In 2005, Xiang Huachang introduced the qigong master Wang Lin to the gambling king Ho Hongshen. As a result, right after Wang Lin performed, Ho Hongshen disdainfully said: “This kind of money-swindling trickery, don’t bring it to me again.”[Sun]
You might still remember that name, Wang Lin.
During his peak years, many celebrities were guests at his door. But there was one meeting that caused a crack in the carefully maintained image he had.
That was in 2005, when Madam Xiang Huachang, Chen Lan, was preparing for surgery and was uncertain, so she sought out the popular Wang Lin at that time.
The master offered rather simple advice: Just go with peace of mind, you are destined for wealth, everything will be smooth.
Later, the surgery was indeed successful, which made Madam Xiang trust him completely and recommend him to her old friend Ho Hongshen.
In the gambling king's reception room, Wang Lin showcased his signature skill.
An empty bowl, a moment of focused energy, and when revealed, there was indeed a snake coiled inside.
After the trick was done, Ho Hongshen did not applaud, but simply asked casually: “Besides the snake, can you conjure anything else?”
According to people present at the time, Wang Lin was taken aback for a moment, then made an excuse saying, “My abilities are limited for today.”
This answer evidently did not satisfy the gambling king, who then pointedly stated that this was merely a street trick and made it clear he was not interested.
The meeting ended quickly, and the atmosphere was not pleasant.
How could Ho Hongshen see through it instantly? This is inseparable from his life experiences.
His life was spent at the gambling table, negotiating table, and in the psychological games with countless people; he had seen the most skillful tricks and experienced the most intricate scams.
The mystique that Wang Lin created through information asymmetry and psychological expectations, in the gambling king's eyes, might just be a refined version of street magic.
In his world, the boundary between reality and illusion often needs to be measured with enormous interests or even lives, which developed an almost instinctive intuition.
Interestingly, although Ho Hongshen held a clear attitude, some members of his family showed different interest in Wang Lin.
For instance, Fourth Madam Liang Anqi reportedly still had some contact with Wang Lin later and even consulted him on some matters.
It shows that even at the top of a certain circle, when faced with uncertainties regarding health, family, and fortune, the impulse to seek some mysterious guidance still crosses the boundaries of rational cognition and quietly grows.
Under the same roof, judgments about the same thing can also differ vastly.
Wang Lin's legend ultimately faded abruptly in 2015 when he was involved in a criminal case, and he himself passed away two years later.
In the face of bizarre information, the most effective talisman might just be this calm based on common sense.
Do not blindly trust miracles, do not follow authorities blindly; when something sounds too much like a myth, it is very likely a carefully orchestrated story.
True insight sometimes does not lie in knowing many mysterious things, but in being able to recognize at a glance which are old tricks dressed in a mysterious guise.
