TRYMBPIETM 130: When I went in the Past (12)

Yu Minfeng jumped in shock, turning around in fear. A young man wearing a red robe stood not far from him.

The sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled shadows and light spots on the red-robed man’s face, making his features seem hazy.

But Yu Minfeng only glanced at him and instinctively thought that he must have a refined appearance.

Yu Minfeng didn’t know where this thought came from, nor did he know when the red-robed man had appeared. A strange and terrifying sensation exploded in his chest, extinguishing the joy that had just risen.

He couldn’t help but shiver, his eyes widening, and his throat unconsciously let out heavy, labored breaths.

The red-robed man blinked, then flashed him a cheerful smile.

“Are you afraid of me? Well, that’s right. After all, I’m your creditor. You should be afraid of me.”

Yu Minfeng trembled heavily. “W-what do you mean? Who are you, and why did you suddenly appear here saying such nonsense? Don’t you know we’re filming? Doesn’t anyone care that you’re interfering with our shooting? Non-staff should leave immediately!”

He was so frightened that even though he was asking questions, his words were filled with tremors.

The red-robed man smiled even more happily.

He spread his arms and tilted his head, mimicking Chi Qingzhou’s manner, with an expression that was particularly innocent.

“I’m not a non-staff member. Didn’t you know? I’m Zhou Zhou’s new friend, the very newest, the one he just made recently.”

Zhou Zhou…?

Yu Minfeng reacted after a moment and realized that the red-robed man was referring to Chi Qingzhou.

He was somewhat stunned, instinctively not believing what the other person was saying.

“Are you really Chi Qingzhou’s friend? You don’t look like it. Did he send you over here to bring something to me?”

Something like the glass bottle the staff brought earlier?

The red-robed man looked at him strangely. “Why would you think that? Of course, I’m here to confirm the debt transfer.”

“Debt?” What debt?

Yu Minfeng felt confused, and a strong sense of alertness made him instinctively cautious.

The red-robed man said, “That’s something you shouldn’t ask me.”

Yu Minfeng had made a wish at the Mountain God Temple, and the ghostly entities there had fulfilled his wish. He was the one who needed to repay the debt.

The one who understood the debt the best, other than the ghostly entities in the Mountain God Temple, should be Yu Minfeng himself.

“As for me…” The red-robed man blinked again. “I’m just here to collect the debt after Zhou Zhou finished dealing with the Mountain God Temple.”

“Although Zhou Zhou handled all the ghostly entities, the debt doesn’t just disappear. They were your creditors, and I’m their creditor. Since they’ve disappeared, the debt automatically transfers to me, right?”

The red-robed man casually said, “They owe me a lot of debt, more than you owe them. If possible, I’d prefer to go directly to them to collect the debt. Too bad Zhou Zhou dealt with them.”

As he spoke, there wasn’t a trace of regret on his face. Instead, there was a subtle excitement that made Yu Minfeng’s hair stand on end.

“Zhou Zhou really didn’t consider me collecting the debt before handling the Mountain God Temple.”

He dragged his voice, sighing in a frustrated tone.

“But that was Zhou Zhou’s decision. What can I do? If I have to suffer a little, I’ll suffer. After all, it’s Zhou Zhou. How can I not forgive him?”

Yu Minfeng was completely stunned. “What is this?”

He could understand every word the man said, but when it all came together, it became so strange.

The red-robed man glanced at him in disdain. “You’re so dumb. I’ve said all this, and you didn’t understand a thing?”

Yu Minfeng remained silent.

He didn’t understand much, but he did figure out why the red-robed man had appeared—he thought that since the things in the Mountain God Temple had disappeared, there was no need to repay the wish. Little did he know, the promises made had automatically transferred, and a new creditor had appeared.

If it were a regular person saying this, he might consider what price he’d have to pay to ask Chi Qingzhou for help. But with this strange man, who was possibly Chi Qingzhou’s friend, it was hard not to suspect that something was going on with Chi Qingzhou behind the scenes.

Perhaps Chi Qingzhou wasn’t such a good person after all?

