Curiosity: the basic and unquenchable human thirst to understand more about themselves and their surroundings. Yet many failed to comprehend that some mysteries are best left unsolved, and this man was the epitome of this very fact. I had been frank in telling him that the condition of his mother was simply beyond our scope of abilities. The truth of the entire episode, which I would rather not divulge, was something not a son would be able to suffer. He might even turn cross and things might even become ugly… I could only hope that Lin Feng would refrain from delivering his blows too heavily if things were to indeed come to such lamentable outcome…

But the man was relentless. He stubbornly demanded that I tell him the truth, or he would refuse to leave. Why the hard-headedness, I wondered, my face contorting sourly. He left us no choice then, but to disclose the whole story. I said to Yuan Chongxi, “Let me do the talking. This needs to be delivered delicately.” He nodded in agreement. I turned back to face the man and said, “I’ll speak bluntly. But I’m afraid the true story might be hurtful to a filial son like you. Please remain calm.” The man waved me off and pressed, “Understood. Just fire away, Young Master.” In truth, I meant to tell him that if things were to turn ugly because of his temper, chances were he could be the one receiving the shorter end of the stick. But it seemed that he had misunderstood my meaning. I could only shake my head wearily as I began the tale, “Very well. Here begins the tale of how your mother’s dementia came to be…”

“It all began with your mother’s underground gambling den. She operates a small gambling outfit at her place and collects a commission from the winner. The villagers nearby all know about this but no one knows the secret of what she does everything when everyone’s left! As you undoubtedly realized, there’s a plot of the graveyard at the side of clearing to the eastern side of the hill. The path leading out from the hills runs just beside the graveyard. Everyone from the hills traveling out to sell game or harvest and purchase foodstuff have to pass through that path where even the nearest town is about 20 miles away; hence some hillfolk have to tread the route even during the night. Your mother would dress in white mourning clothes and a white hat, and hide among the forest of tombstones. Whenever somebody walks pass, she would leap out and frighten the unsuspecting folks. Most of them would panic and leave their items while they run and your mother would steal the items for herself. For many a year she had been repeating her misdeeds until one day…”

I paused, catching on the troubled look of the man. Lin Feng too was tense, his fists clenched tightly, fearful that the man might become angry and run amok. But the man showed no signs of fuming, instead, he sighed gloomily. His wife spoke suddenly, breaking the edgy quietness, “No wonder… I was always puzzled when I send things down to my mother-in-law’s house. Everything she gives me things to bring home too. Every time I ask her about the origin of the items, yet everything she told me they were gifts! So this is the truth!”

I nodded and continued my tale, “Do you know about another insane woman from the village in the south?” The man raised his head, rousing from his dismal trance, and replied, “Yes. That woman was long known to be insane.” I acknowledged him and went on, “So one day, your mother was lying among the tombstones, waiting to ambush passers-by as usual. Unbeknownst to her, the mad lady was sleeping on another grave just behind. Having no sense of fear, the mad lady felt that it was fun when she saw your mother leaping out of hiding and frightening the hillfolks at the path. She went home and look for some mourning robes, thinking of having fun with your mother! Your mother, sliding back out of sight, waited for another go, not knowing the fate that would await her. Hearing the coming of footsteps, she pounced out like a predator, only to find another ‘Jiangshi’ staring at her! Your mother did not know that the ‘Jiangshi’ before her was nobody else but the mad lady in disguise! The hunter now became the hunted, as your mother mistakenly believed that her actions had invoked the appearance of a true Jiangshi. She ran as fast as she could, fleeing back to her house while the mad lady followed close behind. Your mother latched the wooden gate of her compound and locked her doors. Peering out through a crack, she saw the white figure of disguised mad woman hopping outside, still pretending to be a real Jiangshi, while trying to enter although her way was barred outside! For the entire night, the crazy woman kept waiting until dawn, when the woman grew tired and left, leaving your mother badly frightened and shock had driven her insane.” This was the reason I had elected to deliver the truth myself; Yuan Chongxi, in his blunt, dumb honesty and simplicity, lacked the sense to convey messages delicately. A wrong word from him might cause more harm than good.

I shrugged my shoulders and said, “This is the true story of your mother, however difficult it is for you as a son. I hope you’re satisfied now.” The man smiled sourly and nodded. I put a hand on his shoulder and said, “Have your mother delivered to a good mental health hospital, brother. I can see that you are a good son who has his mother’s best interests at heart.” Little did I expect that this gesture of mine-induced tears trickling down his cheeks. The man began sobbing hard, his hands covering over his face. His wife nestled closer, consoling him. I turned my attention to Brother Plasticbag and his wife, “I’m sure my father could have not been any clearer that the parts where you live will hardly have any incidents with foul beings and ghosts. Keep this fact to heart so that you can inform anyone in your area should anything as this arises. You’re fortunate that you have met both me and my father. A charlatan would surely have fleeced you otherwise.”

