Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 534: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom

No matter what, Hong Tianbao didnt agree to use strong force against his father. Being left with no choice, we had to take turns watching Old Hong through the nights to prevent him from running away. 

Unexpectedly, Old Hong didnt leave the house for a few days. At night, he would torment the three of us, so we were mentally exhausted. 

I didnt dare to relax this time. From the previous fight, I could tell that the spirits IQ wasnt low. Perhaps he was trying to wear us out and find the right opportunity to escape.

Anyway, I couldnt endure staying up so many nights in a row. Tonight was my turn to watch Old Hong. After a while, I became tired and sleepy. I slowly closed my eyes. 

Drowsily, I thought I heard someone talking. The voice was so close to me that every time that person spoke, the moisture from their mouth reached my face. It felt cold and damp, which wasnt comfortable at all. 

I thought Hong Tianbao and his brother were talking. Instinctively, I waved at the source of the noise and signaled at them to move away from me and not to disturb my rest. I extended my hand but didnt touch anything. Nobody was standing or sitting near me.

I got up immediately. I looked around and saw Hong Tianbao and his brother sleeping on the floor of the living room. I tensed up and turned to check Old Hongs room. The door to his room was open. 

I rushed there to check; no one was inside. I ran out of the house to see. No one was in the yard, either. 

While I was thinking where Old Hong could have gone, a red flame illuminated the night sky. 

Oh shoot, that old man went to burn peoples houses again 

It was all I could think about. Then, I accelerated and ran at my maximum speed toward the flame. 

When I reached that place, I saw many people surrounding the flames. Hong Tianbao and his brother ran after me. By looking at their embarrassed attitude, I knew they had the same thoughts as me. Old Hong could have set this fire. 

The villagers carried water from their houses to put out the fire. The owner of the house was sitting on the ground. He was screaming that half of his lifes savings were gone

It took them an hour to put out the big fire. Although no one was hurt, the house was burned down.

I carefully searched through the crowd but didnt see Old Hong. In other words, after he set the fire, he had run away. I was afraid that he would do some more damage, so I called Hong Tianbao and asked him to go to the field to check. 

Later on, Hong Tianbao took me back to his home. Since it was almost dawn, Old Hong would have returned home already. The otherworldly item wouldnt go out during the day. 

Indeed, when we returned to his house, we saw that Old Hongs door was closed. It was obvious that he had returned and slept. 

I pushed the door, but it was locked from the inside. I knocked several times. No one came to open the door. 

Arson was a serious crime. I exchanged looks with Hong Tianbao. Right after that, I kicked the door with all of my strength. 

It was good that the wooden doors in the countryside werent really tough. I had easily kicked it open. I spotted Old Hong immediately. He looked shocked to see I had kicked his door open. He gazed at me with his opaque eyes. A moment later, he finally pulled himself together. He pointed at my nose and scolded loudly. You prick! What are you doing?!  

I didnt have time to listen to his nonsense and said coldly, Did you set that house on fire? 

It wasnt beyond my estimation that he didnt have any impression of what he had done. I had to exert my effort to explain to him that he was possibly controlled by an otherworldly item. And, that the otherworldly item that had controlled him was the red turban. 

Old Hong didnt believe me. When he heard that I intended to do something with his red turban, he immediately protected his head and screamed, You want my red turban? Youll have to walk on my dead body first! 

Hmph, people who become rich inhumanly should be burned to death! 

I then heard a cold voice in my ears, but it didnt come from Old Hong. Hong Tianbao was smoking quietly nearby, so it wasnt him, either. 

Could it be that Old Hong had set that house on fire because the house owner had done something inhuman or became rich from fraud? 

I was surprised. This old man had repeatedly mentioned some family and he also talked about eradicating the Qing monsters. At this moment, I seemed to understand the origin of the otherworldly item. 

I pulled Hong Tianbao and asked him to use the iron chain to temporarily tie and lock Old Hong in his room. 

Hong Tianbao knew that his father wasnt himself. No matter how loud and filthy Old Hong screamed at his face, he kept an indifferent attitude and locked him up. 

Fortunately, nobody knew that Old Hong had set that house on fire. We didnt need to worry about the police coming to our door. Not long after that, Hong Tianjiang came home. He slumped on the chair and sighed when he saw his father tied up. 

Since the two brothers were home, I told them about my assumption. 

I had a feeling that the Hong family had a relationship with Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement. We were in Jintian Village, the location of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising. 

During the late years of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court stopped doing its work and the people were unbearably tortured by the corrupted officials. They couldnt endure it anymore. At that time, a farmer called Hong Xiuquan stood up. He called the people to join Christianity from the West. He said that people should worship God. Together, they would destroy the Qing monsters. With the help of Yang Xiuqing, Feng Yunshan, and Xiao Chaogui, the Jintian Uprising succeeded.  

Hong Xiuquan established a new nation called the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which advocated to beat the local tyrants and re-divide the fields. He proclaimed himself as the Heavenly King. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement soon spread to the entire country. All the Taiping soldiers wore red turbans. They thought if they did that, God would protect them and that no mortal weapons could harm them. 

