IMGH Chapter 17

The Scheme

The driver’s face turned green. What the hell was going on?!

This person’s expression didn’t look like he was playing dumb, which meant he must have been crazy — otherwise, who would be talking to thin air so animatedly?!

“Buddy, who are you talking to?!” the driver asked, trembling.

Jiang Yi grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth, and smiled coldly at the driver. “I took my pet out for a little stroll.”

Some passengers liked to bring cats and dogs out to play. The area under the seat was a visual blind spot, so the driver assumed Jiang Yi’s pet was hiding beneath the seat — which was why it looked like he had been talking to thin air.

The driver hadn’t even had a chance to let out a sigh of relief before Jiang Yi’s next words scared him half to death.

“Lately it’s become trendy to keep little ghosts as pets. Just yesterday I performed a ritual at home, planning to summon one. And you know what — that ritual actually worked! Here we are! Quick, quick — Rui’er, say hello to the driver! Next time you head out, remember his plate number and take his cab again!”

The driver’s face cycled from green to ashen, from ashen to white, from white to a ghastly pale. After staring at Jiang Yi for a few seconds, he slammed his foot down on the accelerator with all his might, and the car shot forward at full speed.

The sudden acceleration threw Jiang Yi off balance and he nearly crashed into the seat in front of him. Once he had steadied himself, he shouted, “Buddy, you’re speeding! You’re speeding!”

The driver was beyond caring. Red lights were treated like green ones as the car wove through traffic like a slippery fish, swaying left and right until Jiang Yi saw stars and his stomach heaved.

The car finally came to a stop, and before Jiang Yi could even figure out what had happened, the driver yanked him out of the vehicle.

“Buddy, I’ve dropped you off! Hurry up and go in — if you’re sick, you need treatment, don’t just tough it out!” The driver threw down those parting words and fled in a panic, vanishing into the distance.

By the time Jiang Yi came to his senses, there was no trace of the taxi anywhere. He looked around at his surroundings, and when he spotted the large sign standing in front of the red-walled, white-roofed building behind him, his face turned green.

He hopped up and down in fury. “Goddammit! He actually dropped me off at the psych ward!”

****

Qiu Rui, who had been standing in the shade of a tree, was already doubled over with laughter. When he finally managed to compose himself, he called out to Jiang Yi, who was still sulking. “This is what you get! Who told you to run your mouth and talk such nonsense?!”

Jiang Yi tried to defend himself. “A grown man like that — so easily scared!”

Qiu Rui spread his hands. “So what do we do now?”

The psychiatric hospital was in the outskirts of the city, and very few taxis ever passed through the area.

Jiang Yi drooped his head like a frost-beaten eggplant and said to Qiu Rui, “Rui’er, wait for me in the shade. I’ll go flag down a car by the roadside.”

It took quite a while before Jiang Yi managed to stop a car. This time, he sat quietly and behaved himself, not daring to utter another word.

Qiu Rui watched Jiang Yi’s thoroughly deflated expression and laughed with great satisfaction.

About half an hour later, the car arrived at the City God Temple.

The City God Temple today was nothing like the bustling, noisy crowd of the previous day. Jiang Yi held up an umbrella and walked through the temple gate side by side with Qiu Rui.

After searching for quite a while without finding Taoist Cao, Jiang Yi grabbed one of the young Taoist monks at the temple and asked, “The Taoist Cao who was helping people interpret fortune slips at the hall entrance on the fifteenth — why isn’t he here?”

The young Taoist monk looked at Jiang Yi blankly. “Taoist Cao? There is no Taoist by the surname Cao at this temple.”

“That’s impossible — he was right there at the hall entrance that day, helping people read their fortune slips. He even read mine!” Jiang Yi panicked, grabbing the young monk’s robe and refusing to let go.

“Honored guest, there truly is no Taoist surnamed Cao at this temple,” the young monk said, looking at Jiang Yi’s agitated expression with some difficulty.

Qiu Rui let out a sigh. He had known all along that things wouldn’t be this simple. “Let it go,” he said to Jiang Yi. “There’s nothing to be gained from pressuring a young monk.”

Jiang Yi released his grip, and the young monk darted into the inner hall and disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Yi looked at Qiu Rui with guilt. “Qiu Rui, it’s my fault — my ignorance caused this harm to you!”

What had happened had already happened, and assigning blame to Jiang Yi wouldn’t undo any of it. Qiu Rui waved his hand. “Forget it. Someone likely did this deliberately — you were just the weapon they used.”

“But why would someone use such dark methods to harm you?”

Qiu Rui furrowed his brow in thought. This matter was most likely tied to the power struggles within his family.

“We need to think this through carefully. Let’s head back first.”

Back at home, Qiu Rui’s mind raced. Right now he couldn’t leave Jiang Yi’s side, which left him powerless over many things. Any contact with the outside world could only go through Jiang Yi. Though he still couldn’t determine whether Jiang Yi was friend or foe, there was no other choice but to bet everything on him.

Having made up his mind, Qiu Rui gave Jiang Yi a phone number and said in a low, steady voice, “Help me call this number. When it connects, say you’re Ryan, the China representative of Wellman, and arrange a meeting.”

Jiang Yi, still feeling deeply guilty toward Qiu Rui, naturally did as he was told. He dialed the number Qiu Rui had given him and put it on speakerphone.

Qiu Rui watched the digits on the screen flickering as the waiting tone sounded, and silently counted in his heart.

1, 2, 3…

No one picked up. Qiu Rui’s expression gradually grew cold, and he prayed silently that this matter wouldn’t touch the person on the other end.

After a long while, the call finally connected. A familiar voice came through the receiver, and Qiu Rui slowly loosened his tightly clenched fist.

“Hello, this is Han Yuancheng. May I ask who’s calling?”

Under Qiu Rui’s prompting gaze, Jiang Yi answered, “Hello, I’m Ryan, the China representative of Wellman.”

The other party paused for a moment, then took the initiative to speak first. “There are still many matters regarding the DL2014 project that need to be discussed and negotiated. I was wondering if you have time recently — I’d like to meet with you in person.”

Qiu Rui quietly breathed a sigh of relief and murmured to Jiang Yi, “Let him decide the time and place.”

Jiang Yi understood and said into the receiver, “Of course.”

The other party left a brief “I’ll be in touch” and hung up quickly.