All the lights in the theater turned on.
"Where? Where's the ghost?" everyone shouted anxiously, grabbing brooms, chairs, and screens, even hoisting up a prop cross half as tall as a person.
Looking around, there was no trace of a ghost anywhere.
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
Although the ghost had scared him too, but... Jing Jiujiu whispered to Bai Yuhuai, "I think being a ghost is quite embarrassing. They don't respect ghosts at all."
Bai Yuhuai calmly said, "It's called putting on a brave face."
"Oh, is that so?" Jing Jiujiu blinked, "No wonder..." No wonder when people go to the castle, the talkative ones are actually more cowardly, while Bai Yuhuai, who speaks and moves the least, isn't afraid of him at all.
Jing Jiujiu felt he had regained some face for ghosts.
After all, only Bai Yuhuai was unique.
"I told you there were no ghosts," the young man on stage came down, saying impatiently.
He was wearing a long robe, typical of a Republican-era intellectual. He was the actor the male ghost had referred to as ugly and unpleasant to hear when crying.
Kong Xiangqi also came down, touching her neck: "I just felt like something was pulling my foot, and a rope chafed me."
The young man sneered, "The scream came from the audience, which means whatever they saw was in the audience. So even if there was a ghost, could it split itself to pull your foot?"
Kong Xiangqi fell silent.
She couldn't tell now whether there were ghosts or not.
But the experience at the castle was still vivid in her mind, and she still hadn't figured out whether Jing Jiujiu was alive or dead. Was the news she saw back then an illusion?
This resulted in Kong Xiangqi now barely daring to look in Jing Jiujiu's direction.
He was still beautiful. Even more beautiful than in the photos.
But this beauty was a bit eerie.
"Let's go, I'm done with rehearsal," Bai Yuhuai spoke up, not intending to get involved in whether there were ghosts in the theater or not.
Jing Jiujiu, however, pressed on his shoulder for support, stood on tiptoe, and stretched his head out: "Miss Kong Xiangqi."
Kong Xiangqi was flattered and surprised.
"You know my name?"
"You remember her name?"
She and Bai Yuhuai spoke almost simultaneously.
Jing Jiujiu nodded.
Bai Yuhuai also remembered that when they were sitting around the fireplace telling ghost stories, Jing Jiujiu was eavesdropping upstairs. He probably remembered it from then.
... His memory was quite good.
"You called me because..." Kong Xiangqi stammered.
Jing Jiujiu pointed at her neck: "There is indeed a faint mark. You should be careful."
Kong Xiangqi's face turned pale, her scalp tingling. For a moment, she trembled, not knowing whether to be more afraid of the thing that pulled her foot or the eerily speaking Jing Jiujiu.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
Leaving Kong Xiangqi standing there dazed, she turned to look back at the stage. It looked like a bloody gaping mouth, scaring Kong Xiangqi so much that she didn't dare to linger and quickly left as well.
Bai Yuhuai said to wait a few days for the documents to be prepared.
Who knew that in less than two days, a middle-aged man with a balding hairstyle would show up at the door.
He was also surprised to see Jing Jiujiu.
In fact, Jing Jiujiu's death report had already been submitted to the police station. Yet Jing Tinghua told the media that he was still alive. The young man's existence suddenly became strange.
The lawyer put aside his thoughts and placed the documents in front of Jing Jiujiu.
Well, these wealthy families have their twists and turns, it's normal if he doesn't understand. It's not his place to figure it out anyway. Just do the job and get paid.
"Please take a look at this document first, is the list of assets clear or is there anything missing?"
Jing Jiujiu took it and flipped through it page by page.
The lawyer couldn't help but click his tongue.
The assets of rich families... were truly breathtaking. If someone could manage these assets, just the management fees alone would be enormous, right?
"No problem," Jing Jiujiu put down the document.
"Alright, then next... we might need to trouble Mr. Bai," the lawyer looked at Bai Yuhuai, "To change the death status, we'll need to deal with the relevant departments."
Bai Yuhuai responded with a "Mm."
Jing Jiujiu felt his empty pockets and turned to Bai Yuhuai, saying, "When I have money, I'll buy you the bunny ears you love."
