp if we didn’t pay attention. That was why we slowly groped through. It took us around two hours to get out of the dangerous area. 

I checked the new surroundings. The vegetation around here was much thicker. Moreover, many spots were exuding bluish-purple gas. 

Senior Shu looked at the purple miasma and licked his lips. He carefully suggested, “It’s a toxic miasma. We shall wait. We will try to invade the place tonight.”

When he said that, my heart throbbed. I couldn’t help but look at the miasma a little longer. 

The miasma was a sort of toxic gas that was often found in tropical forests. It was created by decomposing animal carcasses under high heat conditions. In history, there was a famous story about miasma. Zhuge Liang and his army had encountered a miasma on their way to settle with the barbarians in the South. At that time, so many Shu soldiers were killed by the toxic gas. This time, Senior Shu and I didn’t bring gas masks with us. If we casually walked in there, we wouldn’t be able to return alive. 

Fortunately, the miasma wouldn’t exist twenty-four hours a day. It was like the early dews. The dews would evaporate when the sun was up, and the miasma would thin out and disperse at nightfall. 

However, the place with miasma would have a bigger possibility of having Undead Grass. Senior Shu and I camped there. No matter what, this place wasn’t far away from the peak. We set up our tents and made this place our temporary base!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeici