TRYMBPIETM 126: When I went in the Past (8)

No one knew Chi Qingzhou’s exact plans, except for Xing Shuangzhan, who could somewhat guess a little.

However, he had now merged with his body and wouldn’t easily show himself in front of others. Moreover, he had to find time to deal with the curse inside Chi Qingzhou’s shadow, so he naturally had no time to answer others’ doubts.

Therefore, after chatting a few sentences with Chi Qingzhou, Fang Mingge gave up asking further questions, took the crew members, and carried the camera, following Shen Wenxing and the others to continue filming.

Chi Qingzhou leisurely walked behind them.

The rapid changes in the weather made many plants in Linghe Village hard to adapt to. Some trees were covered with green leaves, but they gave off a drooping feeling.

Several peach blossoms outside the village had escaped the disaster last night and were now swaying in the gentle breeze.

The overly delicate pink and white petals trembled in the wind, making the curled-up leaves beneath the blossoms look strange.

Chi Qingzhou’s gaze swept over these trees, finally resting on a group of villagers at the village entrance.

It was as if, even from hundreds of meters away, they could clearly see those peach blossoms. The villagers were neatly arranged in two rows in the mist, their gazes occasionally shifting between the peach blossoms and the backs of Shen Wenxing and the others.

In their murky, numb eyes, there was no concealment of malice and deceit.

Fang Mingge pulled the camera for a long shot and sighed repeatedly. “When we filmed the previous version of ‘Wanxiang,’ they weren’t like this.”

Chi Qingzhou’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, his eyes still clean and gentle.

He calmly stated, “No matter how perfect the illusion is, maintaining it by force is nothing but deceiving oneself.”

Fang Mingge sighed again. “I know. If Linghe Village hadn’t already been in trouble, the moving tomb wouldn’t have appeared here. But seeing this scene… it still feels a bit uncomfortable.”

Unfortunately, they had arrived too late. Otherwise, there might still have been a chance to salvage the disaster.

Chi Qingzhou chuckled softly. “Then you might need to be born a hundred years earlier.”

Fang Mingge froze for a moment, instinctively looking at Chi Qingzhou, his face showing a surprise he hadn’t even noticed.

“This place had already gone wrong that early?” He pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized. “Oh, I get it. The shaman who led the people to Linxi Village appeared several decades ago, but the era she was active and lived in should have been much earlier.”

Chi Qingzhou silently acknowledged his guess.

Fang Mingge looked at the village buildings with some sympathy, sincerely hoping Linghe Village could find relief.

The villagers of Linghe Village, however, seemed to have sealed their senses, completely ignoring Fang Mingge’s gaze. Their roaming eyes gradually focused on Shen Wenxing and the others, with resentment and greed intertwining in their eyes.

Ling Jiao felt uneasy and couldn’t help but look back. Her face turned pale.

“Teachers, have you noticed that those villagers seem to still be looking at us? They feel strange, like their mental state isn’t quite right.”

No one dared slow their pace, but they all looked back and their faces grew even worse.

When they had just run out of the village and saw the villagers hadn’t followed, they had secretly breathed a sigh of relief. They thought that the strange feeling would lessen once they were away from the villagers. But to their surprise, the villagers’ persistent gaze made them feel even more uneasy.

Chi Qingning’s skin crawled.

“Even after we’ve gone this far, why are they still staring at us?” He murmured. “We haven’t done anything to offend them, have we?”

Song Yuzhi inhaled sharply and whispered, “This… hard to say. I arrived last night, asked the villagers for directions to the crew, and almost got beaten by them.”

Ling Jiao and Yu Minfeng exchanged glances, both feeling a chill down their spines.

Fu Wenan still hadn’t figured out what was going on in Linghe Village, so he didn’t comment. He simply pulled Chi Qingning into his arms and patted his back to comfort him.

Shen Wenxing shot them a cold glance but said nothing.

Song Yuzhi tightened his jacket. “I don’t know if it’s a leftover effect from last night, but I feel very uncomfortable when I see these villagers. If it wasn’t necessary, I really wouldn’t want to speak with them.”

Ling Jiao said, “I feel the same way. And…”

She hesitated for a moment. Seeing no one else showing any strange expressions, she continued, “Actually, I’m not particularly keen on going to that Mountain God Temple. Although we went there last time during the shoot, I don’t know why, but this time, it feels completely different from last time.”

The most important thing was that, even though they had already been to the Mountain God Temple and filmed there for several days, they should have been very familiar with the road to the temple. Yet, no matter how she thought about it, her memories were blurry.

This was clearly abnormal!

Ling Jiao had once been framed by her “good friend” and had been ruined for several years.

After experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relations, she had become relatively more tactful in many aspects, even mastering the art of retreat to perfection.

She didn’t have an obsession with fame. When faced with such a strange situation, her first reaction was, of course, to protect herself.

Especially given that her role, according to the script, was that of a streamer willing to do anything to get attention and fame. She had already mentally prepared herself to lose this role.

