Bonus Kofi chapter
“Er Shao, what are you looking at?” The little assistant followed his gaze but saw nothing.
“I feel like someone’s watching me, but I can’t make out who.” Jing Li frowned, shaking his head, feeling uneasy.
“Could someone have recognized you?” The assistant furrowed his brow, glancing around at the passers-by, though he saw nothing suspicious. “Maybe we should head back to the hotel?”
“I heard some sisheng1Stalker fans / Sisheng (私生): similar to Korean sasaeng, sisheng are obsessive fans with extreme and crazy manners. In order to satisfy their selfish desires, they follow, peek and secretly photograph idols’ personal lives as well as non-public schedules. fans can be really crazy these days, stalking and taking secret photos. There was even a report of one breaking into a celebrity’s home, really scary.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Jing Li nodded, not wanting any trouble so soon after joining the crew.
They decisively headed back, Jing Li glancing behind them before getting in the car, ensuring no one followed.
It was just getting dark when he returned to the hotel. On the way, he met a few familiar faces who were out for dinner. Jing Li thought about it and simply called Wang Lele and invited him to have dinner with him in the room.
The two of them didn’t pay attention when they were shopping at the snack street and bought too much. Even if they ate with Wang Lele, they might not be able to finish it all.
Fortunately, some pastries and breads could be stored, so they did not have to worry about them going to waste.
Stepping off the elevator, Jing Li opened the door and set down his bags when a knock sounded behind him. Turning to open it with a smile, “You’re here just in ti—”
A figure burst in, waving excitedly. “Surprise! Aren’t you surprised?!”
Jing Li froze mid-sentence. “…”
Quite a surprise, indeed.
Wang Lele appeared, explaining, “Hu Li was with me when you called inviting me over for food, so he tagged along.”
In truth, Hu Li had recognized Jing Li’s voice through the receiver, immediately dropping his game to insist on coming when he heard Wang Lele was invited for dinner.
Knowing his sudden intrusion was bold, Hu Li lingered at the entrance, gazing at Jing Li expectantly. “Can I join you both? Don’t worry, I don’t eat much. I just want to spend more time with you.”
Rather than the food, he craved basking in Jing Li’s aura.
Hu Li’s manner wasn’t off-putting, and Jing Li did wish to interact with him more, so despite his surprise, he nodded, stepping aside to let them enter.
“Wow, the hotel really spared no expense on this suite!” Hu Li couldn’t help but sigh as soon as he walked in.
Don’t blame him for exaggerating. It’s not like he had never stayed in hotel suites before, but none of them were as luxuriously decorated as Jing Li’s.
The owner must be extraordinarily wealthy!
Unlike his friend’s astonishment, Wang Lele had grown accustomed to Jing Li’s extravagance, merely glancing around before averting his gaze.
The trio settled in the living room, the coffee table laden with takeout containers.
“So rich, did you go to Xingfu Alley?” Wang Lele understood it at a glance, obviously having a deep understanding of someone’s foodie attributes.
Sure enough, Jing Li nodded nonchalantly, “I heard it’s quite famous, so I went to explore since I had time today.”
“You went outside the film and television city?” Hu Li frowned disapprovingly. “It’s best to limit going out around here when possible. This area isn’t very safe.”
“That’s true,” Wang Lele seemed to have remembered something when he heard what he said, and echoed, “Although the film and television city is lively, there are also unsavory elements. There have been several incidents of civilians attacking celebrities. If you want to go out again, it’s safer to bring others along.”
Jing Li paused, meeting their gazes. Though the two seemed to reference the same issue, his intuition told him Hu Li’s words held deeper implications.
Sure enough, the gravity in Hu Li’s eyes only heightened his suspicions about the peculiar situation. However, this wasn’t the time for an in-depth discussion, so Jing Li merely nodded in acknowledgment before changing the subject.
The temperature of the snacks was just right, and the taste was very good. The four of us were very satisfied with the food, and there was not much left in the end.
Afterward, the assistant cleaned up, allowing the trio private time.
After the meal, the assistant cleaned up the mess and returned to his room, allowing the trio private time.
Wang Lele and Jing Li were already familiar with each other, and Hu Li was a familiar character, so they chatted happily for a while. Talking about various topics significantly eased the atmosphere between himself and Jing Li.
However, everyone had early call times the next day and had to take makeup photos so they couldn’t stay up too late. By the appointed hour, Wang Lele and Hu Li bid farewell, returning to their rooms.
“Let me see you out.”
