Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 502: Dragon-Shaped Ancient Jade

I pondered for a while then put the box on the floor and used my blood to draw some swords and sabers around it. I also sprinkled a layer of salt on the drawings. 

After everything was done, I nodded in satisfaction. That spirit had both of its legs chopped off, so I guessed it would be terrified of swords. Swords and sabers drawn with blood and refined salt were top Yang tools. I was sure that they could scare the spirit a lot.

To avoid a sudden attack from the spirit, I asked the little boy to return to the hostel and fetch my bag. I told him to not alert the grannie there. 

I was a little embarrassed as I had ordered the boy to work for me right after I had adopted him. The little boy looked happy and hopped away. 

After he left, I had nothing to do. I decided to take care of Zhou Tians wife. But then, I realized that she wasnt breathing, and her body was a little stiff. 

I had a sudden realization. The woman I saw out there wasnt another person. It was her soul! 

While I was distracted, the spirit took the chance to possess her and evict her soul. Then, it deceived me and made me return to the hostel. 

After everything was cleared up, I felt scared. If I hadnt learned the spell to invite guiding spirits, Zhou Tian and his wife would have been killed today. 

I immediately went out of the house. The womans soul was still sitting there. I exhaled in relief and read the soul-sucking spell to put her into a paper crane. 

Less than ten minutes later, the little boy returned with my bag. I opened the bag and found my talismans and the Peach Soul Flower. I felt much more assured with my tools. 

Little Lin, I have to put her soul back into her body. Wait for me outside and dont come in, I said to the little boy as I pointed at Zhou Tians wife. Since his soul wasnt stable, if I read the spell to put the wifes soul back into her body, he would also be affected. At that time, it would be awkward if her body ended up with two souls in it. 

I had named the little boy Lin, short for Jiulin. He looked pleased with the name. He smiled and flew out of the house. 

I also smiled. Then, I turned off all the lights in the villa and lit up a candle, placing it in front of the wifes head. I released her soul from the paper crane and chanted the spell to make it return to the body. 

Some say that beckoning souls is a complicated task, while others say it is simple. In fact, it wasnt difficult to perform the soul beckoning technique, but great importance lay in the reason as to why the soul left the body, the time the soul was away from the body, and the distance between the soul and the body. When the conditions were right, we could naturally put a soul back in the body! 

I placed her on the bed and put Little Lin into the paper crane. Then, I stuck spirit talismans in every corner of the house. After I had confirmed that the spirit couldnt enter the place, I laid on the sofa and fell asleep. 

When I woke up, it was noon the next day. I found myself sleeping on a bed. Zhou Tian and his wife had probably moved me there. 

When I left the room, I saw Zhou Tian talking with his mother in the living room while his wife was cooking. Then, she also joined the conversation. It was the harmonious picture of a happy family. 

I was puzzled and thought, How did Zhou Tian change his nature? How did he become so filial all of a sudden? 

I had planned to deal with the spirit and teach him a lesson. Since he had come back to his senses on his own, I didnt need to do anything. 

I cleared my throat and walked toward them. Auntie, when did you come here? 

When they heard my voice, the three of them stopped talking and looked at me. Zhou Tian wasnt rude this time. When he saw me, he quickly got on his knees and thanked me for saving his life. 

His wife didnt kneel, but she looked thankful as she stood there. However, her expression was complicated. I guessed she remembered that she had tried to seduce me last night. I gave her a faint smile, hinting her to forget about it. Then, I turned to look at the grannie. She had a plaster cast on her thigh. 

Auntie, what happened? I was flustered.

We have a proverb that says one should rest one hundred days if they get a bone injury. For an old woman like her, it might as well be a dooming injury. Moreover, she was still all right last night. How did this happen?

Son, dont worry. I just tripped. The grannie looked happy. I noticed that she was looking here and there, assessing the house. Perhaps it was the first time she had come to visit her sons house after he got married. 

Compared to this happiness, the injury on her leg was nothing. The grannie didnt want to tell me, so I turned to her son. Zhou Tian, what happened? 

His eyes reddened. He got on his knees again after he had just got up. He faced his mother and wept. Mother, Im so sorry! 

Yesterday, after I finished dealing with the box, I fell asleep right away and didnt call the grannie to tell her that everything was all right. It turned out the old woman was worried about her son and daughter-in-law, so she came here from her hostel in the middle of the night. 

Since she was old, her limbs werent good anymore. She tripped midway and had to crawl the rest of the trip to this neighborhood. Eventually, she fainted at the neighborhood entrance. 

Early in the morning, a janitor found her and took her to the hospital. Otherwise, she would have been frozen to death. 

When Zhou Tian and his wife woke up in the morning, they found the mess on the ground and me sleeping on the couch. They remembered the situation last night and felt guilty. 

Right before death, people would often have a change of heart. Zhou Tian had survived a calamity, and his soul was reborn. When the hospital called, he immediately rushed there to see his mother. 

At the same time, the scenes where his mother cared for him appeared in his mind. Zhou Tian was now a changed man. 

He cried unceasingly as he talked. The mother also sobbed. I was touched by the atmosphere and secretly wiped my tears. 

Brother Zhou Tian, its never too late.  

I rubbed my eyes and said righteously, As long as you dont hurt Aunties heart, youve already shown your filial piety to her. 

No person could repay everything their parents had done for them. It was already a fortune that they didnt disappoint them!  

Anyway, the box was still where it was placed last night, and the blood swords and sabers remained on the ground. However, I found some burned talismans on the window. It seemed that the spirit had come back one more time last night. The talismans had scared it off, so it didnt dare to intrude the room. 

As I had the box here, the spirit would definitely come again. 

After a few confrontations, I became interested in this spirit. After lunch, the sun was high in the sky, which produced a scorching light. I took this chance and used a cutting machine to open the box.

The moment the box was opened, a dazzling halo radiated. Instinctively, I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I saw something wrapped in a handkerchief. 

I picked it up. The item felt heavy and tough. I took another look and dropped my jaw in awe. 

This handkerchief was made of gold threads and there were dragons embroidered on it. Even though I couldnt recognize the age of the handkerchief, from its colors and workmanship, I knew it was a royal item. 

In ancient times, people that could use things with the drawings of dragons belonged to the noble and royal class. 

I couldnt wait to unwrap the handkerchief to see the thing inside. It turned out to be a piece of jade that didnt have a regular shape. 

Of course, working in the antique business, I had a profound knowledge of jade. At first glance, I recognized it was a really old jade that could be dated back to the pre-Qin era.

There were many types of jade with different prices. Compared to gold and silver, jade was often sold at prices higher than its real value. Moreover, texture and colors were important factors that affected the value of the jade. Even though this jade was a real antique, it didnt have a regular shape. Coupled with the defects on the body, the jades value was greatly reduced. 

Master Zhang, is this jade valuable? Zhou Tian sounded excited. However, from his look, I knew he understood nothing about jade. 

I told him the truth. Its an antique, but its not worth much.

Zhou Tian gave me a nod and looked a little disappointed. I suddenly realized that I hadnt told them the rules of our business beforehand. I felt awkward now.