Nàge suǒwèi de dàshī jiù shì zài zhuāngshénnòngguǐ piànqián.
That so-called master is just playing supernatural tricks to scam money.
Tips
history
Recorded in Cao Xueqin's 《红楼梦》(Dream of the Red Chamber), ch. 37: '你们别和我装神弄鬼的，什么事我不知道？' — 'Don't try to pull spooky tricks on me; what is there I don't already know?' The chengyu has carried that scornful tone ever since.
memory
Literal: 装 'pretend to be' + 神 'gods' + 弄 'play with' + 鬼 'ghosts'. Picture a fake shaman hamming up a séance — exactly the image the idiom evokes.
