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墨書 Inktalez
"Are you just joking?" I said.
Hu Xiaoyi wasn't sure either; after all, he sometimes did things to intentionally scare people. But for someone as honest as Liang Xi, this was the first time witnessing such strange behavior. After hesitating for a while, Hu Xiaoyi asked if it was possible that my little ghost was influencing him.
I pondered that Hu Xiaoyi must have some trauma related to Ling Gui Tu Pai Ying, which made him perceive Liang Xi's actions as odd. This kind of psychological suggestion has long been illustrated by the ancient story "The Man Who Lost His Axe." However, to be safe, I asked Second Uncle again if Ling Gui Tu Pai Ying really wouldn't cause any trouble.
Second Uncle shrugged and said, "I can't guarantee whether Vegetative State will wake up, but your little ghost definitely won't cause any trouble. Let your classmate sleep peacefully and stop overthinking."
Seeing Second Uncle so certain, I relayed his words to Hu Xiaoyi and advised him to take care of himself. If he couldn't relax, he could go to a mental hospital for a check-up. Hu Xiaoyi spat and said, "You're the one who's crazy!"
In the following days, I didn't dare stay under my grandfather's watchful eye and instead wandered around with Second Uncle. We checked out this place and that place, almost covering the entire Manggu Street alley. This annoyed Second Uncle, who complained about wasting gas and wearing out his shoes. He asked when I would return to the mainland.
Speaking of school made my head ache. With my mind wandering, going back to serious studying felt like being in prison. I had planned to drop out and help Second Uncle with the Amulet business, but both Second Uncle and Grandpa firmly disagreed.
Especially Grandpa; he had been a military officer in his younger days and considered himself more capable than those common folks. He didn't want his descendants to follow the same path. If I could become a doctor—even if it was just researching how to make rice taste better—Grandpa would be thrilled. Second Uncle added, "Child, I used to play around and didn't want to go to school. Now look where I am; I can only muddle through in the mainland. Your Second Uncle here is a serious Cambridge graduate who speaks seven languages; otherwise, how could he have come to Hong Kong? So yes, some knowledge may seem unimportant, but knowledge can change a person's fate—that's no lie. Regardless of whether you want to learn or how well you do, at least finish your university degree."
In Second Uncle's eyes, my educational journey in China was worthless. The only redeeming aspect was that as I grew older, I'd meet more people at school—expanding my network and broadening my horizons. Some things in society can't be taught in school, but some things learned in school can't be provided by society either.
Thus, my plan to drop out fell through immediately. Second Uncle was contemplating whether to send me back to the mainland first; otherwise, if we delayed a few more days, the second semester would be over.
Before he could decide, Boss Lü from Nanbang called. This time he wasn't calling to thank us but rather to complain. Standing nearby, I heard Boss Lü's frustrated voice on the phone: "Mr. Shen, your little ghost isn't very useful at all! Didn't you say it could protect everything? Why do I keep having problems every day?"
Second Uncle replied, "We recovered fifteen million for you; what else could go wrong? You can't have lost it again!"
Boss Lü lamented, "Don't even mention it! That money—one-third of it was squandered by the accountant; we only got back ten million. I was planning to use that money to stabilize the company when who would have thought that one of our staff hanged himself in the office at midnight? They all say it's because I couldn't pay their salaries on time that put too much pressure on them; they all came home looking for money from me! I just don't understand—I treat them well most of the time; is it really necessary for them to react like this just because their salaries were delayed by two months?"
Boss Lu was very angry. Second Uncle, having seen many businessmen like this, smiled and said, "If someone were to delay paying me for two months, I wouldn't just go to their house; I would tear their roof off."
"Mr. Shen laughed again." Boss Lu sighed and continued, "I originally had that sum of money in hand, and I thought things would be handled well. But who could have imagined that misfortunes would come one after another?"
Boss Lu gave a portion of extra money as compensation to the employee who committed suicide and also paid off all the overdue salaries. As a result, he didn't have much left from the ten million he had. To prevent any accidents, he locked the money in the office safe, and aside from him, no one else had the key or knew the password.
However, two days ago when he went to the company, he found that the safe had been opened. This scared Boss Lu, and he hurried to check but found that while the money was not missing, it was unusable. Most of it showed signs of being gnawed by mice, and there were piles of mouse droppings. Without thinking further, Boss Lu immediately called the police.
Due to the accountant's embezzlement incident, and to prevent similar occurrences, the company installed surveillance cameras in several key locations, including Boss Lu's office. After the police investigated the scene and reviewed the footage from the day of the incident, they discovered that Boss Lu had not actually locked the safe after putting the money inside. The video clearly showed a gap wide enough for a hand to fit through in the safe door when he left without noticing.
Boss Lu was somewhat stunned. Did he really forget to close the safe that day? No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't remember. The police found no signs of forced entry at the scene, and combined with what was captured on surveillance, this incident could only be attributed to Boss Lu's own oversight.
