The assistant was dumbfounded.
So the boss had really been a monk before?
Everyone's faces were written with "WTF".
No wonder when Yin Mo debuted as a singer years ago, whether playing guitar, keyboard, or drums, there was always a hint of Buddhist chanting in his music.
His fans would drunkenly say it felt like their souls were being cleansed.
But mainstream listeners and musicians thought it was too weird.
Other people's music was either noisy enough to get the audience hyped up, or emotional - whether passionate, grand, or sweet melodies.
Your entire album was full of admonitions like "Don't get angry, anger will make you sick and no one can take your place". Listening to your songs made people feel like they were listening to Buddhist sermons. How could you expect people to get hooked and buy your album?
Universal Records, who had signed Yin Mo at the time, deeply regretted being deceived by his frivolous and handsome appearance. Over the past two years, they had lost money all the way to the Southern Heavenly Gate.
Then... then Yin Mo changed careers and went into film production and investment.
The fans who craved his face and body cried for quite a while.
As everyone was lost in reminiscence,
Jing Jiujiu's voice slowly sounded: "Um, but, I still have to say. The flowers were sent by Mr. Bai."
Yin Mo's body stiffened.
The pain in his brain even became less noticeable due to the awkwardness of this moment.
Yin Mo covered his head: "...Call a doctor to check on me, I might be having some memory confusion."
Everyone else also felt quite awkward and quickly agreed: "Yes, we should have a thorough check." "Maybe we should do another CT scan?" "Please take care of your health."
As they spoke, they secretly glanced at Jing Jiujiu. They wanted to see what kind of past connection this mysterious young master Jing had with Yin Mo.
Then they heard Jing Jiujiu ask what they wanted to know.
Jing Jiujiu: "When did you return to secular life?"
Yin Mo pressed his temples: "About five or six years ago, I think..."
Jing Jiujiu was a bit curious: "Why did you return to secular life? I remember they all said you had great Buddhist affinity and were going to take over Master Tingyi's position in the future."
Yin Mo: "I forgot..."
Yin Mo had truly forgotten.
His memories were largely blank and chaotic.
When he saw the flowers, he thought for a moment that he was standing at a party from long, long ago. Jing Jiujiu's family had a huge garden where they grew roses, tulips, sunflowers... Which little kid back then wouldn't want flowers picked by Jing Jiujiu?
Then... then Yin Mo couldn't remember anymore.
Yin Mo pressed his head hard,
The awkwardness from just now was vividly preserved in his memory—
I probably looked like a lunatic just now.
"Well, you should rest and recover then." Jing Jiujiu patted his shoulder.
Bai Yuhuai gave Yin Mo a deep look.
There are Taoist priests who catch ghosts, and naturally, there are also monks who catch ghosts.
The Master Tingyi mentioned by Jing Jiujiu was an expert in this field.
At this moment, the assistant brought over the doctor and nurse.
Jing Jiujiu consciously stepped back a bit to make way.
Yin Mo watched his figure and tapped his head.
That uncomfortable feeling surged up again.
But the doctor had already bent down to listen to his heartbeat.
"...Wow, goodness. Did you install a vibrator on your heart?"
Yin Mo: "What do you mean?"
Doctor: "It means you need to try to calm down. Or we'll have to use medication to help. Otherwise, you'll faint again soon due to tachycardia and arrhythmia, or even pass out completely..."
Everyone was stunned.
How did his condition... get worse?
"Mr. Yin! Mr. Yin!" "Mr. Yin, are you alright?" "Mr. Yin, does your heart need a bypass to get better?"... There was a burst of anxious cries around.
Jing Jiujiu tilted his head and asked Bai Yuhuai: "Shall we leave first?"
Bai Yuhuai had been thinking the same thing: "Mm."
With everyone around asking after Yin Mo's health, the man and ghost slipped away from the crowd, quite unnoticed.
"He might be like Ding Hanbing," Jing Jiujiu sighed softly.
Both victims of troubles caused by worshipping gods.
"Not necessarily," said Bai Yuhuai.
He didn't want the young man to think there was any fault on his part.
Bai Yuhuai paused, then continued: "His teacher, Master Tingyi, holds a very high position in the mystical circles. He's especially skilled at catching ghosts."
Jing Jiujiu shuddered: "R-really?"
"Yes. He practices virgin boy kung fu."
Hearing this, Jing Jiujiu was no longer afraid, and even became a bit curious: "Virgin boy kung fu?"
Bai Yuhuai nodded: "It's a form of meditation called 'Mutual Heart Chan'." "What is Mutual Heart Chan? It means cutting off from the secular world and devoting oneself wholeheartedly to Buddha. Every day, just reciting Buddhist scriptures alone requires 99 repetitions. After years of practice, those with deep attainments can speak in Chan language as soon as they open their mouths."