Bai Yuhuai: ?
Lawyer: ??
Bai Yuhuai stared at the rabbit-shaped jeweled brooch pinned to Jing Jiujiu's collar, and then remembered. The last time he took Jing Jiujiu shopping for clothes, he had stared at a pair of bunny ear headbands in the window for a bit longer.
The lawyer laughed dryly, "If there's no problem with the materials, then I'll take my leave. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we should have news by tomorrow."
This white-faced idol's tastes... were quite unique, huh.
Jing Jiujiu raised his hand, smiling and saying, "Goodbye."
Bai Yuhuai quickly pressed down his arm: "I don't like bunny ears."
Jing Jiujiu: "Huh? Is that so? Then why were you staring at them?" "You don't like bunny ears, but bear ears?"
While Jing Jiujiu and Bai Yuhuai were discussing what he actually liked, the Jing family was fully preparing themselves.
Jing Tinghua had hired a few so-called "half-immortals" locally, the kind that hide in alleys to tell fortunes and read feng shui for people. After the half-immortals arrived, they started drawing talismans and setting up formations, with paper ash flying everywhere.
Jing Tinghua frowned, also doubting whether these people were skilled enough, but at the moment he couldn't find anyone more suitable.
Seeing this, Mrs. Jing bent down to carry Jing Long upstairs.
Jing Tinghua glanced over: "Just leave him downstairs."
Mrs. Jing was a bit flustered: "Huh?"
Jing Tinghua: "Children have strong yang energy, they can suppress things."
Mrs. Jing could only put the child down.
Soon after, the person sent to the Sleeping Beauty Castle entered.
The person first placed Master Chou's corpse on the ground. Jing Tinghua didn't even look at it, asking: "Where's the statue?"
Only then did the person carefully take it out from his chest.
Jing Tinghua held his breath, equally careful: "...?"
The person: ?
Everyone stared at the broken little robot.
Jing Tinghua's tense body suddenly went limp, his anger flaring up: "After all this, this is all you brought back?!"
The next day, on their way to the theater, both Bai Yuhuai and Jing Jiujiu received a news push on their phones—
Male corpse discovered in Sleeping Beauty Castle!
Clicking in, it went on to say that the castle was old and in disrepair, easy to fall with nowhere to call for help, hoping that the public would stop such risky exploration activities and cherish their lives, and so on...
"Someone died in there?" Jing Jiujiu was stunned.
Bai Yuhuai already knew this result and his expression didn't change.
Jing Jiujiu was silent for a few seconds: "Was it done by the Jing family? To prevent more people from discovering the secrets of Sleeping Beauty Castle?"
"With so many news pushes, the Jing family must have approved it," Bai Yuhuai thought, but the person wasn't killed by the Jing family. He didn't take away that statue, leaving it there for the Jing family's people.
An evil god that lost its worship could easily go on a killing spree.
Bai Yuhuai didn't mention these things to Jing Jiujiu, instead he said, "It's too dangerous over there, don't go back for a while."
Jing Jiujiu nodded repeatedly, with a hint of guilt.
Of course, he didn't want to go back.
For this reason, he had stuck to Bai Yuhuai, even riding him every day. But Bai Yuhuai didn't know that. This definitely couldn't be said, if it was said, Bai Yuhuai might not do it anymore.
When they arrived at the theater entrance, before they could get out of the car, they saw the director hurriedly walking out: "Oh, I was just about to call you, something happened in the theater today, we can't rehearse..."
Before Bai Yuhuai could speak, Jing Jiujiu quickly poked his head out: "Was Kong Xiangqi's neck strangled?"
"It's not her, it's Ji Wen'an."
"Hm?"
"That, you know, the one wearing the long robe... He suddenly fell off the stage with a terrified look, broke his collarbone. A little more and his head would have hit the steel plate. This is quite a coincidence, damn it."
Jing Jiujiu suddenly remembered.
Oh, the one the male ghost said was ugly.
"Then what about Kong Xiangqi?" Jing Jiujiu asked again.
