Silence fell, and for a moment, everyone was stunned.
Someone had actually been bold enough to offer their homeland to nourish the spirits... Had he gone mad?
Greed knows no bounds, didn't he understand?
"No, no..." the old man frantically tried to explain, about to leave, but as soon as he took a step, he immediately fell.
The fall split open his forehead.
Jian Suifan thought this whole thing was absurd. Fine, even if there really were ghosts, and those puppets might contain some spirits... What? Did a piece of land have its own consciousness now? And what's this about deities showing up?
And this old man took the young man for a god?
Didn't the production team even bother to draft their script first, to see if their tall tales would hold up?
"Let's go back," Jing Jiujiu slowly spoke up. "We can just leave him here alone. Yama is looking for his offerings, and this land is also looking for the people who nourished it... It's none of our business. We should be able to go down the mountain in two days at most."
Bai Yuhuai was the first to respond: "Mm."
The old man, who had initially refused to admit anything, now became anxious. He reached out to grab Jing Jiujiu's sleeve: "No, you can't leave..."
He was cut off mid-sentence.
Bai Yuhuai, Yin Mo, and Ding Hanbing almost simultaneously stepped in front of him.
The three exchanged glances: "..."
There was a moment of subtle tension in the atmosphere.
The rest of the production team also had subtle expressions for a moment, and even the old man was stunned for a bit. But the old man quickly came to his senses—
With so many people surrounding that young man, it was clear he was extraordinary!
"Do you know something else?" the old man shouted, trying his best to stand on tiptoe.
But it was futile, as the three men standing in front of him were each a good head taller than him.
He limped on his injured leg, but no matter how hard he tried to stand on tiptoe, it was useless.
Jian Suifan couldn't hold back and spoke up: "Bai-ge, what are you guys doing? Can't you see that the clue to us getting down the mountain might be with him?"
Jian Suifan really didn't want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer, so his words carried a hint of anger.
Ji Meng listened from the side, feeling exasperated.
He thought to himself, this guy is even worse at acting than I am.
Couldn't he be more humble and honest?
"Clue?" Ding Hanbing sneered.
Ding Hanbing turned his head and coldly stared at Jian Suifan: "Do you think this is just playing house? If you want to stay here with him to find clues, then you stay."
After saying this, Ding Hanbing was the first to turn and follow Jing Jiujiu.
"Jiujiu..."
Jian Suifan had a curse stuck in his throat, but afraid of being caught on camera, he couldn't let it out.
What was wrong with Ding Hanbing? It was bad enough that he was deliberately targeting him, but now he was recklessly trying to get close to Bai Yuhuai's person?
Meanwhile, Yin Mo chuckled lightly, as if mocking both Jian Suifan and the old man, and quickly turned to follow as well.
"Jiujiu."
"There are plenty of ungrateful people like this, don't take it to heart."
Jing Jiujiu didn't respond.
On this side, Bai Yuhuai coldly gazed at the old man, freezing him in place. The old man instinctively felt a shiver of fear from the bottom of his heart... Seeing that he dared not move or call out anymore, Bai Yuhuai finally turned away.
"Jiujiu, you're so smart, you saw through everything at a glance," Ding Hanbing was still praising from the side.
Everyone else listened in a daze.
So they all knew this young master?
Jing Jiujiu said nonchalantly: "Bai Yuhuai taught me."
He didn't even look back, but Bai Yuhuai's heart couldn't help but flutter gently, as if a spring breeze had passed through.
Hearing this, Ding Hanbing was momentarily at a loss for words.
He didn't know how to respond to that!
Yin Mo quickly interjected: "Next time, I'll teach you. You can ask me anything."
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm."
Yin Mo seized the opportunity and asked in a low voice: "Actually, when you turn into a paper person, you could stay in my pocket too..."
Ding Hanbing: ?
What the hell did I miss?
Ding Hanbing hurriedly spoke up: "What paper person? Stay with me!" Ding Hanbing said, tugging at his windbreaker pocket: "My pocket is big!"
Everyone watched as Yin Mo and Ding Hanbing surrounded the young man on both sides, whispering who knows what, but they seemed to be very close.
It reminded them of the photos that gossip accounts had posted earlier.
