Part 2 Chapter 8: The House of the "Master of the Circle"
For the next few days, I was drowsy, knowing that with my limited ability, I couldn't figure out the answer, so I might as well give Qin Yiheng some space and time to figure it out, and I relaxed and slept soundly.
It wasn't until the fourth day that Qin Yiheng called me. I thought he had found some clues, but when I answered the phone, I found out that someone had come to my house and asked me if I was interested in going to see it. If so, I could go to his house to meet him.
I was quite excited to hear that there was money to be made. We hadn't opened a business for a long time. However, after thinking about it carefully, I was still a little hesitant. It was not because I was afraid of the things inside. After all, it was Qin Yiheng who was blocking the gun in front. I just took into account that the housing prices have continued to rise during this period, but they are all artificially high. Basically, there is no market for the price. If I buy the house now, I may lose money in the future. So, I asked about the approximate location and price of the house on the phone. As a result, Qin Yiheng told me that this house is a new house built in the style of a courtyard house. It can barely be regarded as a kind of villa. It is located in a prefecture-level city in the northeast. Although the location is relatively remote, the surrounding environment is good, so there is no need to worry about the problem of price drops, and the price is also very reasonable. The quotation is 700,000 yuan, and the transfer is included.
I heard his tone was quite relaxed on the phone, and I guessed that the problem with the house should not be too big, and I looked at the location he mentioned on the online map. From the map, it should have great potential. It is said that the subway will also be built in this area, and it will definitely appreciate in value when the time comes. I was tempted by this thought. I was in a very low mood during this period, and making some money to stimulate my vitality would be a good thing, so I immediately agreed, packed a few clothes and went to find him.
After I left the house, I remembered that, given Qin Yiheng's style, the wardrobe and the plaster statue must still be in his house. Seeing that thing really annoyed me, so I called him again and arranged to meet him at a cafe.
The two met in a cafe, and Qin Yiheng explained the details of the house.
This house was built two years ago and is located in a villa area. Now many rich people are tired of living in villas and want to return to the feeling of the old Beijing courtyard house. The developer also pursued profit and built a row of houses in the last row of the entire villa area according to the specifications of the courtyard house. The price of the house was not low at the time, and it was quickly sold out. The one who came to us this time was one of them. At first, this house was rarely occupied. It was probably bought by a rich man who occasionally came to spend the weekend to enjoy the novelty. The surrounding courtyard houses are similar to this one, and are mostly empty.
By coincidence, one day last year, the water pipes in this community were under repair, and the property management needed to go door to door to check if there were any leaks. The owner was found through the phone number registered with the property management. The owner may have been busy with business and had not stayed in the courtyard for a long time. He did not rush back at that time, but sent an employee to help open the door. Who knew that when the door was opened, everyone was so scared by the scene in front of them that they almost fell down.
Because, right in the middle of the living room, there was a dead person who had been dead for some time. However, the courtyard was big enough, and each courtyard was far away from each other, so the body was not discovered even though it was smelly. And what was very strange was that the dead person was a big and strong man, but he was wearing women's clothes and had heavy makeup on his face. There were many big wounds on the body, all of which were caused by broken window glass. The whole body was almost stained with blood. The whole person was in a very strange posture, with his hands on his knees, curled up in the living room. The whole room was full of bloodstains from the person crawling on the ground, which looked very scary.
After seeing that someone was killed, the property management immediately called the police. After the police came to check, they found that the man had no relevant identity information and had never received a missing person report similar to him. After the investigators inspected the scene and combined with the man's strange dress, they finally determined that it was a person with mental problems who committed suicide here, and the case was closed.
Someone died so strangely in his own house, so the owner naturally didn't dare to live there anymore. In addition, he might have needed funds for his business at that time, so he sold the house to another person at a low price last year. Because what happened in the house, although not sensational, was the talk of the town for a while, so it is said that the price was kept very low at that time, and the exact price is probably lower than the price quoted to us now.
After the body was discovered, there was no news of a haunting, but it was still a haunted house in the standard sense.
The person who took over the house was not a fool. He bought it for investment. In fact, to put it bluntly, we were in the same business. This person was barely an expert because he had been a "circle leader" before and knew some magic tricks. He used his own methods to clean the house inside and out. This cleaning was not just a simple cleaning, but also included a series of processes such as raising and sending the spirit.
When he finished cleaning the house, he moved in first, thinking that he would live there for three to five years, and when the house was almost forgotten, he would sell it and make a profit from the difference. The house was stable at first, except that the door of one of the main rooms was not working properly. However, this "circle owner" was also alone, and he didn't need such a big place to live, so he didn't care.
