Otherworldly Merchant
Chapter 503: Pursuing the Culprit

Although the jade wasn’t that valuable, it was better than nothing. Moreover,thehandkerchief could be soldata high price. I didn’t want to let this chance slip away,but I didn’t know how tobring it up.

Fortunately, I had chatted with the grannie about the business of otherworldly merchantsbefore. She patiently explained to her son,“Son, you shouldn’tset your eyeson these things. Master Zhang has saved our lives. Give all of these to him.”

“You have a point. Moreover,I don’t want to live the rest of my lifein fear…” Zhou Tian decided to give upand agreed readily.

I just smiled. “We’ll talk againwhenI’m done dealing with that thing.”

I wrapped up theboxand asked everybody to return toGrannie’s hotel.

Thatafternoon, I went to the orchard nearbyand boughtmany peach trees. Then, I headed tothe market to buy a sharp sickle.

Zhou Tian curiously followed methe entiretime. “Master Zhang, I knowthatpeach woodcanexpel evil spirits. Butwhat about the sickle?”

“You’ll see soon.” I smiledwithout explaining further.

We thenwent to their old, single-story cottage. I planted the peach stakes around the altarandusedtheremainingonesto arrange a path from the altar to thecoal hole.

“You want to entice that evil spiritto come here?”Zhou Tian could seewhat I was doing, buthe was a little puzzled. “If you want to lure it here, you shouldn’t block the table.Otherwise, it won’t dare to come closer andwill run away!”

“Yeah, that’s theoutcomeI want.Allotherworldlyspirits haveone thing in common—they can’t leave the otherworldly item for a long time.Otherwise,they will be swallowed by the Yang energy in the world outside. Ifthe spiritcanlivefor a long time outside the otherworldly item, I’m sure there’s something else it can take shelter in.”

If the main otherworldly item was a jade from the pre-Qin period, thesecondaryitemshould also be valuable. I guessed I could have an unexpected harvest this time.

There was anotherpossibility, though.Someonemight have wantedto harm the grannie and her old husband. That person might have plottedagainst them, causing them tounearth the otherworldly item. And now, since thespiritdidn’t dare to confront me, it had probably returned to its master.Thiswas the worst possibility.

However, since everything had come to this, I had to clench myteethandmove forward.

“How can I help you?” asked Zhou Tian.

I knew he wanted to do something for me, but I didn’t have anything that I needed his help with. I asked him to take his wife and mother to the hostel and wait for me there.As long as they didn’t cause me anytrouble, it would be enough.

Theskygrewdarkerand the temperature graduallydropped. I hid in a corner of the old cottage with the sickle in my hand.I carefully watched thecoal hole.

After that fight with thespiritearlier, I was certain that I could protect myself. However,I wasn’t sure if I could subdue it.

Therefore, I woulddestroyits shelterto forceit out. Afterward, I would negotiate with itand increase my odds.

Waiting wasn’t pleasant. The closer it was to midnight, the more restless Ibecame.I thought for a moment andplaced the compass next to me.

EvenifI didn’t noticeanything,as long asthe compass handle moved, it would createarattling noise.

I had lost track of the timeas I waited, but all of a sudden, I heardarattling noise come from the hole. I pulled myself togetherand heldthe sickle tighter.It had finallyarrived!

However, the rattling noise soon disappeared, and the compass didn’t reactthe whole time.

“What’s going on?” I muttered to myself, frowning.

Right asI was about to go there to check, I heard Zhou Tianscreamfrom the hostel. “Help! Please help!”

It seemed thespirithad realizedthat I had set upatrap in the cottage, so it went tothe hostel to trouble Zhou Tian. My heart sank. I dropped the sickle and rushed to the hostel.

The scream came from the lobby. When Igotthere, Ididn’t see anybody.I was bewilderedand prepared to go upstairs.Then, I heard someone descend the stairs.

Zhou Tian was rushing downstairs with a worried face. When he saw me, he heaved a sigh of relief, gaspingfor his breath. “Master, whoscreamedfor help? His voicewasthe sameasmine!”

“Not good. Wewerefooled!”Iimmediatelyreturnedto the cottage. However,the box I had placed on the altar table was gone!

At the same time, my peach stake formation wasstillintact. None of the stakeshadmoved.Thismeant that it wasn’taspirit who tookthe box.Aliving person had doneit.

Ifa human came, my peach formation wouldn’tactivate. It seemed my guesswas correct. There was someone behind that otherworldly item!

I noticedsomething else, too.This otherworldly itemhad targetedZhou Tian thisentire time. It didn’tattackanyone else.

I wondered,Did Zhou Tian do something that made peoplehatehim?

