???
Jing Li was stunned for a moment, then stared at Gu Tingshen with a bewildered expression for a while but couldn’t quite figure out what was different about him.
His face was still the same, with sharp, handsome features.
Except his long coat had changed from black to dark gray, and the sweater underneath was still white. Even his hairstyle was still the same as before, with no changes made.
But since he had asked this question, he clearly wasn’t just joking around.
Jing Li looked at Gu Tingshen and pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, “…Did you get more handsome?”
Seeing his serious expression, Gu Tingshen, who had thought he had already noticed something: “…”
Gu Tingshen was a little unwilling to give up. He leaned forward a bit more and gestured above his head, hinting: “Think about it again?”
Jing Li: “…”
What was going on?
Jing Li stared blankly at the space above his head where he had gestured.
Above his head?!
In a moment, seeming to realize something, Jing Li’s expression toward Gu Tingshen became a little strange.
But seeing that the other had noticed his change in expression and was now looking at him eagerly, he hesitated and said, “…Did you get cheated on?”
Gu Tingshen: “…”
Gu Tingshen rubbed his brow wearily, finally giving up on the hints.
But he really didn’t know how to ask outright.
Ever since that night he had saved Jing Li, his whole person seemed to have become abnormal.
The Jing Li from his dream that night and the colored mists above Secretary Qin’s head that he had suddenly seen the next morning, at first, he thought he was seeing things because he hadn’t rested well.
But the following nights, he had almost the same dream every night. Then the next day after waking up, the colored mist above Secretary Qin’s head would reappear. As the days went by, the amount of time he could see the colored clusters also gradually increased.
By today, it wasn’t just Secretary Qin. Every person he encountered after going out, he could see a mist above their heads, and the colors were all different – gray, white, mixed gray and white.
Just now, he had even seen one above Jing Li’s head, and the color looked clearer, purer, and more concentrated compared to others’.
It was a mix of gold and pure white. The colors were very beautiful. Looking closely, it even seemed to emit a damp, misty aura.
He subconsciously felt that these mists might represent something, but he had searched countless ancient texts and found no relevant records.
When he searched online, there were all kinds of serious jokes everywhere that this was an obvious sign of a cultivator’s cultivation level rising.
He had also considered that Jing Li might have had the same experience as him. After all, they had been attacked at the same time that night.
But seeing that several days had passed and Jing Li didn’t seem to be behaving abnormally at all and hadn’t tried to contact him, he became uncertain again.
He had also investigated other victims of the attack afterward, and none of them had shown signs of this happening either.
But right now, he couldn’t care if the other would think he was crazy. He directly asked, “After that night, have you felt any strange changes in your body?”
Gu Tingshen looked up at Jing Li, observing his expression, “Like having the same dream continuously for several days? Or suddenly seeing mist above other people’s heads and such?”
Jing Li had been casually listening to him speak, but upon hearing this, his expression subtly changed.
Having the same dream repeatedly? And able to see other people’s spiritual energy?
Could Gu Tingshen actually not be human, either?
He carefully looked Gu Tingshen up and down but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. But seeing that he didn’t seem to be faking, he could only suppress the shock in his heart and smiled casually, “Maybe I’ve just been tired from filming these days, I haven’t had many dreams. But mist above people’s heads? What’s that?”
“I’m not clear on it either.” Gu Tingshen frowned. Since he had already said this much, he no longer wanted to hide anything. He frankly said, “Ever since that night, I’ve often had the same dream.”
“And your figure has always appeared in the dreams.”
He paused here and glanced at Jing Li. Seeing that he didn’t show any disgusted expression, he continued, “I dreamed of a majestic, ancient palace. You had turned into a koi fish in the palace pond, and then, for some reason, you suddenly transformed back into a human boy.”
“The you in the dream slowly grew up. Then the scene suddenly changed to dim skies and earth, with thunderclouds gathering and roaring as they struck down at you…just like a cultivator going through heavenly tribulation…”
……
Jing Li had only suspected that Gu Tingshen might not be human, but as he heard the content of the dreams, he gradually became shocked instead. By the time he finished describing the entire dream, Jing Li was so agitated that his hands had clenched into fists.
