Sun Fatty glanced at Huang Ran, whose face was slightly flushed, then calmly handed him the phone. Huang Ran's expression stiffened — it was unclear whether he was embarrassed by having his earlier words immediately contradicted or worried about the worsening situation at the church.
After a few exchanges in English over the phone, Huang Ran handed the phone back to Sun Fatty and said, "He wants to speak with you."
Sun Fatty took the phone without letting Martinez say a word. He immediately spoke in Chinese, cutting in, "If you want to say something, come to the hotel and say it, or better yet, let us see for ourselves at the scene. I'm just saying, what can you really explain over the phone?" With that, he didn't wait for a response and hung up, tossing the phone back to Xiao Jintong.
It was rare to see Sun Fatty lose his temper, and I felt a bit out of sorts. I leaned toward him and whispered, "Great Sage, don't you want to ask what happened? The church might be out of control, otherwise he wouldn't have—"
"It's precisely because I know something happened that I hung up. If we don't put pressure on them, they won't hurry to lift this damn restraining order. Honestly, do I have to listen to him just to know what happened in the church?" Sun Fatty said. Then he turned toward Huang Ran and asked the key question, "Old Huang, what did he say to you?"
Huang Ran looked a bit distracted. After a moment, he slowly said, "Two more policemen died, but this time the cause of death is different from the previous two. Both officers died from severe blows to the chest—their ribs fractured and pierced their hearts."
"Different cause of death?" Sun Fatty's eyes darted as he continued, "Old Huang, you're saying this time it wasn't the Arcanobeast spirit? There's something else in the church? I'm just asking, Little Wu, besides the Arcanobeast spirit, did your grandfather collect anything else? Could there be even more advanced demons or spirits?"
Li Qimu gave Sun Fatty a sidelong glance and said, "You think I'd know? Even if it's an Arcanobeast spirit, if I knew how to control it, would I be chased down by loan sharks like this? One whistle and I'd bury them all in sand—"
Li Qimu only said half the sentence before Huang Ran interrupted, looking at Sun Fatty: "You hit the mark. There is indeed something else in the church." After this, the room fell silent again.
Sun Fatty squinted at Huang Ran, waiting for more. After a pause, Huang Ran continued, "The Arcanobeast spirit can only absorb the life energy of living beings, but it has no physical body. It's impossible for it to do something difficult like breaking ribs."
"If it's not the Arcanobeast spirit, then does it have anything to do with Li Jianghe?" After speaking, Sun Fatty pulled out a cigarette and handed one to me. He lit his own but was interrupted by Miss Meng's cold voice: "What kind of attitude is that? Don't you see there are ladies in the room? Do you even know what 'gentlemanly conduct' means? If you don't, go buy a dictionary and look it up!"
Sun Fatty had no intention of provoking Miss Meng. He pushed her toward Huang Ran, then shrugged with a carefree smile, put his cigarette back in the pack, and continued, "Looks like we'll have to go check the scene ourselves."
I toyed with the cigarette Sun Fatty gave me and asked, "How? If we leave the hotel now, it's like going straight back to our home countries. The restraining order lasts three days—we still have to stay here for at least two and a half more days. By then, with people dying like dried-up corpses pierced in the heart, who knows how many more will die."
"Two and a half days? Lazi, I bet dinner tomorrow—by noon at the latest, this restraining order will be lifted." Sun Fatty handed me a lighter, which I pushed back.
At that moment, Huang Ran came over, snatched the cigarette from my hand, took the lighter from Sun Fatty, and ignoring Meng Qiqi's fierce glare, leisurely took a drag and said, "Count me in. I bet by nine a.m. tomorrow at the latest, Martinez and He Yiyang will come with the order to lift the restraining order and take us out of here."
As it turned out, betting with Sun Fatty never ends well. At 9:15 a.m. the next day, Agents Martinez and He Yiyang arrived at the hotel, dusty and exhausted from spending the whole night in the desert wind.
Agent Martinez took out a document and waved it in front of us, then said in Chinese, "I bring you good news. This is the document from the United States Federal Court terminating the restraining order issued by the Nevada District Court against several of you. From this moment onward, ladies and gentlemen, you are free to move about anywhere within the territory of the United States, including Las Vegas. Your personal freedom is now protected under U.S. law."
After speaking, he glanced at the group, then handed the document to Huang Ran. Huang Ran read it and passed it to Deputy Director Sun Fatty. Sun Fatty smiled as he accepted it, but without looking at the paper, he rolled it into a tube and said to Martinez, "So you mean we don't have to stay in this hotel anymore, and can go anywhere we want?"
Agent Martinez didn't understand the meaning behind Sun Fatty's words at first. After a brief pause, he said, "Of course, if you wish. But shouldn't we first deal with the church—" Before he could finish, Sun Fatty interrupted, "That's great. We're heading back home right now. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Are you joking?" Martinez's face instantly flushed red, veins bulging on his forehead. Looking at Sun Fatty, he continued, "Five innocent people have already died, and you don't seem moved at all? We need your help."
