Chapter 28: I Only Fear You Won’t Devour Me

Upon hearing this, I asked, “Is there a separate entrance to the Ghost Market?”

“There is. For you, sir, entering the Ghost Market is a breeze—no one will stop you at all. However, those who enter the Black Market from the Ghost Market can't access the main venue, while those going in from the main venue can visit the sub-venues. So it’s more convenient if you get your permit sorted first before you go in,” Fang Xiaolong explained to me.

“All right, I understand!” After that, I told Lin Chuan we could drive off.

On the way back, we unexpectedly encountered a road ghost. It was probably drawn to our car because of the heavy yin energy, but as soon as I took out my Yang Inspector’s badge, Xiaoyuan and Xiaofang called out in unison, “Yang Inspector passing through—anyone in the way shall be punished!”

Hearing this, I suddenly felt they were quite professional. I glanced at them curiously, and they thought I was about to scold them, so they grinned at me.

I didn’t say anything further—actually, their shout had felt rather impressive, and the road ghost obediently stepped aside.

Back in town, Lin Chuan dropped me off in front of the hotel and said, “You should get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow, we’ll head to the county together, and we may need to be up quite early. Rose and Chen Fei are being held at the county police station; their interrogation is scheduled for tomorrow.”

I nodded. “You too, get some rest.”

After seeing him off, I turned to Tan Xiao. “Take Fang Xiaolong into custody for now, but don’t hand him over to the others yet. We might still need him.”

“Understood!” Tan Xiao took Fang Xiaolong away and vanished.

I then asked Xiaoyuan, “Did you see where the Black Market is located?”

“The Republican Street at Beihe Film Town!” Xiaoyuan replied.

The film town? I thought. Choosing such an open place? But on second thought, it made sense—if they got caught, they could always claim they were filming, and the crowds actually made it harder to get busted.

Besides, seeing luxury cars and powerful people in a film town wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

“And the Ghost Market? Is it there too?” I asked.

“No, it’s on the opposite side, on Chang’an Street,” Xiaoyuan answered.

I nodded. “What’s the date?”

“Friday night at nine o’clock,” she said.

“Got it. Let’s go…” I was about to head straight into the hotel, but seeing a barbecue stall ahead, I went over to buy some food.

With the food in hand, I returned to the hotel, calling He Yanran as I ascended the stairs.

She answered immediately, so she must have been waiting for me instead of sleeping.

Her being awake made me a little nervous, since we’d be sharing a room—and possibly even a bed.

“Xiaobei, are you back?” she asked.

“Mm, could you open the door for me?” I said.

When I knocked, she peeked out, saw it was me, and only then removed the security chain.

“Are you hungry? I brought barbecue!” I said. It would be far too awkward to just go straight to bed, so bringing food back seemed like a wise move.

“A bit, yes. Let’s eat together,” she said, taking the food from me.

I nodded, but at this point Xiaoyuan and Xiaofang couldn’t stay. Although they were eager for barbecue too, tonight was not the night—they had to leave and weren’t allowed back in without my say-so. Not because I was going to do anything I didn’t want them to see, but because He Yanran was wearing a rather loose nightdress with a wide collar, and it looked like she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. I didn’t want them to see her like this.

“It’s pretty good—try some, Xiaobei!” With that, she brought a skewer up to my lips.

When she raised her hand, her collar slipped down, exposing one smooth shoulder. I admit, that sight stirred something in me.

Being so close, the faint outlines of her figure set my imagination racing, and my heart beat faster.

“Eat up—why are you staring at me?” Noticing my gaze, He Yanran glanced down, realized how she looked, and quickly turned away, blushing.

“You eat first. I’m a little hot, I’ll take a shower,” she said, hurrying into the bathroom. I found my heart pounding and my throat dry.

What to do? If nothing happened tonight, I doubted I’d get any sleep, but if something did, would she agree?

I stayed in the bathroom for ages under a cold shower, then dried off and put on my pants before heading back out.

He Yanran was already in bed, covered up against the air conditioning, making sure that side of her was hidden from my view.

Seeing this, I sat down to finish the barbecue, then grabbed a pillow and a towel, intending to sleep on the floor.

