Chapter 004
I quickly changed the subject and asked, "Do you know what kind of person Mrs. Jiu is?"
Lin Tian said, my mother just told me casually that she was the ninth child in the family, but she had a third eye since she was a child , anyway, she could see ghosts. Everyone thought she was weird, so they kept their distance from her. She was still unmarried at the age of 40. Later, she finally found a lame man. In that era, such people basically did nothing.
In order to make a living, the Ninth Lady began to help people tell fortunes and ward off disasters. Unexpectedly, all the strange and bizarre things she predicted were accurate, and her business gradually improved and her reputation grew.
You know, many people who have some money still believe in ghosts and gods. Just look at my mother. She just wants peace of mind and doesn't care how much money she has. This woman gradually became a rich woman, so people call her Madam.
When I heard Lin Tian say this, I actually felt a little sympathetic towards Mrs. Jiu's plight. I sighed and said, it must not be easy for a blind and a lame person to get to where they are today.
Lin Tian immediately said, "No, Madam Jiu's husband died after being with her for three years!" She was not blind originally, but after her husband died, she fell seriously ill. After she recovered, she lost her sight. Others said that she had revealed too many secrets when she was helping people to ward off disasters and fortune-telling, so God punished her. However, since then, she has been safe and nothing strange has happened to her.
I kept silent, thinking that the story of Mrs. Jiu could be adapted into a feudal female struggle history. Although the process was a bit tragic, at least she was still wealthy in her later years.
Lin Tian raised his chin and said, We’re here. This is Mrs. Jiu’s house. My mom and the others came a long time ago.
I looked up and found that we were already in the outskirts of the city. There were small bungalows all around, and only one car was parked in front of a simple little house. Lin Tian said that was Mrs. Jiu's home.
I got out of the car and stood outside the house. The house looked extremely ordinary, completely different from what I had imagined.
I used to think that the place where people like Mrs. Jiu lived was different from the others just by looking at it. There might be some evil-repelling items hanging outside the door, or yellow paper charms on the walls, or incense burning in front of the door .
But none of these existed. If Lin Tian hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known that this was a wealthy family. It seemed that Madam Nine was very low-key.
Lin Tian knocked on the door, and soon someone inside shouted, "I'm coming."
As soon as I heard the voice, I recognized the person speaking was Lin Tian’s mother, and I prepared myself to be scolded.
As expected, as soon as the door opened, his mother was standing in the room. Seeing that it was us, she asked Lin Tian, "Why did you take so long?" I was so worried. If Madam Jiu hadn't told you to go alone, I wouldn't have let you go with him!
Lin Tian was afraid that I would be embarrassed, so he quickly said, "Mom, don't make a fuss, it's okay."
His mother glared at me and said, " Come in , Mrs. Jiu is waiting for you."
Seeing that his mother didn't make it too difficult, I felt relieved and followed Lin Tian in.
As soon as I entered the house, I smelled a scent of incense, like the scent in a temple.
The smell was so strong that it made me feel a little breathless. After smelling it for too long, I even felt a little dizzy, as if someone was pressing my head into an incense burner. I felt a little nauseous.
I glanced at Lin Tian. He didn't seem to be sensitive to the smell. He was no different from before.
We walked into the living room and saw that the furniture inside was very elegant. Unlike ordinary homes, there were very few modern furniture, such as televisions. There was a Buddhist temple in the east, where the smiling Maitreya Buddha was enshrined.
On the sofa on the other side, an old woman with gray hair but neatly combed was sitting. She looked very energetic. Lin Tian's mother sat beside her attentively, and I knew that this person was the rumored Ninth Madam.
I took a closer look at her and saw that Mrs. Jiu's eyes were open, but her pupils were white, which looked a bit scary at first glance. I don't know what eye disease she had.
Lin Tian’s mother took her hand and said with a smile, “Mrs. Jiu, my son and others are here, can you take a look at them?”
After saying that, he called Lin Tian and I to go forward.
Unexpectedly, Mrs. Jiu suddenly pulled away the hand that was being held by Lin Tian’s mother, twisted her wrinkled face tightly, and shouted, "Don't come over here!"
Lin Tian and I were stunned, even Lin Tian’s mother was the same, she swallowed the words she was about to say.
Mrs. Jiu slowly raised her hand, suddenly pointed at me and said, "Get out!"
This finger was pointed directly at me.
Lin Tian and I looked at each other, wondering if this Ninth Madam was really blind or was she just pretending to be blind to gain sympathy?
get out!
Seeing that I didn't move, Mrs. Jiu raised her voice and shouted again. Her frail body began to tremble. It was as if she wanted to stand up and drive me out.
When Lin Tian’s mother saw that Madam Jiu was getting excited, she quickly scolded her, “Madam Jiu told you to get out, did you hear me?”
I don't know how I offended these two people. They asked me to come, so I came. But they asked me to leave as soon as I arrived. Since they couldn't stand me, why bother wasting time on me?
