Chapter 0027 Arjan Tam
The next day, I headed straight to Guangzhou as the advance party. I couldn't book a room next to Bai Mei and her husband; the closest was around the corner at the end of the corridor. I booked three adjacent rooms.
While sitting in the hotel lobby drinking tea, I saw Bai Mei and her husband come out of the elevator. He was a tall, thin man who looked quite energetic. As they walked out of the hotel lobby, Bai Mei glanced at me twice. When her husband wasn't looking, Bai Mei subtly gave me a victory sign behind her back.
Three days passed in a blink. I called Frank Fang every day, but Arjan Tam had been busy making Negative-energy Amulets for the past two days, which made me extremely anxious. With only two more days before Bai Mei and her husband were due to leave Guangzhou and go home, Frank Fang finally sent me a text on the fourth day, saying that the three of them had arrived in Bangkok and were ready to board the plane. Only then did my heart settle.
In the evening, Arjan Tam, accompanied by an apprentice and Frank Fang, arrived at the hotel from the airport. I led them to the rooms. I had worked with Arjan Tam when I first started this business. At that time, he made a luck-changing Yin Fu (Negative Charm) for Miss Z, a fifth-tier actress from Shenyang working in Beijing. She did become more famous, but later developed mental confusion and suddenly disappeared one day, with no news of her whereabouts ever since.
However, today was the first time I had met the real Arjan Tam. Under Frank Fang's introduction, Arjan Tam shook my hand politely. He was of medium height, with long hair, dressed in black clothes and black pants, wearing wooden sandals. He wore a string of black beads around his neck and held another in his hand. His arms, neck, and face were covered with dense, intricate tattoos. When he checked in at the front desk, the front desk clerks and the lobby manager showed fear in their eyes, apparently never having seen a Southeast Asian Arjan before.
I showed Frank Fang the text message Bai Mei had just sent me: "My husband and I are taking a boat ride on the Pearl River tomorrow evening. I will send you the specific time and boarding location later. Can you please break the Gong Tau for me first? I will find a way to create an opportunity tomorrow during the day. How much time do you need?"
Frank Fang translated the text message to Arjan Tam, who said, "If it's not a very potent Ghost Gong Tau, half an hour is enough, but it is best done tonight at midnight."
I replied to Bai Mei via text message: "I'll try to get out tonight. Wait for my message."
After dinner, Frank Fang insisted on dragging me to a nightclub to pick up girls. I told him I wouldn't go. I was impressed that he had the nerve to go chasing women during such a tense time. Frank Fang shrugged. "What's there to be nervous about? This is just like work, like clocking in and out every day. Are you going or not? I hear a lot of girls from the North come to Guangdong to do this now, and they're all very pretty."
In the end, I went.
At the KTV, Frank Fang was embracing girls left and right. After enough singing and drinking, he walked out of the KTV with a tall, beautiful woman from Harbin to spend the night. Another girl insisted on me taking her with me, but I declined. My mind was on Bai Mei's situation, and I was simply not in the mood. I told Frank Fang that no matter what he did, he must keep his phone close and return immediately if I called; otherwise, I couldn't handle the situation alone. Frank Fang agreed.
I returned to the hotel first. Around 11:30 PM, Bai Mei texted me: "I put a few sleeping pills in his water. He's fast asleep now. I'll be out in five minutes." You're quite something, preparing sleeping pills in advance! I quickly called Frank Fang. I heard a woman's panting on the other end, and Frank Fang said impatiently, "Got it, I'll be back in twenty minutes!" I told him to hurry, as the customer would be out soon. Frank Fang hung up.
Opening my room door, I saw Bai Mei walking out of her room in the distance. I quickly waved her into my room, saying we could start the ritual to break the Gong Tau soon. Bai Mei looked at me flirtatiously. I couldn't resist hugging her, and we spent some time together on the bed first. Twenty minutes later, Frank Fang indeed returned. When I met him in the hallway, he looked displeased, as if I had flirted with his wife. I smiled and said, "I warned you beforehand. Don't blame me for ruining your good time."
