Those oil paintings, the MC and audience thought were prepared by the production team. The production team thought they were original decorations in the castle, and the people in the paintings probably didn't exist. After all, if someone looked like that, they would have left traces on the internet in this day and age, right?
So for a while, no one thought in any other direction.
Before the show even finished airing that day, discussions had already started on various anonymous forums.
On Weibo's hot search, two new keywords appeared: #HowStrongIsBaiYuhuai# and #CastleBeauty#.
[Does anyone else feel like there might really be ghosts there? Every time Bai speaks, it's always on point. Compared to previous episodes, this one is much more watchable just in terms of supernatural knowledge.]
[No way, if there were really ghosts in there, could they have made it out alive?]
[Thinking about it carefully now, such a place filled with paintings of one person is quite scary. Any resourceful sisters out there who've found out who the painting model is?]
[Replying to above: Nope.]
[I can't believe it. In the past, things would be figured out crystal clear in half a day! Forget about Weibo IDs, even whether they had girlfriends would be uncovered! There should be chicken coops everywhere by now!!!]
...
The thread piled up countless floors.
Finally, someone replied:
[Got it! Got it! Kong Xiangqi replied to a comment under her Weibo post, saying the person in the paintings is the young master of the Jing family, Jing Jiujiu!]
[The Jing family? You mean the Jing Group? That surname is quite unique, I can't think of anyone else besides them.]
[Damn, now that you mention it, I seem to remember something too. I recall a long time ago, the Jing Group leaked his photo. He was still young then, a little beauty...]
[They've done such a good job keeping it secret? I've never heard of the Jing Group having such an old young master. Doesn't Jing Tinghua only have one son, called Jing Long?]
[So actually, he's a little beauty born into wealth and nobility? A genuine rich and beautiful? Did Kong Xiangqi say anything else? Never mind, I'll go dig through the comments myself.]
[No need to dig, I'll tell you. He's dead.]
[???]
[...]
The entire thread's subsequent posts were almost entirely covered by these two types of symbols. It took over a thousand floors before someone finally came to their senses and asked: [Is it true? He's dead?]
[They say he died in that castle, burned to death, or something like that. Anyway, it seems he died quite tragically. On his eighteenth birthday.]
[Damn! Wait, I haven't even had enough time to admire his face, and you're telling me he's gone?]
[So tragic... Damn. It's truly heaven's jealousy of beauty!]
[I also remember some information now. It really was a long, long time ago. It's quite strange, not many people seem to know about it now? The Jing family and the Yu family had an alliance marriage back then. The Yu family has always kept a low profile, so maybe not many people know, but Yu Ran, the only son of the Yu family, held a lot of power in major industries at that time! Jing Jiujiu was their son...]
[Ah, I remember now too. When the Sleeping Beauty Castle was completed, it caused a sensation across the country, right? It was on the front page of all the newspapers!]
[??? I've never heard of this at all]
[It's normal. These wealthy tycoons change quite quickly, especially in recent years with the rise of internet and entertainment industries, it's changing even faster. Many hidden wealthy people, if they don't reveal themselves, you'd never know]
[Jing Tinghua and Yu Ran's marriage was quite low-key, but Yu Ran was very high-profile when it came to doting on his son. The Sleeping Beauty Castle was a gift he gave to Jing Jiujiu. Yu Ran always had his son on his lips, but he stubbornly refused to let reporters take and leak photos. Thinking about it now, I can understand. With such beauty, it wouldn't be good to have photos leaked... I wouldn't want to either. Oh, and it's said that Yu Ran used some new technology to give birth to the child himself, so he was especially precious.]
...
More and more people started talking about the story from back then.
A wealthy family, a beautiful person who died tragically - just these two points were enough to pique public interest.
The more they dug, the more they felt the pity for the death of this young master of the Jing family.