It seemed like they had been surrounding someone that night... And Ding Hanbing had even posted a puzzling Weibo.
Come to think of it, it wasn't just Ding Hanbing who was puzzling; Yin Mo was too.
Ji Meng's heart stirred.
Could the "found it" Weibo that Yin Mo had specifically posted be referring to this young Master Jing?
At this moment, Bai Yuhuai slowly walked forward: "Jing Jiujiu."
Jing Jiujiu suddenly turned his head, immediately breaking free from their encirclement.
"Hm?" Jing Jiujiu proactively walked to Bai Yuhuai's side and asked in a low voice: "Did you discover something else?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Nothing."
Jing Jiujiu's head popped up with a question mark: "...Oh."
But the corners of Bai Yuhuai's mouth had softened a bit.
Jing Jiujiu shook his head inwardly.
He always felt that Bai Yuhuai had become strange...
Behind them, a cameraman who witnessed this scene couldn't help but say softly: "Do Ding-ge and Yin-zong both have feelings for him?"
Hearing this, Jian Suifan couldn't even muster the energy to mock them.
Indeed. The young man looked like someone who was easy to like.
The cameraman immediately followed with another sigh: "...If I were Bai-ge, I'd probably be head over heels too. Bai-ge just called once, and he went right over. How devoted."
Jian Suifan's heart was filled with fear and discontent.
The three men surrounding the young man were either more famous than him, richer than him, or had higher status than him...
Jian Suifan thought to himself, if it were me, who the hell would be so devoted?
"Come on, let's all go inside," the cameraman spoke up.
He had to take responsibility for everyone's safety on behalf of the production team.
At this point, Jian Suifan couldn't bring himself to face the others, so he simply turned back to try and talk to the old man.
His thoughts were even wandering, thinking, what if he was the first to find the clue? Wouldn't he then take over as the impressive character in this episode?
Jian Suifan turned around, smiling: "Is there anything else you want to say? You can tell me everything, maybe I can help you."
Was the old man an NPC?
Would he get the clue after learning his story and helping him?
But the old man suddenly dropped his flustered and panicked demeanor, giving Jian Suifan a cold look: "You can't help."
Jian Suifan opened his mouth, about to argue.
The old man said: "You're not a god."
Jian Suifan laughed in anger: "What? So that young man just now, he's a god?"
"He is," the old man said with certainty.
Only a god would be surrounded by so many powerful followers.
Just like when he first saw that deity in red robes.
No, no, this young god was even more powerful than the previous one. With just one glance, the young man had seen through everything...
The old man involuntarily shuddered, looking up at Jian Suifan: "If you could bring the god to me..."
"Then you'd give me the clue?" Jian Suifan impatiently asked.
Why did it have to be that young man?
"What clue?" The old man's face grew colder: "The gods know everything, why are you asking me for clues?"
Jian Suifan: "..."
This conversation was going nowhere.
Jian Suifan turned and left, cursing inwardly.
The young man wasn't even the MC hired by the production team, was this old man blind? Why was he so fixated on him?
The old man was muttering something: "Devotion... devotion can move the gods..." As he spoke, he began to kneel and kowtow again, disregarding the blood on his head.
Jian Suifan looked back once, startled by his appearance, then quickly walked away.
His brain seemed to be split in two.
One half was screaming, you've encountered a ghost, damn it! Can't you hear me? This is all wrong!
The other half was also shouting, you're filming a horror reality show, it's all set up by the production team, you're an idiot if you believe it's real.
Jian Suifan quickened his pace back to the factory.
Jing Jiujiu had already crawled back into Bai Yuhuai's tent.
Bai Yuhuai said calmly: "The old man can't die yet."
Jing Jiujiu: "Hm?"
Bai Yuhuai picked up the light paper figure: "Didn't you want a bigger body?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh. Only he knows where the people who made these things are."
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Jing Jiujiu also took the paper figure, gently pinching it between his fingers. He sighed softly and said, "It's hard to leave one's homeland. After this land was exploited to exhaustion, they probably did something to make the people here feel uneasy. So they made these dolls and paper figures, hanging them on branches, pretending that they still live on this land, to comfort the consciousness of this place... That's why the old man kept kowtowing, worshipping the depleted earth, and kept saying everything is still here. But where is it? Everything's long gone."
