Chapter 47: Chapter 46: No, I Have to Keep Staying Here (Part 2)
"This is an unregistered card with 10.5 million in it," Sister Nan said, holding out a bank card.
He Xiaotian casually reached out, took it, and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Delete the video. I have no desire to become an internet celebrity." Just thinking about a video like that getting posted online was enough to know what a massive sensation it would cause. Even with the government’s current regulations, you couldn’t stop troublemakers from downloading and circulating it.
That’s just how the internet works.
At the slightest sign of trouble, someone with an agenda would hype it up, and even a beggar could become a celebrity.
Sister Nan was obedient. She pointed her phone at He Xiaotian and deleted the video right in front of him.
CLICK!
She removed the memory card from her phone and snapped it in two.
"Is anyone heading my way? Could you give me a ride?"
He Xiaotian was pinching every penny to save up for a villa. He couldn’t take the bus because the box was too big.
’A taxi?’
’That would cost money!’
"I can! I can!"
"I can! I can!"
Huang Mao and Green Hair practically fell over themselves to volunteer. An incredible guy like this? Of course they wanted to get closer to him.
They would never forget the scene from the video: him, carrying the Big Hammer, searching the entire apartment for the ghost.
’So badass!’
He was leagues above all those charlatan Daoists and Monks.
Would they ever dare to be as brazen as He Xiaotian?
He even ended up forcing the *thing* in that apartment to open the door and politely show him out.
And before that, three people had vanished in a row!
That just went to show that the paranormal entity in Room 302 was a man-eater.
But last night, it had acted just like a timid, bullied wife.
If the situation hadn’t been so serious, they would have squealed with laughter.
"You," He Xiaotian said, casually pointing at Huang Mao.
’Green Hair is just too conspicuous.’
The four of them left the Tuanjie Community complex and were met with the sight of three expensive-looking sports cars parked by the curb.
The other cars passing by gave them a wide berth.
It couldn’t be helped. An accidental scratch on one of those would probably cost you your house.
He Xiaotian gazed at the sports cars, each worth at least ten million, and cursed inwardly, ’Damn rich kids.’
He had once dreamed of owning cars like these, but a ten-year-old, second-hand Audi was all it took to shatter his youthful fantasies.
Throughout the drive, Huang Mao was on edge, looking like he wanted to say something but was holding back.
He clearly had a lot of questions, but he was afraid to disturb He Xiaotian, who was resting with his eyes closed.
He didn’t manage to ask a single question by the time they reached the street of He Xiaotian’s rental apartment.
After they parked, He Xiaotian heaved the box out, got out of the car, and gave a casual wave of his arm as a goodbye.
"Oh, right. Get another ten million ready. I’m going back tonight."
He tossed out one last sentence before he left, leaving Huang Mao thunderstruck.
Even after He Xiaotian’s figure had vanished down the street, Huang Mao still hadn’t snapped out of it.
He was still standing there, stunned, when Sister Nan and Green Hair arrived.
"Hey! Huang Tao, what’s wrong with you?"
"Sister Nan, the master said we need to get ten million ready. He’s going to stay in the haunted apartment, Room 302, again tonight."
"???" Green Hair looked like he’d been struck by lightning, too. He was completely dumbfounded.
Sister Nan just smiled faintly and said nonchalantly, "Then you’d better call everyone and start pooling your money."
’It’s not my money, anyway.’
"But... we never said he could stay for more than one night."
"But you also never denied that he could keep staying indefinitely." Sister Nan’s words made the two of them want to curl up and cry. ’It was all about saving face! If only we’d just backed down earlier, this would all be over!’
"Wait, we could just not pay the prize money," Green Hair said, his eyes lighting up in a moment of brilliant inspiration.
The young man, Huang Tao, walked up and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Are you an idiot? Do you want to experience what it’s like to have that master hunting *you* all over the apartment with that Big Hammer?"
They’d never truly encountered anything as vicious as a ghost. All they had was a vague, inexplicable sense of dread about them.
But He Xiaotian’s brutality? That, they had all seen with their own eyes.
’Not pay him?’
’If they were dealing with a more rational person, it might be fine. Nothing to be afraid of.’
’But the He Xiaotian from the video... he looked like a ruthless bastard no matter how you sliced it.’
’What if the guy gets pissed and decides to just smash you with that hammer, consequences be damned?’
The previous three victims had all gone to the bathroom at exactly midnight and never came back out.
The video from this morning had revealed far too many hidden details.
"Honestly, you don’t need to be so heartbroken about the money. Don’t you have any damn clue how much the three victims’ families were compensated in total? You should be glad you found a real master. I bet your dads are struggling to keep this whole thing under wraps, huh?
Once the police get involved, you’ll be in for a world of hurt. This guy might be strange, but he has real abilities. If he can help you solve the problem of the haunted Room 302, then spending a little money is well worth it."
That was Sister Nan’s take on it. These rich kids came from powerful families, and it wasn’t like they had personally killed anyone.
But the whole situation stemmed from their bet.
Sure, the victims couldn’t control their own greed, but that didn’t absolve these guys of the responsibility for creating the temptation in the first place.
Huang Tao heard her out and thought she had a point.
He gritted his teeth and said to Green Hair, "Li Zheng, contact the others later. We’ll meet at Crane Tower for dinner. We’ll lay it all out on the table and pool together fifty million to hire the master to take care of the haunted Room 302 once and for all.
That way, even if our fathers can’t keep it under wraps and it blows up in the media, we’ll have a story. I know it’s a bit of a dirty move, but each of the victims’ families already took three million in compensation from my family.
I assume they took money from your family, too, right? The others probably paid up as well. That money is enough for their relatives to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. And by doing this, we’d also be avenging the first three victims."
"When this is all over, don’t forget to show me your gratitude," Sister Nan said again.
Huang Tao and Li Zheng both rolled their eyes. ’You’ve got some nerve.’
’We were all ready to drop it, but then you made one phone call and threw everything into chaos.’
But they didn’t dare voice their anger. If they did, they wouldn’t have had to bite the bullet and show up last night.
「Meanwhile」
He Xiaotian got home, set down the box, and went to the apartment across the hall.
His mother and aunt were watching TV. His dad and uncle had been so busy lately they barely had time to think, which left the two women with plenty of leisure time.
"Xiaotian, where were you last night?"
his mother, Wang Mei, asked as he walked in.
"Just earning a little spending money," he said nonchalantly.
"Our family isn’t short on cash. Can’t you just stay home and behave? I know you’ve become a superman, but you still can’t just run around wherever you please. What if you run into... Bah, bah, bah, may it never happen."
He Xiaotian smiled. He really loved this warm, homey feeling.
It was a good thing Wang Mei didn’t know that the "spending money" he’d earned was more than what He Sheng had made in over twenty years working at the paper mill.
Otherwise, her jaw would have dropped in shock.
’I made over ten million, so why am I not the least bit happy? Sigh... I should have just asked that guy with the earring how to see ghosts in the first place.’
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