Chapter 0026 Padding the Bill
Bai Mei looked embarrassed but didn't say anything.
I asked again, "Is your husband home?"
Bai Mei said, "He, he's away on a business trip. He won't be back for several days." I thought, I'm a man, I should be proactive. If there's a benefit to be had, why miss it? What am I hesitating for? So, I stood up, took Bai Mei's hand, and led her into the back room.
Perhaps relieved from the temporary possession of the spirit, Bai Mei was very grateful to me and took off her clothes willingly. Affairs between men and women have existed since ancient times. In this restless society, infidelity is no longer big news. In the year or so I had been selling amulets, I had taken advantage of my business to sleep with quite a few female customers, and Bai Mei was one of them. At the time, I only felt that I was enjoying both money and romance—what a happy life! I completely failed to realize that those actions were all adding fuel to the fire of future consequences.
The next day, Bai Mei left the amulet shop early. I sat in the shop resting for half a day, still feeling tired and weak. I thought, This Bai Mei is quite something. It's admirable that her husband still has the energy to look for other women outside.
In the afternoon, I called Frank Fang and told him about Bai Mei's situation. Frank Fang said that since the exorcism incantation given by Arjan Tam was effective against the spirit inside Bai Mei, it meant Arjan Tam had a solution. The next day, Frank Fang called me back. "Logically, Ghost Gong Tau (Gui Jiang) is a relatively profound type of Gong Tau. It involves a Gong Tau master using magic power to forcefully drive a highly resentful spirit into a person's body until the spirit tortures the person to death before leaving the body. It's a relentless and extremely difficult spell to break. However, the spirit on your female customer was temporarily able to leave the body simply by chanting an ordinary exorcism spell. This suggests that the person who cast the spell was not very skilled. His magic wasn't fully developed; he could only make the spirit temporarily attach to the person, but it would come out as soon as it encountered an object with a spirit, such as the Guman Thong in your shop. If that's the case, Arjan Tam says he is confident he can break the Gong Tau. It will cost about 150,000 Thai Baht."
It was good to have a solution. Before contacting Bai Mei, I considered the situation. Her family was wealthy, and she hated her husband. Breaking a Gong Tau spell was rare in mainland China, especially in northern cities, and people who could solve it were even rarer. When you hook a big fish, you have to seize the opportunity, right? Even though Bai Mei and I had shared intimacy, it was just a casual fling; making money was the most important thing. So, I called Bai Mei, explained the situation, and quoted a price of 50,000 RMB, not including travel expenses.
Unexpectedly, Bai Mei told me, "I'll pay 100,000 RMB. While you completely break the evil Gong Tau on me, please find a way for that Arjan master to cast an even more powerful Gong Tau on that bastard, preferably one that makes him wish he were dead."
My heart leaped. Another unexpected bonus! I quickly agreed, telling her to get visas for both her and her husband to travel to Thailand, and we could leave anytime. But Bai Mei said, "Going to Thailand is troublesome. As you know, he hired someone in Thailand to cast the Gong Tau on me. If we go to Thailand again, he'll definitely be alerted and might not fall for it. Can you ask the Arjan master to perform the ritual in Shenyang? Another city would be fine too."
I said that would be difficult. Arjan masters reside in Southeast Asia and generally don't like to travel far abroad just to cast or break spells for customers. Even if they did, the fee would be very high, and I feared she couldn't afford it.
Bai Mei expressed confusion. "Why is he so hard to invite? Is he more arrogant than a celebrity?" I chuckled. "In a sense, an Arjan master is harder to invite than a president. After all, they are people who have been practicing black magic since childhood. Think about it: if there was an enlightened high monk deep in the mountains of China, could you use money to invite them out to meet you?" Bai Mei conceded, "That makes sense. Then let's hear the price first."
I explained the situation to Frank Fang. That evening, Frank Fang called me back, saying that after much persuasion, Arjan Tam finally agreed to go to China, but not too far—only to the Guangzhou or Shenzhen area. We would cover all his accommodation and meal expenses and pay an additional 250,000 Thai Baht as a service fee. I quoted Bai Mei an additional 100,000 RMB service fee. Including the money for breaking and casting the Gong Tau, the total was 200,000 RMB. I asked for a 50,000 RMB deposit upfront, with the remaining payment dependent on the completion of the tasks. For instance, if the Arjan master broke her Gong Tau but didn't get a chance to cast one on her husband, the charge would only be 150,000 RMB. Bai Mei agreed without much hesitation, asking me to coordinate the details in advance so she could arrange the itinerary.
