The mysterious man said, "The Longquan Villa has its eyes on you. I don"t know why they took a liking to you, but they want to turn you into a "corpse puppet" that they can make use of."
I gawked and felt as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water on my head.
The two eyes on my back were the doing of the Longquan Villa, and I"d been oblivious up until now.
If they get their hands on the corpse pearl, not even the mysterious man would be able to stop them from turning me into a corpse puppet... That"s why he wants to find the pearl before the Longquan Villa. It"s the only way to save me!
I was depressed and cursed those guys. "Are they blind or something?! I bought the lamp because it was offered to me! Is there really a need to target me like this?"
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt explained, "You"re wrong. From what I understand, it was the fatty that had arranged everything so that the Longquan Villa would take notice of you. I don"t know what kind of grudge there was between the two of you, but it might be something related to your grandfather or father."
I lowered my head in dejection and took a sip of my drink. I was so angry that my entire body was shaking. Who the h.e.l.l did I offend this time?!
Still, there was no time for regret.
I glanced at the man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt as I asked him, "Where can we find a corpse pearl? I want to set out immediately and look for it. I don"t want to become a corpse puppet."
He contemplated for a while before replying, "If we want to seek the corpse pearl, we have to take a few risks. Fengmen Village… it might be there…"
When I heard the name "Fengmen Village", my face paled.
Fengmen Village was a famous haunted village in China, located in Henan.
According to the rumors, around a hundred villagers, including males, females, elders, and children, suddenly disappeared one day. Strange stories about the place spread, with most of them being from the people that had gone to explore it.
On the internet, there were all kinds of ghost stories about the village. The ghastly face beside the pillow, children crying in a mist of blood, murdering armchairs, and evil soldiers eating souls, just to name a few. Some of the explorers had personally experienced these things and even took pictures.
Regardless of whether these ghost stories were true or not, the fact that the three of us would have to head there and stay a few nights made my scalp go numb…
Li Mazi was even more nervous than me. As soon as he heard about Fengmen Village, he opened his eyes wide and gave me an awkward smile. I was aware that he didn"t want to deal with this matter that brought him no income.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt said, "It might be our only chance. You have to decide carefully."
What else was there to decide? I believed in him, and he wasn"t someone who"d lie to me.
Moreover, I even had two "eyes" on my back… I had no choice in the matter; I could only accept.
Then, I turned to Li Mazi.
He beckoned and said, "My son is sick, and I have to take care of him. I won"t be able to accompany you guys this time."
I flew into a rage and covered him with insults. "I risked my life to save yours when you were in danger! But, when I"m the one in need, you just want to stand by and do nothing? Do you have no shame?!"
However, Li Mazi didn"t budge and kept using his son as an excuse.
In the end, I said, "If that"s the case, I"ll cut off every relations.h.i.+p we have and won"t do business with you anymore."
Li Mazi finally started wavering. "Still… there"s no one at home that can take care of my son."
I rea.s.sured him. "That"s easy to solve."
I called Yin Xinyue and asked her to take care of Li Mazi"s son for a while.
Since it was my request, Yin Xinyue readily agreed.
Li Mazi was finally relieved. "However, I won"t follow you for nothing."
I understood what he meant. "Don"t worry. You"ll have your share."
After the discussion was over, I returned to my shop to prepare. The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt had said to keep things simple and bring only stuff that would be useful, which put me in a dilemma.
At first, I wasn"t really planning to use the unique items that my father and grandfather had left behind, but the mysterious man reminded me of how dangerous that place was, and that it was best to bring everything that might be useful.
So, I took out all the things that my father and grandfather had used in the past and started to rummage through them.
In the end, I chose the following two treasures: the Yin and Yang Umbrella, and the Sirius Whip. These two things were otherworldly items, and from their craftsmans.h.i.+p, they should be very valuable antiques.
I didn"t know much about the origins of the Yin and Yang Umbrella.
The item looked like a normal umbrella, but it was completely made of stainless steel. The surface looked strange, with white on the right and black on the left; just like the Yin and Yang symbol.
