When chaos broke out on the film set, Guan Yan's manager was still frantically searching for medical personnel. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, the whole scene would descend into pandemonium.
The phone in his pocket kept ringing incessantly.
Afraid of missing an important call, the manager hurriedly answered.
"...call Guan Yan...come back...fell, someone fell from upstairs."
What fell?
The manager couldn't hear clearly, and the call was cut off due to poor signal. He glanced down, only knowing it was from Guan Yan's home.
"Guan Yan..." the manager quickly ran over, "Something seems to have happened at your home!"
But the wind was blowing so hard, stinging his face, carrying a damp chill. One might think a typhoon was approaching.
He looked puzzledly in Guan Yan's direction.
Why was he just lingering in front of that young man, not moving at all?
However, in the next moment, the manager saw Bai Yuhuai's imposing aura as he pressed down on Guan Yan's nape, pinning him down like meat on a chopping board.
Guan Yan's body seemed to twitch briefly.
The young man opposite also appeared to be scalded, suddenly standing up from his seat.
"Run quickly!" Director Xiang shouted from afar.
Bai Yuhuai glanced up, then abruptly released his hand, instead grabbing Jing Jiujiu and holding him in his arms, swiftly retreating.
The canopy built above the rest area came crashing down with a loud crack, hitting Guan Yan directly.
The manager let out a heart-wrenching roar: "Guan—Yan—"
By this time, Jing Jiujiu had calmed down considerably. He unconsciously clutched Bai Yuhuai's shirt sleeve, his mind buzzing and his wrist aching terribly.
"...His bad luck has begun," Jing Jiujiu said softly.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
No one had expected that just as the evil god from the ancient castle possessed him, the evil god brought back from abroad would take effect. Once Guan Yan's bad luck started, staying any longer would only lead to more trouble.
"Is that evil god still here?" Jing Jiujiu asked quietly.
"It shouldn't be," Bai Yuhuai pressed his lips together. He had originally prepared for a fierce battle today.
Jing Jiujiu let out a soft sigh of relief. He was still firmly gripping Bai Yuhuai's sleeve, but soon spoke softly again: "Actually, seeing it in person, I'm not as scared of it as I thought I'd be."
Bai Yuhuai gave a low response, turning his hand to grasp Jing Jiujiu's wrist.
The young man didn't pull away, allowing him to hold on.
His already snow-white complexion looked even paler now, his skin seeming to become somewhat transparent.
Bai Yuhuai hurriedly rolled up his sleeve to check.
The bracelet was still securely in place.
That was good. He wouldn't easily revert to his ghost state.
The wind gradually died down.
Looking around now, the film set was still intact, but all the surrounding plants had instantly withered.
Everyone watched with their scalps tingling: "...Damn. Did we encounter ghosts today?"
Jing Jiujiu felt somewhat guilty and quickly asked in a low voice: "Was that caused by me?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Yes." He paused, then said: "Extremely powerful."
Hearing the latter part, Jing Jiujiu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his guilt drastically reduced. Being powerful was good. If he became even more powerful, he wouldn't have to fear the evil god in the ancient castle at all.
Meanwhile, Guan Yan's manager and the crew members were calling the police and an ambulance while rushing to rescue Guan Yan.
Fearing secondary injuries, they could only simply remove the objects pressing down on him.
In the end, it was the firefighters who pulled him out.
Guan Yan's body was completely devoid of blood, with only slight abrasions on his face.
His eyes were tightly shut, his face a terrifying pale blue, looking more like he had suffocated.
Bai Yuhuai stood at a distance, still holding Jing Jiujiu's wrist, showing no intention of going forward to check on him. He said coolly: "Two of the three flames on Guan Yan's body have already been extinguished."
Jing Jiujiu was a bit surprised: "That serious?"
