Departure

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Spitting out the shell of the seafood in his mouth, Jiang Cheng wiped his hands with a wet napkin and answered, "Not yet."

The Fatty looked worried, his crab leg no longer appetizing. Reluctantly, he placed the crab leg down, gazing at the doctor as if he were going to a funeral.

"Doctor," the Fatty spoke with a sorrowful tone, hesitating for a while before finally speaking, "It's been three days, why is there still no news? Are we not going?"

"Tch," Jiang Cheng looked up, furrowing his brows first before staring at the Fatty's big face. After a beat, he asked, "Why do I feel like you're a little disappointed?"

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng tilted his neck and reminded him, "Even though I'm an orphan, even if I don't come back, you can't inherit my estate."

He paused and raised his voice, "I advise you to give up on that idea!"

The Fatty's expression nearly turned into tears.

Although everyone knew the doctor had some mental issues, even when things reached this point, the Fatty found it hard to believe that the doctor was still thinking about inheritance. The Fatty felt the doctor was a bit too much.

Moreover, the most important thing was, the doctor didn't have any assets.

"Doctor, please shut up," the Fatty said, "I'm just concerned about you, worried that you'll go on this mission alone without anyone to help."

"Who says I'm going alone?" Jiang Cheng puffed his cheeks and asked.

"Can Xia Meng even be considered a teammate?" The Fatty swallowed nervously, looking at Jiang Cheng in confusion, "Doctor, I have to say something you might not like: She wants to kill you more than a ghost. Do you believe it?"

Xia Meng was also part of the mission, which was the last message from the middle-aged man. This only made the Fatty even more worried about Jiang Cheng's safety.

Looking up, Jiang Cheng said casually, "But there's still you, right?"

"Me?"

"Yes," Jiang Cheng squinted, "Aren't you coming with me? How could you trust me to go alone?"

The Fatty was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted, blurted out, "Go to hell!"

But in Jiang Cheng's eyes, none of that mattered. With just a few words, he persuaded the Fatty, and even gave some representative examples.

For instance, if he wasn't there, the Fatty could very well get involved in a nightmare and end up getting caught by a ghost who might snap his neck or break his limbs and hang him up like a mascot.

The Fatty's face turned pale hearing this. The scariest part was, these things were very likely to happen.

He was a man with a clear sense of reality and self-awareness. He had survived this long only thanks to the doctor. Though the doctor could be a bit of a chatterbox, at least he had been reliable so far.

"Doctor," the Fatty licked his lips and looked at Jiang Cheng with a determined gaze, saying in a deep voice, "I think there might have been some miscommunication earlier. Actually, my initial plan was to go with you."

He paused, "Because I don't trust you to go alone."

"I see," Jiang Cheng nodded, appearing to understand. "Then how come I heard that you were at the market asking the dessert shop owner next door whether my studio is rented or owned, and even asking about utilities?"

The Fatty froze, then suddenly yelled, "Slander! It's all a slander!"

He seemed agitated, his neck turning red. "Doctor, do you not know what kind of person I am?"

"Enough, I don't want to hear it," Jiang Cheng finished his seafood porridge and squinted. He grabbed a wet napkin to wipe his mouth, then wiped his hands and stood up.

"Fatty, you should know me, by now" Jiang Cheng exhaled and said in a mysterious tone, "Around this area, every beautiful woman, how can they not be thinking about me?"

But as expected, things eventually came to a head. On the fourth day after the middle-aged man left, in the afternoon...

The weather was as sunny and beautiful as usual. In the morning, Jiang Cheng had hosted a conversation with a very attractive woman around 30 years old. They had a pleasant chat, and afterward, the doctor invited her upstairs.

Meanwhile, the Fatty was sitting on a chair, learning by watching wilderness survival videos on his phone. Ever since he found out the doctor was taking him on this mission, he had become more motivated to learn new things. His fixed morning routine was to watch survival videos.

In the afternoon, he read a Sherlock Holmes detective series that he bought from a street stall.

An hour after dinner, he went out for a run. He returned just as the sky was darkening, and then watched horror movies on the doctor's computer to build his courage.

He usually played solo, but when it got too intense, he'd quit and watch a few episodes of Haier Brothers to calm down.

TL/N: It's an old Chinese cartoon airing 1995–2001.

After all, watching Haier Brothers was still educational. Knowledge doesn't have a hierarchy, only different ways of acquiring it.

"Buzz."

Jiang Cheng's phone, which was left on the desk, rang. At that moment, he was sneaking around in the bathroom, probably up to no good.

The Fatty had no choice but to grab the phone and look for him in the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Jiang Cheng pushed open the bathroom door.

The Fatty, who had been studying, caught a glimpse of Jiang Cheng's expression and immediately realized something serious was happening. His expression was unusually heavy, and the Fatty immediately sensed that the event they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"Doctor..." he opened his mouth slightly.

"Pack up," Jiang Cheng turned and headed upstairs, along the stairs. "We'll leave soon."

The Fatty was stunned for a moment, then stood up to follow. As he caught up, he stretched his neck and anxiously asked, "Doctor, where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there."

Their luggage was simple. To stay inconspicuous, neither of them wore the clothes they had worn in the nightmare. They didn't even wear those in everyday life.

After locking the office door, Jiang Cheng led the Fatty to a nearby farmer's market by taxi, where there were many outdoor vendors selling clothes.

This area was busy, and the clothes were cheap.

They each picked out a suitable outfit, comfortable and flexible. The shoes were a bit better, bought from a local sports brand's promotional sale. After all, no one wanted to experience the embarrassment of having their shoes fall apart while being chased by ghosts.

Afterward, they took another taxi and headed out of the city.

The road was somewhat remote, and the driver kept glancing at them through the rear-view mirror, seemingly worried they were highway robbers.

"Why do you keep staring at us?" the Fatty muttered. "You think we're not gonna pay?"

"No, no," the driver chuckled awkwardly. "It's just that things haven't been peaceful lately, it doesn't hurt to be cautious," sensing no ill intentions from them, the driver's conversation became more relaxed.

"Are you locals?" the driver asked as he drove.

"No," Jiang Cheng replied.

"Will you be coming back to the city tonight?"

"Depends."

The driver moved his lips and finally said, "Little brother, listen to my advice. If you don't have anything urgent, don't come back."

(End of the Chapter)

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