The spiritual energy swirling around the main gate seemed to suddenly gain self-awareness, sensing the homeowner’s intentions. It joyfully encircled Jing Li, but only around him, rapidly gathering into a dense white mist behind him, nudging him to enter swiftly.
In contrast, the other guests had only faint traces of spiritual energy lingering around them, akin to the host’s polite yet perfunctory greeting.
Notably, around Hu Feifei, the spiritual energy not only avoided her but formed a vacuum, all energies fleeing in the opposite direction as if fearing contamination from her aura.
Witnessing this scene, Jing Li raised his eyes in slight astonishment toward the man standing to the side, meeting his gentle gaze.
Those dark eyes seemed to contain countless emotions, but also seemed to contain nothing, yet their profound depth made them somewhat intimidating to look directly into.
With just one glance, Jing Li felt his heartbeat quicken and hurriedly averted his gaze.
Though Hu Li could not see the specific colors of the spiritual energy, his keen sense of smell allowed him to detect something strange. Observing the subtle exchange between the two, the corner of his mouth curved into an amused smile.
These two, quite interesting.
Following Gu Tingshen’s invitation, the group arrived at an open space behind the rockery. It was still connected to the flowing streams. The floor reflected the ocean’s blue hue, rippling with each step as if they were walking on water.
In the center stood an exquisitely crafted crystal throne, accompanied by a crystal coffee table holding a small, intricate box.
Not far from the throne, two crystal tables were placed, one holding props for the first game of water ping pong, the other with candles for the second game of blowing out candles.
“Wow, the program really went all out this time. The props are all crystal, and the set is breathtakingly beautiful,” Ling Mei exclaimed as she approached, unable to contain her praise. “This could undoubtedly produce stunning photo shoots.”
Although the others didn’t speak, they all shared looks of agreement.
“Welcome, dear guests, to the final challenge of this treasure hunt. You have five minutes to prepare, after which the first game will officially begin.”
The host responsible for this game area came over in a timely manner, nodded to everyone present, and re-read the game rules before adding, “A final reminder that all challenges are limited to within an hour. The countdown will start as soon as the first game is announced, so there isn’t much time left. Please make good use of it.”
With that, he invited the special guest, Gu Tingshen, to take a seat on the throne.
Although Gu Tingshen had agreed to the program’s invitation, they dared not impose too much on him, so they only involved him in the final segment to present the award to the ultimate winner.
Gu Tingshen smiled and obliged the host’s request, taking his seat on the throne.
The five guests composed themselves, huddling to discuss the order of challenges.
Although it was a game challenge, it was still part of the show’s recording. While competing to win, they also had to maintain the entertainment value of the program. After discussing, the five guests decided that the first two independent challenge games would be led by the two female guests, followed by the three male guests.
As soon as the five finished their discussion, the five-minute timer also came to an end, and the game was officially announced to begin.
Ling Mei stepped forward to lead the charge. As the timer started, she quickly walked to the first game table, found her position, and, slightly bending over, began to carefully blow air at the ping pong ball in the first cup.
The other guests also gathered around the game table to watch.
Standing diagonally in front of the throne, Jing Li caught Gu Tingshen’s attention. Seeing that no one around noticed them, Gu Tingshen softly called out, “Xiao Jing.”
Jing Li turned his head to look at him, then, following the silent signal in his eyes, walked over. In a hushed voice, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“You look tired standing. Why don’t you come sit with me?” Gu Tingshen suggested with a meaningful glance.
“No need.” Jing Li smiled at him, paused, and surveyed the surroundings to ensure no one noticed their exchange. Then, leaning closer to Gu Tingshen’s ear, he whispered, “Besides, we’re still livestreaming. It wouldn’t look good if people saw me getting special treatment.” He punctuated with a playful wink.
Gu Tingshen couldn’t help but chuckle at Jing Li’s unusually playful demeanor. Catching sight of a camera suddenly panning their way, he quickly composed himself, maintaining a serious expression as he continued watching the game.
The ping pong ball was lightweight, and Ling Mei’s forceful breath caused it to bounce a few times in the water before popping out of the cup, resulting in an instant failure during her first attempt.
Although disappointed, Ling Mei remained determined during her second try. She adjusted her breath carefully, successfully blowing the ping pong ball into the second cup. However, on her next breath, she exerted too little force, causing the ball to drop midway toward the third cup, leading to another failed attempt.