The red-robed man gave him a strange look, clicking his tongue.

“Humans are really interesting. Just a few minutes ago, you thought Zhou Zhou helped you, and now you’re starting to doubt him?”

He paused, then lightly clapped his hands in front of Yu Minfeng’s astonished face.

“Turn around like the wind. From a certain perspective, you’re actually quite impressive.”

Yu Minfeng almost fainted. “What do you mean, ‘we humans’? What does that even mean?”

The red-robed man said, “It’s just the literal meaning. You humans are humans, and I’m the dragon vein.”

He shot a displeased glance at Yu Minfeng, “Otherwise why do think those ghosts were able to occupy the Mountain God Temple and fool the villagers for hundreds of years? You should understand, this place is very close to a commonly used passage to the Underworld.”

“If it weren’t for borrowing the power of the dragon vein to cover their presence, how could they have the ability to cause trouble right under the Underworld’s nose?”

In this way, the ghosts essentially owed him a debt.

The reason the ghosts could fulfill Yu Minfeng’s wish was because they relied on his aura to do so. Now that he came to collect the debt, wasn’t that just as it should be?

The man in red spoke earnestly, “So you need to work hard and pay off the debt you owe me as soon as possible.”

Yu Minfeng couldn’t stop shaking.

He struggled to swallow and stared blankly at the man in red for a long time, terrified as he asked, “You’re not human? What exactly are you?”

The man in red’s expression darkened, and he shot a sharp glare at him, dissatisfied, “What’s with your attitude? Suddenly calling me not human, how rude! Even if I’m the incarnation of the dragon vein, it’s too much to insult me like that!”

As he spoke, he took two steps forward, his gaze even fiercer.

Yu Minfeng twisted his expression.

He felt like every word from the man in red was a point of ridicule, and he wanted to retort, but fear gripped him tightly.

With the man in red taking a step forward, Yu Minfeng trembled even more violently, unable to stop himself from retreating with his shaking legs.

After only a few steps, Yu Minfeng, whose legs had gone limp like noodles, collapsed onto the ground.

The pain jolted his senses.

Looking up at the man in red, his emotions completely collapsed.

“Stop! Don’t come any closer! Leave me alone! I didn’t insult you, I don’t know anything!!”

He screamed desperately, kicking his legs and trying to scramble backward.

But the red shadow before him seemed to keep advancing.

“Ahhh—!!”

The taut string in Yu Minfeng’s mind snapped entirely. He let out a loud, high-pitched scream and wildly threw the camera in his hands forward!

With a loud bang, the camera fell to the ground, rolling through the grass, and the lens turned to focus on Yu Minfeng’s tear-streaked, twisted face.

“The camera!” Ling Jiao gasped, shouting at the same time.

She knew cameras were expensive, and quickly ran over to check the equipment that had fallen.

The man in red frowned and stepped aside to avoid her, giving Yu Minfeng another glare before sneering, “You want to back out of your debt? Fine, we’ll see about that.”

Before Yu Minfeng could react, the man in red flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

Yu Minfeng stood frozen.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt as if a stone was lodged in it, and no sound could escape.

His face turned completely pale, and the others quickly squatted down to help him, their faces just as grim.

Shen Wenxing helped him up and asked sternly, “Why did you suddenly throw the camera? Did you see something just now?”

Yu Minfeng stared blankly, gazing at Shen Wenxing for a long time, and his pale face slowly turned a shade of blue-grey.

“You, you all,” he looked around at the others, seeing confusion on their faces, and his body began to tremble again, “Didn’t you see anything?”

It was as if he was trying to confirm something, and he grabbed Fu Wenan, urgently repeating the question.

“You didn’t see anything? Just now, over there, there was a man, wearing a red scholar’s robe, you know, like the ancient ones, didn’t you see him? No one saw him?”

He suddenly turned around, forcefully pointing at where Ling Jiao had been squatting, and by the end, his tone became frantic.

The others were startled and quickly shook their heads. “What man? We didn’t see anyone!”

“An ancient robe? Could it be that kind of thing?”

“No way, could all the strange events on set before…?”

