Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 199: Ghosts Smoking

After listening to Li Mingming, I broke out in a cold sweat.

It almost felt as if he was telling me a ghost story, but I knew that it was all real.

The old, white-bearded man was the main culprit.

Li Mingming, do you have any old items, I mean a very old one, in your house? I asked.

I suspected that the old, white-bearded man was the spirit of an otherworldly item in his house.

Li Mingming thought then answered, Uhm, I have a lot of antiques. Most of them are my fathers stuff and my mothers dowry. I have a dressing table, a pear wood closet, an old radio, and so on.

Is there anything older than one hundred years? I asked.

Li Mingming shook his head and said, No.

Then it was really strange. I contemplated and thought that there was only one possibility. Li Mingmings house had an otherworldly item but he didnt know about it.

Feeling helpless, I could only say, Its late now. How about staying in my shop tonight? Tomorrow, we will go to your house to check things out.

Li Mingming nodded. No problem. Anyway, I dont dare to go home alone.

After discussing things, Li Mazi bid me farewell.

Where are you going? I asked.

Li Mazi sighed and said, Ive rented a piece of land near Chu Chus grave to grow some honey peaches. She liked honey peaches the most.

It seemed Li Mazi still couldnt get over Chu Chu.

After a month, his affection for Chu Chu didnt weaken. Instead, it got even stronger.

I was afraid that he would stay like this for the rest of his life.

I looked at him with worry. However, he smiled and comforted me, as though he knew what I was thinking. Dont worry, I understand. Chu Chu wouldnt want me to waste the latter half of my life on a deceased person, either.

I felt more relieved after hearing that. I talked to him for a while before bidding him farewell. I told him that after we were done with this case, I would pay a visit to Chu Chus grave.

Li Mazi nodded then left.

Since I was free now, I poured Li Mingming a cup of water and asked him for more details.

Li Mingming was a member of the Urban Administrative and Law Enforcement Bureau in Beijings Dongcheng district. He was married and had kids. However, after the paranormal events started, he had sent his wife and kids to his wifes parents. He didnt want them to stay.

While we were talking, Yin Xinyue came to see me. These days, she was really busy with her company and wished she had a few clones to do everything she wanted. Since today was the weekend, she had a little time to relax.

I didnt expect Li Mingming to recognize her.

Are you the star Yin Xinyue, the one who appears on TV? he asked.

Yin Xinyue smiled and said embarrassedly, No, I just happen to look like her.

Li Mingming was a little sad. Oh, thats too bad. My wife and children are Yin Xinyues fans. They'd really like to have her autograph.

I could tell that he really cared about his wife and children. A man who cherished his wife and children had to be filial.

I took Yin Xinyue out for dinner. Li Mingming, do you want anything for dinner?

He shook his head, Its okay. I dont dare to go out. Since my Yang energy is low, my luck is also bad. If Im on the road, I would likely encounter an incident, like a car crash.

I forced a smile and left with Yin Xinyue.

We went to a Japanese restaurant and had salmon. Yin Xinyue had a sad expression. I knew she was still thinking about Chu Chus death.

I didnt know how to cheer her up. She had been with Chu Chu a lot recently, and they had built a strong bond. She liked Chu Chu because she was sincere and pure, which was really rare in a person.

However, after seeing Li Mazi being so depressed and hanging around Chu Chus grave for days, she felt even more heartache.

I sighed. This girl is very compassionate, and she really cares about other people.

Yin Xinyues eyes suddenly brightened. Should I introduce Li Mazi to a girl? Perhaps we can pull him out of this slump that way!

I thought carefully about this and considered it as a good solution. However, we couldnt tell him that we wanted to get him a girl. We had to make him gradually accept her first.

Yin Xinyue smiled and said, Leave everything to me! My university major is screenwriting, after all.

After chatting, we returned to my shop.

Li Mingming had ordered food for two people from a nearby restaurant. I half-joked, You sure can eat. You have a big appetite.

Li Mingming placed down his chopsticks. No, one portion is for me and the other one is for your grandfather.

I was stunned. My grandfather died seven or eight years ago. What are you talking about?

When Li Mingming heard that, he almost dropped his rice box. He said to me cautiously, Brother, dont scare me. When I was taking a shower, a grandpa knocked on the bathroom door.

I immediately became anxious. I dont even have staff in my antique shop. Im the only one working here. How could you see an old man?

But then, I thought, could it be that my grandpas ghost paid me a visit?

I rummaged through my house then showed Li Mingming a picture of my grandfather. He took a look at it and shook his head. No, thats not him.

I exhaled in relief and sat down. Whats happening here? Tell me the details, please.

Li Mingming said, While I was taking a shower, I heard someone knock on the bathroom door. I opened it a little and saw an old, bony man standing at the door. He was rubbing his beard. He told me not to waste too much water. I thought he was your grandfather so I nodded to show him that I understood.

It seems ghosts have been pestering you for real. They even followed you to my antique shop. I didnt know if I should laugh or cry.

No, thats impossible, said Li Mingming. He was really anxious and scared. Dont scare me. That old man was a real human. He had a gentle voice and walked like a normal person

You are really stubborn, I said then walked to the storage room to pick up a plastic bag of lime. I sprinkled the lime powder in front of the bathroom door.

Shortly after, several footprints appeared on it. The footprints reached the door then disappeared. It seemed that the person had vanished into thin air.

After seeing the scene, Li Mingming was terrified. He couldnt even eat. He looked at me in fright. Whom have I provoked? Why is a group of old men pestering me? Brother, you must save me!

Dont worry. Although I said that, I wasnt so sure how to deal with the situation.

Now, I was afraid of the white-bearded man the most. If the grave master said the truth and that old man almost crushed his soul with a book, this sort of ghost would be at a Ghost Kings level.

I couldnt subdue him with force. I had to use another method.

Yet, the white-bearded man seemed to have made up his mind on killing Li Mingming. Could I talk him out of it?

Since the white-bearded man had warned the grave master, I was afraid he would come and warn me tonight as I was also involved in Li Mingmings case. Thus, I decided not to sleep. I didnt want him to sneak in while I wasnt alert.

Tomorrow, we would go to Li Mingmings house and see what otherworldly item was wreaking havoc. Then, I would deal with that item directly.

I brought out all the items that could expel evil spirits in my shop, including the Sirius Whip, the Yin and Yang Umbrella, and the Universe Compass. I even burned three joss sticks to Guan Yu. Then, I stayed in the living room with Li Mingming and watched TV.

After watching TV for a while, I suddenly smelled something strange. It seemed someone was smoking.

I sniffed and was certain about it. However, I scanned the room and saw nothing strange.

Li Mingming also smelled the smoke. He sniffed and pointed at my bedroom.

Eh? I frowned and looked at the direction of my bedroom.

Sure enough, there were some wisps of blue smoke. The smoke got out of the slit between the door and the wall. However, since my antique shop was large, the blue smoke dispersed after it got out of the bedroom.

Some ghost is smoking in my bedroom! 

 I stood up and walked toward my bedroom...

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