Frank Fang glared at me. "When did I ever say that the client found a chance to come out?"
I said, "She came out just when I called you. She gave her husband a few sleeping pills, and he's sound asleep now. She's in my room."
Frank Fang pointed at my nose. "You little bastard! You ruined my fun, but you're here having your own fun!"
Just then, Arjan Tam's apprentice came out of the adjacent room. I quickly went over and told him the female client had arrived. The apprentice knocked on Arjan's door, went in briefly, and came out saying the female client could enter the room, but everyone else except the apprentice should wait outside. I led Bai Mei out, introduced her to Frank Fang and the others, and then sent her into Arjan Tam's room. Frank Fang and I waited in my room.
Frank Fang sat on the bed, propped up his legs, and smoked. "Northern girls are still the best—tall, great figures, and passionate."
I said, "Big Brother, I advise you to be serious and settle down with a woman. You've already laundered your identity and become a Thai national. You can settle down even if you return to Guangdong."
Frank Fang looked at me. "You don't know a thing. Some things can never be washed away..." I was about to ask when a woman's scream suddenly came from the next room. It was Bai Mei's voice. It was particularly tragic, like someone encountering a ghost. Frank Fang and I rushed out. I ran to Arjan Tam's door, about to knock, when Frank Fang held me back. "What are you doing?"
I was anxious. "Did something happen to Bai Mei?"
Frank Fang said, "Arjan Tam is performing the ritual to break the Gong Tau. The spirit must be reluctant to leave, clinging fiercely to the client. You must not interfere, or the ritual will fail, and the client will be in danger!" I had no choice but to wait by the door. Several guests on both sides of the corridor opened their doors, peering out, wondering what was happening. A cleaner pushing a cart passed by, stopped, and looked at us suspiciously. I subconsciously glanced at Bai Mei's room, afraid her husband might hear the screams and come out.
The screams from Arjan Tam's room grew louder. We could clearly hear Bai Mei shouting inside, "I don't want to leave! Don't try to chase me away! I'm not going there..."
It was midnight, twelve o'clock, and her shouts grew louder and louder. Perhaps due to the effects of the sleeping pills, the man in Bai Mei's room still hadn't come out, but guests from almost all the rooms in the corridor rushed out to look, complaining about being woken up. Security guards also arrived. The security guards came over and banged on the door. I quickly explained to them that my friend inside was emotionally distraught after a breakup and sometimes shouted but would be fine soon. The security guard didn't believe me. "Is she having a drug withdrawal? If you don't open the door, I'll break it down and call the police!"
What should I do? Frank Fang and I took turns trying to persuade them. The head of security arrived, and several guards cornered Frank Fang and me. One guard contacted the front desk via walkie-talkie, asking them to call the police. Frustrated, I was determined to take a risk! Just as I was about to rush forward to snatch the walkie-talkie, Arjan Tam's door burst open. It wasn't an ordinary opening; it was rapid, as if blown open by a powerful surge of air. Simultaneously, everyone felt a draft waft out, brushing past the crowd—a very cold wind, like air from a freezer.
The security guards looked at each other, about to step inside, but Arjan Tam slowly walked out. He held the string of black beads in one hand and a small, dusty-gray saucer in the other, muttering incantations. Seeing Arjan Tam's attire, the security guards spontaneously took a few steps back. Arjan Tam came out into the corridor and held the saucer high.
Strangely, the saucer began to shake in Arjan Tam's hand. After about half a minute, the saucer stopped moving, and Arjan Tam stopped chanting. His apprentice quickly went into the room and immediately brought out a small, velvet-lined box. Arjan Tam placed the saucer into the box, closed the lid, which was clearly adorned with some red symbols.
Arjan Tam nodded to Frank Fang. Everyone went into the room and saw Bai Mei lying on the edge of the bed in a very peculiar posture. We helped her up. By this time, the security guards had also entered, looking warily at Bai Mei. The security captain asked, "I still have to call the police. What if she's suffering from drug withdrawal?"
I was anxious. "Look at her arms and legs. Are there any needle marks on her body?"