Mystic in Hempen Robes

Master Wang

After Xiang Li left, I was fuming. Ning Haoyu and I had only tried to help her, yet I ended up losing five months' rent.

Now it was just Ning Haoyu and me at home. When Xiang Li left, the ghost had already vacated her body.

In other words, that ghost was still hiding somewhere in my house. Thinking this, I glanced at Ning Haoyu. He looked back at me knowingly.

Before I could speak, Ning Haoyu said, “Chu-yi, let’s not wait inside. It’s too creepy. Let’s wait outside. The Taoist will call us when he arrives.”

I nodded and followed him out.

We grabbed a bite to eat first, then walked a few laps along the Minxin River. Before we knew it, most of the day had passed.

On the way, we passed a few fortune-tellers who asked if I wanted a reading. I gave each of them a free reading instead, leaving them speechless.

After that, I felt much better. Ning Haoyu kept chattering beside me, “Chu-yi, you sounded so convincing just now. Tell me honestly, what’s your actual skill level? You made those fortune-tellers slink away looking embarrassed.”

I didn’t know my own level either.

According to Grandpa, the fortune-tellers of our school were divided into four ranks: Heaven, Mystic, Earth, and Yellow. Practitioners of each rank wore different-colored robes. The Yellow rank wore pale yellow robes, similar to Taoist robes.

The Earth rank wore golden yellow robes, also not too different in style from Taoist robes.

The robes of the Mystic and Heaven ranks differed significantly from Taoist robes, and their colors were also distinct from the Earth and Yellow ranks. But Grandpa never went into detail about how exactly they differed.

Lost in thought, I forgot to answer Ning Haoyu. He nudged me and asked what I was thinking about. I said offhandedly, “Thinking about my grandpa…”

Before I could finish, Ning Haoyu’s phone rang. He immediately shushed me excitedly. “It’s Master Wang!”

I urged him to answer quickly.

Ning Haoyu put it on speaker. “Master Wang, are you here?”

Master Wang’s voice was still that deep, resonant tone. “Yes, but the door is locked. You’re not home?”

I grabbed the phone from Ning Haoyu. “We’re on our way back, almost at the door. Please wait a moment, Master Wang.”

Master Wang acknowledged and told us to hurry before hanging up.

Ning Haoyu and I ran back as fast as we could.

Soon, we reached the front of my now-closed funeral goods shop. At the door, we saw a man in black casual clothes holding an old-fashioned brown briefcase that clashed with his outfit.

Even though his back was to us, I could sense an exceptional aura about him. No doubt, this was Master Wang.

“Master Wang?” I tentatively called out.

The man turned, looked at me, then at Ning Haoyu, and nodded. “That’s me. Which of you is the client?”

I quickly said, “I am. This is my home.”

Master Wang acknowledged me, then extended his hand. “Hello, I’m the Master Wang you’re looking for. Full name, Wang Junhui. You can just call me Master Wang. I’ve already looked around outside. The ghost is inside this room. It’s quiet, probably not a malevolent one.”

I shook his hand and introduced myself and Ning Haoyu.

As Master Wang spoke, I studied his face. His features were well-proportioned. Aside from the Sibling Palace indicating he was an only child, all other aspects were excellent. The “Forest and Mountain” points at the outer edges of his forehead shone brilliantly, like a halo of Taoist light.

Judging by his apparent age, he was likely around twenty-nine or thirty. For someone that age, the flow-year fortune is read from these left and right “Forest and Mountain” points.

Meaning, Wang Junhui would have great luck in his twenty-ninth and thirtieth years.

I was so focused on reading his face that I forgot to respond. Ning Haoyu nudged me and answered for me. “Master Wang, what should we do? How long will it take to… deal with it?”

Wang Junhui didn’t answer Ning Haoyu. Instead, he looked at me. “The way you observe people resembles someone skilled in ‘face-reading and divination.’ Do you know how to read faces?”

When he spoke to me, I always felt a pressuring authority. So I nodded cautiously. “A little. Learned from my grandpa.”

Wang Junhui looked at me but didn’t probe further. He suddenly turned to Ning Haoyu. “You just asked what to do, right? First, go find the family. You said on the phone the desk was something you bought and gave to your friend. So you should know which family it originally came from. Go get them.”

Ning Haoyu looked puzzled, glancing between Wang Junhui and me.

I shrugged. “Just do as he says.”

Ning Haoyu mumbled, “Okay… but it’s almost dark. Will they come with me?”