But recently, he could always hear a strange intermittent sound when he went to bed every night. Although the sound was not loud, it sounded very irritating in the middle of the night. At first, he thought there were rats in his house, so he bought a lot of rat poison, but it didn't work. The sound became louder and louder. He became suspicious and spent a night watching to see where the noise came from.
Finally, he found the source of the sound. It was in the main room, coming from the room with the broken door. He listened carefully that night and found that the sound sounded like someone scratching the door with his fingernails.
This "circle master" knew a little about magic and had naturally seen some of the world. He was not afraid at the time. He thought there was a thief in the house, so he opened the door to see what was inside. Unexpectedly, the door was very heavy. He pulled it open with all his strength, but the house was empty. He walked in to take a closer look, but he tripped over something and fell. He got up and looked back, but there was nothing on the ground.
The "circle master" began to sweat. He was also an experienced person and knew at a glance that something was happening in the house. He did not dare to sleep in the house that night. The next day he brought paper money and gold ingots back to worship, but at night, the sound was still there.
Although this thing did not directly endanger people's lives, he knew that living like this was definitely not a long-term solution. In the long run, the house would not appreciate in value, and he would probably lose everything. Finally, he had no choice but to contact Qin Yiheng, knowing that Qin Yiheng and I were professionals in this business, and wanted to sell the house to us. After all, we are much more professional than him. In this way, he would not lose money, and we would still make a profit.
From what Qin Yiheng said, the person who came to us this time was a middleman. Now there is competition even for haunted houses? Instantly, I felt the pressure. We are all businessmen, and we can't do business at a loss. Since this person knows magic, if the things in the house are easy to deal with, he will definitely not come to us. So, isn't this house very tricky?
Qin Yiheng sounded confident, so I told him about my concerns and wanted to ask him how confident he was.
He didn't answer directly, but told me that the so-called "circle master" is actually a person who learned some superficial skills in the old society and then went from street to street to cheat people. The reason why they are called "circle master" is that people in this profession will wear a copper or iron ring around their waist all year round, and a small gourd buckle will be placed on the ring all year round, and the mouth will be sealed with cinnabar. This gourd buckle is a small gourd that has been hollowed out and the thumb bone of a dead baby is placed inside. Then at the entrance of the alley or village, the copper or iron ring is taken off and a small circle is drawn on the ground along the edge. If a child accidentally steps into this circle, it is said that he will have a high fever and talk nonsense when he returns home that night. Then the "circle master" will take the opportunity to sell medicine or exorcise evil spirits in this family. In fact, it is just to let the sick child hold the gourd buckle in his mouth. But the parents of the children must not know the mystery, and they think they have met a life-saving master, so they are naturally grateful. The wealthy family will give money to hold a banquet; the poor family will also give rice and noodles. The "leader of the circle" makes a living by doing this.
Later, with the development of society, the money-making tricks of the "circle masters" were discovered by more and more people, and this industry gradually could not survive. Many "circle masters" changed their careers to fortune-telling or simply found a proper job. However, there are still a small number of "circle masters" who still stick to this unethical business, and have evolved into using crooked ways to abduct and sell children. The so-called "flower shooters" in the market actually evolved from the "circle masters". Although these "circle masters" have some knowledge of magic, they still cheat and deceive most of the time. It is almost impossible to ask them to exorcise evil spirits and suppress ghosts.
After explaining, Qin Yiheng said: "So, the things that this person can't handle are not necessarily big things. Maybe it's just a little kid passing by making trouble for a day or two. If we go and take a look, we may find a big bargain."
He said it so lightly that my greedy heart began to surge. Since he said so, who wouldn't want to make this money? I immediately agreed.
The next day, we boarded the plane. The "circle leader" personally went to the airport to pick us up. He looked more honest than I expected, not like a swindler or a slick talker. I guess he was older and more stable, after all, he was in his fifties.
The "circle leader" introduced himself as Xu Chuanxiang, and was very polite when we met, which made me feel a little embarrassed. Xu Chuanxiang first took us to the hotel we had booked, put down our carry-on luggage, and took us to a meal, which was quite good. Maybe he was really desperate, otherwise he would not be so willing to spend money. During the meal, Xu Chuanxiang recounted the things in the house in general, which was not much different from what Qin Yiheng had recounted. But when he was telling the story, his tone was very uncalm, which was not in line with his age, and it seemed that he was really scared by the things in the house.
I felt vaguely uneasy as I listened to this, but when I saw that Qin Yiheng's expression didn't change, I told myself to put my mind at ease. I thought, 'Let's talk about everything after I see the house.
After dinner, Qin Yiheng suggested going to the house to have a look while it was dark so they could see clearly. The three of them didn't delay and went straight to the house .
