61

After Si Gui crawled out of Cave in the deep mountains of Shentu Village, he sniffed for a long time but caught no scent of his friend.

He stood at the cave mouth for a long while, unsure where to go. As the sun was about to set, he descended the mountain and saw some humans preparing to leave. He followed them out of Shentu Village and into human society.

Humans always looked at him with strange eyes, discussing his clothes and appearance. Si Gui felt he didn't belong here. Among the steel and bones, countless humans—Si Gui carried Great Sword, pausing in silence at every intersection.

Where should he go?

Where were his friends?

Just as Si Gui wandered lost in human society, people calling themselves 'talent scouts' approached him.

They told Si Gui that if he signed a contract with them and obeyed them, they could help his friend find him. Si Gui signed the contract and was sent to the show Next Stop, Idol.

Before coming, his agent took him to cut his hair. Si Gui calmly watched his long hair become short, listening to the agent say: 'You must find cameras any way you can, understand? Only then can your friend see you on TV and come find you.'

Si Gui looked thoughtful. 'I understand.'

He knew these people might not truly want to help, because he'd heard the agent brag to others: 'He's a fool. This contract is twenty years, twenty years! He didn't even blink before signing.'

But Si Gui didn't care. Twenty years was nothing to a living dead person. At least these people had thought of a way for him to find his friend.

But Si Gui had already found over twenty cameras on the show and hidden them all, yet no friend had come to find him.

So he grew increasingly unwilling to bother with the Program Team's filming.

This morning, Si Gui, as usual, covertly removed a camera from the dorm hallway and hid it on himself, then reluctantly headed toward the recording hall. The moment he walked in, a staff member yelled at him: 'Si Gui, everyone's here, just waiting for you!'

Si Gui silently walked toward the back of the crowd, when suddenly he heard a familiar call: 'Si Gui?!'

Lu You was both surprised and delighted.

The tall, muscular short-haired man suddenly raised his head, his eagle-like eyes turning sharply toward the sound. When he saw Lu You, his pupils contracted and he froze on the spot.

Si Gui had changed into modern clothes and styling. At first glance, he was just an oddly-mannered ordinary handsome guy. Sharp brows, keen eyes, aggressive spirit—his looks didn't quite fit this idol show dominated by pretty boys.

Jiang Luo looked at the completely transformed Si Gui, his feelings complex.

While Jiang Luo was processing, Si Gui had already rushed forward and tightly hugged Lu You. After hugging Lu You, he saw Jiang Luo standing beside them, grew even more excited, and hugged Jiang Luo too.

'Friends, you finally came to find me!'

Jiang Luo, his face completely blocked by broad muscles, couldn't say anything in rebuttal: '...'

Si Gui released Jiang Luo, complaining: 'Friend, why did you abandon me back then?'

The questioned Jiang Luo: '...'

He genuinely felt guilty for a moment, but Jiang Luo immediately composed himself: 'The man who saved you threatened me. If I took you, he would kill me.'

Si Gui believed it completely, killing intent rising: 'Who is that man?'

Ye Xun and Lu You also looked at Jiang Luo curiously.

'I don't know who he is, but the person wearing the fox mask called him master,' Jiang Luo suppressed his wildly twitching lips, coughed behind his fist, 'To make him save you, I tried many things. When I finally left, it wasn't that I didn't want to take you—I no longer had the strength to fight him.'

Si Gui firmly memorized 'the person the fox mask calls master.' He said darkly: 'So it was all because of this person that the three of us were forced apart. I'll remember him.'

Jiang Luo lied through his teeth, adding more fuel and vinegar while he was at it.

Ye Xun poked Lu You: 'Lu You, look at Jiang Luo's expression—do you smell something scheming?'

Lu You scratched his head: 'Is there?'

Ye Xun thought for a moment: 'Forget it. Even if he's doing something bad, he's fooling this dumb living dead. Let him have his fun.'

After a while, the noisy hall suddenly erupted in cheers. Everyone looked eagerly at the door: 'The teacher's here!'

Everyone quieted down, excitedly looking outside. Jiang Luo turned his head and looked out too.

A man in casual Tuxedo strolled in from outside. His voice arrived before he did, laughing: 'Good morning.'

'Good morning, teacher!'

'Ahhh, morning!'

The man walked in, his handsome face seeming to glow under the fluorescent lights. He leaned casually against the table, waiting for the trainees to calm down from their excitement, then smiled: 'Everyone's very enthusiastic today.'

'Teacher Qin Fan, we can be even more enthusiastic!' someone screamed.

Qin Fan couldn't help laughing, waved his hand: 'No need, no need. Average enthusiasm is fine.'

Everyone laughed.

