Hua Long let out a scoff, wiping his mouth with his thumb. "To court?"
He said this while glancing at the henchmen behind him, who all burst into laughter, as if Ye Huohuo had just told the funniest joke in the world.
Huang Mao chimed in, "Little girl, you watch too much TV, don't you? We always settle things privately. Court? Fine, but no matter how the court rules, you'll have to pay an extra five million."
"Yeah, that five million is for our third brother's emotional damages," the other henchmen loudly egged them on from behind.
Li Moyan glanced at Li Mohan. "Big brother, aren't you going to do anything?"
Li Mohan leaned back instead, positioning himself half a body length behind Ye Huohuo.
Li Moyan wanted to say more, but his elder brother stopped him with a look. He could only stand back, feeling a little worried for Ye Huohuo.
However, he was even more puzzled about what Li Mohan was thinking and what his intentions were. Why wasn't he helping Ye Huohuo, but instead seemed to be observing from the sidelines?
Ye Huohuo glanced at Li Mohan from the corner of her eye. Although she had taken all the responsibility upon herself, this man was truly lacking in grace, acting as if he were completely detached from the situation.
And she had even saved him and his grandfather before!
Thinking of this, Ye Huohuo couldn't help but feel angry, and anger sometimes made people lose their composure.
"You provoked them first, then you beat them, and now you're extorting money. Do you think I'm easy to bully?
Fine, five million, is it? I'll give it to you right now, and you have no choice but to accept it!"
As she spoke, she pulled out a stack of papers from the worn cloth bag she carried on her back. Before anyone else could get a clear look at what it was, she flicked her right hand holding the stack, and the papers instantly ignited.
Along with the flames, a golden light flashed towards Hua Long and his group.
In the blink of an eye, they saw a large pile of money actually appear on the ground.
It looked like several million.
Hua Long and his henchmen were stunned, their eyes wide. Although they had demanded five million, seeing the actual cash laid out before them was quite shocking.
"Uh, little girl, how did this... how did this money suddenly appear?" Hua Long, who had been relatively calm until now, stammered.
"Boss, so much money, I'll go get a big bag to carry it!" Huang Mao was practically drooling.
"Get a bag? Just wrap it up in your clothes and take it back!"
Hua Long said this, took off his floral shirt, spread it on the ground, placed the money on the shirt, tied the sleeves together, and made a cloth bundle, holding it tightly in both hands.
"The money has been given to you, can I go now?!" Ye Huohuo's eyes held a hint of coldness.
"Alright, you're sensible. You can go!" Hua Long was in a great mood, holding the money, and felt that his brother's arm injury was worth it.
The henchmen around him kept flattering him, afraid that if they didn't serve him well, they wouldn't get their share of the money.
In stark contrast to Hua Long's excited mood, the people around Li Mohan were watching the other group as if they were looking at fools.
Several people in the back whispered, "Are those people crazy? Are they acting? They're treating the ashes as treasure?"
"Who knows! Maybe they're all having a hallucination."
Li Moyan's eyes widened, almost making him take off his last remaining face mask. "Sister-in-law, what... what did you do to them?"
Ye Huohuo glanced sideways at Li Mohan. "Alright, it's settled. They're not pursuing it anymore, so aren't we leaving?"
Ye Huohuo sat in Li Mohan's large business van. The space was ample, and Li Moyan, having many questions, also got into the car.
Ye Huohuo looked back at the crazed crowd behind the car, a cold smile appearing on her lips. That smile, combined with her messy makeup, sent a shiver down Li Moyan's spine.
"Sister-in-law, what exactly did you do? Why did they suddenly go crazy like that?"
Ye Huohuo turned around and looked into the darkness ahead. "I just let them see what they most wanted to see."
"What they most wanted to see? Five million?" Li Moyan chimed in.
"No wonder they were so excited, but why couldn't our side see it?"
"Mine was targeted. Otherwise, everyone who saw the flame would see their deepest desires. That would be chaos, and at that time, it wasn't just them and us there; there were many onlookers.
The area was a mixed bag, and everyone's desires were different, so I burned the same number of talismans as there were people on their side, one talisman per person.
However, I've used up my reserve stock now and need to replenish. Ye Huohuo rummaged through her worn cloth bag and sighed.
"It's fine, I'll buy you whatever you need..." Li Moyan stopped himself, realizing that with his elder brother present, it was presumptuous for him to buy things for his sister-in-law. He looked at Li Mohan. "No, big brother will buy it for you."
Li Mohan's face had been dark all along. "Why did you go to a place like that? Now you can tell me!"
Ye Huohuo let out a heavy sigh. She knew she couldn't avoid it and had to tell the truth. "Two days ago, an old lady approached me. She said her granddaughter had been like a soul-loss case since returning home a few nights ago, sleeping constantly and unresponsive to calls for two or three days, only managing to take a few sips of water.
She and her granddaughter were each other's only family, and she didn't have much money. She had a doctor from a clinic look at her, who said there was no physical illness and advised her to find me to examine her granddaughter.
When I got to her house, I saw her granddaughter and knew immediately that her yin energy had been siphoned by a male ghost. I inquired about the girl's workplace from the old lady. The old lady had always thought her granddaughter was washing dishes in the restaurants in the red-light district.
But with a little calculation, I figured out that her granddaughter was actually a prostitute there. She probably hid it from her grandmother to avoid worrying her.
To help this grandmother and granddaughter, and to uncover the truth, I found one of the granddaughter's close friends, who was also a streetwalker in the red-light district.
She told me that several of her friends had experienced similar situations, though not as severe as the young girl. They would usually wake up in an alley the next day, feeling completely drained of strength.
They had been discussing privately whether the area was haunted, perhaps by lustful ghosts!
So, this prostitute commissioned me to catch this lustful ghost, and I readily agreed to take on these two commissions."
"You're quite a businesswoman, taking on two cases for one incident, earning double the money," Li Mohan interjected drily.
Ye Huohuo shot him a glare. "I only earn a hundred yuan per case, I have to eat too, you know?!"
"You only earn a hundred to two hundred yuan a day?" Li Moyan couldn't believe it. "The Feng Shui masters I know charge tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, for a consultation. You... that's too little. Is that enough for you to live on?"
As he spoke, he looked at her cheap clothes and the worn cloth backpack that was starting to fray. She was the most poorly dressed woman he had ever seen, hands down.
"Your backpack is more worn than my prop work. You probably don't even have money to buy a new bag!" Li Moyan felt it was a miracle that such a woman existed in this era, which explained why she could disguise herself so horribly.
Ye Huohuo lowered her eyes slightly, looking at her backpack, her fingers caressing the fabric. It seemed less like a bag and more like a vessel holding countless emotions.
Seeing her dejected expression, Li Mohan couldn't help but look at her backpack as well.
"Does your backpack have a story?" he asked, his deep voice seeming to carry a hint of emotion.