At that moment, the host reminded the guests, “Six minutes have passed, and this is just the first game. Our guests better hurry.”
Startled by the reminder, Ling Mei tensed up. She hadn’t realized she’d wasted so much time. Because of this nervousness, she began her third challenge, but her initial force blew the ping pong ball out of the cup.
Ling Mei was immediately disqualified.
The onlookers below and viewers in the live broadcast room expressed their regret.
Gu Tingshen, who was sitting on the throne, remained expressionless until he caught a glimpse of Jing Li sighing slightly disappointedly, and he finally showed a hint of emotion.
Hu Li, observing from the side, noticed the pair’s closeness and their contrasting demeanors—one clearly determined to win, the other oblivious—raising his brow with an amused curl of his lips.
Seizing the opportunity, Hu Feifei stepped forward.
Probably because she was frightened by being dealt with by Jing Li recently, she refrained from causing any trouble this time. Instead, she diligently completed her task. Despite losing most of her demonic power, her precise control over the wind allowed her to blow the ping pong ball with ease.
Everyone watched as Hu Feifei effortlessly blew the ping pong ball from the first cup to the last, completing the challenge in less than two minutes.
As the first challenge ended, the audience erupted in applause, even Jing Li offering a smile and a congratulatory clap, evidently satisfied with her performance.
Hu Feifei breathed a small sigh of relief, shyly flashing Jing Li an appreciative smile before retreating. However, her peripheral vision inadvertently met Gu Tingshen’s dark gaze. The sheer danger emanating from him nearly made her jump.
Although his expression remained neutral, she inexplicably sensed extreme danger, every fiber of her being urged her to flee from this man.
Hu Feifei couldn’t figure out the reason, but she didn’t dare to offend him easily, especially when she thought that the other party was still close to Jing Li, so she could only nod to the other party cautiously, and then quickly retreated to a corner away from his line of sight.
In the barrage, viewers’s comments flooded the screen:
“F*ck? Less than two minutes? Hu Feifei is that powerful?!”
“I didn’t expect that Hu Feifei, who looks so delicate and weak, has such a large lung capacity?!”
“As satisfying as the win is, it’s disappointing we couldn’t see the other three male guests perform.”
“Aaahhhh! When the camera panned to the throne just now, Mr. Gu’s doting smile at Jing Shao was simply too much for me!”
“*burp* Excuse me, I’m already full from Mr. Gu and Jing Shao’s dog food1“狗粮” (Dog food) is a slang used to describe the act of showing off one’s romantic relationship, especially in the presence of single people..”
……
After the successful completion of the first challenge, everyone immediately moved on to the second.
Once again, it was the two female guests who went first.
Learning from experience, Ling Mei volunteered Hu Feifei to go first this time.
However, Hu Feifei seemed apprehensive this time. Before stepping up, she glanced toward the throne. Meeting Gu Tingshen’s expressionless gaze, she shivered involuntarily.
So Hu Feifei, who performed exceptionally well in the first game, fumbled terribly. Not only did she fail, but her performance was shockingly subpar—she couldn’t even extinguish a single candle in three attempts.
Only Gu Tingshen remained expressionless throughout, as if nothing Hu Feifei did could capture even a fraction of his attention.
Hu Feifei trembled even more, retreating back to her original spot.
The others did not notice her strangeness. After she failed the challenge, Ling Mei followed in an attempt to save time.
However, controlling wind was inherently more challenging for women, especially without any specific techniques. After three attempts, Ling Mei managed to extinguish only four candles, resulting in another failed challenge.
“Fifteen minutes have passed,” the host reminded after Ling Mei’s turn. With a warm smile towards the remaining three men, he asked, “Who’s next?”
“Let Jing Li go!” Hu Li suddenly reached out and pulled Jing Li over. Seeing that Gu Tingshen’s attention had shifted along with them, Hu Li smirked and said, “His luck has always been good. Maybe he’ll pass in one go.”
Caught off guard by Hu Li’s pull, Jing Li hesitated for a moment but didn’t resist. He obediently walked over and began the challenge.
On the second table, ten candles were arranged in a row, each placed inside a water-filled cup.
For someone like Jing Li, who could naturally control water, this task posed no difficulty. However, in front of the camera, he still needed to feign some effort.
He scanned the setup before forcefully slapping the table, creating a resounding impact that sent the water sloshing violently upwards in the cups, amplified by his spiritual influence. The surging waves barely reached the candle wicks, extinguishing the flames before rapidly receding, leaving ripples that carried the extinguished candles away.
