Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 548: Hunt in Mount Changbai

After a moment of confusion, I had to accept the fact and pull myself together to face Dorgon, who would appear at any second. 

I could only imagine how crazy Dorgon would be when he knew that I had extinguished his mothers last wisp of soul.

I stayed up the whole night to watch Mr. Jin. I didnt dare to sleep and waited until the break of dawn. 

Not long after breakfast, Li Mazi returned. He asked, How is it going? 

I told him about Abahais story, then said with great emotion, Did I do the wrong thing? 

Everything has two sides. You shouldnt blame yourself, Li Mazi said as he comforted me. 

I wore a wry smile and shook my head. I wanted to drive the topic away from this sad story so I asked, What about the task I asked you to complete? 

Your brother Mazi aced it, of course! Li Mazi smiled. 

The other day, after listening to Mr. Jins encounter with the peddler, I had secretly discussed a plan with Li Mazi. The plan was that I would stay in the villa to protect Mr. Jin while Li Mazi would go to Mount Changbai to find the peddler that had sold the bow to Mr. Jin. 

It wasnt that I didnt trust Mr. Jin, but many people didnt tell me the whole truth when they asked for my help. They always kept a little secret. And, when they revealed their little secret, it often brought fatal danger to us! 

Li Mazi told me that he had found the peddler who sold the bows and talked to him for quite a long time. He even told him about Mr. Jins situation. However, when he asked the peddler about the origin of the bow, he didnt want to answer. Most of those old antiques were stolen from tombs. I could understand why the seller didnt want to tell Li Mazi the story. 

I just needed to confirm that Mr. Jin didnt fool us. Li Mazi sounded worried and asked, Have you thought of a way to deal with Dorgon yet?

I shook my head. 

Theres no need to hurry. Weve been through worse. Dorgon is just a blunt ax! Li Mazi tried to cheer me when he learned I didnt have any good ideas. 

At this moment, Ye Chen came in and pushed open the door. He looked hesitant. Masters, theres something we need to discuss. 

Whats wrong? 

My boss feels so happy to know that youve finished off the ghost. He wants to go hunting in Mount Changbai today to celebrate. I think its dangerous. I hope that you two can talk him out of it. Ye Chen stuttered a little bit. It seemed he thought that his boss would be stupid enough to repeat his mistake. He had almost lost his life due to hunting, and now, since he had recovered a little, he started to walk on that path again. 

However, my eyes sparkled. Why shouldnt he go? He must go hunting! 

What? Ye Chen looked stunned. Li Mazi didnt get it, either. 

I just smiled and whispered something to Li Mazi. Li Mazi understood it. He winked at me, then threw his arm around Ye Chens shoulder and ushered him to the door. 

I went downstairs to find Mr. Jin. I saw him use a handkerchief to rub something. When I came close, I was frightened to see the thing in his hand. It was the bronze bow that had been broken in half last night. 

Master Zhang, you should come hunting with me tomorrow! Ill take care of everything. He sounded cheerful. He looked lively and high-spirited because the female ghost was no longer pestering him. He looked at me and laughed generously. 

I took the bow from him and held it high to check. The bow was intact and almost in perfect condition. There was no crack or patch on it. It looked like it had never been broken. However, last night, the Yin and Yang Umbrella had hit it and broke it! 

Mr. Jin was surprised. Whats wrong? 

From his facial expression, I guessed that he saw the intact bow when he got up. I just shook my head. No, its nothing.

However, waves were secretly rising in my heart!

I didnt leave the villa last night, and Dorgon had mended the bow right under my eyes. I didnt even notice it. 

Perhaps, he didnt attack me last night because of the Yin and Yang Umbrella. I was scared. If he had attacked us last night, I would have died together with Mr. Jin 

Dorgon had lived up to his name of Great Qing Regent. His spirit was even stronger than I had imagined. I became more resolute in getting rid of him. 

After Mr. Jin finished his preparations, we got into the car and departed to Mount Changbai. 

Hey, where is Ye Chen? And, why didnt Master Li come with us? When Mr. Jin saw that I was the driver, he didnt look pleased. He fumed and took out his phone to call and reprimand Ye Chen. 

I hurriedly stopped him. Li Mazi has some problems at home. He asked Ye Chen to help him solve them. Mr. Jin, do you mind? 

Hahaha, we are brothers now. Theres no need to speak politely. Mr. Jin laughed and started to call me brother. He was truly a Northeastern man, generous and amiable. 

The mountain ridges in Changbai were covered in snow all year-round, and they crossed three Northeastern provinces. Mr. Jins favorite hunting area was a small mountain on Changbai mountain ridge. It was called Cloudy Peak. 

On the way there, he told me more stories about his life. Im a pureblood Manchurian, a descendant of the Aisin Gioro royal family. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, we changed our family name to Jin. Then, he self-mocked, If I were born a few hundred years earlier, I could be a prince. 