Suddenly, I remembered something Grandpa once said. An idea struck me, and I rephrased it in my own words for Ning Haoyu. “Tell them what happened here. If their ancestor is unsettled, it’s like having an unquiet ancestral grave. Their family’s luck lately must be a complete mess. Tell them if they want to turn their luck around, they need to come pacify their ancestor’s spirit. Otherwise, their bad luck will continue.”

Wang Junhui looked at me with a hint of surprise. “You know about this too?”

I said I had a rough idea, learned from Grandpa.

After Ning Haoyu left, Wang Junhui didn’t immediately ask me to open the door. Instead, we chatted outside the shop.

His initial questions revolved around my grandpa. My answers were simple—my grandpa was gone. He seemed to misinterpret this as my grandpa having passed away and didn’t ask further.

He then asked about my own skills and what I had seen in his face earlier.

After a moment’s thought, I told him everything I had observed. After listening, he said, “Hmm, your face-reading is quite accurate. My luck has been good this past year. Though I’ve taken on many cases, they’ve all gone smoothly, and I’ve made decent money.”

Seeing our conversation drifting off-topic, I asked Wang Junhui how to handle the ghost inside. He glanced at the shop door. “This ghost is a classic case of ‘unfinished business.’ It won’t leave because its family hasn’t fulfilled some wish. Once the family is here and things are clarified, the ghost’s wish will be settled, and it will disperse on its own.”

Curious, I asked how he knew. He smiled. “I spoke with the ghost before you returned. It wasn’t willing to say much, but based on my past experience, I’ve guessed most of it.”

As we talked, it gradually grew dark. I asked if he wanted to eat first. He shook his head. “Let’s handle this matter first.”

Seeing Ning Haoyu wasn’t back yet, I called to hurry him up. Ning Haoyu said, “Hurrying me won’t help! The whole family’s out. Their neighbors don’t know where they went either. I’ve been waiting at their door for ages. Should I come back first?”

Before I could answer, he added, “Oh, right, Chu-yi, you can do divination, right? Help me figure out where this family went?”

I said irritably, “You think I’m a god? I have no clues. What am I supposed to use to…?”

Suddenly, I paused. A flash of inspiration hit me. I told Ning Haoyu, “Wait there a little longer. I’ll do a divination right now. I’ll call you back.”

Hanging up, I immediately said to Wang Junhui, “Master Wang, can you let me see the ghost inside? I need to borrow the *qi* from it to determine where its family is now.”

Wang Junhui was taken aback. “It’s a ghost. You can use a ghost’s *qi* to find the living?”

Grandpa had mentioned methods like this. He said when a person dies, their destiny doesn’t end. Destiny continues in the “corpse,” “soul,” even the “ghost.” And this destiny *qi*, whether Yin or Yang, remains intricately connected to the people, events, and things from their life. If you can read this destiny *qi*, you can naturally divine *its* fate.

I didn’t explain all this to Wang Junhui, simply saying, “I have my methods.”

Wang Junhui made a sound of acknowledgment but didn’t probe further.

He gave me the impression that he wasn’t very interested in most questions. He would ask something up to the point of curiosity, then suddenly stop pursuing it, as if the underlying answer didn’t matter to him.

Or perhaps… he also understood some aspects of our “facial gate” arts?

While I was pondering Wang Junhui, he said to me, “You want to see the ghost inside? That’s possible. But you must do as I say. Don’t startle it. This ghost’s level isn’t high. If provoked, it might flee and cause unnecessary trouble.”

I nodded. Last time, Ning Haoyu and I scared it up to the second floor, costing me five months’ rent from a tenant. I definitely wouldn’t scare it this time.

Wang Junhui acknowledged, then formed a strange hand seal with his fingers. He mumbled an incantation I couldn’t understand, then waved his fingers before my eyes. “By the swift decree—Open!”

I asked what he was doing. He said, “I’m opening your Spirit Eye for you. You saw it yesterday by chance. Today, without opening the Spirit Eye, you might not be able to see it.”

I understood. This was probably what Taoists called “opening the eye.” Grandpa had mentioned it.

However, according to Grandpa, most Taoists needed tools like talismans, charm water, or willow leaves to open someone’s eye. Those who could do it without tools were usually great masters within Taoism.

Remembering Grandpa’s words, I felt a surge of respect for Wang Junhui. According to Grandpa, the Master Wang before me must be an exceptional Taoist.

Seeing me standing still, Wang Junhui urged, “You’d better hurry. The Spirit Eye I opened for you only lasts fifteen minutes. If you stand here dazed and don’t open the door, once the effect fades, I won’t open it for you again right away. Opening the Spirit Eye too often drains a person’s Yang energy, making them prone to Yin-cold illnesses.”

I nodded and quickly went to get the keys to unlock the door.