I called Ma Minghui again and asked him why he hung up my phone.
Ma Minghui scolded me on the phone, calling me a fraud and telling me to go away.
I said, your mother was wronged to death, as the eldest son, didn't you notice?
"How did you know I am my mother's eldest son?" Ma Minghui, being a businessman, quickly noticed the inconsistency in my words.
I not only know that you are your mother's eldest son, but I also almost know everything about your family.
I originally planned to talk to Ma Minghui about the family members, but even if I mentioned that he had a younger brother named Ma Guohua and a younger sister named Ma Lanfang, it still wouldn't shake off the accusation of being a fraud.
I had to come up with something that would shock Ma Guohua.
After carefully recollecting, I remembered the night when Ma Guohua's mother, Ma Dingxiang, possessed Huang Xin.
At that time, Ma Dingxiang was very close to me, and I saw a black mole slightly above and behind her ear.
Ah, let's go with that.
I told Ma Minghui: Lao Ma, I not only know that you are your mother's eldest son, but I also know that behind your mother's ear, slightly above, there is a black mole.
This really shocked Ma Minghui.
You see, a black mole behind someone's ear can only be seen up close, and generally, people wouldn't even notice it.
Ma Guohua, seeing that I knew this, immediately wanted to meet me. He said he also felt that his mother's death was unjust, but he couldn't figure out where the injustice was.
I didn't immediately agree to Ma Guohua's invitation, instead, I said in a high-profile manner: Just now, did you call me a fraud?
As the representative of the 'yin' people, when others slander, we must resolutely strike back. How could I be easily persuaded?
Ma Guohua immediately backed down, nodded and apologized to me. He said if I could help his mother clarify the whole situation, he would give me a red envelope of thirty thousand afterwards.
Right! The attitude should be correct.
Only then did I agree to meet with Ma Guohua.
After I hung up the phone, I went out of the living room, but as soon as I opened the door, I retreated back into the room.
That was close!
Just as I opened the door, a stinky smell of Uncle Haha's feet almost knocked me down. Apart from snoring, aren't his feet also smelly?
Damn, he looks like a rich man on the outside, but he's actually a silk pants!
I called Uncle Haha and scolded him over the phone, but then I sat down to play with my phone. I didn't want to rush out, afraid of dying in the line of duty.
After about ten minutes, Uncle Haha tapped on my door and said I could come out.
I came out, and although there was still a strange smell of fermented black beans in the living room, it was bearable overall, not suffocating.
I asked Uncle Haha: Jin Ye, I beg you, can you sleep outside tonight?
"How can that be? When you're out, you have to stay at a friend's place, otherwise there's no warmth, right, Xiaoli?" Uncle Haha handed me a cigarette.
I took the cigarette, not knowing how to refute Uncle Haha, and could only plan to remind him to wash his feet properly at night.
Uncle Haha and I went out, and he was still dressed like a rich man. I acted as his agent. When we met Ma Minghui, Ma Minghui greeted Uncle Haha with a bow: Is this the master you are, the one I offended on the phone?
Uncle Haha was an old hand, a complete old fox, and very good with appearances. He just arched his hand and said in a deliberately drawn-out tone: Sir, I'm afraid you've got the wrong person, I...am just a small-time collector, in Panjiayuan, Beijing. I can only be considered somewhat famous. There are a few people who give me a little respect, call me Jin Ye. Look at the man next to me, he's the real deal! His ancestors were a trusted general under Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty."
With Uncle Haha's almost blowing horn-like praise, Ma Minghui looked at me with an extra bit of reverence in his eyes, and quickly apologized to me with a deep bow, saying he had offended me on the phone and now he was mistaken again.
I said it's okay and asked him to sit down and talk.
Ma Minghui sat across from me, pushed two cups in front of us, and said these were top-quality Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain, a signature of this tea house.
Uncle Haha picked up the cup, took a sip, and spat out all the tea.
He didn't speak to Ma Minghui, and directly pressed the "call button" to summon the waiter.
A few minutes later, the waiter came over.
Da Jinya knocked the teacup heavily on the table and said, "Is this shop still open? How dare you sell such shoddy tea leaves?"
The waiter was stunned and said these tea leaves are the finest Da Hong Pao from Wuyi Mountain.
"Don't give me this. This is aged tea that hasn't been sold for three or four years. Go, bring your manager over, I need to talk to him," Da Jinya said.
