"Why are you reacting so strongly?" I picked up the token and reattached it to the leather cord at my waist, asking Yao Yao in confusion.
"Why aren't you reacting?" Yao Yao retorted, "Did you see Ma Luosha?"
"No, I just spoke to her on the phone, heard her voice. She seemed like a very kind person... uh, an official," I replied based on the dream. She was from the Underworld, so likely not human.
"Do you know that the Eight Grand Commanders of the Underworld are ranked, each more ferocious than the last?" Yao Yao said.
"There are eight of them? How are they ranked?"
"Wen Panguan, Wu Panguan, Ox Head, Horse Face, Jia Ye, Suo Ye, Seventh Master, Eighth Master. The order of ferocity is reversed. The Seventh Master, Lord Xie Bi'an, whom you just spoke to, was relatively kind. The top four Grand Commanders are all ferocious gods and man-eating devils!" Yao Yao exclaimed, gesticulating wildly as if telling a ghost story to a child.
Could the voice on the "phone" be a facade?
Feeling a bit uneasy, I quickly searched for the image of "Ma Mian" online. Honestly, I was a bit startled by her terrifying appearance. But then again, since she invited me for a meal, she probably wouldn't show up in such a frightful form, would she? It wouldn't matter if she scared me, but what if she scared the flowers and plants in the human world? That would be a sin!
Besides, I had already agreed. If Ma Mian was truly as brutal as Yao Yao claimed and I stood her up, her anger might put us in an even more disadvantageous position.
Weighing the pros and cons, it was better to be the lesser of two evils. So, I had to host her.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Five in the morning," Yao Yao replied.
"Any movement from Mohe?"
"After Yan'an escorted Lin Xi down the mountain, she's been tracking the main Mohe force. They were indeed heading our way, but in the middle of the night, they suddenly turned back on the road and checked into a hotel in Tonghua City. When I contacted her half an hour ago, Yan'an hadn't seen them get out of bed yet," Yao Yao had acted as the chief dispatcher while I slept.
I checked the map. Tonghua City was at least a three-hour drive from Shengjing. Mohe wouldn't be a threat to us for now.
I was completely awake now. Lighting a cigarette and sipping a can of Starbucks I found in Chen Lu's refrigerator, I began to sort out the current situation.
In my dream, Xie Bi'an said he intended to help me resolve this crisis. I had reason to suspect that the Mohe main force's "sudden turn back" on the road might have been Xie Bi'an's doing.
His objective was to give me enough time to prepare.
And perhaps, a breakthrough in dealing with this situation could be achieved during my meeting with Commander Ma Mian.
It couldn't be a coincidence that Ma Mian was in Shengjing just when I needed help and agreed to a meal. Perhaps she was also arranged by Xie Bi'an?
Finishing my cigarette, I stopped thinking and made a decision: "Yao Yao, you take everyone, including Chen Lu's family, and find a safe place to hide. We'll decide what to do after I meet with Ma Luosha. As for Meng Meng and the others... we'll leave Huang Xiaoxian'er at the villa to keep an eye on things. The rest will go with you."
Huang Xiaoxian'er was the old eight-tailed weasel spirit. Her combat power might not be exceptional, but she had a "mist escape technique" that I had witnessed. It was, in a word, amazing!
Therefore, there was no need to worry about Huang Xiaoxian'er getting trapped and unable to escape if she fell into enemy hands.
"You're going alone?" Yao Yao asked, worried.
"If that Lord Ma is truly as fierce and powerful as you say, then no matter how many of us go, it won't be of much use, will it?" I asked. Judging by Yao Yao's previous reaction, she had no chance of winning against Ma Mian.
That made sense. Even the "Seventh Master" Xie Bi'an made Yao Yao feel on edge. Let alone Ma Luosha, the "Fourth Master." Yao Yao had said the higher the ranking, the harder they were to deal with, implying greater power. If it were the "Eighth Master," perhaps we could have put up a fight with all the forces we had.
But Yao Yao was still worried. She glanced at another token on my waist: "Huh? Bingbing has also been appointed as an Underworld official?"