Chapter Eight: Taking the Bait

Yan Xue showed no sign of nerves as she explained the situation; before coming here, she and Kang Ge had already rehearsed their story, so she wasn’t worried about being tripped up by any probing questions.

“My husband keeps saying that there’s... something unclean in our house,” Yan Xue said, looking troubled, her voice growing softer and softer as if she herself had little faith in what she was saying. “I can’t see anything, but he insists that he can. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, but after hearing it so many times—he’d say things like, when I’m eating, there’s a woman standing behind me, or when my shoulders ache, he says that woman is sitting on my shoulders. The way he talks about it really spooks me. We’ve both been suffering and afraid because of it, so we wanted to find someone with real ability to help us!”

The middle-aged man listened and then, with great seriousness, asked for Yan Xue’s and Kang Ge’s dates and times of birth. After they provided some made-up answers, he pretended to calculate on his fingers.

“No wonder things are this way,” he said, pointing at Yan Xue. “Though you’re a woman, you were born in a yang year, yang month, and yang day. Your husband, though a man, was born in a yin month and yin day. That’s why he can see things and you can’t. But this isn’t difficult to handle. I see we have some fate together, and since I serve all manner of deities here, you just need to leave a little incense money as an offering. I’ll ask the gods for a talisman, have your husband drink it, boost his yang energy, and then he won’t be able to see those messy things anymore.”

“What do you mean, not see? Does that mean there really is something dirty in our home?!” Yan Xue looked at the man in shock, then turned to glance at Kang Ge.

Kang Ge’s expression was even more pained, his voice trembling slightly: “That’s not good enough! Just not seeing it isn’t enough! Master, our relatives said you’re the real deal—can’t you go all the way and come to our house, help us capture that female ghost? The incense money is no problem! As long as you get rid of that thing, we’ll agree to anything!”

They had expected this “Master,” with all his mystical airs, to put on a show and refuse for a while, but before Kang Ge could even finish building up his emotional plea, the “Master” had already stood up from his grand chair with an air of leisure.

“Alright, if fate has brought us together, I can’t just stand by and watch you suffer. I’ll go with you,” he said cheerfully. “But as for what needs to be done and how much effort it will take, I’ll have to see your home first before I can say for sure!”

Yan Xue and Kang Ge were both surprised and delighted to have hooked him so easily, but they wasted no time expressing their gratitude and left with the “Master.”

This so-called “Master Baili Jiufang” was astonishingly agreeable. Not only did he not hesitate, he didn’t even consider taking his son along as a helper. As soon as they left the courtyard, he got into the car as Yan Xue had arranged, settling into the backseat. Kang Ge, saying he felt safer beside the master, sat in the back as well, leaving Yan Xue to drive them back into the city.

On the way, Yan Xue focused on driving while Kang Ge had to play the part of someone in a poor mental state while staying alert in case the “Master” noticed anything amiss or tried anything drastic.

But soon, his worries faded, because halfway through the drive, the “Master” nodded off, his head drooping to one side in a doze. He didn’t wake up even when Yan Xue drove the car into the police station’s courtyard.

Once the car was parked, both Yan Xue and Kang Ge finally relaxed. Yan Xue readied the recorder she’d kept hidden in her pocket, which contained their entire conversation—especially the master’s admission that he’d given Xu Wenrui talisman water. She signaled to Kang Ge, who reached out to nudge the “Master Baili Jiufang,” still deeply asleep.

When this so-called expert was awakened, there was a dazed look in his eyes, his mouth half open, and he wiped at the corner of his mouth, as if worried he’d drooled in his sleep.

Yan Xue could only shake her head at the sight. She never would have thought that such a charlatan, lacking even decent acting skills, could have fooled both Xu Wenrui’s grandmother and Xu Wenrui himself so completely!

“Eh? What’s going on? Are we there? Where do you two live anyway?” The “Master” looked out the window, but from his angle he couldn’t see the sign above the building entrance. The parking lot, however, didn’t look like any residential neighborhood’s.

