C2 Selling the Mansion

I was tempted to just quit, to push open the coffin lid and escape.

But taking someone's money and then failing to deliver on my promise felt wrong, almost dishonorable. Plus, my three sons had already summoned me; if I bolted now, they'd surely hunt me down.

So, with great reluctance, I lay there, ticking off the minutes on my fingers.

Time passed, and somehow, I managed to drift off to sleep.

Upon waking, I had lost all sense of time and had no idea how close dawn was. The coffin lid was covered with dirt, yet I could feel a chilling breeze seeping in from the outside.

The wind bit into my skin like a knife. Aside from my own heartbeat, there were rustling noises coming from each corner of the coffin.

After a bit more time, it felt as though something was crawling over me.

I grabbed at it and felt something wriggling in my hand.

"Damn it!" I yelled, realizing my body was swarming with insects. The ones I caught had hard shells and numerous tiny legs – utterly revolting.

They seemed unafraid of humans and kept coming in greater numbers. Before long, they were all over me, even making their way to my face. A few even tried to burrow into my nostrils and ears.

I couldn't take it anymore. With a loud shout, I pushed myself out of the coffin.

Luckily, the coffin wasn't real, and the layer of soil on top was thin. I managed to leap out quite easily.

Outside, the night was still thick, and the crowd had dispersed. Relieved, I glanced back at the coffin in the moonlight. Oddly, there were no insects inside. Had it all been a hallucination?

Confused and wary, I decided not to return to the coffin and instead made a quick dash home.

Once home, the chill hadn't left me. Even wrapped in a blanket, I shivered uncontrollably. Soon after, I was hit with a high fever that left me delirious and semi-conscious.

Sometime later, I saw Third Uncle come back, his face swollen and bruised. His hair was a tangled mess, and his already tattered Taoist robe was now in shreds.

Seeing my condition, Third Uncle sighed and said, "Nephew, everything would have been fine if you'd just stayed put. Now look at the mess we're in..."

Exhausted, I muttered, “Go ahead, pull that off. You make it sound so easy. How about trying it with a pile of bugs on you?”

Third Uncle just shook his head, not bothering to argue. He simply pulled out a few pills and popped them into my mouth. By the next morning, my fever had broken.

When I went to ask Third Uncle about what had happened, I found out he had left our hometown overnight.

I later learned that Old Liang had passed away that night, right around the time I had climbed out of the coffin. Third Uncle had botched things up and got a thrashing from his three sons. I figured he was too ashamed to stay, so he just took off.

After that, I lost touch with Third Uncle, until he called me out of the blue.

He sounded thrilled to hear my voice on the phone. He told me he had moved down south for the past few years and made a home in Shenshi. Now he was a Fengshui consultant for several public companies, pulling in a hefty monthly salary. He was swamped with work and wanted me to come down and help him out, promising a car, a house, and a social life.

I was at my wit's end, and Third Uncle’s call seemed like a lifeline. I had no other option but to cling to it. Knowing Third Uncle, I was sure there was some exaggeration in his story. But I figured, how could it be any worse than my current situation? As it turned out, I still had a lot to learn about Third Uncle.

So, I bought a hard seat ticket and headed south to Shenshi to join Third Uncle.

I barely recognized him at the train station.

My memory of him was in tattered Taoist robes, looking destitute. Now, he was decked out in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses, his hair slick and shiny. He greeted me with a bear hug, exclaiming, “My dear nephew, I’m so glad to see you! You’re a godsend for your Third Uncle...”

I was thinking, ‘What’s he talking about? I just got here; how could I have helped him?’

Toting my bags, I felt a bit stunned as Third Uncle hailed a cab with a casual wave. ‘Wasn’t he making a fortune? How come he doesn’t even have his own car?’

My suspicions were quickly confirmed. Third Uncle directed the car out of the city center and toward the suburbs. After navigating several twists and turns, the taxi came to a halt in an area of old residential buildings.

Third Uncle led the way, eventually guiding me down into a basement.

Instinctively, I knew I'd been duped by the unpredictable Third Uncle once more. The basement was dark, damp, and reeked of mildew. Third Uncle's room was akin to a garbage heap, with cockroaches scurrying about and corners piled high with empty bottles and instant noodle boxes. It was the sort of place even rats would avoid, hardly fit for human habitation.

I scoffed, "Third Uncle, for a Feng Shui consultant with a monthly salary in the tens of thousands, this is quite the 'accommodation' you've got here."

Third Uncle just flashed a toothy grin, but before he could respond, a group of men burst in.

They were all bald, shirtless, sporting vests, and covered in various tattoos – clearly not the friendly sort.

The hefty, dark-skinned leader eyed me and addressed Third Uncle, "Hey, Taoist Lee, this must be your nephew, Lee Yang? Time to settle your debts, isn't it?"

