I shook the cowbell noisily.
Upon hearing the sound of my cowbell, Yanyan's face immediately contorted, and she lay on the ground, writhing and crying out: "Stop shaking, stop shaking."
Her voice was both alluring and menacing at different moments.
"Stop shaking, brother, please stop. I'll do whatever you want, I'll serve you well in bed tonight."
Then she turned aggressive: "If you shake it again, I'll kill you. Do you believe I'll kill you right now?"
Damn, could I not shake it? If I don't, won't you kill me now?
I continued to shake the cowbell vigorously, the clanging sound echoing relentlessly.
Yanyan went from just covering her ears and being angry to lying on the ground and convulsing non-stop.
I didn't dare to stop for a moment.
Huang Xin heard the commotion in the living room and ran out. Seeing Yanyan writhing on the floor, she rushed towards me like a mother leopard: "What did you do? Why is Yanyan in so much pain?"
She tried to grab my cowbell, but I pushed her onto the sofa and shouted angrily: "If you don't want to die, don't stop me."
Perhaps Huang Xin also noticed that something was seriously wrong with Yanyan, so she didn't dare to stop me.
I kept shaking the cowbell until Yanyan fainted, then I sat down, wiping the sweat from my forehead.
"What's wrong with Yanyan?" Huang Xin glanced at Yanyan's face, noticing a completely different expression than normal, and she felt a bit scared, not daring to approach her.
I put down the cowbell and hoisted the fainting Chengyan on my shoulder, her problem is beyond my imagination.
Huang Xin asked me what exactly was wrong with Chengyan, but I didn't speak. It wasn't until I carried Chengyan to the "bed" in the bedroom and locked the room door that I gasped and said, "Fox spirit, fox spirit!"
"What is going on?" Huang Xin was completely puzzled and a little annoyed, tapping the floor with her high heels, making a "clucking" sound.
Facing Huang Xin, who was extremely agitated, I sighed for a full minute and said, "Miss Huang Xin, you don't need to ask too much about Chengyan's 'problem.' I dare say that what just happened was the most dangerous situation in my professional career. If it weren’t for this cowbell I’m carrying, I might have not made it out alive."
This cowbell came from a well-known "Azan" magician in the Qiqihar area of Northeast China, who blessed it. The sound it emits, even ordinary 'yin' spirits can't bear.
Without it, I would have no control over the "fox spirit" possessing Chengyan.
Then Huang Xin asked me, "What is a fox spirit?"
I stared at her and said, "I won't say. I'm afraid it will scare you and you won't be able to sleep. Tonight, I need to observe Chengyan again. After tonight, I will go to find a 'yin' person to handle the situation for you."
"More observation?"
"Yes! What is inside Chengyan's body is extremely dangerous. I can't determine who to find yet. I need to observe for another night. Moreover, you mentioned earlier that Chengyan would be extremely abnormal at night. I’ll observe and see what else is wrong with her."
When we find a "yin" person, we need to diagnose what has entangled the person under the state of "possession" before seeking the appropriate ‘yin’ person for help.
Simply put, if the employer has been possessed by a ghost or cursed, I will go find a shaman. If it's a fox spirit possession, I will find a person who specializes in raising fox spirits. If it's just a terrifying nightmare, I need to find someone who specializes in calling spirits.
On the other hand, if the employer has been possessed by a ghost, and I go find a fox spirit specialist, that would be a waste. They wouldn't know how to handle it.
After listening to my words, Huang Xin sat on the sofa in a despondent manner, supporting her cheeks with both hands, her eyes filled with tears. She said sadly, "How could this happen? She was perfectly fine a few days ago, how did she suddenly become like this?"
A perfectly fine model suddenly turning into a ghost-like appearance—a close friend would indeed be very heartbroken.
But despite her sadness, there are still questions that need to be asked.
I asked Huang Xin: if Chengyan did not provoke any foxes, did she offend anyone?
As far as I know, in Northeast China, some families have a household deity. If you offend such people, they will ask the household deity to deal with you.
The household deity can include a fox spirit.
If Chengyan offended someone who worships a household deity, they might have summoned the fox spirit to harm her.
Huang Xin shook her head and confided in me, "Mr. Li, we are models, very tough, we have to accompany this boss, that boss every day, pretend to be smiling, who would dare to offend someone?"
She thought for a moment, then added, "Besides, Chengyan is known for being a good person. She would swallow any incident and move on, how could she offend anyone?"
It makes sense; models always have to maintain a happy façade. Who would dare to offend those big bosses?
To put it bluntly, if you offend those big bosses, they can make these models quit this glamorous industry forever.
This is something we, models, understand.
"In that case, it's not clear. Let's observe for another night," I said.
Just before dinner, Chengyan woke up.