I didn’t know why,but I turned to look at Zhou Tian. He became worriedand wavedhis hand. “Master, why are you looking at me? What should we do now?”

After hearinghis question, I pulled myself together. I gave Zhou Tian several talismansand askedhim to stay in the hostelandprotect his mother. Then, I crawled out of the holeinthe wall and began torun.

Behind the old cottage was a small alley that wasnearlyblocked with miscellaneousitems.WhenIgotthere, Ididn’t see anything on either side.

Feeling helpless, I had to release Little Lin, askinghim to find the box’s location. It was good that the boy had fought against the red mistyesterday. He was soon able to trackthe directionin which theboxwastaken.

“Brother, hop on. I’ll takeyou there!”

“I’ll check the situation first. You should go back.”

I retrieved Little Linand puthim into the paper crane. Then, I dashed in the direction he had told me.

Although Little Lin could take me there faster, that personwas able tosteal the otherworldly item under my watch. Itmeant that hehadimpressive skills anda cunning mind.

If that personattackedLittle Lin,Little Linwouldn’t be able toescape.Unless I was in a helpless situation, I wouldn’texposeLittle Lin to the dark hand behind all ofthis.

Fortunately, the nearby areawas ina developing zone. The small alley led to abigconstruction site.

I scanned thearea.Steel bars were used to fence the place, and there was no one walking on the street at this moment.Thislocation wasconvenient for me. AfterI had run aroundfor a while, I saw a rickety figure slowlywalking ahead of me.

The old man looked suspicious. He was limpingon the streets alone at midnight.Sincehe was slow,I walked around the fenceand followedhim, keeping somedistance at first.

As the distance between us shortened, I saw the thing he was holdingagainsthis chest. It was the bronze box.

Instinctively, I yanked the Yin and Yang Umbrella frombehindand preparedto strike. The man seemedto havesensedmy movements. He haltedand turnedaround to look.

There was a signboard next tome. Before the old man could see me, Iquicklyhid behindit.

However, the old man keptglancingat the position where Iwas standing justa moment ago.

My skin crawled.Was I busted?

Then, a familiar voice cried behind me. Subconsciously, I turned aroundand saw the red misttrying to hitmy chest.

“Damn it! Here it comes again!” I cursedand swiftly movedaside to dodge thespirit’s attack. Ithenused the Heavenly Dipper Step, wieldingmy Yin and Yang Umbrella to shoo the mist away.

The old man had spotted me, so he had released thespiritto pester me, which gave him time to run. I knew the old man was the keyto thiscase.To get rid of the attack, I used my whole force. The black and white power of the Yin and Yang Umbrella broke through the red mist.

I seized the chance and opened the Yin and Yang Umbrella, spinningit. The red mist was shatteredand vanished into the air.

Ithen felt thatsomething was wrong. Yesterday, when I used the Sirius Whip to hit the mist, thespiritreturned to its original form, which was a legless ghost.But now, I was using the mighty Yin and Yang Umbrella to deal with it, and it hadn’t made a soundeven thoughtheumbrellawasmuch more powerful than the Sirius Whip!

Before I could make sense of the situation, Ifelta twinge at the soles of my feet. Right after that, I couldn’t stand anymoreand fellto the ground.

At the same time, I saw thespiritcrawling toward me with a sneer onhisface. Iunderstoodit now. The red mist from before was just an illusion!

Before I could get up, thespiritflew up from the ground,aimingat my head with the hammer andchisel in his hands.

If Iwashit, my head wouldliterally explode. Ibegan to sweat.

I grittedmy teeth and rolled twice to dodgehisfatal attack. Right after that, Iaimedthe Yin and Yang Umbrella at his chest.

Thespiritdidn’t expect me to be that fast.Due to that short moment ofhesitation, the Yin and Yang Umbrella hit him. Dazzling sparks appeared at his chest. Helet out an agonizing scream,then turnedinto a mass of red mist thatchased after the old man.

After itwasgone, Igot up with the help ofthe Yin and Yang Umbrella and looked around.Unfortunately,the old man had already disappeared.

Moreover, my feet were hurting. Even if I could catch up to him, Iwouldn’t be able todo anything.I triedtoignorethe painand slowlyreturned to the hostel.

After a while, I saw Zhou Tian. I became more cautiousand pointedtheumbrella at him. “Who the hell are you?”

“Master Zhang, I’m Zhou Tian. My motherwasworried thatyou werein danger,so she asked me to help you. Luckily, there’s a camera at the back door. Otherwise, Iwouldn’t have foundyou.” Zhou Tian suddenly paused.He looked shocked when he saw my shaking legs. In a panic, he asked,“Master Zhang, what happened to you?”