After the atmosphere warmed up, Qin Fan looked at the card in his hand. His looks weren't exceptionally striking, but his bearing had tremendous charm. The more you looked, the more attractive he became.

'Today we're mainly playing a game, and it's quite interesting,' Qin Fan smiled and raised his hand, waving the card. 'This is a submission from a netizen who wanted the Program Team to set up a haunted house to scare you, but the Program Team thought about it and decided a haunted house wasn't original enough, so they're switching it up.'

Qin Fan seriously propped his chin, scanned the trainees' nervous expectant expressions, then suddenly grinned wickedly: 'Today we're going to play some indoor ghost-spotting games.'

'Holy shit?! Indoor ghost-spotting?'

'Ahhh I'm already scared, can I opt out?'

'I'm most afraid of this stuff, the Program Team is really evil.'

The hall filled with wailing.

Lu You silently looked at the indoor lighting, then at the sunlight outside, quietly complained to Ye Xun: 'Are they really scared?'

Ye Xun shook his head in confusion.

This 'ghost-spotting' game segment was the result of Jiang Luo and the others discussing with the Director team last night.

The Program Team also suspected the killer might be a trainee. After Jiang Luo's group found nothing in the Broadcast Hall last night, they designed this game. It could observe trainees' reactions and provide investigation opportunities for Jiang Luo's group.

If Jiang Luo's group actually found a 'ghost,' this game naturally wouldn't be broadcast. If nothing happened, staff had already prepared Livid Ghost costumes to scare the trainees, to be aired as a normal activity.

'The Program Team collected three ghost-spotting games,' Qin Fan read. 'Trainees need to split into three groups. Before we start, I'll pick a trainee to do a demonstration with me.'

His gaze swept through the trainees. Those he looked at desperately raised their hands, hoping to be called.

Getting a frame with Qin Fan—this game was absolutely worth it.

Qin Fan said: 'The trainee in the back row with long hair, please come up and assist me.'

Backstage.

The Director froze: 'Didn't I tell Qin Fan not to call those people up?'

The Overall Planner sat beside him, watching the camera move to Jiang Luo's face. On screen, this face seemed naturally veiled in a filter, flawless from every angle, heartbreakingly beautiful.

He winced in heartache: 'It's over, this whole scene has to be cut. Just thinking about such a beautiful face disappearing from the final cut pains me.'

The Overall Director was also sighing: 'Aren't we all.'

The Overall Planner said: 'The master has already been called up. If we cut, we'd have to cut Qin Fan's footage too. Should we ask Qin Fan to switch people?'

'Forget it, you don't know Qin Fan,' the Overall Director waved his hand. 'You tell him to switch, will he listen to you?'

Jiang Luo, suddenly called, was also startled.

The trainees all turned to look back.

'I remember he's called Jiang Huan? Incredible, with looks like this AND a camera shot, he's definitely going to blow up.'

'Right, Zhang Feng, didn't a new trainee come to your dorm too? Who is it?'

Zhang Feng looked at Jiang Luo with jealousy, and something like fear hidden in it. Two opposing expressions twisted his face slightly. He moved away from the trainee talking to him, head lowered: 'I don't know.'

The trainee beside him was speechless: 'If you don't want to say it, just don't. Who are you being dismissive of?'

On stage, Qin Fan waved Jiang Luo over: 'Come on, don't be scared. You're just helping me with a demonstration.'

Jiang Luo's eyes flashed. He strode forward, politely: 'Teacher, you called me?'

'Besides you, no one else here has long hair,' Qin Fan joked with him. 'I've truly never seen anyone more suited to long hair than you. I played period dramas before, and my long-haired look wasn't as good as yours.'

Jiang Luo lifted a strand of black hair. His hair had now grown to his shoulder blades. The long hair didn't diminish the handsomeness between his brows—the handsomeness and beauty blended together. What stood out most was his bearing, not a trace of femininity, like a bloodstained blade, or thorns growing venom. Even trainees who didn't like him felt a sudden, intense sense of crisis.

'I was thinking of cutting this long hair, it's a bit troublesome,' Jiang Luo said politely. 'Teacher jests. How could my look compare to yours?'

When Jiang Luo wanted to act properly, he was a perfectly humble trainee. Qin Fan seemed to like him, chatting with him for several lines before saying: 'The first game's name, I think everyone's heard of—Umbrella in Room. You've all done this before, right?'

Someone wondered: 'I've only heard that opening an umbrella indoors stunts your growth.'

'Right, right, I've only heard the stunting growth version too.'

The Program Team brought out a dark red umbrella. Jiang Luo took the umbrella in hand, and trainees received umbrellas too. Qin Fan placed his card on the table: 'Let's open them together. Ready, one, two—'

Everyone opened their umbrellas in unison.