The four of them rose to their feet, muttering words of thanks profusely. With his emotions finally under control, the man asked me of the cost of our “consultation”. I waved him off, saying, “Leave it, brother. Yours is hardly a matter that required our services and there was nothing I could do to help you solve the problem.” He was stunned; he had never expected that I would refuse his payment. But before he left, still, he crammed five hundred yuan into my fingers, saying that it was his responsibility to bear the charges for the offerings for the ghost earlier. When the guests were out the door, I flashed the five hundred yuan to Lin Feng and Yuan Chongxi, who both smiled weakly at me. Later that day, I placed a call to my father, informing him of the matter, not failing to mention that the son would have his mother sent to a hospital to have her mental condition looked at. My father merely gave a short grunt and ended the call.

Lin Feng was grumbling just beside me, “I say, look at what fiasco my father had landed us into! I must speak to him about this!” “Save it, brother,” I said to Lin Feng, “Uncle Quan was merely trying to throw us a bone.” Just then, Lin Feng’s young disciple came in through the door. Lin Feng rose from his seat and led the little girl upstairs to begin their lessons, leaving me and the ever-dense Yuan Chongxi downstairs sulking by ourselves. To think that we would have such a fiasco at our hands on the first day of business.

Days went by, bare and barren; a drought of a long continuance of fruitless and futile wait for business. The parched desolation of the dust bowl of our quiet establishment endured for a string of days without any clients walking through our doors. As the sign outside clearly indicated, our repertoire of services was hardly confined only to handling of foul spirits and ghosts; we were also skilled in providing Feng Shui advice and aid in addition to other paranormal-related services. Still, we had yet to have anyone to grace our doorsteps.

Boredom and restlessness set in, plaguing us like the lingering presence of an apparition that cast an air of despondency over us, until one day. On this day, we were having lunch, with Lin Feng’s little apprentice beside us. A man pushed through the door and came in hurriedly. Frantic with anxiety, he cried, “Is the person-in-charge in?” My head rose inquisitively as I studied the person; there was a thick cloud of foul energies, so dark like the black of night, hovering over his face! From his accent, he appeared to be someone from the North-Eastern region, looking to be similar to us in age. Still, I could not help feeling slightly annoyed by the manner he intruded into the premises, doing little to show the hints of displeasure forming on my face. “I am he. How can I help you?” I asked the man gruffly. From the bag he was cradling, I could see that he was also a student in arcane and mystic skills, a competitor of our trade. There was a faint glow radiating from within the folds of his bag, the clear sign of a magical instrument. Prominent television talk show host and comedian Guo Degang once said, “Competitors in business are as good as sworn enemies!” The same could be said for all lines of trade, including ours! To my surprise, the man grasped my hands and yelled exultantly, “Thank Heavens! Finally, I found a true brother in our trade! Please, I need your help! Desperately!”

My frosty demeanor immediately melted when I hear that the man was asking for help, rather than being here to cause trouble. Feeling the creases on my face relaxed, I said, “Very well. Have a sit and speak slowly. What’s happened? I noticed a dark smog hanging over you.” I had intentionally brought up the matter of the foul air lingering over him to signify that we were true students of the craft with actual skills, not charlatans or tricksters. Indeed, the man, his eyes now rekindled with hope, cried, “Good Heavens! I have found the right person, at long last! I have knocked on the doors of many, only to find that a good many of them are nothing but frauds!” What a poor fellow, I thought quietly. I went to the refrigerator and retrieved a Coke can and handed the drink to him, “Calm down and tell me slowly.”

The man popped open the can of Coke and drank hungrily. With the cold liquid dribbling down his chin, he began his story, “I need your help, brothers. For two days I have been tormented hellishly.” Hellishly seemed hardly an understatement, I mused. The man could even be dead in two days if the foul air over him was not dispelled. “Two days ago, I received an assignment,” the man began, “I was to subdue a vengeful spirit. For this assignment, I was promised a 1.2 million yuan reward. And so I did. But when the job was done, I began to be harassed by evil spirits. For the past two days, they have hounded me. I had tried my best to subdue all that I could, still, many more would come and replenish their ranks in their unwavering endeavor to torment me. With no other way left, I could only seek help from fellow practitioners of our trade.” Nevertheless, I felt there was something was amiss with his tale. “From your accent, you seemed to be from the North-Eastern regions, brother,” I said, “Surely there are other fellow practitioners of our craft there. Why trouble yourself by coming all the way here?”

The man suddenly turned bitter, “I have, but to no avail. I had gone to a few seniors and other older practitioners of our trade, yet none of them would want to hear my pleas. Every one of them had driven me away even before I managed to meet them…”