Hu Wenhui had the effeminate man's bodyguard take the money chest, but Huang Jiu had already taken out the two hundred thousand earlier.
After they left, Huang Jiu jumped onto my shoulder and asked, "What happened to you just now? Your face went pale."
"It's nothing!"
I wasn't avoiding Huang Jiu, but I just didn't know how to explain it. The matters behind all this would only become clear once Hu Wenhui returned.
Huang Jiu grabbed two bags and divided the two hundred thousand into two parts. It seemed that since Huang Xian'er had arrived, it had become smarter and learned how to split the money.
I didn't think too much about Hu Wenhui's matters. When things were beyond my capacity, I could remain curious but shouldn't delve too deeply. Especially in our line of work—if you want to survive long, you shouldn't reach beyond your grasp.
After Hu Wenhui left, I locked the shop door and went to the store of Old Song, the cripple.
It was shocking to see the state of his shop—business was so bad that not only did no one come in, but even passersby avoided the place, fearing bad luck.
Huang Jiu saw me fiddling with a wooden puppet, lying lazily in Old Song's chair, and grumbled, "You're always idle, never helping me think of a solution. Are you really going to force me to steal?"
It grumbled for ages, making it sound like I owed it billions, and it was quite the melodramatic mood.
I couldn't really explain to it; after all, it was just an animal and couldn't understand human dignity.
I asked the money manager for the copper mirror, hesitating myself as well as putting the other person in a difficult position. However, this wasn't a hopeless situation. The money manager hadn't taken the copper mirror to the temple, and the lingering resentment from the Republican-era ghost trapped inside would sooner or later cause trouble. Based on what I had seen earlier, I figured it was only a matter of days.
I didn't want to talk about this because since Hu Wenhui came, I felt like whatever I did was somewhat guilty. But Huang Jiu just kept whining in my ear, repeating the same complaint.
With no other choice, I told it the truth. After hearing it, Huang Jiu had an idea and asked if I wanted to "add fuel to the fire."
I sternly warned it that the copper mirror sealed a demon. If it messed with it, when things went wrong, there wouldn't be any demon soul, let alone the demon's essence for it to consume.
Huang Jiu was still uneasy, but I reassured it that if the copper mirror caused no issues, I would allow it to steal later. If it were anyone else, I would've resorted to more extreme measures by now. Plus, if it were anyone else, the matter would probably have been settled with a few thousand yuan.
For dinner, I brought some dishes back. After eating, I wanted to tease Xiaocui, but then I remembered that Hu Wenhui had just left for a job. If I wasn't careful and succeeded in teasing her, it might harm her fortune.
After some hesitation, I controlled myself, only making inappropriate gestures over her as she lay on the bed. Xiaocui's face flushed, her breathing growing heavier.
For a while, she even cooperated.
But then, something strange happened. She suddenly stiffened, made a sound like a kitten calling in heat, and went completely limp.
After all this, I felt worse than before. I didn't know what to do.
In reality, Xiaocui was much older than me and a head taller. But because of the issues with her mind, she appeared almost childlike before me.
Seeing her tired, I felt sorry for her. I decided to take a cold shower to calm myself, but just then, Zhan Ling called, asking me to go to the Su family's villa.
I'd been cooped up at home these past days, mainly waiting for her and the money manager's phone call.
In my mind, the museum should have been the first place to have trouble. When the money manager came to me, I would naturally let Huang Jiu devour the demon soul inside. After Huang Jiu transformed, we wouldn't be so helpless when facing the Three Yin Cult.
But to my surprise, the demon hunters acted quickly.
Now Zhan Ling was asking me to come over, which meant everything had been dealt with, and they were preparing to open the tomb.
Because of Aunt Su Yimei, I couldn't afford to delay.
So, the shower became me just putting on clothes. But as I was putting on my pants, I noticed some water stains on my leg.
I was puzzled—where had they come from?
Could it be that Xiaocui wet the bed?
But these past days, she had been able to dress herself and wash up. She was fully self-sufficient—she wasn't foolish enough to wet the bed.
Seeing me looking confused, Xiaocui grew anxious.
When I looked at her, her face turned red, and she shyly hid under the blankets.
I was about to go over to check when Zhan Ling's call came again. She urged me not to go to the Su family's villa but to wait at the gate of the community. She'd come pick me up and head straight to the Su family's tomb.
At this hour, with such urgency, I didn't have time to check if Xiaocui had wet the bed. I hastily washed up and put on my clothes.
I had planned to call Huang Jiu, but when I passed its room, I heard some odd sounds coming from inside.
It seemed that Huang Jiu was going to be "leaning on the wall" again the next day, so I didn't disturb it.
The heat of the day had cooled a little by evening. I stood at the community gate for four or five minutes before a familiar off-road vehicle pulled up.
When I saw it was the Zhao family's four brothers' car, I instinctively touched the blood dagger at my waist.
Zhan Ling had said the Yin tattoo masters would handle things—was it possible that it was all left in her hands by now?
When I saw Zhan Ling inside the car, I relaxed.
The car stopped, and Zhan Ling, guessing what I was about to ask, rolled down the window and said, "I didn't get the earth pearl. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, so I just legally took the car for myself."
"Legally..."
I was speechless.
Do demon hunters really care about legality?
But regardless of whether it was legal or not, her driving around in the Zhao family's car was a good thing for me.
I got into the car, and it was just the two of us.
Worried that they might act first and explain later, blaming me, I asked, "Where's my grandfather?"
Zhan Ling replied, "He's busy swallowing Yijiangnan, but opening the tomb is something he approved."
Yijiangnan was both a person's name and a brand.
I asked, "Was it really someone from Yijiangnan who hired them?"
"Someone from the Three Yin Cult couldn't afford to hire Yijiangnan," Zhan Ling slammed the gas pedal, and the powerful off-road vehicle roared as it shot forward.
I was extremely nervous—not because of the speed, but because when she drove, I always had the feeling she wasn't using her hands...
At this moment, I felt like I should be the one at the wheel.
Once we were on the road, Zhan Ling briefly explained the situation.
The Three Yin Cult had wanted to hide behind Yijiangnan's name, but who were the Three Yin Cult people?
After their operation failed, their goal was to erase all traces as quickly as possible.
Naturally, Yijiangnan had become one of those traces—one that was doomed to be erased.
By the time the demon hunters arrived, a bloody incident had already occurred, and it was bound to be an unsolved case.
A restaurant chain with Yijiangnan's name on it was bound to be severely impacted by its owner's death.
Taking advantage of the situation, Su Dazhuang had gathered funds and was preparing to acquire Yijiangnan.
This time, the Su family had truly benefited from this calamity. Even if they couldn't fully acquire Yijiangnan, they would become a leader in the province's food and beverage industry.
My second uncle's inheritance had just gained another asset.