Wang Xin had an issue that started a week ago, after her boyfriend had invested in a movie in which she was to play the leading role.
It was a horror film, and according to the script, they had to shoot in an old, rundown house in the countryside, where Wang Xin had to lie in a coffin and play the role of a ghost woman.
Nothing happened during the shooting, but strange things started occurring after she got home. She kept experiencing sleep paralysis over several nights. While lying in bed, fully conscious, she was unable to move... and she felt someone holding her from behind with chillingly cold hands. At first, the grip was calm, but then it became relentless.
Moreover, while showering, she constantly felt like a pair of eerie, terrifying eyes were watching her. Although Wang Xin couldn't see them, she could sense their presence.
After reciting her experiences, her expression was one of fear, clearly shaken by the incidents. She suspected she had become cursed, hence she had been looking for ways to drive away the evil spirit. Coincidentally, she came across an ad for ghost tattoos in a group chat and decided to give it a try.
I reassured her that the ghost tattoo would undoubtedly drive away evil spirits but informed her that I needed to know the root cause of her curse and what type of evil spirit it was. Only then could I create a fitting tattoo.
No one gets haunted for no reason; it must be connected to some event or an encounter with something "unclean."
After pondering for a while, Wang Xin claimed that she had only been shooting the movie recently and hadn't encountered anything out of the ordinary, except for the coffin used in the movie.
"Coffin? What about it?" It seemed to me Wang Xin was onto something; maybe it had to do with that very coffin.
She explained that during filming, their prop coffin broke beyond repair. The film crew went to a local coffin shop intending to purchase a real one. Unfortunately, the shop had closed down, and buying a coffin would require them to travel much farther.
With the production running on a tight budget, they could not afford the extra expense, so the director opted to use a coffin they found in the dilapidated house.
Apparently, the old house was once a morgue where dead bodies were stored, equivalent to today's mortuary. It was abandoned over time, leaving only the coffin behind.
The director chose the location precisely because it would lend "authenticity" to the atmosphere and give the ghost film a genuine sense of the era, adding to the thrill factor.
The coffin had its own story; it wasn't just any random coffin. Otherwise, the director wouldn't have dared use it.
It originally belonged to a landlord's son—who was a heavy smoker with a frail constitution. On his wedding night, overwhelmed by his beautiful bride, he took a few agitated puffs of his cigarette and abruptly passed away. Tragically unlucky.
Later on, the village was flooded, and somehow his coffin was washed away, even popping the lid off. His bones were carried away by the floodwaters. Eventually, the coffin was retrieved, but the remains were never found, leaving the coffin abandoned at the morgue to this day.
There was another aspect that Wang Xin hesitantly mentioned after I assured her that I wouldn't disclose it to anyone. The director had a peculiar fetish—he liked to sleep with women in coffins. Somehow, Wang Xin agreed to his request.
The director had considerable resources at his disposal, and Wang Xin was keen on leveraging them for her career advancement. Although these practices were not uncommon in the entertainment industry and despite Wang Xin having a wealthy boyfriend, she knew he wasn't exclusive to her and was primarily interested in her for superficial reasons. Ultimately, she expected he would discard her when he grew tired, so having multiple safeguards seemed reasonable to her. Thus, her boyfriend's infidelity didn't elicit guilt.
Essentially, while her boyfriend coveted her for her body, she coveted his wealth. They both saw their relationship as fleeting.
While narrating the ordeal, she showed no shame or remorse, and in fact, took pride in her actions, contrary to her earlier claim of disgrace.
Considering all this, I knew the root of her problem lie in that coffin. The wedding spree that ended prematurely must have left a spirit with unresolved grievances, which then attached itself to the coffin.
I told her it's one thing to act in a movie, but quite another to use someone's coffin as a bed, especially with it being a male ghost. It made sense that he was attached to her, likely mistaking her for his bride, hence his nighttime hauntings.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xin was terrified and anxiously asked what to do. She remarked that she only accompanied directors and her boss, not ghosts.
I advised her to stay calm as the spirit wasn't malicious—it probably just lusted for her. I would tattoo her with a ghost and demon repelling tattoo, which should prevent any further hauntings.
The Night Rakshasa tattoo that Xu Meng declined earlier would be perfect for Wang Xin.
After explaining the Night Rakshasa tattoo to her, she skeptically asked if I was sure it would work.
I confidently assured her it would be effective, offering a full refund if it wasn't, although noting that ghost tattoos were a bit expensive, costing twenty thousand yuan.
Wang Xin said the price was inconsequential, threatening to wreck my shop if it was ineffective—warning she had the means to do so, but promising to promote my business if it worked. She was acquainted with many affluent individuals, and positive word-of-mouth could be very beneficial.
After everything was prepared, I got started on the tattoo. As I inked her skin, she boasted about her luxurious cars, designer bags, and expensive dresses, comparing her opulent lifestyle with mine, remarking that she was fortunate to have not ended up with me.
Such talk was infuriating, but for the sake of business, I endured. If it weren't for needing the money to help my grandfather, I would have sent her away immediately.
After several hours, I finally finished the Night Rakshasa tattoo—a figure with a staff, dressed in ghostly robes and bearing fangs.
Showing her the finished tattoo, she found it somewhat frightening, joking about how it would scare off her wealthy suitors, suggesting future "business" would need to occur in the dark.
I could have made the ghost tattoo invisible with a special solution but chose not to, feeling little inclination to extend curtesies to someone with her demeanor.
Wang Xin paid up without complaint and left with a reminder not to forget her threat should the tattoo prove ineffective.
With the additional twenty thousand, plus the ten thousand from Su Qing, today's earnings totaled thirty thousand—a prosperous day indeed.
It was ten o'clock at night, and as I was about to close up shop and rest, another woman suddenly approached the shop.