Yama struggled to squeeze out the words: "I... can't... speak..."
Being able to utter these few passable sentences in Mandarin had clearly taken a great effort. If it were someone less clever, they might have only managed to say one word: "Eat."
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
Ah, this.
Bai Yuhuai stood up: "I'll go."
Yama's gaze flickered as he watched him, but his snow-white face remained expressionless. Jing Jiujiu couldn't help but ask softly: "Can you smile?"
Jian Suifan: ???
I'm being held here!
How are you all chatting away?!
The others quietly breathed sighs of relief, thinking to themselves that this young master truly couldn't be underestimated. He wasn't afraid even in this situation! Looking at him, they all felt a bit more at ease! They even had the absurd notion that perhaps they could negotiate with this demon.
Jian Suifan was dumbfounded.
Look at me, will you!
How can you all be relieved?!
Meanwhile, Yama also seemed to pause for a second.
"...No, can't."
How pitiful.
Even more pitiful than being a ghost.
Unable to even make expressions.
At least as a ghost, I could still manage some fierce expressions, Jing Jiujiu thought to himself.
Yama stood there with his towering height, seeming momentarily at a loss. He lowered his head to look at Jing Jiujiu's appearance, then raised his other hand and poked Jing Jiujiu's face...
Jing Jiujiu couldn't eat ghosts in front of so many people, so he quickly dodged backward.
Yama looked at his own hand, having touched nothing.
He asked again, the same question he had asked Bai Yuhuai before: "What are... you?"
Everyone hadn't even considered the possibility that Jing Jiujiu might not be human. They just stared blankly out the window.
Oh boy.
He dared to poke the young man's face. Bai Yuhuai turned back, his face turning green.
Whether he's a ghost or a ghost official, will they end up fighting?
"What are you?" Jing Jiujiu asked in return.
Yama didn't respond, but he seemed to suddenly remember something and slowly released Jian Suifan.
Given his height, when Jian Suifan fell, he felt like he had bruised his backside. But all his anger was stuck in his throat. Jian Suifan didn't dare to curse, and he couldn't fight back, so he could only endure it himself.
This was truly his darkest day!
Jing Jiujiu pursed his lips, vaguely guessing a bit of Yama's thoughts.
He was once the King of the Netherworld, but now he struggled even to receive an offering...
Jing Jiujiu pointed to an empty spot by the bonfire: "Do you want to sit?"
Yama: ?
If he could make expressions, he would probably look puzzled right now.
No one, not even ghosts, had ever invited the King Yama to sit in their home.
Yama hesitated for a good while before slowly sitting down.
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh, your body proportions are quite normal. Just an enlarged version of an ordinary person."
Yama: ?
Others: ?
What's this? You invited him to sit down just to see how long his legs are under that robe?
Just then, there was a loud "BANG".
The factory door was flung open by the old man's staggering steps. He was shouting, "No, no..." but his body kept moving towards Yama.
Bai Yuhuai first looked at Jing Jiujiu: "I found out." Then he turned to Yama, his expression instantly turning cold: "This person is for you."
Yama opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally squeezing out a sentence: "He, not eat... old..."
You're quite picky with your food, aren't you?
Everyone shrank back a bit.
We're young, surely he won't eat us?
Yama turned his head, finally resting his gaze on Jing Jiujiu.
Bai Yuhuai stood behind him.
Yama's seated form was like a mountain, while Bai Yuhuai was like a beast capable of moving mountains and swallowing the sun. His eyes were cold as he spoke without any courtesy: "You're only fit to eat him."
The atmosphere instantly became tense, and the others couldn't help but tremble slightly.
The old man was still approaching Yama, his mouth shouting inappropriately and desperately: "Why me? I've guarded this place for so many years! More people have run away... Why me?"
The old man stared at Yama's towering form, his eyeballs bulging in terror: "The offering you're looking for isn't me, it's not me! You've already found it! It's right at your feet!"
"Damn," the photographer couldn't help but curse, "This guy really has no bottom line."
The old man didn't care about anything else, just repeating his last sentence desperately.
Then he watched as Yama lowered his head and picked up... a piece of firewood from the ground.
Old man: ?
Yin Mo: "His single-track mind is similar to Ding Hanbing's. They both think 'at your feet' literally means at your feet."
