TRYMBPIETM 69: Mirror, Night, Snow Peak (32)

In the heavy rain, the howls of beasts suddenly echoed from Jingming Mountain.

The middle-aged man suddenly lifted his head and shifted his gaze toward the sky.

In an instant, his eyes seemed to pierce through time and space, and through the curtain of rain, he made eye contact with Chi Qingzhou’s “eyes.”

Time seemed to freeze.

A few seconds later, Chi Qingzhou slowly let out a sound.

He recognized this person.

Even though the person now had an ordinary face he had never seen before, and even though the person’s eyes had transformed into strange double pupils, even though many of his memories were blurred, he still recognized this person.

This was the master who had taught him the method of worshiping Xing Shuangzhan when he was ten years old.

Was this person appearing at Jingming Mountain now to rescue Bei Shen?

Chi Qingzhou wanted to blink, but he was in the state of being summoned by the divine incantation and failed to do so.

“That was quick. It seems that he and Bei Shen have a connection. However…”

It didn’t feel all that sudden.

Looking at the cautious master, Chi Qingzhou began to suspect that three years ago, he had probably already guessed that someone was behind Bei Shen, which was why he had allowed some of Shen Wenxu’s actions.

And today, even though many of his memories had been blurred, the appearance of this person didn’t surprise him too much.

Chi Qingzhou couldn’t help but curl his lips slightly.

His main body had no reaction, but the other half of his soul in the shadow smiled in sync, its red eyes full of malice, turning and glancing at the formation in the tomb room.

The middle-aged man paused in his steps, his face changing slightly.

He quickly scanned the surroundings, swiftly performing a hand seal to probe, but found nothing unusual. His expression became more serious.

The formation did not react, meaning the entity looking at him was not a yin creature.

Could it be that a righteous god was observing the situation in Jingming Mountain?

The man’s fingers trembled, quickly averting his gaze, activating a talisman, and stepping forward.

He didn’t know that Chi Qingzhou had responded to the divine incantation, nor was he aware of the anomaly in Chi Qingzhou’s shadow, but he vaguely sensed that he was being targeted by something, making him suspicious.

His main goal in coming to Jingming Mountain was to take Bei Shen away, and his secondary goal was to help Bei Shen retain some of the ghostly energy.

Of course, if he couldn’t retain it, it wouldn’t matter.

Xing Su still had plenty of ghostly energy scattered outside. As long as Bei Shen was alive, it wouldn’t cause too much trouble.

The middle-aged man chanted a few incantations. The formation, under Chi Qingzhou’s watch, trembled several times, and a small door suddenly appeared in the air.

In the next moment, a burst of dark light erupted in the tomb room.

The man appeared in the light, quickly stepping out from the door.

Before he could fully stand, he swiftly glanced at the suffering Bei Shen, then his gaze landed on the motionless Chi Qingzhou, his eyes suddenly shining.

Without hesitation, he formed a hand seal, and a bolt of lightning struck towards Xing Shuangzhan!

Xing Shuangzhan grabbed Chi Qingzhou, effortlessly dodging the strike, swatting the lightning away with ease, and quickly accelerating the extraction of the ghostly energy.

The man’s already unattractive face turned even worse.

As expected, the ghostly energy on Bei Shen couldn’t be retained!

Unlike when he encountered the Qu Feng earlier, this time, when Xing Shuangzhan was extracting the ghostly energy, Chi Qingzhou had plotted against Bei Shen, using the divine incantation to create a passage.

With this passage in place, Xing Shuangzhan didn’t need to strip and purify; he could directly draw the ghostly energy out of Bei Shen’s soul.

It was easy to imagine that Xing Shuangzhan’s speed in recovering the ghostly energy this time was much faster than last time.

While Chi Qingzhou was reading Bei Shen’s memories, Xing Shuangzhan had already recovered most of the ghostly energy, leaving only the finishing touches.

The middle-aged man’s earlier lightning spell was just a test.

He knew the lightning wouldn’t harm Xing Shuangzhan; the reason he attacked was that he sensed something was wrong with Chi Qingzhou’s condition and wanted to see if he could find an opportunity.

Realizing that Xing Shuangzhan’s strength was nearly back to 80% of its peak, even though he was eager to take Bei Shen, he didn’t dare confront Xing Shuangzhan head-on.