Shen Wenxing sucked in a sharp breath, grabbed Yu Minfeng’s wrist, and his face turned even paler than Yu Minfeng’s.

“Describe the man in red. What did he look like? Was his face hard to see, covered by light or mist, but somehow, you felt like he looked good?”

Yu Minfeng’s eyes widened. “Yes, that’s it! You saw him, didn’t you? It’s not just me who saw him, right?”

Shen Wenxing furrowed his brows. “I haven’t seen him, but someone from the crew has. The day Madam Chi came to Linghe Village, she also saw him outside the set. Those who saw him are still sick, and as for Madam Chi…”

He glanced at Chi Qingning, “She’s missing, you all know that.”

Chi Qingning was shocked. “So you’re saying my mom’s disappearance is probably related to him? Should we go ask him?”

Fu Wenan let go of Yu Minfeng’s hand and quickly embraced Chi Qingning’s shoulder. “Qingning, calm down. We’re still not sure who that man is. What if he’s dangerous?”

Chi Qingning responded without hesitation, “I can’t, but my second brother definitely can! My second brother is so capable, who could be a match for him?”

He said it as if it was indisputable, then immediately called out to search for Chi Qingzhou.

“Second brother, second brother, are you here? Can we go ask about mom?”

Shen Wenxing frowned deeply, “Stop calling out for him. Teacher Chi isn’t with us. He might be busy. If he really knows Madam Chi’s whereabouts, Teacher Chi would’ve already gone to ask.”

Chi Qingning shot him a glance, reluctantly closing his mouth.

Yu Minfeng noticed this and was struck with a thought.

He instinctively shifted his gaze and said intentionally, “Maybe he does know something. He just told me he’s a dragon vein. I remember dragon veins are connected to mountains and rivers, right? So maybe he knows everything that’s happened in this land. If Qingning wants to ask, maybe it’s worth trying?”

Chi Qingning’s eyes lit up, but Shen Wenxing immediately countered, “Dragon vein? Impossible! I’ve never seen a dragon vein with its own consciousness, and if he were a dragon vein, why were you so afraid of him? Your reaction didn’t seem like you saw a dragon vein; it seemed more like you ran into a ghost!”

Yu Minfeng hurriedly explained, “It’s because I didn’t know who he was at first, so I insulted him. He was wearing that kind of outfit, so I mistakenly thought he was some dirty thing. Isn’t that normal? Later, even though he explained, I didn’t realize, and when I said he wasn’t human, he got angry…”

He recalled the words of the man in red, and his expression became a bit awkward, even showing some genuine embarrassment.

This was why Shen Wenxing didn’t notice anything unusual.

But he still didn’t believe it.

He asked, “Did he say that himself?”

Yu Minfeng nodded, “Yes. Who else could’ve thought of dragon veins if it wasn’t him?”

Shen Wenxing waved his hand irritably, “Maybe he’s lying to you.”

Yu Minfeng responded, “But he said he’s friends with Teacher Chi. He said he’s a new friend of Teacher Chi’s, so he shouldn’t be lying to me, right?”

Shen Wenxing paused, his brows furrowing in hesitation, “If he really is Teacher Chi’s friend, then it might be true, but he said that himself, who knows if he’s just using Teacher Chi’s name to deceive us?”

Yu Minfeng shrugged, “I don’t know. Anyway, you’re the one who said all the good stuff.”

Shen Wenxing fell silent.

Chi Qingning looked around at the two of them and suggested, “Whether what he said is true or not depends on what my second brother says. Otherwise, should we go find him and ask?”

This time, Shen Wenxing didn’t object.

Ling Jiao finished checking the camera and confirmed it wasn’t broken. She told them, and they all headed towards the crew’s base camp.

After finishing the last shot, Fang Mingge turned off the camera and furrowed his brow.

“Teacher Chi, is what Yu Minfeng said true? Is the man in the red robe really a dragon vein?”

“It’s true.” Chi Qingzhou tilted his head to look at him with a smile. “He really is a dragon vein now, but what he used to be, I don’t know.”