"What about the money?" I asked, so much cash we couldn't fit it all in the car – unless we dismantled the boxes and packed it loose.
"The money isn't important," Yaoyao chuckled, and leaped out the window.
All cars leaving Huaximu had to take a winding mountain road, with at least five or six turns to reach the foot of the mountain. Yaoyao took a straight path and quickly overtook Jin family's car. I couldn't predict what she would do after that.
The waiter came to ask if we wanted the food packed. We had barely eaten any. I said no, but asked if I could borrow the hotel's luggage cart.
The luggage cart was standard for a star hotel and could hold all eight money boxes at once. I pushed them all outside and tried to load them into the car. The trunk could only hold four, so the other four were temporarily placed on the back seat. Luckily, I had only brought Yaoyao with me; any more people or demons would have had nowhere to sit.
Although they fit, I still felt a bit uneasy being in an unfamiliar place with so much cash. After some thought, I called the hawk demon and asked her to come quickly to support me.
Things that fly are fast. The hawk demon understood the detailed address (she could use phone navigation) and arrived in less time than it takes to smoke a cigarette. Upon arrival, she didn't immediately show herself but simply perched on the large sign in the parking lot, letting me see her, and that was that.
With her watching, I felt more at ease and dared to return to the room to rest.
I waited and waited, from eight o'clock until ten. Yaoyao still hadn't returned. I started to get anxious and sent her a WeChat message, just a "?". Soon, Yaoyao replied: Provincial Capital.
She went to the provincial capital? That girl was really bold, leaving me and eight million in Benxi just like that.
Figuring she wouldn't be back anytime soon, I decided to secure the cash at our base camp, to avoid losing sleep over it.
After a simple pack, I was about to leave the hotel when Yaoyao sent another WeChat message: Urgent! Leave the hotel immediately!
What was I waiting for? She must have detected danger. I replied "Mm" and jogged to the parking lot. The hawk demon was perched on the car roof.
"Head back to Qipanshan! There might be an ambush on the road. Keep an eye out," I said.
"Aow."
I started the car and drove down the mountain. As soon as I turned onto the highway, a motorcade suddenly appeared, all of them rudely using their high beams. I cautiously pulled over and slowed down, waiting for them to pass. I watched through the rearview mirror and saw them all turn into the fork leading to Huaximu.
They were likely coming for me!
The high-performance luxury cars that just passed were no match for my beat-up Corolla that Zhao Nana used herself, combined with my novice driving skills. I definitely couldn't outrace them.
I couldn't outrun them, but I could handle them in other ways.
I parked the car on the roadside, took out the eight money boxes, strung them together with a rope, and waved to the air.
The hawk demon descended. I told her to hold the rope and hide the money boxes in the mountains first, anywhere would do.
The hawk demon tilted her head, as if asking, "What about me?"
"Then come back to protect me!"
The hawk demon nodded, picked up the string of money, flew to a small mountain by the roadside, dropped the money into the dense woods, circled once, and then swooped down, presumably marking the spot. She returned in less than half a minute. But in that half-minute, engine sounds from Huaximu could be heard. The enemy was fast and already pursuing.
"Follow me!" I shouted, got in the car, and sped along the highway towards Benxi city.
I remembered there was a tunnel ahead. I wondered if I could make it in time...