Otherworldly Merchant

I wanted to get up, but my body couldn’t muster any strength. My limps shook continuously. 

The bony old man came from behind me. He stomped his rubber boot on my head. He sounded angry. “Little boy, so many people stronger than you have come here. They are all gone, you know? Did you think you were better than them?” 

“I… I just want to find something… I’m sorry if I’ve offended you…” Since I was still shivering hard, my voice was intermittent. 

I tried my best to prove that I didn’t mean harm. At the same time, I wanted to seize more time. I wanted to know why the people in Dragon King Village were so xenophobic. 

“Find something?” The old man pressed his boot harder against my head. I thought my head would burst soon. I felt like I was suffocating. 

After a moment, he removed his foot and turned to pick up the Holy Mother Scepter. He stroked the scepter and smiled. “What a good treasure. It’s a waste in your hands!” 

Then, he shouted and raised the Holy Mother Scepter high in the air, aiming it at my head! 

If he hit me, my head would burst like a watermelon. The strong urge to survive hit me. I wiggled and successfully dodged the deadly attack. The Holy Mother Scepter hit my shoulder. My upper body went numb instantly. I vomited a mouthful of blood one more time. 

“Screw you!” I cursed with blood in my mouth. I thought the old man in front of me was crazy. He didn’t even give me a chance to talk; he just wanted to kill me. The bony old man’s eyes turned red at that moment. He screamed, “You’re courting death!” 

Then, he spun the Holy Mother Scepter and hit me one more time. The last dodge had used the last bit of my strength. I could only close my eyes and wait for my end. 

At the moment my life was at stake, I heard the sound of a long sword being drawn out of its sheath. Then, I saw Chuyi coming from the dark with a hiss of his sword.

I opened my eyes and saw Chuyi stopping the Holy Mother Scepter with his eight-faceted Han sword. At this moment, he was parrying with the old man. However, it was strange that they remained in that parrying position for quite a long moment. No one had taken the initiative to attack first. 

Chuyi was standing with his back facing me. I didn’t see his face, but I could see the old man’s countenance. He seemed to have complicated feelings toward Chuyi. Although he still wore a harsh, brutal face, his eyes showed his hesitation. 

They stood like that for a few solid minutes. The bony old man turned and left. When he completely disappeared into the dark, his voice arose. “Take this kid and leave. I’ll spare your lives today for Yingying’s sake. But it’s the last time!” 

It seemed he was talking to Chuyi. Moreover, I didn’t have any connection with someone named Yingying.

I felt curious. I linked this name to Chuyi’s beloved person who had died in this village. 

“Are you all right?” 

Chuyi helped me get up. He hurriedly pressed the acupoints in my limbs. In the end, I was able to stop myself from shaking uncontrollably. I shook my head and gave a wry smile to show that I was okay.

“Where did you go?” I asked Chuyi. 

“I followed him for quite a long time and saw him disappear into the river. I recognized that we were trapped in an illusion, so I hurried to come back here. Fortunately, I wasn’t too late,” Chuyi said while squeezing water out of his clothes. He sighed. “Let’s go! We should leave before that old man changes his mind.” 

When Chuyi said that, I recognized the surroundings had completely changed. It seemed the old man had lifted his illusional technique. 

On the way back, I thought, Even Chuyi was wary of that old man, just who is he? 

“He is… my father-in-law.” 

Before I could ask him, Chuyi spoke up. Then, with red-rimmed eyes, he started to tell me his story. 

Yingying was that old man’s daughter and also Chuyi’s lover. 

It was unknown why the people in Dragon King Village were so xenophobic and hated outsiders. Yingying quickly grew to be a powerful hotshot under her father’s training. She was strong enough to kill all the intruders that came here. 

Yingying and Chuyi had fought once when Chuyi came here to investigate the deaths of some people. Unfortunately, they later fell in love. 

They thought that their bond could persuade the bony old man. Unexpectedly, the old man thundered and asked Yingying to kill Chuyi. 

The couple was helpless. They left Dragon King Village. After a long time, Yingying thought that time would melt her father’s anger. However, the old man stayed firm. He forced her to kill Chuyi. In the end, Yingying was broken mentally. She decided to kill herself instead… 

After Yingying’s death, the old man felt great regret. However, he was so extreme that he blamed the death of his daughter on Chuyi. Perhaps it was because of his love for his late daughter that he’d let Chuyi go now. Still, they had maintained this kind of grudge against each other. 

Chuyi sighed and said, “Tell me, should I kill him? He indirectly killed the woman I loved the most, but he’s her blood father.” 

