Chapter 010: The Great Golden Tooth

"Didn’t you tell me yesterday that ghosts are here to collect debts? Hehe..." He said smugly, but upon noticing my expression darkening, he immediately became serious, cleared his throat, and said: "I’m not some great master. When I was down and out, I had no food to eat, so I spent two years as a Taoist priest on Wudang Mountain. Eventually, I managed to escape. Although I didn’t learn the skills of chanting scriptures and ringing bells, I picked up a few things through observation. Why don’t you tell me what you’ve encountered? I’ll see if I can help you."

I must say, after his explanation, I have become somewhat hesitant. Could it be that all of this is merely a coincidence

Dajin Ya looked at me with disdain: "Run? Where can you run to? Is that thing something you can shake off just by distance? To be honest, you are already entangled. I took a quick glance at you, and at least a dozen ghosts are keeping an eye on you."

Da Jinya sighed again: "Bring incense and sufficient offerings, tonight is the seventh night. Let us visit her grave; if you sincerely apologize, perhaps it can be salvaged. Otherwise, things could become troublesome."

I still haven't let him go, holding on tightly, I asked: "Then why do you keep bothering me? Clearly, we are strangers, yet you shamelessly want to borrow money from me."

Dajin Ya, being looked at by me in this way, understood and reluctantly said: "You shouldn't peep at people through the crack of the door. Although our appearance may not be great, we still have some skills."

I looked at him with an extreme sense of distrust; with his character, what could he possibly understand

In fact, if I ponder carefully, I can discover quite a few doubts. However, at this moment, I feel uneasy, especially as night approaches. Every nightfall gives me a sense of stepping into the gates of the underworld. I asked Big Golden Tooth what I should do in this situation

Dajin Ya, with a face full of grievance, said: "When did I ever harm you, brother? This time, I will call you brother and let it be settled with the library. Just calm down."

I hesitated for a moment: "She didn't say it; I inferred it."

Ah? What should I do? I am a bit flustered

I felt a surge of joy in my heart: "Can I run now?"

Dajin Ya was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled helplessly: "What the heck, what's wrong with wanting to eat dog meat? Is it illegal? How is this related to harming you?"

Thinking of this, I suddenly became resolute, purchasing incense and offerings. As it was nearing dusk, I contacted Da Jinya. Without his company, I believed I would certainly not have the courage to go alone.

Dajin Ya sighed and said: "Of course not. Think about it, are you someone who easily trusts others? You believed that old man before, and as a result, he made you remove the threshold, inviting in evil spirits. Now you are trusting ghosts again. What can I say to you? It's foolish, you are really too foolish!"

I simply cannot understand when I offended the big-toothed man, why would you want to harm me like this? Is it because I didn't ask you to lend me money that you hold a grudge against me? What kind of logic is this?

Ah? I was bewildered and said in disbelief: "No way?"

Da Jin Ya raised his eyebrows and suddenly said something that seemed unrelated: "Your deceased girlfriend's seventh night is tonight, isn't it"

Filled with anger and confusion, I approached Big Gold Tooth, who was standing under a tree, waving his hand to indicate his location. I walked over with a stern expression, said nothing, and directly grabbed his tie. Big Gold Tooth was startled by my sudden attack, struggling while saying, "What are you doing?"

Dajin Ya nonchalantly said, "That's a matter for later; for now, just sign the IOU. Consider it a favor for your older brother, alright?"

I approached the situation with a mindset of treating a dead horse as if it were alive and briefly explained the matter to him. My thought was quite simple: if he has the ability, then I benefit; if he does not, I incur no loss. After listening, Da Jin Ya paced back and forth and became serious: "Are you saying that yesterday a ghost sent you a message, indicating that the person who instructed Master Liu to kill the dog is the one who is harming you?"

As I was about to leave, so many troublesome matters came knocking at my door. I had no time to get entangled with him. Unexpectedly, the man with the golden teeth still wouldn't give up and chased after me from a distance. I impatiently turned around, wanting him to get lost, but he stunned me with a single sentence: "Brother, have you encountered something unclean?"

I never expected that the one who truly threatens me would be the person I love. I feel like a drowning person grasping at the last straw, urgently asking: "What should I do?"

I thought about it, and it makes sense. Just tell me how much you want. The big man shook his head and said he didn't want any money, just that I sign an IOU. I didn't expect he was still thinking about this matter, so I curiously asked, "Brother, why do you always want me to borrow money? At first, I thought you were a scammer."

My expression stiffened: "How did you know?"

Big Golden Tooth was quite tolerant, waving his hand and saying it was nothing. However, when he squinted his small eyes, a shrewd glimmer emerged: "Brother, we are risking our lives to help you, shouldn't we receive some benefits in return"

I gradually found myself persuaded by his words and slowly let go of him. He did indeed have some valid points; based solely on what I knew, I could not ascertain that he intended to harm me. However, the doubts in my heart could not be dispelled in a short time, and I maintained a sufficient level of vigilance towards him: "Alright then, keep your distance from me in the future; I do not wish to see you again"

Dajin Ya was also enraged and planned to fight back, but his strength was too weak; to me, it felt like just a tickle. I held him down with one hand while using the other to grip his neck: "Tell me, why the hell did you harm me!"

