Chapter 5 - GamblerAfter hearing what I had to say, Liu Fu immediately laughed, "Gamblers like him generally want to earn huge amounts of money instantly.
But this kind of yin amulet is a little hard to obtain. Luckily, I still have one in stock.
How about this, seeing as the two of us are friends, I"ll charge you 4000, and when you"re selling it, you can up the price a bit."
I replied with an, "En" and thought to myself, "Even if you didn"t tell me to bring up the price, I would"ve done so anyway."
Something that merits mention, is how fast Liu Fu"s service was. He gave me the good on the same day I asked for it.
When I got it, I felt really surprised.
Because, even though the tantric amulet was small and delicate, it looked absolutely terrifying. The thing inside the amulet looked like a mummy; it was greyish black and had a pair of red eyes.
With that appearance, most people wouldn"t even be willing to hold it, much less buy it.
"Uncle Liu, what is this?" I was a bit curious.
Liu Fu said with a laugh, "This is called a Red-Eyed Phra Ngang, it is an avatar. The effects are extremely good and can definitely bring about a ma.s.sive windfall. However, when praying[1] to it, one cannot, by any means, be careless. Moreover, after praying, half of the money they gain must be sacrificed by being burnt in front of it as a form of thanks."
"Half the money? Burnt?" I was a bit surprised.
Liu Fu nodded his head as he said, "Whenever masters create Phra Ngangs, their results wouldn"t be quite the same. The materials, mantra, even which avatars are used. These all affect the Phra Ngang"s sacrificial requirements."
As he was speaking, Liu Fu continued to give me an in-depth run down on Phra Ngangs.
Afterwards, he reminded me once more to have the client be careful when praying.
After getting the Phra Ngang, I didn"t stick around and gave Da Fa a call straight away.
As soon as the call went through, I heard a loud noise that sounded like Mahjong tiles being shuffled.
Even after calling out for a long while, Da Fa still didn"t answer back. The only thing I heard was him shouting "3000!" or "5000!". He completely ignored me.
When I finally got him to reply, he just said one sentence, "I"m busy right now, I"ll call you back." then hung up.
Back then, I was dumbfounded. Busy? Busy playing Mahjong?
After about an hour, Da Fa finally returned my call.
"Hey! w.a.n.g Meng, do you have what I want?"
"It was really difficult to find, and I had to spend a huge amount of energy… But, I did get it. The effects are extremely good and it will definitely bring you a lot of luck. However, the price will be a bit expensive, at least 10000." I said.
"So expensive?!" Da Fa was shocked.
I seriously replied, "Good merchandise costs good money. If you could get a huge fortune for just 2000, the world wouldn"t have poor people."
When Da Fa heard my words, he felt that they were reasonable and replied, "Even though 10000 is a bit expensive, I can still afford it. But, what if your stuff doesn"t work? Wouldn"t that mean that I wasted my money?"
"As long as you earnestly follow the requirements and seriously pray, while handling it carefully, there will definitely be results. It"ll just be a matter of time."
Da Fa hesitated for a moment, before finally agreeing, "Alright then, seeing as how a friend introduced you, I"ll believe you just this once. But I"m a bit busy right now, and can"t head out. Mind bringing it to me?"
When I heard his answer, I was extremely excited.
Who would"ve thought that just bulls.h.i.tting up a few sentences would actually work?
Liu Fu sold it to me for 4000, and I sold it off for 10000. Just like that, I made 6000! A single sale earned me more than two months worth of work. This line of work is really ludicrous.
Thinking of this, I didn"t hesitate and immediately rushed to Da Fa"s home.
I was in Changde and Da Fa was in Taoyuan. The distance couldn"t be considered as far. So, after spending an hour on the train, I reached Da Fa"s home.
As soon as I entered, I was stunned.
There were actually two Mahjong tables in his living room.
At the time, the two tables were filled with people engrossed in playing. Even after I entered, no one cared or even noticed me. Somehow, Da Fa managed to find time to give me a glance and said, "Sit anywhere you want." before going back to his game.
What made me feel the most awkward, was that apart from the Mahjong tables, there was nothing else in the living room. It was completely barren. Forget about a TV, I couldn"t even see an extra chair. There was nowhere to sit.
Even his ten year old son had to go to the kitchen for a place to sit and do his homework.
And so, for a long time I stood there like an idiot. I called out to Da Fa many times, but each time I was cut off with a wave of his hand. Seeing how focused his gaze was, anyone who didn"t know better would think he was doing something that was related to his life and death.
