TRYMBPIETM 33: A Series of Retributions (1)

Lu Yao was here for revenge, after all, and her time in the mortal world was limited.

After describing those two strange people to Chi Qingzhou, the Fengdu Order in her hand trembled a few times, reminding her that it was time to return to the underworld.

For a fleeting moment, Lu Yao felt a sense of regret.

She had only just become friends with Chi Qingzhou, and before they could even chat properly, she had to leave—it all felt too rushed.

She thought about it and figured that since she still had some lingering resentment to cleanse, she would likely have to wait in line for a long time before she could reincarnate. In the meantime, she would have plenty of opportunities to visit her brother and friends in their dreams. With that, she no longer hesitated.

But before leaving, she promised Chi Qingzhou, “If I meet any special and interesting friends in the underworld or elsewhere, I’ll introduce them to you.”

Chi Qingzhou grinned happily. “Great, great!” He thought for a moment and then asked kindly, “But won’t it take quite a bit of time for you to cleanse your resentment? Don’t go out of your way and delay important matters just to introduce new friends to me. I’ve had all sorts of friends—how about I make a list of different kinds for you? That way, you won’t have to spend too much effort.”

You have so many different kinds of friends that you can make a list?!

Lu Yao stared blankly at Chi Qingzhou for a moment. The worldview she had only just pieced back together shattered once again.

She hesitated for a few seconds, but when she met Chi Qingzhou’s sincerely concerned gaze, something in her brain just short-circuited.

“…Alright, alright. But I can only stay for another three minutes—can you finish writing it in time?”

Chi Qingzhou calculated briefly, then swiftly grabbed the pen and paper that Xing Shuangzhan had just taken out, found a rock, and began writing furiously.

“The time is a bit tight, but it’s okay! I can write faster!”

Lu Yao: “……”

…

Three minutes later, Lu Yao tucked the half-page-long list into her pocket and left in a daze.

As she stepped onto the Yellow Springs Road, the resentment lingering in the PuLuo Tribe’s land was nearly wiped clean.

The white mist in the forest grew thinner, and from a distance, it looked faintly hazy.

The guests and staff of Scenery Along the Way gradually regained their senses. The previously blacked-out livestream returned to normal, and the bullet comments slowly started rolling in again.

The vast majority of viewers had no idea that they had been staring blankly at a black screen for over twenty minutes. Without any sense of discontinuity, they resumed enthusiastically commenting.

Only a very small number of viewers felt that something was off, but they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. They stared at the stream in confusion for a while before giving up on thinking about it.

Whatever, we’re just here for the drama. If something’s off, so be it—not a big deal.

The bystanders, always eager for entertainment, saw Chi Qingning standing in the forest, looking utterly dazed, and immediately flooded the chat with the same bullet comment.

【He realized it! He realized he exposed himself!】

Some mischievous viewers even gleefully asked him if he was scared or feeling guilty.

Chi Qingning held onto a tree for support, his face pale.

When he first snapped out of his hallucination and recalled the scenes he had just witnessed, his initial reaction was indeed horror and dread.

Such supernatural methods—who wouldn’t be terrified if they were used against them?

For a moment, he even suspected that Chi Qingzhou had done this on purpose to retaliate against him, and there might be even more life-threatening tricks waiting for him ahead.

However, as soon as this thought surfaced, he quickly calmed down.

The conflict between him and Chi Qingzhou was irreconcilable, and it wasn’t as if he didn’t have masters backing him either. If an attack came, he would counter it—whoever had the stronger hand would win.

Compared to that, the negative press, fan reactions, and public perception were far more pressing issues.

He still remembered that the livestream had suddenly turned on just before he fell into the illusion. Seeing the subtle glances from the other guests and staff, his heart burned with anxiety.

Even without seeing the bullet comments, he could guess what the viewers were saying in the chat.

He could accept losing to Chi Qingzhou and dying from his tricks.

But he absolutely could not accept his persona crumbling, becoming infamous, and being forced out of the entertainment industry!

His persona had already suffered some damage—his previous image of being aloof, peaceful, and uninvolved in any drama was definitely ruined.

If he didn’t want the audience’s dislike to deepen, he had to find a way to salvage the situation.

Chi Qingning quickly reviewed the words he had said earlier and made a decisive choice:

He would play the “pitiful abandoned child” card.

—After all, that part wasn’t a lie.

His biological parents had despised his sexual orientation, treating it as a disease.

Chi Qingning didn’t immediately reveal this outright. Instead, he wore a dazed expression, as if recalling a deeply painful past.

His eyes turned red again, tears welling up yet stubbornly refusing to fall.

