Chapter 17 The Ghost in the Antiques
The couple didn't seem to know much about porcelain and were eager to sell it for money. After some negotiation, Chu Tianqing bought it for 78,000 yuan. He knew he had gotten a great deal. Upon inspection, he realized it was a Yue kiln porcelain piece from the Tang Dynasty. If he resold it, he could make at least 300,000 to 500,000 yuan. But little did he know that strange things would begin to happen in his home from there.
After returning home, he carefully placed the porcelain vase in his small collection room in the basement. Every day, he would go and examine it closely, touching it again and again. Just a few days ago, he acquired a Tang sword, which was incredibly sharp. He could easily cut his finger without realizing it. He then touched the porcelain vase again, only to be startled when he saw bloodstains on it. He hurriedly went to find a cloth to wipe it, but strangely, he couldn't find any bloodstains on the vase when he held the cloth.
That very night, strange things began to happen in the house. First, the couple was awakened from their sleep by noises coming from the basement. Chu Tianqing thought a thief had broken in, so he hurriedly grabbed a baseball bat to check, but there was nothing in the basement, and none of his treasured possessions were missing.
Then, every night, strange noises would come from the house. His wife, Liu Mengjie, also felt that there was a pair of eyes watching her all the time. One time, while washing her face, she vaguely saw a woman in a long red dress standing behind her, staring intently at her in the mirror. She screamed and turned around, but there was nothing there.
At first, the couple thought it was just hallucinations caused by recent stress and didn't pay much attention. However, a few nights ago, they were sound asleep when they were suddenly awakened by several high-pitched "hee-hee-hee" laughs. Because it was very quiet at night, the couple heard them clearly. The eerie laughter was right next to their bed, and then they saw a scene that almost scared them to death. In the darkness, a figure was dancing at the foot of their bed. Although they couldn't see clearly, they could vaguely make out that it was a woman. Chu Tianqing screamed and quickly turned on the bedside lamp. As soon as the light came on, the dark figure disappeared. Now the couple completely realized that their home had been haunted by something evil.
The two were so frightened that they couldn't sleep all night, sitting with the lights on until dawn. They didn't dare to leave their bedroom until the next day, and hurriedly asked their relatives and friends if they knew any experts. Many hands make light work, and that same day, one of Chu Tianqing's business partners introduced him to an expert he knew, saying that this expert was very skilled in feng shui, exorcising ghosts and demons, etc. Chu Tianqing was overjoyed and hurriedly invited his friend to bring the expert to him, promising a generous reward after the matter was settled.
Chu Tianqing's friend was also very helpful. In the afternoon, he brought a master to his villa. After introducing themselves, the master, named Liu Ruhai, was over fifty years old. He had an air of otherworldly elegance and an extraordinary presence. The couple felt much more at ease when they saw his appearance. They then told him the whole story of the haunting in their house. After listening, Liu Ruhai first walked around the villa, then did some calculations with his fingers. After a moment of contemplation, he said that there was a problem with the porcelain vase that Chu Tianqing had bought, and asked him to take him to see it first.
Chu Tianqing also vaguely felt that it was because of the porcelain bottle, so he nervously led the group to his basement. Liu Ruhai carefully examined the Tang Dynasty porcelain bottle and told Chu Tianqing that the problem lay there. Fortunately, he had just accidentally released the bottle. If it had been there for a long time, the house would not have been just a simple haunting; it could have resulted in death.
The couple were so frightened that their legs went weak. They asked Liu Ruhai what to do, whether to throw away or break the porcelain bottle. Liu Ruhai stopped them and told them that since the porcelain bottle was stained with their blood, giving it away or breaking it would not help. It would only make the evil thing hate them more. The only solution now was to perform a ritual to dispel its resentment and help it be reincarnated.
The couple listened attentively to the expert's words. While there was still time, Liu Ruhai began setting up at their home. First, he used red rope made with cinnabar to wrap around the top of the villa's living room like a spider web, calling it a celestial net. Then, he placed seven candles on the floor according to the positions of the Big Dipper. He also pasted talismans all over the villa's doors and windows. After doing all this, they just had to wait quietly.
As dusk approached, Chu Tianqing's friend, being timid, left the expert performing the ritual behind and took his leave, leaving behind the composed Liu Ruhai and the anxious Chu Tianqing and his wife.
That evening, Liu Ruhai told the two to go to their bedrooms to sleep as usual, and that he would stay in the living room and would definitely help them resolve the matter that night.
Looking at the confident-looking expert, Chu Tianqing felt a little better and returned to the bedroom with Liu Mengjie.
Time passed by, and it was already one o'clock in the morning. How could Chu Tianqing and his wife sleep? All the lights in the bedroom were on. Although they felt a little more at ease with the presence of a powerful figure outside, they were still on edge.
Suddenly, the room lights began to flicker, and the temperature dropped instantly. Just as the two were in a panic, all the lights went out. Just as Liu Mengjie screamed and fell into her husband's arms, that sharp and eerie "hehehe" sound came again, this time clearer, as if it were a woman's laughter coming from close to their ears!
"Ah! Master, save me!"
Chu Tianqing yelled and pulled out the phone he had just found, turning on the screen. What came into view was a pale woman's face, with no whites in her eyes, her eyes were completely black, and she had sharp teeth like sunflower seed shells, laughing "hehehe" at him.
"ah"!
Chu Tianqing pulled his wife up from his arms, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and stumbled to the door, opened it, and ran out. The seven candles in the living room emitted a dim light, while the so-called expert lay on his back on the floor.
"Master, great man!"
Chu Tianqing ran and shouted, but Liu Ruhai on the ground did not move. They did not know whether he was alive or dead. The two of them did not dare to go forward to check. They ran out of the gate and stopped under the street lamp.
Liu Mengjie panicked and stammered, asking her husband what to do. Chu Tianqing was also at a loss, so he decisively dialed the police.
When the police arrived, Chu Tianqing and his wife explained what had happened. Several police officers chuckled and asked if they had watched too many horror movies. Seeing that they didn't believe them, they mustered their courage and took them back to the villa. Strangely, the living room was brightly lit, even though it was pitch black when they ran out. Yet, the expert was still lying on the floor. One of the police officers went over to check and found that he had only fainted, so he called for an ambulance.
Chu Tianqing and the other man dared not stay at home any longer. They followed the ambulance to the hospital with Liu Ruhai. The moment he woke up, he screamed, "Ghost! Ghost!"
Once he saw where it was, he gradually calmed down and told Chu Tianqing that the ghost in his house was not an ordinary ghost, but a thousand-year-old vengeful ghost that he couldn't deal with. If he wanted to be safe, he had to go to Fengjiang to find Master Xiao Quansheng, the person in charge of the Ghost Eye.
So the couple rushed to Fengjiang yesterday. At that time, Chen Cheng was still in Xijing and had not returned. They had no choice but to take the house-protecting talisman from Lao Zhang and rush back.