She seemed to have no memory of what happened in the living room and asked me, "I was measuring bones in the living room just now, how did I suddenly end up in the bedroom?"
I asked Chengyan if she felt anything just now.
Chengyan stretched and said she had a nightmare, but she forgot the content of the nightmare. She only knew that she woke up feeling very scared.
Since I couldn't get any more information, I decided not to ask any further. I didn't mention what had just happened to Chengyan.
Since she didn't remember, I decided to act as if nothing had happened. Telling her about it might cause her more stress, and that's not helpful in solving the issue.
After dinner, I didn't go home. I set up two cameras in the living room.
After connecting the cameras, I opened my laptop, allowing me to see everything that might happen in the living room. Then I said to Huang Xin, "I will stay in your room tonight."
"That...won't do," Huang Xin stuck out her tongue, saying it would be awkward to share a room with a stranger.
I immediately spoke firmly, "Huang Xin, it's already modern times, why are you still holding onto these traditional views on men and women? I definitely won't take advantage of you tonight."
Huang Xin scoffed at my words, saying that men are naturally promiscuous, and she rejected my request to stay in her room at night. I persisted, and eventually she agreed, albeit reluctantly, because at 9:30 in the evening, Chengyan's face once again turned into a fox-like appearance, with sharp teeth, which frightened Huang Xin.
Women are always timid, and being scared by this made her not oppose me staying inside her room at night, only, she dressed more conservatively.
Where were the promised lace nightgowns? What about the seductive uniforms? Why wear a long-sleeved sweater and switch into jeans? Isn't there any trust between people?
Watching Huang Xin lying on the bed and reading "A Brief History of Time," I felt tired in my heart.
The way she dressed neatly didn't satisfy my eyes. I could only wander around the bedroom. Frankly speaking, this was the first time I had seen a young girl who kept her bedroom so old-fashioned; it was a decoration style this old-fashioned person truly liked!
Red solid wood furniture, an old-fashioned iron bed, and traditional antique design.
What attracted me the mos was the bookshelf in the corner, not just housing various books but also eight bronze horses on the second level. They looked lifelike, with a smooth surface like a mirror. At a glance, you could tell it was not fake, but a true old item. It was covered with a layer of ox hair varnish, with mottled patterns, evidence of the traces left by moist air over hundreds or even thousands of years.
As I reached out, I held a bronze horse in my hand. "A big girl like her buying imitation antiques..."
I didn't finish my sentence as I realized that this bronze horse was genuine.
This weight, this texture, this craftsmanship, were absolutely not those of a fake. It was certainly an antique.
Our ancestors who "attract 'yin'" have all lived in the palace, and we have had a discerning eye for antiques and treasures since we were young.
Seeing me holding the bronze horse, Huang Xin rushed up to snatch it.
I consciously returned the bronze horse to Huang Xin.
She gave me a resentful look and said, "As a girl, don't touch things recklessly."
I coldly said, "It's not that you can't touch it, but things found underground are quite sinister."
Huang Xin's face immediately changed, with a dark expression, saying she didn't understand what I was saying.
I lit a cigarette, took a puff, and tentatively said, "Miss Wang, if I'm not mistaken, this bronze horse is an old item dug up from underground by a pangolin."
A pangolin is a grave robber, known as a "soil Confucian" in the south and a "grave robber" in official terms.
Old items dug up from the ground are slightly different from handed-down antiques, in that they lack the patina that comes with age; they have been concealed in tombs for a long time and, as a result, haven't developed that patina.
Huang Xin's expression had become terrifyingly gloomy, and she pounded the bronze horse onto the bookshelf, saying angrily, "What pangolin, what digging, I don't understand."
Hmph!
Not admitting it? If you don't, then forget I said anything.
In any case, from Huang Xin's expression and the bronze horse and human skin pendant, I could discern that this girl had a story.
As for whether she wanted to tell me the story, it didn't matter. I was only responsible for removing "dirty things" for Cheng Yan, and the rest was none of my concern; I wouldn't provoke bad luck anymore.
I was about to say a few words to smooth over the situation between me and Huang Xin when suddenly, a mournful fox cry came from outside the door.
"Qiuqiu!"
"Qiuqiu!"
Cheng Yan had another episode in the middle of the night.
Huang Xin was initially quite angry, but when she heard the fox cries, she screamed and covered her head with a blanket.
I didn't have time to pay attention to her, so I quickly sat in front of my laptop.
The bedroom had really good soundproofing, so I only heard Cheng Yan's lamentations about "Madam Chang" and "Jufeng Building" intermittently.
Thankfully, I had advanced equipment; there was a high-fidelity headset plugged into my laptop, allowing me to hear and see the images and sound from the cameras.