The umbrella was a defensive otherworldly item.
As for the Sirius Whip, I"d heard about it from my father. It was rumored that Emperor Li s.h.i.+min had used it to flog the corpse of the politician, Wei Zheng. It was seemingly an item filled with hatred. But, whether these rumors were true or not, I didn"t know.
However, one could tell from the materials that the whip was far from ordinary.
It had been manufactured from desert wolf skin and ox tendons, which made it very effective against the undead.
Still, meeting an undead being wasn"t something that happened every day, and I didn"t know for sure how effective it would be.
I also packed some food to allay our hunger on the way and save time.
However, even after I was done with my luggage, Li Mazi hadn"t come to pick me up. As such, I dragged my luggage over to his place.
When I arrived, I saw him packing some clothes and blankets. I got angry and said, "Didn"t we talk about it already? We don"t need to bring these things. We can buy them when we get there, I"ll pay."
Li Mazi explained, "This is for my son. I plan to head to the hospital first and deliver him this stuff. The blankets and clothes there are too thin, and it wouldn"t be good if he caught a cold right now..."
I was moved by his words. The love of a parent! For the past few years, things were hard for him. He had to be both a father and a mother… and even now, he"s worried about his son.
I realized how selfish I was being. I sighed and told him, "You don"t have to go if you don"t want to."
But, to my surprise, Li Mazi didn"t shrink back. "No, I want to earn my share!"
When we arrived at the hospital, Yin Xinyue was chatting with Li Mazi"s son.
Seeing Li Mazi, she said with a smile, "Li Mazi, your genes aren"t bad. You have a cute little boy here. I"ve had a discussion with him, and when he"s done with the treatment, he"ll come to our company for an interns.h.i.+p. We happen to be training a group of young idols, and your son seems to have potential."
Li Mazi was overjoyed.
We exchanged some words and went to find the mysterious man.
The man in the k.u.mamon t-s.h.i.+rt was waiting for us at the entrance of the entertainment club. He didn"t have many things with him, only a backpack and a sword.
We got into the car and headed to Fengmen Village.
We didn"t talk much along the way.
When we reached the closest town to Fengmen Village, we got some supplies and stuff for camping. We spent the night in the town before departing very early the next day.
Fengmen Village was situated on a big mountain, and the road leading there was terrible. There was only a small path meandering into the mountain, and our car had to stop several kilometers away from the village.
With no other choice left, we had to park the car and start walking.
But, after walking for a while, we saw a Volkswagen Santana parked alongside the road. There was n.o.body inside the car, but it seemed that someone else was also here to explore the place.
Li Mazi joked, "It seems that we"re not alone! I wonder if there are any beauties in that group of tourists."
We struggled through the path leading to Fengmen Village. When we reached our destination, we saw several schoolgirls in jeans, who were posing and taking photos in the village.
Li Mazi"s mood soared as soon as he saw the group. He smiled and joked once more, "Perhaps we can have a romantic party tonight."
The other party consisted of young ladies, while our team only had males.
I scolded him, "We aren"t here to flirt!"
As we neared, we attracted the attention of the girls. They were all very pretty, and they couldn"t cover up the charm exuding from their bodies.
Among the group, a girl with short hair caught my attention.
She wore a pink miniskirt which exposed her fair thighs, a pair of gla.s.ses on her small and cute nose, and she had a little mouth. At first glance, she looked like a cartoon character, giving people the feeling of a girl next door.
The female students then gathered and whispered for quite a long time. Eventually, one of them smiled came forward to greet us.
She asked, "Can you help us take some pictures?"
Li Mazi hurriedly replied, "Sure, beautiful lady. It"ll be our pleasure."
Then, using Fengmen Village as the background, Li Mazi took several pictures of the girls. However, it seemed that they weren"t satisfied yet, so they ran toward me and the mysterious man, blending in and taking more photos. One of them even showed a starry-eyed expression while hugging the arm of the mysterious man.
His brows slightly furrowed, and it looked like he could draw his sword at any moment...