Ding Hanbing: ???
Yama gripped the piece of firewood and slowly turned his head: "You are... mocking... a deity."
As his words fell, the earth shook.
The white figures surrounding the factory let out a long, eerie sound. The sound was prolonged, distant, and chillingly cold, as if coming from the ancient netherworld.
"You wished, for the most precious thing..."
"I took... eyes. But they were, fake."
As he spoke more, Yama's voice gradually became more fluent.
"I took away... your dwelling. But it was, fake."
"I took legs, they were fake."
"What is... truly, your most, precious, thing?"
"You... this person?"
"No, no! It's the mountain, the land, it's here... here!" the old man shouted in terror.
Jing Jiujiu said softly: "It's not anymore. It used to be your most precious thing, but not anymore. So it's not that either."
Yama slowly responded: "Mm."
The old man was stunned.
"It's you. Your most, precious, thing, is you." Yama picked him up and hung him high on the factory's main door.
He still didn't want to eat him, just wanted to air-dry him alive.
The trembling of the earth gradually stopped.
The black shadows seemed to show signs of dispersing.
Jing Jiujiu paused, suddenly bending down to gently stroke the ground.
The earth underneath was still trembling.
But slowly, slowly, it calmed down.
Yama stood there, motionless.
Jing Jiujiu asked him: "Are you full?"
"No... not."
Jing Jiujiu thought he looked too pitiful.
So he picked up two clay figurines from nearby, both containing small ghosts. He asked Yama: "Do you want to suck on one?"
Yama stared at him steadily.
Bai Yuhuai's heart was so sour it could pickle a barrel of vegetables, but he couldn't bring himself to stop Jing Jiujiu.
This was the first person, no, ghost, who offered him an offering without making a wish.
Yama lowered his gaze, took the clay figurine, and slurped it in one go.
Jing Jiujiu: ???
Jing Jiujiu: "Why are you sucking so hard? Didn't we agree on just one suck? You should be full after one suck for each! How did you suck the whole thing in one go... Spit it out and give it back to me!"
Yama paused, then had no choice but to spit it out exactly as it was.
"..." Everyone raised their hands to wipe their faces.
Damn.
I'm completely numb now.
It's just a ghost, right? Don't you see he's chatting and feeding ghosts happily? It's fine, it's fine.
Bai Yuhuai raised an eyebrow slightly, with fireworks going off in his heart.
Got rejected, huh.
Ancient things should stay in ancient places. Why come out to poke Jing Jiujiu's face?
Jing Jiujiu: "I'll burn some paper money and light some incense for you when I go down the mountain."
Down the mountain?
Yama: "Mm."
Bai Yuhuai's eyes flashed.
I'm not jealous.
I'm not jealous.
...Why can't I eat incense?
"Alright, you can go now. You've got your offering," Jing Jiujiu said.
Yama felt like he had worked for nothing.
But thinking carefully, he couldn't figure out what was wrong. The offering was too old and ugly, and he didn't want it himself.
His calm face showed no trace of emotion.
So in the end, he followed Jing Jiujiu's words and slowly turned to leave.
"Is that it?" the photographer asked, dazed.
Jing Jiujiu: "Mm, it's over." "If it's not over..."
The photographer's heart skipped a beat, wondering what would happen if it wasn't over.
They saw Jing Jiujiu drag out a small backpack from the tent, unzip it, and take out two deity statues.
The two deity statues were tightly bound together with red string.
If one looked closely, they would notice small cracks appearing on them. These were caused by their mutual attacks using divine power. Whenever the evil god of the ancient castle was about to recover, it would be struck by the other, and in frustration, it could only retaliate by beating the other in return.
After each fight, they would return to their happy home, having to cultivate divine power from scratch again.
Fight after fight continued.
Neither side knew how much luck and power of faith they had drained from their followers, Jing Tinghua and Guan Yan.
Jing Jiujiu stroked the cracks on their bodies, his expression unchanged, and said, "If it's not enough, I'll just have to tie him up too!"
The others: ???
The cameraman struggled to speak, "Is this... a four-faced Buddha statue?"
Can these things even be tied up like this?
Jing Jiujiu casually replied, "They're all evil god statues, none of them are any good."
