Chapter 51: Shedding the Old and Emerging Anew Part 3

During that time, a few passing cars stopped. But everyone who got out took one look at them and bolted! Wang Ya had no interest in rushing out yelling, “Hey, don’t run—we’re not ghosts!” Whether she was a ghost or not, even she now saw herself as a demon, more fearsome than any ghost.

After waiting nearly two hours, the pickup finally arrived.

Two cars, three people—all ordinary folk. They jumped in fright at the sight of the group. Fortunately, a middle-aged man recognized Huang Qi and, steeling himself, approached her side to call out, “Vice President Huang.”

Wang Ya saw the middle-aged man nearly overwhelmed by their stench but not daring to pinch his nose or cover his mouth. Hearing his address for Huang Qi, she figured he was an employee from Huang Qi’s company.

Huang Qi greeted the middle-aged man and told Wang Ya he was the manager of their company’s Nanning branch dispatched to pick them up.

Huang Qi and Zhang Qingshui got into the front car with the manager.

Old Tang hoisted Wang Cheng’an into the back sedan. After dumping him in the rear seat, Old Tang took the front passenger seat. Wang Ya sat beside the dead-to-the-world Wang Cheng’an. Old Tang buckled up and, within two minutes, leaned back in his seat and fell asleep.

Wang Ya felt fatigued too but couldn’t sleep as soundly as Old Tang. She sat in the back, circulating qi to recuperate.

The driver was nearly smoked out, keeping the windows open on the highway to disperse some of the stench inside.

The car sped along for over two hours before reaching Nanning City, heading straight to the hotel. Old Tang carried Wang Cheng’an into the hotel room and tossed him onto the bed. Huang Qi followed, handing Wang Ya two keycards—one for Wang Cheng’an, one for her; their rooms were adjacent. Huang Qi told Wang Ya to rest easy; clean clothes would be delivered in the morning.

Wang Cheng’an slept like the dead; Wang Ya couldn’t wake him and had no way to get him to wash up, so she let the filthy Wang Cheng’an sleep. Taking her keycard back to her room, she beelined for the bathroom, scrubbing from head to toe until her skin was red and nearly raw, the smell completely gone. She blow-dried her hair roughly, emerged naked from the bathroom, rolled the Yin Spirit Scroll and her wallet with ID and bank cards together under the pillow, wrapped the Ghost Collecting Bell strung with ancient bronze coins around her wrist, crawled under the covers, and passed out.

She slept until after nine in the morning when someone knocked. Wang Ya wrapped herself in a bathrobe to open the door. A strange girl stood outside, mouth agape in stunned admiration, staring at her for a good while before snapping out of it to say, “Vice President Huang asked me to deliver clothes.”

Wang Ya took the bag of clothes from the girl, closed the door, inspected the contents carefully for anything amiss, tossed the clothes onto a chair, and burrowed back into bed to sleep. She slept until after four in the afternoon before waking and heading to the bathroom for another thorough scrub.

The clothes Huang Qi had bought fit perfectly—size, length, style all spot-on, even thoughtfully including a fresh-style little leather purse. Wang Ya stowed the Yin Spirit Scroll and wallet in the purse, grabbed Wang Cheng’an’s keycard, and prepared to find him. Before leaving, she glanced in the mirror at her demonically seductive self and sighed inwardly. Should she cry or laugh? This counted as shedding the old and emerging anew, having temperament, beauty that could hook souls—but now she was like a millennial female demon! A ghost catcher demon hunter looking like a demon—who was this mocking?

Wang Ya left the room dejectedly, purse in hand. Swiping the keycard to open Wang Cheng’an’s door, she was shocked to see Old Tang and the scrubbed-clean, back-to-burly Pretty Boy Wang Cheng’an sitting on the bed playing cards. She walked over and saw the game was brutally difficult—five cards each: seven kings, fives, twos, threes! Wang Cheng’an spotted Wang Ya entering and immediately shot Old Tang a disdainful look regarding his card skills!

Old Tang mixed his five cards into the deck and said, “No more. Let’s go eat!”

Wang Cheng’an’s eyes lit up at “eat,” grinning as he said, “Let’s go eat!” Then he looked at Wang Ya pitifully: “Yaya, I spent all one hundred yuan last night!” He blinked rapidly at Wang Ya, feigning innocence.

Wang Ya felt like slapping him after that “zap,” but beating her dad as his daughter was too unfilial. Resigned, she opened her purse and pulled out one hundred yuan for her dad.

Wang Cheng’an joyfully snatched the money and bolted out, pounding on the next door with a bang-bang-bang, shouting grandly, “Qingshui, A’qi, time to eat! I’m treating you to burgers!”

Wang Ya heard Wang Cheng’an’s voice and gave Old Tang a deep look. No need to say it—these folks had taken Wang Cheng’an out during the day while she slept, even for burgers! Look at his excited enthusiasm shouting for Qingshui and A’qi! Tsk! Starting with a child—fair play?