He understood all too clearly that the dreams that seemed bizarre and inexplicable in the other’s eyes were just glimpses of his long life in the Spiritual Realm.
Even the scene of the lightning tribulation was described without any difference.
Could Gu Tingshen actually also be someone from the Spiritual Realm and had even lived near him?
Just thinking of this possibility, Jing Li almost couldn’t restrain his excitement from shouting out loud.
But calming down and thinking about it again, he didn’t seem to recognize this face in his memories.
Perhaps he was also like Jing Li, a soul who had entered this world and only started awakening after being attacked by that demonic creature?
…
In an instant, Jing Li had imagined countless possibilities in his mind. But no matter which one it was, it was clearly not suitable to lay all his cards on the table right now.
“This dream does sound a bit weird.” Jing Li nodded seriously, then continued, “Could it be that the person who attacked us used some kind of hallucinogenic drug? You’re like this only because you’re experiencing hallucinations from the drug’s effects?”
“That’s right, didn’t you say there was something suspicious about Nie Dong? Could he have had the same thing happen?”
“It’s not an issue with drugs.” Gu Tingshen shook his head. For a moment, he didn’t know how to explain, so he simply skipped the topic and said, “There is indeed something suspicious about Nie Dong, but it’s unrelated to this.”
“The people I sent to look for Nie Dong previously didn’t find any trace of him, it’s like he’s no longer in the capital.”
“Later, they followed the information he had provided when first joining the company to look for his hometown, but there was no one there, or rather, there was no existence of such a person. The local villagers all said they had never seen someone like that.”
“Never seen him before?” Jing Li was also surprised to hear this but wasn’t shocked. If Nie Dong really were a demon, as he suspected, it would be normal for people to be unable to find him.
After thinking about it, he added, “Don’t artists have to provide genuine identity information when joining a company? Could the staff in charge of reviewing it back then have been negligent?”
“That’s where the problem lies.” Gu Tingshen frowned, seeming puzzled. “The identity information provided by artists is recorded in the system. The system records match those of the police. If the information is false, it wouldn’t be possible to successfully enter it.”
Moreover, he had specifically had it re-entered after the incident happened, and it still showed that the information was valid.
“Did the people who went to Nie Dong’s hometown notice anything different about the place?”
“It was just a very ordinary little village,” Gu Tingshen shook his head. “It looked relatively backward, with big trees planted everywhere that seemed to have been there for many years. The people who went complained they kept getting lost because the roads were hard to find.”
Big trees that had been there for years?
Jing Li’s mind stirred slightly. He roughly knew where to go look for Nie Dong now.
However, he didn’t tell Gu Tingshen this. He asked a few more questions and then dropped the topic.
Later, when the assistant brought the hotel staff in with a food cart, the two stopped chatting. They went to the dining area and started eating.
Perhaps because their relationship had become a little closer, the atmosphere between them was noticeably more harmonious. Occasionally they would chat about popular topics during the meal.
From current affairs and economics to recent entertainment circle news, from history to modern culture, they covered several different areas.
But no matter the topic, the two of them were actually able to provide relevant insights. Moreover, many of their ideas and perspectives were surprisingly similar.
This discovery instantly increased their enthusiasm for chatting. After the meal, the distance between them grew even closer. By the time Gu Tingshen got up to leave, they both felt somewhat reluctant to part.
“Putting everything else aside, I think we can be considered like-minded friends, right?” Gu Tingshen suddenly stopped before leaving and looked back at Jing Li with a smile.
Jing Li was surprised at first upon hearing this, then couldn’t help smiling and arching his brow slightly. “I thought we had long become friends already?”
As soon as he said this, the two of them laughed out loud at the same time.
It was as if everything was implicit between them.
After sending Gu Tingshen off, Jing Li returned to his room and used his phone to look up the location of Nie Dong’s hometown that Gu Tingshen had mentioned, recording the route. He planned to go take a look himself after filming ended.
