Northeast China is home to many peculiar individuals—the descendants of shamanism, hermits who worship household spirits, and experts in summoning spirits, all of whom are proud and tend to keep to themselves. Because they are focused on dealing with "Yin spirits," they are called "Yin people."
My profession is quite particular. I may not possess the abilities of these Yin people, but their ability to make a living is closely related to me.
To put it simply, I am an intermediary who introduces Yin people to my clients, so our profession is known by the nickname "Yin People Recruiter."
We are eloquent and adept at doing business. Besides this ordinary skill, we also possess another crucial ability, which lays the foundation for our role as "Yin People Recruiter."
What is this ability? I will explain in a bit, but for now, I'll skip it so you don't think I'm boasting.
As "Yin People Recruiter", we have a specific client circle. Mine is quite unique, consisting of the current entertainment industry, with some celebrities owing their success to the contribution of our recruitment of Yin people.
Take, for example, a current popular singer named Huang for instance.
Two years ago, Huang's career was soaring, but his rapid ascent led to making enemies, resulting in a sinister plot against him. He fell into a coma and woke up behaving erratically, biting and even sometimes devouring people's flesh on the spot. This put his agent into a panic, and after leveraging many connections, they found me.
I visited Huang once and discovered that he had fallen victim to "spiritual attack". It seemed to be the work of the well-known spiritual practitioner "Yan Na" from Southeast Asia, known as the "Spiritual Attack".
So, using my resources and approach, I hired a fifty-year-old shaman from Harbin.
The shaman performed a type of "divine invocation" in Huang's home, ringing bells and chanting spells all night, breaking the "Spiritual Attack" of "Yan Na".
The next day, Huang returned to normal and resumed singing on stage, becoming even more popular than before.
Afterward, Huang's agent not only paid me a fee of fifteen thousand, but also gave each of us, the shaman and me, a ten-thousand-yuan red packet.
Although our circle primarily caters to the entertainment industry and we also handle tasks for major stars, such work is not available every day. In our spare time, we also take on smaller tasks.
My favorite small tasks are those involving young models.
Despite not earning much, they are quite popular among wealthy men. Many affluent individuals have the habit of hiring young models, from coal tycoons to CEOs of IT companies, and even real estate developers. Each time I take on a task, I earn a considerable amount of money.
Besides the substantial income, there's another reason I prefer handling such tasks. These models often lead rather promiscuous private lives, and it's common for me to make some extra money from their "sensual" activities. Some models even actively seek my attention, hoping for my special care, and I pick and choose, indulging in some intimate activities with them.
It's true that this is somewhat unsavory, but these models, with their long legs and natural flirtatiousness, stylish attire, and seductive tone, few men can resist their allure. Furthermore, any business I do with them is entirely consensual, without coercion or reliance on my resources to force them into doing things they don't want to do. I still have some principles.
Honestly, there's no need to coerce them, as they are quite open-minded about intimate matters.
This time, a local model used connections to seek my services.
Anybody who can find me to conduct a task has some kind of influence.
That morning, I drove my second-hand Jinbei car to the city to meet with her.
She lived in a rather upscale community in the city and had a cold tone on the phone, speaking succinctly and to the point, which displeased me a bit. Nevertheless, I held that thought back because she was a major client, and after all, we recruiters of Yin people are in the service industry.
When I arrived at the community, I called her and she kept me waiting for a while before meeting me.
This behavior further soured my mood, a complete disregard for punctuality.
However, as soon as I saw her in person, all my frustration melted away. I've met plenty of stars and models before, but I had never seen such a beautiful woman.
She was a full 1.75 meters tall, slim with slender legs. More importantly, her shoulders were slightly broader than most women's, creating a rounded collarbone due to her slender build, and paired with her misty neck, her figure was three-dimensional, giving her an otherworldly air.
The fact that she was such a stunning model immediately lifted my spirits.
I thought, once her task was completed, I might subtly inquire about her price and see if we could have some fun.
The woman asked if I was Li Shanshui.
I nodded.
After she confirmed that, she uttered only two sentences: "I am Huang Xin," and "Let's talk at my place."
After saying this, she turned and left. From the moment I had seen her, she had always maintained a serious expression, and it seemed that it was not an act, but her genuine demeanor.
I followed after her.
As we walked, my gaze couldn't help but focus on her backside, which was ample and trembled slightly with each step. This girl was undoubtedly a formidable adversary, especially since she was wearing a pair of low-rise, snug pencil pants that accentuated her curves. As she walked, occasionally showing a glimpse of her waistline, she made my heart flutter.
When we reached the entrance of the community building, she suddenly turned and glared at me fiercely.
