Otherworldly Merchant

The neighborhood only had villas with the same structure, and there was nothing I could use as a landmark. We could only grope around in the dark since we hadn’t paid any attention to the road on our way here.

While running, I heard the sound of footsteps behind us. From the frequency, it didn’t seem like one person, but three.

Where did these people come from?! I didn’t dare to turn my head, but couldn’t suppress my curiosity, either. Eventually, I spotted a convex mirror at a turn ahead.

I raised my head and looked into it. 

In the next moment, I was scared out of my wits.

The three had scorched bodies, charred skin, and no eyes. Their faces couldn’t be seen clearly.

They were very close, and they would catch up to us with just a few steps.

Yin Xinyue was so scared that she was almost crying. She asked me, terrified, “W-Who are they?”

I shouted, “Don’t waste time talking, run!”

We ran in a straight line, and I refused to believe that we couldn’t get away from the place. 

However, I was proven wrong. In the end, we still ended up in front of that villa...

A faint voice whispered, “Come in, have a seat. Hehe...”

As the saying goes, even ghosts were afraid of evil people!

I felt that I had to man up and show that I wasn’t someone so easy to deal with. Otherwise, the other party would just grow increasingly arrogant!

I shouted, “I was kind enough to bring you back home, but you actually want to harm me?! Do you really think that I don’t have the means to deal with you?!”

“Hehe. Come in, have a seat,” the female voice whispered again. 

Yin Xinyue asked with tears in her eyes. “What should we do?”

I braced myself and said, “Keep running.”

As soon as I said that, I heard the sound of quick footsteps coming from the villa. Someone was running down from the second floor and seemingly heading toward us. 

The sound was pretty loud, and it didn’t seem to belong to a ghost. Is there a person in the villa?

While I was deep in thought, a voice came from the villa. “Zhang Jiulin!” 

Did someone just call my name? I became even more anxious. 

I stared at the devilish gate in a daze. 

In the end, the gate was pushed open from the inside, and a slender figure walked out. 

It was a man with an expressionless face and a fringe that covered one side of his face. He also had a long blue sword on his back. After seeing him, I almost cried out in shock. 

It’s the mysterious man! But, what’s he doing here?

Before I could speak, he stretched out two fingers and hinted for me to shut up. “Don’t talk. Head south, and don’t look back. Always head straight. We’ll meet at your antique shop.” 

I nodded and grabbed Yin Xinyue’s hand, heading south. 

The mysterious man closed in on us and reminded me again, “Remember, no matter what happens, don’t look back. Otherwise, both of you will die! The things in that villa aren’t something that you can deal with. Even I’m a little helpless.”

I was shocked. What’s hiding inside that villa that’s causing even the mysterious man to feel helpless?

Still, I was greatly relieved to see him here.

I always felt a feeling of warmth when he was around.

I followed his advice and headed south. We’d be safe once we were inside my antique shop.

When we were about to leave the compound, Yin Xinyue screamed and squatted on the ground, releasing my hand. I was shocked, and my first thought was to turn around and help her up.

However, I remembered the words of the mysterious man and decided to inquire first, “Yin Xinyue, how are you?”

Yin Xinyue answered, “I sprained my ankle, and I can’t walk... Zhang Jiulin, carry me on your back.”

"What did you just call me?”

"Zhang Jiulin.”

"Hmm!" I sneered. “You’re not Yin Xinyue.”  

I called out again, “Yin Xinyue, where are you?”

Yin Xinyue’s voice came from somewhere ahead of me. “Brother Zhang, hurry up!”

I cursed under my breath and hurried to catch up with her. 

Fortunately, we managed to leave the compound, and those things didn’t chase after us anymore. The surroundings also returned to normal, which put my mind at ease.

After returning to the antique shop, I turned on all the lights and sat down on the sofa, finally enjoying some peace.

Yin Xinyue gasped for her breath. “Brother Zhang, it was too thrilling! Perhaps even too much! Horror movies and the likes are nothing compared to what we experienced tonight!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If you want more thrill, you can always go to that villa again. I’m not going to stop you.”

Yin Xinyue smiled. “You’re really heartless. Do you plan to stand by and watch as a beauty dies?”

I told Yin Xinyue to place the lamp on the table and added some other ‘wonder oil’ to it. Now, I could finally relax.

Yin Xinyue seemed to have thousands of questions. “Why did we go look for that white cat? And, what was the deal with that villa?”

I explained, “That white cat should be the pet of the deceased. She was probably worried about it, and that’s why she went to look for it.”

“As for the villa, I’m not too sure, either. However, there must be some huge secret behind it!” 

I was still puzzled as to what had happened. The ghost in the lamp should’ve returned to her home first. Why did she go for the haunted villa instead? Also, why was the man in the Kumamon t-shirt there? 

While I was absorbed in my thoughts, I heard a scratching sound on the anti-theft door of my shop. I tensed up again and firmly stared at the door.

Who was it this time?

The scratching noise ceased and was quickly replaced by a knock on the door. 

I asked, “Who’s there?”

The voice of the mysterious man answered from outside the door, “It’s me.”

It’s him? How did he even find this place...?

I got up and went to open the door. 

The man in the Kumamon t-shirt was holding a white cat in his arms and looked exhausted. As soon as it entered the shop, the cat jumped down and dashed toward the lamp. It lay beside it and closed its eyes, starting to doze off.

The mysterious man asked, “Do you have something to eat?”

I nodded and told him to rest on the sofa. In the meantime, I made him a bowl of noodles with tomato sauce.

After he’d finished eating, he restored his cold countenance. 

I hurriedly asked, “What happened earlier? Why were you in that villa?”

The mysterious man said, “I’d been squatting outside that villa for three days and nights. I didn’t even eat or drink. I was waiting for those two souls to appear, and just as I was preparing to subdue them, you alarmed them. As a result, the plan failed, and I almost lost my life.”

After hearing this explanation, I immediately apologized. I didn’t expect that my reckless actions would bring him this much trouble.

The mysterious man waved it away. “It doesn’t matter. If something is bound to happen, it’ll happen. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.”

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