10.
The sleeper car had four beds. It wasn’t the weekend, so there were very few passengers; until just now, I’d been alone.
The young man sitting across from me wasn’t very old. He looked a little younger than I was.
He was talkative, his mouth never stopping.
But he was rather handsome, with lively eyes and a cheerful voice, so I didn’t find him off-putting.
I wasn’t good at socializing and rarely spoke, only nodding now and then.
His name was Vương Phi. He’d just started his freshman year, and had gone home because of a family matter. Now he was heading back to school.
What a coincidence—he was from the same city as me.
“Hey, big sis, let’s add each other on WeChat so we can keep in touch.”
He smiled, revealing two little dimples.
It’s hard to refuse someone who’s smiling at you. He only wanted to add me on WeChat, so I couldn’t very well say no.
I took my phone and scanned the QR code Vương Phi showed me, then froze.
The words “Golden Wasp” were written on the QR code. His profile picture was of a gigantic hornet crouched on the ground, about the size of a car. Its huge eyes gleamed with a cold, ruthless light.
As I looked into the golden wasp’s eyes, the pendant on my chest suddenly grew scorching hot…
“What’s wrong, big sis?”
“Nothing. I just think your profile picture is pretty unusual!”
“Right? The wasp is so cool!” Vương Phi said proudly, puffing out his chest.
That night, as I slept in my bed, I vaguely saw a figure standing by the window, slowly reaching out toward me…
I sat up and grabbed his wrist, shouting, “What are you doing?”
Moonlight from outside the train window fell across half his face, leaving it half-lit and half in shadow. He looked utterly eerie. It was Vương Phi, of course.
He wasn’t the least bit embarrassed at being caught. He let out a strange laugh, his voice suddenly turning hoarse, like a broken radio. “Ha… ha… you caught me…”
Then his face and body began to change. His head became flat and triangular, his eyes bulged out, growing terrifyingly large, and a pair of short, thin antennae sprouted from his head!
The hand I was holding turned into a huge wing!
His whole body looked just like that of a mutated golden wasp!
But I was used to seeing all kinds of ghosts and monsters, so I wasn’t afraid of him.
I scoffed. “Vương Phi—no, I should call you Golden Wasp, Ghost Bailiff, shouldn’t I?”
The golden wasp was clearly taken aback. He beat his wings with a buzzing sound. “How did you know?”
I stood a little taller, too. “I’ve been helping my husband with his work for ages. It’s not like I’ve been sitting around doing nothing. I saw the list of ghost bailiffs on the run in the Netherworld, then saw your WeChat profile picture, and I knew it was you!”
“You were behind Master Zhang, too, weren’t you? But… you’re not young, yet you look so young. I didn’t expect you to look even younger than me. This face-changing technique is fascinating. I’m interested.”
“At my level, it’s not easy to acquire a good appearance—or anything else!”
His expression gradually turned vicious. “I helped that old man make money, so I got my reward—but the souls buried underground are mine. You’re the one who ruined my plans!”
After harming so many people, he still had the nerve to boast. I snapped, “Golden Wasp, surrender and come back to the Netherworld with me!”
He seemed to think it was a joke and sneered, “My cultivation is no weaker than the Ghost King’s. Why should I submit to him?”
He snatched my backpack with one foot and threw it out the window right in front of me.
I flew into a rage. “You’ve got a lot of nerve!”
“Hmph. Once I eat you, my cultivation will surge, and then even the Ghost King won’t be able to do anything to me!”
“You’ve got no real strength and still want to throw your weight around? Dream on!”
With that, the wasp lunged at me, aiming straight for my head.
If he hit me, my head would be smashed to pieces!
I shook my head. I’d given him his chance; if he had only himself to blame for not taking it.
Suddenly, a red light flashed at my neck and a figure appeared. I roared at the figure, “Stand aside! Don’t get in my way!”
11.
With that, I raised my leg and kicked the golden wasp in the face. The force sent him tumbling to the ground.
Before he could react, I leaped onto his back, grabbed his antennae, and slammed him hard against the ground. I beat the golden wasp until his face was covered in blood. With a thud, several of his teeth fell out.
As I beat him, I scolded him. “No one has ever dared show the Little Empress such disrespect!”
“Tell me! Are you going to do it again?”
The golden wasp could barely speak. “You… aren’t you a mere mortal? Aren’t you always relying on ghost bailiffs to protect you?”
The Ghost King stood in the corner, staring blankly at the farce. “Even I didn’t know my wife was this formidable.”
I smiled faintly, humbly accepting the credit and praise.
For the past two years, I’d spent my days capturing evil ghosts to earn merit, and even at night, while sleeping, I hadn’t forgotten to help the Ghost King manage official business. I’d poured my heart into it, and at last, I was seeing results!
By now, my cultivation was nearly on par with my husband, the Ghost King.
“You ask why I never take action during missions, and why it’s always the ghost bailiffs who do the work?”
“Don’t get it? If the boss has to do everything himself, what do we need employees for?”
“You have to give them a chance to show what they can do! Get it?”
“Besides, I’ve burned so much money for them! It’s called ‘raising an army for a thousand days to use it for one.’”
Seeing that the golden wasp was still trying to struggle, I flipped him onto his back and yanked the terrifying stinger from his abdomen with one hand. The pain made him scream nonstop, and his breathing immediately grew weak.
I stood up and looked down at him. “Do you give in?”
The golden wasp hurriedly said, “I do! I do!”
I nodded in satisfaction and pointed to the corner. “Honey, tie him up.”
The Ghost King, reduced to serving as a human attendant, raised his hand into the air. Shards of cold light encircled the golden wasp, sprawled on the ground, and he soon disappeared.
He opened his right hand toward the air, and the backpack the golden wasp had thrown out the window flew back.
Another flash of white light swept through, and the mess quickly returned to normal, as if the battle had never happened.
My husband, the Ghost King, rubbed his nose. “How did you know I was inside the pendant the whole time?”
Hmph, he wanted to slack off again, ignore his official duties, and come out to play with me. If he was worried about me, wasn’t the best way to do that to hide inside my pendant?
Not to mention, every night a pair of restless hands would always wander all over me. Did he really take me for a fool?
I grabbed his ear and said fiercely, “Nothing gets past the Little Empress’s discerning eye, so you’d better behave yourself!”
The creepy little ornaments hiding in my backpack quietly covered their ears. This wasn’t something they could hear or see.
A few hours later, we finally reached the station. I hefted my luggage, stretched lazily, and hailed a car by the roadside.
A black car pulled over. The driver, wearing a baseball cap and a face mask, called out to me. “Hey, young lady, heading to the university? Fifty yuan? That’s half the usual taxi fare.”
A fool would pass up a good deal. I got in.
While I was dozing, the black car veered off course, and the driver quietly locked the doors.
I sighed and patted my backpack. “Can’t a girl get any rest around here?”
Old friends, back to work!
—The End—