Chapter Eighty-Nine: The First Talisman Writing

How long it would take for a result from Mr. Zheng was uncertain, so I said, “Mr. Zheng, I need to make some preparations to deal with that ghost. Let us part for now, and contact me once you have found the person.”

“No need. I can drive you wherever you need to go. Besides, finding her will not take long.” The latter half was spoken through clenched teeth.

Since he insisted, I left it to him.

I turned to Zhuo Tianjiang and asked, “Do you know where I can get blank talisman paper and cinnabar? The real stuff.”

“I have some at home. My grandfather left it behind. I’ll take you there to get it.”

“Is that your hometown, or the place where you live now?”

“Just the place I’m staying at here.”

I asked, puzzled, “You brought all that with you?”

Zhuo Tianjiang explained, “Back when I was working the country roads, the folks in the village were both easy and difficult to fool. They’d seen all sorts of sham mediums and spirit women. Printed talisman paper would never fool them, so I still had to write them myself.”

As he spoke, he gave Zheng Lanshuan an awkward glance. Printed talismans might not fool villagers, but they worked on city people with less experience.

So we headed to Zhuo Tianjiang’s place first to get the talisman paper and cinnabar.

I looked at Wang Yue, who had been silently following me without saying a word, and asked, “Do you want me to take you home first? Not to the shop. Home.”

He shook his head firmly.

I became more and more bewildered. What on earth had An Zhennan and the others told him?

Zheng Lanshuan drove us there. When we arrived at Zhuo Tianjiang’s home, I had to admit that he truly was a seasoned fraudster. The place was so remote it was hard to find, and the building itself was almost comically full of escape routes. Besides the front door, one could flee at any time through the balcony, the windows, even the rooftop. There was hardly anything inside; if the police ever showed up, he could simply run.

Zhuo Tianjiang brought out the blank talisman paper and cinnabar, along with a writing brush.

“Do you have ordinary black ink?” I asked.

“Yes.” He rummaged out a bottle of ink and handed it to me. “I’m not planning to keep doing this kind of swindling anymore. I have no use for these things. They’re all yours.”

“I need an empty room. During this time, do not disturb me. Once you find Ren Qiyun, tell me.”

Zhuo Tianjiang’s place was a one-bedroom apartment with a living room, nearly bare throughout. They waited in the living room while I stayed alone in the bedroom, spreading out the blank talisman paper and using a bowl to mix a little clear water with the cinnabar.

It was my first time writing talismans, yet I had to put them into practice immediately. If they failed, the one who would suffer would not be only me.

The pressure on my heart was immense, and my hand holding the brush hesitated. Even if they worked, a talisman’s power depended on the skill of its maker. I had only just entered the field, and it was hard to say how much effect my efforts would have.

I forced myself to calm down, cast aside my worries, and silently repeated to myself: steady the mind, quiet the breath, finish in one unbroken stroke.

The brush, tipped with cinnabar, touched down and moved swiftly across the blank talisman paper.

When I finished writing a ghost-sealing talisman, I took out the ghost-sealing charm given to me by Old Man Ma to compare the two, and found the very starting stroke was already wrong. Under normal circumstances I would never have made such a mistake. Sure enough, I was still too tense.

I covered the ruined sheet and set it aside, then picked up a fresh piece of blank talisman paper, thinking to copy the sealing charm directly. After a moment’s thought, though, I put Old Man Ma’s talisman away. If I copied from the original, I would never truly concentrate, and without concentration I could not still the mind.

I calmed myself and wrote another one. When I compared it to the original, the opening stroke was correct this time, but the closing stroke still deviated slightly. I could not believe I had made the same mistake a second time.

Clearly, I still could not settle my mind. But at a time like this, I could not be discouraged, much less give up. I could only steady my heart and keep trying.

I covered the ruined paper and set it aside again, then lifted the brush once more.

It was not until Zheng Lanshuan knocked on the door and said that Ren Qiyun had been found that I realized I had wasted a whole stack of talisman paper. In the end, I had succeeded only six times: two protective talismans, two ghost-sealing talismans, and two well talismans. None had any obvious flaw, but whether they would actually work remained to be seen.

I checked the time. Two hours had already passed.

After I came out of the room, Zheng Lanshuan said, “We found Ren Qiyun. She went back to her husband’s rural hometown. All that talk about buying a new house was nonsense. They were in such a hurry to hide because they must have been up to something shameful.”

Zheng Lanshuan gave me the address: a county in a city within the province, far from here. Even by plane, it would be impossible to make the round trip in a single day and get back before nightfall.

Last night, the ghost had been alerted; I did not know whether it would come again tonight. I also did not trust them to go looking for Ren Qiyun on their own. I was in no position to split myself in two. Unless I took Zheng Xiao with me, but in her current state, she absolutely could not go outside.

“Let us find a way to lure Ren Qiyun back here,” I said.

“Why make it so troublesome? I can just send people to bring her back,” said Zheng Lanshuan.

I shook my head. “If this matter really has something to do with her, that would alarm the snake in the grass. We do not know the full situation, so do not act rashly. In the end, the one who will suffer is still Xiaoxiao.”

Zheng Lanshuan thought for a moment. “If that is the case, how do we lure her out?”

“I have an idea,” I said.

In the apartment Ren Qiyun had rented out, a plump middle-aged woman held her phone and dialed a number. “Hello, Mr. Wen?”

A voice came through the speakerphone. “Yes, this is Wen. Who are you?”

The woman’s tone changed at once, turning irritated and accusatory. “I’m the one renting your place! What is wrong with you people? You promised a move-in-ready home, and what happened? The air conditioner broke after only two days, and the gas stove does not work either! The toilet is either clogged or not, and there is no way to use it with any peace of mind! And the number you left me keeps being switched off all day long! You people are far too irresponsible! How am I supposed to live here?”

“We checked everything before we left. It was all fine. How did you get my number?”

“Am I stupid? Of course I asked around! You’ve lived here all this time, and no one knows your phone number yet? I don’t care, if you do not believe me come see for yourselves. Bring your wife over! She rented this place to me, so why is she so irresponsible? It’s infuriating! How am I supposed to live like this?”

“Well... we have a bit of something going on lately, so we can’t come right away. If something’s broken, just have someone fix it first and we’ll transfer you the money.”

“Listen to you, you make it sound like I’m the one cheating you! I paid real money to rent your place. I don’t care—tell your wife to come here. I want to reason with her. You promised a move-in-ready place, so why am I the one having to find someone to repair it? This is deception, this is fraud, this is illegal! If you don’t come, I’ll call the police!”