Chapter 17: Hypnosis

The moment I spoke those words, everyone present was stunned. Lin Yulang, even more flustered, asked anxiously, "W-What? You can make the director’s grandson speak? Don’t joke around. The director’s grandson is already this frightened—how could he possibly say anything?"

Director Feng frowned and said, "Mazi, don’t spout nonsense as soon as you open your mouth!"

I remained calm and composed, my tone steady as I replied, "I’m not making things up. I really can make him speak, and I guarantee it won’t harm him or cause him any distress. It will be just like talking in his sleep, and he'll freely recount what happened last night."

At that moment, Feng’s daughter-in-law, Zhang Jinyu, couldn’t hold back. She glared at me and said, "Lin Mazi, because of one sentence from you, our family has suffered a great catastrophe. My son has been cursed with a bloody misfortune. Your identity as a charlatan is now confirmed! And now, what do you want? To use my son as an experiment? I tell you, I absolutely refuse! There’s no way that will happen!"

I responded seriously, "If we don’t find out exactly what happened last night, aren’t you afraid that that filthy thing will come back to harm him? Look at the bloody handprint on this child’s back—it’s clearly a mark left by that filthy creature, signaling that it plans to come back to trouble him again. Aren’t you worried something worse will happen to the boy?"

Upon hearing this, the Feng family members exchanged uneasy glances, beads of cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads. Director Feng glanced at me, then at his eldest grandson, and tentatively said, "How about… we give Mazi another chance?"

He then asked me, "Mazi, tell me, how exactly do you plan to make my eldest grandson speak?"

I answered confidently, "Very simple—hypnosis."

Director Feng was momentarily surprised. "You even know hypnosis?"

Lin Yulang immediately sneered sarcastically, "Ha! Him? Know hypnosis? I think the only thing he knows is how to brag! Director Feng, you’ve already been fooled by him once—don’t let it happen again!"

I said calmly, "Director Feng, you are a medical expert. You should know hypnosis is harmless. Even if I were boasting, letting me try on your grandson wouldn’t hurt anyone. And if I really do know hypnosis and can make this child reveal what happened last night, wouldn’t that be a win for everyone?"

Director Feng nodded after hearing this and said, "Mazi makes a good point. There’s no harm in trying. If he’s not bluffing and really knows hypnosis, then all the better."

With Director Feng’s approval, no one in the Feng family dared to object.

—

They immediately helped the director’s grandson sit on the living room sofa and brought me a chair to sit opposite him, ready for the hypnosis.

Among the lowest social strata in society, there are three professions most despised: thieves, prostitutes, and beggars.

Thieves steal, prostitutes sell their bodies—both despised for obvious reasons. As for beggars, besides being lazy and begging or performing to earn a living, they were also often involved in child trafficking.

In the old days, many beggars not only begged but also stole children, training them to become new beggars and street performers.

Back at the mass grave, there was an ancient ghost who had been a beggar in life. He had stolen hundreds of children, causing families to be torn apart, so even in death he was despised. Other wandering spirits at the graveyard often bullied him, beating him mercilessly.

My master and I often took the opportunity to teach him a lesson, leaving him howling in pain.

Eventually, unable to endure it any longer, this old ghost made a deal with me: he would teach me a skill in exchange for fewer beatings.

That skill was the very technique he had used to fool and steal children—hypnosis.

Once successfully applied, the hypnotized child became completely obedient, doing whatever was asked and saying whatever was told.

He had stolen hundreds of children using this trick.

Now that I had mastered this technique, I used it not for evil but to question Director Feng’s grandson—just perfect.

Looking at the frightened, dazed, plump boy, I extended my hand, fingers moving before his eyes in rapid, intricate gestures, as if casting a spell.

Lin Yulang sneered disdainfully, "What nonsense! Playing tricks, making a show of it!"

I ignored him, focusing entirely on the director’s grandson. Quietly, I whispered by his ear, "You’re very tired, lying in bed, soon falling asleep. You’re asleep now; everything before your eyes is just a dream..."

With that, I snapped my fingers.

At the snap, the director’s grandson suddenly sat upright, his eyes bright and alert.

Everyone gasped in surprise.

It was clear the hypnosis had worked.

I then asked loudly, "What is your name?"

The boy’s speech was clear and precise. "My name is Feng Yuxuan!"

I asked again, "How old are you?"

Feng Yuxuan responded promptly, "I’m nine and a half years old!"

Seeing the once terrified boy now speak clearly and answer every question, Director Feng was moved and said, "He’s fine now! It seems Mazi really does have some skill—he truly knows hypnosis!"

I nodded and said, "Exactly. Director Feng, wait a moment. I will now get your grandson to tell us what happened last night."

But then Lin Yulang stepped forward to cause trouble, shaking his head. "Wait a minute. Mazi, it’s true you know hypnosis, but this child is clearly under your control now. How do we know what he says is true? How do we know you’re not making him say lies?"

Feng Yuxuan’s mother, Zhang Jinyu, joined in with doubt. "Exactly. You’re controlling my son with hypnosis. Surely you want him to say whatever you want. How can you guarantee what he says is the truth of what happened last night?"

I had anticipated their objections and was ready with a response.

"That’s simple," I said calmly. "Next, I will have Feng Yuxuan reveal a secret that only he knows. No one else knows it."

"If you can confirm that secret is true, won’t that prove that everything Feng Yuxuan says now is trustworthy? After all, I can’t control Feng Yuxuan to spill a secret he knows that I don’t."

After I said this, the Feng family all nodded in agreement.

The logic was sound.

Lin Yulang and Zhang Jinyu had no reply.

Then I looked at Feng Yuxuan and smiled.

"Come on, Yuxuan, now I want you to tell us a secret only you know."

Without hesitation, Feng Yuxuan’s innocent, wide eyes fixed on me as he said loudly, "After my mother drops me off at my tutoring class, she often secretly goes to a hotel with an uncle who drives an Audi!"