In my impression, Huang Ran had always been the type to play the cunning fox with a smiling face—someone only Director Gao could keep fully in check. But seeing how he was nearly stripped bare by Sun Fatty in front of all of us, it finally made sense why Sun Fatty could rise to the position of Deputy Director of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. He certainly didn't get there for nothing.
After Huang Ran left the church, Sun Fatty finally turned to Li Qimu and said, "Xiao Wu, if you have no objections, we'll be taking the items with us. As for whether you'll join the Bureau—no rush. Take a week to think it over. Whether you decide yes or no, just let me know." As he spoke, he pulled out one of his business cards and handed it to Li Qimu.
Li Qimu clearly had no intention of objecting. After pocketing the envelope and business card, he glanced at the relics of Li Jianghe still in my arms, then said to Sun Fatty, "These might be called my grandfather's belongings, but I never saw them once when he was alive. They're not of any use to me. Honestly, photos would mean more to me than this stuff. If you want them, take them. I've been compensated anyway."
Li Qimu's lack of sentiment for the relics made sense—after all, he'd already been trying to sell them before. But in a way, this cleared the last formal obstacle to bringing the Heavenly Principle Diagram into the Bureau's custody.
With everything just about settled, Sun Fatty turned to Meng Qiqi before leaving the church. "Miss Meng, I'd say our business here is done, so we won't hold you up from heading back to Paris. Oh, and do pass along our warm regards to the people of France…"
Before he could finish, Meng Qiqi kicked him squarely in the thigh. She wasn't like Huang Ran—she didn't fall for Sun Fatty's sweet talk. If I hadn't been quick enough to grab Sun Fatty's arm and pull him aside, that kick might've landed a few inches higher—and Sun Fatty would've been making an early contribution to population control for the rest of his life.
But Meng Qiqi wasn't done. "Sun Fatty, quit talking nonsense! Using me and ditching me—that's low. Last time at the Tomb of a Transcendent Beast, I got dragged down by Fatty Huang. Now you're trying to play me again? You want me to strip you naked and toss you in the desert next?"
She cursed and shoved at him as she spoke, and Sun Fatty—so smooth and composed when dealing with Huang Ran—was now completely out of his depth. If I hadn't stepped in between them, who knows what state he'd be in by now.
Knowing full well I was no help when it came to dealing with women, Sun Fatty cried out in desperation, "Yang Xiao! Come on, aren't you going to say something?!"
But Yang Xiao acted like he didn't hear. He turned his head to the side, staring up at the crucifixion sculpture on the ceiling and muttering something under his breath. If you listened closely, it sounded like: "If I were you... I'd… just… not mess with her…"
Sun Fatty had clearly hoped Yang Xiao would intervene on his behalf, like he had earlier. But seeing Yang Xiao's response, he quickly changed his approach. "Miss Meng, wait, at least let me explain! What I meant was—if you're not in a rush to return to Paris, why don't you come back to China with us? Whatever Fatty Gao promised you…" He thumped his chest. "I'll get it for you, in his place!"
And with that, it seemed the Las Vegas chapter of our journey was finally drawing to a close. Just before we left, however, there was one final minor episode. Two agents from the Department of Homeland Security rushed back to the scene, dusty and disheveled. Yang Xiao, whose identity was a bit tricky to explain, had already slipped out of the church before they arrived. When they asked about Huang Ran, Sun Fatty casually explained that during an exorcism earlier, Huang had bumped his head on the doorframe and suffered a minor concussion—so he'd already returned to the hotel to rest.
Previously, Huang Ran had provided a ridiculously long list, filled with both useful and useless items. It was no small feat for Hao Yiyang and Agent Martínez—between the two of them, they practically turned all of Las Vegas upside down just to gather everything on that list in such a short time. Now that the whole matter had come to an end, Hao Yiyang seemed fine with it, but Martínez had a strange expression on his face as he stared at the two truckloads of materials parked at the church entrance.
Agent Martínez stepped forward and addressed Sun Fatty directly in Chinese. "On behalf of the U.S. government, thank you all. But to ensure nothing goes wrong after you leave… shouldn't we do a little something more?"
"A little something more?" Sun Fatty cast him a sidelong glance, then looked toward the items piled in the truck behind Martínez and asked, "Not to be rude, but what exactly do you mean?"
Before Sun Fatty had even finished, Martínez was already by the truck. He opened the door and began hauling out the dozen or so bundles packed inside. He brought them over and set them down in front of Sun Fatty, saying, "Just to be absolutely safe—could I trouble you all one last time?"
At this point, Hao Yiyang seemed to catch on to what was going on. She said a few words to Martínez in English. After a brief internal struggle, he let out a heavy sigh and tossed everything back into the truck's back seat.
Sun Fatty then turned to Hao Yiyang and replied to her in English. I didn't catch what they were saying, but based on their animated hand gestures and expressions, it was clear he was relaying the entire sequence of events—only with a bit of creative retelling. As their conversation went on, both Hao Yiyang and Martínez widened their eyes in disbelief.
Though I couldn't understand most of what was said, I distinctly caught a few familiar names drifting over: the Grand Supreme Elder Lord, Sun Wukong, and Queen Mother of the West…
I sighed inwardly. Sun Fatty must've been giving them a Las Vegas edition of Havoc in Heaven…
After the mythical retelling, and at Hao Yiyang's insistence, we all accompanied the two agents on a few rounds through the church, until they were fully convinced nothing was amiss. Only then did they let us return to our hotel. On the ride back, Sun Fatty had already booked our early morning flight back to China.
