Chapter 43 Are You Driving the Same Demon as Me?
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The sunlight was perfect, and the vast examination hall was dead silent as Xu Yi buried himself in fervent writing.
Easy peasy! Not challenging at all!
Ever since he maxed out his Scholar entries, high school knowledge had become second nature to him, and the legendary American college entrance examination couldn't stump him.
The class bell rang, and the proctor began to collect the papers. Xu Yi breathed a sigh of relief.
He had finished half an hour ago and had checked his work several times. Bored, he had started doodling on scrap paper, and now he was finally free.
"Xu Yi, how did you do on the test?" Hardy ran into Xu Yi in the hallway, his eyes lighting up as he quickly walked over.
"Wait till I get to MIT, I'll introduce you to some upperclass women!" Xu Yi slapped Hardy on the shoulder.
"Humph! So confident now, but don't come crying to me if you don't get accepted. Besides, are you really that generous to introduce me to upperclass women?"
Hardy had already planned to tease Xu Yi mercilessly if he failed to get accepted.
"With so many upperclass women around, how could I possibly cope?" Xu Yi headed towards the school entrance, where he could see Allen's car.
"Scumbag!" Hardy cursed angrily.
He had Lisa and Maria, yet he was still not content. He wasn't even in college yet and was already eyeing the upperclass women!
"I wonder whose BMW that is blocking the entrance, I couldn't drive in, so I had to park outside," Allen said as he courteously took Xu Yi's bag.
As Xu Yi passed the entrance, he curiously took a glance at the BMW—it seemed to be the latest model and priced close to $300,000, a proper luxury car.
"Are you going to... perform an exorcism?" Hardy guessed, looking at Xu Yi's preparation.
"Almost too broke to make ends meet, just trying to earn a bit of money," Xu Yi replied offhandedly.
"Xu Yi, I'm really envious of you, the life of an exorcist must be fascinating!" Hardy said with evident envy.
"Just ordinary stuff, earning a hard living."
With a sigh, Hardy took out his car key from his pocket, pressed the unlock button, and the new BMW made a "beep" sound.
Xu Yi and Allen watched, dumbfounded, as Hardy got into the car, the engine roared, and he zoomed off into the traffic.
At that moment, Xu Yi really wanted to flip Hardy the bird.
"How's the restaurant renovation going?" Xu Yi turned to ask Allen.
Cold shivers!
When would his father stand up and make him a second-generation rich kid!
"I found the first draft of the renovation plan too rudimentary, so I asked a friend to redesign it," Allen said, familiar with these matters as he often visited Chinatown whenever he had the time.
"Do we have enough money?" Xu Yi doubted. Did his dad have that much in deposit?
Could it be that Allen had been hiding the fact that back home there were a few sheep farms waiting for him to inherit?
"Not quite enough, but I borrowed some for Brother Xu!"
Xu Yi patted Allen's shoulder. For an agent to go this far, he certainly did alright.
He suddenly looked forward to seeing the transformed restaurant, especially since he had invested quite a bit of money.
"Now, let's head to our next battlefield," Xu Yi said softly.
Today was the day to meet real estate magnate James and help with an exorcism.
......
The Ford car sped down the highway, windows revealing desolate wilderness; Xu Yi suddenly understood why James wanted to contract this place.
The area, set in the outskirts, could be bought for not much money but wasn't too far from the city. If developed properly, it would definitely be a hit in the market.
The grass outside had been flattened, but no one was working on the site. If the problem with the old theater wasn't resolved, James probably wouldn't dare to take the risk.
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Xu Yi observed for a moment, then lowered his head again and focused on painting.
The combination of a Psychic Painter only needed the final painter entry; he was racing against the clock to get the painter entry as quickly as possible.
The more techniques he mastered, the more confident he would be during exorcisms!
[Painter Entry, Current Progress: 90/100.]
The painter entry finally crossed the major threshold of 90!
Since he completed the scholar entry earlier than expected, Xu Yi had an extra day, so Ailent took him to visit a master of the art.
Under the master's one-on-one professional guidance, the progress of the painter entry surged forward significantly.
The master also gave him a precious painting album, which was the one he was copying from now.
Xu Yi couldn't help but marvel at how impressive an exorcist's reputation was!
If he weren't an exorcist, let alone receiving a private album or one-on-one guidance, he probably wouldn't even get a chance to meet the master.
"We're here!" Ailent stepped on the brakes, and the Ford car stopped in front of a hotel.
The hotel was obviously newly built, probably provided by James for the "vanguard team" to stay in.
"Mr. James has prepared a meal and is awaiting your arrival!" The butler was waiting at the door early and hurriedly came up to greet Xu Yi when he saw him.
Xu Yi sharply noticed the emphasis in the butler's words, "everyone."
Could it be that James had invited other exorcists? On reflection, this possibility seemed quite likely.
"I'll be heading back then, call me if there's an issue!" Ailent drove away.
The exorcism was too dangerous; if Ailent stayed, he would just be a drag. It was better for him to wait for news from the outside.
Guided by the butler, Xu Yi entered an opulent dining room. Only three people sat at the huge marble long table, which made it look very empty.
"What, we waited all this time just for this brat?"
An incongruous voice sounded and Xu Yi looked towards the direction of the voice.
Covered in scars, exuding a faint scent of blood, and with fierce eyes, the man was likely a mercenary.
Xu Yi dismissed him, as he did not feel the magnetic field characteristic of an exorcist on the man.
He looked indifferently at the butler, as if to say, what's with this guy? He's nothing like an exorcist to me!
"Mr. Ryan is quite daring. During his time as a mercenary abroad, he survived for three days and nights amidst the dead," the butler explained.
Xu Yi instantly understood that this was merely an ordinary person with great courage, a cannon fodder-like figure. James must have agreed to let him come with the hope that a dead horse might as well be treated like a living horse doctor.
After all, the key to this exorcism was having enough courage—who knew, maybe such a bold common person could produce miraculous effects?
When Ryan heard the butler's words, he immediately restrained his arrogant attitude.
He wasn't entirely foolish; it did him no good to offend an exorcist, especially in such a dangerous place.
His speaking out was solely because he had been waiting too long.
Out of consideration for the importance of the commission, he had come early in the morning, and now the sun was almost setting when the other party finally arrived.
He was always hot-tempered, speaking whatever came to mind, which had caused him many troubles.
In fact, he regretted his words the moment they left his mouth, but he couldn't swallow his pride to apologize to a whippersnapper, so he remained silent.
After completing the commission, he would be able to pay off his gambling debts with the hefty reward.
Then he would leave the United States, and without further encountering each other, even an exorcist wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
Xu Yi paid no attention to Ryan; instead, he surveyed the remaining two people, one of whom was carrying a metal box.
Xu Yi's gaze lingered on that box.