Jing Li: “……”
“……Tingshen-ge, what are you doing here?” Jing Li looked at him with a stiff expression, subconsciously hiding the hyena demon he was holding behind his back.
“I came to find you,” Gu Tingshen’s gaze followed his movement and looked behind him, maintaining an expressionless face as he said lightly, “A staff said you were resting in the dressing room here, so I came to find you.”
After he finished speaking, he retracted his gaze and looked up at Jing Li.
Last night, after he went back, he dreamt of Jing Li again, but this time, the dream had changed and was no longer the same as before.
What’s more, when he woke up the next morning, he realized he had gained some self-control over seeing the mist on other people. As long as he rejected it in his mind, the mist on the other person would also disappear.
This discovery was too astonishing. After thinking it over, Jing Li was still the only person he could confide in, so after finishing work that afternoon and hearing that Jing Li had no scenes to film that night, he came directly to find him.
Who would have thought that as soon as he followed the crew member’s directions and arrived at the dressing room entrance, he would see such an unbelievable scene that shocked his worldview?
He felt like he could still hear someone’s words from yesterday, consoling him: “Maybe the other party used some kind of drug, so it made you hallucinate…”
Used some kind of drug, so it caused hallucinations…
Jing Li: “……”
Jing Li obviously also recalled what he had just said yesterday. His face looked rather hot now.
But facing the other’s silent gaze, he still forced himself to remain calm and returned the look.
“Oh, this is a stray hyena that ran in from somewhere,” Jing Li pretended to be completely nonchalant as he held up the hyena demon again. “I was afraid it would hurt someone, so…”
“So you just strangled it to death with your bare hands,” Gu Tingshen finished his sentence with an expressionless face.
Jing Li: “……”
Jing Li: “…Ah, I might have used too much force without realizing it.”
“And then you also fished out a light black pill from the hyena’s belly.”
Jing Li: “……”
“After that, I also had a hallucination, watching with my own eyes as black smoke emerged from its body, and then it suddenly transformed from a person into a hyena.”
Jing Li: “…………”
Gu Tingshen gazed at him quietly, then, after a moment, laughed lightly. “Jing Li, do you think I’d be easier to fool if I pretended to be blind or pretended to be stupid?”
Jing Li: “……………”
Jing Li took a deep breath, looking up at him with the attitude of going all out. “What if I tell you now that I’ve actually been secretly self-studying some minor Maoshan Taoist arts?”
Gu Tingshen looked at him intently for a while until Jing Li was sweating bullets before he finally smoothed his expression and said lightly, “Oh, is that so?”
Although his face didn’t show much belief, he still decided to let him off for now and not continue probing.
Jing Li finally breathed a hidden sigh of relief.
Continuing to be at a stalemate here was obviously not a good idea. Jing Li was also worried someone else would come by soon, so he simply picked up the hyena demon and strode towards the door, saying, “Let’s talk more after we get back.”
After he finished speaking, he had already taken the lead to exit the room. Looking left and right and seeing no one around, he carried the hyena demon over to the nearest trash can, raising his hand to throw it in.
On second thought, he felt that leaving it in plain sight would still be an eyesore and was about to find something to cover it with when he caught sight of Gu Tingshen walking over out of the corner of his eye, holding a snakeskin bag that he seemed to have procured from somewhere. He held the bag open with both hands and brought it in front of Jing Li.
“If you don’t want it to be discovered, it’s best to throw it outside,” Gu Tingshen said lightly.
Jing Li looked up at him and murmured a thanks. He tossed the hyena into the bag, and then the two of them carried the bag and directly left the premises.
*
Because of the delay, by the time they returned to the room, it was already half an hour later.
The two first went to the bathroom to wash their hands, then sat on the sofa in silence, facing each other.
After a long while, it was still Gu Tingshen who broke the silence first and spoke.
“Was it the one who attacked you at the hotel entrance that day?” That night he hadn’t been able to see the shadowy figure’s face clearly, only remembering it was a vague black silhouette.
