Otherworldly Merchant

As soon as we entered the room, Chuyi opened his box. Lying inside the box was a heavy bronze whip. The bronze whip was dull, and its handle was covered in gray mold. To me, it looked like a broken item. 

I weighed it in my hand and found it was heavier than the eight-faceted Han sword, which would affect Chuyi’s movements. I was worried. “Do you know what this is?”  

Chuyi thought for a moment, then answered, “It’s Prince Ma’s whip. According to the legend, Prince Ma was a Daoist ghost catcher. He had a fierce appearance with a yellow face and red hair. Moreover, he had three eyes. His third eye could see ghosts and monsters. Whenever he found them, he would use this bronze whip to kill them. This weapon is most feared by ghosts and monsters.” 

I knew about Prince Ma. If this was his weapon, of course, it wasn’t an ordinary weapon. Moreover, Chuyi was familiar with swords. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to use this whip. 

Then, Zen Master Baimei opened his box. Surprisingly, it was a chain of red sandalwood mala beads. Each bead was carved with many texts. Although I didn’t understand Sanskrit, I felt happy knowing that they were Buddhist mala beads. Zen Master Baimei was lucky because it was his favorite weapon. 

Chuyi also felt better. “Zen Master Baimei, what are the words on these mala beads?” 

“I don’t understand them, either.” Zen Master Baimei shook his head. He didn’t look too excited, though. Anyway, as he wasn’t a competitive person and didn’t show much of his emotions, I wasn’t too worried.  

They had both chosen ideal weapons for themselves. I felt more confident and directly opened my box. Inside the box, I saw a sparkling silver ring. 

The ring looked like an engagement ring, but instead of a diamond, it had a gem as red as agate. Although the gem had a shiny surface, countless red capillary vessels slightly throbbed inside. 

At first, I thought it was an awesome treasure. But when I put it on my finger, I didn’t feel anything. I handed the ring to Chuyi and asked, “Do you know what this thing is?” 

Chuyi studied the ring for a while then passed it to Zen Master Baimei. They both shook their heads. 

Pocket-sized otherworldly items often required using blood to activate them. I bit my finger and dripped some drops of blood on it. I even read some simple spells to send my spiritual power into it. 

However, after a long moment, the ring didn’t react.

“Damn it!” I couldn’t help but curse. There were only two possibilities when the blood couldn’t seep into the item. One, there was an intimidating spirit dwelling in that ring. That was why it resisted the external spiritual force. And two, this freaking ring wasn’t an otherworldly item!

This ring didn’t have anything special about it at all. Even Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei, two people with great brains, were at a loss. So, it was probably something trashy. I was puzzled and worried. I made a face and said, “What should I do now?” 

“Don’t worry. The Demon King said that before the battle, they will tell us the names of these items, right?” Chuyi said to comfort me. 

I rubbed my face and tried to look okay. All right, there’s always a way. Perhaps what One-Armed Dragon got is even trashier than this ring! 

Tomorrow morning would be the day of battle between Chuyi and Yi Zhangqing. We went to bed early. Soon, I heard Chuyi performing breathing exercises. I became tense again. 

That Demon King had explained everything but the punishment to the losers. It made me even more worried. I had a feeling that the losers would die. After thinking about this, I clenched my fists and encouraged myself. I wouldn’t hold my team back! 

I drifted into sleep. When I woke up, it was already 8:00 AM. While I was thinking about how they would tell us the time of the battles, I heard the crowd cheer loudly from the center of the Ghost Market. 

I went to the window to see. The area where the three precious treasures had appeared yesterday had changed. There was a screen that projected the line, ‘Prince Ma’s Whip vs Ghost Cutter…’ Underneath was the description written in Ghost language. 

At first, we thought that the Demon King would provide an introduction about the otherworldly items and how to use them. Unexpectedly, besides the names, there was no other information. 

“Things aren’t going to be easy…” I couldn’t hold back this comment.

Yi Zhangqing was an assassin equipped with the mighty Ghost Cutter. A bloody fight between her and Chuyi was guaranteed. 

“The Ghost Cutter is a divine weapon that was used to kill ghosts during the Heian period in Japan. Its first owner was a samurai named Watanabe! He used this cutter to chop off Ibaraki Douji’s arm and scared away the ghosts during the Night Parade. Afterward, the cutter got the name Ghost Cutter. I’m afraid it has absorbed a lot of ghost energy,” said Chuyi with a stern face. He told me and Zen Master Baimei to wait for him in the inn. He needed to find a place to cleanse Prince Ma’s Whip.

I knew I couldn’t find any useful information about the ring. That was why Chuyi and Zen Master Baimei had to win. As the match had started, I was afraid that Chuyi would encounter danger if he went out alone. I suggested going with him so that we could take care of each other. 

Zen Master Baimei would be relatively safe in this inn. Chuyi thought about it and agreed with me. 

After we left the inn, I found that both the humans and ghosts that had joined this trade conference were watching the screen at the Ghost Market. The screen was split into two smaller screens. One was projecting me and Chuyi, while the other was showing Yi Zhangqing in a conversation with Yin-Yang Tiger. 

“Chuyi, no matter what you or Yi Zhangqing do, the other will know it. How will you plan your battle?” I looked at the screens, feeling puzzled. 

Chuyi was surprised, but he shook his head. “No one is going to make such a low-level mistake. I’m sure they’ll find a way.” 

Then, Chuyi took me out of the village. We went to the place I had almost gone to, the River of Unmindfulness.

He explained, “In front of us is the River of Unmindfulness. It’s the darkest river in the world. The river is packed with ghosts who couldn’t reincarnate. That’s why the Yin energy there is always sky-reaching. I want to use the Yin-Yang converting principle. By using the Yin energy from the river, I can wash the impurities on the bronze whip.” 

I had listened to the story of the River of Unmindfulness and the Bridge of Helplessness since I was a little boy. I was really curious about this mysterious place. Now that I was accompanying Chuyi, I wasn’t really scared. 

After walking for half an hour, we saw that the trees only had bare trunks. Most of them were broken in half. The ground had a thick layer of yellow-brown leaves. It was a sad scene to look at. 

I didn’t know why, but when we were about to enter the woods, my heart throbbed. Subconsciously, I took a step back. 

Chuyi pulled my arm and made me stand behind him. In a low voice, he said, “Watch out.”

I nodded and drew the Emei Piercer from my waist. Chuyi carried the Han sword on his back and walked into the woods with the bronze whip. 

After a few steps, I smelled something pungent; it was decomposing flesh. At the same time, I heard some crackling in these quiet woods. 

Some animal noises arose, just like the squeaking from rats. But how could rats live in a place like this?