Otherworldly Merchant

“The match is decided. Congratulations to the winner for obtaining Prince Ma’s Whip!”

I cast them a glance and carried Chuyi towards the inn. 

“Merciful Buddha,” chanted Zen Master Baimei. He brought his palms together in front of his chest then followed me. “Young Benefactor, don’t worry. Chuyi will be fine.” 

I didn’t bat an eye at him. When we arrived at the inn, I carefully placed Chuyi on the bed and treated his wounds. 

There was not a single square inch of intact skin on his body. Dark blood was oozing from the wounds created by the Ghost Cutter. Zen Master Baimei used the same method to treat the cuts. Strangely enough, Chuyi didn’t scream when the knife cut into his flesh, nor did he react when the old monk put ointment on him. 

My eyes turned watery again as I was too worried. I said, “Why is that?” 

Zen Master Baimei shook his head and said, “Chuyi’s soul is inside Prince Ma’s Whip. We’ll need to take him out.” 

I shot Zen Master Baimei a fierce glance. However, he remained indifferent. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him, so I took out my tools to prepare to beckon Chuyi’s soul. 

Prince Ma’s Whip now belonged to Chuyi. That was why it wasn’t hard to beckon his soul. I used a few drops of Chuyi’s blood to invite his soul. Slowly, his soul flew out of the whip. 

Chuyi’s soul looked extremely fragile as though he could vanish in the next moment. I hurriedly made him enter the body. 

Even though Chuyi was bold, he was still a human. If his soul was away from his body for a long time, it would be hard to recover. His soul nodded at me then swayed his way into his body. 

After hearing Chuyi groan, I exhaled in relief. At this moment, we heard people clamoring downstairs. Zen Master Baimei changed his countenance. He stood by the window and watched outside. 

“Merciful Buddha!” He chanted, then said indifferently, “It’s time for me to go on the stage.” 

I looked through the window and saw that the screen above the market had changed to “Zen Buddha Beads vs Taiyi Traceless Sword.”

“It’s starting...” Zen Master Baimei said deeply. He turned and left the room as his kasaya billowed. 

I grabbed my weapon and followed him. Although I wasn’t pleased that he had prevented me from stopping Chuyi earlier, I knew it wasn’t his fault. It was part of Chuyi’s plan, and Zen Master Baimei had simply cooperated with him. 

The opposing party had two hotshots. I wouldn’t let something unexpected happen to Zen Master Baimei. 

“What’s wrong?” 

When I got out of the door, I saw Zen Master Baimei standing still. He grimaced. He extended a finger and pointed forward. 

I followed his finger and saw One-Armed Dragon and Yin-Yang Tiger glaring at us maliciously. I felt delighted. It seemed Yi Zhangqing’s death was a big blow to them! 

Zen Master Baimei frowned and said, “I can’t believe One-Armed Dragon has recovered that quickly...”

My countenance froze after I heard him. The punishment from the Demon King wasn’t that heavy, but Zen Master Baimei had coughed blood twice at that time, and he hadn’t recovered yet. Meanwhile, One-Armed Dragon looked fine. 

How strong was One-Armed Dragon?!

One-Armed Dragon sneered. He brought his hand to his neck and made a cutting gesture. Yin-Yang Tiger’s eyes were full of murderous intent as he gazed at us. It was as if he was looking at two corpses. The two of them stared at us for a while before leaving the inn. 

I made a sullen face. “Zen Master Baimei, what should we do now? Yin-Yang Tiger looks tough. And, we’re not One-Armed Dragon’s equal opponent.” 

Zen Master Baimei didn’t look pleased. He kept silent for a while, then sighed. “Merciful Buddha, I will try to improvise and stop any strike that comes at me.” 

Then, he went downstairs. I followed closely behind him. The street was even more bustling and hustling than the day before. Ghosts gathered on both sides of the street and looked at the screen above the market. However, they acted as though they didn’t see us. 

“It’s starting,” I mumbled. Zen Master Baimei grabbed the mala beads and headed out of the village. 

After walking for a while, he looked up at the sky and turned to talk to me. “We have to finish this match before nightfall.” 

I understood his meaning. Fengdu had a moonless night. However, with his pair of Yin-Yang eyes, Yin-Yang Tiger could see through darkness naturally. Zen Master Baimei and I wouldn’t be able to deal with him at night as our movements would be limited. 

After we left the village, we saw Yin-Yang Tiger’s figure in the far distance. However, after he made a step forward, he disappeared. I held the Holy Mother Scepter and was about to run after him. However, Zen Master Baimei pulled me back and pointed at the void in front of us. “Look over there.” 

I followed his line of sight and saw towers that extended from the ground like bamboo shoots. There were seven of them. 

Zen Master Baimei muttered, “It is so.” 

I was puzzled. “Zen Master, what are those?” 

Zen Master Baimei bowed to the seven towers and mumbled an apology. Then, he started to chant something. The chain of mala beads in his hand started to glow. 

The white light from the beads became dazzling. I used my palm to cover my eyes. Then, I heard Zen Master Baimei scream, “Go!” 

The mala beads flew toward the seven towers. I then followed Zen Master Baimei to the yard between the towers. There was an Eight Diagram carved on the door. After thinking about the opponent’s weapon, which was the Taiyi Traceless Sword, I had a bad feeling. “The souls dwelling in that otherworldly item were the seven disciples of the Quanzhen School, right?” 

Zen Master Baimei nodded with a stern face. 

“Damn!” I cursed under my breath. In history, the Quanzhen Seven Sons were the seven disciples of Wang Chongyang, the founder of the Quanzhen School. Although their martial arts were exaggerated in novels like the Legend of the Condor Heroes, the Quanzhen Seven Sons had indeed reached the peak in Daoist cultivation. 

For example, the Master of Changchun, Qiu Chuji, had once prayed for the rain to help people. Later on, people started calling him “Living Immortal.” He’d even traveled ten thousand miles to the west to persuade Genghis Khan to stop raising his butcher knife over the innocent people. Legends about him had spread all over China. 

Zen Master Baimei observed for a while, then heaved a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, only Qiu Chuji’s spirit is staying inside that sword.” 

“Watch out!” I screamed and pulled Zen Master Baimei. We rolled on the ground as a jet of sword energy brushed past our heads. I felt my scalp burning. 

Zen Master Baimei rolled and jumped up. The chain of mala beads in his hand caught the sword handle and pulled it down. The sword landed with a clanging noise. The seven towers slowly disappeared. 

I frowned. Yin-Yang Tiger had lured us here, but it wasn’t just to launch one attack. Before I could remind Zen Master Baimei, the situation changed again. The Traceless Sword that had fallen suddenly floated up and aimed at Zen Master Baimei. 

Zen Master Baimei couldn’t avoid it. The sword left a cut on his arm. I knew it wasn’t good that the sword had tasted his blood. I immediately pulled Zen Master Baimei aside. 

Indeed, as soon as Zen Master Baimei and I moved away, a few shining blades appeared on the ground. If we weren’t fast enough, Zen Master Baimei would have been a sieve right now. 

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Thank you.” 

I shook my head. “The situation’s not favorable at all. What should we do now?” 

Zen Master Baimei said, “Young Benefactor, in the next moment, please try your best.” 

I nodded. “Sure, I will!”