Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 482: The Talented Musician Paganini

People were weird at times. Last night, when we were in deadly danger, I hated that I couldnt just pull Li Mazi and run away from this place. I didnt want to linger in this church for even one second. As the danger was now gone, I became curious about the female ghosts identity. 

That ghost must have been dormant in this church for quite a long time. If not, the church shouldnt have that much Yin energy! 

Moreover, since it had transformed into that red ring-shaped object, it was enough to prove that the ghost wasnt a departed soul. It was a spirit that had taken shelter in an otherworldly item. 

Otherworldly merchants are always curious about otherworldly items. Its like when a farmer sees another farmer with a better crop even though they cultivated on the same land. Of course, he would want to know the other mans technique. 

It didnt matter whether I could get the item or not. It was an occupational habit! 

Li Mazi understood my idea. Moreover, he was also interested in this otherworldly item. We started to search around the church. Eventually, we found a violin inside a leather suitcase that was covered in a thick layer of dust. 

Yesterday, when the female ghost appeared for the first time, she had used the melodic music from a violin to bewitch us. I could feel the Yin energy from the violin in front of us. I thought it was the otherworldly item where the ghost was dwelling! 

However, after studying the musical instrument, we didnt find anything special about it. The wooden body of the instrument had some cracks, and the only thing I found interesting was that the violins four strings were light red, which was similar to the rope Li Mazi had used to hang himself last night. 

Even so, I didnt see anything strange about those strings. I felt somewhat disappointed. 

Li Mazi pushed me a few times. Little Brother Zhang, if this stuff can nurture such a powerful and furious spirit, it should be worth a lot of money. Should we take it? 

No. Immortal Lu is right. We should follow the rules when in a foreign country. 

I sighed and put the violin back in its suitcase. I wiped off the dust on the leather suitcase and left with Li Mazi. 

On the way back, I noticed that the bruises on Li Mazis neck had almost disappeared, and only a faint gray line remained. This was a normal physiological phenomenon. It would disappear completely in a few days. I could now ease my worries.  

When we returned to the hotel, Ru Xue and Yin Xinyues eyes were teary. They began to sob loudly as they had thought that they wouldnt be able to see us again. Li Mazi and I had to exert a lot of effort to comfort them. 

After this incident, we werent in the mood to continue our tour. Since Li Mazi and I needed to rest, we decided to stay in the hotel for another day. Then, we would fly back home. 

Unexpectedly, after a nap, the bruise reappeared on Li Mazis neck. 

Moreover, it looked even bigger. The thumb-sized wide bruise had a lot of blisters that were the size of a grain of rice. They would burst and ooze bloody pus after just a gentle contact. Li Mazi didnt dare to talk, drink, or eat. He had to endure the horrible pain even when he gulped his saliva. 

When Ru Xue wasnt watching him, he seized the chance and typed a line of words on his phone. He showed it to me. Little Brother Zhang, this time, I dont think Ill make it. You should give me a quick death! 

I felt like my heart was bleeding, but I didnt know what to do. The neck was different from other body parts. If we were careless, he would really die! 

Left with no choice, I had to ask Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue to stay in the hotel while I was going to take Li Mazi back to the church. This time, even if Lu Dongbin didnt agree, I would try to kill that ghost! 

I had given her a chance, and she didnt appreciate it. Since she wanted to kill Li Mazi, I had to deal with her! 

When we passed by the lobby, the staff member that had reminded me yesterday saw us and greeted us. He gave us a thumbs-up. I guessed he thought we were awesome because we had returned alive after dealing with that ghost.  

I was worried about Li Mazi, so I just gave him a polite nod and proceeded to the door. 

Unexpectedly, when the young staffer saw the bruise on Li Mazis neck, his face turned pale. He screamed, Your friend is poisoned. You must help him detoxify it! Otherwise, he will die soon!

It appeared as though he knew this sickness. I halted to listen to him. 

It turned out that the church behind the hotel was called Ghost Castle. 

People who visited that place would wake up at night and find a bruise on their neck. Fortunately, a doctor in this neighborhood could treat this sickness, so all the victims were cured. 

I was bewildered and felt uncertain. You mean... The place is haunted but no one has died yet. Is that right?

Yeah, its true. The staff member nodded. 

We then introduced ourselves. He was a local Italian who worked as a waiter in this hotel. He was called Marco. 

He was really friendly. He said, Zhang, I know that doctors address. Do you need me to take you there? 

Yes. Thank you. I felt touched. 

Then, I got into Marcos car with Li Mazi. On the way, I kept thinking about one issue. If that female ghost had never killed anybody, she wasnt a malicious spirit. Why did she pester Li Mazi? 

From what took place this morning, she seemed to have spared Li Mazi. Why did she change her mind all of a sudden? Did something happen that we didnt know about? 

I decided to go back to that church to check after Li Mazi got his neck treated. If possible, I would help that female ghost ascend. 

The doctor was called Paolo. He lived on a ranch in the West of Milan around a dozen miles away from the hotel. There were so many bridges and narrow streets along the way, but Marco seemed to know the route well.