In the eyes of others, the candles on the table were merely extinguished by the forceful water splashes.
In less than half a minute, before most people could react, all the candles were snuffed out.
Everyone who witnessed the entire process: “…”
The scene fell silent.
“Jing Li’s wind control is indeed impressive!” Gu Tingshen was the first to applaud, his words full of praise for Jing Li. As others caught on, they also clapped and cheered.
Finally, the live chat caught up and erupted in excitement.
“WTF? That actually worked???”
“Turns out Hu Li can not only roast himself but also boost his teammates!!”
“Jing Shao looked so cool just now ahhhh!”
“Extinguishing candles with hand-generated water splashes? If this wasn’t a livestream, who would believe it?”
“Tsk tsk, Mr. Gu, it’s not you who succeeded in the challenge. Look at the proud look on your face!”
“Bored watching others compete, but eyes glued to Jing Shao – you’ve got it bad, Mr. Gu!”
“So Mr. Gu, do you still remember that you and Jing Shao are supposed to be on opposing sides?!!!”
……
Whether Gu Tingshen remembered or not, at this moment, he was eagerly anticipating the final game and preparing to launch his attack.
The last challenge “reverse speaking2Reverse speaking is just the guest repeating GTS phrases in reverse. E.g. I love you = You love I, something like that. I’m not creative enough to incorporate that type of wordplay into my translations so please check the tl notes for the meanings.” was a wordplay challenge initiated by Gu Tingshen, the final guardian of the treasure. The phrases were randomly generated with a maximum of six characters. It continued until one side admitted defeat. As guests, they could only counter Gu Tingshen’s statements to earn a chance to pose their own questions.
Given the depth of the Chinese language and the nuances embedded in phrases, this was one reason Gu Tingshen agreed to participate.
“The first challenger, Hu Feifei.” Although Gu Tingshen wanted to address Jing Li directly, he had to consider the show’s effect. So, he decided to pass over the others first. His question was direct and merciless: “chi mei wang liang3魑魅魍魉 (chī mèi – wǎng liǎng) – (idiom) all kinds of malevolent or mischievous spirits.”
Hu Feifei hesitated upon hearing the phrase. Meeting Gu Tingshen’s cold gaze, she thought he might be subtly mocking her. Caught off guard, she couldn’t find the right words. When she finally reacted, Gu Tingshen swiftly declared, “Pass.”
“Next, Su Mengran.” Without giving the others much time to react, Gu Tingshen shifted his focus to Su Mengran. “Yi fei chong tian4一飞冲天 (Yī fēi chōngtiān) – literally translates to “fly straight to the sky.” It is used metaphorically to describe a situation where someone achieves sudden and astonishing success, akin to a bird taking flight and soaring directly towards the heavens..”
“Tian, tian chong fei yi.” Su Mengran stumbled but managed a reply.
However, Gu Tingshen did not give him time to recover, immediately continuing, “Dong dao xi wai5东倒西歪 (dōng dǎo xī wāi) – to lean unsteadily from side to side (idiom) / to sway / (of buildings etc) to lean at a crazy angle.”
“Wai, wai xi dong dao.”
“Pass. Next.” Gu Tingshen ruthlessly eliminated him, finally turning his gaze to Jing Li.
After the consecutive eliminations, the atmosphere grew tense.
Yet, facing Jing Li, Gu Tingshen’s expression softened involuntarily.
“Next, Xiao Jing.” He curved his lips invitingly. “Ready6From this point on, it’s simpler, so I will switch to English again?”
At Jing Li’s nod, he continued, “Airplane.”
Caught off guard by the simplicity, Jing Li paused before replying, “Plane air.”
“Blue skies, white clouds.”
“Clouds white, skies blue.”
“You like me.”
“?” Jing Li hesitated before uncertainly responding, “I like you7This is a fail because in English it should be “Me like you”, but in Chinese, it’s 你喜欢我 Nǐ xǐhuān wǒ, so the reverse should be 我欢喜你 Wǒ huānxǐ nǐ, and Jing Li responded with 我喜欢你 – Wǒ xǐhuān nǐ?”
As the words left his lips, he saw Gu Tingshen’s smile widen as he gazed into Jing Li’s eyes and asked softly, “Is that so?”
This time, Jing Li was left stunned on the spot.
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