By now, Jing Li also knew there was no use hiding it from him, so he simply nodded and said, “It was.”
“It was a hyena demon. It increases its cultivation by absorbing the spiritual energy from people’s bodies. After being…injured by you last time, its cultivation regressed severely, so it ran over to the filming location last night to absorb more spiritual energy.”
After he finished speaking, Jing Li looked up at Gu Tingshen, waiting for him to continue asking relevant questions.
Encountering this kind of thing for the first time, he could understand the other’s shock, so he was also prepared to answer any probing questions.
But after hearing his explanation, Gu Tingshen’s brows furrowed instead, an expression of disapproval on his face. “So, you deliberately went to such a remote dressing room tonight to lure it out?”
Jing Li was taken aback, feeling like his focus was a bit off.
“Knowing the other party was that kind of creature, you actually still dared to take such a risk alone?” Gu Tingshen spoke more and more agitatedly. “Did you ever think about what kind of danger you would encounter if the other party were a very powerful demon?!”
Just from the two times they had crossed paths, he could sense the viciousness of that being, utterly without moral restraint. If the hyena demon today just happened to not be a match for Jing Li, what if Jing Li had been suppressed by the demon instead, just like that hyena demon?
Thinking that Jing Li might have suffered harm or even endangered his life, Gu Tingshen finally belatedly felt fear. His complexion instantly darkened, an extremely stern and frightening expression on his face, appearing even more emotional than when he had seen Jing Li strangle the hyena demon with his bare hands.
Jing Li: “……”
Jing Li opened his mouth, for a time at a loss for words.
“Actually, I was confident when I…” He reflexively started to explain himself, but upon meeting the other’s even darker expression, he faltered and changed his words, “I understand, next time I’ll definitely be more careful.”
After he finished speaking, when he came back to his senses and realized what he had said, Jing Li couldn’t help but feel somewhat bewildered.
What was going on with him? Why was he explaining things to him?
But seeing the tension in the other’s expression ease after his reassurance, Jing Li fell silent and instantly discarded that line of thought.
Oh well, just consider it as putting his mind at ease.
After all, just yesterday, he had said they were friends.
Jing Li comforted himself like this inwardly, completely overlooking the fact that since gaining awareness, aside from Senior Brother and Master, this was the first time he had cared so much about someone else’s feelings.
This topic was shelved for now.
After calming down, Gu Tingshen thought things over carefully and finally realized the abnormality of the situation.
“That hyena was lurking at the hotel entrance attacking guests that day, it looked like it was just taking a risky gamble. How did it suddenly run into the filming location afterward?”
Moreover, seeing its brazen attitude, it seemed completely unworried about being discovered by others.
Gu Tingshen only needed to think it over briefly before stating decisively, “There must be an inside accomplice in the crew.”
Jing Li raised his brows slightly, rather surprised that his reaction was so quick. After all, as an ordinary person unaware of the restrictions on demons, being able to calmly accept the existence of demons in this world was already very good.
But he didn’t beat around the bush either, directly nodding and saying, “There is indeed an accomplice, and it’s very likely someone from within the crew.”
“Also a demon?”
“Very likely.” Jing Li said, “In demons’ eyes, humans are just extremely insignificant lowly lifeforms that they completely look down upon. Only more powerful demons than themselves can make them submit.”
“Being able to command low-level demons and conceal itself among humans without anyone noticing anything amiss, this demon’s cultivation is probably very high already.”
Gu Tingshen’s brows furrowed. “If last night’s incident really was orchestrated by it behind the scenes, and it hasn’t caused any accidents yet, it seems like it’s no stranger to doing this kind of thing. So, before this, it must have pulled similar stunts frequently to be so adept at it.”
“Looking at it this way, its intelligence can’t be lower than humans either, it may even surpass most people. So, aren’t you in danger in the crew?”
“No,” Jing Li shook his head. Seeing his worried expression, he couldn’t help explaining, “Like you said, it’s adept at this kind of thing, which means it has apprehensions and doesn’t dare make any big moves rashly.”
