Wang Ya sat on the sofa and felt sleepy again within a minute, but her stomach was rumbling—she hadn’t eaten dinner! After waiting over ten minutes, Old Tang brought out a huge pot of noodles to the dining table in the restaurant area and called everyone for midnight snacks.
The midnight snack was plain noodle soup without even half a piece of meat, but it came with a pile of fish roe sauce, sardine paste, and such. Wang Ya mixed in the sauces and ate happily, though the bowls were tiny—palm-sized, filled with one chopstick load, finished in three or four bites. She ended up refilling seven or eight times for her midnight feast. Zheng Yanxia and Zhang Qingshui were like cats; one bowl each and they declared themselves full, then bid farewell together and went upstairs to rest.
Old Tang matched Wang Ya bowl for bowl, and by the end, the two of them had nearly scraped the pot clean of broth.
After eating, Old Tang tossed the bowls in the kitchen, and Boss Huang assigned them guest rooms.
In her guest room, Wang Ya freshened up simply, then pasted a talisman on the door, windows, the two windowless walls, floor, and even ceiling for suppression. She added an Evil-Suppressing Talisman by the bedhead, checked the ancient bronze coin in her pocket and the Ghost Collecting Bell around her waist, then went to sleep.
Wang Ya slept dreamlessly through the night, woken the next morning by Zheng Yanxia knocking, calling her for breakfast.
Breakfast was milk, bread, fried eggs, and steak. Wang Ya didn’t eat her fill, nor did Old Tang. He made another huge basin of noodles and brought out two twenty-centimeter-wide soup bowls. Wang Ya and Old Tang each devoured a heaping bowl, leaving the other three dumbfounded. Zhang Qingshui, sitting to Wang Ya’s left, even reached out to poke her belly and quipped lightly, “You sure can eat!”
Wang Ya shot Zhang Qingshui a sideways glance and huffed softly! With her belly full, she leaned back leisurely in her chair. Suddenly, she remembered that wealthy families usually had maids. And where were those two bodyguards from last night? Wang Ya asked, “Zheng Yanxia, doesn’t your family have a maid? Where are Dong Zi and Fang Yan?”
Huang Qi replied curtly, “She doesn’t live here. Dong Zi and Fang Yan stayed at the Construction Site and didn’t come.” She added, “Uncle Li called this morning, saying police will come around nine to take statements. Wang Ya, the police are all atheists. If we tell them it was ghosts at the Construction Site, they won’t believe it and it won’t make for good records.”
Wang Ya nodded lightly. She understood Zheng Yanxia’s point: don’t mention ghosts to the police. Not just police—if media got involved, same rule. She hadn’t left yet for two reasons. First, the police needed statements; skipping out might mean they’d track her down later, and she hated loose ends, especially with officials. Second, those thugs from last night had appeared too conveniently, alongside the ghosts and knife-wielders. Coincidence? Wang Ya felt uneasy thinking they might be linked to the Dead Old Lady. Ghosts weren’t scary; a ghost rallying a mob against her was terrifying!
A little after nine-thirty, police arrived, including “Uncle Li.”
They took statements from each one separately, then showed a quick sketch portrait and some photos for identification.
Wang Ya had to admire the efficiency of Uncle Li’s team. She didn’t expect them to catch Ghost Granny, but in just one night and morning, they’d cracked the twenty-plus thugs—all with broken arms, legs, or shoulders. Though the small fries insisted they had a grudge against Boss Huang and were just causing trouble at the Construction Site, the police had traced their backer. Uncle Li said evidence wasn’t solid enough to name the person yet.
After statements, Old Tang identified the sketch, Boss Huang viewed the photos. Uncle Li pulled Boss Huang aside for a long private chat. Finally, Boss Huang politely saw Uncle Li out, and Uncle Li thanked him profusely.
Wang Ya wasn’t surprised Boss Huang thanked Uncle Li, but why was Uncle Li thanking Boss Huang? What was the undercurrent?
After seeing Uncle Li off, Boss Huang pulled Old Tang into a corner for another long whisper, glancing warily at Wang Ya during it. This made Wang Ya even more suspicious. When Old Tang and Boss Huang finished and sat before her, Wang Ya asked bluntly, “Is there something you can’t let me know?”
Old Tang chuckled. “Nothing you can’t know. My old bro knows your temper’s fiery and was a bit intimidated, so he asked me to fill you in.”
Wang Ya said, “Fine, go ahead.”
Old Tang said, “Those thugs last night were hateful, sure, but they were just insignificant small Weaklings, cannon fodder. The real issue is still with Ghost Granny, right?”
Wang Ya thought, “It really is connected to Ghost Granny?” She didn’t interrupt, just hummed noncommittally, waiting for more.
Old Tang pondered, his expression turning grave. “Wang Ya, there were three waves attacking us last night. The small punks were one, the three knife-wielders another, and the last was the ones we fought later.”
Wang Ya nodded again. She knew that.
Old Tang continued, “Let me put it this way: the sketch Deputy Director Li brought today depicts a man called ‘Guizi,’ locally infamous for Ghost Raising and with some connections. You know some people get rich through Ghost Raising and thus cozy up to ‘Guizi.’ The guy who organized the punks is buddies with ‘Guizi.’ Guizi asked him for manpower, so he provided it. That guy’s a businessman with family ties. This morning, his people went to Deputy Director Li begging for mercy, fearing we’d make trouble for him. My old bro does business here too and can’t afford to offend everyone, plus with Li’s face, he reluctantly agreed. Honestly, he didn’t want to—he has only one precious daughter, A’qi, and last night nearly lost her. He’s furious too, but with such a big enterprise here, some things are tricky.”
Wang Ya got it: they weren’t pursuing the small-fry thugs, or at least not their organizer. She thought it over and asked, “So the backer helped ‘Guizi’ against us, then sold out ‘Guizi’? Not afraid of retaliation?”
Old Tang said, “Business is business; Xuan Men matters are Xuan Men matters. It’s not selling out ‘Guizi’—just preserving himself and withdrawing early. We’re not to be trifled with, right?”
Wang Ya nodded lightly.
Old Tang asked, “Do you know who ‘Guizi’ is?”
Wang Ya smiled. “Didn’t you say he’s into Ghost Raising?” Her expression turned serious. “Just tell me his connection to Ghost Granny.”
Old Tang said, “This area’s not big, not many in the trade, and even fewer who can raise something like the Five Elements Rakshasa Ghost so expertly. If I’m not mistaken, he’s Ghost Granny’s descendant.”
Wang Ya scoffed lightly. “So Ghost Granny found her descendant as backup for revenge? Didn’t warn him earlier to relocate her grave, but now it’s payback time?”
Old Tang gave her a meaningful look. “Is that what you think?”
