"Come on, Master Wang—this was my first ghost encounter. I used the Divine Eye you taught me, but why didn't it work against the yin trader's rope?"
"That red string is a 'soul - binding cord,' similar to chicken blood thread, but made by boiling black cat blood with stillborn remains, then soaking red threads from a hanged woman's underwear in the oil for 49 days. It instantly obscures a living person's yang fire, blinding your Divine Eye."
My scalp tingled at his words. As I mulled over the night's events, Old Wang laughed, "Stop looking back. The ghost market opens at midnight and closes at 5 AM. The sun's rising—you're 'lucky' to have stumbled upon it."
He stood, checked the old bicycle, and waved me over. "Hop on—let's grab breakfast."
Exhausted, I followed, expecting him to lead, but he tossed me the bike. "You ride. I'll direct."
After a 20 - kilometer ride back to the city, we ate breakfast. Old Wang suggested a hospital checkup. "You might not have long—think about what vile deed you did."
I considered "borrowing lifespan," but that only works for those with stolen years, not karma - debt cases like mine. My yin energy was overwhelming, yang fires flickering—even drinking water could kill me.
At Old Wang's shabby 40 - sq - meter flat, he slept in the corridor by the toilet. "Think again—what did you do?"
"Nothing! I've never even killed a chicken."
He sighed. "Go home. Lay low. Get a checkup. Take this Heavenly Master Talisman—it'll protect you until it burns."
Thanking him, I returned to Yi Zhai at 10 AM to find my window smashed, the shop ransacked. Books were safe, but neighbors whispered I'd been 报复 (retaliated against) for fraud.
The police identified the culprit from CCTV: Jin Dajun, Madam Dong's lover. A call to Mr. Ke got me Jin's number, and his curses revealed the truth:
Jin was a construction boss having an affair with Madam Dong, who used her husband's position for bribes. Following my advice, she used elderly blood to strengthen the yin turtle array, but her 82 - year - old mother - in - law (whose cough blood was highly yin - charged) sprayed the turtle, overloading the array.
When Madam Dong missed a ritual, the grudge spirit escaped. Windows bloodied, her husband's mistresses exposed his corruption to the 纪检委 (Disciplinary Committee), leading to his arrest and asset seizure. Jin's projects stalled. When he demanded money, Madam Dong was found drowned in her sink, her last words scrawled in blood: "You broke your promise."
As I locked up Yi Zhai, I wondered—was this fate's doing?