Chapter 4: A gumiho in need is a predator indeed.
The room was dark; Steady bells rang one after the other, followed by murmurings, and incense poured out of burners giving everywhere voodoo vibes.
A woman was in an ancient Ming costume; her eyes were turned inward as she read the palm of a terrified man.
"You got a teenager pregnant.." She mumbled again when the man hesitated " But you don't want your wife to know so you told her to get rid of it ..am I right?"
The man hesitated again before nodding.
"You should have asked if the girl wanted to keep it or not " She pinched his palm and he yelped " She died a few years after the abortion due to mental guilt; her ghost is the one possessing your child and making her sleep around"
"Then shamaness; what do I do ?"
She sprinkled some grass powder into a burner; then she inhaled it and faced the man again.
" I need my weed," she coughed then went back to her divination " Okay; so you have to apologize to the girl ghost in front of your wife; tell her that you were sorry for using her, tell her that you were sorry for not asking if she wanted the child or not, tell her that you are a stupid and useless man for sleeping with she the age of your daughter, ...."
The sounds of someone moaning broke the atmosphere; The shaman mumbled a soft excuse before taking the phone out of her costume.
"Bei Shang; I am in a bit of a business here "
"Nayima; I need you to read my fortune for me "
"But this isn't the first time I have read it; It's just a plain blackhole "
"I think it has changed"
"You said that last time too!!"
"I think it's serious this time "
Nayima groaned then nodded her head " I will come over after I finish with this customer okay?"
"Okay"
She disconnected the call and smiled at the now quiet man " Friends you know ... They are a bit hard but what can we do without them ... okay so where were we ?"
" I have to apologize"
"Yup apologize or else; your child will be horny for the rest of her life and have daddy issues... although sex work is now valid and paying... "She laughed with nervousness when the man glared at her " Or she could be a doctor, a doctor is good; Total money is 450 yuan "
The man looked confused " But you said 10 yuan per hour "
"You f*cking slept with an 18yrs old child...you are lucky the ghost said I shouldn't report you to the police "
The man dropped the money and left.
Nayima took off her costume and put on her normal clothes; a maxi gown; she unbound her black hair and ran out of the room.
"Chan Chan I'll be back soon"
The teenage receptionist playing video games nods his head " Yes mam"
"Oh and also call the police… tell them that you have an anonymous tip "
Chan Chan didn't look up from his phone "Another sex offender?"
"The ghost told me it was rape; I wanted him to let his guard down…" She looked at the Time " Okay I'll be going now; be good"
Her store wasn't far from Bei Shang's house so she got there in a few minutes.
The door opened before she even knocked; but it wasn't her friend that answered... it was a young man.
He was very tall; the apartment seemed cramped for him, his skin was poreless and he was wearing one of Bei Shang's hoodies which was a bit too small for him, and his hair was so well dyed; it almost looked like hair was born white.
And his aura was off; She didn't know if this was god or mortal.
"You are Nayima right?"
Nayima snapped out of her thinking and nodded " Yes Bei Shang asked me to come over"
He shifted to allow her to come in. Bei Shang was busy with documents; his eyes were red from staring too long at the white.
"Hey "
"let's start your reading " Nayima sat down in front of Him " The more time I spend here, the more money I lose "
"Even if you lose money; you have a job to fall back on and a Rich American husband to fall back on too "
"Money lost can never be regained " She brought out tarot cards and placed them on the table "Breathe into it "
Bei Shang did as she instructed.
Nayima mumbled some words and then started to shuffle the cards; after she was done she placed them on the table.
"Pick 3 cards "
As expected the cards were blank when he turned them upwards.
Nayima shook her head in frustration "It didn't work"
Nick moved closer and touched the cards; the card trembled before settling down.
"What are you doing?"
" I was trying to see which artifact it was, turns out it's just blessed tarot cards.." he looked at her " Nayima; is your family part supernatural beings?"
"No actually; my ancestors from my mom's side protected a young god thrown down from heaven when he came of age, he blessed them with the divination eye; the passing is random; like I have it but my younger sister doesn't have it ..." She looked at him with the corner of her eye " Are you a god?"
"Demon"
" Demon?!! What the fuck are demons still doing in the mortal realm ?" And damnit damnit damnit demons eat mortals !!!
"He's Xingfu's husband," Bei Shang said as if he could feel her anxiety " He also has a child with a mortal; he's a kind demon"
"Xingfu?" Nayima frowned in displeasure "How come your twin is arriving now?"
"She's dead "
"... " She tightened her lips " I'm sorry for your loss "
Bei Shang's tone turned cold "But Xingfu's husband hasn't told the child for over 8 years; He lied to the child that his mom is in Germany doing volunteer work then came over to me and said that he wanted me to follow him home and fake my sister "
Nayima glared at Nick "Do you know how long it took him to transition to the point he is? Why must he help Xingfu when she never helped him once in his life?!!!"
Nick's voice was soft " He's too young to know about death; he will never forgive himself if he discovers his mom died giving birth to him "
"Wow, So Bei Shang doesn't have a life?! "
Bei Shang rolled his eyes " She didn't die because of him; we both know that ... the Yang twin isn't destined to live a long life; if she hadn't died then, she would have died later "
Whether it was cruel or not; that was the only thing that never made him jealous of his sister. To be avoided by everyone and then your sister would be picked out just because the touch of her hands brought luck.
The gods loved cruel jokes; A happy life should be short; Sorrow should be long. The Yang twin would live a short happy life; the Yin twin would live a long sorrowful life.
Whoever said that gods were good; has never felt suffering.