Once everything was arranged properly, he went to bed to rest.
*
Filming continued the next day.
Jing Li’s scenes were scheduled for the afternoon that day, so he arrived on set relatively late.
When he got to the set, he noticed there weren’t many actors present. Thinking the scenes in the afternoon were mainly confrontations between supporting roles, he assumed the others had gone back to rest and didn’t think much of it.
But after observing the state of those who were present, he quickly realized something was off.
Most of the people here, like him, had scenes in the afternoon. Despite not having started filming yet, they were all lying in their seats with their eyes closed, looking exhausted.
Moreover,
Although these actors didn’t have big roles, their own fame wasn’t low, so the spiritual energy around them was naturally more abundant.
But when Jing Li roughly looked around, the spiritual energy above these people’s heads seemed to have diminished, and the remaining spiritual energy had also become chaotic and messy.
It was like someone had deliberately absorbed it, leaving this aftermath. But because the amount absorbed wasn’t much, it didn’t make people notice anything wrong.
Jing Li knitted his brows with a bad premonition arising in his heart.
But seeing the director calling for preparations to film, he could only temporarily set this matter aside for now and decided to ask Hu Li about the situation after filming.
His scene to film now was after being punished by the emperor for confrontation in the great hall. He returned home, and his good friend, the seventh prince, came to visit.
And the one playing his friend was none other than Hu Li.
From Hu Li’s hesitant expression, he didn’t need to think to know the other must have noticed something as well.
“Let’s talk after finishing filming.”
Jing Li signaled Hu Li with his eyes to remain calm.
Hu Li looked at him and nodded hesitantly, though his expression did relax a lot.
It wasn’t a long scene. Both of their acting skills were on point, and with the spiritual energy absorption on their minds, they basically passed it in one take.
After some close-up shots were taken, their scenes were finished.
As soon as they finished, Hu Li instantly pulled Jing Li to a deserted corner.
Hu Li looked at him, then around them, before moving closer and directly asking, “Did you also notice something wrong with their spiritual energy?”
This confirmed Jing Li’s earlier guesses.
Jing Li’s expression instantly became solemn. Looking at him, he asked, “Do you know what happened?”
“Some people organized a dinner gathering last night. I happened to be playing games with Lele, so I didn’t go. Later I heard from them that they kept going until very late. Then this morning after filming, most of them directly went back to rest, looking especially tired.”
Hu Li nodded with an equally solemn expression, “The others all thought it was because they stayed up too late last night messing around. But after I looked around, those people’s spiritual energy had actually been absorbed. It’s just that because each person lost only a little, it didn’t arouse anyone’s suspicions.”
Upon hearing this, Jing Li’s expression grew even more serious.
A collective spiritual energy hunt?
Something on such a massive scale, no matter how he heard it, seemed like a premeditated operation.
Moreover, it was extremely arrogant, actually directly targeting people from the crew.
With things as they were, he was afraid there were either accomplices within the crew or there were other demons lurking in the shadows like them.
But currently, they didn’t have a single clue.
Jing Li thought for a moment, then asked, “Do you know who proposed the dinner?”
“It was Zhang Guolin.” Hu Li nodded, then added with confusion, “But the weird thing is, Zhang Guolin’s spiritual energy was also absorbed, and it was more than the others. So, he was also the one who looked most haggard today.”
Hearing this, Jing Li couldn’t help frowning.
But just guessing like this wasn’t going to reveal the mastermind either. After thinking about it, he said to Hu Li, “Don’t go back to your own room tonight, go keep an eye on Lele.”
“Since that thing dared to openly absorb spiritual energy, after getting a taste, it definitely won’t give up easily. Looking at the whole crew, probably only us three could become its next targets.”
“You’re planning to use yourself as bait to lure it out?” Hearing Jing Li’s words, Hu Li immediately knew what he was scheming.
But with the enemy in the dark and them in the light, and still unclear about the other’s abilities, doing this was still too risky. He immediately frowned and refused, “No, that’s too dangerous! What if you encounter a malicious one…”
“Don’t worry, I know my limits.” But Jing Li didn’t plan on giving up. After reassuring him with a few words, he first went to the dressing room to remove his makeup.
