Blind people cannot see anything, but because of this, their other senses are particularly acute, especially hearing. This article tells the story of a Qing Dynasty fortune teller who, acting as a blind detective, solved a murder case.

On an autumn evening in the early years of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, two men strolled excitedly down a road on the outskirts of Beijing. They were cloth merchants, one named Wang Xinkui and the other Sun Baofa, who had just returned from selling cloth in Henan.

Their business trip had been quite successful, and they had made a fortune. In high spirits, they chatted and laughed as they walked.

A Chance Encounter on the Roadside

A burly man stood by the roadside.

Two large boxes were placed on the ground. He sat on a shoulder pole, fanning himself with a straw hat. Seeing Wang Xinkui and Sun Baofa from a distance, he approached them. Speaking in a foreign accent, he asked, “Brothers, is there an inn nearby?” Wang Xinkui, a straightforward man, pointed.

“There seems to be the Xinglai Inn a little over a mile ahead. We’re looking for a place to stay! If you don’t know the way, follow us.” The man quickly thanked him, picked up his boxes, and followed the cloth merchant toward the Xinglai Inn.

As they walked, the three chatted and exchanged names. The large man called himself Liu San. His hometown was a remote, impoverished village in Shanxi. He had been doing business in the Beijing area. The day before yesterday, he suddenly received a message from his family saying his father was seriously ill and needed him to return home immediately.

Thinking he had nothing back home, he packed two large boxes of supplies and hurried home. The cloth merchant couldn’t help but offer some words of comfort.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the Xinglai Inn. Since they were all traveling together, they were all accommodated in the east wing. After putting their belongings away, they washed their faces and went to bed early.

Strange Noises at Night

Let’s talk about the two people living next door. One was a clay pot seller, and the other was a blind fortune teller known as “The Greatest Fortune Teller in the Capital.” People only knew his surname, Chen, and called him Chen Yi Gua. The clay pot seller, knowing Chen Yi Gua’s fame, took the opportunity to chat with the blind man. He asked him to tell his fortune for free.

The commotion lasted until late, and the clay pot seller, feeling tired, fell asleep. Chen Yi Gua turned off the lights and prepared to go to bed. However, due to his age and the fact that he had just been pestered by the clay pot seller, he couldn’t fall asleep for a while.

Just as Chen Yi Gua was about to drift off to sleep, a strange, faint noise suddenly came from the east wing next door.

The blind man had extremely keen hearing. Stirred by the sound, he rolled over and pressed his ear to the wall. It sounded like the wind whistling through the air like an axe, followed by a groan! Then, a strange sound. He listened again, but there was no sound at all.

Case-Solving Plan

Chen Yi Gua took a deep breath and thought for a moment. He groped his way to the clay pot seller’s bed and quietly woke him. He whispered in his ear, “Oh no! There’s been a murder in the east wing!” The clay pot seller was shocked at first, then incredulous. Chen Yi Gua said, “I’ll pretend to smash your clay pot. You and I are arguing, so the louder the better. This will allow me to observe what the people in the east wing are doing.” With that, he lit a lamp!

He picked up a clay pot and smashed it to the ground. The seller roared with curses, and Chen Yi Gua retaliated. The noise was particularly jarring in the dead of night. Everyone in the inn was awakened, and lights were turned on in every room. The three people in the east wing pushed open the door and came in to inquire about the situation.

The clay pot seller said the blind man had smashed his pot for no reason, and the blind man said he had lost money. The three people in the east wing tried to persuade him, but the two men remained stubborn.

The “Lost” Copper Coin

The innkeeper then arrived and said to the clay pot seller, “Since you didn’t steal the blind man’s money, show him your belongings.” The seller agreed, and the three people in the east wing volunteered to help Chen Yi Gua search the room, but found nothing.

Chen Yi Gua burst into tears, “I’m a blind man. I’ve managed to save up a few strings of copper coins by fortune-telling. They were lost in the middle of the night today, and everyone staying here is a suspect. Since they haven’t found anything in my roommate, we should start searching the people closest to me, one by one! If they can’t find anything, I’ll die!”

The three people in the east wing were furious: “You blind man are so unreasonable. We were trying to help you out of kindness, but not only do you not appreciate it, you’re even turning against us!”

At this point, more and more travelers were gathering. Seeing Chen Yi Gua’s pitiful, desperate look, they urged him, “Start with the three of you. If you can’t find anything, search us all one by one. It’ll be better for this blind man to give up.”

Hidden Corpse

With that, the crowd rushed into the east wing. The three men had no choice but to open their packages and belongings: no copper coins. The crowd urged them to open the boxes as well. Liu San quickly said, “These are all funeral supplies I’m taking home to attend a funeral. It’s unlucky! I’m afraid they’ll ruin everyone’s fortune.”

Chen Yigua insisted, and Liu San’s expression changed drastically. The travelers grew increasingly suspicious that he had stolen the money and demanded the boxes be opened. Liu San and his companions, sweating profusely, attempted to flee, but were quickly restrained. The innkeeper personally opened the boxes. Inside were several blood-stained oil-paper packages. Upon unwrapping them, they discovered two dismembered bodies!

It turned out that Liu San’s two accomplices were hiding in the boxes he carried. In the middle of the night, after the two cloth vendors had fallen asleep, they climbed out of the boxes, hacked them to death with axes, and then separated them in boxes, preparing to leave the inn before dawn.

I thought I had done it perfectly. But who knew that the law’s net was so vast that nothing could escape it? And now I’ve been smitten by a blind fortune teller!