Chapter 522: The Tea Maniac Ghost


    Two happy eventstook ceduring this time. First, Ru Xuegavebirth to a baby girl. In memory ofLi Mazite wife, Chu Chu, he named the little girl, Nianchu remembering Chu.I then became Nianchus uncle. Second, after a few months of fleeing,Senior Shuhad finally escaped from his enemy. He swaggeredand cameto my shop. He stayed half a month here before leaving.


    AfterSenior Shuleft, my life became boring. Yin Xinyue wassobusy with her work that she couldnt make enough time to stay with me. Li Mazi had transformed into an old eunuch that served Ru Xue twenty-four hours a day.


    I had stayed idleand bored in my shop for three days, and I couldnt stand it anymore. I calledSenior Shu. Hey,whatare you doing?


    Whydidyou call me? Im busy making money. Idont have the time toy with you,Senior Shuansweredcrudely. Ive epted many cases whileI was on the run. I have to solve these problems, you know.


    It seemedSenior Shuwas busy. Senior, if you have too much on your te, you can share one or two cases with me. Im so bored right nowthatImight as wellbe your footman.


    Really?


    Senior Shuwas so happy when he heard that.It sounded asthough he was worried that I would change my mind in the next second, so he hurried to say,Theres a tea merchant named Lu Ming in Fujian. He called me a few days ago! I will give you his contact. Thank you, thank you so much, grandson!


    After saying that, he shamelessly hung up the call.In thenext second,I received histext message.


    When Isaw thatthe address was in Quanzhou, Fujian, IthoughtI was fooled. That old man must have given me the farthest case he had received.But sinceI was boredto death,I shouldnt be picky. I called Lu Mingand askedif he needed help.


    At first, Lu Ming sounded cold. He only changed after I told himwho I was. Oh yes, oh yes sir, I need help!When can youe here? Ill personallye to fetch you.


    His attitude toward me was even better than that of asonwithhisfather. I knew this merchantwas inbig trouble! I told him to wait one day. After finishing the call, I directly bookedaflight ticket to Quanzhou.


    I arrived at Quanzhouairport the next morning. This was the first time Ihadeto Quanzhou. I didnt call Lu Mingimmediatelybut toured around.


    Perhaps it wasdueto my profession, butI adored and cherished Chinese culture. Quanzhouhad a richhistory. I went to visitGuan YuTemple, Haiyin Temple, and other ancient structures.As I stoodin betweenthesearchaic structures, I felt the rich history of the city of Quanzhou. Unfortunately, I stillhad a jobto do.Aroundevening, I reluctantly called Lu Ming.


    The guywas so excited when helearnedI had arrived in Quanzhou.He sooncame to pick me up.


    As I waitedfor him, I pictured him in my head. I thought hewould beabig-bellied rich businessman. Butwhen he arrived,Idiscovered that Iwas wrong.


    He looked simr to the moviestarChen Daoming. He had a nice body and wasin hite thirtiesor earlyforties. His eyes lookedsharp, andhis shiny leather shoes fit his tailor-made suit very well. However, hehaddark circles under his eyes. I guessed he was troubled by something.


    While we were on the way to his house, I asked him for more details.


    Youdont knowwhat has happened? He sounded surprised.


    I was speechlessand cursed Senior Shuunder my breath.Isaid embarrassedly, WhenSenior Shutold me about you, he didnt give me many details.


    Emh, understood. Lu Ming frowned.


    Hewasdoubting my skills, but he stillpolitelygave me a nod. I felt much better with his mannerisms.


    Lu Mings familyhad workedin thetea industry for generations. However,theydidnt havemuch luck untilLu Mings generation. With his extraordinaryInte marketing skills, he madehis familystea brandfamous nationwide. He even brought his business across the border to Japan andother Southeast Asian countries. Hebecameatea tycoon.


    With these achievementsand his young age,Lu Ming had be the new star in the industry. He sometimes thought that his life was already perfect. Unexpectedly, after the Lunar New Year, some strange incidents started to happen in his house.


    At first, the best quality tea he had put inhisdrawerwentmissing. He thoughtone of theguestsmighthavetaken part of itto try it, so he didnt mind it. Butfrom that day onward, almost every few days, part of his best tea would disappear. He wanted tocatchthe thief, so he quietly installed cameras in his house.


    When he came to this part of the story, Lu Ming gulped. Hisfaceturnedtense and his eyesbecamefearful. He looked as though the event he was about to tell me was terrifying. It seemed he didnt want to disclose it.


    Dont worry. Im here to help you solve the problem!


    He was really scared, soI had toease his worries. Lu Mings face turned better. The day after I installedthe cameras, three bags of my tea, which wereworth hundreds of thousands of renminbi, weregone. I couldnt wait anymoreand checkedthe video. Ilooked atthe drawer where I had kept the tea.Itopened by itself. Then, the bags of teaflewup. It looked likeaninvisible mantookthe tea away...


    I closed my eyes to picture the scene in my head. My scalpwent numbafterward. I opened my eyesand asked,Before youwenttoSenior Shu,didyouaskanyother masters?


    I was sure something foulwastroubling him, butFujian had many famous Daoistpriestsand monks.Lu Ming belonged to the high ss in this society. It shouldnt be difficult for him to invite a master to help.Why did heinviteSenior Shuwho lived so far away?


    Lu Mings face grimaced when I asked that. After I saw that,Iknewtherewassomething foul in my house. I askedgeomancerswith high reputation in Fujian toe to my house to check. However, they all rejected me after a few minutesof stepping intomy house. They said they didnt dare toeptmy case.Amaster adhered a few yellow talismans in my house. He didnt charge me and told me that if the talismans didnt work, I should invite someone stronger.