Even though Yang Xiao—now disguised once again as Xiao Jintong—was stationed at the hotel, we were still worried Huang Ran might pull something. So neither Sun Fatty nor I slept that night. We took turns standing watch over the Heavenly Principle Diagram.
At the first break of dawn, we headed straight for the airport. Once our flight took off and we'd walked a few laps around the cabin without spotting any sign of Huang Ran or his people, we finally relaxed.
But Sun Fatty was never one to sit idle. No sooner had he settled down than he cast a glance at Meng Qiqi, who was resting with her eyes closed a short distance away, then leaned toward Yang Xiao and asked, "Yang Xiao, come clean with me. What exactly is special about this girl Meng Qiqi?"
Yang Xiao glanced at Meng Qiqi to make sure she wasn't pretending to sleep, then leaned back and lowered his voice. "Ask Director Wu yourself."
Hearing that it had to do with Director Wu, my curiosity was immediately piqued. Thankfully, the flight wasn't crowded—just the three of us in this section—so we didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing.
Sun Fatty continued, "Yang Xiao, I know what you're trying to hide. No need to spell it out. I'll say it, and you just tell me yes or no."
Yang Xiao seemed surprised by that. He looked at Sun Fatty with some interest but didn't respond—just gave a small nod.
Sun Fatty pressed on, "Did Old Wu meet Meng Qiqi before the Tomb of the Transcendent Beast incident?"
Yang Xiao paused, tilted his head in thought, but still didn't give a clear yes or no.
His ambiguity was driving me crazy, so I stepped in. "Yang Xiao, what's that supposed to mean? Whether yes or no, just say something."
But Sun Fatty, mimicking Yang Xiao's earlier head-tilt and blinking slowly, looked at him and said, "Come on, Lazi. It's not that he won't say—it's that he can't say."
Then, raising an eyebrow at Yang Xiao, he asked, "Let me rephrase. Did Old Wu meet her before, regardless of whether she was 'Meng Qiqi' at the time?"
I got a bit lost at that, but Yang Xiao's reaction said plenty—his expression shifted subtly, and though he didn't speak, he gave another tiny nod.
That confirmation seemed to drain the smile from Sun Fatty's face. He drew in a deep breath, glanced at Meng Qiqi again, then turned to Yang Xiao and lowered his voice even further. "Old Wu… and Meng Qiqi's past life—or past-past life—do they share a bloodline connection?"
Yang Xiao shook his head slowly, offering nothing more.
I felt like I was beginning to piece some things together, but Sun Fatty's beady eyes had already gone wide. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but no words came out. Finally, he let out a shaky breath, gave another uneasy glance at Meng Qiqi, and muttered, so only the three of us could hear: "Meng… in a previous life—or maybe the life before that—possibly… maybe had some sort of connection with Wu?"
Yang Xiao stared at Sun Fatty for a moment, then said quietly, "That's your guess. I never said anything…"
For a while, all three of us fell silent, staring at the sleeping Meng Qiqi. It got a bit awkward, until I broke the silence and asked, "Da Sheng, what was with that foreign guy yesterday? Why was he so hell-bent on doing another exorcism? Kinda extreme, don't you think?"
Sun Fatty finally cracked a smile. "That guy has a mild case of OCD. Usually he can keep it in check, but the last few days have been too intense. On top of that, Huang Ran gave him a list of near-impossible-to-find items. He went through hell to get them all, and in the end they weren't even needed. The frustration just triggered his compulsive side again."
That shift in topic finally steered us away from the mystery of Meng Qiqi.
Now flying at nearly 10,000 meters with Yang Xiao watching over us, we could finally breathe a little easier. A dozen or so hours later, we landed at Beijing Capital International Airport.
Gao Liang had already arranged for someone to pick us up, including Meng Qiqi, and bring us directly to the Bureau. Once inside, Sun Fatty laid Li Jianghe's relics on Gao Liang's desk. Only then did we truly feel at ease.
At this point, there was nothing more for Yang Xiao to do. After he left, it was just Miss Meng's turn to speak.
She didn't show much interest in the Heavenly Principle Diagram. Instead, she walked straight over to Gao Liang's desk, pulled out a prepared list, and handed it to him. "Director Gao, these were all part of our agreement. Let's not drag things out."
As she said it, she glanced—intentionally or not—at Sun Fatty. But he kept his eyes fixed on Gao Liang, acting as though he hadn't noticed.
Gao Liang finished packing up Li Jianghe's items before turning his attention to the list. Besides the agreed-upon items, Miss Meng had clearly added a few things at the last minute. Gao smiled faintly, crossed out a few of the newer additions, and—just before Meng Qiqi could erupt—he casually added a few other items to the list.
When she saw the names Gao had just written down, her cheeks flushed slightly, and her breathing quickened. "Director Gao… Wu Daozi's Wandering Immortal Scroll and The Strategist's Notes on Besieging the Mountains by the anonymous Daoist… those are for me?"
Gao Liang smiled again. "I know you're passionate about historical artifacts. These old paintings and calligraphy pieces aren't really useful to us at the Bureau. However, those wooden talismans and Ghost Dao scrolls—I can't hand those over. So let's call this an exchange."
Before he finished speaking, Meng Qiqi was already nodding repeatedly. Clearly, Gao's additions far exceeded her expectations—but she still put on a stubborn face and said, "Just this once. Don't try this again."
Gao smiled again and called in Secretary Wang Lu, who escorted Miss Meng to retrieve the finalized list of items.