Otherworldly Merchant

Chapter 552: Princess Taiping

To discover if the jade hairpin was really meddling with us, I waited until Yin Xinyue was fast asleep to pull the hairpin out of her hair. I locked it in a safe then went to bed. 

It was later than midnight when I heard footsteps from the living room. I thought it was a thief. I woke up and looked around. Yin Xinyue had disappeared again!

I turned on the light in the bedroom. The safe where I had kept the jade hairpin had been opened. 

It seemed the problem laid with that jade hairpin.

I could have just taken the hairpin while Yin Xinyue was sleeping and destroyed it. It would have put an end to this case. However, I had already formed a bad habit of being curious to learn about the origin of the otherworldly item before solving it. At least, the spirit in the jade hairpin hadnt harmed Yin Xinyue yet. 

Moreover, from what Id observed, the spirit could be a resentful married woman. Otherwise, she wouldnt pull a sad face all day long. 

I didnt disturb Yin Xinyue but tiptoed to get the Sirius Whip. Then, I hid behind the door to observe her. 

She was sitting on the sofa and sighing from time to time. Eventually, she opened the door and left. I hurried to follow her. She seemed to know her destination clearly. She was heading toward the suburban area. 

When she reached the suburban area, she moved faster. I was worried about her so I also accelerated my speed. However, I carelessly stepped on a twig. 

Yin Xinyue halted, then turned to look at me. A strange smile hung at the corners of her mouth. 

I thought it was strange, but not because it looked scary to me. Quite the contrary, this smile was bright and beautiful. However, it was another womans smile, not my wifes! 

At this moment, I was flustered and didnt know what to do. Yin Xinyues eyes rolled to the back of her head. Then, she fainted. I hurried to pull the jade hairpin out of her hair then carried her back home. 

Throughout the entire night, I stayed by her side to watch her. Nothing else happened. However, the next day, Yin Xinyue had a fever. I made a glass of charm water and fed her. She gradually got better. 

When she got up, the first thing she wanted to do was find the jade hairpin. She looked as if she would kill me if I didnt give it to her!

I considered it, then gave her the jade hairpin. I had secretly asked Li Mazi to watch Yin Xinyue tonight. I wanted to know what she wanted to do, after all. 

At night, I pretended to be sleeping. Yin Xinyue was lying next to me. She slept as though she knew the plan Li Mazi and I had prepared. 

Soon, I heard her gentle snores. I exhaled. I texted Li Mazi and asked him not to wait and watch outside. He could go home to rest. Then, I drifted into sleep. 

I didnt know how long I had slept when my phone rang. The call had woken me up. I picked up the call and said drowsily, Whos this?

Dude, how can you still be sleeping?! Your wife is out here! Li Mazi sounded hurried. I reacted and reached to my side. Yin Xinyue had disappeared again. 

Damn it! I punched the bed. Li Mazi, please follow her! Then, I put on more clothes and rushed out of the house. 

Soon, I saw Li Mazi. He was dozens of meters behind Yin Xinyue. When he saw me, he threw me a fierce look. Little Brother Zhang, you must listen to your brother this time. We have to break that jade hairpin. Youre married and have a family now! 

It was the first time Li Mazi had talked to me as though he was my elder brother. Since he had married thrice, he was qualified to give me a lesson. 

In terms of protecting his family, he had done well. I nodded. After biting my lip, I made up my mind. This hairpin had tormented my wife a few times. I shouldnt show mercy to it anymore. 

After half an hour, we reached the riverbank. Yin Xinyue didnt look as though she would stop here. 

Oh shoot, does she intend to jump into the river? Li Mazis eyes bulged. My eyes turned red. I didnt care about anything else and accelerated toward her. 

Sigh. Yin Xinyue faintly turned and looked at the two of us. She shook her head reluctantly then jumped into the river. 

Fortunately, the water wasnt rapid. I jumped and easily caught her. 