Martinez had spent the whole night enduring the desert wind and forced himself to assure the Homeland Security regional director that Sun Fatty, Huang Ran, and others were capable of handling the church incident. Only then did he get the restraining order lifted. After all that effort, hearing Sun Fatty want to throw in the towel, Martinez could no longer maintain his gentlemanly demeanor. He grabbed Sun Fatty's shoulder and, first speaking in English, then switching to Chinese, said, "Was all my torment last night just for you to say this?"
"Such ambiguous talk, no need to say it in front of so many people." Huang Ran, as if in collusion with Sun Fatty, smiled and pulled Martinez aside. Looking at both of them, he said, "Alright, on my face — say what you want to say, make your demands, it's no big deal."
Hearing Huang Ran, Martinez finally understood a little. Sun Fatty sighed and said, "Enough people have died these past two days. I really can't bear to see anyone else lose their life. If you want us to stay, get your people out of the church first. They're amateurs who can only cause trouble for us. I don't want us to die because we have to take care of them." He glanced at Huang Ran, who nodded in agreement, "Of course, that's my opinion as well. Too many outsiders make things complicated."
This seemed acceptable to Martinez and He Yiyang. The two agents stepped aside, whispered a few words, then Martinez said to us in Chinese, "No problem. The police inside the church will withdraw immediately. But to ensure your safety, Agent He Yiyang and I will accompany you throughout. That's the minimum."
Sun Fatty didn't argue or try to impose further conditions. But before we left the hotel, Huang Ran went back to his room and brought out a backpack. Sun Fatty didn't ask what was inside, and Huang Ran didn't say. When did these two fat guys develop such tacit understanding?
Half an hour later, the group took two cars and returned to the church on the edge of the desert. When we arrived, two police cars sat under the blazing sun about 150 to 160 meters from the church, with four or five officers inside. Seeing our cars slow down, one officer got out and motioned loudly for us to drive away immediately, forbidding us from stopping there.
Upon recognizing Martinez driving, the officer shouted to the patrol cars behind him. The remaining officers got out and approached us. Martinez and He Yiyang spoke briefly with them. The officers glanced at us several times and then exchanged a few words among themselves before getting back into their cars and leaving the church.
Watching the police cars leave, Martinez and He Yiyang got back in and drove to the church entrance. After getting out, Martinez said, "No one has entered the church since 4 a.m. this morning. The four officers who died are at the morgue. I've made arrangements — if you want to…"
Before he finished, Huang Ran interrupted, "Bring those four bodies here. I want to show you something interesting. Also, I'm making a list; get everything on this list."
At this, Huang Ran's eyes pulled away from the church and locked onto Martinez and He Yiyang. He said, "We'll handle our business at night. During the day, you should get some rest. If you're tired at night, I can't guarantee what might happen."
Martinez took the list Huang Ran handed him and translated both Huang Ran's words and the items listed to He Yiyang. I glanced over his shoulder. The list wasn't short — cinnabar two taels, borax two taels, live chickens (male, one year old), and other items. Back in China, these could be bought at any herbal pharmacy or farmers' market, but in Las Vegas, which unlike New York or Los Angeles, lacks a Chinatown, gathering these would not be easy.
"Are you sure you really need all this?" Martinez seemed somewhat familiar with Chinese culture and recognized the items at a glance. Huang Ran nodded and said, "You're lucky today. Let me show you some of China's yin-yang mystical arts. One more thing — remember to avoid the 'three lights' when transporting those four bodies, and wrap them completely in red cloth! This is very important. I suggest you personally supervise this. If the bodies are exposed to the three lights, you can send me off on a plane out of America."
Hearing the seriousness in Huang Ran's voice, Martinez grew tense. After translating to He Yiyang, he looked at Huang Ran and asked, "Besides these, do you need anything else?"
Huang Ran pondered briefly, then said, "I almost forgot. There are a few more items you have to get yourself. These are rare and easily confused with others. If you mess up, we'll all be dead here tonight." He pulled out a pen and added several more items to the list.
After handing the updated list back to Martinez, Sun Fatty said, "I hope you don't let this list leak out! Not many people in China could even write something like this." Martinez nodded and stared intently at the few items Huang Ran added, recalling their origins.
After finishing, Huang Ran turned to me and Sun Fatty and said, "I have some cinnabar here, but not enough. We'll make do for now. You guys help me draw talismans at the church's front gate: the Ten Emperors, Nine Heavens, Eight Directions, Seven Stars, Six Harmonies, Five Colors, Four Joys, Three Powers, Two Saints, and One Supreme Array. The rest will wait until the materials and those four bodies arrive."
I was stunned — what kind of formation has such a long name? Just as I was about to ask Huang Ran, Sun Fatty caught my intent and grabbed me, whispering, "Don't say a word. Just follow Huang Ran's orders."
After Huang Ran finished, he glanced oddly at Martinez and He Yiyang and said, "Why aren't you two going to get the stuff yet? If you can't get it before dark, don't bother coming back! Just a heads-up: if you're not back by dusk, we're leaving. If you want to deal with the church then, go find Harry Potter."
While Martinez translated to He Yiyang, he felt something was off, but after a sleepless night and witnessing the brutal deaths of policemen, his reactions were sluggish. Though he sensed something, he still couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.