Chapter 12: The Art of Zha Fei

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Uncle Yong sneered coldly, “What a handsome hanging ghost. How miserable was your death, really?”

Zhou Shuting, however, was unafraid. She stubbornly retorted, “If the fellow disciples hadn’t seen through me, you wouldn’t recognize me anyway. Now that you’ve caught me, do whatever you want—kill or carve me up. If I so much as frown, I’m no true hero.”

Why were Uncle Yong and Xiaowen here?

Hadn’t I told them to stay in the room to avoid the bad energy?

At this moment, my mind was in turmoil. I didn’t understand what was going on or what Uncle Yong and Xiaowen intended. Only a gut feeling warned me that trouble was brewing. I hurried over and explained to Uncle Yong, “Uncle Yong, who would have thought this female ghost was just a human in disguise?”

Uncle Yong chuckled, “Is that so, A Cheng? You didn’t expect that? Then how do you explain the flickering light bulbs going out? And the blood you sliced out with your sword? How about the injury to your spiritual core from discarding the hanging rope that made you spit blood?”

My handsome face turned pale.

His questions made it clear: Uncle Yong had seen right through it all.

This time, I had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice—my plan had backfired.

I pulled out the two thousand yuan and, dodging the topic, said, “Since she’s not a real hanging ghost, I’ll just return the money to you.”

Uncle Yong glanced at the two thousand yuan and let out a cold laugh.

Zhou Shuting, equally tough, sneered, “Old man, what do you want?!”

Uncle Yong ignored her and asked me, “Aren’t you two in cahoots?”

Zhou Shuting quickly replied, “Out here in the Jiangxiang world, who works together?”

Uncle Yong still paid her no mind and asked me again, “How do you want me to deal with you two?”

This time, I spoke first, “Uncle Yong, she’s the younger sister of the deceased Zhou Xiaoli. She resents us for not taking care of her sister, which led to her sister’s despair and death. As for me, I bear no ill will—I was only trying to make some money. You don’t need to take this personally; please spare us.”

Uncle Yong nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you this face. Young lady, you may leave. A Cheng, come with me.”

Zhou Shuting blocked my way. “Old man, I warn you, all Jiangxiang practitioners are family. Since we’re sworn siblings, if you dare harm him, I won’t let you off!”

Uncle Yong’s interest was piqued. He smiled, “And how do you plan not to let me off?”

Zhou Shuting said, “There are plenty of ways to deal with you!”

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In Uncle Yong’s eyes, I saw a hint of killing intent. I quickly shoved Zhou Shuting aside, “Uncle Yong has let you go—why don’t you leave quickly? Don’t worry, I’m fine!”

Only then did Zhou Shuting reluctantly step back, worry lingering on her face.

Uncle Yong turned and headed downstairs. A few days ago, Xiaowen looked at me with admiration, but now she had resumed her usual cold and distant demeanor, her gaze playing with me like a cat toying with a mouse.

Uncle Yong took me to the room where Zhou Xiaoli had hanged herself. He carried me on his back and asked, “Tell me, what happened? Give me a satisfactory explanation, and I’ll spare you this time. If there’s even a hint of dishonesty, you know my methods.”

At this point, I dared not hide anything from the seasoned Uncle Yong. I recounted the entire story in detail.

In the Jiangxiang world, there are many sects: Fengma, Yanqu, Jinpi, Guacai, Pingtuan, Tiaoliu, and others.

Among them, Jin means “gold,” referring to fortune-tellers and feng shui masters. The Jin sect has many branches: the Mayi Sect, Four Pillars Sect, Ziwei Sect, Yang Gong Sect, and so forth.

One sect, highly praised by Senior Liu Qingshan in his book, is the Jiangxiang Sect.

As the name suggests, the Jiangxiang Sect considers itself to have the talent of a prime minister. It is strictly regulated, with leaders called Prime Minister or Grand Minister, followed by scholars ranked as top scholar, second, third, Hanlin academician, and so on.