Ji Meng stepped back in shock, "...Did I just see it move?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Really?"
He tightened the strings around them even more, then hung all of Master Tingyi's protective talismans on them before stuffing them back into his bag.
Jian Suifan's worldview had completely collapsed after the events of the day.
He stared blankly at the bag, "I don't believe it... how can there be evil gods?"
Gods and Buddhas exist because believers first believed in their existence.
Where did these things come from?
How dare they offend him like this!
Just as Jian Suifan finished speaking, a steel bar suddenly fell from the dilapidated factory above, hitting him squarely on the head.
Jian Suifan: !
Why was he always the one getting hurt?!
The others quickly cried out in alarm and rushed to help him up.
Jing Jiujiu: "..."
What a cowardly evil god, only bullying the weak!
Jian Suifan's head was bleeding from the impact.
Fortunately, as the sky gradually brightened, everyone quickly took him down the mountain, not daring to think about ghosts or puppets anymore...
As they just left the mine and headed towards the town.
"Boom—"
The entire mountain collapsed with a thunderous roar.
Even the ground beneath their feet showed signs of cracking.
They quickly found the production team, got in the cars, and had the few remaining people in the town follow them out.
Their cars gradually drove away.
The cracks in the earth quickly spread towards the small town. Half of the town's houses collapsed, while the other half remained intact. Amidst the rising dust, it seemed as if a tall human figure slowly dissipated between heaven and earth...
Jing Jiujiu looked back once, then turned to look at Bai Yuhuai.
Bai Yuhuai's heart raced under his gaze, and he asked with pursed lips, "What is it?"
Jing Jiujiu said softly, "If I had waited another seven years in the castle, or two more seven-year periods, or three... I would have ended up worse than it, right?"
Bai Yuhuai's heartbeat suddenly stopped, his heart feeling as if it was suddenly gripped tightly by a pair of hands.
Bai Yuhuai said coldly, "No. There's no 'if' about it."
Jing Jiujiu's eyes brightened slightly as he stared at Bai Yuhuai and said, "Mm. That's why it's so good to have Bai Yuhuai..."
His sincere emotions and every word of praise pierced straight into Bai Yuhuai's heart.
Bai Yuhuai's eyes flickered, "Bai Yuhuai?"
Jing Jiujiu immediately corrected himself, "Brother Bai, Big Brother Bai."
In the small bus, everyone was still in a daze, and for a moment, no one paid attention to their whispering.
Jing Jiujiu took off his backpack, preparing to bend down and put it by his feet.
He lifted it.
"Hm?"
Jing Jiujiu weighed it, "It's gotten heavier."
Bai Yuhuai frowned slightly, took the backpack, and unzipped it. They saw that on top of the two evil god statues, one side was pressed down by an all-red plastic statue, while the other side was pressed down by a large black stone.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Why did everything seem to love following Jing Jiujiu?
Damn it.
Bai Yuhuai expressionlessly opened the window and threw out the red statue first.
Jing Jiujiu only caught a glimpse of the color and couldn't help but ask, "What was that?"
Bai Yuhuai: "A plastic bag."
Just as Bai Yuhuai finished speaking, Jing Jiujiu thought he heard a "thud."
"What was that sound?"
Bai Yuhuai looked down.
The statue had returned, this time with one foot stomping on the head of the ancient castle's evil god statue.
Bai Yuhuai: "..."
Forget it. "See for yourself." Bai Yuhuai opened the backpack wide.
Jing Jiujiu peeked in and was stunned for a moment.
"Is this Yama's original statue?" His fingertip quickly brushed over it, landing on the large stone, "This is... part of the mountain."
...This was new.
Bai Yuhuai finally lowered his head and carefully examined the stone, "This is the incarnation of that land and cliff."
It had also fallen into Jing Jiujiu's backpack.
Yama had accepted the old man as an offering.
Naturally, it had gained its freedom.
Bai Yuhuai frowned slightly, feeling a bit sour inside.
Such a bunch of junk...
Jing Jiujiu closed the backpack, muttering, "The evil god must be furious." Then he casually placed it by his feet.
The ancient castle's evil god couldn't open its mouth.
But its heart was filled with curses.
What kind of thing dares to step on my head!!!
In the now quiet town, white figures stood there, bowing their heads and whispering, communicating in a language no one could understand.