“Moreover, demons aren’t actually as formidable as you think. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have declined to the point of needing to absorb human spiritual energy to cultivate.”
But absorbing spiritual energy was also like walking a tightrope over a cliff’s edge – the slightest carelessness could lead to backlash and falling into an endless abyss. So, any demon with a bit of brains wouldn’t take risks lightly.
After all, in this world lacking in spiritual energy, being able to cultivate into a physical form was extremely difficult.
“But letting it stay in the crew is still a hidden danger. So tonight, you took the risk, planning to capture the evil-doer first, then follow the vine to get the melon1顺藤摸瓜 (shùn téng mō guā) lit. to follow the vine to get to the melon / to track sth following clues and uncover the mastermind behind the scenes?” Gu Tingshen seemed to grasp his train of thought almost instantly, looking at him and asking, “It seems like you already have some idea?”
Jing Li couldn’t help raising his brows again, casting an appreciative glance at him.
He discovered that Gu Tingshen’s mind was really quite nimble. Oftentimes, just giving him the tiniest bit of clues, he could present the entire event clearly and completely.
Seeing that he didn’t deny it, Gu Tingshen naturally also understood his meaning. He didn’t try to stop him again, only said, “Can I hear about your plan? Maybe I can help in some way.”
“I don’t have a concrete plan yet,” Jing Li shook his head. “Right now, I only have some guesses. I’ll have to see how things develop before making a decision.”
Gu Tingshen looked at him deeply, paused, and suddenly said, “But I have a pretty good suggestion.”
As he spoke, he gestured for Jing Li to come closer. Then he leaned in next to his ear and whispered for a while.
Jing Li’s brows rose sharply when he heard it. He was clearly very satisfied with his proposal. He immediately smiled and voiced his agreement, promising to try it tomorrow.
The two of them huddled together, discussing the details for a while more until the assistant hurried back from outside, and only then did they end the topic.
*
Early the next morning, Jing Li called Hu Li and asked about him and Wang Lele. Hearing that everything was normal last night, he didn’t say much more, only simply relayed a few instructions before hanging up.
He arrived at the set early, with only a few crew members busy preparing the location for the first scene.
Jing Li first went to the dressing room to change into costume and makeup. The dressing room was also very empty, with only two or three actors inside putting on makeup. When they saw him come in, they all smiled and greeted him.
One of them was even a familiar face – it was Zhang Guolin.
Jing Li smiled politely and nodded at everyone. When his gaze passed over Zhang Guolin, he made a rough assessment.
It seemed Hu Li’s words yesterday weren’t exaggerated at all. The spiritual energy over Zhang Guolin’s head really was in chaos. Although he had rested for a day, his whole person still exuded obvious fatigue.
“What’s wrong?” Feeling his gaze, Zhang Guolin smiled at him, then reached up doubtfully to touch his own face. “Do I really look that bad?”
“Seems I really can’t get away with not acting my age, huh!” He laughed at himself jokingly, shaking his head. “I just went out with them to have some more fun two nights ago. As a result, I still haven’t recovered these last two days and feel completely worn out all over.”
“Yet you – I heard you even fell asleep in the dressing room last night? Making your assistant run around looking for you.”
“And you’re still so young. Can’t believe you have such great endurance,” Zhang Guolin said, then paused and looked Jing Li up and down, suddenly lowering his voice with a teasing grin. “Don’t tell me you ran into a bit of…fun…in the dressing room, so you deliberately ignored your assistant’s calls?”
When he said “a bit of fun” in the dressing room, he deliberately gave a suggestive waggle of his brows.
This kind of joke laced with innuendo always proved interesting. As soon as he finished speaking, the others in the dressing room couldn’t help emitting low chuckles. Several people more familiar with Jing Li even directly cast their expectant gazes over, waiting to see how he would respond.
Jing Li just smiled without replying.