I felt her body turning heavier and heavier. It seemed there was an endless force trying to pull her down. I was lucky that I had kept the Sirius Whip at my waist the entire time. I hurried to withdraw the whip and coiled it around Yin Xinyue. I was finally able to pull her up easily. 

At the moment we reached the riverbank, Li Mazi took the jade hairpin out of Yin Xinyues hair. I didnt hold back now. I held the Sirius Whip in one hand while the other hand made a hand seal. When the Sirius Whip had accumulated enough magic power, I lashed it at the hairpin. 

We all heard a scream. A woman wearing a wedding costume with a phoenix coronet on her head floated from the jade hairpin.  

In common sense, when a ghost was hit that strong, she would flee or stay to take harsh revenge on me. It was different this time. The woman just hovered above us. Besides looking at us with her gloomy expression, she didnt do anything else. 

Why are you standing there? If I hadnt stayed up all night to watch her, my sister-in-law would have been dead by now! urged Li Mazi. He saw that I was in a daze, so he thought that I was feeling sorry for the ghost. 

I pulled myself together. Li Mazi was right. Before I slept, I had asked him to go home and told him there was no need to watch her. If he had listened to me, Yin Xinyue would have

Dont blame me. I gave you a chance I said to the wedding dressed ghost. I raised the Sirius Whip and read the Big Dipper Sirius Spell. 

This female ghost looked vulnerable as she didnt have the power to attack back. The Big Dipper Sirius Spell could smash her soul. Before I could lash my whip, Yin Xinyues voice came behind me. Honey, dont hurt her 

I turned and found that Yin Xinyue was awake. Apart from her pale face, she looked okay. 

No, we wont discuss this! Dont you know it almost killed you? The flame of anger arose again in my heart. 

Yin Xinyue said resolutely, It was me who decided to jump into the river. It had nothing to do with her! 

What? I was bewildered. Li Mazi wore the same expression. 

Honey, she was just a woman who desired love. I pity her a lot. All her men ditched her protested Yin Xinyue. Then, she told us the female ghosts story. 

The jade hairpin was an otherworldly item. Li Mazi and I werent wrong about this. However, it didnt seem the female ghost wanted to harm anybody. For a few days, she had been telling Yin Xinyue what she had experienced. 

She was the famous Princess Taiping, the daughter of Empress Wu Zetian. From her early childhood, she was smart and beautiful. 

In common sense, a noble, beautiful, and smart princess like her should have a happy marriage. Sadly, her marriage was dramatic! 

At first, she married Xue Shao. In the end, she married Wu Youji. She had married thrice. In each of her marriages, she had always craved love. However, from the beginning to the end, she was just a tool for them to compete for power. She was left badly wounded. 

Princess Taiping had worn the wedding dress three times, but she had never been in love once. She had been rolled into the tornado of the desire for love and she could never escape from it. In the end, she died alone, which made a wisp of her soul dwell in the jade hairpin she loved the most. She had been subtle as she waited for her love. 

I felt somewhat sad after listening to her. It was no wonder why Yin Xinyue always wore the wedding dress. It was the saddest segment of Princess Taipings tragic life.

Yin Xinyue was affected by Princess Taipings emotions. That was why she wanted to end her life by jumping into the river. 

Everything had happened because of love! 

I suddenly recognized that I had to thank Princess Taiping. If Yin Xinyue had felt happy, she wouldnt have been affected by Princess Taipings fixation. 

She wanted to commit suicide because deep in her subconsciousness, she didnt feel safe. It meant I was far from a true life partner to her.  

In the end, since I neither wanted to hurt Princess Taiping nor let her affect other women, I decided to send the jade hairpin to a nun temple. 

She wouldnt be able to affect the nuns who had determinedly left all of their relationships in the mortal world. After a few years of listening to their prayers and mantras, perhaps she would be able to see through mortal love like them. It would be good karma for me, too. 

Our lives resumed to calmness after that. However, Li Mazi and I had become more cautious than ever before. 

We had solved the jade hairpin, but we had no clue about the person who had left the hairpin. 

Who could that person be? Was he lurking in a hidden corner, watching us?