Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 529: Black Beans Showing the Way

It took me a while to pull myself together after listening to the story of the thirty-six women who had killed themselves to prove their love. I respected and admired them. At the same time, I had to figure out why Mr. Big Mole wanted to harm Lu Ming. 

Mr. Big Mole could be the descendant of one of the thirty-six women, and his family might have passed the grudge against Lu Yu to the next generations. 

Lu Ming had the same idea and asked skeptically, If he wanted to harm me right from the start, why did he wait until now? Why didn't he kill me at the time I bought the teapot? 

I dont know. We should remain vigilant, ready to deal with all changes. Im sure he will make the next move soon, I told him. 

Mr. Big Mole was good at casting illusion spells, so I would just wait for him here. I didnt think he was powerful enough to make this entire hotel disappear. 

But what happened next proved he could do that 

Anyway, now that I knew the old ghosts identity, I didnt want to arrange a defensive formation in the hotel room. Apart from illusion magic, Mr. Big Mole did not seem to have any other skills. After discussing the plan with Lu Ming, we decided to wait for him to come to us. At nightfall, we just stayed in the hotel. 

I didnt set up anything in the room, but I gave Lu Ming a few talismans just to be safe. I also kept the Peach Soul Flower at my waist. 

There werent many people in the township, and things were even quieter at night. Everything was fine before, but now that we were waiting, I felt so miserable here. 

Fortunately, we had the teapot with us. We werent scared and just sat quietly. Still, waiting didnt bring us joy. 

After midnight, Mr. Big Mole still hadnt come yet. Lu Ming yawned. Its so late. I dont think he will show up tonight. 

Perhaps. Anyway, you should sleep first. Im going to wait for him for a little longer. I glanced at the teapot, finding nothing strange.

I told Lu Ming to rest. He nodded, tucked into bed, and slept. 

I was the only one waiting. Around half an hour later, I also thought that Mr. Big Mole wouldnt show up tonight. I let my guard down and relaxed by playing Plants vs. Zombies on my phone. 

As I waited, I heard a clanging noise that made me turn around to check. Lu Ming had just kicked the teapot. 

I smiled. This grown man didnt have a good sleeping posture. I got up, picked up the teapot, and put it back. Then, I resumed my game. 

I later became tired. The clock on my phone showed that it was 2:00 AM. I was sure that Mr. Big Mole wouldnt come tonight. I turned to the bed and was prepared to sleep. Strangely, the bed was emptyLu Ming was gone! 

Both the door to the room and the toilet were in front of me. If he had gotten up to go there, I would have seen him. However, he disappeared without a sound. It was as if he had evaporated into thin air. 

Did Mr. Big Mole drag him into an illusion while he was sleeping? Why didnt Lu Yu help him?

I turned to the teapot. It was tilted again. The purple clay surface of the teapot now had frightening cracks. I now realized that the clanging noise the teapot made was probably Lu Yus reminder to me. 

Since Lu Yu hadnt shown up, I had to rely on myself. However, I didnt know how to deal with the Dai peoples illusion magic. For the time being, I moved around the room like an ant running on a hot pan. 

I suddenly saw Lu Mings coat on the hanger at the corner of the room. I got an idea. 

I burned three joss sticks then opened the window. Then, I used the coat hanger to raise his coat higher in the air and called his name loudly. 

It was the most basic soul beckoning technique. People in many rural areas had used this technique for quite a long time. As my voice grew louder, the surroundings seemed colder. After a gust of wind, more shadows appeared at the window. 

There were males, females, elders, and children. They were the wandering ghosts in this area. They came as I was beckoning the souls. I couldnt deny them. Otherwise, they would try every means to hinder Lu Mings soul. I had to take out a stack of yellow papers from my bag and burn it for them. 

Most of the ghosts left after receiving the offering, except for three old ghosts that lingered by the window. They smiled evilly at me. 

Want to take advantage of me, huh? I sneered. 

I had heard that ghosts could sometimes commit fraud. I didnt buy it at that time, but after seeing it for myself, my knowledge was widened. 

If they didnt have any dignity, I wouldnt be polite with them. I made some hand seals and threw a talisman. One of the ghosts got hit, screeched, and turned into a wisp of black smoke. The other two ghosts were scared and quickly fled. 