"He first raised a little ghost, which weakened the flame on his shoulder. Then he accepted the foreign deity statue and suffered its retribution. That extinguished one flame. Today he was possessed by an evil god once more. Naturally, another flame was extinguished." Bai Yuhuai frowned briefly, more out of disgust than feeling troubled. He said: "The reason evil gods are so infamous is that those they target all meet extremely miserable ends."
At this point, Bai Yuhuai suddenly stopped.
Wasn't this like twisting a knife in Jing Jiujiu's heart?
Jing Jiujiu seemed completely unaware, only saying weakly: "I feel a bit tired." It was very similar to his state in the ancient castle after overusing his ghost powers to generate electricity.
Bai Yuhuai frowned imperceptibly again upon hearing this.
This indicated just how tense Jing Jiujiu had been when the evil god arrived earlier.
And that thing had probably used an enticing tone to say many things to Jing Jiujiu. In the end, they were all instinctively repelled by Jing Jiujiu.
That's why he was now drained of energy.
"Back to the hotel," Bai Yuhuai said in a deep voice.
"Mm."
Bai Yuhuai supported him into the car. Others assumed Jing Jiujiu had just been frightened, so they only offered a few words of concern before watching their car drive away.
Halfway through the journey, Lin Zhi knocked on the car door.
Lin Zhi quickly squeezed in: "Jiujiu! Jiujiu! Did you smell that terrifying aura earlier?"
"Mm." Jing Jiujiu leaned against Bai Yuhuai.
"What was that thing?" Lin Zhi asked anxiously.
"An evil god."
Lin Zhi clearly had no concept of this entity, only feeling that based on its earlier presence, it must be quite terrifying.
Lin Zhi asked: "Did you guys encounter it just now?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm, it was sitting right across from me."
Lin Zhi: "Holy shit!"
Lin Zhi: "Jiujiu, you're not scared at all? You're amazing, protect me too." As he spoke, he tried to burrow into Jing Jiujiu's arms.
Bai Yuhuai finally spared Lin Zhi an impatient glance: "You're a primordial chaos being, what are you afraid of?"
Lin Zhi: "Oh, so I don't need to be afraid of it?"
Lin Zhi suddenly became emboldened: "I get it now, I'll go confront it right away."
Jing Jiujiu: ???
Jing Jiujiu quickly tugged at the sword at his waist: "There's no need to be so hasty. What if it swallows you whole?"
Lin Zhi had no choice but to sit back down.
Bai Yuhuai's mood was clearly not very sunny today. He coldly criticized: "I've never seen such a stupid primordial chaos being."
Lin Zhi opened his mouth, unable to refute.
He couldn't do well as a human, nor as a primordial chaos being.
Bai Yuhuai raised his hand to rub his temple, saying coldly: "Primordial chaos beings come from between heaven and earth. The universe is your parent. The energy of heaven and earth is at your disposal. Why should you fear it?"
Lin Zhi, having learned some useless things from that half-baked ghost before, couldn't digest Bai Yuhuai's proper teachings now. He could only ask stupidly: "Then... how do I use it?"
By this time, the car had stopped at the hotel entrance.
Bai Yuhuai supported Jing Jiujiu as they got out of the car.
Lin Zhi hurriedly followed: "How do I use it exactly?"
Bai Yuhuai no longer had the patience to deal with him: "Look it up yourself."
Bai Yuhuai supported Jing Jiujiu into the elevator.
Jing Jiujiu couldn't help but muse: "Actually, being in ghost form would be most convenient right now. We could just float up, how efficient."
Bai Yuhuai responded with an "Mm," but his attention was elsewhere.
Once they entered the room, Bai Yuhuai immediately turned on the lights, then rolled up Jing Jiujiu's sleeve. On the young man's snow-white wrist and arm were several golden marks.
The marks were so deep they seemed to be branded into his flesh and soul.
Jing Jiujiu: "No wonder I feel pain." "Why do ghosts still have pain receptors?" He sincerely posed this age-old unsolvable question.