Finally, they all dove into the pitch-black hole in mid-air.
"Why did His Majesty leave?"
"He said there was a ghost who didn't make wishes but wanted to burn incense for him. It's a good ghost."
"...Slurp."
...
Jian Suifan was rushed to the hospital, while the others split up to see doctors, continuing to salvage their crumbling worldviews.
The director repeatedly apologized to Bai Yuhuai.
Bai Yuhuai didn't care at all and left with Jing Jiujiu, making the director feel even more embarrassed. He turned and told people that the great actor Bai was truly magnanimous and kind-hearted, so touching...
Xu Sanyu was also very worried and quickly had the driver take them back to Bai Yuhuai's villa to rest for a few days before deciding what to do next.
The car sped away.
Jian Suifan was still clinging to the window, looking down and muttering, "Ghosts really exist."
"He's a god."
...
The little robot had been standing by the roadside disguised as a charging station for nine hours.
Although it was small, some humans with good eyesight could still spot it. Yesterday, when it was walking on the road, it scared people away.
So today, it had to wait until dark to move.
The little robot waited with blank eyes, almost having electricity running wild across its face.
[Intimidation progress bar 4——10%]
[Congratulations to you and your host for successfully intimidating humans xn and capturing powerful...]
The voice stuttered.
The little robot heard the long-lost voice suddenly ring out, and its two round robot eyes lit up.
But why did it stutter?
What happened to my host?
After a while.
[...and capturing powerful deities x2, rewards doubled]
This voice seemed to carry a hint of amazement.
[You are 33 kilometers away from your host... 23 kilometers... 11 kilometers...]
[...5 kilometers.]
The distance reported by the voice suddenly shortened rapidly.
Finally, it settled on one announcement—
[Ghost King title drop successful]
[You are 0.5 kilometers away from your host]
[Title automatically equipped, gained buff: Unhindered communication with netherworld creatures]
At the same moment, Jing Jiujiu's ears also suddenly heard that cold, mechanical voice, just like when the little robot first jumped down from the chandelier.
Jing Jiujiu: "Stop the car."
The little robot almost jumped three feet high.
Damn, damn, damn!
Why is my host so powerful?
Without my guidance and help, he completed the task so quickly again? Could it be that back in the ancient castle, I was actually the one holding him back?
The little robot doubted itself while feeling moved to tears.
But robots don't have tears, it only had signals running wild across its face.
At this moment, under everyone's puzzled gaze, Jing Jiujiu walked towards a bicycle rack, bent down, and picked up the little robot.
The little robot had never felt so touched before!
My host! He worked hard on the tasks! And he was still looking for me! Finally, after climbing mountains and crossing rivers, walking thousands of kilometers, he found me! I never want to change hosts again!
[System and host rapport reaches 100%, new function about to unlock]
The cold voice suddenly rang out again.
Jing Jiujiu: ???
What did I do? I didn't do anything.
...
Meanwhile, Jing Tinghua also quickly received a phone call.
"Bai Yuhuai has returned to the capital, and young master Jing is indeed with him."
Jing Tinghua listened to the report, his eyes cold.
At this moment, a middle-aged man beside him slowly turned around and said, "I didn't expect Master Tingyi to be so difficult to invite. It's the first time he's been this busy, to the point of not even giving me face."
Jing Tinghua's expression softened a bit as he said, "Once the Taoist priest emerges from seclusion, he'll be worth several metaphysics masters."
The middle-aged man chuckled, accepting the compliment.
He said, "Bai Yuhuai is a strange person, seemingly having some connection to the metaphysics circle. Of course, a slight connection is better. This way, his matter of raising little ghosts can better incite the entire circle to attack him collectively.
"Now it's a society ruled by law, and no one can trespass into private residences at will, let alone Bai Yuhuai being a nationally renowned celebrity with status. His villa is guarded by countless bodyguards. So... it would be best if we could lure both him and young Master Jing out together."
Jing Tinghua said calmly, "That's easy. He'll go out when he has to attend announcements."
"Oh, that's right. It's determined by his professional characteristics. That makes it even more convenient for us."
The middle-aged man paused, his smile growing deeper: "I've already sent out invitations, in the name of academic exchange, to invite various sects and eminent figures from the metaphysics circle to gather in the capital. You can rest assured now."
