Master Chou carefully examined everything again, only then realizing what was amiss.
The yin energy here had become denser.
Yet when he took a cursory look with his naked eye, nothing seemed to have changed.
He washed his face and hands with the pomelo leaf water he carried, and even dabbed some under his eyes.
Everything before him became clear once more—
The ancient castle was crowded with ghosts!
Master Chou's face changed drastically. He quickly went upstairs, arriving outside Young Master Jing's bedroom door. On the two doors, the left had been splashed with black dog blood, while the right was wrapped with locust tree branches. Dog blood to ward off evil, blocking the formation that drew yin energy, and locust to attract yin, dispersing the yang energy that suppressed fierce ghosts.
The talismans above had all been completely destroyed by a carving knife.
Without a doubt, the feng shui formation in the basement had also been utterly ruined. If it was someone skilled, they might even have altered it into a grand formation to draw out the Jing family's yang energy!
When he first arrived, his eyes had been clouded by miasma, and he hadn't noticed anything at all!
This was terrible!
Master Chou's steps became even more hurried as he ran to the auxiliary building. There, a large hole had been broken in the floor, exposing the yin soil underneath.
He took out his flashlight and shone it inside.
He saw that the bottom was covered in trampled footprints.
Which damned fools had gone in there wearing shoes and stomped all over?!
Shoes connect to earth energy; after living people had trampled through wearing shoes, all this yin soil was now useless!
And that wasn't even the worst of it... Without a second thought, Master Chou quickly jumped into the pit, wishing he could bury his head in the soil.
He bent down, burying his face as he carefully searched through the mud.
Where was it... where was the thing buried inside?... If someone had taken it away, that would be fine, but if it was still here, having lost the nourishment of yin energy, it could cause huge trouble!
Master Chou searched for nearly half an hour but found nothing.
Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, his hand suddenly touched something. The object was very hard, and having been buried for a long time, it felt cold to the touch.
Clearly, it had been discovered by someone and then reburied.
Did that person know what this object was?
Master Chou's heart sank as he dug it out.
He saw that the object was entirely golden. Although it was somewhat dirty, one could still see that it was an idol made of pure gold.
This was the family deity that the Jing family had been worshipping for generations.
The Jing family's ancestors had once been beggars who used the ground as their bed and the sky as their blanket, until they obtained a fortune-turning deity statue from the chaos of war, with the words "Gathering Fortune" inscribed on it. But since it was a deity, it needed to be worshipped.
When worshipped, their fortunes soared to the heavens.
When not worshipped, the family would be ruined and lives lost.
It couldn't be left here anymore. The grand formation was broken, and Young Master Jing's ghost was nowhere to be found. This object needed to be enshrined and worshipped again, otherwise, not just the Jing family, but he too would face catastrophic disaster.
Master Chou, suppressing his fear, placed the statue in his bosom.
He tried to climb up twice.
He couldn't make it up.
Master Chou was stunned and quickly took out his phone to make a call.
...No signal.
He shook his phone vigorously, now somewhat regretting that he had jumped down so hastily earlier. At the very least, he should have told Jing Tinghua's people first.
The statue pressed against his chest grew colder and colder, as if the evil god attached to it might emerge at any moment. Master Chou broke out in a cold sweat, hurriedly taking it out again and placing it on the ground to begin setting up a formation...
The little robot stood at the mouth of the hole: "..."
This useless thing.
How could he fall in and not be able to get out?
When would I ever be able to find my host again?
In the morning, at Bai Yuhuai's villa, Jing Jiujiu sat at the dining table, symbolically waving his knife and fork before putting them down.
Bai Yuhuai, on the other hand, slowly finished the food in front of him.
Jing Jiujiu sniffed, as if he could smell the aroma that way...
"Hm? Why aren't you eating? What's wrong?" Jing Jiujiu asked, propping up his head.
Bai Yuhuai: "Something has entered your castle."
Jing Jiujiu was startled: "You even know that?"
"Mm, I arranged for two or three people to guard it," Bai Yuhuai paused, then said calmly, "When the master isn't home, there should be a few watchmen, right?"
Jing Jiujiu nodded: "Then hasn't that troubled Mr. Bai?"
"It's no trouble. I pay them, they just watch the place."
At the mention of money and the castle, Jing Jiujiu leaned on the table and let out a soft "Ah."
"Since my father told the media in person that I'm not dead, I should be able to get my and my father's property back. And the Sleeping Beauty Castle will return to my name..."
"Yes." Bai Yuhuai responded, standing up to clear the dishes himself.
He turned towards the kitchen: "We'll need to prepare some materials. I'll lend you my lawyer."