"Chan language? I know about that." He had just read about it recently. Jing Jiujiu asked: "Is it like... 'Don't get angry, anger leaves room for the devil'... Oh, and there's one that goes, 'I made a wish to Buddha, saying it's the Mid-Autumn Festival and I want my friends and family to get rich. Buddha said, okay, but only for four days. I said fine, then spring, summer, autumn, and winter.' ... Is this the Chan language? Does Master Tingyi say things like this every day?"
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Bai Yuhuai felt it was time to control the young man's internet usage.
Bai Yuhuai: "No. That's what people commonly think of as Chan language. But real Chan language refers to Sanskrit sounds. No matter what words are spoken, or how many, they can have the effect of sweeping away the world's darkness and evil." "To put it simply, if there's a ghost standing in front of you, and you say just one word to it, the ghost might disintegrate on the spot because it can't withstand the Sanskrit sound."
Jing Jiujiu: !
Excuse me!
Jing Jiujiu: "Let's walk faster."
He never wanted to see Yin Mo again!
Bai Yuhuai lowered his gaze, glancing down, allowing Jing Jiujiu to grab his arm.
Bai Yuhuai continued: "Virgin boy kung fu and Mutual Heart Chan have extremely high requirements. If Master Tingyi originally wanted Yin Mo to take his place, he would certainly find ways to make Yin Mo clear his mind and forget himself. That's why Yin Mo has forgotten more than Ding Hanbing..."
At this point, Bai Yuhuai suddenly stopped.
Then why did Yin Mo still return to secular life?
Even if he had forgotten everything, did he still instinctively, stubbornly return to secular life, refusing to be manipulated by others?
The young man would probably cry if he heard all this.
Better not to make him cry.
Bai Yuhuai thought expressionlessly.
"Oh, I see..." Jing Jiujiu paused, then immediately added a compliment: "Big Brother Bai knows so much!"
Bai Yuhuai unconsciously pinched his fingertip and responded softly: "Mm." "I'll go catch you new chaos tomorrow."
Jing Jiujiu: ???
Why suddenly talk about catching new chaos again?
Not only catch new chaos.
He also wanted the young man to regain his human senses soon, to be able to hear and see, smell and eat. What goes down the throat should be real, what's tasted on the tongue should have sourness and sweetness.
...
In the hospital room, Yin Mo gradually calmed down.
At this time, someone said: "Hey, where's the movie star Bai?"
"He probably left earlier, which is normal. Mr. Bai must be very busy. Unlike us." "Alright, alright, who are you calling 'us'?"
Yin Mo lowered his head, all expression concealed from his face.
The assistant was carefully pouring hot water for him, and when he bent down, he noticed that the cinnabar mole between Yin Mo's eyebrows seemed to have become more vivid. The boss's face really did have a bit of a monk's serene air now.
Yin Mo pressed his still throbbing head and said coldly: "Go buy plane tickets. I want to fly to Lingyang Mountain."
His tone at this moment was much calmer, so calm it was almost frightening: "I remember now. It's not just Jing Jiujiu that I forgot. I also forgot one thing, the most important thing..."
The assistant was stunned and asked tremblingly: "W-what thing?"
I forgot...
Jing Jiujiu died.
He was killed by someone.
The next day, Jing Jiujiu learned from Bai Yuhuai's manager that Yin Mo had been discharged from the hospital safely.
Xu Sanyu said puzzledly: "This guy even flew out of town to climb a mountain. You know Lingyang Mountain? It's famous for its breathtaking peaks. I wonder if this Mr. Yin is afraid his heart might fail again halfway up."
Jing Jiujiu paused: "I know. It's one of the four great Buddhist mountains."
At this moment, Bai Yuhuai came down from upstairs and said: "Everything's packed."
He had always been used to packing by himself.
This time he had packed Jing Jiujiu's things as well.
As soon as he saw Bai Yuhuai, Xu Sanyu immediately stood up and didn't dare to continue chatting with Jing Jiujiu.
Bai Yuhuai glanced at him, then looked at the young man sitting on the sofa.
It seemed like everyone could talk to Jing Jiujiu, and everyone enjoyed talking to him.
"Let's go, let's go. It seems to be getting late, and we still have a plane to catch, right?" Jing Jiujiu stood up.
The two people and one ghost said their goodbyes and got into the car, heading towards the theater.
As expected, the theater had returned to normal.
Kong Xiangqi was rehearsing on stage, her face no longer showing signs of fear.
Jing Jiujiu took the initiative to approach her and asked, "Are you feeling better now?"