Just then, the door to the dressing room was suddenly pushed open. Hu Li rushed in anxiously from outside, looked around, and, upon spotting Jing Li, hurried over to him. He grabbed Jing Li’s hand and looked him over left and right, panting heavily as he urgently said, “Are you okay? Where did you go last night? You had everyone looking all over!”
“I just happened to fall asleep in the dressing room.” Jing Li seized the opportunity to clasp his hand, then made a concerned expression as he looked at him and said, “What about you? You look so pale…Hu Li?!”
As he spoke, Hu Li suddenly staggered, and his complexion grew even paler.
“It’s nothing,” he leaned weakly against Jing Li, breathing roughly, “I fell when looking for you last night…”
“Yet you rushed over so urgently.” Jing Li hurriedly supported him firmly and, amidst the chaos, slipped the demon pill into his hand, saying, “Are you badly injured? Or should we ask Director Wen for leave so I can take you back to rest first?”
Hu Li originally wanted to refuse, but after glancing at Jing Li’s expression and warily looking at the others in the dressing room, he finally gave in and let Jing Li help him out.
After the two left, the others in the dressing room looked at each other, then couldn’t help sighing at what a good relationship those two had.
They chatted about it for a bit before moving on from the topic, clearly not taking the matter too seriously.
Only Zhang Guolin, who had been joking and laughing earlier, kept silent as he watched them leave, not knowing what he was thinking.
*
After leaving the dressing room, Hu Li instantly reverted back to normal.
He looked back and then moved close to Jing Li, speaking lowly, “Are you sure this will really work?”
When Jing Li had called him that morning, he had requested that Hu Li rush into the dressing room looking for him in a flustered manner ten minutes later. He also had to pretend to be injured with his demonic energy unstable, leaking out traces of weak demonic aura.
Although he didn’t know the purpose behind this request, trusting Jing Li, he had followed the instructions.
“Just do as I say, then wait in the room afterward at ease.”
Hearing this, Hu Li seemed to partially understand as he nodded. Since he didn’t have any scenes today anyway, he had his assistant inform Director Wen, then directly returned to his room.
After Hu Li left, Jing Li waited outside for a bit before going back into the dressing room.
But this time, his complexion didn’t look too good, as if worried about Hu Li’s injury. He pursed his lips without making a sound.
Seeing this, the others also didn’t say much, only simply comforted him a few words before moving on.
But Zhang Guolin eyed him several times in a row. Finally, seeing his bad mood, he couldn’t help asking, “Is Hu Li badly injured?”
“It’s fine. He just wasn’t paying attention when he fell and twisted his waist,” Jing Li smiled, but anyone could see how forced it was.
Hearing this, Zhang Guolin nodded without pursuing the issue.
After finishing makeup and going out to the set, the location outside was also ready. Director Wen tested the cameras, then had the actors for the first scene get ready to start filming.
According to the original plan, Jing Li had two scenes to film this morning. Even after finishing them, it would probably be noon already.
Because of this, Jing Li’s mood seemed very low the whole time. Looking more closely, traces of anxiety could also be glimpsed flashing through his eyes occasionally.
Many people had been present when Hu Li’s assistant came to ask for leave from Director Wen earlier, so a lot of them also knew about his injury from falling while looking for Jing Li last night.
Hu Li was usually the closest to Jing Li and Wang Lele, so seeing Jing Li like this now, they could understand.
But his abilities still stood out in the end. Even in low spirits, as soon as Jing Li entered the set, his entire bearing instantly transformed, once again becoming that bold and strategically brilliant Lu Mingyuan.
After finishing filming a scene and while the crew was preparing the set, Jing Li went to sit at a nearby chair to rest. As soon as he sat down, he impatiently asked his assistant for the time.
Hearing that it was already over two hours later, his brows instantly furrowed, and a trace of impatience flashed through his eyes, but it swiftly faded away as he maintained a taut expression, picking up a cup beside him to slowly sip some water.
In the crowd not far away, someone secretly glanced at him, then hooked his lips in a sinister smile before hurrying away in the opposite direction.