Jing Jiujiu followed him: "Mr. Bai thinks of everything!"
Bai Yuhuai didn't respond further, only the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
He washed the dishes and went upstairs.
The young man just kept circling around behind him.
Like a little shadow.
Jing Jiujiu asked from behind: "Are we going out today?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm. I'm directing a play."
After a few days, Jing Jiujiu had become quite familiar with the manager Xu Sanyu, and upon hearing this, he immediately looked up at Bai Yuhuai: "Huh? The day before yesterday when I heard Brother Xu talking about it, you didn't have this engagement."
Brother Xu. Brother Bai.
The two forms of address side by side, without a hint of difference.
Sometimes the young man even called him "Mr. Bai."
Bai Yuhuai didn't say anything.
Jing Jiujiu: ???
Bai Yuhuai bent down to pick up his coat, turned around, and saw Jing Jiujiu squatting, looking at him expectantly, seemingly waiting for his response. But even in this position, Jing Jiujiu hadn't forgotten to sit in front of the mirror, turning his head to glance at his reflection.
Bai Yuhuai didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused.
Bai Yuhuai lifted his eyelids slightly and asked: "Want to come along?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Jing Jiujiu followed him again, and as they were about to leave, he tried to climb onto Bai Yuhuai's back once more.
Bai Yuhuai reached back and caught the young man: "No more riding."
If this continued, he might get a stiff neck, and that would be quite unsightly.
Jing Jiujiu licked his lips, looking quite disappointed: "Well... there's nowhere else to ride either."
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Bai Yuhuai: "Ah."
Jing Jiujiu: "Then let's just share an umbrella."
Bai Yuhuai opened the umbrella with one hand, while his other hand was tightly held by Jing Jiujiu.
The two of them got into the car, sticking close together like this.
Jing Jiujiu felt this was safer.
The manager, seeing this, was almost numb to it by now.
Actually, thinking about it, isn't this just like a child clinging to their mother? It doesn't necessarily mean they're lovers.
Once in the car, Bai Yuhuai suddenly spoke: "Xu Sanyu has a nickname."
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Manager: ?
Bai Yuhuai: "His nickname is Big Mountain Goat." "You can call him that from now on."
Jing Jiujiu: "Okay, I'll remember that." He even made an "OK" sign with his fingers. In the light, his fingers looked quite pretty.
But the manager: ???
Didn't Brother Bai say last time that this nickname was quite strange, and that using someone's full name was more respectful? Have I become less than human now that I've arranged a reality show for Brother Bai? qaq
Jing Jiujiu, however, firmly remembered that nicknames were a sign of a closer relationship.
Just like when he was young, no one called Ding Hanbing by his full name, everyone called him Ding Dabao.
Hmm, did Bai Yuhuai have a nickname?
Their car finally stopped at the entrance of the Beijing Grand Theater, and the director came out personally to greet them.
When he saw Jing Jiujiu, the director was startled: "Isn't this the one who was trending on social media a few days ago..."
By now, the other actors had also noticed Jing Jiujiu, including some who were at the charity gala that day. So he was actually the young master of the Jing family.
They whispered among themselves. What was that about "Bai Jiu"? Good grief, that name change was intimate enough, it might as well have directly stated his close relationship with Bai Yuhuai.
The director, remembering what Jing Tinghua had publicly said about hoping people wouldn't pay too much attention, and with Bai Yuhuai standing right there, didn't feel it was appropriate to pry into personal matters. After greeting them, he promptly changed the subject.
"I really didn't expect you to come today. It's just a small role, and to trouble you with it, I feel quite embarrassed..."
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm, someone wanted to watch."
"What?" The director was taken aback. After asking, he slowly caught on to the meaning. Someone wanted to watch? Did they want to watch the play? Or did they want to watch this role?
They entered the theater, where rehearsals were underway on stage. Among them was a familiar face.
It was Kong Xiangqi, wasn't it?
Jing Jiujiu vaguely remembered.
Bai Yuhuai needed to go backstage to change clothes and read through his lines, so Jing Jiujiu very consciously patted the seat: "Mm, I'll wait for you here."
After Bai Yuhuai left, others wanted to strike up a conversation with Jing Jiujiu, but they didn't quite dare.
After all, they weren't sure of the person's identity. If it really was a lover... approaching them to chat, whether male or female, might be misinterpreted by the famous actor Bai as having ulterior motives.
Jing Jiujiu sat alone, not feeling bored at all. Ever since leaving the castle, everything outside had been interesting.
He leaned on the front row seats and started watching.