[I searched around, and I really couldn't find any news about the death of the Jing family's young master, but I did find news about Jing Long's seventh birthday party =o=]
[This matter... is quite strange. Come to think of it, there hasn't been any news about Yu Ran for many years either.]
The direction of the thread suddenly veered off, and people started discussing whether Jing Jiujiu was really dead, why he might have died, and whether this involved a struggle for family inheritance in the wealthy family...
The Jing family, of course, had their own public relations department. When they detected related discussions on the internet, they were also stunned.
Huh? The Jing family used to have another young master? They didn't know either!
But thinking of the instructions from above, they quickly compiled these discussions and submitted them to their superiors.
In the Jing family villa.
Jing Tinghua was frowning at the scene before him - a seven-year-old boy sitting on the ground playing with a puzzle. The puzzle consisted of over 1,300 pieces. He had only put together less than thirty pieces before impatiently knocking it over.
A woman beside him quickly crouched down to comfort him.
Jing Tinghua sat there, not moving at all.
It was too far off.
At this age, Jing Jiujiu had already grown tired of puzzles, Rubik's cubes, and such toys, and had started learning piano and physics problems. He could even lie on their laps, accompanying them in reading company reports, without once complaining of boredom.
But it wasn't just this one thing that was far off.
Jing Long had inherited his maternal grandfather's looks, not handsome, let alone delicate. He looked somewhat rough, and his intelligence didn't seem outstanding either.
Jing Jiujiu was different.
From birth, he had always been jade-like and adorable. Even as a young child, he had inherited the best genes, with outstanding looks.
He was smart, well-mannered, and even more beautiful than Yu Ran. It was hard for anyone not to like him.
Jing Long seemed to lack emotional intelligence from birth, always unable to get along with others.
Jing Jiujiu, on the other hand, seemed to be born with the ability to gain others' affection. When he stood there, he was like a little prince surrounded by stars. When he was young, countless children from wealthy and powerful families wanted to be his friend.
Yu Ran even laughed and boasted, "There's nothing good in this world that our Jiujiu can't have."
For a moment, Jing Tinghua thought so too.
The ringtone sounded, and Jing Tinghua quickly suppressed these thoughts and answered the phone beside him.
"Hello."
As the person on the other end of the phone spoke more and more, Jing Tinghua's expression gradually became unpleasant.
Jing Tinghua immediately had his bodyguards prepare the car and went to find Jing Hao first.
Who knew, they would end up finding him in the hospital.
Jing Hao had just woken up.
"Is Mr. Jing alright?" Ji Meng hurriedly asked.
Jing Hao glanced at him, seeing the bloodshot eyes of this young actor, and felt a bit better.
But soon, that little comfort and pride were again suppressed by fear.
At this moment, Jing Tinghua pushed the door open and strode in: "You said you saw Jiujiu's photo?"
Ji Meng didn't expect the big boss of the Jing Group to come here in person. Startled, he stood up and was about to greet him, but the other party had already impatiently swept his gaze over him: "Get him out of here."
Two bodyguards immediately came forward and carried him out.
Jing Hao felt his uncle was being too harsh on the people around him. With a pale face, he wanted to say something, but Jing Tinghua had already reached out and pulled him up from the hospital bed.
"Give me your phone," Jing Tinghua said.
Jing Hao swallowed his words and hurriedly said, "I-I just saw the photo on Ji Meng's phone, the guy who was just here. But... I saw Jing Jiujiu again yesterday! At the charity gala, he was standing right next to Bai Yuhuai. Everyone could see him!"
"Impossible," Jing Tinghua denied.
"Really, I saw him, that's why I was scared into the hospital..." Jing Hao couldn't help but expose his own weakness.
Seeing his nephew's useless appearance, Jing Tinghua naturally believed him even less.
"But there is indeed some trouble," Jing Tinghua said in a deep voice.
Hearing this, Jing Hao's face turned even paler.
He was afraid Jing Jiujiu had turned into a vengeful ghost to find him, his neck wasn't enough for a ghost to wring.