After taking off his makeup, Jing Li didn’t return to his room. Instead, he deliberately wandered around the set for a bit.
When asked, he would casually say his assistant had gone out of town to run some errands and wouldn’t be back for hours. He didn’t bring his room card and had nothing to do, so he was just strolling around while waiting.
For many artists, apart from acting, they really were too lazy to deal with everyday trivial matters themselves. The crew members present had clearly long become accustomed to this. So, Jing Li’s explanation didn’t arouse anyone’s suspicions.
When the time was about right, Jing Li pretended to be a little tired. He randomly pulled over a staff member and asked about a relatively secluded, vacant rest area, saying he wanted to go rest for a bit there and charge his phone.
“Oh right, if I accidentally fall asleep later and don’t pick up when my assistant calls, please let him know I’m in the rest area waiting if you see him come looking for me.”
Saying this, he put his palms together and made a requesting gesture, smiling sincerely at the staff member as he thanked them, “Thank you so much.”
No one could resist a polite, well-mannered gentleman’s request, moreover, one who was extremely good-looking.
The staff member Jing Li had stopped instantly turned red and nodded, promising repeatedly to do their best to keep an eye out for him.
Jing Li immediately smiled and thanked him.
Since he didn’t intentionally avoid anyone when saying all this, and most of the staff were gathered together. Basically, everyone could hear. Many even smiled and said they would also help keep watch for him.
Facing everyone’s good intentions, Jing Li expressed his thanks to each one.
After explaining everything, he said goodbye to everyone and headed directly to the rest area. He then lay down on the sofa inside and closed his eyes to pretend to nap.
During this time, several batches of staff members came in and out of the rest area. Seeing someone sleeping inside, they all quietly withdrew.
Time passed bit by bit, and the sky outside gradually darkened.
Gradually, the footsteps outside also completely disappeared. It was as if this rest area had been forgotten by everyone, with no one passing by to even glance inside.
Even the staff responsible for checking the lights and door locks didn’t appear.
The room was perfectly silent.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when Jing Li faintly smelled a trace of demonic energy wafting in from outside.
At first it was just faint wisps, then it gradually became richer.
The smell wasn’t very nice, like a rat that had died in a sewage ditch long ago, exuding a sticky stench that made one nauseous.
As the stench roiled, a black shadow gradually appeared at the door. It then stepped inside the rest area toward Jing Li, finally stopping in front of him.
The black shadow sized up the person on the sofa for a while. Then it slowly raised its sharp claws and suddenly pounced over.
But before it could touch the other, the person on the sofa suddenly opened his eyes, clear and alert without the slightest sign of having been asleep.
The black shadow’s movements instantly stalled.
But in that moment, Jing Li suddenly surged up from the sofa. One hand grabbed the black shadow’s fragile neck and jerked hard, directly slamming it onto the tea table in front. His leg then fiercely pinned the black shadow’s abdomen down while his other hand, shaped like a claw, forcefully stabbed into its chest.
In just a flip, the black shadow in his hand lost all signs of life without even a chance to struggle. Its black color gradually dispersed, revealing the original form of a demonic hyena.
Jing Li indifferently glanced at it, then casually flung the demonic hyena’s corpse onto the floor, about to go wash his hands.
But as soon as he turned around, he was stunned in place.
He saw that Gu Tingshen had appeared in the doorway at some point, currently expressionlessly watching him.
Clearly, he just happened to witness the previous scene.
The author has something to say:
At first,
Jing Li: I don’t know anything about the mist. I’ve never even heard of it!
Gu Tingshen: Nods sincerely, still afraid of scaring his wife.
Later,
After witnessing his wife violently kill a demon with his own eyes.
Jing Li: You might not believe me if I say this, but I was actually really scared just now too.
Gu Tingshen: …Alright, as long as my wife says so, I’ll believe it.
—
Hahahaha, some people have opened the door to a whole new world from now on!
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