Ordinary people just thought this was fun, laughing and playfully hitting each other with the umbrella surfaces. Jiang Luo raised his umbrella, glanced up to quickly scan the entire recording hall.

The dark red canopy dyed the indoor lighting dark red too, casting a blood-like flush on everyone's faces.

He saw nothing. Jiang Luo subtly shook his head at the camera. A moment later, staff came up and collected the red umbrellas.

Jiang Luo closed his umbrella, but outside the brilliant sunny day suddenly cracked with thunder. Dark clouds surged, and rain poured down.

The sky darkened rapidly, the distant horizon a sheet of gloom.

The sudden weather change caught everyone in the recording hall off guard. They had just finished testing ghosts with red umbrellas, and now looking at the violent storm, they couldn't help but show unease.

'Why did it suddenly start raining...'

Qin Fan turned to Jiang Luo, joking: 'Do you believe in ghosts and gods?'

Jiang Luo pulled his gaze back from the rain outside the window: 'No.'

Qin Fan, unclear whether he believed or not, raised an eyebrow, half-joking: 'I still believe a little. This weather change is making me a bit scared too.'

But after saying this, he eagerly continued: 'Alright, let's move on to the second game. Let me see—The Upside-Down Ghost Game?'

Qin Fan laughed: 'This pose isn't very handsome, but even if it's not, everyone needs to have sportsmanship and do it properly.'

The Upside-Down Ghost Game meant: stand with legs apart, bend forward and look backward between your legs. If there was a ghost behind you, you could see it in this position.

Zhang Cheng didn't actually believe in ghosts, but he knew audiences loved watching them get scared, and he was happy to perform a frightened look to grab camera time. But once Qin Fan announced this move, he internally complained—making a group of idols do this, how ugly it'd look on camera. Right now he really didn't want the camera pointed at him.

Even if he didn't want to do it, he had to. Zhang Cheng reluctantly parted his legs, lowered his head, and looked backward between them.

Standing behind him was Zhang Feng. But right now he could only see the back of Zhang Feng's head. Zhang Cheng disinterestedly shifted his gaze, but suddenly saw in the empty space below Zhang Feng's head, an infant's head appeared, grinning at Zhang Cheng.

'AHHHH!!!'

A terrified scream rang out. Zhang Cheng fell on his butt. His face deathly pale, he kicked backward with his feet, spine freezing, shaking finger pointing at Zhang Feng as he shouted: 'There's a ghost under his head!!!'

Zhao Ban tried to help him up, glanced at Zhang Feng too. Zhang Feng, already with an ugly expression, rushed over, grabbed Zhang Cheng's collar, raised his fist furiously: 'Who are you saying has a ghost beside them?! There's no ghost beside me, I'm telling you, there CAN'T be a ghost beside me!'

His face twisted grotesquely. Fear and venom crawled across his face like a centipede, distorting it. His human face crumbled, filthy mud flaking away like plaster from a wall: 'Say one more word and try it!'

Staff rushed in to separate them.

Jiang Luo looked at Zhang Feng.

He didn't see any ghost on Zhang Feng, but Zhang Cheng did.

Although Jiang Luo hadn't had much contact with Zhang Cheng, he read people accurately. Zhang Cheng would never make a move that damaged his image in front of cameras for no reason, so Zhang Cheng's claim of seeing a ghost beside Zhang Feng was eighty percent credible.

The scene descended into chaos, the game couldn't continue. Ye Xun and the others walked to Jiang Luo's side. Jiang Luo asked: 'Did you see the ghost beside Zhang Feng?'

'No.' Ye Xun shook his head.

Jiang Luo thought for a moment, then suddenly walked to a camera and tapped the lens.

After a while, an Assistant quietly came over, followed Jiang Luo to a corner: 'Teacher, what did you want to say?'

'Get me the previous footage later,' Jiang Luo said. 'And prepare Zhang Feng's profile and past related videos for me.'

The Assistant nodded and left. Jiang Luo turned around and saw Qin Fan watching him with a smile.

Jiang Luo casually smiled back, wove through the crowd to Zhang Cheng. Ye Xun helped him take Zhang Cheng from Zhao Ban's hands: 'He got scared. I know soothing Buddhist sutras, let me recite some for him.'

Zhang Cheng was so scared he was breathing more out than in. After Ye Xun quietly recited a few lines, he gradually calmed down.

Jiang Luo lowered his head, his hair covering his lips, falling onto Zhang Cheng's cheek: 'Zhang Cheng, what did you see?'

Zhang Cheng's eyes were unfocused, his lips purple: 'A—a baby.'

'What kind of baby?'

'A withered, pitch-black baby,' Zhang Cheng shivered violently. 'It—it was smiling at me. Its mouth is on top, its eyes on the bottom. This baby—its head is upside down!'