I turned around and left in anger, but Lin Tian quickly pulled me back and said, "Don't be angry!"
I shook off his hand and said, "If it were you, wouldn't you be angry?"
Lin Tian was in the wrong, so his attitude softened immediately. He said, "You wait outside first. I will tell you after I find out what's going on!"
I ignored him and walked out of the room.
As soon as I came out and smelled the air outside, the strong fragrance was gone and I felt much better.
To be honest, it is impossible not to feel angry when being treated like this. But just like Lin Tian said, if I hadn't encountered a ghost and now needed help from others, I would definitely not pay attention to people like Mrs. Jiu.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I simply sat outside the door and lit a cigarette. Cigarettes are really a good medicine to relieve my worries and boredom. After a few puffs, I felt a little better.
I was sitting on the step beside the door, doing nothing, and when I turned around and looked, I saw a lot of small earthenware jars placed against the wall, each only the size of a fist, sealed with red paper. They were densely packed together, about twenty in total.
There were a lot of messy drawings on the red paper, which you wouldn't notice unless you looked carefully. I immediately became interested and took one to play with.
The earthenware jar was cold and slippery to the touch, with many water stains on it, like traces of dew that dried in the morning and evening. It felt light in my hand, and I shook it , but could not hear any sound from inside. I was curious and wanted to peel off the red paper on it to have a look.
At this moment, the door suddenly opened. I thought it was Lin Tian who came out, but when I turned around, I found it was not him.
The man who came was a man about my age, wearing a white T-shirt and looking sleepy. He glanced at me and saw the jar in my hand. Suddenly he said, "If I were you, I wouldn't touch those things."
I thought he might be the grandson of Mrs. Jiu, and it was not good to touch other people's things. I curled my lips and put the jar back.
The man walked up to me, saw a cigarette next to me, smiled and said, "I'm very thirsty, give me one too."
I rolled my eyes at him, but still gave him one and lit another for myself.
He sat down, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled the smoke. He smiled again and said, "I heard my mother kick you out of the house, so I came out to see what kind of person you are that scares my mother so much."
Only then did I realize that I had been wrong. I originally thought he was Mrs. Jiu's grandson, but when I thought about what Lin Tian said, Mrs. Jiu got married in her forties and is probably in her sixties now, so her son should be about the same age as me.
But when he said he wanted to see me, I felt like a monkey in a zoo, feeling depressed for no reason. I asked him sternly, "What did you see?"
He exclaimed, and said, "You are Yin Fan."
I didn’t understand, so I asked again, what am I?
Yin Banner.
He took another puff of his cigarette and explained that it was just like the spirit-calling flag in ghost stories, where you wave it in your hand and the ghost will come.
I wondered in my heart, how did I look like that thing!
He added, of course it's not referring to your appearance, it's just a similar name, used to describe people like you. You are born to attract ghosts, you encounter ghosts wherever you go!
Although I have never dealt with these superstitious people, but I often see them on TV. They will first put a label on you and say all kinds of mysterious things. After you get scared, they will tell you what to do to eliminate your disaster and solve your problem. Their purpose is money.
I think this person's path is the same as those people on TV.
What kind of words are born to attract ghosts? It's too much to say that. I have lived peacefully for more than 20 years, and only recently have I encountered these unlucky things.
I sneered in my heart but didn't say anything, just wanting to see what tricks he would play next.
I just heard him say, your matter is more difficult to handle. My mother is old and doesn't want to get involved in big things. She only takes on small matters that can be easily solved.
I thought to myself that this was exactly what I was thinking in my head, that the matter was too big and difficult to handle, but there would definitely be a way in the end, it would just be a bit more costly, and then they would start asking for money.
I chuckled and asked him directly, so what do you think I should do?
Who knew this guy didn't play by the rules? What should I do? Wait for death!
My face froze. Seeing that he didn't look like he was joking, I couldn't laugh anymore.
He put out the cigarette butt on the ground and said, "Don't disbelieve me. When you just came into my house, didn't you smell anything?"
I think of that strong, sickening fragrance. Is there some kind of knowledge behind this?
He said that ordinary people cannot smell that smell, it is something used to drive away ghosts. If you feel uncomfortable when you smell it, it means that you have too much yin energy, which can almost make ghosts regard you as one of their own.
I thought about what happened when I entered the room just now. Lin Tian and his mother really didn't react, but when I smelled that smell, I really felt dizzy.
But I also felt that this was a trick he was trying to fool me, maybe it was just because I couldn't stand the smell.
Seeing that I didn't say anything, he said again, "From your reaction I understand that I am right."
Then, he suddenly took out a piece of white cardboard from his trouser pocket and handed it to me. When I saw it, I was immediately at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
This is a business card, drawn with a pen. On it is his name and phone number. It turns out that this person's name is Ding Ding. In front of his name, there is also a title of professional ghost exorcist written in a formal manner.