Bai Yuhuai's expression suddenly darkened. He quickly released Jing Jiujiu's hand and went into the bathroom. When he had jumped down to run over earlier, he had bitten too hastily, causing a deep wound on his hand that was still bleeding.
Bai Yuhuai turned on the faucet and put his hand under it, watching as the water washed away most of the blood seeping from the wound...
When Bai Yuhuai came out again, he had thickly wrapped his necktie around his hand several times.
Jing Jiujiu: "You're injured?"
Bai Yuhuai brushed it off: "Mm."
He sat down opposite Jing Jiujiu, originally intending to ask the young man to take off his clothes so he could carefully check where the blood from his hand had been flung when he rushed to pin down Guan Yan, leaving behind brands.
However, thinking of how the young man had removed his clothes the day before... Bai Yuhuai had to forcefully suppress his urge.
Jing Jiujiu then asked: "What's this thing on my hand? Is it something that can harm ghosts?"
Bai Yuhuai: "My blood."
Jing Jiujiu was startled for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. He mimicked the tone Bai Yuhuai had used to praise him earlier that day and said: "Your blood... is also pretty impressive."
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Bai Yuhuai: "You're right about that."
Jing Jiujiu thought to himself, it's a good thing I'm not an evil ghost that sucks human blood. Otherwise, I'd drop dead on the spot after just two sips.
Meanwhile, in another location.
A van sped into the film set.
Several old and young monks got out, with a man in a suit and tie - Yin Mo - wedged between them, standing out conspicuously.
The bustling film crew fell silent for a moment, then someone recognized Yin Mo.
"Director Yin!"
"Why is Director Yin here?"
For a moment, the staff members felt awkward. After all, the set had collapsed, injuring someone, and the surrounding flowers and trees were withered and lifeless. They wouldn't even need to create fake scenery for future films, but they didn't know how much compensation they'd have to pay when they left, so they weren't sure whether to be happy or upset.
The old monk looked around and said: "...This is the work of a fierce ghost. With just one breath, it turned all the flowers and trees to decay."
Staff members: ???
At this point, Director Xiang heard that the investor had arrived and quickly ran over to give Yin Mo a brief account of what had happened on set.
Yin Mo frowned and asked: "You say he left with Bai Yuhuai?"
Director Xiang: ?
Isn't your focus a bit off here?
Yin Mo: "Give me their hotel room number."
The director had no choice but to provide it immediately.
Everyone looked at Yin Mo, the small van behind him that didn't match his status and demeanor, and the few old monks, feeling quite strange about it all.
But they didn't dare ask Director Yin what he was up to. So they could only silently watch as the group departed.
Just... weren't you guys overloaded earlier?
Can a van really fit that many people?
Following the room number provided by the director, Yin Mo successfully arrived at the door. But there was already someone at the doorway. At first glance, the person's figure looked somewhat similar to Bai Yuhuai's. He was wearing a military uniform with a sword hanging at his waist. Such attire seemed extremely out of place in this era and location.
"Is it a ghost?!" The young monks were startled.
Lin Zhi unhappily retorted: "You're the ghost."
"With that outfit, and you still say you're not..." The young monk grumbled.
The old monk spoke up: "He's not."
The old monk looked him up and down: "He has the aura of heaven and earth about him. What exactly are you? Some kind of spirit that has cultivated into human form?"
Yin Mo didn't care at all whether this person was a spirit or a monster. He raised his hand to knock on the door.
But Lin Zhi stopped him.
He thought to himself, if I couldn't get in, why should you be allowed to knock just because you've arrived?
"Who are you looking for?" Lin Zhi asked.
Yin Mo's expression darkened: "Who are you?"
Lin Zhi: "I'm Jiujiu's good friend." Chaos naturally wouldn't feel embarrassed, and instead answered quite confidently: "The kind that lasts a lifetime."
Something in those words seemed to strike a nerve with Yin Mo.