But He Yanran, realizing what I was up to, quickly sat up. “What are you doing? This bed’s plenty wide for both of us.”

“I just… I was worried you—”

“Worried about what? That I’ll eat you up?” she teased, her face red, not daring to meet my eyes.

Trying not to laugh, I replied, “I’m not afraid of being eaten—just afraid you won’t.”

“Zhang Xiaobei… Forget it, I’m not arguing with you. Go to sleep, but if you sleep on the floor, I’ll sleep there too.” With that, she lay back down and pulled up the covers.

I smiled—who would rather sleep on the floor than in bed?

Since she insisted, I lay on the bed as well, but we both stayed to our edges, leaving enough space for a third person in the middle.

I quietly summoned Xiaofang and signaled for him to give He Yanran a little scare.

He didn’t get it at first, but when he saw my mischievous grin, he grinned back, understanding.

He Yanran, unaware of my plot, was lying on her side facing away, when Xiaofang appeared suddenly, startling her so much that she shrieked and immediately turned to clutch me. I could hardly hold back my laughter, but seeing she was genuinely frightened, I turned over and hugged her, feigning ignorance. “What’s wrong?”

“There was a ghost—right by my bed, so close, and it was smiling at me!” she said, still shaken.

“Really? I didn’t see anything.” I looked around, pretending to search, and gave Xiaofang a discreet signal to leave.

“Maybe it ran off when it saw you,” she ventured cautiously.

Now realizing nothing was there, she started to pull away from my embrace, but I refused to let go, shutting my eyes and saying, “If you’re scared, just sleep like this.”

At this point, according to the usual rule of three, most men would… Well, I just held her, doing nothing else, though it was quite a challenge.

But she soon sensed my restlessness, and her heartbeat sped up in response—I could even hear it.

Knowing this couldn’t go on, I let go and said, “It’s getting hot—let’s sleep separately.”

But she didn’t let go, and whispered, “If you want to, I…”

“No need to force yourself. Let’s just sleep—we have things to do in the morning.” I cut her off, genuinely not wanting her to feel pressured.

So I turned away, unable to sleep. I don’t know if she fell asleep, but I only drifted off when I heard the distant crowing of roosters.

At dawn, I woke to the sound of running water in the bathroom. A moment later, He Yanran came out, apparently not realizing I was awake. She fetched clothes from her suitcase, glanced my way, then turned her back and changed.

Watching her slender back, I decided I needed another cold shower.

No, I couldn’t share a room with her again tonight—I’d suffocate. I quickly shut my eyes, not daring to watch.

Once I felt she was dressed, I opened my eyes, stretched as if nothing had happened, and asked, “Why are you up so early?”

“You said we had to get up early,” she replied, still a bit embarrassed about last night.

I smiled faintly, got up to wash, packed my things, checked out of the hotel, and called Lin Chuan.

He was already at the bureau and told me to have breakfast first—he’d be there soon.

I agreed and took He Yanran and the two little ghosts for breakfast.

Once we sat down and ordered, He Yanran asked, “Where are you heading after this?”

“To the county. Once we finish things here, we’ll take the train to Nanjiang,” I told her honestly.

She nodded without pressing further, so I asked, “Aren’t you curious where I went last night? Why I got back so late?”

“I know you had things to do,” she whispered, leaning closer, “because you’re a Yang Inspector!”

She seemed to know more about me than she let on, but I decided to leave the questions for another time.

“I’m going to get another bowl,” she said, seeing our food being served.

“Boss, looks like you finally won her over last night—she’s even fetching bowls for us!” Xiaofang and Xiaoyuan teased, grinning wickedly.

I could only smile wryly. If I really had won her over, we wouldn’t be up so early today—but that wasn’t something I wanted to discuss with anyone.

Once she came back with the bowl and we were about to eat, Lin Chuan arrived, quickly ordered a bowl of noodles, and sat beside me, anxious. “We need to hurry—they’re pressing for the release.”

Seeing how flustered he was, Xiaofang quickly scurried aside to avoid being sat on.

Since he’d moved, I left him alone and asked Lin Chuan, “Are their connections really that strong?”