Third Uncle hurriedly approached and said, "Boss Wu, my nephew has just arrived. He's a university student, sharp as a tack. With the two of us here, rest assured, I'll pay back every penny with interest soon enough."

Boss Wu's eyebrows shot up, "Soon? How much time have you already wasted? I'm not a patient man. Today, I'll spare you some dignity because your nephew's here. But I'll be back in two weeks, and if the money's not returned by then, both you and your nephew had better watch out..."

Third Uncle quickly nodded in agreement.

With a wave of his hand, Boss Wu's henchmen pinned me down and rifled through our pockets, taking the few hundred yuan we had.

As Boss Wu and his crew strutted off, I turned to Third Uncle, my anger boiling over. I demanded, "You've really got some nerve, scamming your own nephew. Did you gamble away the money you borrowed? And how the hell did they know my name?"

Third Uncle remained silent, rummaging through his bag before handing me a piece of paper.

As I examined it, I realized it was a loan contract. Unbelievably, Third Uncle had borrowed three hundred thousand. The borrowers listed were two individuals: myself and Lee Dongbin.

Pointing to the name, I inquired, "Who's this Lee Dongbin?"

With a wry smile, Third Uncle confessed, "That's me."

"That's nonsense. Isn't your name Lee Dagang?"

He chuckled, "The name Lee Dagang... lacks a certain mystique. I've long since changed my name to Lee Dongbin..."

"Damn. Lee Dagang, you've really outdone yourself..."

"Nephew, remember, it's Lee Dongbin..."

I dismissed him with a wave, "Enough talk. Why did you borrow money under my name? What have I done to you? No wonder you told me I'd done you a huge favor when I arrived. You were just dragging me down with you."

"Nephew, I've done the calculations; our fortunes are aligned. Only together can we prosper..."

"Buzz off. If I ever trust you again, I might as well be your pet. This contract is worthless without my signature. You can stay here playing Fengshui consultant; I'm out of here." I was shaking with rage, ignoring Third Uncle as I turned to leave.

"Nephew, you've seen those guys. They don't care about the legality of this contract. If you try to run, they won't let you off easily."

I had barely taken two steps when Third Uncle's words stopped me in my tracks. He had a point; those men looked like they meant business and weren't the type to play by the rules.

Seeing me pause, Third Uncle hastily added, "Nephew, I'm not deceiving you. I genuinely have a plan to make big money. I brought you here so we could strike it rich together. Trust me, soon enough, not just three hundred thousand, but three million will be within our reach."

I turned back to face Third Uncle, feeling a mix of anger, resentment, and a touch of pity for him. His suit, I suspected, was just another prop in his facade.

"Do you have anything to eat? I'm starving."

Third Uncle quickly nodded, grabbed a pot, and cooked up two packets of instant noodles. He handed me a pair of chopsticks and urged, "Eat up. You can listen to me while you eat."

I scoffed, "You're not going to make me crawl into a coffin again, are you?"

Third Uncle gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Of course not. I didn't think things through last time. I've given it a lot of thought this time around."

He then gave me a rundown of the situation. That's when I learned he hadn't borrowed the three hundred thousand yuan for gambling. Instead, it was for a little girl in the building who had leukemia. Without a bone marrow transplant, she wouldn't survive, and the procedure cost over three hundred thousand yuan. Having lived in Shenshi for a few years, Third Uncle didn't have that kind of money, so he took out a high-interest loan to cover the girl's surgery.

After he finished, to ensure I believed him, he even showed me the hospital's bill.

I began to see Third Uncle in a new light and commented, "Third Uncle, your intentions are noble, but taking out a high-interest loan is a risky move. And now you've roped me into this."

Third Uncle gestured dismissively, "Nephew, I had no other choice. Trust me this one time. I really have a way to make money, but I need your help to pull it off..."

Seeing Third Uncle's confidence, I decided to hear him out.

It turned out his plan was to flip a haunted house. He claimed the profit margin was substantial, and if all went well, we could make the three hundred thousand yuan in one go.

But I was skeptical. "Flip a haunted house? You almost got me buried alive last time, and now you want me to deal with a place that's supposedly haunted? Only a fool would go along with that. I'm not ready to die yet..."

Third Uncle, desperate not to lose me, clutched at my sleeve and pleaded, "Nephew, haven't you been down on your luck these past few years? Always feeling like you're walking under a dark cloud?"

He nailed it. I've been on a losing streak for years. My girlfriend cheated on me, I've botched my job, and my business ventures have tanked. It's like I've been a magnet for misfortune.

Noticing my silence, Third Uncle went on, "I've warned you about the curse from your grandfather and father—it's destined to bring you a lifetime of bad luck. You botched the solution I had last time. If you're serious about turning your luck around, follow my instructions this time..."

I gave him a skeptical look. "You have a plan?"

"Of course, I do. Who do you think I am, Third Uncle? Lee Dongbin. Just leave it to me..."