The Village Elder couldn’t say a word. He started to sweat, but all he could do was shake his head.

I was afraid he would go crazy if the overall mood kept boiling up this way.

I shoved my way through the crowd, shouting, “Guys, calm down. We need to listen to the Village Elder.”

Immediately, a hot-tempered villager barked, “Who are you? This is our village’s business, and you’re an outsider. Why do you care?”

“He said something about being a merchant and collecting strange items…”

“Shsss, don’t mess with him! He looks very capable. If you offend him, I’m afraid you won't have nice days later,” Old Wu advised the other villagers.

Everyone stopped talking as soon as he said that; they looked at me with frightened and respectful eyes. I made signs for them to sit down and asked Li...