I understood it now. Mr. Jin was from the bloodline of the Aisin Gioro family. He could be Hong Taijis descendant! That was why Lady Abahai had tortured him! 

When we arrived at the foothills of Mount Cloudy Peak, it was twilight. Fortunately, Mr. Jins business covered a large area in the Northeast. There were some people from his subsidiary company here. They were preparing the tents for us on the mountain. 

After dinner, Mr. Jin couldnt wait anymore. He pulled me and asked me to go to the mountain. He gave me a beautifully crafted horn bow. Now is the time small animals come out to find food. Its easy to spot the prey! 

It was cool to hunt in the cold wind. I was surprised to see that he was so invested in his hobby. I received the bow and admired it for a while. I felt my interest in hunting growing. We brought several bodyguards with us and entered the mountain. 

The afterglow in the horizon dyed the clouds red. The rushing waters from the stream reflected on the wall of the mountain. Together, they created a magnificent picture that unfolded in front of my eyes. 

I felt infatuated with the scene. I closed my eyes as I wanted to imprint the image in my head. Suddenly, I heard the wind tearing. My eyes flew open. I saw that Mr. Jin had just shot an arrow and hit a wild rabbit. The rabbit convulsed at its spot. Then, it stopped moving. 

Mr. Jin, your archery skill is so good! I couldnt help but appraise him. 

He laughed heartily. Haha, I have good luck! You should try, too! 

Men always found it interesting to play with the sword or the bow. Since he was urging me, I also tried to shoot. I got nothing. I could only comfort myself that each person has his expertise 

Mr. Jin shot some more small animals. When the sky was completely dark, we returned to the campsite. People then set up a bonfire to roast the meat. 

After a whole day of hunting, Mr. Jin was finally satisfied. He went to his tent to rest. The other bodyguards also found their spots and slept. 

As for me, I was still awake and waited in my tent. 

Mount Changbai was the sacred mountain of the Manchurian Imperial Family. Every year, the Qing Emperor would take his important courtiers to this place to pray. Since Dorgon was a Manchurian Prince, of course, he had some attachment to this mountain. 

I was certain that he would show up to do his worship here. That was why I had agreed to go hunting with Mr. Jin. 

Compared to waiting for him passively, it would be cooler to push the snake to leave the cave.

I became anxious as I heard snoring from the tent next to mine. I lifted the fabric of my tent to check the sky. The moon was round and bright. I was more certain that Dorgon would show up! 

Ghosts and spirits were afraid of the sun, but they had a strange obsession with the moon since the full moon would help them absorb the moonlight energy much better. On a full moon night, many wandering ghosts and lone souls would come out for a walk. 

Since the bow had been repaired, I was afraid that Dorgon would kill Mr. Jin today. I decided to watch over his tent. I didnt know why, but I suddenly fell into a complicated mood. 

I wanted to finish Dorgon as soon as possible. However, I was afraid of facing him. It could be because I felt sorry for Lady Abahai. I took a deep breath and decided not to think too much about it. Now, I just had to wait patiently. 

A moment later, I heard rushing footsteps outside the campsite. It was midnight and we were out in the wild. I pulled myself together quickly. I turned and found Ye Chen. 

Why are you here? Where is Li Mazi? I felt surprised. I didnt expect to see him here.  

I was surprised because I had discussed specifically with Li Mazi that he would take Ye Chen to Mount Changbai to arrange the formation to eradicate Dorgon beforehand. Since Ye Chen had come here, it meant they had finished arranging everything. 

Li Mazi had sent Ye Chen to notify me while he stayed at the spot. It wasnt his working style. 

Weve arranged everything. However, we couldnt light up the candles. Master Li said something was wrong, so he sent me here to find you, explained Ye Chen. 

I was bewildered at first. But then, I got it. I had asked Li Mazi to prepare the Five Elements Great Formation at the spot Dorgon would likely appear, as marked in the drawing I had given him.

Dorgon was much stronger than his mother, so a normal formation couldnt trap him. That was why I had asked Li Mazi to come here first to make preparations. 

The Five Elements Great Formation was an advanced formation that required the location to have mountains, waters, and woods. 

The mountain represents Metal. The small stream or river represents Water. We had trees for the Wood element, and the soil underneath represents Earth. Now, we needed Fire! 

That was why I had advised Li Mazi to bring some candles. We could make some fire from the candles. 

However, I had miscalculated the nature of tonights weather. The full moon would attract Dorgon, but it would also attract countless wandering ghosts in Mount Changbai. 

A ghost could be troubling Li Mazi and keeping him from lighting up the candles. I was worried about Li Mazi now. There were a few times he hadnt been able to deal with the wandering ghosts in the mountains. 

Since Dorgon hadnt arrived, I asked Ye Chen to watch Mr. Jin and told him to call me if something happened. Then, I started to dash toward the formations location.