This news excited me for a long time. If this worked out, I would make at least 70,000 to 80,000 RMB in profit. How many amulets would I have to sell to earn that much!
The next day, I called Wang Jiao from the shop, telling her the "ghost problem" had been solved and asking them to come to the shop to discuss something. They arrived near noon. As soon as they entered the room, Wang Jiao excitedly said, "No more ghosts? That's great! What did you want to discuss?"
Sun Xicai chuckled. "Brother Tian wants to treat us to dinner, right?"
I said, "Exactly. Order abalone and lobster as much as you like, up to 1,500 RMB."
Sun Xicai happily said, "We're all family. Why spend so much? Hot pot is fine. Jiaojiao and I have been craving mutton slices lately."
Wang Jiao also said, "Exactly. Last night, I dreamed of eating tripe in hot pot. And today you're inviting us to eat."
I smiled. "That's easy. We can go anytime. By the way, a customer came to pick up an amulet today. The casing was cracked. I charged the customer 500 RMB, saying it had to be sent to Thailand for the monk to repair. In fact, I fixed it with glue that same day."
Sun Xicai admired me. "That's smart, Brother Tian! That money was easy to earn. No wonder you said you wanted to treat me to dinner. Oh, which customer was it?"
I picked up the ledger and read, "XX day, X month: Customer Lao Li purchased one Luang Por Yim Somdej Positive-energy Amulet, 1,000 RMB total."
Sun Xicai seemed to realize something and asked casually, "Oh, I know that one. By the way, did that customer talk to you about anything?"
I smiled and said, "Yes, he did. He said it cost him 1,500 RMB to buy the amulet, and now it costs 500 RMB to fix the casing. He said it was damn daylight robbery!" Sun Xicai was instantly speechless, swallowing hard and unable to talk. Wang Jiao also looked very uneasy and awkwardly asked, "Brother Tian, did you hear that correctly?"
I said, "Whether I heard it correctly or not, I need to ask you two." Sun Xicai's eyes darted around, betraying a guilty conscience. Wang Jiao said, "Brother, it's our fault. We were greedy for a moment. I tried to persuade him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen!" This was probably not Wang Jiao trying to put the blame on him. She was outspoken and honest. It was obvious that Sun Xicai wanted to pad the bill, and Wang Jiao was initially unwilling but couldn't stop him, eventually acquiescing.
Sun Xicai argued stubbornly, "I had no choice. This amulet shop doesn't make any money day after day. Aren't we allowed to provide for ourselves? What if we starve? How am I supposed to support Jiaojiao?"
I hated it when he said that and snorted, "You only work six months a year usually. What do you use to support her the other six months?"
Sun Xicai pouted and didn't speak, pretending to fiddle with the mouse in front of the computer. As Wang Jiao poured me water, the shop door opened, and Bai Mei walked in. She was still wearing sunglasses, but probably due to her good mood, she was dressed much more sensually than before. Sun Xicai and Wang Jiao were instantly scared white. Wang Jiao dropped the paper cup on the floor, and Sun Xicai almost fell out of his chair.
Bai Mei walked over and sat down next to me, slowly taking off her sunglasses. I smiled and said, "What brings you here today?" Bai Mei took a paper package from her bag and handed it to me. "Here's 50,000 RMB in cash. Please give me a receipt. I've already talked to him, saying I feel unwell and want to go to Guangzhou to relax. He agreed. We're going to the airport this afternoon and will be there for five or six days. I'll send you the hotel and itinerary details via text message in advance. Just tell me how I need to cooperate."
I said, "No problem. I'll coordinate the rest!"
Bai Mei left. Wang Jiao and Sun Xicai were completely dumbfounded, staring at me without speaking. I snorted a few times. "Xicai, you saw it yourself. Both male and female ghosts have to pay up when they see me. I'm going to Guangzhou tomorrow to discuss business. You continue watching the shop, but it's best not to pad the bill again. If I catch you next time, watch out. I'll find a female ghost who drowned herself to haunt you every day!"
They were so scared their faces were whiter than Fan Bingbing's. They nodded repeatedly, unable to speak.
Outside the shop, I immediately called Frank Fang, told him the deposit had been received, and that the bank transfer wouldn't arrive in time. I asked him to cover Arjan Tam's costs first and to have the master depart for Guangzhou as soon as possible. I asked a classmate to book my flight to Guangzhou for tomorrow. That night, I received a text message from Bai Mei: she and her husband were staying in room XXX at a large hotel in Guangzhou, and tomorrow they would be sightseeing at XXX.