Within the sect, they uphold the six-character motto: “Knock, Strike, Question, Thousand, Prosper, Sell.”

They have four scriptures: The Yingyao, the Zhafei, the Abao, and the Junma.

The Yingyao teaches fortune-telling.

The Zhafei deals with spirit conjuring and deception.

The Abao teaches how to swindle money.

The Junma is a comprehensive treatise gathering the essence of various schools.

The Jiangxiang Sect uses rhetoric and spirits to manipulate human hearts. It is the ultimate confluence of trickery in the fortune-telling world.

I don’t believe in ghosts.

So when I first heard about the hanging ghost in that room, I knew it had to be a trick using the Zhafei techniques.

The Zhafei often exploits those who have died tragically, because common folk harbor deep resentment and superstition about unnatural deaths. The dead hold grudges, and the living often feel guilt. Conjuring ghosts to frighten people, then having a “ghost-catching” Taoist appear, usually leads the family to pay handsomely to resolve the matter quickly.

I suspected they were exploiting Zhou Xiaoli’s death as a ruse to scam Uncle Yong.

People die for money; birds perish for food. If not for money, why bother with such elaborate ghost tricks?

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I could have simply informed Uncle Yong that this was a con, assisting him in finding the impostors behind the ghost act.

But I wanted more—I wanted Uncle Yong to remember me and earn his approval. So I decided to take a gamble—to cut in and steal the credit!

The con was being set.

I forced my way into the scheme!

Before the Jiangxiang Sect’s backers made their move, I stepped forward and told Uncle Yong I could catch ghosts. I explained that the flickering light bulbs were rigged by me at the switch; turning on the light caused a short circuit and the bulb to explode. The blood beneath the shoebox was pigeon’s blood I had bought at the market in advance. As for the injury to my spiritual core and the blood I spat, that was from a small blood packet I’d hidden in my mouth, also filled with pigeon’s blood.

Having performed this act, I believed I had thoroughly fooled Uncle Yong and Xiaowen.

Then I began to “catch the ghost.”

I figured that by stealing the ghost’s role, it would naturally come after me—whether to scare or attack.

At this time, I used the Jiangxiang Sect’s Chun Dian to assert my identity, then told the ghost that the trick had been uncovered and Uncle Yong was no ordinary man. Since we were fellow disciples, I offered the ghost a chance to leave peacefully.

Once I drove this “ghost” away,

I could report to Uncle Yong that I had eliminated it.

There would be no evidence left!

I considered this plan flawless!

If executed successfully, I would earn the two thousand yuan and gain Uncle Yong’s favor. The locals were superstitious; with Uncle Yong’s endorsement, I could advertise my great powers and make a fortune performing rituals and feng shui consultations!

“That’s all, Uncle Yong. I haven’t kept anything from you. I was just trying to seize an opportunity and make a quick buck,” I said.

Uncle Yong smiled and nodded, “Brilliant! The ways of the Jiangxiang world are indeed wondrous. I didn’t expect someone so young to be so cunning! Compared to your tricks at pretending to be a spirit, your wit is even more interesting!”

Hearing this, I knew Uncle Yong probably didn’t want to argue further. After all, someone like him had no reason to stoop to my level. I also detected a hint of admiration in his tone. Having known him for so long, I could finally exchange a few words. I hurriedly flattered him, “Even the Monkey King couldn’t escape the Buddha’s Five Finger Mountain. Our petty tricks were seen through by you at a glance.”

Uncle Yong snorted coldly, “You only know the Jiangxiang Sect’s Zhafei techniques, but you don’t realize the Jiangxiang Sect itself originated from the Hongmen? As soon as this matter came up, I knew someone was setting a trap and was just waiting for the demon-exorcising Taoist to walk into it. Who knew the Taoist never showed, but you, the spoiled brat with inherited ghost-catching skills, appeared instead. I played along with you! You should be grateful neither you nor that girl had ill intentions. Had you been malicious, I wouldn’t have spared either of you!”