Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Believe in Science

Everyone else was speechless too.

Just then, Great Immortal Huang finally woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the bright lights and everyone standing around.

He froze, then remembered he had fainted earlier.

His face burned with embarrassment, like he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

“Oh, great immortal – you’re awake?” Su Qian crossed her arms and smiled at Great Immortal Huang.

Great Immortal Huang hurriedly scrambled to his feet, pretending nothing happened.

He straightened his messy clothes and said, “Hmph. This great immortal was only resting a little just now. With me here, that evil spirit didn’t dare act up, so it retreated on its own.”

Zhou Ran rolled his eyes.

At this point, he was still putting on an act.

Su Qian chuckled. “Is that so? Then you must’ve worked really hard, great immortal.”

Great Immortal Huang cleared his throat and continued seriously, “Young Master Zhou, you see, I did all this work today, and I kept the evil spirit in check. Shouldn’t you settle the remaining payment?”

“Tch, you still dare ask this young master for the remaining payment?” Zhou Ran snapped, his face full of anger.

“You were bragging about how amazing you were, and a pair of embroidered shoes scared you half to death. You still have the nerve to ask me for money?”

Great Immortal Huang’s face flushed red.

But he still forced himself to argue, “Young Master Zhou, that’s not fair. Those embroidered shoes were only a small evil spirit’s trick to fool your eyes.”

“I fainted on purpose so it would lower its guard.”

“Then I could strike at the right moment. Didn’t you see? The moment I woke up, I scared it away again!”

Su Qian had seen shameless people, but never someone this shameless.

“Heh. Fine. You want the remaining payment? Sure.” Zhou Ran snorted. “Go through the haunted house again by yourself. If you can walk out safely, I’ll pay you every last cent!”

Great Immortal Huang’s eyes widened.

His heart started pounding.

He knew what happened in there earlier was no joke.

With his little bit of skill, going in again could easily end in disaster.

“Hmph. This great immortal isn’t someone who cares about money. Since you don’t want to pay, then I’ll take it as doing a good deed without leaving my name behind. I exorcised you for free. I don’t want the remaining payment.”

Great Immortal Huang said it like that, but inside, he was bleeding.

Still, the situation was against him, and he didn’t want to risk going back inside.

After speaking, he didn’t care what anyone thought. He put on a lofty posture and slowly walked away.

“Still putting on an act,” Zhou Ran muttered as he watched him go.

After the farce ended, Su Qian and the others left as well.

“Who introduced that fraud to you?” Su Qian asked, confused.

Zhou Ran laughed awkwardly. “That buzz-cut guy did. He said Great Immortal Huang was pretty famous at driving out evil. Who knew he was all talk?”

Su Qian studied Zhou Ran.

The black energy between his brows had already faded away.

“Hey, Su Qian…” Zhou Ran still looked shaken. He leaned closer and whispered, “Do you think there really were ghosts in there just now?”

“Fake,” Su Qian said, glancing at him. “Believe in science.”

There was no need for Zhou Ran to know about the jade token the Yama Prince gave her, or how it drove off lingering souls.

“That’s good.” Zhou Ran patted his chest and finally relaxed.

“Oh right – there’s something I forgot to tell you.” Zhou Ran looked like he remembered something. “Our medicine has officially been promoted, and it got a lot of good feedback at major hospitals and from drug distributors. Ze Zhong Pharmaceuticals’ GDP has been rising fast.”

“Is that so?” Su Qian lifted an eyebrow.

She had been busy with the farm these past few days and almost forgot about it.

Still, it really was good news.

“In a few days, there’s a trade summit. All the big shots in Lin Jiang City will be there, and I got an invitation too.” Zhou Ran looked thrilled. “This is the first time I’ve been recognized.”

Outside, people would finally call him “President Zhou.”

Not “that spoiled loser from the Zhou Family.”

In the past, at formal events like that, he only attended with other members of the Zhou Family, like some useless extra.

But this time was different.

He received the invitation as Ze Zhong Pharmaceuticals’ department head.

“Cruise Ship Trade Summit?” Su Qian asked.

Zhou Ran froze. “You know?”

Then he reacted and laughed. “Tch, I even got you an invitation, but I didn’t expect you to get yours faster than me.”

Su Qian’s lips curved slightly. “Well, I am a major shareholder.”

“True.” Zhou Ran laughed.

On paper, Zhou Ran was the big owner of Ze Zhong Pharmaceuticals.

But in reality, Su Qian’s shares – and her influence over company decisions – were what really mattered.

Not many people knew who she was.

Only a few wealthy merchants and rich madams she had visited before, using alchemy pills.

So it wasn’t strange that she had received an invitation too.

“Alright. I’m going back to get busy,” Zhou Ran said, straightening his collar. His face carried a bit of eager excitement.

“Brother Lu Yao, see you next time.”

After that, Zhou Ran strode away.

“A trade summit…” Su Qian murmured.

Since it was such an important occasion, The Su Family must have received invitations too.

But no one from the Su Family had told her anything.

It seemed the Su Family didn’t plan to take her along to “see the world.”

“What’s wrong?” Lu Yao asked when he saw Su Qian spacing out.

Su Qian snapped back and smiled. “Nothing. I’m just a little tired. Let’s go back.”

“Okay.” Lu Yao nodded.

His gaze lingered on Su Qian’s face for a moment, as if he noticed her mood dip slightly.

But he didn’t ask.

He simply walked beside her in silence.

When they returned to Yun Jin Villa, the sun had already set.

Because of everything with ghosts during the day, as night fell, Su Qian felt more timid than usual.

She didn’t even go to the backyard.

It was like watching a horror movie as a kid – you knew it was fake, but when it was late and you were alone, you still couldn’t stop your mind from running wild.

At eleven at night, the villa was still brightly lit.

Su Qian curled up on the couch, scrolling on her phone. Lu Yao walked over, saw how lazy and tired she looked, and asked, “You’re not going back to your room to rest?”

“I… I’m not sleepy yet,” Su Qian said, lifting her eyes slightly.

She couldn’t exactly say she was still freaked out from the haunted house earlier and didn’t dare sleep alone.

“Oh.” Lu Yao replied and turned to leave.

“What are you doing?” Su Qian’s heart dropped.

The living room was huge.

If Lu Yao left, she would be alone.

The thought made panic and reluctance show in her eyes without her meaning to.

Lu Yao stopped and turned back to look at her. “Going back to my room.”