Before entering Dr. Paolos ranch, I secretly asked, How do you know this place so well? 

Haha. Dr. Paolos my father! 

I was speechless. 

When we met Dr. Paolo, he was playing golf. He was a chubby, middle-aged man with an aquiline nose. His eyes were small but bright. He was the same sort of person as Senior Shu. They both had a humble appearance but were incredibly talented!  

However, I didnt expect that Paolo could speak Chinese fluently. Moreover, he sounded very professional, and he only asked Li Mazi about the disease. He didnt ask what we had encountered or what we had experienced.  

Dr. Paolo asked us to wait after Li Mazi told him how he felt, heading to the ranch-style house. We didnt know what he was up to. After about fifteen minutes, he came back with a bowl of dark paste and a bottle of golden olive oil. 

Paolo asked Li Mazi to drink a little bit of olive oil. Then, he applied the dark paste on the bruise. 

From the confident expression of the father and the son, I thought this treatment would work. However, it was beyond my expectation that it would work so quickly. After smearing the paste on Li Mazis neck, Paolo read something in Italian. Then, the bruise disappeared at a speed the naked eye could observe! 

Li Mazi could speak again in less than ten minutes! 

Of course, I understood it wasnt an ordinary medical treatment. However, it was none of my business. Li Mazi was cured, and that was all that mattered. I didnt need to pry into their secrets. 

As I was thinking about visiting the Ghost Castle one more time, I mustered my courage and asked Paolo if he knew the story there. 

He lifted his cup of coffee and asked, Friends from China, do you know Paganini? 

Yes, I know him. He was a great violinist! I nodded.

From what I had heard, Paganini was the creator of many violin songs in the world. I didnt know anything else about him. However, if Paolo mentioned his name, the violin in the leather suitcase should have something to do with him! 

Unexpectedly, Paolo seemed to be stimulated after I said that. No! He doesnt deserve praise. He was a devil. A pure devil from head to toe! 

Paolo told me that Paganini was just a street artist, and not many people liked his songs at that time. His violin performances on the street could barely help him make ends meet. Later, a young and beautiful female violinist fell in love with him. She even imparted him with her unique skills. 

Paganinis life changed greatly ever since then. However, his violin performance had always been inferior to his teacher, who was also his lover. 

Later on, Paganini cruelly murdered his teacher. He disemboweled the woman and used her intestines to make the four strings of his violin. 

From that day onward, Paganinis music seemed to have magic that could make people infatuated with it. He started to gain fame and glory.

In his later years, Paganini suffered from a serious mental sickness, which eventually took his life. On his deathbed, he confessed the truth. Paganinis title as a devil genius was spread from there.  

My heart ached after I listened to the story. That woman had loved the wrong man, and I couldnt understand what kind of thoughts or state of mind Paganini had when he killed his lover. 

It was no wonder the ghost of the female violinist hadnt left this world. Although her resentful energy was sky-reaching, in the last moment, she would control her mind. She never wanted to kill anybody. 

You want to help her? Paolo asked me with interest. 

We hadnt said anything, but we both knew what the other party wanted to do. There was no need to say anything. 

I nodded and smiled. Shouldnt I help her? 

Good luck to you, my friend. Good luck to her, too! Paolo smiled and hugged me. Then, he got on his horse and galloped around his ranch. 

Before leaving, I gave Marco a jade that I had kept on me for many years. My grandpa had given me this blessed jade when he was alive. It could help avoid bad luck and neutralize the danger. Marco didnt refuse it and graciously received the item. 

I was happy to befriend him and his father! 

When we returned to the hotel, the sky was dark. To not make Yin Xinyue and Ru Xue worried, Li Mazi and I visited them before heading toward the church. We wanted to see the female ghost and ask her if she had something she needed help with. 

When we were about to reach the entrance to the church, we smelled a horrible stench. It was pretty much the same as the pungent smell we had smelled when we first encountered the ghost.

Normally, if no one trespassed the church, the ghost wouldnt show up. But if someone was in there now, who would it be? The locals didnt dare to visit this church. 

We didnt turn on the flashlight and made our way into the church.  

I vaguely heard someone talk in Chinese. Moreover, I seemed to have heard this voice somewhere before. 

Since the distance was far and the voice was low, we could somewhat understand the conversation. That Chinese man was threatening the ghost. He wanted her to pester Li Mazi one more time. Otherwise, he would smash her soul! 

Screw it! I want to see who that bastard is! 

Li Mazi couldnt stand still when he heard the voice. He jumped and lunged toward the shadow. 

I was also furious. What the heck is going on here? Some fellow from my country was plotting against me in a foreign country? 

It seemed that ever since we had come to Milan, we had stepped into the other partys trap. 

The other party heard the noise and shone the flashlight on us. When that person saw us, he was bewildered. He didnt care about the female ghost and rushed to the back of the church. When Li Mazi and I got there, he was nowhere to be seen. He had run faster than a rabbit. 

However, as we were about to leave, Li Mazi stepped on a solid object. He stooped and saw a domestic mobile phone from our country. 

I unlocked it and tried to find some clues. Unexpectedly, the last calls this person had received were from