Countless Taiping soldiers fell, but they were replaced by the new waves of soldiers. The people of the great Qing Dynasty were frightened. They had lost a lot of land to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. However, the tremendous Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement eventually failed due to internal and external troubles. The Qing Dynasty chopped Hong Xiuquan into pieces and put his remains into a cannon. They shot the cannon to set an example of punishment to the rebels. 

I thought that Hong Xiuquan didnt want to accept his failure. A wisp of his soul had dwelled in the red turban and was waiting for a chance to resurface! 

Of course, the two brothers didnt believe my assumption. 

Hongtian Bao said, Most of the people in this Jintian Village are the descendants of the rebellious soldiers. If it happened as you said, why didn't it happen to other families in this village? Why did it happen to my family? 

I said nothing but was persistent with my guess since it was the only reliable one I had until now. 

Hong Xiuquan was the King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It was normal that he didnt want to accept his failure. At that time, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement had claimed half of the country. Hong Xiuquan was unwilling to give up this supreme power. 

Anyway, the brothers were stunned by my speech. In the end, they decided to trust me. If we had the correct direction, our next moves were simple. We needed to make Hong Xiuquan accept the fact that his Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was gone. We would need to replay the way his rebellious force was defeated. 

However, to ensure nothing would go wrong, I decided to make everything clear. I told the brothers to find a plan to get the red turban. I needed to check the red turban to see if that spirit was the Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan. 

However, for a few days in a row, we didnt have a chance to take action. Although Old Hong was tied up, whenever we went near him, he would scream and struggle hard. 

The situation was beyond my estimation. I originally thought it was similar to other otherworldly items. But from the current situation, I guessed this otherworldly item was very strong. Its purpose was probably to restore the ancient kingdom! 

Old Hong had been locked up for three days. Hong Tianbao served him well every day, but since Old Hong always tried to chase him away, the burly and fatty man wept sometimes. 

I was sad for him. It felt as if a sharp thorn was growing in my heart. 

Old Hong didnt cooperate with us, so my investigation had encountered a roadblock. I leaned against the wall and thought about what strategy I should use to get that red turban. 

Old Hong was strangely guarded against me. Last time, Hong Tianbao and I had broken his door. I guessed that the incident must have given him some trauma.

If the other party had been a little boy, I could have directly taken action. Unfortunately, he was a lanky and senile old man. If I forcefully took action, I would provoke the spirit in his body and maybe even cause Old Hongs death. 

Jiulin, brother. Hong Tianbao came to me. He leaned against the wall next to me and slowly sat down. His image in my mind had gone from a jade trading businessman to a small business boss who had just gone bankrupt. He looked dispirited. 

During these past fifteen days, he was the one that had to bear the mental pressure and strain the most. 

I looked at him and didnt know what to say to comfort him. The current situation wasnt positive. I could only pat his shoulder to calm him. Brother, dont worry. We can solve this. 

He gave me a nod and puffed his smoke deeply. Then, he rubbed his face. He looked better afterward. 

After trying to smile, he said, Brother Jiulin, Im a straightforward person, so just tell me the truth. Is the current situation very troublesome? 

Yeah, this is relatively hard to solve! Ive been watching your father these days. His mind has been affected. Moreover, hes really old. If things continue like this, his body wont be able to bear the consequences. I told him what was worrying me. 

After listening to me, Hong Tianbao put out his cigarette. Three days. Give me three days! I promise you I will take the red turban off his head and give it to you. 

Then, he seemed to have made up his mind on something very important. In my eyes, his footsteps became heavier. I didnt know what method he would use to get the red turban, but I was sure it wasnt a good method. 

Except for handing meals, Old Hong wouldnt let anybody approach him. If Hong Tianbao had accepted this tough task, I knew that I should prepare the necessary items!  

I carried spirit talismans and refined salt with me at all times. Moreover, in a countryside village like this, there were plenty of granular foods. I could always get them at the critical moment. 

However, I still needed one thing. I needed a top-Yang attribute item to activate the Heavenly Dipper Formation. Most otherworldly spirits wouldnt dare to enter the Heavenly Dipper Formation. But if the spirit was really Hong Xiuquan, he wouldnt be afraid of my formation. I needed another pillar to support my Heavenly Dipper formation! 

If the otherworldly item had chosen Old Hong, Old Hong would be in danger. I needed to use the extra pillar to protect him. 

Since I couldnt leave this place and the Hong brothers didnt want other people to know that his father was in grave trouble, I had to call Li Mazi. 

Li Mazi was as despicable as usual. Hey man, I know you cant live without me! 

I laughed and scoffed. Then, I briefed him about the situation. Within three days, you must bring the purple clay teapot I got last time to Jintian Village. 

When he heard my stern voice, he stopped teasing me. I promise that before the sun sets tomorrow, you will see me. 

After hanging up the call, I couldnt help but smile to myself. I thought that my buddy over there was still useful. 

After I had prepared everything, I returned to my room and took a nap. I was worn out. Once Li Mazi came and I got the red turban, it would be the critical moment. 

I had to put myself in the best fighting mode before his arrival!