The play was about two girls who, during wartime, accidentally found themselves on a path of no return.
Every time they crossed paths, it marked a turning point in their fate.
Kong Xiangqi was playing one of the female leads.
And Bai Yuhuai... he soon lifted the curtain and walked out.
His military uniform was impeccable, with a long sword at his waist. He wore a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. He looked refined yet intimidating. Like an extremely handsome psychopath.
Before he could even start his lines, the audience below had already started cheering.
Watching this scene, the director almost wept with joy.
A small role, and a psychopathic one at that. For Bai Yuhuai to come and play it, that was truly extraordinary, no, it was incredibly lucky.
On stage, Bai Yuhuai quickly began his dialogue.
A joyful atmosphere spread throughout the theater.
In the president's office of the Jing Corporation, however, the atmosphere was extremely tense.
Jing Tinghua had been unable to contact Master Chou since yesterday afternoon, with no news at all.
"Send two people to take a look at Sleeping Beauty Castle," Jing Tinghua made a phone call.
The other end acknowledged and immediately headed to the castle.
In just about an hour, Jing Tinghua received a call back.
"Mr. Jing... he's dead," the voice on the other end said, swallowing hard, still in shock. "When we arrived, his body was curled up and already stiff."
Jing Tinghua's eyelid twitched, feeling as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest.
"How is that possible?"
But Jing Tinghua quickly composed himself and coldly instructed, "Don't call the police. Bring the body back first. Where did he die?"
"In a... pit. It was full of mud."
Jing Tinghua's expression suddenly changed: "Look around, is there a statue inside? If so, bring it back."
"Yes, sir!"
At Sleeping Beauty Castle.
The little robot watched people coming and going, waiting for the right moment to jump into the master's arms so they could be carried away together.
After all, the car was too high for it to jump into on its own.
It was just too useless being so small now.
Suddenly, someone bent down and picked up the little robot: "A statue?"
Someone next to him sneered: "Does that look like a statue to you?"
"It looks like a toy that's been abused by kids hundreds of times."
"Well, there you have it."
"But besides this, I couldn't find anything else..."
"Fine, fine, whatever it is, let's just take it."
The men didn't dare linger in the castle, feeling it was too eerie. Soon, the castle returned to silence.
The statue that should have remained at the bottom of the pit, or on Master Chou's chest, now stood upright on the dark floor of the living room.
A ray of sunlight leaked in, reflecting a golden light off its surface.
The statue was exquisitely carved, and one could vaguely make out that it depicted the figure of a handsome man.
...
Jing Jiujiu had been sitting in the theater for several hours.
On stage, Kong Xiangqi kicked over the stool at her feet, signaling the final curtain.
"It's too fake. If she wasn't really hanging herself, how could she portray the desperate grimace of someone being hanged?"
"Hm?" Jing Jiujiu turned his head.
At some point, someone had sat down beside him.
It was a young man in a green military uniform, his features hidden under heavy makeup.
He wore silver-rimmed glasses and had a long sword at his waist.
He looked like Bai Yuhuai's doppelganger.
The only thing off was that his makeup wasn't quite right.
Jing Jiujiu tilted his head and asked, "Is that smokey eye makeup?"
The man raised his hand to touch his face: "Ah. Does it look good?"
Jing Jiujiu: "...I just saw a critique online the other day saying that relying on smokey eye makeup for a dark transformation shows poor acting skills."
The man looked greatly alarmed: "Really?"
The actors resting in the row in front: "..."
You sure know how to make conversation.
But the man quickly calmed down again and said, "Well, it's still better looking than that one."
He pointed at an actor on stage.
"Don't you think he's ugly? And his crying is particularly grating. How can someone so ugly be an actor? My goodness." After saying this, the man stood up angrily.
The actors in the front row: "..."
You're quite the conversationalist yourself.
After speaking, the man walked away.
At this moment, Bai Yuhuai finished rehearsing and came down from the stage, slowly walking to Jing Jiujiu's side.
Jing Jiujiu glanced at the man.
The man passed through the seats, walking straight towards the stage.
His legs simply disappeared into the seats, the back of his military uniform stained with blood.
Jing Jiujiu stiffly turned his neck, then buried his face in Bai Yuhuai's chest, straddling him: "...Ghost!"
The people in the front row were also stunned.
What? A ghost? Oh, that's fine then. Seeing the blood on him, I thought someone had been murdered. Wait, what...
"Ghost!!!" someone nearby screamed even louder.
As Jing Jiujiu listened, his fear dissipated as others screamed it out, and he quickly got off Bai Yuhuai.
They're such cowards.
I'm a bit braver than that.