Chapter 53

Chapter 53

I told Song Xiaotian that security cameras couldn’t capture ghosts.

Meng Yifan and I had verified this before.

“Then why did the cameras here catch her?” Song Xiaotian asked, his face full of doubt.

I asked, “Did you have these cameras blessed or something?”

“Blessed my ass!”

“You said this ghost couldn’t be filmed before, but now she can. She hasn’t… evolved or something, has she?”

Song Xiaotian seemed even more afraid of ghosts than I was.

Besides, back in Lijia Village, he had been grabbed by the ghost of Li Liang’s father. He was clearly traumatized.

I shook my head and said I didn’t know. What little knowledge I had came from Old Zhao Seven.

It wasn’t like I could call him to ask right now. Besides, the bastard wouldn’t pick up my calls anyway.

The footage showed that after I ran up from downstairs, Du Yuwei’s Ghost had left. However, it was unclear if she had actually left the bar.

Song Xiaotian wasn’t taking any chances. He called in his two henchmen to look at the footage and then sent them to the first floor to see if they could find Du Yuwei.

The two men obediently went down and searched for about ten minutes.

When they returned, they said they hadn’t seen the woman from the security footage.

Song Xiaotian and I had no choice but to leave the security room and head back to the dorms.

Song Xiaotian looked pale; he was likely shaken.

Come to think of it, my troubles had nothing to do with him. He was only helping me for Fang Man’s sake, and he had already done so much. Back in Lijia Village, he had nearly been killed by a ghost.

It really wasn’t right to keep putting him through these scares.

“I’m sorry, Brother Tian…”

“I’ll leave. That ghost is looking for me.”

Song Xiaotian grabbed me, looking conflicted. “I’m my parents’ only precious son. If something happens to me, it’ll be too late for them to have another one.”

“But if I let you go out on your own, you’re dead meat either way.”

“Forget it, let’s just get out of here. I don’t dare stay in this place anymore either.”

He took me and over a dozen of his subordinates and left the bar, heading to a nearby hotel to book several rooms.

He booked an entire floor, arranging for all his men to stay there and even positioning two of them to keep watch on the first floor. He said this was the only way he could feel at ease.

Then, the two of us settled into one of the rooms.

“Let’s sleep. With so many men guarding us and so much yang energy around, I don’t believe that ghost would dare show up.”

“We’ll deal with everything tomorrow.”

Song Xiaotian was exhausted. After he finished speaking, he lay down next to me and fell asleep.

The alcohol finally hit me then, making my head feel heavy and groggy. I fell asleep shortly after lying down.

Perhaps because there were so many people around, the night passed without incident.

The next morning, while Song Xiaotian and I were still fast asleep, a knock on the door woke me up.

Since Song Xiaotian was still out cold, I got up to open the door.

One of the subordinates stood outside holding a letter.

“Mr. Chen, I don’t know who left this letter. It seems to be for you and Brother Tian. Take a look.”

I took it and saw “To be opened by Room 305” written on the envelope.

305 was the room Song Xiaotian and I were in. It really did seem to be for us.

I quickly pulled out the letter. There wasn’t much content-just two sentences-but they made my heart race with excitement.

“If you want to save Meng Yifan, call this number.”

That was all the letter said, followed by a local mobile phone number.

I hurriedly asked the man, “Who delivered this?”

He replied, “The two guys on night watch downstairs dozed off for a bit at dawn. When they woke up, they found this letter. We checked the security footage; the person was wearing a mask and a hat, so we couldn’t see his face, but it was definitely a man.”
I nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

After closing the door, I hurried to wake Song Xiaotian and showed him the letter.

Once he finished reading it, he was mostly awake. “I’m guessing this letter came from Du Ruhai’s side. Call the number first and see.”

I suddenly felt a bit nervous. If Du Ruhai himself picked up the phone, I wouldn’t know how to talk to him.

But I called immediately anyway; after all, this number was the key to saving Meng Yifan.

As the call connected, I quickly turned on the speakerphone.

The line went through, but the other side remained silent.

I summoned my courage and asked, “Who is this?”

“You’re Chen Mo, right?” the voice on the other end finally spoke.

I confirmed that I was indeed Chen Mo and asked again who he was.

He let out a short laugh. “It doesn’t matter who I am. You just need to answer me honestly: did you take something belonging to Boss Du?”

My nerves spiked again. The person on the other end really was one of Du Ruhai’s men.

But I wasn’t stupid enough to just admit to theft. I countered with a question: “What do you want?”

“It’s simple. Since you took something that belongs to someone else, you naturally have to return it to its rightful owner. Then your friend can be released, and neither of you will have to face prison time. Do you understand what I mean?”

I froze for a moment.

They wanted me to trade the Ashes Urns for Meng Yifan?

This was obviously a good deal; those two Ashes Urns were useless to me anyway.

Seeing that I hadn’t responded, the voice continued, “If you’ve thought it through, then we’ll set a time and place. You bring the items, and both you and your friend will be safe. Understand?”

I was about to agree, but before I could open my mouth, Song Xiaotian snatched my phone and hung up.

I looked at him, completely bewildered. “Brother Tian, what are you doing…”

He sighed. “You idiot. Didn’t you hear what he just said? He wants you to bring the items over, and then you and Meng Yifan will be safe. Let me ask you-if you bring the items there, you’ve lost your leverage. What if they refuse to let it go?”

“Don’t give them the upper hand. You have to keep control yourself. That guy will definitely call back in a bit. Tell him they have to release the person first. Once you see Meng Yifan, then you’ll give them the items.”

It clicked, and I felt a wave of embarrassment.

I was still too lacking in life experience; I had almost fallen for the other guy’s trap.

After all, I had stolen from a powerful figure. If I were that powerful figure and someone stole from me, I would definitely want to make them pay!

I hurriedly rehearsed what I would say in my head, waiting for him to call back.

Song Xiaotian lit a cigarette and sat there drinking tea, looking certain that the man would call again.

However, after waiting for a long time, the phone didn’t ring.

I started to get restless…

Just as Song Xiaotian finished his cigarette and was stubbing it out, my phone rang.

I picked it up and looked; sure enough, it was the same person calling back.

As soon as I answered, he sounded furious.

“You dare hang up on me!”

“Do you not want to save your friend anymore?”

I told him that of course I did. “But you have to release him first. Once I’ve confirmed Meng Yifan is safe, I’ll bring the items to you.”

He laughed. “You dare try to negotiate? Do you have any idea who you’ve offended?”

I told him I knew exactly who it was. “It’s precisely because I know that I need to see him first. You don’t have to worry about me playing games with you-unless I have a death wish.”

The person on the other end fell silent for a long time before saying, “One o’clock this afternoon. Your friend can come out then.”