Otherworldly Merchant

I didn’t expect that the girl wearing heavy makeup was a nurse. Meticulously, she helped the man clean and disinfect his wounds. When she was done, she was sweating. 

Shortly after, the man woke up, his eyes bloodshot. As he was still gripping the long sword, I was worried that in his unconscious condition he’d wield it and hurt us. 

It was good that despite his terrible wounds, his mind was still clear. However, once his eyes were open, he spurted out a mouthful of blood. So, I hurried to help him clean his mouth with a piece of clean cloth.

“Where… are we now?” asked the mysterious man. 

“We’re about to leave the area surrounding Fengmen Village,” I told him. “We’ll reach the hospital soon. You’ll be alright!” 

The man who’d always wear a Kumamon t-shirt sighed in relief and lay down on the back seat. “No, go to Dabei Temple and find Zen Master Baimei.” 

Then, the man blacked out again. 

“Dabei Temple? Zen Master Baimei?” A little confused, I asked the girl wearing heavy makeup, “Are you from around here?” 

The girl wearing heavy makeup nodded instantly. 

The girl wearing thick makeup nodded again. “Yeah, it’s not far from here. It’s on a mountain.”

“Great,” I said excitedly. “Please lead us to Dabei Temple!” 

The girl wearing heavy makeup didn’t sound willing at all. “Brother, listen to me. Medical treatments now are very sophisticated. If we send him to a hospital, we can save him. Monks and temple things are simply superstitious. If this handsome brother’s wounds get infected, I’m afraid that even if we take him to a hospital, it’ll be too late…” 

I snorted. “What do you know?! He got corpse poison in his body. No hospital can treat him. We must go to Dabei Temple, right now.” 

The girl wearing heavy makeup was scared by my sudden outburst. She agreed and started guiding us.

From the highway, we directly took a turn. After around twenty-something kilometers, we reached the foothills of a mountain. 

Before us, there was an imposing temple standing on the peak of the mountain. The entire temple was magnificent, and we could see wisps of white smoke rising from the building. Also, while we still had some distance to traverse, we could already smell the sandalwood aroma. 

I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Shouldering the mysterious man, I began to climb the steps. 

Because I was focusing on the thoughts that the mysterious man was safe now, I temporarily forgot about my exhausted body. 

Persistently, I walked all the way to the mountain peak. 

By the time we’d reached the summit, my body had reached its limit, and my legs were so numb that I couldn’t feel them anymore. I was struggling to not pass out.

Li Mazi quickly walked forward to knock on the door. Not long afterward, a few young monks appeared. Upon seeing the mysterious man and his gory body, they were startled and promptly helped me bring him into the temple. 

I couldn’t catch up with them, so I screamed after them, “Find Zen Master Baimei. Hurry, find Zen Master Baimei!”  

The little monks turned to look at me before nodding. Then, one of them came to support me, asking me how I was related to the mysterious man. 

I forced a smile. “Closer than blood brothers…” 

After talking, my eyes drifted shut as I couldn’t hold it anymore, and I passed out from exhaustion. 

The moment I opened my eyes again, I found a young monk using a towel to wipe my forehead. My mouth felt so dry, so I wanted some water, and as I’d recovered a bit of my strength, I tried to sit up. 

“Where’s my wounded friend?” I took a deep breath, asking. 

The little monk smiled at me. “You meant Benefactor Chuyi?”

Chuyi? Was that the name of the mysterious man? I nodded immediately. 

“Benefactor Chuyi is safe now,” the little monk said. “He’s in Zen Master Baimei’s zen room to cure his wounds.” 

I exhaled in relief. “That’s good then. Oh right, how do you know that he’s called Chuyi?” 

The little monk smiled. “He’s always Zen Master Baimei’s honored guest whenever he visits. His class and identity are really high. We don’t even have the qualifications to look straight at him.” 

I was a little moved. I’d never thought that the mysterious man had such high standing. 

The young monk smiled, asking, “Are you going to see Benefactor Chuyi now?” 

I instantly nodded. “Oh right, can I see him now? Will it affect Zen Master Baimei’s treatment for him?” 

The young monk told me, “I’m not sure, but Zen Master Baimei told me that when you woke up, I could take you to the zen room.” 

“Where’s my other friend?” I meant Li Mazi. 

The monk answered, “He’s praying in the hall. I’m going to take you to the zen room first.” 

I nodded to him. 

The little monk led me to a quiet zen room in a remote corner. I didn’t expect that a senior monk would live in such a remote area. Did he violate something and being kept in a dark room was the punishment? 

I gently knocked on the door, then heard a strong voice call out from inside, “Please, come in!” 

I pushed the door open and saw the mysterious man sitting in front of Zen Master Baimei. His torso was naked and he was only wearing a pair of shorts. He wasn’t bleeding anymore, but there were still many wounds and scratches on his body, which was really horrible to see.

Seeing me, the mysterious man gave me a smile before he walked out of the zen room. 

As he passed, he told me that Zen Master Baimei wanted to talk to me in private. I nodded, then respectfully sat down in front of the Zen Master. 

Zen Master Baimei observed me for a moment, then asked, “Young Benefactor, after you fainted, I checked the contents of your bag. Please don’t blame me! Anyway, I have some doubts. How come you have the Yin and Yang Umbrella and the Sirius Whip?” 

I answered him honestly, “They’re from my grandfather.” 

“Ah, so they belonged to Brother Zhang Yaoyang.” 

“That’s my grandfather’s name.” I looked at Zen Master Baimei in surprise. How did he know my grandfather’s name? He’d even called him brother. Was there some untold relationship between the two?

“So it’s true,” Zen Master Baimei sighed. “Back then, your grandfather and I had a good friendship. Too bad, sigh, it’s not easy to predict the future…” 

I nodded. “Thank you, Zen Master, for your concern.” 

“Later on, you must be careful,” Zen Master Baimei said. “Brother Yaoyang offended many old freaks in the otherworldly items community. I’m afraid they’ll vent their anger on you.” 

I was perplexed, because Zen Master Baimei and my grandfather didn’t look like they had anything in common. 

In my memories, my grandfather was a loyal and honest merchant. He was a man of harmony and enthusiasm. Until now, he hadn’t had any enemies. Why would Zen Master Baimei say that my grandfather had a lot of enemies? Noticing the different impressions we had of my grandfather, I couldn’t help but ask him again.

Zen Master Baimei smiled. “Different people see different situations. Of course, they wouldn’t be the same. No need to talk so much.” 

I nodded, looking pensive. 

“In the future, if you meet any trouble, you can tell me. I’ll try my best to help you.” 

Feeling touched, I once again nodded. 

At this moment, I suddenly thought of something. Since my grandfather had many enemies, would his death be related to those enemies...? 

With this thought, my mind started racing, so I immediately raised the question.