“I’m so sorry…” 

Ever since we had come to this village, I felt that something was wrong with Chuyi. I had thought about many possibilities but this…

Moreover, this issue included the grudge of his wife’s death and the blood bond of the family. Besides staying quiet, I couldn’t do anything else. I felt so sorry for the man. Although I always considered him as my brother, I knew he was more similar to Senior Shu and Zen Master Baimei. They were from my senior generation. That was why I couldn't understand why he didn’t have a family. And now, I finally knew. 

After quite a long time, Chuyi got a hold of himself. He spoke faintly, “Jiulin, I’m so sorry. I can’t attack that old man. Even if he’s evil, he’s my father-in-law.” 

“It’s okay. We should look somewhere else. I believe we’ll find the water nymph’s tears.” 

Before Chuyi continued talking, I intervened to show that it was all right. Still, my heart winced. Yin Xinyue was waiting for me at home. What should I tell her if I couldn’t find the water nymph’s tears? 

But, how could I force Chuyi!? He had done a lot for me! 

I now understood why Chuyi had been so careful this time. He wanted to sneak behind his father-in-law’s back to get the mermaid’s tears. Unexpectedly, the old man had noticed us, setting up a trap for us to step in. 

He’d seen through our operation tonight. Moreover, the old man had made himself clear that he would only spare us this time. If we encountered him the next time, it would be a death or life situation. 

I thought then said, “Chuyi, how about we ask Zen Master Baimei? He is knowledgeable across a vast number of topics. Perhaps he knows something about the water nymph’s tears.” 

Chuyi wasn’t a pretentious person. He didn’t want to linger and gave me a confirming nod. 

“I’m tired. We should sleep here tonight.” 

When we got in the car, Chuyi didn’t drive right away. He suggested spending the night here. I was aching all over, so I didn’t have any objections. I laid on the back seats and soon fell asleep. 

While sleeping, I suddenly heard Yin Xinyue crying. I opened my eyes and saw Yin Xinyue wearing mourning clothes with a gauze hat on her head. She was kneeling in front of a bed, crying her heart out. 

My in-laws were lying on a bed. Their faces were pale, and their pupils dilated. They were dead! 

I didn’t expect that they would leave this world so quickly. I absent-mindedly walked toward Yin Xinyue and tried to comfort her. She pushed me away and shouted at my face. Her voice was cracking in pain. “Zhang Jiulin, you’re a swindler! An evil swindler!” 

Each word of her stabbed into my heart. I gritted my teeth and tried to embrace her. Yin Xinyue suddenly grabbed a pair of scissors nearby and directly stabbed her own throat. Her warm blood splashed on my face. 

“Yin Xinyue, noooo!” 

I screamed and ran to support her. Suddenly, my head banged into something. 

I lifted my head and saw that I had just hit the roof of the car. I was still in the car.

I exhaled in relief when I realized it was just a horrible nightmare. While wiping the cold sweat off my forehead, I subconsciously turned to look at the window. I was scared out of my wits to see Yin Xinyue standing outside. She looked so pale; she looked at me with her blank eyes. 

I instinctively opened the door, but it was locked. I called Chuyi to unlock it. But when I turned to the driver’s seat, there was no one. 

“What the heck is going on?” 

Doubtfully, I took out my phone to call him until I saw the message he had sent me. The message wrote that he went out to solve a problem and that he had locked me inside to protect me. He also carefully advised that the ghosts here were powerful enough to enter my dreams. No matter what I saw in my dream, I shouldn’t believe it to be true. 

After reading the message, my head buzzed. No wonder I had dreamed about my parents dying and Yin Xinyue killing herself! A ghost had messed with my dream! 

I looked at the ghost outside and sneered inwardly. I quietly took out a medium spiritual talisman and held it in my palm. My head motioned toward the ghost who had taken on Yin Xinyue’s form. I waved at her as though I wanted to talk. When she came near the window, I suddenly palmed the talisman on the window! 

The ghost turned back to its original form. Frightened, it wanted to flee. But Chuyi’s medium talisman was intimidating enough. In just the blink of an eye, its gold light swallowed the ghost. 

“I feel like a tiger who got bullied by stray dogs!” I couldn’t help but curse. No matter what, I had experienced enough. And now, while looking for the mermaid’s tears, a little ghost was able to tease me! 

Although Chuyi didn’t tell me what he was going to do via his text, I knew he was exerting his last effort for me. It was inevitable that he had to leave me in the car. The old man could spare him at the critical moment, but I was sure he wouldn’t let me stay alive!