Afterward, he took the damaged Thai baht to the bank for exchange; however, some were so severely damaged that they couldn't be exchanged, resulting in another loss for him. He no longer dared to keep money at the company and decided to take it home where his wife could watch over it twenty-four hours a day.
What puzzled him was how he could possibly forget to lock the safe. Moreover, how could so many mice have entered his office without any apparent reason? He had specifically hired someone to check for mouse holes in the office but found nothing.
For these past two days, he kept pondering over what had happened recently. If this were a month ago, he might have thought it was just a coincidence. But ever since buying Wan Gui Zhi Gui and recovering that sum of money, Boss Lu had become much more inclined to believe in supernatural matters. He suspected that there might be some other force at play; otherwise, how could such misfortunes keep occurring one after another?
Second Uncle immediately became interested upon hearing Boss Lu's speculation and said, "Logically speaking, since you invited Wan Gui Zhi Gui, its spiritual power should be enough to bless you with favorable weather. So your suspicion is valid. How about this: I'll help you invite an Achan to take a look. If something is indeed discovered, we can set a price on the spot. If nothing is found, you can give them fifty or eighty thousand as a fee for their trouble."
Having already spent six hundred thousand on small spirits, Boss Lu wasn't concerned about a few thousand more. He called Second Uncle with this very intention. After hanging up, Second Uncle immediately contacted an Ajan Master living in Pichai. Soon enough, they confirmed a time over the phone and planned to go right away.
Since coming to Thailand, my favorite thing has been following Second Uncle to handle such matters; naturally, I followed closely behind him. Once we got into the car, I asked Second Uncle why we hadn't seen Ajan Dong for a long time. Second Uncle replied that Ajan Dong had gone to Cambodia for some business that seemed a bit tricky and hadn't returned yet.
I was puzzled because when I first met Fatty Banlada, wasn't it said that Ajan Dong had gone to Northern Thailand? It seemed Ajan Dong was quite busy running around every day without rest. I didn't dwell on this matter too much; soon we passed through Pichai and picked up A-Zhan Ping whom we had previously contacted.
A-Zhan Ping was also a Black-Clad Achan but tall and thin; although his skin wasn't very fair, he appeared quite gentle. Someone like him could easily pass off as a university teacher without anyone suspecting otherwise. No wonder in Thailand, "Ajan" also means teacher.
Most of the Black-Clad Achans probably don't like to talk much. The Azan Kunsha I met before was relatively more talkative. Second Uncle and A-Zhan Ping hardly communicated during the journey, and we maintained silence. A few hours later, we arrived at Nanbang.
Boss Lu had been waiting at the entrance for us. Upon seeing us, he didn't even think to invite us in for tea; instead, he drove us directly to the company. It was clear that the recent unfortunate events there had put a lot of pressure on him, to the point where he forgot the traditional Chinese customs that require politeness.
However, this didn't matter much to A-Zhan Ping; his time was precious, and there was no need for false courtesy. Notably, when I saw Boss Lu, my body involuntarily trembled slightly, feeling a bit suppressed. I thought it was a reaction related to the many spirits in his family, so I didn't mention it to Second Uncle.
Soon after, we arrived in front of the company. A-Zhan Ping opened the car door and stepped out but didn't move immediately; he just stood at the entrance looking up for a moment before mumbling a few words.
Having spent so many years in Thailand, Boss Lu could understand some Thai. His expression changed slightly as he nervously asked Second Uncle, "Why did the master say there's Yin Qi here? Does it mean there are ghosts?"
Second Uncle shook his head and said, "Yin Qi can also be produced by curses or other forms of witchcraft; it doesn't necessarily mean there are ghosts. Don't worry; let's go inside and take a look first."
At that time, it should have been around evening; there was no one left in the company, and the security guard downstairs seemed to have disappeared. A-Zhan Ping walked into the lobby, stood still for a moment to sense his surroundings, and then walked up the stairs. Boss Lu intended to point out that there was an elevator nearby but hesitated since Second Uncle remained silent.
We followed closely behind A-Zhan Ping and quickly reached the sixth floor. A-Zhan Ping didn't go further up but walked down the corridor instead. Second Uncle looked at Boss Lu and asked, "Is this floor your company?"
Boss Lu nodded in surprise and said, "Yes, have you been here before?"
Of course, Second Uncle wouldn't come here for no reason; he explained that A-Zhan Ping must have sensed something; otherwise, he wouldn't have accurately found this floor.
As one of the few high-rise buildings in Nanbang, this place was reasonably well arranged. Along the wall in the lobby were some common office desks and chairs, while in the center were many boxes stacked up. From their outer packaging, they appeared to be fruits or fruit wines. Boss Lu mentioned that his company wasn't large, so under special circumstances, they occasionally used this place as a storage area.
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