Jing Tinghua called for his secretary to hand over an iPad, which he tossed onto Jing Hao's lap: "A group of people were recording a show, and they actually went to record in the Sleeping Beauty Castle, even photographing Jiujiu's portraits."
Jing Hao held the iPad, his expression becoming increasingly grim as he looked.
"Everyone... saw it?"
Praise for Jing Jiujiu flooded the internet, sweeping in like a tidal wave. They extolled the youth's beauty, lamented his fate, and even began discussing why he had died...
Jing Hao started to tremble.
Everyone... everyone would remember Jing Jiujiu...
In this era of advanced internet technology, even if they mobilized countless people to delete information online, it couldn't all be erased.
The number of people discussing Jing Jiujiu would only grow.
The Jing family's secrets might also be uncovered.
Not to mention Jing Jiujiu's former friends...
Jing Hao had no doubt they would seek revenge for Jing Jiujiu.
Back when he hadn't yet moved in with the Jing family, he had already heard of his cousin's reputation. He had scoffed at it, even feeling envious. Until he saw him in person. He felt that this cousin of his was like the highest jewel on a crown, enticing people to reach out and pluck it.
"What should we do?" Jing Hao was like a headless fly.
Jing Tinghua, seeing his state, felt disgusted.
If it weren't for the fact that the Jing family's business was only suitable for someone from the Jing family, and Jing Long was still too young, how could it have fallen to Jing Hao?
Jing Tinghua said, "Master Chou has already left for the castle, and we'll have his reply in a couple of days. But the internet rumors will spread even faster. If anyone asks you about Jiujiu, just say he's not dead, that he's alive and well."
"That might fool outsiders, but we told the Ding family, Yin family, Chen family... that Jing Jiujiu was dead, and we wanted to take back the things Jing Jiujiu had given to their families to burn and send with him."
"Are you an idiot? Can't you come up with a different story? Just say the Jing family still can't accept Jiujiu's death. That we hope he's still alive. So we don't want anyone mentioning that he's dead. Let's pretend he's living forever in everyone's hearts."
Jing Hao mumbled his agreement and made mental notes.
Jing Tinghua left shortly after.
He specifically checked the news about the charity gala again but couldn't find a single photo of Jing Jiujiu. It seems Jing Hao was so frightened that his mind had become muddled.
As soon as Jing Tinghua left, Bai Yuhuai received a phone call.
"Alright, I understand."
Bai Yuhuai put away his phone and turned around.
Jing Jiujiu was looking at him expectantly.
"Jing Tinghua... went to visit Jing Hao," Bai Yuhuai said gravely.
His feelings were somewhat complicated.
His relationship with his parents was distant, but even that distant relationship was better than Jing Tinghua's.
Jing Jiujiu sighed softly, "I pretty much guessed that. Otherwise, Jing Hao wouldn't be managing Dingfeng Entertainment."
"Let's go to the hospital," Jing Jiujiu said after some thought.
Bai Yuhuai didn't ask why, he just took him and left.
This time, Jing Jiujiu was in his ghost state, invisible to everyone except those he wanted to see him.
When they arrived at the hospital, Jing Hao hadn't been discharged yet.
At the entrance, Jing Jiujiu caught sight of Ji Meng and turned to Bai Yuhuai, saying, "Do you want to hide? It might be better not to be seen by acquaintances."
He now knew that Bai Yuhuai was a mega superstar, much more famous than his favorite Meng Hexin. He could easily be photographed.
Bai Yuhuai: "No need."
He walked straight ahead with Jing Jiujiu.
Ji Meng saw Bai Yuhuai and was startled, "Brother Bai, why... why are you here..."
"Just some business," Bai Yuhuai said, looking straight ahead as he pushed open the door.
Jing Hao had calmed down considerably, but upon seeing Bai Yuhuai, he immediately thought of Jing Jiujiu, and his speech became shaky, "Mr. Bai... are you here to see me?"