    Afterthatmaster left, Lu Ming became more anxious. He was really worried that the talismans wouldnt work. Onthedaywhenthe teawas supposed todisappear, he didnt dare to stay home. When he came back the next morning, he found that all the yellow talismans had burned into ashes. His heart chilled at that moment. He hurriedly pulled the drawer to check, and the tea was gone.


    Lu Ming left the house immediately,foundthatmaster,and imploredhimfor hishelp. However, the masterno longerwanted to put his hand in this.


    Eventually, Lu Ming used his connectionsand askedaround.Thats how he learned about Senior Shu. He offered arge sum of money toSenior Shu and beggedhim to help. Unfortunately,Senior Shuwas on his run at that timeand had forgotten aboutLu Mings case.


    I thought something terrifyingmust havehappened afterward. If itwasjust tea thievery, Lu Ming wouldnt have been so frightened.


    Nobody agreed to help me, butI didntlose hope. I thought it wasnta big dealthatmy tea was stolen like that. However, the day after the yellow talismans were burned, for seven nights in a row,Ive dreamtof a white-bearded old man! He wore ck shrouds andlooked furious. He usedhis staff to knock my head until I woke up.Ithoughtthose talismans provoked a wandering soul, so I burned a lot of paper money for him. I even moved out of my house. However, no matter where I slept, Istill dreamtof that old man. He scared the wits out of me then used his staff to knock me until Iwokeup.Now,I have started to sleep during the day and stay up at night. It has gradually turned better for me


    After telling me his story, Lu Ming still looked scared. I now knew why hehaddark circles under his eyes. He hadnt slept at night for a few months. Instead, he tooknaps during the day. Even if hewasan immortal, he wouldnt be able to endure this!


    From what Lu Ming had told me, I guessed that the old man wasnt someoo evil. Otherwise, he wouldhavedreamt of that old man during the day as well. Moreover, the old man didnt seem to want to hurt Lu Ming. He used his staff to knock Liu Mings head to give him a lesson.


    I had a feeling that Lu Ming had done something wrong. I decided to ask him directly. Mr. Lu, have you offended someone? Or, did you do somethingimmoral?


    I Lu Ming kept silent for quite a long time. In the end, he shook his head. Ive always been busy with my tea business. I didnt have time to do anythingimmoral. Although I have manypetitors,it''snormal when you do business. Idontthink I have done somethingbad enoughthatcaused someo send an old ghost to deal with me.


    Lu Ming sounded reasonable. However, I still stuck to the idea that the old ghost wouldnthavehit him in the head without reason. Mr. Lu, could you think about it carefully? The old man hase to your dream many times. Has he eversaid anything?


    Oh, he did talk. He yelled at my face the entire time, but I couldnt understand what he was saying! Lu Ming almost cried.Idontknow what to do after all ofthis...


    After hearing him, I felt much more determined. If the ghost of the old man talked to him, it proved that wehada chance to talk him out of this.Perhaps the ghost didnt have enough Yin energy, which made his talking inaudible to Lu Ming. I needed togothere and arrange something to enable his voice. When Lu Ming could finally understand him, we could solve this problem.


    Lu Mingsoonstopped his car in front of a vi. When hewentto open the gate and the double-door to the house, I saw spider websall overthe ce. Lu Ming felt a little embarrassed. Sincethere wereparanormal activities in this house, no one dares to live here anymore.


    I just gave him a faint smile to encourage him. Then, Ifollowed him into the vi. I pulled myself together and carefully assessed the interior of the vi. The arrangement of the roomswasnt bad.


    When you built this vi, did you consultageomancer?


    Yeah, I did.Thatswhy Im puzzled. My house has greatgeomancy, as youcan see. How could it attractsomeunknown ghost? Lu Ming looked begrudged.


    I also had a big question mark in my head. There was a small stream in front of his vi and lushandgreen hills behind his house. Together, they formed a greatformationthat could gather fortune. The interior of his house, including the arrangement of the tables, chairs, beds, and other furniture followed themonrulesofgeomancy. There was no reasonforthe vitoattract some ghosts.That ghostcould only be a spirit dwellinginanotherworldly item in Lu Mings vi.


    However, I had checked all the corners ofthevi anddidnt find awisp of Yin energy! Everything looked normal. It seemed the possibility of having an otherworldly item wreaking havoc was small.


    Suddenly, Lu Ming screamed. I followedhisline of sight. He was shakily sitting in front of a cab. One ofthedrawers was pulled open. The bags of tea inside were torn, and the tea leavesscatteredaround messily.


    Somethings missing again? I asked.


    From his appearance, I knew the ghost had taken his tea again.


    Lu Ming dumbly nodded. Then, he put on a wry smile. Ive been out of this vi for three months. Twelve teabags were taken.It seems he didnt even miss a day! I admire this ghost now. Where elsecouldwe find a teamaniac ghost likethis one?


    I hadepteddozens of otherworldly item cases, bigandsmall. Thespirits I knew haddone a lotofhorrible things. However, I had never encounteredaspirit that loved to steal tea leaves. This ghost was odd.


    After Lu Ming pulled himself together, I asked,Have you ever bought or brought any antiques to your house?


    Heimmediately shookhis head. I dont have a hobby of collecting antiques.


    It was really weird then! For the time being, I didnt haveaclue. However, luckilyforme, the old manvisitedLu Mings dreams every night. I wasnt afraidof losing sight of him!