I was taken aback, why would she suddenly turn back, and it made me feel awkward, but thankfully she was just asking: Mr. Li, can you handle anything related to "dirty stuff"?
What kind of question was that? I immediately slapped my chest and said, "Anything involving 'dirty stuff,' I can definitely handle. Otherwise, how could I sustain myself?"
She narrowed her eyes in acknowledgment, then turned and continued walking.
But I stopped her: "Sister Huang, wait."
She turned back, looking at me with suspicion.
I pointed to the pendant on her 'chest' and asked when she bought it.
The pendant is about the size of a "pulse" bottle cap, triangular in shape, with jagged edges and made of "skin".
When we met, I was paying attention to her figure and didn't notice the pendant hanging on her neck. Just as she turned her head, I noticed it.
When I asked about the "skin," Huang Xin's face immediately turned unnatural. She quickly grabbed the pendant and tucked it into her shirt collar, saying coldly that it was a family heirloom that she had been wearing around her neck since childhood. She didn't know the specific meaning of this skin pendant.
I could tell from her expression that she wasn't telling the truth, but I couldn't continue to pressure her with questions, so I pretended not to know and just smiled, saying to continue walking.
In fact, I estimated in my heart that this pendant was not so simple - it was not just an ordinary piece of skin, but human skin.
No piece of skin is as delicate as human skin, with such clear and distinct patterns.
I guessed that Huang Xin's contact with something dirty was probably related to this human skin pendant.
Unfortunately, I guessed wrong - the skin really was human, but the one who actually asked me to help was not Huang Xin, but her friend Cheng Yan.
Cheng Yan and Huang Xin lived together, and she belonged to a very seductive type. When she saw me, she called me "brother" repeatedly, and while calling, she swayed her waist and her voice was very alluring.
"Brother, I wanted to go down and pick you up just now, but my eye makeup isn't done right, it's not presentable."
"Brother, you sit, I'll pour you some water."
"Brother, I've really been looking forward to seeing you."
While she sweet-talked to me, Huang Xin had already gone back to her room.
I leaned back on the sofa and asked Cheng Yan what had happened recently.
As soon as I asked this, Cheng Yan immediately changed her expression and looked panicked. She leaned in next to me, sitting by my side, and said she had been having a recurring dream recently.
I asked her what the dream was about.
Cheng Yan said she had been dreaming of a cemetery with an old woman in burial clothes burning joss paper.
In the dream, Cheng Yan walked around the old woman in circles, but never saw her face.
Then...
At this point, Cheng Yan choked up and didn't continue.
I asked, "What happened next?"
Cheng Yan shrugged and said she couldn't remember, only that the "feeling" that followed was very terrifying, but the details of the dream were very vague.
I raised my eyebrows and looked at Cheng Yan. It turned out that people who had encountered evil spirits often had an indistinct dark aura on their foreheads, and Cheng Yan had one.
I took out a bottle of eye drops from my backpack.
Cheng Yan asked me cautiously what it was, while curiously playing with it in her hand.
I told her it was "ox tears," and when applied to the eyes, it had the effect of dispelling illusions, allowing you to see things you normally couldn't see.
At first, Cheng Yan held the bottle and had a look, then hastily placed it on the table after my ominous description. It seemed she had a bit of a phobia and didn't want to accept something too heavy.
I took the bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured a drop of the liquid into my palm. I then gently shook my hand to let the ox tears spread evenly in my palm.
When it had spread out enough and only a thin, semi-transparent film was left, I closed my eyes and vigorously rubbed my eyelids.
When my eyelids felt warm from the rubbing, I forcefully opened my eyes.
In that instant, I saw a fox head on Cheng Yan's shoulder.
The fox seemed to be crouched on Cheng Yan's back, poking its head out and smiling seductively at me.
I immediately closed my eyes again, unsure if the "omen" had noticed me.
After the warmth in my eyelids had disappeared, I slowly opened my eyes and asked Cheng Yan if she had encountered any foxes recently, or anything related to fox fur.
Cheng Yan shook her head, saying she was very averse to fur coats, and she didn't have much interest in small animals. The only possibility of encountering a fox would be watching animal shows.
I thought to myself that it shouldn't be so, as I clearly saw a fox "omen". Cheng Yan must have provoked something related to foxes.
Seeing me remain silent, Cheng Yan anxiously asked, "Brother, I just had a bad dream, I didn't really encounter anything dirty, did I? I'm really scared of ghosts."
I was about to comfort her when Huang Xin angrily stormed out of her bedroom, slamming the door loudly. She then fiercely accused Cheng Yan of not mentioning her sleepwalking episode and imitating the fox's cries to me.
Huh? So Cheng Yan was still hiding something from me after all?