Chapter 2: Unfavorable Departure

Initially, we set our sights on a villa in another city within the same province. The villa is quite old, likely built in the early 1990s, and its owner is a wealthy local businessman with the surname Wang. My encounter with Qin Yiheng and him was somewhat serendipitous. One day, Qin Yiheng happened to come across a property listing he had posted on an online real estate forum. With a mindset of giving it a try, he called the number, and unexpectedly, we indeed made a connection, promptly scheduling a meeting. To this day, this businessman has expanded his business significantly, yet he still cannot shake off the aura of a nouveau riche. When we met, I roughly estimated that the gold jewelry he wore weighed several pounds in total. As he spoke, his fingers tapped on the table, and the gold watch on his wrist dazzled my eyes. According to the businessman, he took advantage of the favorable conditions during the early days of reform and opening up to make a considerable fortune. Once he had more money at his disposal, he naturally began to indulge in pleasures, and this villa was purchased after he made his fortune. After living there for a few years, he moved to another new residence. Since he was not short on money, he did not sell the villa but instead rented it out to a painter as a creative studio. This painter is not particularly well-known and is said to be quite eccentric. Residents in the villa area are generally either wealthy or noble, and they typically do not enjoy socializing with their neighbors, which is why this painter has remained mysterious, having not been seen since the day he moved in.

I suspect that the boss may have killed that woman, and then happened to encounter the painter turning the villa into a grave. He then decided to place the woman's body inside to obstruct the view, thus allowing him to evade guilt

This sentence almost scared me to the point of wetting my pants. At that moment, it was not completely dark yet, and when I looked down, everything was hazy, and my visibility was poor. At this time, Qin Yiheng stuffed something into my mouth and told me to hold my breath, warning me not to swallow whatever was in my mouth, to walk with my eyes closed, and to forcefully spit out the thing in my mouth when I bumped into something. Before I could fully comprehend, he had already gone down first, and I had no choice but to follow his instructions. At this time, Qin Yiheng stuffed something into my mouth and told me to hold my breath, warning me not to swallow whatever was in my mouth, to walk with my eyes closed, and to forcefully spit out the thing in my mouth when I bumped into something. Before I could fully comprehend, he had already gone down first, and I had no choice but to follow his instructions.

Thus, I inquired at nearby places such as mahjong parlors and tea houses, and learned that not only one painter had died at that time, but also a nude model who was being painted by the artist had perished alongside him in the same coffin. This indeed corresponds with the woman depicted in the mural. However, why did the wealthy local man tell us that only one person had died? Could it be that he was unaware? This seems unlikely, especially since it is already a haunted house. He claimed that the difference between one death and two was negligible, which clearly indicates he was lying, and the reason must be something else. My curiosity was piqued, and Qin Yiheng was also very interested, so we decided to investigate further. In the end, we discussed it and decided to return to that villa.

A year later, when he came to collect the rent, he discovered that the painter had long since died in the villa. This is also the most bizarre aspect of the villa; it almost sounds like a tale from the Arabian Nights. The entire villa had been decorated by the painter to resemble a tomb, with murals covering the walls, depicting visions and blueprints of ascension and immortality. In the center of the hall, there was not only a coffin but also a sarcophagus, both appearing to be of high quality. The entire villa was tightly locked, with only a few long-lasting lamps that had long since extinguished. At that time, the wealthy man surnamed Wang was so frightened that he nearly lost control of himself and then called the police. When the police arrived, they could not ascertain the cause and concluded it was a suicide, leaving the house vacant ever since. To this day, as property prices have soared, even though he is wealthy, he feels pained to see such a house sitting empty. He thought that no matter how much it sold for, it would be better than looking at it and feeling distressed. Thus, he had his assistant post online and register with a real estate agency, intending to sell the villa at a lower price.

The mural is indeed peculiar, employing oil painting techniques that are quite realistic, yet it appears somewhat hastily completed. The content seems to depict the artist's fantasy of ascending to immortality from this house, accompanied by a group of young male and female guardians following him to the heavenly realm. Since it is a traditional Chinese theme rendered in oil painting techniques, it appears somewhat incongruous. After viewing a few pieces, I sensed something amiss, as the figure ascending to immortality in the painting is a woman. This is not merely a matter of hair length; although many artists have short hair, the realistic portrayal allows one to discern that this woman has a rather fine figure.