"She's inside, scared." The director said, making an apologetic gesture, and quickly went aside to make a phone call. It wasn't clear whether he was calling an ambulance or the police.
As Jing Jiujiu and Bai Yuhuai walked in, before they could see Kong Xiangqi, they first saw Ding Hanbing and his manager.
Ding Hanbing stared intently at Jing Jiujiu for several seconds before shifting his gaze to exchange a look with Bai Yuhuai.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew awkward.
Ding Hanbing's manager cleared his throat, wanting to say something to salvage the situation.
However, Jing Jiujiu simply walked past them and approached the stage.
Kong Xiangqi sat there, stunned.
Jing Jiujiu asked her, "Do you need some paper?"
Kong Xiangqi's heart was still racing, and she could only nod instinctively.
So Jing Jiujiu reached into Bai Yuhuai's pocket and pulled out two sheets of paper that Bai had brought specifically for him. Even ghosts care about cleanliness, it seems.
Jing Jiujiu handed the paper to her.
Behind them, both Bai Yuhuai and Ding Hanbing's expressions momentarily froze.
Kong Xiangqi let out a small sob.
Jing Jiujiu asked again, "Would you like some warm water?"
Ding Hanbing immediately felt his own pockets.
Forget warm water.
He didn't even have cold water!
Ding Hanbing pinched his manager and gave him a meaningful look, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Meanwhile, Kong Xiangqi said, "Thank you, that's not necessary."
Oh, damn.
So I'm completely useless here, huh?
Ding Hanbing felt a moment of social isolation.
Jing Jiujiu continued to ask, "So... did you see a ghost?" He whispered.
With the first two questions as a lead-in, Kong Xiangqi instinctively lowered her guard and answered without thinking, "No."
Bai Yuhuai watched Jing Jiujiu ask his questions seriously, but didn't interject to say that it was just a tiny, insignificant ghost that could be easily dealt with.
Jing Jiujiu let out a soft "Ah," and turned to whisper to Bai Yuhuai, "Then we still need to go find him..."
Ding Hanbing quickly interjected, "Find what? I'll help you look."
The manager also chimed in, "Young master, didn't you say you came here to learn acting?"
Ding Hanbing choked on his words: "..." He didn't want to expose his lack of knowledge in front of Jing Jiujiu, so he furrowed his brow and shut his mouth.
Jing Jiujiu said, "You should wait outside. It's okay, it should be over soon."
Kong Xiangqi was on the verge of tears: "My legs are weak."
Jing Jiujiu turned around.
Bai Yuhuai and Ding Hanbing almost simultaneously looked at the manager.
Ding Hanbing's manager: "..."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, thinking to himself, alright, I get it, I'm the unnecessary one here. He quickly turned to Kong Xiangqi and said, "Miss Kong, my assistant and I will help you out."
Kong Xiangqi nodded, tears in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Jing Jiujiu continued talking to Bai Yuhuai: "I'll go look for him. He approached me on his own that day, so maybe he'll come out again soon."
Bai Yuhuai's lips moved slightly.
Jing Jiujiu: "You just stay here."
Ding Hanbing opened his mouth to speak.
Jing Jiujiu briefly turned back: "You too."
Ding Hanbing: "..." "Oh."
He didn't believe in ghosts, but he was more inclined to think that someone might have tampered with the theater.
Jing Jiujiu quietly analyzed the situation to Bai Yuhuai: "I'm a ghost, and he's a ghost. You're human."
Bai Yuhuai was taken aback. So what?
Jing Jiujiu: "You just stay here, don't be too scared. I'll go."
"..."
Jing Jiujiu thought to himself, Bai Yuhuai might not be afraid of him, but that doesn't mean he's not afraid of other ghosts. The male ghost he saw was imitating Bai Yuhuai's style of dress, which was shameless enough, but he was also covered in blood and had a sword at his waist, looking quite fierce.
A ghost should act like a ghost.
This heavy responsibility should fall on my shoulders.
Jing Jiujiu turned to leave, saying, "I'll check the backstage first."
Bai Yuhuai grabbed his arm.