Yin Mo suddenly clenched his fist.
A young monk couldn't help but remind from the side: "Master, Senior Brother's fist has hardened. He might want to hit you."
The lead old monk: "..."
The old monk: "I know, I know." "Hurry up and knock on the door."
Yin Mo said in a deep voice: "I'm his friend too."
Only then did Lin Zhi step aside.
After all, this embodiment of chaos hadn't been to school and was easily fooled. Whoever claimed to be a friend, he believed.
Yin Mo knocked on the door.
A voice quickly came from inside: "Who is it?"
Yin Mo's expression changed slightly.
It was Bai Yuhuai's voice.
He was staying together with Jing Jiujiu?
"It's Yin Mo."
"..."
The group of monks waited outside for about thirty seconds before a young monk spoke up: "It seems we're not very welcome."
A vein throbbed on Yin Mo's temple. If this wasn't his own junior disciple, he'd have been in the cremation furnace by now.
Yin Mo raised his hand to knock again: "Mr. Bai, Actor Bai. Let's talk. I know an evil god encountered Jing Jiujiu today. We need to find a way to resolve this issue, don't we?"
Only then did the door open.
Bai Yuhuai stood there, a necktie wrapped around his hand. His hair was soaked with sweat and casually pushed back. He was still wearing his costume from the set. One button had even come undone.
He had a somewhat disheveled look, quite different from his usual impeccable and meticulous appearance.
But even so.
The many people standing outside the door felt a moment of unnatural pressure in his presence.
Bai Yuhuai coldly scanned over them: "You've come from Lingyang Mountain?" Then he looked at the lead old monk: "Master Tingyi?"
Tingyi clasped his hands in greeting: "It is I."
Yin Mo spoke up impatiently: "I don't know if Jiujiu has told you, but he and I have known each other since childhood. We have a deep relationship. He should trust and rely on me... I hope Mr. Bai can hand him over to me."
Unfortunately, Bai Yuhuai's tall and straight figure blocked the doorway, preventing Yin Mo from seeing clearly inside. Let alone catching a glimpse of Jing Jiujiu.
Bai Yuhuai's fingers unconsciously tightened.
The wound wrapped by the necktie sent a twinge of pain.
Bai Yuhuai: "A deep relationship? Like Ding Hanbing, a one-sided deep relationship?"
Yin Mo's expression stiffened: "No." He composed himself, much more stable than Ding Hanbing: "I'm different from Ding Hanbing."
Bai Yuhuai said coolly: "You are different. Ding Hanbing, this one-sided friend, would at least desperately try to remember Jing Jiujiu. Director Yin doesn't remember him at all."
A young monk timidly said: "Master, I see Senior Brother's fist has hardened again."
Tingyi: "..."
Yin Mo: "..."
Bai Yuhuai still gave these people some face. He said indifferently: "We can discuss the matter, but Jing Jiujiu can only stay here."
At this moment, Jing Jiujiu was lazily lying on the sofa, his hand no longer hurting much.
He vaguely heard voices outside the door and couldn't help but ask: "Who is it?"
He had just been thinking about turning into his ghost form to relax a bit.
Bai Yuhuai moved half a step aside, turning his head to speak to Jing Jiujiu: "Yin Mo. And some monks."
Monks!
The kind who practice celibacy, speak in Buddhist terms, and can destroy many ghosts with just one word!
Jing Jiujiu sat up, wondering whether it would be safer to ride on Bai Yuhuai's neck or to slip into the bedroom.
By then, Yin Mo had already led the group inside.
"Jiujiu." Yin Mo called softly.
The old monk behind him was earnestly advising, trying to persuade Bai Yuhuai to turn back: "Do you know what you're doing? This is raising a ghost!"
As the old monk spoke, he turned his head towards the direction of the sofa.
At the same time they saw Jing Jiujiu, they also saw the small ghosts crawling all over the floor towards him.