Jing Li walked them to the door but didn’t immediately return inside after closing it, instead leaning against it in wait.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, faint knocks sounded on the door as if afraid of disturbing the occupants.
Without a word, Jing Li opened it to find Hu Li standing sheepishly outside. Startled at first, Hu Li then beamed, “You’re so fast! Did you expect me to come back, so you waited by the door!”
Ignoring his rambling, Jing Li checked the assistant’s closed room before asking in a hushed voice, “What’s really going on outside the studio?”
“Didn’t you already guess it?” Hu Li sobered, glancing around before leaning in to murmur, “This famous studio attracts many productions and, naturally, celebrities.”
“You know spiritual energy is scarce now. Absorbing faith and refining it into spiritual power is the most effective way to cultivate one’s abilities.”
“Not every demon spirit can luck into the entertainment industry, and some impatient ones have developed crooked ideas.”
“Those previous attacks on celebrities were their doing. Since they tasted the benefits, they have become more unruly.”
“They’re attacking ordinary people too?” Jing Li couldn’t help but frown.
Humans are different from demons. Humans could not withstand spiritual assaults, which could severely injure or even kill.
Those beings were too unscrupulous!
“Those things don’t differentiate between humans and their own kind,” Hu Li scoffed. “Of course, devouring the spiritual power of the same kind can improve your cultivation. But there aren’t enough demons to sustain them. The cultivation level of those things alone is not enough to distinguish humans from their kind, that’s why it happens so frequently.”
After all, while the spiritual energy in humans was impure, to those beings, some was better than none. Moreover, they targeted those with relatively concentrated spiritual energy.
So they didn’t care if the victimized humans suffered shortened lifespans or other consequences as long as their selfish desires were met. Everything else was insignificant.
Even if the perpetrators faced human legal repercussions, the penalties were trivial compared to the longevity of demons. Instead, it just bred more reckless imitators.
Although this method was risky and crazy enough, it did work.
Hence the numerous incidents of celebrities being attacked by civilians.
Jing Li never expected the situation here to be so severe, his frown deepening. “And no one’s managing this?”
It caused such a big fuss and had become famous almost all over the country. There was no reason why it should be left alone, right?
Regardless of the Heavenly Dao, how could even human cultivators overlook such frequent attacks and the victims’ strange injuries?
“How could…” Hu Li started to explain but stopped when the elevator dinged, its doors sliding open as someone exited. He fell silent.
“What took you so long just to get your phone?” Wang Lele came out of the elevator to find Hu Li lingering by the door, chatting with Jing Li. He strode over. “What are you two gossiping about out here? Aren’t you freezing?”
It was already winter. While the hotel had heating, the corridors weren’t so warm.
The two of them standing by the door did look rather strange.
Hu Li: “…”
Jing Li: “…”
“Haha, it seems really cold when you say that.” Hu Li forced a laugh. Turning to Jing Li, “I’ll head back first then. We can continue our chat another time.”
He winked conspiratorially at Jing Li before dragging Wang Lele away.
Watching their departing figures, Jing Li didn’t linger, returning inside and closing the door.
After washing up and settling into bed, the issues Hu Li raised still weighed on his mind, especially recalling that eerie gaze he’d felt at the snack alley. It left him unsettled.
Picking up his phone, he searched for information on the previous celebrity attacks around the studio district.
The search yielded a wealth of information.
The total number of actors who were attacked in the film and television city was over a dozen, and the level of madness was simply outrageous.
Most victims were high-profile stars at their peak popularity. They all suffered varying trauma, from a broken leg at minimum to intensive care at worst.
These incidents caused an uproar at the time, with fans of the assaulted stars openly threatening to retaliate against the perpetrators.
But evidently, no one was ever identified, whether the beings concealed themselves exceptionally well or were suppressed by some human agency.
…
Jing Li pursed his lips, scrolling further until he came across a victim who, surprisingly, wasn’t severely injured in the attack.
This discovery made him sit upright, quickly clicking through to study the victim’s details.
The victim was named Nie Dong, a well-known traffic star at the time. However, he hadn’t released any new works since the attack, leaving scarce information.
Jing Li checked Nie Dong’s profile and realized he was a Sentu Entertainment artist.
“Gu Tingshen’s company?”
Jing Li pondered, making a mental note to ask Hu Li about this tomorrow since he mentioned being a Sentu artist too.
As he contemplated this, his phone screen lit up with an incoming call notification.
Jing Li glanced down to see it was from none other than Sentu’s owner, Gu Tingshen himself.
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