Chapter 22: The Adjustment (Part 2)

Since the sugar daddy spoke, I could only exchange with him.

Wen Ye wasn’t stupid; he knew to roll the noodles into a ball with the chopsticks and then stuff them into his mouth.

I was forced to eat the weight loss meal, staring intently and expectantly at him, hoping he would praise my cooking skills.

“How is it? Not bad, right?”

He didn’t even lift his eyelids, replying casually with a ‘passable’.

Tch, passable and you’re still holding the bowl to drink the soup!

But I was happy in my heart. My cooking was finally recognized by him! What could be happier than the sugar daddy acknowledging my work!

It’s just that this weight loss meal is really freaking hard to swallow compared to carbohydrates…

——————

The man who was sending Wen Ye and me to C City was named Yuan. He looked kind, but when he smiled, the crow’s feet could almost kill a fly.

He drove a black Land Rover and was dressed in outdoor gear.

Wen Ye said that he was Zhao Yanzu’s friend and close buddy, so I politely bowed and nodded, calling him ‘Brother Yuan’.

Brother Yuan had a somewhat creepy smile. If Wen Ye hadn’t gotten into the car, I really wouldn’t have dared to get in.

He started the car and looked at Wen Ye and me from the rearview mirror with a grin: “Aiyo, looking at you two, the image of youth and invincible beautiful young man and beauty makes Brother Yuan suddenly feel old!”

Wen Ye didn’t care about clothing. Today I gave him a casual match of a loose white top and khaki cargo shorts, and the little white shoes he was extremely unwilling to wear. Simple and refreshing, an ordinary pairing.

But he was outstanding in every aspect, actually wearing the model’s feeling.

Plus, his thick black hair and fair skin had both a graceful youthful feel and were more beautiful than a girl’s.

I was so jealous.

He closed his eyes to rest as soon as he got in the car: “Hmph, you still dare to pretend to be mature in front of me?”

Brother Yuan chuckled: “Who told you, you little fox, to manifest into such a handsome young lad? If you had manifested into a foot-scrubbing man, I would call you Grandpa! Now, behave like a little kid and call me Brother in front of outsiders, got it!”

Pfft… I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Laugh if you want, Xiaomai, you don’t have to hold back.” Brother Yuan laughed. “Did Brother Zhao tell you anything about the commission?”

I shook my head: “He told Wen Ye, I didn’t ask what was going on… Brother Yuan, what is a commission? What kind of things do you have to help people with? Besides watching Wen Ye and stopping him from biting people randomly, can I be of any help?”

Wen Ye suddenly opened his eyes and bared his teeth at me: “Le Xiaomai, if you talk again, believe it or not, I’ll bite you to death first!”

I shrank my neck and muttered softly: “You still need me to help you find the spirit pearl, so you wouldn’t dare to bite me to death.”

“Then I’ll bite through your throat and break your vocal cords, so you can never speak! So this loudspeaker of yours won’t cause trouble everywhere!” He stared at my neck, a bloodthirsty red light flashing in his eyes, threatening me.

I was really a little afraid of Wen Ye, who would bite people, but Brother Yuan was here. He wouldn’t really dare to bite me, would he!

I exposed my neck, straightened my back, and pretended to be righteous: “Okay, you bite! If you don’t bite, you’re not surnamed Wen! If you bite me to death and I become a ghost, I’ll haunt you, talking and talking endlessly in your ear, so you can’t cultivate in peace and ascend!”

“Even if you only bite through my vocal cords, I can do this! To annoy you to death!” I deliberately pretended to be mute in front of him, gesturing wildly.

He glared at me fiercely and sneered: “I’ll make it so you can’t even become a ghost then!”

Threatening me again! I stubbornly glared back at him.

What, we’re comparing who has bigger eyes! Although my eyelashes aren’t as long as yours, my eyes are still bigger than yours!

“Hahaha…” Brother Yuan was laughing so hard that he almost had cramps.