Even though I felt extremely uncomfortable, for the sake of that sweet 6000, I endured it.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I went to the kitchen and asked the little boy, "What do your parents do? Are they always just gambling?"
The boy nodded his head and said, "They don"t work. They just play Mahjong all day."
I was surprised, "If they don"t work then where does the gambling money come from?"
"My grandparents." the little boy said expressionlessly.
I was dumbfounded when I heard those words. This generation has all sorts of people doesn"t it…… His son"s already ten and Da Fa actually still doesn"t have a job. Moreover, he even asks his parents for money…… Isn"t his facial skin just too thick? Could it be that Da Fa"s parents want to raise him to be a man-child?
When I thought of that, I felt an extreme sense of disgust towards Da Fa.
Right when I was about to lose my patience, Da Fa suddenly shouted, "I"ve had enough! I"m really too unlucky! Couldn"t even win a single round!"
As he said that, Da Fa pushed away his tiles and went directly to the toilet.
It seemed like the other three people have long since been used to it. After laughing a bit, they saw themselves out.
After coming out of the toilet, Da Fa finally noticed me. It"s just that he had a deadpan expression on his face, like someone owed him money.
"Are you w.a.n.g Meng?"
Da Fa sized me up with a glance and said, "Bring out the goods."
I couldn"t be bothered arguing with him, so I just took out the Phra Ngang with extreme care. At that moment, I just wanted to hurry up and finish the transaction and leave that place as soon as possible.
After scrutinizing the Phra Ngang, Da Fa wrinkled his eyebrows and said, "No matter how you look at it, this thing is strange. Can it really help me win money?"
"This is a genuine Red-Eyed Phra Ngang and the price is fair. It was personally enchanted by a formidable Azzan Master in Thailand. The amount it"ll bring in will definitely be worth it," I said, taking a page right out of Liu Fu"s book.
"Let me be frank with you, if there are really no effects, we will have some issues."
After threatening me, Da Fa patted his a.s.s to check for money then entered his room.
A short while later, he came back out with a wad of cash. Right when he was about to give it to me, a fat woman sitting at the other table suddenly stood up, walked over, and s.n.a.t.c.hed the cash.
"Are you mad?! You want to spend 10000 on this broken toy?!" The fat woman screamed.
Da Fa immediately exploded, "What do you know, you stupid b.i.t.c.h?! This is a tantric amulet with a spirit inside that"ll help us win money! When we earn a ton in the future, what can this small amount be considered?"
"…Is it real?" The fat woman had a hard time believing his words.
"Of course it"s real! This is something Lao w.a.n.g[2] personally told me. Remember last time? Lao w.a.n.g made a killing in that Mahjong parlour and got himself several thousand. It was all because he had a tantric amulet on him! There"s no use explaining this stuff to a stupid b.i.t.c.h like you! This is why people with no culture are so scary!"
After Da Fa scolded her, he immediately s.n.a.t.c.hed the money back.
Maybe it was because of Da Fa"s anger, but the fat lady was completely fooled and was left unable to retort.
Watching these two people, I suddenly felt that it was hilarious.
After the transaction, I specifically emphasised on the thanksgiving sacrifice that Da Fa had to make. "You have to burn half of the money you win from Mahjong in front of this Red-eyed Phra Ngang. Make sure you don"t forget."
When the fat woman heard that, she was displeased. "Burn half of the money we win? That"s such a waste!"
Da Fa added, "What happens if we don"t burn the money?"
I warned him, "By no means should you think like that. This Red-Eyed Phra Ngang is an avatar. And inside, there exists a demonic spirit. If you dare deceive it…… Well, you can picture what"ll happen on your own. That said, there"s no base requirement for how much you have to sacrifice. It"s alright as long as you burn half of what you win. Besides, at the end of the day even after burning half, you get to keep to the other part. Isn"t that still earning money?"
When the two of them heard that, they found it reasonable and immediately promised that they would take their prayers seriously, saying that anything was acceptable as long as they earned money.
[1] Unlike the Christian and Muslim prayers which last hours at most, Chinese prayers are more akin to rituals and can take place over several days or even a month and more often than not require sacrifices usually in the form of food or paper money. Usually. As in non cultish worship and prayer. Which is generally not applicable to this kind of novel.
[2] 老 is occasionally used a familiar way to refer to a person you know well. In this case Lao w.a.n.g refers to the MC.