Kang Ge opened the car door and stood by it, beckoning: “We’re here, come on out, Master!” The tone he used on the last word was laced with mockery.

“You… you…” The “Master,” who had looked so listless moments ago, now saw Kang Ge standing at the door full of energy and immediately sensed something was wrong. This was clearly not what he’d expected, but he still couldn’t quite piece together what was actually happening.

Now that they were in the police station’s courtyard, Kang Ge saw no reason to keep up the act. He flashed his badge: “W City Police, Criminal Investigation Unit. We need you to come upstairs and have a chat about the exorcism you performed for Xu Wenrui.”

The “Master” froze, the corner of his mouth twitching as if he wanted to laugh, but the smile never made it all the way.

“Wait, wait…” He looked like he wished he could grow roots and never leave the car seat. “How did things turn out like this? You’re police—why pretend you needed my help? That’s just tricking me!”

“We’d have preferred to be straightforward, but tell me honestly: would you have admitted that you performed an exorcism for Xu Wenrui if we’d come to you openly?” Kang Ge replied candidly.

His retort was blunt, and the “Master” had nothing to say, getting out of the car with a hangdog expression.

In the Criminal Investigation Unit, Kang Ge brought the “Master” to the interrogation room. Yan Xue checked with her colleagues and learned the toxicology results weren’t ready yet, so she joined them, intent on hearing what explanation the prime suspect might give.

The “Master” clearly hadn’t expected to end up in an interrogation room. When Yan Xue saw him there, he was nothing like the pompous figure he’d pretended to be—just a frightened, middle-aged layabout cowering in the chair.

“What’s going on here?” he moaned, looking panicked. “If this were a matter for commerce, taxes, or even consumer protection, I’d buy it, but this seems a bit much, doesn’t it? To be fair, yes, I took money, but isn’t this all a matter of belief? If they don’t buy it, I’ll just refund them, isn’t that enough?”

“Duan Yong, right?” Kang Ge smiled at him. Now that they knew his real identity, there was no need to use his grandiose street name. “Fifty years old, registered out of province, came here a few years ago, local residence permit. So you’re renting that house, right? You made it all creepy—didn’t the landlord mind? But this isn’t just about a refund anymore. Even if you’re willing to give the money back, the other party would need to be alive to take it, wouldn’t they? And about that coffin in your yard in broad daylight—were you expecting something to happen, or was it prepared for someone?”

Yan Xue shook her head inwardly. The gap in tone between “Master Baili Jiufang” and his real name, Duan Yong, was truly striking—the former being ludicrously grand, the latter so down-to-earth.

“No, no, it wasn’t for anyone. That coffin in the yard was just for show. Isn’t everything about atmosphere these days…” Duan Yong hurried to explain, as if afraid of getting into more trouble, only to realize halfway through that the key point wasn’t the coffin at all. “What do you mean, someone’s not alive?”

“Who do you think? Your last client. We went to talk to your ‘referrer.’” Kang Ge smiled, as if they were just having a casual chat.

Kang Ge could remain relaxed, but Duan Yong could not. He sat up straight with a jolt, and if he could have, he’d have leapt to his feet.

“What do you mean? You’re saying Xu Wenrui is dead? That can’t be!” He looked as if his eyes would pop out of his head. “What’s that got to do with me? I just heard he wasn’t sleeping well, kept seeing weird things, so I took some money from his grandmother and gave him some talisman water, that’s all! I had no grudge with him—why would I kill him? What good would that do me? I’m living comfortably, making a little money here and there, not lacking for food or drink—I have no reason to!”

“Maybe your magic failed, and you couldn’t subdue the female ghost that was after him?” Kang Ge suggested with a straight face. “Or maybe Xu Wenrui was too frail to withstand the power of your talisman water?”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t make fun of me! There are no ghosts in this world! That talisman was just a piece of yellow paper, and I only finished primary school—what magic could I have? I just scam a little money for drinks and a bite to eat, so how did I end up in this mess!”