Jing Jiujiu smiled and even patted Bai Yuhuai's hand in a reassuring manner: "Don't be afraid, wait for me here."
Bai Yuhuai lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the young man's slender, pale fingers. The youth's actions were gentle and light, his words sincere. Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
A fierce ghost protecting a celestial master?
If the young man wanted to "protect" him, then let him do so.
It would only take one slash of a sword, and if Jing Jiujiu started screaming from behind, he could immediately rush in.
Ding Hanbing, who hadn't heard half of the conversation, was anxiously pacing when he saw Jing Jiujiu heading backstage. He immediately moved to follow.
Bai Yuhuai glanced up but didn't bother to stop him.
Jing Jiujiu entered the backstage area and actually saw the male ghost from yesterday.
The male ghost seemed to sense someone coming and immediately turned his head. Jing Jiujiu could see the ghost's facial muscles twitch, as if he was both happy and unhappy to see him, a complex expression.
Today, the male ghost's face was no longer heavily made up, as if it had been blasted with a high-pressure water gun, washing away even his facial features. It was truly terrifying!
Jing Jiujiu nervously clenched his fingers.
"How do I look today?" the male ghost asked.
Jing Jiujiu couldn't resist his inner honesty: "...A bit ugly."
The male ghost's facial muscles immediately slackened, and he said dejectedly, "Is that so?"
The male ghost didn't dwell on his disappointment for long, quickly moving on to complain about other matters to Jing Jiujiu.
"That hanging ghost said she wouldn't perform anymore. How could they have cast her for the role? And that one in the long robe, he always falls so unconvincingly. Doesn't the script say he nearly broke his neck? If he'd just fall properly, it would be much better..."
He seemed eager to perform the roles himself.
Jing Jiujiu: !
Jing Jiujiu: "Can you act?"
"I can, I can."
"If their acting is poor, you could just teach them. Why don't you demonstrate it yourself? Why insist on them actually breaking their necks or hanging themselves?"
The male ghost paused.
Ding Hanbing, hiding behind a curtain, felt his heart racing to the extreme.
He stared intently at the faceless entity... his worldview rapidly crumbling while simultaneously wondering when he should rush in to play the hero.
But the male ghost suddenly slapped his thigh: "You're right!"
He stood up, twirling around happily: "Just teach them, that's all. Can I go teach? Can I be a teacher too? I can be a teacher. I want to be a teacher."
The male ghost lifted his face, and a rope descended from the ceiling.
He hung himself on it.
Two streams of bloody tears flowed down his featureless face, his tongue lolling out grotesquely. His neck twisted to the side at an unnatural angle, his feet dangling...
Ding Hanbing took a deep breath.
He couldn't move.
The hanging ghost could still speak, asking, "What do you think? Aren't I better than them?"
Jing Jiujiu rubbed his face, his long eyelashes trembling.
He said, "Where are your eyes, nose, and mouth? They're not showing."
The male ghost: "Oh! I forgot, I'm sorry..." With that, he reached up and gouged out two eye sockets, then pinched a nose into shape, and recreated a mouth.
Jing Jiujiu pressed down hard on his rising gorge.
I'm so brave! I didn't even run away!
Jing Jiujiu parted his lips slightly, exhaling a long, long breath.
The male ghost: "Your breath is so cold."
Jing Jiujiu thought to himself, we're both ghosts, is there really any difference?
He smacked his lips: "Of course a ghost's breath is cold."
The male ghost was so startled that his nose and eyes fell off: "What?! You're a ghost?! Waaaaaah..."
Jing Jiujiu looked at the nose, eyes, and mouth on the ground: ...
Waaah, it's too scary!
Both ugly and terrifying!
"Bai... Big Bro Bai! Bai-ge!" I'm so scared, damn it!
The rope began to swing.
The male ghost was shrieking and flailing in mid-air.
Such a beautiful person is actually a ghost! I thought he was pretty and wanted to marry him! Ahhh, this is too frightening!
...
Intimidation progress bar 2 — 10%
Congratulations to you and your host for successfully intimidating an unknown entity. Reward doubled.
The little robot that had been thrown out of the Jing family home like trash: ???