“Brother Zhao was right. Xiaomai, your fighting power is too strong. The little beauty was worried that you couldn’t keep an eye on the little fox, hahahaha… She was purely overthinking it! Aiya, Mom, you’re killing me!”

I was stunned, withdrew my momentum, and asked carefully, “Brother Yuan, who is the little beauty you’re talking about? Wen Ye’s owner?”

“Yeah, who else could it be besides her? She’s being punished for helping the little fox look up the Book of Life and Death. Otherwise, why would the office have a just-transformed little fox do a commission?” He wiped the tears from his laughter. “This is your and the little fox’s first time taking on a commission. I have to keep an eye on it, in case you two really get anxious and bite someone.”

“What kind of punishment is that big sister receiving?” I was too curious.

Wen Ye interrupted me coldly, “Mind your own business. If you screw up later, I guarantee I’ll bite off a piece of your flesh!”

I curled my lips and muttered in my heart: You’re so afraid of me asking about that young lady. Are you secretly in love with her, but she doesn’t pay you any attention!

Hmph, you fox spirit is also at a disadvantage due to the different paths of humans and demons. (*idiom referring to an impossible relationship)

On the way, Brother Yuan gave me a brief introduction to their office. It turned out that they were all reclusive masters, living as ordinary people but were actually mages and yin-yang masters.

They helped employers with feng shui layouts and fortune telling, and also recovered antiques and dealt with yin objects. The most important and powerful business was exorcism.

Brother Yuan said that the beautiful sister and Zhao Yanzu were mages in the office who specialized in exorcism. Because the young lady was punished and confined for Wen Ye’s sake, and Zhao Yanzu went to other places to handle other matters, the employer was urging them, so this commission could only be given to Wen Ye to do.

So that meant I was going to deal with evil spirits in a while?

Brother Yuan saw my nervousness and comforted me: “Xiaomai, don’t be afraid. You have pure yang blood, and evil souls can’t possess you. Just bite your finger and spit out some blood, and that’s enough to give those evil spirits a hard time.”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Bite my finger? That’s so painful… Are there any other ways?”

He took out a small stack of yellow paper from the glove compartment, gesturing as casually as if he were passing out tissues: “These are all exorcism talismans, but you don’t have magic power or cultivation, so you can’t activate them. You can only use them as amulets.”

My eyes widened, and I trembled as I accepted them. Yellow paper and cinnabar, wasn’t this the kind of talisman used in zombie movies!

The kind that were stuck on the zombie’s head and made them smoke and freeze!

“Brother Yuan, are these talismans really effective against demons and ghosts!” I counted them. There were seven or eight sheets, and I felt more secure than with Chairman Mao. (referring to money)

Brother Yuan nodded: “Of course. Don’t question our business skills, okay! Our office is certified by a certain secret department of the state. I’ll show you our strength later.”

I nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. It was so exciting to be able to witness scenes from movies in person.

I didn’t know what got into me, but I pinched a piece of paper with two fingers, and, imitating the master Lin from zombie movies, drew a few strokes in the void, and finally shouted with a decent look: “Hurry, hurry as the statutes command!” (*This is a common incantation used in Taoist rituals and in Hong Kong zombie movies)

——Pa!

I put a yellow mask on Wen Ye, who was resting with his eyes closed.

The talisman floated down and landed on his arms that were clasped to his chest.

“Le! Xiao! Mai! I’m going to bite you to death!” He suddenly opened his eyes, grabbing my arm with one hand and pulling me over, and pinching my chin with the other, really threatening to bite my throat.

I shrank my neck in fright, using my palm to hold his chin and keep him from biting, begging for mercy: “Ahhhh, I was wrong! Wen Ye, I was wrong! I was just kidding!”

“So you really are a cultivating little fox, not a demon or ghost! Ahhhh, I was wrong… It hurts, it hurts… Let go! Let go! My hand hurts so much… Brother Yuan, save me…”

“Wen Ye is going to eat someone!”