However, he left in such a rush that he didn’t notice how after he had just left, Jing Li’s sipping motion instantly became leisurely. His face even revealed a hint of relaxation.
“Er Shao,” the assistant beside him hesitated several times before still unable to resist speaking up. “Didn’t you already finish your scenes this morning?”
If you’re in such a hurry to leave, then go already!
On such a cold day, instead of going back to rest after filming, what are you posing around here for!
Upon hearing this, Jing Li paused for a moment, then lightly quirked the corners of his lips with a meaningful look. “There’s no rush.”
If he left now, how could the good show he had prepared for the other party start?
The assistant didn’t understand his thought process at all. One moment, impatient and ready to storm off immediately, the next acting completely nonchalant, saying there was no hurry.
Ultimately, he could only take it as Second Young Master ruminating on his acting skills and felt another surge of admiration.
Even on break, he didn’t forget to think about acting!
Ah! His Second Young Master really was diligent!
*
Hotel, 11th floor, Room 1108.
The entire room exuded an aura of perfect tranquility, quiet as if there was no one inside at all.
Only the bulging human-shaped silhouette on the large bed in the middle indicated that the room’s occupant was asleep.
The corridor outside was also extremely peaceful, as if afraid to disturb the guest’s slumber, footsteps passing by extraordinarily light.
Suddenly, a breeze blew in from the corridor, bringing the damp chill of the trees outside into every room while also carrying the smells from inside out.
The breeze finally stopped outside Room 1108, sensing the faint demonic aura leaking out from within, instantly becoming excited and swirling lightly in place.
Next, the sound of the door lock beeping softly could be heard, as if someone had used a keycard to unlock it. Then it clicked open, the door to Room 1108 instantly swinging inwards to reveal the interior.
After a moment, a man in black wearing a duckbill cap quietly entered the room. His gaze swept around once before fixing on the slightly bulging bed in the middle.
He slowly approached the foot of the bed, looking at the motionless sleeping figure, who seemed completely unaware of the stranger’s arrival.
“Looks like he really was injured badly.”
The man murmured softly. His somewhat coarse voice sounded like wind scraping across old bark, tinged with excited hoarseness.
He raised a hand to remove his duckbill cap, revealing the face of a somewhat haggard middle-aged man.
It was none other than Zhang Guolin, who had just been on set earlier.
Zhang Guolin looked at the motionless person on the bed, hooking his lips in an extremely faint smile. But the smile didn’t reach his eyes at all.
“Since it’s like this, I might as well do a good deed and end your suffering completely.”
As he spoke, his eyes turned cold. He raised a hand, transforming into countless branches that shot towards the person on the bed.
The branches looked slender but contained endless demonic power. As soon as they touched the quilt, they instantly shredded the bedding into pieces. The pristine white velvet lost its constraints and fluttered into the air like a heavy snowfall.
However, the person lying beneath the fluttering cotton remained completely still, as if totally unaffected by the attacks.
Zhang Guolin’s brows instantly furrowed. He waved the branches, completely flinging open the quilt, and his expression changed when he saw the scene below.
What he saw under the bedding was a life-sized teddy bear. There was a long gash splitting open the bear’s belly – clearly slashed by his previous attack.
But aside from that, there wasn’t half a shadow of the person left on the bed!
Zhang Guolin unwillingly sniffed the air again, then rummaged around the bed following the trace of weak demonic aura, finally fishing out a faintly black demon pill from the bear’s stomach.
The demon pill had suffered damage, countless cracks splitting its surface. It was clearly already wasted.
Only faint remnants of demonic aura still dispersed from it, which was exactly what he smelled outside the door earlier.
Seeing this, how could Zhang Guolin not realize he had fallen into a trap.
He didn’t pause to think any further, turning to leave immediately.
But at this moment, he heard a light knock on the door.
Glancing back, he saw Jing Li leaning against the door, looking at him with a seemingly smiling expression:
“What are you looking for in here?”
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