“How strange… Why did I suddenly remember the time when my second brother came home?”

He turned around and staggered toward the other guests. Lost in thought, he even tripped and fell along the way.

Looking at his previously dislocated ankle swelling up again, he let out a bitter chuckle.

“Sigh… Maybe I was just never meant to have any luck with parents.”

He was wearing straight-cut cropped pants, and his ankle was fully exposed.

Chi Qingning’s sweet little plums saw the horrifying swelling and felt utterly heartbroken, filling the chat with 【ahhhhhh】s.

【Gege, don’t be sad! Not everyone deserves to be a parent!】

【Believe in gege! His biological parents must have had issues, which is why he had to stay with his adoptive family. He didn’t steal Chi Qingzhou’s place—he just wanted a little bit of family love. Please don’t be so harsh on him!】

【Gege is injured! Is the production team just going to ignore this?! Just because he made a mistake, does that mean he doesn’t deserve care anymore?!】

【Gege, don’t be too heartbroken! You still have your adoptive parents and us!】

【I don’t get it—what is the production team even doing?! Can’t they see that gege is hurt? No matter what happened, he’s still a patient!】

【Gege is a victim too! It’s not like he chose to be swapped as a baby! Stop blaming the victim!】

【If he could, gege wouldn’t have taken someone else’s life either, okay? He was just a baby—was he supposed to walk back home by himself?!】

【Please, stop scolding him for a moment! Can you at least let someone treat his injury first?!】

The so-called “mourning soldiers always win”, and at this moment, sweet little plums, driven by their heartache, actually managed to hold their ground against the massive crowd of gossip-hungry bystanders.

Most viewers were just here for entertainment. Plus, given the recent case of an online bullying victim committing suicide, seeing Chi Qingning and his fans in this state made them hesitate to be too harsh.

Even some longtime fans of Scenery Along the Way, who normally liked to stay neutral, reminded the production team to tend to Chi Qingning’s ankle.

The director, who had assigned a team to monitor public sentiment, immediately noticed the shift in the chat. Having just gone through an entire hallucinatory experience with the crew, he was more focused on PR than ever before. Within moments, he called for a doctor.

Chi Qingning softly expressed his thanks, his expression filled with dejection.

Several guests exchanged glances before stepping forward to show their concern for Chi Qingning.

After all, they were still on camera. No matter what they truly thought, they couldn’t let it show too obviously.

This scene felt all too familiar.

Lu Man raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling a bit sentimental.

At the start of this show, the guests had treated Teacher Chi in almost the same way they were now treating Chi Qingning.

How should one describe this moment?

This is what they call the wheel of fortune turning.

Earlier, he had thought he would have the chance to repay Teacher Chi. Who would’ve expected that Chi Qingning would be ruthless enough to drag himself down before Lu Man could even make a move?

Lu Man retrieved a wooden stick from the props team and handed it to Chi Qingning to use as a crutch. His expression was full of concern, but inwardly, he was already calculating.

It seems I need to put more thought into helping Teacher Chi in other ways.

If he remembered correctly, Teacher Chi’s current agency was the same as Chi Qingning’s, wasn’t it?

Chi Qingning looked up and thanked him, speaking softly, “Brother Lu is so thoughtful.”

Lu Man smiled without revealing a single flaw, responding humbly.

Their gazes met briefly before a surprised voice called out from the logistics team.

“Director Hu! Director Hu! The livestream just cut off all of a sudden—does this mean we’re safe now?!”

The director’s eyes lit up. Forgetting all about Chi Qingning, his plump figure moved with surprising agility as he squeezed through the crowd and rushed toward the logistics team like a gust of wind.

On the computer screen, the backend of the livestream had indeed gone offline, and many viewers were confusedly asking why the screen had suddenly gone black.

The director’s eyes grew even brighter.

He rubbed his fingers together and asked the staff monitoring the public opinion, “Did you pay attention to Teacher Chi’s livestream? What was he doing right before it cut off?”

The staff member replied immediately, “Of course! He was sitting in the forest, enjoying the scenery. The atmosphere seemed pretty peaceful.”

The director lowered his voice. “What about the comment section?”

The staff subconsciously glanced at Chi Qingning, who was still being treated for his ankle, and also lowered their voice. “More or less the same as before.”

Most of the new viewers had come from the trending searches. The worse Chi Qingzhou had been criticized before, the more sympathy he was getting now.

These neutral viewers, besides encouraging Chi Qingzhou, would also take the opportunity to curse Chi Qingning and those who had previously attacked Chi Qingzhou online.