He was no match for Xing Shuangzhan and could only try to create an opportunity through deception.

The middle-aged man quickly scanned the tomb room, but before he could take action, Xing Shuangzhan had already seized control of the ghostly energy in the tomb room and directly hurled it at the man.

The man was startled, instinctively diving to the side, gritting his teeth as he resisted the pressure coming from the great tomb of Jingming Mountain, inwardly cursing.

Not only was Xing Su’s strength recovering, but he had even begun attempting to reclaim ownership of the great tomb of Jingming Mountain!

What was going on with the tomb-sealing formation? Why had it failed to continue suppressing Xing Su?

Had the formation they set up near the Miao village already become ineffective?!

The middle-aged man was frantic, glancing at Bei Shen with a dark look in his eyes.

If that fool hadn’t changed the idol on his own, he wouldn’t have had to come all the way here today!

He couldn’t delay any longer. He had to think of a way to leave quickly.

No matter how much effort they put in, Xing Su was always the true master of the great tomb.

Once Xing Su regained control of Jingming Mountain’s great tomb, even if he wanted to leave, he wouldn’t be able to!

The middle-aged man muttered a curse under his breath, took two steps at once, and rushed to Bei Shen’s side. Ignoring Bei Shen’s terrified gaze, he grabbed Bei Shen’s arm.

He flicked a talisman dyed with baby’s blood from his sleeve and began chanting incantations.

Bei Shen suddenly felt his soul lighten. He froze for a moment, then widened his blood-soaked eyes.

This person was here to save him!

He was saved!

Bei Shen was overjoyed. Just as he was about to speak, a tearing pain exploded from deep within his soul, distorting his face in an instant.

He couldn’t control himself as he screamed, the pain overwhelming him to the point where his consciousness started to blur.

It felt as if his soul was drifting out of his body, and through the haze, he saw a part of his soul being torn away, all the ghostly energy from Xing Shuangzhan roughly stuffed into that piece, like trash, hastily thrown toward Xing Shuangzhan.

He opened his mouth, wanting to curse, wanting to stop it, but it was futile.

The agony of having his soul ripped apart almost made him think his brain had melted.

Eventually, he completely lost all sensory perception, even the concept of pain became unclear.

He stood there, numbly letting the middle-aged man handle him. Although he hadn’t fainted, his gaze had already become vacant.

The middle-aged man didn’t care about Bei Shen’s feelings at all. In order to escape, he didn’t hesitate to tear apart Bei Shen’s soul and abandoned the ghostly energy belonging to Xing Shuangzhan.

Xing Shuangzhan did not hesitate either. Between keeping these two alive and recovering the ghostly energy, he decisively chose the latter.

The middle-aged man was overjoyed. Taking advantage of Xing Shuangzhan’s loosened grip on Bei Shen, he quickly stepped back toward the formation, grabbed the small idol hidden on his robes, and began chanting quickly.

Strange waves spread across the great tomb. The tomb-sealing formation showed no reaction, but the death energy belonging to the tomb began to vibrate violently.

A flash of smugness crossed the middle-aged man’s eyes.

Compared to the unknown idol Bei Shen worshipped, the one he carried with him was truly connected to a deity!

Chi Qingzhou felt the incantation was somewhat familiar: “Another divine summoning spell?”

He frowned and, as he swayed, saw the idol’s appearance clearly—it was exactly the same as the one Chi Shuhong had worshipped before.

Chi Qingzhou murmured, “It seems this person has indeed been hiding in the Chi family all along.”

The immense effort he put into arranging things three years ago must have been for more than just drawing out this celestial master.

Behind this person stood…

“A ghost deity?” Xing Shuangzhan paused for a moment, his gaze cold. “It seems I’ve really been out of the world for too long. Anything dares to run wild in front of me now.”

Under his gaze, a strange torrent fell from the sky, rushing toward the two standing by the formation.

The grayish light exploded, immediately swallowing everyone’s sight.

“Pretending to be a god.”

Xing Shuangzhan sneered, flicking his finger, silently sending a deathly energy of his own into the wave.

The death energy in the great tomb gathered into a wave, crashing madly into the strange wave. The entire secondary tomb couldn’t withstand the tremendous force and began to shake.

Chi Qingzhou lowered his consciousness along with the sudden pressure, regaining control of his body in the blink of an eye.

