Psych Hunter (Haunted House Notebook) : Book 1

Chapter 21 - Powerless to Help

After Qin Yi Heng finished speaking to me, I realized that there is no way we could explain this to the couple outside. We clearly told them that we are going to stabilize the girl's soul, but after the ritual, it merely returned to the original state. In addition, the couple is unaware of the cause and effect of this ritual, and this really made us feel guilty. But, there is no way we can hide the truth from them. I discussed this briefly with Qin Yi Heng but as there are no other options, I opened the door and went out to clarify the matter.

The couple couldn't believe it at first, so Qin Yi Heng explained the entirety of the situation. Furthermore, the parents have also noticed that the little girl's condition was a bit strange, so they had no other choice but to believe us.

So, we all sat down to discuss possible solutions. Qin Yi Heng asked them carefully about the situation on the day of the incident, and frowned upon hearing it. This issue had reached a deadlock, and I could only watch helplessly and feel panicked.

After thinking for a long while, Qin Yi Heng asked whether the day they had went to travel was on the third, thirteenth or the twenty third day of the lunar calendar. The couple tried to recall the date and answered that they did travel on the twenty third.

Qin Yi Heng's eyes lighted up immediately after listening to their confirmation, and he told them that he had found the cause of the matter. He said that the days he had mentioned are said to be the days when the king of the underworld would inspect the underworld. According to the legends, the king himself would personally redress the grievances for the souls during these three days, and all the spirits would be involved. If you meet him on these dates, if you are disrespectful or have committed some crimes, you will be implicated. He assumed that the family had ran to the king of the underworld on that day and the whole incident was simply caused during the disappearance of the watermelon. It is likely that the young girl had said something disrespectful in her mind and her soul had been taken away to be punished. If this is the case, then it could be solved by going to the Chengshuang temple to worship piously.

This time, Qin Yi Heng's theory is even more ridiculous as it even involved the King of the underworld, but what happened in our previous experience in the state-owned canteen and the post office have made me believe that there are systems and rulers in the underworld that is not visible to the naked eye.

Seeing that things were still saved, the couple was naturally grateful. And as we have found the source of the incident, we bid them goodbye and had prepared to return.

When we went out, I felt there was something wrong as his expression looked gloomy. I asked him if he felt unwell, but he told me that what he just said to the couple was a lie. Although the legend of the king of the underworld's travels is true, there are no restrictions in date or time. For example, this might happen when a sudden silence occurred during a hubbub in a crowded place. According to Chinese beliefs, this could be caused by the king of the underworld's passing by that place. As the ruler of the underworld, he is bound to have a servant who is capable of silencing people, that is why even a crowded place would suddenly be silenced mysteriously. The dates he had mentioned to the couple are merely dates when the yin energy is particularly strong. He had hoped that the couple would take his words seriously and worship the gods in the temple, but even he is unsure if it would work.

After listening to his words, I could only sigh. This feeling is very uncomfortable, but I am powerless to help them. Qin Yi Heng is after all a mere mortal and not omniscient or omnipotent. At least this is the very best that we could have done for them.

This house had a huge impact on me, and on our way back my heart felt very heavy, and Qin Yi Heng also looked similarly depressed. We didn't talk much on our way back, and can only travel back together in silence.

This experience caused me to feel exhausted mentally and physically, and I felt depressed many days after returning home. After simply turning off my phone and playing games at home, Qin Yi Heng did not come to visit me, but we did exchange a few words in the internet.

He told me that he actually felt the same as me, however, as the matter has been settled, we also couldn't do anything. I told him that I probably would not want to continue in this business anymore. Although the profits are considerable, but the two houses we have visited recently have left a bad taste on my mouth.

Qin Yi Heng did not object this decision of mine, but he also told me that many things are destined from the very beginning, and not everything will follow our will. I didn't understand the meaning of his words, but I didn't bother to think about it. After playing games for a few days however, I started to feel rather restless.

When I turn on my phone, I saw that Yuan Zhen has sent a message to me last night. He said that there is a big business offer and that I must accept it. In fact, even though I really don't want to buy those haunted houses anymore, I can't help but become curious. After a long time, I called him back.

Yuan Zhen told me about the details regarding the house.

It may not be suitable to call it a house, as there are several houses. However, all these houses belong to one unit and are owned by the village chief. The village is actually the kind of village located in the city's outliers. As the land developers bought a lot of land from their village during their real estate development, all the villagers have become very wealthy. Not only did they receive a large amount of cash, they also received several properties. Of course, the village chief's windfall is even larger, in a house consisting of six houses, he has half of the property for himself. This was originally an amazing boon, but after the village head moved in to the house, his family members started to have accidents one by one. Firstly, one of his son in law had a car accident and had become debilitated. After that, his other son in law is also cheated a lot of money while doing business. Not only that, his two daughters also have a sudden bad luck, one had cancer inexplicably, while the other kept on losing money no matter what she did.

Initially, the village chief did not think much about it but as the series of events continue to occur, he started to wonder if there is something wrong with the house's feng shui, so he asked an expert to look at it but that expert said there was nothing wrong with the house's orientation and layout. Even if there are some mistakes in feng shui, it should not have harmed the family in this manner. Moreover, as the house was built on the initial boundary of their village, there was no possibility of it being built atop a cemetery. Therefore, the village chief had no other options but to consult a lot of people and to see whether they could solve this matter.

After listening to the general situation, I truthfully was not interested. It's not that I didn't plan to help but the house is simply not marketable. This is because this sort of house cannot be sold within five years and even if I want to buy it, the village chief is not allowed to sell it. And looking at the current situation, the village chief doesn't seem to be offering to sell the house either. Even if Qin Yi Heng and I can solve the problem, there would be no real benefits for us.

I told Yuan Zhen what I thought but he still begged me to take a look. The village chief had promised to give us an award if we are able to help him. Yuan Zhen said that the village chief is very generous and as long as the matter is solved, he can give me one million yuan in cash.

When I heard this, my heartbeat sped up uncontrollably; the offer was too damn good. I'm really tempted to take it! However, I knew that it might not be easy to handle if the award was that much. However, I still can't resist the greed beckoning to me. I told myself that this will be the last time. When I received the money, I would steer clear from this kind of business and concentrate on my small business.

So, I called Qin Yi Heng and wanted to tell him about this house. It turns out that Yuan Zhen had contacted him first and he was waiting for my decision. Seeing that this is the case, after discussing with Qin Yi Heng for a while, I decided to go to the house the next day to look at it.