"Why does Mr. Jing look faint at the sight of me?" Bai Yuhuai said coolly.
Jing Hao was about to apologize and say it wasn't because of him when Jing Jiujiu slowly materialized, clinging to Bai Yuhuai's back and slowly climbing up.
Bai Yuhuai felt as if an electric current was rapidly running up his spine.
He unconsciously clenched his fingers but still allowed the little ghost to climb up and sit on his head, leaning down slightly to show off to Jing Hao...
Jing Hao: "Bai... Bai... Ah... Jing..."
"Ghost! Ghost!" The words stuck in Jing Hao's throat finally came out clearly. The thunderous sound seemed as if it would flip the entire hospital upside down.
Jing Jiujiu: "Hahaha."
Bai Yuhuai heard him laughing so hard he was shaking, as if about to fall off his neck, and instinctively reached out to steady him. As he raised his hand, he ended up pressing against the youth's bottom.
It was... quite perky.
Jing Jiujiu was completely oblivious, bending down to hug Bai Yuhuai's head and speaking close to him: "He's too stupid. Hospitals have the most ghosts, I saw them as soon as I came in." It was fortunate that he was with Bai Yuhuai, otherwise he would have been scared.
Jing Jiujiu said, "Now that he's shouted 'ghost,' all the ghosts will definitely come."
Bai Yuhuai thought to himself, that's not necessarily true.
With him standing here, other ghosts might not dare to come close.
But after some thought, Bai Yuhuai raised his hand, lowered his eyes, and without hesitation bit his fingertip.
Jing Jiujiu: ??
Bai Yuhuai hadn't brought any talisman paper.
His own blood was the most suitable thing for drawing a temporary talisman.
Bai Yuhuai discreetly drew a symbol on his wrist.
He wanted to see all the ghosts gathered together, so be it. It wasn't a big deal.
The moment the talisman was complete.
The door of the hospital room was pushed open with a "bang" by an invisible yin wind, and it seemed as if countless entities surged in, filling the room to the brim.
Jing Jiujiu couldn't help but squeeze Bai Yuhuai's neck tighter: "Why did your aura suddenly become so weak?"
Jing Jiujiu sniffed: "Did I accidentally absorb it?"
He looked at the room full of ghosts.
There were headless ones, ones cut in half at the waist, ones with mangled thighs, and even some burned to charcoal beyond recognition... It was as if a hundred ways to die in the emergency room had gathered here.
"No," Bai Yuhuai replied, "You can't absorb me."
Hearing his voice, Jing Jiujiu felt much more at ease.
At least there was still a living person here!
And all those ghosts crowding the room now turned their gaze towards Jing Hao. The one hanging upside down from the ceiling even moved closer to Jing Hao's face, saying in an eerie voice: "Why did you... call us?"
Jing Hao hadn't expected that shouting once would make him see even more ghosts.
He rubbed his eyes desperately, with such force that he almost rubbed his eyeballs away.
An old lady sitting on the edge of the bed turned her head, her eye sockets black and empty, and smiled at him: "Young man, don't want your eyeballs? Let me help you dig them out."
Jing Hao: "Ah... Ah..."
Unable to catch his breath, he fainted again.
At this moment, Jing Jiujiu unhappily kicked his legs: "You're squishing me."
A young male ghost in a hospital gown turned around: "Sorry, sorry." "Are you here to scare him too?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Ah. But I'm leaving now."
The young male ghost's pale face reddened slightly: "...Then when he wakes up, I'll help scare him some more for you."
Jing Jiujiu very politely: "Thank you."
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Apparently, not all ghosts are scary.
Jing Jiujiu thought to himself.
A Taoist master's duty is to kill ghosts. He still had to kill a ghost today.
Bai Yuhuai thought to himself.
On the fourteenth day since losing the host... the intimidation progress bar was still increasing!
The little robot in Sleeping Beauty's castle thought with melancholy.