The proprietress touched her broken manicure and stared blankly at the mess of props on the floor: "I run a psychic experience center, selling the gimmick of pretending to be a ghost. What kind of game is it to put up stone lions?"

I sneered, "If I hadn't been here today, do you know how much money you would have had to pay if that female ghost had really possessed a tourist? How long could you earn enough for a day's ICU bill?"

The proprietress shuddered, her sequined apron trembling slightly: "So, what exactly do you mean by 'talisman'?"

"Put two stone lions at the entrance. They must be carved from real stone, not those resin imitation stone ones from Taobao."

I pointed to her neon sign: "The lion's head faces left, towards the garbage station on the street corner, to suppress the filth of that place."

"Under the cashier's counter is a string of five emperor coins: Kangxi, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Xianfeng. These are old copper coins from five dynasties. They have to be found in the flea market, and only those with rust and patina count. Don't buy newly minted handicrafts; ghosts would laugh their heads off if they saw them."

"And ventilation duct openings."

I picked up a half-burnt white candle and drew a crooked circle on the wall.

"Put up a cinnabar talisman, and have it handwritten by a Taoist priest in a Taoist temple. Don't buy a printed one just because it's cheap. Think about it, if you were a ghost, and you saw walls covered with printed 'Welcome' talismans, wouldn't you come in for a cup of tea?"

The proprietress frowned and counted on her fingers: "The stone lion costs two thousand, the Five Emperors Coins cost eight hundred, and the handwritten talisman costs at least five hundred... Plus, we'll be closing for three days for renovations. How much revenue will we lose?"

I glanced at her sideways: "You do the math. If Qianqian hadn't fainted today and had been tormented by the ghost and ended up in the hospital, would the lost wages and emotional distress compensation alone be enough to buy ten pairs of stone lions?"

"Oh, and what about your employee Xia? Does she really think she can just mess around like that just because she's your employee? If someone dies, how long do you think it will take you to make a living? Do you have millions to pay for it?"

Seeing that she was still hesitating, I added another sentence.

"Besides, do you think you can stop doing business just by putting up a talisman? When tourists see the stone lions at the entrance, they'll just think your shop is 'professional,' and they'll be excited to take photos and post them on social media. It might even become a popular spot for internet celebrities to check in."