Chapter 15: Parting Ways Part 1

Old Tang’s voice rose from behind the still-furious Wang Ya. “Don’t get mad yet. Let me explain slowly.”

Wang Ya turned around, crossed her arms, and shot Old Tang a cold glare. “What else is there to say? You lot were squatting in the corner watching the show instead of helping?”

Old Tang lifted his eyes and glared back at Wang Ya. “What kind of talk is that? Do you think we’re that kind of people? We three rushed over precisely because we were worried you’d be in danger, intending to lend you a hand. By the time we arrived, you were negotiating with that Ghost Entity. One sentence from her stopped us in our tracks—we didn’t dare move recklessly, so we didn’t go in to help.”

Wang Ya let out a heavy scoff. “What sentence? Let’s hear it!”

Old Tang’s expression turned grave as he uttered four words: “Zhongyin Feng Family.”

Wang Ya’s eyelids twitched, and she spat out a forceful word: “Fuck!” She shouted, “Zheng Yanxia saw my ID card—she knows my surname! I’m Wang, not Feng. My family is in Sichuan, not Yunnan. My dad is a farmer, my grandpa was a farmer, my grandpa’s grandpa was a farmer—go back eight generations, and we’re all poor peasants. If I were from some Xuan Men lineage family, would I be risking my life for money?”

Old Tang said to Wang Ya, “Wang Ya, get in the car. We’ll talk slowly.”

Wang Ya asked, “Old Tang, do you think there’s anything left to say between us? Debts settled, we’re even!”

The Zhang Beauty, suspected to be a descendant of the Yunnan Zhang Family, said lightly, “Out in the wild suburbs in the middle of the night—should we not drive you back to the city and leave you here to spend the night instead?” She glanced at Zheng Yanxia twice, then walked off in her high heels! That’s right, high heels—seven centimeters tall—but they made no sound at all on the ground. She walked silently, like a ghost.

Zheng Yanxia said slowly, “Wang Ya, don’t you want to know the origins of that Old Ghost? Do you think I wanted to let her escape? My family’s billions are tied up in this project. If that Old Ghost prevents us from building or selling the houses and we can’t recover the money, bankruptcy would be the best outcome.” With that, she headed toward the off-road vehicle parked about two hundred meters ahead. Even the best-tempered person would get angry after being cursed out right to their face.

Wang Ya’s eyes widened, and she cursed inwardly: Billions! So rich! A million is truly a drop in the bucket compared to billions! She thought again—yeah, Zheng Yanxia had no reason to let the Old Ghost go. But hadn’t it been Zheng Yanxia and her group trying to snatch the treasure midway that gave the Old Ghost a chance to escape? Wang Ya immediately bristled, narrowed her eyes halfway, and yelled loudly, “Zheng Yanxia, you’re not asking me to go chase down that Dead Old Lady who’s gotten far away and eliminate her for good, are you? Let me tell you, the responsibility for her escape lies with you lot—don’t even think about getting me to work for free!” Zheng Yanxia ignored her, and Old Tang headed to the car too. Wang Ya didn’t want to spend the night at the construction site reeking of rotting corpses, so without any backbone, she followed and got in, sitting in the back seat with Old Tang. The Zhang Beauty drove, and Zheng Yanxia sat in the passenger seat.

The car started slowly and headed toward the city.

Old Tang sighed earnestly. “Wang Ya, your temper is a bit too hot-headed!”

Wang Ya huffed angrily. “This is just how I am—what about it?”

Old Tang shook his head and sighed heavily. “Take people’s money to handle their affairs—even if we had no reason to not help, it wouldn’t be unjustified, right?”

Wang Ya was about to snap at Old Tang that if they weren’t going to help, they shouldn’t have interfered later and let the Old Ghost escape. She had just opened her mouth when Old Tang continued: “Don’t get angry yet. Let me explain slowly. Back at the construction site entrance, even if we hadn’t stepped in, you couldn’t have kept her with just your Money Copper Bell.”

Wang Ya let out a heavy hum and sneered, so pissed at Old Tang’s shamelessness that she couldn’t even be bothered to lose her temper anymore! With the Old Ghost gone, whatever Old Tang said stood. She ignored him.

Old Tang sighed heavily again. “You, so young and full of vigor! Do you know that was a Ghost Demon?”

Wang Ya raised an eyebrow, snorted twice coldly, and said, “A Ghost Demon? With that level of skill?”

Old Tang nodded solemnly, his face full of gravity. “Yes, a Ghost Demon that’s come into her own. Even in life, she was an extremely formidable figure—no one knows her exact name, but people in the trade called her Ghost Granny. What? You haven’t heard of her?”

Wang Ya furrowed her brows deeply but said nothing. To avoid seeming ignorant, she changed the subject. “Why did you all stop after hearing ‘Zhongyin Feng Family’?”

Old Tang said, “The Zhongyin Feng Family stands with one foot in the intermediate yin realm and one in the boundary between life and death. When the Zhongyin Feng Family acts, living people stay away!” He looked at Wang Ya suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

Wang Ya let out two heavy snorts of laughter, finding it utterly amusing. She countered, “The Zhongyin Feng Family was wiped out decades ago—where would I learn their rules?”

Old Tang didn’t believe her. “Your Master (Shifu) never told you?”

Wang Ya glanced at the driving Zhang Beauty and said, “My grandma mentioned the Zhongyin Feng Family in passing when she brought up the Yunnan Zhang Family.” She bit down hard on “Yunnan Zhang Family.” Her previously grumpy face suddenly broke into a brilliant smile. “Old Tang, today I finally got to see the Yunnan Zhang Family’s Cloud Dragon Nine Steps Ghost Sealing Demon Locking Array in action—so domineering! The Dead Old Lady didn’t even need to lift a finger; a broken cane in free fall shattered the array!” As soon as she finished, the driving Zhang Beauty shot her a glance through the rearview mirror.