The waiter panicked and the manager of the teahouse also arrived. Upon hearing Da Jinya's accusation, he immediately apologized and said that it was a mistake, attributing it to the server's haste, and offered to replace the tea.
After this incident, Ma Minghui completely changed his attitude, not only apologizing repeatedly to me, admitting to not taking good care of us, but also increasing the amount of the red envelope to fifty thousand!
It's no wonder why Da Jinya is an old hand in the social circle – not needing to negotiate the price, as people automatically adjust the amount. What do you call this? Using the words of Da Jinya, an old master from Beijing's Si Ji Cheng, it’s all about aura!
The price went up, better tea was served, and we had to discuss some serious matters.
Now Ma Minghui completely trusts us, so I can speak more directly.
I told Ma Minghui about my participation in his mother's memorial service, and the strange events at the service, with the incense burning unusually.
I said, "People fear losing something lasting in length, but incense fears losing something lasting in short. Burning such incense at the memorial service means the deceased hasn't found peace and died unjustly."
Ma Minghui lowered his voice and said, "Master, it's not that I'm trying to sideline my brother, but I also find this situation suspicious. Actually, my mother was in good health. She underwent a full body check-up half a year ago, and the doctor said there was nothing wrong with her. But now, within this short period of half a year, she suddenly had a heart attack and died. I can't understand it."
After some thought, Ma Minghui also said, "Last month, I took my mother out for a stroll and she was in good health. She had no trouble walking five streets at a stretch. How can she suddenly pass away?"
"Have you talked to your brother about this?" I asked Ma Minghui.
Ma Minghui shook his head and said no.
He mentioned that his brother, Ma Guohua, was too busy with his business to take care of their mother. Their mother had been living with their brother, and if he were to tell him about the suspicions regarding their mother's death, it would be embarrassing for his brother.
I nodded. It's hard to say who's behind the death of their mother, and baseless suspicion might drive the brothers apart, which wasn't ideal.
I then asked Ma Minghui, "Has anything strange happened in your family recently?"
Ma Minghui thought for a moment and said that nothing unusual had happened to him, but his younger brother, Ma Guohua, had experienced strange occurrences in his home.
I asked him to tell me about these strange occurrences.
Ma Minghui chuckled and said that he had only heard about these strange occurrences from their sister, Ma Lanfang, and couldn't confirm their authenticity.
I said, "It's okay, just tell me."
Ma Minghui began to recount. He said that after their mother's death, their younger sister, Tian Siyi, had developed some problems – she initially started babbling, and then suddenly started having violent outbursts for no reason, throwing and breaking things.
I said, "Your younger sister seems very suspicious."
Ma Minghui shook his head and said you can't suspect his younger sister. He explained that Tian Siyi and their mother had a very close relationship and were often mistaken for mother and daughter.
"Really?" I asked, "Are there any other strange occurrences?"
Ma Minghui said there were. He mentioned that strange sounds could be heard in Ma Guohua's home, like knocking on the door, but when they opened it, there was no one there.
After some thought, he added another strange incident: after Tian Siyi went to the hospital for an examination and they couldn't find any issue, their sister Ma Lanfang sought the help of a Taoist priest. The Taoist suggested that there was an evil spirit haunting their home, and pasted a yellow talisman on the door. However, the knocking on the door at night only increased, and Tian Siyi's headaches and irritability worsened.
Ma Minghui said that the situation had escalated to this point, but as long as there was only the sound of knocking at night, as long as everyone in the family was safe and sound, that was alright.
I did not comment on Ma Minghui's thoughts and turned to Da Jinya, asking, "What do you think of this?"
"I think it is your mother coming back for vengeance," Da Jinya pointed at Ma Minghui and said.
Upon hearing the words "vengeance," Ma Minghui was taken aback. His hands trembled and the teacup fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.
He quickly stood up, waving his hands, and said, "Master, you can't say that. We haven't done anything to wrong our mother. Why would she seek vengeance on me?"
This is where things stood. Since I knew something, I spoke out about what I knew.
I confessed to both of them that I had seen the ghost of Ma Dingxiang, Ma Minghui's mother.
However, the ghost of the old lady was very kind, showing no malice. It seemed unrealistic to imagine that she sought vengeance.
Da Jinya tapped the table lightly with a finger and drawled, "Xiao Li, have you ever heard of ... evil spirits leaving the body?"
Ah, Da Jinya’s words suddenly awakened my train of thought.
How could I have forgotten about "evil spirits leaving the body"?