Otherworldly Merchant
Chapter 450: Fearful Ghostly Room

Xiao Li seemed toreadmy mind. She sighed.“Wheneverhegot mad, he didn’tletanybody enterhis room. He wouldlockhimself inside. I’ve tried to sneak in to clean the room, but he hit meand shooedme out. Eventually, Istopped caring about him.”

“Please clean the room now. Open all the windows and the door to ventilate thisplace.” I didn’t know what to tell her, so I asked her to clean the room then left.

As soon as we got out of the room, Li Mazi dramatically took in the fresh air. “What a stinky room!”

“Ikeep getting the feelingthat something iswronghere. We should be more careful,” I told Li Mazi.

It took Xiao Li two hours to cleanYuan Datou’s room. Althoughshe had opened the windowsforventilation, we still smelled the stenchwhen we entered the room again.However,it wasnot as unbearable as before.

I took out a Soul Stabilizing Talisman I had drawn beforehand and adhered it onYuan Datou’s forehead. I did that to preventhim from going out of control again.

Then, I lifted his eyelidsand useda magnifying glass to check his eyes. I was shocked at first glance. His pupils were dilated. Dense, brown-red spots had grown inside his eyelids. Some of them already had pus.

Ifthingscontinued this way,hewould die inless than two days!

I immediately asked Xiao Li to go toaChinese herbal pharmacy to buy supplement foods with great nutritional value. Then,Li Mazi and Isprinkled willow ashes on the carpeted floor.

Willow ashes were goodforattractingspirits. Ifaghost came here, it would leavefootprintson the ashes.

However, some strong ghosts could use the wind to blow away the ashes. Thatwaswhy I had asked Li Mazi to drip black dog bloodonthe ashes. It would give more Yang energy to the ashesand prevent them from beingblown away.

A moment later, Xiao Li came with a bowl of soup cooked with ginseng from Mount Changbaiandforcefully fedYuan Datou.

“What should I do next?”she asked.

“Now, we wait.” I was a little anxious.

I gave Li Mazi and Xiao Li some talismansand askedthem to wait.If somethinghappened in the room, we would storm in andattackwith thetalismans. I had drawnthesetalismans, and although their power couldn’t be compared to Chuyi’s talismans, they were still useful.

Li Mazi received the talismans andputtheminhis pocket. Then, he sat in the living roomand watchedTV as if nothinghad happened. His eyes purposely lingered on Xiao Li’s breasts.

Ifeltthat we had to quickly finish this caseso thatI could take him back to Ru Xue. Otherwise, this fellowcould commitacrime!

Xiao Li carefullyput awaythe talisman, asking,“What are you going to dotonight?”

She noticed that my willow ashes didnothing.

“In our business, beforewe dealwith the otherworldly item, we have to know its originandprepare the right treatment. Then, wecan eitherhelpthe soulascend or simply subdue it.Your husband’s situation is special. He’s notjust beingpestered by a departed soul. We need to know more about the case.”

She nodded and said nothing.

Li Mazi couldn’t find any program he liked,so he switched off the TV. The three of us sat in the living room, waitingfor the night to come.

The room was filled with the ticking sound fromthetable clock. Soon, it was midnight. I turned off the lightsandcarefullywatchedYuan Datou’s room.

The mistaroundthe door had grown thicker. It had coveredthe entire door. It seemed that thing wanted to come out.

Li Mazi was sleepy. He yawnedandasked, “Has anythinghappened yet? Otherwise, I’m goingto sleep.”

“Stop talking. Shh…” I lowered my voiceand askedXiao Li,“Do you have any spicy ingredients in your house? Garlic and onion are good.”

Yuan Datouwould always stay in his room, even when he needed to urinate. Thishad something to do with the departed soul.Garlic and onion couldprotect fromevil spirits and produceunbelievable effects at times.

Xiao Li was surprised. “Yes, I’ll get some for you.” She went to the kitchen and fetched some onions.

“Each of you should keep onejust in case.”

I puttheonioninmy pocket and continued to watch the door. Surprisingly, the dark mistwasgone. At the same time, we heard someone walking around in the room.

“Let’s go!” I hissed.

Li Mazi and Xiao Lireturned to their senses andbecame tense.

Less than one minute later, a tender male voice came from the room.“Xiya, whyhaveyou come again?”

That voice spoke in a Northeastern dialect and had the roughness of a bandit. Xiao Li told me it wasn’tYuan Datou’s voice.

“A wife shouldgowherever her husband is. Wherever you go, I’ll follow you.” A female voice arose.

My heart sank. My guesswascorrect.

However, from Li Mazi’s and Xiao Li’s reactions, it seemed they didn’t hear the woman’s voice.

A moment later,Yuan Datoutalked again. “I’m not who I used to be. My badreputationhas spread everywhere, and people blame me for being a traitor. Why do you need to do this?”