Meanwhile, many of the people who had originally insulted Chi Qingzhou were now coming into the livestream to apologize—and even sending him gifts.

Some were discussing the show’s content normally, asking why Teacher Song hadn’t been moving with Teacher Chi.

A small number of viewers were still dissecting the entire incident, some taking a more objective stance, while others leaned into conspiracy theories. But at the very least, they were still fairly lenient toward Chi Qingzhou, the victim in all this.

As for Chi Qingning’s fans and the usual internet trolls…

The staff shrugged. “Chi—uh, you-know-who is considered a popular young actor. His fans are notoriously loyal. A few did jump in blindly to blame Teacher Chi for harming their idol, but they were immediately scolded back by the general audience. And as for the trolls, well, they’re just being stubborn as usual.”

They had even spotted a particularly absurd comment earlier:

[Let’s ignore the facts for a moment—doesn’t Chi Qingzhou bear some responsibility himself?]

It was so ridiculous it was almost laughable. If you ignored the facts, then what was there to discuss at all?!

The staff opened up the records and pointed to a few comments. “Some viewers… might be a little, well, spiritually sensitive? They claim to have seen white mist. And then there are these two…”

The cursor hovered over two usernames: [Did You Hear That Strange Sound?] and [Upstairs, Stop Hitting Your Kid].

“They insisted that right before the screen blacked out, they saw Teacher Chi’s shadow stand up.”

The director was reminded of Chi Qingzhou’s private interview and felt a chill. He hurriedly asked, “Did the livestream actually cut out?”

The staff replied matter-of-factly, “Nope! Director Hu, look—the stream duration matches up perfectly.”

The director checked the data, completely unaware that the timestamp had actually become misaligned with real time. Nodding seriously, he agreed with the staff’s conclusion.

“Then just delete those comments along with the ones about the white mist. After everything that’s happened, things are already messy enough. If we get shut down over some superstitious nonsense, that’d be a disaster.”

The staff agreed and, with a few clicks, erased part of the comment history.

…

The on-site doctor took some time to examine Chi Qingning’s ankle.

This time, it wasn’t dislocated, but he had still twisted it again.

To prevent further injury, he was advised against any strenuous activity.

Several staff members, motivated by the promise of a pay raise, volunteered to carry Chi Qingning up the mountain.

Chi Qingning didn’t hesitate. He thanked them and even paid them an extra sum out of his own pocket.

The generous compensation left the staff members feeling no resentment whatsoever. They hoisted Chi Qingning onto their backs and marched toward the mountaintop with enthusiasm.

Seeing this, the guests finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the livestream had been cut off and they might be safe now, none of them could truly relax until they heard Chi Qingzhou confirm it himself.

After experiencing a whole morning of strange occurrences, both the guests and the staff had come to a shared realization—Chi Qingzhou was definitely not just an ordinary celebrity.

The entertainment industry already had its fair share of people who believed in the supernatural—raising spirits, wearing blessed amulets, worshipping fox spirits, you name it. But now that they had witnessed someone with real ability, their attitudes naturally shifted.

Even a veteran superstar like Zhong Lingshu now held a deep respect for Chi Qingzhou.

Nobody wanted to offend him. And so, without even realizing it, they all started keeping their distance from Chi Qingning.

After all, Chi Qingning had a grudge against Chi Qingzhou.

And, in the end, Chi Qingning was in the wrong.

Chi Qingning sensed the guests’ subtle avoidance. He lowered his gaze, quietly clenching his fists.

It’s fine. No need to rush.

Chi Qingzhou had indeed caught him off guard, but that didn’t mean he had no backup plan.

Just endure a little longer… a little longer…

…

When the entire production team finally reached the mountaintop, the guests immediately spotted Song Yuzhi sitting under a tree.

His expression was downcast, though it wasn’t clear whether he was upset about being unable to help or if something else had happened.

Chi Qingning wisely chose not to approach. The other guests, however, gathered around Song Yuzhi, asking where Chi Qingzhou was.

Song Yuzhi knew this was important, so he forced himself to perk up. “Teacher Chi is just a little further down. I’ll take you there.”

The guests relaxed a little more and followed him to reunite with Chi Qingzhou.

Xing Shuangzhan had already returned to Chi Qingzhou’s shadow. From the outside, all they could see was Chi Qingzhou strolling leisurely through the forest, hands clasped behind his back, glancing around as if he were simply enjoying the scenery.

Look at that. That’s a real expert—completely unfazed even after something this terrifying.

The director cleared his throat and, representing the production team, asked, “Teacher Chi, do you think this matter… has been resolved?”