I didnt have time to mind them and continued to call Lu Mings name. Soon, I found a strange phenomenon happening to the three joss sticks I had burned. Two of them were burning fast. One was burning much slower. 

The three joss sticks represented Lu Mings three ethereal souls. Because the three joss sticks were burning at different speeds, it meant that Lu Ming had heard my calling. He wanted to return but he was trapped in Mr. Big Moles illusion magic. Under the two pulling forces, his three ethereal souls were parting!

If one of the three joss sticks burned down and Lu Ming hadnt come back, my soul beckoning ritual would fail. It would mean that he wouldnt return tonight. 

One more second in the illusory world was one more second he was in danger. I became tense.

At this moment, the teapot behind me clanged again. I lowered my head to look at it. The teapot tilted to one side. The lid had broken into a few pieces. 

It seemed Lu Yu wasnt in a better situation than I was. I couldnt rely on him. I turned around and called for Lu Ming. When my gaze fell to the teapot without the lid, I suddenly got an idea. 

This teapot was where Yu Lu dwelled. Even a small wisp of energy from this teapot was enough to subdue those ghosts outside. Since Lu Ming was Lu Yus descendant, he had to be familiar with his aura. 

I thought it over then brought the teapot to the window. I brought it to my mouth and used my best voice to scream as loud as possible. The sound echoed through the body of the teapot and escaped through the spout. It traveled far in the air. 

After screaming for a while, I saw that the three joss sticks now had the same burning rate. It meant my method had worked! 

A gust of cold wind came from a far distance. I then saw a black dot flying toward the window. It was moving so fast that it became clearer in my vision. In the end, it turned into a dark shadow. 

When I saw the shadow, I heaved a sigh of relief. It was Lu Mings soul. 

However, since his soul was forced to leave his body, he looked a little bewildered. He gazed at me with his dull eyes. 

I had gotten what I wanted. After everything was settled, I put out the three joss sticks.

Lu Mings soul would return to his body now, so I hurried to stick a talisman to the souls forehead. The talisman would slow down the soul without hurting it. It was a really good chance for me to follow his soul back to the illusional magic formation. 

I followed Lu Mings soul and recognized that it was heading in the opposite direction of Lu Yus fortified village. Since I wasnt familiar with the place, I became extra careful. When I arrived at the small pavilion, Lu Mings soul disappeared. 

This small pavilion seemed to be the entrance of the magic formation. I took out a handful of black beans and sprinkled them onto the ground as I advanced. 

Indeed, after entering the pavilion, my surroundings turned into a labyrinth. Fortunately, Lu Mings soul hadnt gone too far. I rushed after him and eventually, I found Lu Mings body in the center of the formation. 

When his soul saw his body, it was excited and quickly headed to the body. I had to make a few hand seals to stop it. Then, I lifted and supported Lu Mings body. 

I grabbed his soul and walked to a place where I could see the black beans. I tore the yellow talisman off the souls forehead.

Black beans had thick Yang energy, and although they couldnt destroy Mr. Big Moles illusional magic formation, they could damage Lu Mings soul. When the soul saw the black beans, it subconsciously wanted to run away. I had to hold it tightly. 

The most powerful feature of the formation was that it could change continuously. We may not be able to find the exit. However, no matter how much this labyrinth changed, the black beans I had sprinkled on the ground wouldnt disappear. 

Thus, I stopped after every step and waited for Lu Mings soul to become nervous. I just followed the black beans and advanced without hesitation. 

I kept walking for half an hour before I got rid of the illusional magic formation. Lu Mings soul was weak because of the black beans. I made him return to his body and slapped him to wake him up. 

Since Lu Mings soul was damaged, he needed to rest. However, the old ghost was in trouble and needed my help. I was afraid that if I left alone now, Lu Ming would be trapped again. Thats why I had to wake him up. 

Master Zhang, youre here Lu Ming knew that I had rescued him. He gave me a thumbs-up but his voice was so feeble. 

That old ghost must be in trouble now. We have to save him. Can you put up with this a little longer? I was worried that he would fall apart at a critical moment like this.