The old and young monks: !!
They were all shocked.
This isn't just raising a ghost!
Have you opened a ghost farm or something?!
This is too outrageous, too outrageous!
Jing Jiujiu quietly shrank back on the sofa.
Seeing this, Bai Yuhuai felt even more displeased. The young man didn't need to be afraid of them... They said they came to help. But was this helping?
Bai Yuhuai walked straight towards the sofa.
Seeing Bai Yuhuai, Jing Jiujiu immediately felt much more at ease.
Jing Jiujiu let out a soft "Aiya" and leaned into Bai Yuhuai's embrace, burying his head and whispering, as if spoiled: "Who are these people? Can we not see them?"
The old monk: "No need to pretend. We all know you're a ghost."
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
Jing Jiujiu had no choice but to sit up straight again.
Bai Yuhuai's arms suddenly felt empty.
He felt even more displeased.
The old monk was about to speak. Since they couldn't persuade Bai Yuhuai, they might as well try to persuade the fierce ghost itself.
At this moment, however, Bai Yuhuai spoke first.
He lowered his head, looking at those trembling little ghosts, his gaze growing cold as he asked: "Why have they all come out?" What? Were they trying to take advantage of Jing Jiujiu's weakness to come out and feed? If that was the case, it would be better to kill them all early. Even if they couldn't be consumed entirely. New ones could always be caught later.
Jing Jiujiu: "First, Guan Yan's little ghosts came out and started crawling on me. Then the other little ghosts followed suit, each pausing briefly by my mouth as they passed." Jing Jiujiu paused, puzzled. "...It was like they wanted me to suck on them? One at a time, so I wouldn't consume them all in one go?"
The old and young monks: ???
Was this some kind of assembly line of little ghost snacks being delivered right to his mouth?
So this man was really running a ghost farm?
Bai Yuhuai's expression softened slightly: "Hmm, just eat one then."
Upon hearing this casual remark, the old monk's face changed instantly: "Are you mad? You're really using ghosts to feed ghosts? Do you know what kind of terrifying thing you'll end up raising?"
Bai Yuhuai replied without turning: "I thought words like 'thing' were reserved for evil gods."
The old monk: ?
The old monk pursed his lips: "Young man, there's no need to be angry with me. He's no longer human, he's a ghost... If you know about raising ghosts, you must have had contact with occult circles. Have you heard of the Cloud Return Sect? Compared to them, our methods are far more lenient. If it were the Cloud Return Sect here today, they would have killed everyone without a word, or captured them to be refined in their cauldrons..."
The young monk tugged at the old monk's sleeve.
The old monk's face darkened: "Alright, I get it, your senior disciple's fists are hard again."
The young monk timidly pointed at Bai Yuhuai: "No, it's him."
The old monk let out a long sigh: "Why do you insist on this?"
Jing Jiujiu couldn't hold back anymore and interjected: "Actually, I don't really want to eat little ghosts right now." Sucking on them felt weird too.
The old monk couldn't help but say: "That's just for now."
Yin Mo interrupted: "Have you said enough? Have you forgotten why we're here today?" Yin Mo pulled out a jade statue from his pocket and placed it on the table: "This thing has been shattered by that evil god's aura. You can imagine how terrifying that evil god will become once it fully recovers... how it will wreak havoc on the world."
The old monk stared at the jade statue, letting out a wail from his throat.
"This thing cost 1.29 million! It's broken! Broken!"
"That damned evil god! My temple's last treasure!"
"Where is this evil god? I'll fight it to my last breath!"
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Jing Jiujiu spoke up: "There are two evil gods."
The old monk looked at Yin Mo.
Yin Mo frowned: "Two? Are they both after you?"
"One was summoned from abroad by Guan Yan and his group, but... it seems to find me appetizing. It wants to eat me." Jing Jiujiu stood up. "Do you want to see the evil god's mark on my back?"