Chi Qingzhou blinked innocently, “There’s nothing much to it. Teacher Song and I were just coming here to relax.”

The director: “Uh…”

Chi Qingzhou turned his gaze and looked at the lush forest, smiling softly, “Don’t worry if we got lost, the rescue team is on the way.”

The director froze for a moment, then realized what Chi Qingzhou meant and nearly burst into tears of joy!

He immediately responded, “Ah, yes, yes! During the livestream, the production team got lost in the forest due to unfamiliarity with the Yuhua Mountain range. It’s a more remote area, and there’s no signal coverage. Thankfully, the audience helped by calling the police, and Teacher Chi, who knows how to navigate risks in the forest, was able to keep us safe until rescue arrived.”

“Teacher Chi is knowledgeable, the audience is kind and smart, and both the guests and staff remained calm and followed instructions. Everyone did a great job. After we get down from the mountain, I’ll make sure the PR team writes up a statement to commend everyone!”

Chi Qingzhou responded with a soft “Oh,” and the guests and staff cheered.

It was over. It was really over!

Everyone thanked Chi Qingzhou, who sat on a large stone, resting his chin in his hands, watching the group hug and laugh, feeling that the scene was quite lively.

He narrowed his eyes in a smile.

He liked making friends and enjoying lively atmospheres.

Chi Qingning secretly glanced at him, withdrawing his gaze with some trepidation and suppressing all his thoughts deep inside.

The group didn’t wait too long before Cheng Yufei, leading the Paranormal Control Bureau team, arrived.

Cheng Yufei showed her credentials to the production team, and with everyone’s curious gaze, she led them to the side to check their bodies.

Xu Xinxin, recalling Chi Qingzhou’s previous evaluation of her, asked with some concern, “Did we encounter… that kind of thing? Will it cause us harm?”

Cheng Yufei gave her a surprised look and replied, “Your case is quite special.”

Seeing that many people were listening closely, Cheng Yufei decided to explain all at once.

“Normally, if someone encounters something like this, they might absorb some ghostly or ominous energy, and their luck could dip for a few days. But you all were well protected by Mr. Chi, so you absorbed much less than expected.”

She shrugged in the face of everyone’s shocked expressions, speaking honestly.

“Don’t look at me like that, I’m not lying to you.”

“Actually, based on our initial estimates, even if you managed to escape with your lives, most of you would’ve lost a leg or gotten disfigured. Now, all you’ve done is drop a cup or knock a bowl—you’re already very lucky!”

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines from Cheng Yufei’s words.

They were all from the entertainment industry—disfigurement would be disastrous!

Several guests secretly touched their faces and silently decided that once they returned, they would immediately replace all their personal items with plastic.

No, plastic was still too brittle and unsafe; they would switch everything to stainless steel!

They had been too shallow before.

Being respectful to a big shot wasn’t enough!

They had to find a way to cling to them!

The guests exchanged glances and quickly thought of the same thing.

Zhong Lingshu was the first to seize the opportunity and quickly said, “Teacher Chi, would you be interested in joining my studio? I really admire an artist like you, kind and capable. If you decide to join my studio, don’t worry about the penalty fee from your previous company; I’ll handle it. Also, I’d be willing to give you 5% of the studio’s equity.”

She blurted out a long list of benefits, nearly writing “your old company doesn’t deserve you” on her face.

Tang Qichen, not to be outdone, said, “Or you could come to our Qingsong Entertainment? I hold 18% of the shares and am one of the major shareholders. As long as you agree, you don’t need to worry about the penalty fee or future resources.”

He paused, looked at Chi Qingning with a clear expression, and raised his chin.

“You don’t need to worry about some people being blind, anyway, my family and I aren’t afraid of them!”

Chi Qingning choked, but his expression remained unchanged.

Song Yuzhi also recommended his studio, though his family’s decision-making power rested with his older sister, so there wasn’t much competitive advantage for now.

Chi Qingzhou nodded repeatedly and seriously replied, “Next time, definitely next time.”

He didn’t pay attention to the guests’ slightly confused gazes and turned his head to look at Cheng Yufei, who had been observing him.

“Is something wrong?”

Cheng Yufei gave a respectful gesture, “May I have a word with you?”

Chi Qingzhou stood up and walked with her to the side.

Chi Qingning’s eyes flickered as he quietly stepped back to a large tree, pulled out his phone, pretended to play a game, and sent a message to an unsaved number.

[Uncle Shu Hong, I fell for Chi Qingzhou’s trap today and said some things I shouldn’t have. My reputation may have been affected. Can you help me handle it?]