Kong Xiangqi was pleasantly surprised and put down her script: "Yes, yes. Thank you. And thank you to Brother Bai as well."
Jing Jiujiu nodded, smiled slightly, and then turned to go backstage.
Kong Xiangqi suddenly remembered the paper the young man had handed her that day.
He couldn't be a ghost, right?
Maybe I really did misremember the news.
He's still alive and well.
That's wonderful! Such a beautiful and kind young man, still alive and well!
Kong Xiangqi smiled too, then turned back to memorizing her lines with renewed enthusiasm.
At this time, there was hardly anyone backstage.
Jing Jiujiu stood there and said softly, "I'm going out of town, maybe for ten days or half a month."
Bai Yuhuai listened silently behind him.
This speech sounded all too familiar; Jing Jiujiu had made up something similar when trying to fool him before.
"In the future, when listening to the radio, please wait until people have left before listening. Don't scare others, okay?"
As Jing Jiujiu finished speaking, he and Bai Yuhuai walked out.
After a while, the clothes rack backstage moved slightly.
Lin Zhi emerged from behind it and quietly followed them.
As Jing Jiujiu and Bai Yuhuai got into the car, Lin Zhi tried to climb in after them.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?" Xu Sanyu grabbed him.
Lin Zhi: ?
Lin Zhi: "You can see me?"
Xu Sanyu: "Isn't that obvious? You're so eye-catching, such a tall guy. I'd have to be blind not to see you."
Lin Zhi looked up at the sky.
The sunlight was dazzling.
He had been in the dim environment of the theater for so long that he felt a bit uneasy for a moment.
At this point, the car window rolled down, and Jing Jiujiu poked his head out: "...You can come out?"
Lin Zhi stiffly responded: "Ah."
Jing Jiujiu looked at his appearance today. Although he was still wearing that odd military uniform, his eyes and nose were all intact. That was reassuring.
Jing Jiujiu: "Did you want to say something?"
Lin Zhi looked at him and squeezed out dryly: "...Being human is too difficult."
Xu Sanyu: ?
What, are you planning to go crazy on the spot and stop being human?
Jing Jiujiu: "Is it difficult?" He paused for a moment: "I don't think it's difficult. I really enjoy being human."
Seeing that Xu Sanyu wasn't moving, Lin Zhi immediately grabbed onto the car door again and started pouring out his grievances: "To be a general, you have to be brave and good at fighting, charge into battle, sacrifice yourself for others... You have to shed tears, sweat, and blood, lose arms, legs, and even your head. There are many things you can't do. But there are also many things you must do."
He opened the car door and climbed in: "I don't want to be human anymore, take me with you. I'll help you find Chaos. He said I'm Chaos, so I must be able to sense other Chaos too."
Bai Yuhuai held back his frustration and said coldly: "Get out."
Seeing this, Lin Zhi immediately hugged Jing Jiujiu's arm: "No, no, no! Take me with you! I eat very little. No, I don't need to eat at all."
Bai Yuhuai held back again and again, unable to bear it any longer, but before he could speak—
Jing Jiujiu felt a jolt in his heart. How could that work?
Bai Yuhuai's neck only has room for me to ride, there's no space for you too!
Jing Jiujiu pulled his arm away, cold and merciless: "You should go."
Bai Yuhuai felt immensely satisfied inside.
He lifted his eyelids slightly, sizing up the Chaos before him.
It wasn't entirely impossible.
"Let him stay. If we can't find other Chaos..."
"Then you can skin me alive," Lin Zhi readily agreed.
Jing Jiujiu: "Even if we skin you, there's no filling inside."
Lin Zhi, making a drastic decision: "Then you can swallow me whole!"
Jing Jiujiu was so shocked he hiccupped: "That's not necessary, not necessary at all."
...
Meanwhile, Master Zhou had just finished reciting another set of feng shui principles when Jing Tinghua's call came in.
"I'd like to ask the Master to do something for me."
"What is it?"
"I have a photograph here, and I'd like to ask the Master to find the deity statue in this photo for me. That shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
"Heh." Master Zhou let out a cold laugh, as befitting a master.
Jing Tinghua wasn't bothered by his attitude, rather feeling it was typical of a master. Jing Tinghua chuckled: "The money has already been transferred to your account."
Master Zhou: "No problem."
Jing Tinghua: "There's one more thing..."
Master Zhou: "What?"
"I already know that Master Zhou has been to the Sleeping Beauty Castle. There's no need to hide it from me. I just want to ask Master Zhou, where did the ghosts trapped in the castle go?"
Castle? I've never been there.
Master Zhou blatantly lied: "I sold them."
"Sold them?!"