Jing Tinghua responded with an "Mm," but he hadn't truly put his mind at ease.
He looked down at his legs.
Yesterday, he had just been in another car accident, nearly becoming paralyzed from the waist down. How could he be at ease?
If he hadn't experienced such threats in his childhood, he might have already gone mad from the stress by now.
"Oh, right," the middle-aged man said, observing his expression, "That Master Zhou you mentioned, there's no such person in the circle. He must be a fraud. I'll have him captured..."
...
Meanwhile, after Jing Jiujiu returned to the villa, he first set up Yama's statue and then actually lit some incense for him.
As he smelled it, Jing Jiujiu couldn't help but comment, "Smells quite nice."
Bai Yuhuai paused upon hearing this: "...The monks from Lingyang Mountain have finished making the statue for you?"
Jing Jiujiu: "Hm?"
"Ordinary little ghosts don't deserve to eat incense offerings, so naturally they can't smell its fragrance."
Jing Jiujiu: "Oh."
He thought for a moment, then took out the two evil god statues from his backpack and placed them opposite to Yama.
They could only watch Yama receive the incense.
Although the two evil god statues still couldn't communicate, they could clearly see that it was offering incense!
The young man was making offerings to the god statues!
Yet they could only watch!
They both harbored anger, frustration upon frustration, and ended up fighting each other again.
Bai Yuhuai, sensing the subtle vibrations in the air, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly.
The young man's kindness and innocence were innate.
But sometimes, his mischievousness also seemed innate.
Yet even when he was being naughty, it was adorably so.
Bai Yuhuai stepped forward and took the little robot from Jing Jiujiu's hand: "Stop playing."
Jing Jiujiu immediately understood: "Are we going to play games?" "Let's go, let's go!"
The little robot: ?
It had just been picked up and hadn't even had time to feel its host's warmth for a few minutes!
Jing Jiujiu happily went upstairs and played games with Bai Yuhuai for a while, all the while thinking about how to comfort Bai Yuhuai's dedicated heart.
This time things went wrong, the show couldn't be recorded, and they probably lost a lot in appearance fees, right?
He had money.
But he had heard from Xu Sanyu that in Bai's career, mishaps were rare. Would he feel disappointed or down?
Jing Jiujiu thought for a moment, then quietly went to the bathroom and took out his phone to message Best Actress Tao.
[If your friend's career suffers a setback, how would you comfort them?]
Best Actress Tao: ?
What do you mean if my friend? Who are you referring to? Bai? No way, right? How could Bai's career suffer a setback?
Best Actress Tao confusedly provided some advice, but after calming down, she remembered something else.
[I have a road show event tomorrow, right here in the capital. Do you want to come and play, Jiujiu?]
Jing Jiujiu was very moved by the many suggestions Tao He had provided for him, so he thought for a moment and said: [Okay]
[Do you want to invite your ex-husband to come along?]
Tao He was stunned for a moment, then typed: [No need to invite, that dog man will come anyway. Oh, I didn't mean to imply anything about you and Actor Bai...]
Jing Jiujiu: ?
Why would Bai Yuhuai and I be implied in this?
Tao He: [My ex-husband's lover likes to see me still having to work hard acting and promoting all over after the divorce... But every time they come, they create some buzz for me, sending me to the top of the trending searches, so the effect is quite good...]
Tao He: [Anyway, go try if the suggestions work]
Jing Jiujiu gave an OK sign before closing the chat window.
...
This time the show recording went wrong.
But surprisingly, Jian Suifan didn't complain at all. When the show tentatively asked if they wanted to reshoot, this time just choosing any haunted house setting...
Jian Suifan agreed immediately.
The show's team collectively breathed a sigh of relief, and then promptly sent over quite a few gifts.
Some wanted to ask him what exactly he had encountered this time.
Jian Suifan's face was pale, and in the end, he only managed to mumble out one sentence: "...I saw a god."
"?"
But Jian Suifan had never been more certain.
The young man beside Bai Yuhuai was, just as the old man had said, a deity, no doubt!
He could terrify the earth, chat with ghost officials, bind evil gods, and I was even punished for not believing, wah... I believe now! Really, it's true! He is a god!