"The only thing the old man probably didn't expect was that Yama would actually come to the human world to collect his offerings..."
Jing Jiujiu paused, then said: "Poor Yama."
He even had half of his finger sucked off.
Jing Jiujiu thought for a moment, then commented with utmost sincerity: "...Before this, I had no idea that King Yama looked like this."
Bai Yuhuai moved his lips, wanting to say that since the underworld ceased to exist, these old beings had been in hiding for who knows how many years, so it's normal not to have seen them...
Jing Jiujiu quickly added: "He's quite good-looking... with a unique kind of beauty."
Bai Yuhuai's heart tightened: "Is that so?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh, it's just that he's too, too, too tall."
Bai Yuhuai's heart relaxed: "Mm." Then he immediately added nonchalantly: "Whether it's the ghost officials or the ghost kings in the underworld, they're all nine feet tall. It's said that being born in the netherworld, existing for eons, they become like this. In the netherworld, it's a symbol of nobility."
In short—
Everyone in the underworld is that ugly.
None of them have normal proportions.
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Jing Jiujiu: "I learned something new!"
Outside, Yin Mo could no longer bear the jealousy and dissatisfaction in his heart. He raised his hand and shook the tent: "Teacher Bai is so knowledgeable. Why don't we talk about when ordinary people can also make wishes to King Yama? Like wishing for a good reincarnation when they go to the underworld?"
Bai Yuhuai's expression remained indifferent.
What did it have to do with him?
Actually, as long as the three realms didn't collapse and fall on Jing Jiujiu, nothing else mattered to him.
Jing Jiujiu let out a low "huh" and raised his hand to unzip the tent, letting Yin Mo and spectator number one, Ding Hanbing, in.
Jing Jiujiu paused: "If the underworld is gone, does it mean the Ten Kings of Hell have lost their support and can only rely on the faith of mortals to survive? Last time, Master Tingyi said that since the Ming Dynasty, there's been no concept of heaven and earth. So..." "Was the evil god in the ancient castle once a deity? Did he fall?"
After listening, Yin Mo quickly praised: "Jiujiu makes a good point!"
Ding Hanbing thought for a while, couldn't think of anything to say, so he just followed up with: "I think so too."
Hearing them chatting in a harmonious atmosphere, Bai Yuhuai finally chimed in: "It's not that easy. Deities each have their own duties, and for tens of thousands of years, they've left fixed impressions in people's minds. For example, the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess, can you expect them to have the abilities of the God of Wealth? It's the same with King Yama. He wasn't born to be an object of worship. Who would worship him? Only the countless ghosts and ghost officials."
"It's not like a deity can become an evil god just because they want to."
Jing Jiujiu looked slightly confused.
Bai Yuhuai paused: "But statues can be made... When they're made, they're just statues. But if you tell the believers it's Guanyin Bodhisattva, then the believers will treat it as Guanyin. Over time, it becomes an incarnation of Guanyin."
Jing Jiujiu tilted his head: "So, gods can be created?"
Bai Yuhuai corrected: "Mm, to be more accurate, evil gods can be created. But it's not that easy. Even if it has believers, it still needs a divine rank. Like Guanyin, who is already a deity, so all statues of her can be her avatars."
Jing Jiujiu continued: "Does that mean divine ranks can be stripped away? Taking someone else's divine rank, making a new statue, giving it a new name, creating a new background, letting believers worship it... it would become a new god, possessing abilities it couldn't have originally."
Yin Mo couldn't help but speak up: "Jiujiu's deduction makes sense... Jiujiu has more insight than me, Jiujiu has more affinity with gods and Buddhas."
Ding Hanbing, who couldn't get a word in edgewise, could only squeeze out a dry: "Mm, I think so too."
After saying this, Ding Hanbing suddenly came to his senses and said sternly: "Yin Mo, are you crazy? What nonsense are you spouting? Do you want Jiujiu to become a monk?"
Are you insane!?
Isn't this cutting off your own path?
Yin Mo's mouth twitched: "No. Jiujiu wouldn't want to be a monk."
Jing Jiujiu nodded: "Being a monk has no fun at all." "And it's poor."
