Otherworldly Merchant

The Japanese soldier wasn't a living person, but a statue made of brass stuck on the head of the giant python.

The head of the giant python was smooth and flat, with a relatively large mouth. Its small eyes were emitting red light, and coupled with its long tongue, it made one's scalp go numb.

"Little Brother, run!" Li Mazi shouted.

At this time, he’d gotten a shovel from God knew where and was hitting the head of the giant python with it.

The giant python swung its tail again, knocking Li Mazi away and creating large waves.

For fear that it might eat Li Mazi, I quickly climbed on the roof of a house and started hurling broken tiles at the snake.

My attempt to enrage it was successful. The python left Li Mazi alone and rushed in my direction.

I was somewhat surprised while looking at the giant python. People said that one should hit a snake seven inches below the head to kill it, but the place seven inches below the head of the python was protected by the statue of the Japanese soldier. It had no weaknesses.

As the giant python got closer and closer, I started to get anxious.

In the end, I had no other choice but to jump down from the roof.

However, the snake wasn't stupid, and it swiftly surrounded the house, its eyes filled with killing intent.

Just as I’d reached a dead end, a cold voice echoed in my ears. "Come over here."

Suddenly hearing this voice gave me a fright. I looked in the direction the voice had come from and saw a tall and slender figure leaning against the wall of the courtyard. The figure was holding a long, blue-colored scabbard.

It was a man with very pale skin wearing a loose Kumamon t-shirt.

He had an oval face and a vacant look in his eyes. He resembled the 'national husband' Song Joong-ki[1] from the TV series ‘Descendants of the Sun’.

However, if one looked carefully, they would notice that his vacant eyes were filled with strong killing intent!

I was surprised after seeing the sword in his hand. It was unexpectedly an eight-faced Han sword forged during the Han Dynasty, and it was possible to tell from the exquisite scabbard that it was the real deal and not a fake.

If one wanted such a sword, the price on the market was definitely over 1 million renminbi[2].

Nonetheless, I found it hard to believe that someone was using collectibles as weapons in the current year.

"W-who are you?" I asked with a stutter.

"Someone that can save you." The voice of the man was as cold as a perennial iceberg. "There’s no time, quickly come over."

I wasn't sure why, but I felt as though I was related to this person. He felt like a long lost friend, someone that wouldn’t hurt me.

Therefore, I subconsciously ran to his side.

At the same time, the door burst open, and the hideous head of the giant python came inside to take a look.

But, right at that moment, I heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. The man wearing Kumamon's t-shirt disappeared from where he was standing, and the next time he appeared, the long sword had already left a deep wound on the head of the giant python.

He was so fast that I was rendered speechless. I couldn’t understand how he’d been able to run over there, draw his sword, and slash at the snake, all in less than a second.

The giant python hissed due to the sharp pain, quickly shrinking its head back.

The man wearing Kumamon's t-shirt followed after it. However, he didn't attack this time around. He instead pointed his hand toward the giant python and chanted a pleasant-sounding incantation.

The incantation seemed to be filled with compassion. It was somewhat similar to Buddhist incantations, but also different at the same time. It was my first time hearing it.

In the next moment, a miracle took place. The giant python, who’d been angrily swinging its tail around just a moment ago, gradually calmed down. Then, it obediently nuzzled its head underwater and stopped moving, just like a meek pet.

After a short moment, its body sank into the water as though it had died.

The man wearing Kumamon's t-shirt sighed faintly, bowing toward the giant python. Afterward, he dug out its eyes and put them in his pocket, leaving with his sword on his back.

From beginning to end, he didn't say another word to me.

Only after he’d disappeared amidst the flooded village did I return to my senses. I wanted to ask him what his name was, but it was too late now.

At this time, the remaining villagers also came over. Seeing that the giant python was dead, they all heaved sighs of relief.

As for the village head, he went to open the sluice gates of the dam to deal with the water flooding the village.

After everyone had left, Li Mazi, his sword brother, and I inspected the body of that giant python 'wearing' a Japanese soldier on its head.

I didn’t understand why the members of Yama's Army stationed here in the past had given the giant python such strange headgear. In addition, how had the snake survived for so long?

With the help of Li Mazi's sworn brother, I took the statue off the head of the python. Soon after, we made a rather disgusting discovery. Due to prolonged contact between the brass and the skin of the snake, the head of the python had developed countless tumors.

I was someone who suffered from trypophobia, and after seeing the various tumors, some of which were semi-transparent, I couldn’t help but throw up.

After the flood was taken care of, we searched Yama's Execution Ground and found a large hole inside. The large hole was man-made, and there were a lot of human bones inside.

My guess was that Yama's Army had once used the hole to deal with the corpses of the prisoners. The bodies of the prisoners were likely cut to pieces and then fed to the giant python.

The huge hole was connected to the small river outside, hence the reason for the flood.

After dealing with Yama's Execution Ground, I told the village head the truth.

Once he’d heard my explanation, the old man quieted down. After a short moment, he said, "My parents were also killed by Japanese soldiers. Back then, I was playing outside the village and managed to escape death by sheer luck."

He also confirmed that a large number of Japanese soldiers had committed harakiri in this place in the past.

At the same time, he guaranteed that he would report everything that had happened to the government and have them deal with this matter.

As for me, I took the Snake-Fostering Blade and left.

It was unknown who’d leaked the news, but the next day, a Japanese man came to my shop. He claimed to be someone from the Japanese embassy and wished to buy the Snake-Fostering Blade at a high price. The price he offered was, in fact, several times higher than the market price.

Nevertheless, he would only buy the Snake-Fostering Blade on one condition. We had to forever forget about this matter related to Yama's Execution Ground.

I sneered and refused. Merchants were greedy, but that didn't mean that they had no integrity.

Did he really think that a little bit of money was enough to buy one’s dignity?

In the end, the matter related to Yama's Execution Ground ended up in the newspapers, and even foreign reporters covered the news. Due to international pressure, the Japanese embassy was forced to compensate the village, and the director of the embassy privately bought the Snake-Fostering Blade, guaranteeing that he would learn from this lesson.

In the end, we sold the Snake-Fostering Blade for 3 million renminbi[3]. Li Mazi, his sworn brother, and I received 1 million each.

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1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_Joong-ki

2. Around 140,000 USD.

3. Around 425,000 USD.

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