I also agree with this point. If that is the case, then this secret was likely discovered by the boss only recently; otherwise, he would not have sold the house to us

He said: "It is estimated that this boss is afraid we will discover some of his secrets"

By the time we went to see it, the coffin had already been emptied, and only the murals on the wall remained. It goes without saying that haunted houses share a common characteristic: one can feel the eerie atmosphere as soon as the door is pushed open

Is there something buried in the house? I felt quite excited upon hearing this, thinking to myself: 'If it turns out to be antiques or treasures, wouldn't it legally belong to me now? If that's the case, wouldn't I be losing a watermelon while picking up sesame seeds by selling the house for a difference of 100,000 yuan? If so, I am definitely not selling the house.'

The entire villa is not considered large within this villa community, measuring around 230 square meters. The living room, however, is quite luxurious and aligns well with the aesthetic preferences of wealthy individuals. After taking a tour, Qin Yiheng looked around for a while, and a smile appeared on his face. He informed me that this house is not a haunted property at all, and there are no vengeful spirits or anything of that sort; purchasing it would be purely profitable for us. Hearing him say this made me very happy, and I felt less anxious, so I curiously went to examine the murals on the walls.

As we were chatting, we noticed that the sun had already set. Both of us were so parched from talking that we decided to head back home, thinking we would return the next day to search for the treasure properly. After all, if it truly was as we suspected, we couldn't afford to let this treasure slip away easily. After lingering for a while, we prepared to go downstairs. Just as we reached the stairs, Qin Yiheng suddenly turned to me, winked, made a "shh" gesture, and then quickly leaned in to whisper in my ear: "Something happened. They are back, quickly imitate what I do."

Although I found it strange, I did not think too much about it. After all, the thoughts of artists are often difficult for ordinary people to fathom, and I had little interest in it. I was just there to make my money, so I had a brief conversation with Qin Yiheng and planned to sign the contract with that local tycoon in the afternoon. The contract was signed very smoothly, and the price was within our expected range. This villa should be worth over 900,000 yuan, but we acquired it for just a little over 100,000 yuan, and both parties felt they had benefited. The local tycoon not only resolved a lingering concern but also received money, while we considered it a great bargain. Therefore, everyone was very happy, and we enjoyed a delightful meal with drinks.

By the time we arrived at the villa, it was already afternoon. We were actually wandering aimlessly inside the villa, looking around, but we truly found nothing of interest. I went to examine those murals again, but I couldn't discern anything significant. The two of us stood on the balcony of the second floor, smoking and discussing this matter.

Qin Yiheng felt that this inference was rather unrealistic, as it would make it difficult to explain the woman in the mural. He was more inclined to think that there might be something hidden in a certain part of the villa belonging to the local wealthy individual. It was possible that the wealthy individual was unaware of it before the villa was sold, and only after the sale did he suddenly discover or remember it, which led him to seek our help to remedy the situation.

Next comes the issue of the purpose of this house. I quite like this villa; although it is somewhat old, it is still a villa. For someone like me, who comes from a poor background, being able to live in a villa in this lifetime is something I never even dared to dream of. Therefore, I hope to renovate it and keep it for myself. Qin Yiheng did not oppose this; he merely mentioned that while this house does not seem to have any ghosts or spirits, it appears to have some significance in terms of feng shui. However, he is not very knowledgeable about it, so we need to find someone who understands feng shui to take a good look. Who would have thought that a day later, before we could find a feng shui expert, that wealthy landowner would come to us, saying he wanted to buy the villa back. Qin Yiheng did not oppose this either; he just reiterated that while the house does not seem to have any ghosts or spirits, it appears to have some significance in terms of feng shui. However, he is not very knowledgeable about it, so we need to find someone who understands feng shui to take a good look. Who would have thought that a day later, before we could find a feng shui expert, that wealthy landowner would come to us, saying he wanted to buy the villa back. As a businessman, I was certainly pleased with this; as long as the price he offered was reasonable and allowed me to make a profit, it would be like finding money for nothing. After some negotiation, the wealthy landowner decided to offer 200,000 yuan. I figured that I would net a profit of nearly 100,000 yuan, which was quite satisfactory, so I agreed. However, I was quite curious as to why the house that had just been sold to us was so urgently being bought back. That evening, Qin Yiheng and I discussed it and felt that there must be something fishy going on, so we decided to hold off on signing the contract and first investigate the matter from the side.

Listening to the wealthy landowner, this residence indeed seems quite mysterious. Qin Yiheng suggested that we should first visit the house before making any plans, as it is merely theoretical at this point. The landowner appeared to be quite apprehensive about that villa, simply handing us the keys and allowing us to view the property on our own. We did not delay, taking the keys and heading to the address.