I cursed fiercely, and with one punch, I knocked him down. The ghost harmed me, and I was helpless. A person harmed me, and I could fight back. I have caught you, the culprit, and you still want to escape

Dajin Ya noticed my hesitation and decided to show off a bit. He said, "Initially, Old Chen gave you two harmful tricks. One was to have you remove the threshold, and you have already seen the negative consequences of that. The other is even more harmful, and you probably have not yet realized it."

Dajin Ya said: "In fact, this is not a big deal. The ghosts in the flower wreath shop are merely greedy; they desire the power of incense. As for you, you are the most suitable person to light the incense. Therefore, as long as you do not provoke them, there is really nothing to worry about. The truly terrifying ones are the ghosts that have not yet made a move."

Only five short words

I thought about it; when Old Chen initially helped me without asking for anything in return, it ended up harming me. This shows that human nature is unpredictable. On the other hand, Big Tooth asked for a favor, which made him seem more trustworthy. I didn't think much of it and simply borrowed 100,000 yuan. Big Tooth had prepared the loan agreement in advance. I glanced through it, and it was even more exaggerated than what he had said. Not only was there no interest, but there was also no collateral required. It was as if money had fallen from the sky.

I felt a chill run down my spine; so this is where it all began. Suddenly, I realized that ghosts might not be so terrifying after all; the human heart is far more frightening. Just because my business is doing well, you, Old Chen, want to harm me!

The interest is not high, and there is no deadline? I find it amusing: "Is there really such a good thing? Does that mean I don't have to pay it back at all?"

Big Golden Tooth sneered: "Was he kind in life, so he is kind in death? Ghosts have no feelings, you fool!"

Dajin Ya slapped his thigh and pointed at me, saying: "Are you confused? Haven't you heard of the saying 'a string of ghostly tales'? How can you believe even ghost stories? She is the one who is harming you!"

Dajin Ya looked at me with a gaze that seemed to have witnessed the vicissitudes of the world and sighed: "It's difficult. To be honest with you, my friend, I am in business, and I have a task from above. I must sell this IOU. But rest assured, the interest is not high, the amount will be available immediately, and there is no deadline."

Dajin Ya is even more wronged this time, just like Dou E, crying out to the heavens: "Is it wrong for me to lend you money? What harm could I possibly cause you? How could lending you money be harmful? I've never heard of such a way to harm someone. Regardless of how you say I harmed you or whatever else, you must have evidence, right? Just because I ate dog meat, what kind of evidence is that?"

I first nodded, then realized: "Are you saying ... ... "

I thought about it, and besides asking me to remove the threshold, Old Chen also gave me a red string to hang around my ankle, saying that it wards off evil spirits. I haven't had peace since then and eventually pushed this matter to the back of my mind. Now that I think about it, this is simply nonsense! If it really had any effect, how could I have fallen into such a predicament?

Dajin Ya pondered for a moment and said, "Let us first sort out this matter. Your foot bindings have already been broken, and the flower shop can no longer stop you."

Dajin Ya nodded and said to me, looking at my pale face: "Brother, didn't you say earlier that your deceased girlfriend visited your father? I believe this is not just an illusion of the old man. She was harmed by a ghost, which means she died an unnatural death. After death, she harbors resentment and is unwilling to reincarnate. You could say she died because of you. Yet, you haven't paid your respects to her for such a long time, and you even discarded the apple she gave you. Naturally, her resentment has deepened. Although you have been tied up with various matters, the ghost does not care about these things."

more damaging

When I looked at the big golden tooth again, I felt a sense of admiration; this guy really seems to have some substance. I said with a smile, "Brother, I apologize for what happened just now on hetushucom.com."

I curse your ancestors

Which ghost has not taken action

While waiting for Big Gold Tooth, I received a text message again

Has it already come to this point

Big Gold Tooth removed the red string tied around my ankle, moistened it with saliva, and then began to pull it apart strand by strand. Under my gaze, after the outer layer of the red string was pulled away, it revealed fine strands of hair inside. Big Gold Tooth handed it to me and said: "In ancient times, farmers would tie red strings made from the hair of children under one year old to the hind legs of their livestock, such as cows and sheep, to prevent them from getting lost or harmed by evil spirits. This item is called 'foot binding.' Just think about it: once you tie this thing, you might want to sell your flower shop but can never do so. You may wish to leave, yet you are deceived back for various reasons. As long as you are bound by this thing, you are tied to the flower shop!"

Calm? How can you expect me to be calm when I see the people I love, the ones close to me, and those who have helped me, one by one either dead or injured? How can I possibly calm down? My eyes are filled with blood-red fury, and my breath is heavy: "Are you still pretending? Wasn't it you who ordered Master Liu to kill the dog yesterday?"

I have a pale complexion and am unwilling to accept this reality: "It won't happen, Xinxin is very kind."

Xin Xin, Xin Xin... Thinking of how kind-hearted she would become a ghost, my heart feels like it's being cut by a knife. It is undeniable that I bear some responsibility in this matter. Even if it is for atonement, I should undertake this journey.

I nodded dejectedly, walking forward like a puppet

However, upon reflection, he has already paid the price for his actions, and I feel much more at ease.

Upon careful consideration, it seems to be this reasoning. Initially, I believed the woman in white, but after what he said, the remaining shred of doubt was magnified countless times. I began to wonder, could it be that I was truly deceived by her?