Everyone craned their necks.
This was something they had only seen in books before.
Bai Yuhuai's brow twitched, and he immediately pushed Jing Jiujiu back down.
"No need to look. There are indeed two. One followed from Capital City to Hai City, but we don't know where its physical form is now. It might have mixed in with some film crew's prop box. The other is enshrined in Guan Yan's hotel room."
"Two?" The old monk pondered briefly.
The young monk whispered: "Master, if we return to the temple and live frugally for another forty years, we could buy another jade statue to consecrate."
So now they want to run away?
Bai Yuhuai directly assigned them a task: "The evil god in Guan Yan's room shouldn't be hard to capture."
Master Tingyi let out a long sigh: "No matter how evil, it's still a god. Being a god means it's not something humans can easily contend with."
He said: "I'll do my best."
Bai Yuhuai acted as if he hadn't heard and continued: "We need to find the one following Jing Jiujiu quickly too. Start with the prop masters from various film crews. Buy and bring back anything that resembles a deity statue. You can use my name. Master Tingyi, you're quite renowned in the industry, so you should know how to safely transport the statues back, right?"
Yin Mo interjected coolly: "My reputation might not be any less than Mr. Bai's, you know?"
Yin Mo pulled out a card and slipped it into the young monk's hand: "Do as he says. If they want money, use my card to pay."
The young monk held the card in surprise: "So Senior Brother is this wealthy? Master and I thought you'd been begging for food all these years!"
At the film set.
A man with a pale, sickly complexion slowly emerged from a corner. He raised his eyes to survey his surroundings.
How laughable, he had actually fallen victim to an evil god's curse.
Was this Jing Jiujiu's method?
To summon another evil god to wait for him here?
The man slowly closed his eyes, then locked onto Jing Jiujiu's location again, but soon after, he collapsed limply.
He couldn't possess a body for too long.
Not only was his power limited, but human vessels also couldn't withstand it.
Never mind, we'll meet again.
The statue placed in the corner of the prop box seemed to flash with a faint golden light, then returned to stillness.
At this moment, a few people walked in, chatting idly.
"Seems like something strange happened on the neighboring set today?"
"It's pretty creepy."
"I don't think it's as creepy as this. Someone's willing to pay a fortune for this mistaken prop."
"Haha, if you get the money, treat us to a meal. We won't ask for a cut..."
Following the buyer's instructions, they wrapped the statue in a yellowed cloth of unknown age, then tied it with red string.
Meanwhile, Master Tingyi bowed and wrapped a four-faced Buddha statue in the cloth he was holding.
Finally, both statues were brought to Bai Yuhuai's room.
A group of monks sat cross-legged nearby, chanting sutras.
Bai Yuhuai: "Stop chanting."
The young monk hesitated: "Master said if we don't chant, we can't subdue the evil god."
Bai Yuhuai's face was cold: "It won't be subdued even if you chant."
But Jing Jiujiu would feel uncomfortable.
The monks looked at him, then at Master Tingyi, unsure whose orders to follow.
Master Tingyi stared at Bai Yuhuai, instinctively feeling that this excessively handsome young man before him was extraordinary. He asked: "Do you have a method?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pile of jade statue fragments completely turned to dust.
Master Tingyi: "Not good! This evil god is indeed powerful! Even cloth soaked in virgin boy urine and red string dyed with a general's blood can't contain it..."
The old monks all looked solemn: "We fear we might not make it back today..."
The young monks, frightened, started chanting sutras again.
Bai Yuhuai drew a knife and unwrapped the tie from his hand: "Jing Jiujiu, step back."
Jing Jiujiu walked forward, crouched down, and after a moment's thought, turned the two statues to face each other.
In an instant, the statues' eyes met.
Four-faced Buddha: A familiar scent! The thing that dared to cover the divine eyes!
Castle Evil God: A familiar scent! The thing that dared to curse me!