Yin Mo: "..."
Indeed, poor.
But Bai Yuhuai didn't speak again.
What Jing Jiujiu said was correct.
He rubbed his fingertips... How about I turn Jing Jiujiu into a deity?
Jing Tinghua wanted him to die in the ancient castle, to not taste the sweetness and bitterness of life and the six emotions at a young age, to be Jing family's nourishment forever and ever.
Then I'll make him a deity, worshipped by tens of thousands. Let alone mortals, even evil gods won't be able to taint him with the slightest impurity...
Jing Jiujiu waited quietly for a while, but Bai Yuhuai didn't speak again.
So he propped himself up on the ground, arched his back, and moved his head closer to Bai Yuhuai's side, looking as if he was about to kiss Bai Yuhuai...
"Why did you stop talking?" Jing Jiujiu asked.
Yin Mo and Ding Hanbing watched, their hearts rising with a big "damn".
If they had known acting cool was so effective, who couldn't do it?
Bai Yuhuai supported Jing Jiujiu's waist and raised his head: "It's time to eat."
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh, then you guys go ahead."
After saying this, he obediently waited in the tent.
It was indeed time to eat.
It was already one o'clock in the afternoon.
The production team managed to boil some water, made some instant egg drop soup, ate two compressed biscuits, and an apple, which counted as lunch.
Jian Suifan had never experienced this before.
He took two bites and put it down, finding it tasteless.
The others, however, ate quite a bit.
Yin Mo had suffered hardships in his early years, so this was nothing to him. Ding Hanbing felt that with Jing Jiujiu sitting there nicely, even eating this felt sweet to him.
The photographers needn't be mentioned, and even Yun Xin, a girl, understood the importance of preserving energy, so she ate her fill without thinking too much.
Bai Yuhuai stood up with his bowl and walked towards the tent.
Jian Suifan saw this and said: "...Is that to share with the one in the tent?"
Ding Hanbing knew that Jing Jiujiu couldn't eat anything, but he just couldn't stand Jian Suifan's sarcastic tone.
Yin Mo also frowned.
No one wished more than them that Jing Jiujiu could actually eat something.
"Count how many times you've talked nonsense since we started filming this show just over a day ago," Ding Hanbing spoke up.
The other members of the production team suddenly stiffened, not expecting Ding Hanbing to be so blunt and disrespectful.
Jian Suifan's face turned green: "I was just asking..."
Yin Mo raised his head, hiding his usual smile, and said coldly: "Talk less, save some energy for yourself. Even if all of this was given to him, it's none of your business, understand?"
The atmosphere outside the tent suddenly became tense.
Inside the tent, Jing Jiujiu asked: "Does it smell good?"
Bai Yuhuai knew he wanted to eat.
Bai Yuhuai's eyes moved: "Do you want to drink?"
Jing Jiujiu's eyes lit up: "Can I drink if I turn into a little paper figure?"
"No, you'll get wet. Turning into a paper figure only allows you to regain your basic five senses."
Jing Jiujiu was disappointed.
Bai Yuhuai asked him: "Can you feel me?"
Jing Jiujiu reached out his hand and pressed it against Bai Yuhuai's chest. The muscles underneath were slightly raised, and Jing Jiujiu could only feel the shape: "I can feel you."
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm, that's enough then."
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Bai Yuhuai raised the bowl and took a sip, then grasped Jing Jiujiu's wrist wearing the bracelet, pulling the lightweight ghost closer to him.
Bai Yuhuai put down the bowl and carefully held the back of Jing Jiujiu's head, as if afraid that applying too much force would pass right through.
He kissed Jing Jiujiu's lips.
Outside the tent, Ding Hanbing was so angry he rolled up his sleeves.
"Young Master Ding, calm down!"
"The cameras are rolling, don't fight, don't fight."
It turned into a commotion.
Inside the tent, Jing Jiujiu was stunned.
He felt a fierce energy rushing towards him, scorching hot, as if it would melt him.
He exhaled a cool, yin energy.
He could see Bai Yuhuai's excessively handsome brows and eyes, and his long eyelashes.
Jing Jiujiu shifted away slightly and said dryly, "I didn't taste anything..."
