“Blackie?”

I sat up and hurried to the door, greeting him with a punch: “You finally came back, you rascal!”

“Exhausted!”

“Just let me rest for a bit!”

Blackie collapsed on the sofa, guzzling down a bottle of mineral water before wiping his mouth and looking at me eagerly: “The car… you didn’t sell it, did you?”

That damn car had brought me nothing but trouble!

I decided to tease Blackie a bit and shrugged: “Sorry, already sold it!”

“What?”

Hearing this, Blackie’s face changed instantly, he stood up, grabbed my clothes, and hysterically exclaimed: “Who the hell let you sell it? Didn’t I say to wait for me to come back!”

I retorted: “I bought the car with my own money, I’ll sell it if I want to!”

“You…”

Blackie, furious, punched the wall with a “bang,” blood streaming from his knuckles.

I hadn’t expected such a big reaction from him, so I quickly pulled out the car keys and dangled them in front of him.

“Huh?”

Seeing the keys, Blackie’s anger turned to joy: “Damn, you scared me to death!”

I asked: “What’s the situation? If I had sold the car this afternoon, would I really be dead?”

Blackie shook his head: “That was just to scare you!”

Then, his tone shifted: “But it would be worse than death!”

I was puzzled: “What do you mean?”

Blackie explained: “Whether we can make a fortune and settle down in Green Vine City all depends on this car!”

Blackie was good at many things, but he loved to be mysterious.

Seeing him stop mid-sentence, I didn’t bother asking further.

Soon, Blackie couldn’t hold back: “In three days, we’ll drive this car to the riverside for a deal. The buyer recognizes the car, not the person. After the deal, you get… one million!”

“One million?”

I was shocked: “Are you sure it’s RMB?”

“Of course!”

Blackie gave me a disdainful look: “What else could it be, funeral money?”

Speaking of funeral money, I had something to say!

Then, I told Blackie everything that had happened in the past two days.

I thought Blackie would be surprised.

But no, his expression was calm.

No, to be precise, he was excited!

After I finished, Blackie calmly said: “I was worried you wouldn’t dare to do the deal, but since you’ve already met her, it should be easy!”

I was surprised: “The deal you’re talking about, it’s not related to that female ghost, is it?”

Blackie nodded: “There are not only human traffickers in this world, but also ghost traffickers! Our deal is to catch that bitch Sun Jiao and sell her to the buyer!”

“Get out of here!”

Hearing Blackie say this, I immediately lost all interest.

Catching a female ghost?

That’s just asking for death!

I’d be lucky if she didn’t come after me!

Blackie didn’t try to persuade me, saying: “I’ve given you the opportunity, it’s up to you whether you take it or not! But I need to take the car now, we’ll need it for the transaction!”

“Why should you?”

“I bought that car with my own hard-earned money!”

“If you want to use it, give me back my eight thousand!”

Blackie glanced at me again: “If I had eight thousand, I wouldn’t have sold the car to you! But don’t worry, in three days, I’ll give you eighty thousand!”

“No way!”

I shook my head firmly, my stance resolute.

In three days, it wasn’t even certain if he’d still be alive.

I used to get empty promises from my boss at work, and now I’ve met such an unreliable friend, writing bad checks.

Blackie, shamelessly, said: “Bro Yuan, I’ll call you ‘brother,’ okay?”

“Even if you call me ‘daddy,’ it’s no use!”

I was full of pride.

Seeing that I was unyielding, Blackie sighed and said: “I didn’t want to sell the car either, but without selling it, I wouldn’t have the travel expenses to bring this treasure back!”

With that, he carefully opened his shirt.

I looked on with disdain: “Who the hell wants to see your treasure!”

“This treasure is not what you think!”

“Mortals, do not desecrate!”

After saying that, Blackie took out a piece of black cloth from his pants and placed it on the coffee table.

He bowed to the black cloth first, then carefully unfolded it.

His actions piqued my curiosity.

I leaned in to see that the black cloth wrapped two old, yellowed talismans with red patterns, bizarre and strange.

“These are ghost-suppressing talismans!”

“Just stick the talisman on the forehead of that female ghost, and she won’t be able to move!”

I asked: “You disappeared for a few days just to get this?”

Blackie nodded: “To be precise, to request it!”

I asked again: “How much?”

Blackie replied: “Monks don’t talk about money, they talk about fate! Six thousand eight hundred yuan! Plus round-trip expenses, food, and lodging, the eight thousand from selling the car was just enough!”

“Does this thing really work?”

I reached out to grab it.

“Stop!”

Blackie was so scared he hugged me: “Our happiness for the rest of our lives depends on these two ghost-suppressing talismans, don’t act rashly!”

Blackie might not always make sense when he spoke, but he was actually quite reliable in getting things done.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have bought a car from him.

Could it be… this deal really had potential?

Seeing me lost in thought, Blackie sensed my interest and earnestly said: “Bro Yuan, how about this, consider the eight thousand as your investment! After the deal, we split it fifty-fifty!”

I asked: “Fifty-fifty is how much?”

Blackie silently spread five fingers: “Five million each, in RMB!”

Five million!

In Green Vine, a full payment for a house would be more than enough with two million!

The rest of the money, even if just left in the bank, would earn an interest of over a hundred thousand a year!

It meant a life free from financial worries!

Driving a taxi for a lifetime wouldn’t earn me this much!

Blackie continued: “Bro Yuan, in this world, the bold thrive and the timid starve! Isn’t there a line in the movies, ‘Murder and arson bring a golden belt, bridge building and road repair leave no remains.’ I’ve paved the way, whether you walk it with me or not, give me a straight answer!”

Thinking of the five million in cash that was about to be in front of me, I felt my blood boil.

“Damn it, let’s do it!”

I nodded fiercely.

“Good!”

Blackie put away the talisman: “If all goes well, in three days, I’ll be calling you Boss Zhang!”

“Likewise, Boss Blackie!”

I said: “Do you have a plan for how exactly we’re going to do this?”

Blackie nodded: “Tomorrow night at ten o’clock, meet me at the car dealership! But first, lend me three hundred to get some stuff!”

“That’s nothing!”

I transferred three hundred to him on my phone right away.

After Blackie left, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep all night!

It wasn’t until dawn that I finally dozed off.

***

The next evening at nine o’clock, I couldn’t wait to get to Blackie’s car dealership.

Seeing Blackie’s outfit, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Blackie was two years younger than me, tall, fat, and dark, with a head of yellowish-brown explosive hair.

But now, his yellowish hair was bunched up on top of his head.

And there was a stick inserted in the middle.

“What kind of style is this?”

I tried to control my laughter.

Blackie grinned: “It’s called a Taoist bun, it might intimidate the female ghost!”

I asked: “What if it doesn’t work?”

“Don’t jinx it!”

Blackie glanced at me and said: “We still have the talismans! You hold the female ghost, and I’ll stick the talisman on her forehead!”

I said: “Why isn’t it you holding her and me sticking the talisman? You’re stronger than me!”

Blackie replied: “This isn’t about strength, it’s about looks. You’re handsome, you hold her, she’ll definitely feel something. If she struggles, just grab her two key points!“

When it came to looks, I had nothing to be modest about.