“I don’t care. Ever since you redeemed me from the Eight GreatStreets, my heart belongedto you. I don’t care if you are a traitor or a bandit.I’llalways love you,”said the woman stubbornly. Hervoicecontainedhappiness.

While listeningto their conversation, I guessed thespirit possessingYuan Datouwas a traitor during the war of resistance against the Japanese,and the woman was from Beijing’s Eight GreatStreets—afamous red-light district. The traitor had redeemed her, and their love grew from there.

I gestured to Li Maziand askedhim to go upstairs with me.

After we approachedthe door, I carefully pushed it little by little. I plannedto enter the room discreetly.

However, as soon as Iopened the door, astrongwind arose from the room. It carrieda powerful suction forceanddrew Li Mazi andmeinto the room. The doorclosed behind us.

Feeling bewildered, I turned to look at the bed.Yuan Datouwas sitting on the edge of the bed,angrily looking at me.

Helooked as if he wishedto tear me apart. Afaintlydiscerniblefigure in red waskneeling besidethe bed. She lookedatYuan Datouwith loving eyesand didn’t seem to notice our arrival.

“Get lost!”

Yuan Datouopened his mouthand roaredlike a tiger.The gentleness from beforewas gone.

After he shouted, the red shadowbesidethe bed reacted. She turned to look at us, her facein a daze.

When I glanced atthered shadow, I was stunned. She was a true beauty. She worea red cheongsamand had soft skin and big eyes.

She had lived during the resistance war, but even in this modernera, she would be a Goddess!

However, the happy atmosphere didn’tlast long. Afterthe woman sawus,shesuddenly aged. Right before our eyes, she started togrowwrinkles all over her body.

Her eyes began to bulge,and she stuck out hertongue. She looked like a ghostthat had hungherself. I noticed a ring ofbruiseson her neck.

“Damn! Let’s run!” I yelled at Li Mazibefore boltingaway.

Female ghosts wearing red clothes were the most powerful type of ghosts. Moreover, the one wesawhad hung herself. I knew I wasn’t her opponent;I had to retreat first.

However, I wassurprisedto seethat the misthadreappearedand shroudedthe door.

Even stranger, when I tried toreach forthedoorknob, I couldn’t find it.

Atthis moment, Li Mazi suddenly retched. Before I could check on him, Ismelleda stench from the mist.

It smelled like themaster stockpeople used to make stinky tofu. At the same time, I alsosmelledrotten corpses.

I didn’t know how to describe this smell. However, after inhaling it, I felt my brainlacking oxygen andcouldn’t help but convulse.

I tried to ignore the pain in myhead and tookout the onion from my pocket. Ibit it without peeling it, chewing and swallowing it.

When the spicy taste filled my mouth, my consciousnessbecameclearer. I resumed my actions.

I turned to my side and saw Li Mazi on the ground. I hurried to tear some onionand shoved itinto his mouth, makinghim chew it. Fortunately, Li Mazi’smindwas still clear. He listened to meand chewed the onion, which allowed him to recover.

I got up and blewatthe door. My stinkyonionbreathwas like the archenemyofthe black mist. It caused the mist todisperse.

However,whenI stopped blowing my breaths, the black mistreturned to cover the door. Anyway, Iknew what to do now. Li Mazi alsonoticedthe power of the onion. Learning from me, he started to blowat the door.

We carefully moved forward. Eventually, I blewawaythe mist at thedoorknob.

But before I could open the door, I heard Xiao Li screaming for help behind us.

I took out the spirit talismanand preparedto strike.But whenI turnedaround, Isaw thatYuan Datouhad already captured Xiao Li. He was strangling the woman.

Hesmiledarrogantly at me. “If you run, I’llstrangleher to death.”

Myscalp went numb. Looking atYuan Datou’s malicious face, he wasn’t joking.

After strugglingfor a short moment, I reluctantly let go of thedoorknob.

“What do you want?” I asked coldly.

“What do I want?”

Yuan Datousneeredand pointedat thetalismanI was hiding behind my back. “Hurry, throw that thing away!”

My heart sank. If I threw the talisman away, it wouldn’t be different from committing suicide. However, seeing Xiao Li’s helpless look, I had to listen to him. Islowlylet go ofthe talisman.

However, someonesuddenlyslapped me, and mywholebodyshook.

When I regained my focus, IrealizedLi Maziwas the one who hadslapped me.

Li Mazisaidnothingand pulledmy hand, dragging medownstairs.

After he released me, I asked,“What’s going on?”

“Do you see her?”Li Mazi pointed at Xiao Li, who was sitting on the sofa.

When I sawthe woman in front of me, I suddenlyunderstood.Yuan Datoudidn’t capture her.

“Whathappened to me just now?”

Remembering the current situation, I was bewildered.