If anyone accused her of being unprofessional, she would accept it, after all, she hadn’t been insistent.

But how many things in the world are more important than life?

Especially after participating in the filming of “Scenery Along the Way” and witnessing her cousin’s strange encounter, she was even more unwilling to take risks.

Ling Jiao frankly explained her thoughts and then said, “Last time in Yinping Village, my cousin’s disappearance caused a lot of trouble for Teacher Chi. I am self-aware, and it’s already good if I can stay safe. I really don’t want to drag Teacher Chi down.”

Shen Wenxing and Song Yuzhi looked at Ling Jiao with admiration, and Chi Qingning and Fu Wenan did not find anything wrong with what she said.

The strangeness of Linghe Village was clearly visible, and what Ling Jiao said was actually the best for everyone.

Yu Minfeng was the only one among them who hadn’t had close contact with Chi Qingzhou. He looked around, seeing that everyone’s expressions were different from what he had imagined, and couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

He hesitated and asked, “So, do we still go to the Mountain God Temple? Uh… it seems like Teacher Chi hasn’t sent anyone to stop us. Does he think we should go, or…?”

After a brief pause, he added as everyone started thinking, “And another thing, my scenes haven’t changed much. According to the script, I need to make a wish in the Mountain God Temple. So… should I follow the script?”

Ling Jiao instinctively responded, “The Mountain God Temple feels weird to me too. Yu Ge, maybe you should skip the risk!”

Yu Minfeng’s expression became even more conflicted.

Shen Wenxing calmly said, “It’s fine, don’t worry too much. Teacher Chi is nearby. Since he hasn’t stopped us, it means it’s not a big issue.”

Even if something goes wrong, Chi Qingzhou will handle it.

Yu Minfeng’s gaze shifted to Shen Wenxing, and something clicked in his mind.

He recalled several rumors circulating in the industry and vaguely felt that Shen Wenxing and Fang Mingge’s backgrounds were not ordinary.

He tentatively asked, “Do Teacher Shen and Director Fang understand these things? And Teacher Chi, does he know a bit too?”

Shen Wenxing gave him a look and casually replied, “Director Fang and I are nothing. Teacher Chi is the expert in this field.”

Yu Minfeng’s eyes brightened.

Shen Wenxing added, “If there’s something even Teacher Chi can’t handle, it doesn’t matter if you try to hide now. Everyone should just wait for death.”

Is he really that powerful?

Yu Minfeng shook the camera to double-check, then confirmed again, “So, we should go to the Mountain God Temple and make the wish? As long as we don’t make too much trouble, it should be fine?”

Shen Wenxing nodded.

Yu Minfeng grinned, turning back to advise Ling Jiao, who was still a bit reluctant, but suddenly saw a staff member rushing toward them from afar.

The staff member, who had been sent by Chi Qingzhou, noticed Yu Minfeng’s gaze, waved at him, quickened his pace, and hurried over.

“Ah, Teacher Shen, Teacher Song, I finally caught up with you.” He panted, handing a glass bottle to Shen Wenxing. “Teacher Shen, this is something Teacher Chi asked me to give you.”

Shen Wenxing took the bottle, and the coldness almost made him shiver, nearly dropping the bottle.

He quickly tightened his fingers and held the bottle carefully, inspecting it closely.

It was just an ordinary glass bottle, one that looked like something bought from a street stationery shop, the kind used to store origami.

The bottle was thin, and inside was a swirling mass of black smoke, continuously churning and boiling. The cold, eerie aura passed through the bottle’s wall, steadily reaching his hand, though it didn’t harm him.

Shen Wenxing’s eyes showed some understanding.

It seemed this ghostly aura either came from Chi Qingzhou or from Xing Su.

With this ghostly aura for protection, the Mountain God Temple indeed wouldn’t be a problem.

The others, seeing Shen Wenxing’s change in expression, gathered around to examine the bottle, and soon their faces reflected shock.

Ling Jiao reached out to touch the bottle’s opening but quickly retracted her hand. “So cold!”

Yu Minfeng’s eyes went wide. “What is this?!”

Shen Wenxing didn’t answer. Chi Qingning looked at the bottle, then at Shen Wenxing, his expression a little subtle.

He grabbed Fu Wenan, hesitating before asking, “Ge, does this seem familiar to you…?”

Fu Wenan uncertainly said, “It feels like I’ve encountered it somewhere in the past few days.”

Chi Qingning: “…”

The mystery was solved. The thing inside this bottle definitely had something to do with Chi Qingzhou!

Yu Minfeng, with his sharp ears, overheard their conversation and almost jumped up.

He struggled to steady the camera in his hands, quickly turned around, and with urgency in his voice asked, “Do you also feel that this thing is familiar? I feel like I’ve come across it somewhere. Do you know what this actually is?”

Chi Qingning: “Huh?”

Fu Wenan: “Hmm?”

Both of them looked at him in surprise, while Shen Wenxing’s expression became serious. “Yu Ge, are you serious?”