He had only felt the shape of Bai Yuhuai's mouth.
A flash passed through Bai Yuhuai's eyes as he pulled Jing Jiujiu back, kissing him again and exploring with his tongue... Jing Jiujiu froze for three seconds, then quickly jumped away.
He licked his lips.
"...I tasted it."
Although there was still no flavor, he had tasted it.
He really had tasted it!
Jing Jiujiu sucked on his own tongue, feeling as if some liquid had actually slid down his throat.
Bai Yuhuai sat there motionless as a rock, his face slightly flushed, the veins in his neck bulging, as if he was trying hard to restrain something.
He didn't pull Jing Jiujiu back again.
Jing Jiujiu carefully savored this rare taste he hadn't experienced in seven years. Although in the end he tasted nothing, he was still very happy.
He murmured, "So that's how... I can actually taste things..."
Bai Yuhuai suddenly raised his head, feeling that something was off about Jing Jiujiu's train of thought...
Jing Jiujiu said, "I've got it!"
Bai Yuhuai: ?
Bai Yuhuai's eyelid twitched, his previous romantic mood and uncontrollable emotions suddenly turning to panic.
Surely Jing Jiujiu wouldn't go around looking for other people to "feed" him next time?
Jing Jiujiu was overjoyed at this moment, not caring what Bai Yuhuai was thinking. He smacked his lips, thinking to himself, no wonder books and the internet all say kissing is such a wonderful thing...
Even ghosts think it's wonderful!
At this moment, the noisy sounds outside the tent suddenly stopped.
Jing Jiujiu happily poked his head out: "Were you guys just arguing?"
"No..." Ding Hanbing denied immediately.
Yun Xin's expression was as if she'd seen a ghost: "...Those things from last night, they're back..."
Bai Yuhuai tugged on the little pom-pom attached to Jing Jiujiu's hoodie, pulling the young man back a bit.
His gaze darkened for a moment.
He carefully examined the young man's face again.
There wasn't the slightest change.
He was a ghost.
Bai Yuhuai couldn't leave even the faintest mark on his lips; no one would ever know that he had impulsively kissed Jing Jiujiu just now.
Bai Yuhuai couldn't tell if the feeling in his heart was disappointment or something else.
"Teacher Bai." Yin Mo called out in a deep voice from outside.
Only then did Bai Yuhuai gather his thoughts, sparing some attention for the world outside.
"They probably think night has fallen again," Bai Yuhuai said calmly, but showed no intention of going out.
Yin Mo asked, "Are we just going to watch?"
Bai Yuhuai: "Mm."
Meanwhile, Jing Jiujiu was still fiddling with his mouth.
Seeing this, Ding Hanbing couldn't help but ask, "Jiujiu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Had those ghost officials affected him somehow?
Ding Hanbing got up, intending to find a paper doll to use on him.
Jing Jiujiu shook his head: "It's not that..."
He felt his teeth, his tongue, and then his soft, rosy lips that were like flower petals...
Jing Jiujiu: "I feel like my throat hurts a little..."
Jing Jiujiu frowned, pondering for a few seconds, then suddenly looked alarmed. He turned to Bai Yuhuai: "Did I absorb your yang energy?"
Ding Hanbing and Yin Mo were equally shocked.
What the hell had Bai Yuhuai been doing just now?
In the tent, they...
Before they could get an answer, Jian Suifan suddenly let out a miserable scream.
Everyone turned their heads to see the red figure bend down this time and crawl through the factory's main entrance.
Everyone was stunned; this time they didn't even have time to bite the wooden dolls.
Yama stood near their campsite and knocked on a broken door beside him.
Jing Jiujiu: "...How polite."
The polite Yama picked up Jian Suifan and asked again courteously: "He... offering? Can... eat?"
Jian Suifan: "Ahhhhh! There really are ghosts! Ahhhhh!"
Jing Jiujiu pointed to the old man outside the window who had been kowtowing all over the mountain and was now so terrified his eyeballs were nearly popping out: "He's edible. But before you eat him, could you help me ask if he knows who made all these wooden dolls and paper figures?"
Jian Suifan: ??
Ahhhh, are you crazy? This is a ghost, how can you be negotiating with it? Ahhhhh!