Before the wave fully dissipated, he quickly and skillfully pulled out a small curse from his shadow, divided it into three parts, and quietly placed them on Bei Shen, the middle-aged man, and the tendrils of the wave.

The huge impact covered countless subtle traces.

The wave didn’t realize that several tiny “seeds” had been planted in its tendrils, and the middle-aged man didn’t notice the light curse that had appeared on him.

The gray light slowly faded, and both the middle-aged man and Bei Shen disappeared into the light.

Xing Shuangzhan and Chi Qingzhou both opened their eyes at the same time, looking toward the direction where the two had vanished.

Chi Qingzhou let out a long breath, relaxed his body, leaned back into Xing Shuangzhan’s embrace, and curled his lips into a joyful smile.

“I finally know why I went through all that trouble before.”

Xing Shuangzhan held Chi Qingzhou tighter, gently kissing the top of his head, his gaze deep and cold.

“Being cautious was the right thing to do. A ghost deity, even if its strength is not inferior to a righteous god, still doesn’t deserve such treatment.”

Chi Qingzhou wrapped his arms around Xing Shuangzhan’s neck, rubbing his shoulder: “I also think there’s something behind them. But Su-Ge, let’s put that aside for now.”

After all, they weren’t unprepared.

“Your move just now… was it a bit of a bluff?”

He blinked at Xing Shuangzhan with an innocent and naïve expression, as if unaware of the implication in his words.

He very obediently suggested, “Why don’t we just focus on recovering the remaining ghostly energy?”

“A bluff?”

Xing Shuangzhan chuckled meaningfully.

Chi Qingzhou blinked again, tilting his head and pretending not to understand.

Xing Shuangzhan didn’t argue with him, only loosening his grip and beginning to recover the last bit of ghostly energy.

Since the body was already taken back, he should seize the time and give his little contract partner a “surprise” as soon as possible.

…

Upon learning of the changes in Lianshan Village, the Paranormal Control Bureau immediately organized personnel to handle the aftermath.

On the way, they heard that in addition to the avalanche, a strange heavy rain had also begun to fall on Jingming Mountain, so they quickly organized a small rescue team.

Thanks to the convenience brought by the underworld passage, the Paranormal Control Bureau arrived at Lianshan Village within fifteen minutes. The first thing they saw was not the village’s shaman, nor Luo Ting and Luo Huaiyu, but the crew members huddling under the eaves, seeking shelter from the rain.

Cheng Yufei took a quick glance and confirmed that everyone, except for Chi Qingzhou, was safely gathered together. Her expression finally eased a little.

The crew members were also happy to see Cheng Yufei.

In their minds, the arrival of the Paranormal Control Bureau meant that the government had taken over the matter, and they were sure they would be completely safe now!

They couldn’t help but cheer and instinctively gathered around Cheng Yufei and the others.

A gust of night wind blew by, causing many people to suddenly sneeze, so they reluctantly gave up on crowding together and shrank back under the eaves.

“What kind of weird weather is this? It’s freezing one moment and hot the next.”

“This doesn’t even feel like summer.”

“The most outrageous part is the avalanche and then the heavy rain, right? So why on earth is there an avalanche in Yuntian Province?”

The sudden downpour caused the temperature on Jingming Mountain to drop sharply. Even though it was the early summer night, everyone was shivering from the cold.

Some of the staff with weaker constitutions put on all the clothes they could, yet still felt cold, so they could only huddle together with others for warmth, their faces full of discomfort.

They really couldn’t understand why it was so cold, so they began complaining softly.

The Paranormal Control Bureau’s staff quickly checked them out and found that the areas where they had gotten wet from the rain had gathered a lot of yin energy.

The rescue team acted quickly to help dispel the negative energy clinging to their bodies. The guests and crew members finally warmed up, thanked them, and some began to feel drowsy.

Cheng Yufei signaled her subordinates to retrieve the confidentiality agreements.

Daoist Du Ming caught a few raindrops, frowning slightly. “Like the avalanche earlier, the rain is also caused by Cultivation techniques.

Cheng Yufei examined it carefully. “It looks like Daoist techniques, but not the orthodox ones.”

Daoist Du Ming wiped the water drops off his hand and shook his head. “In the past ten-odd years, all sorts of bizarre things have been increasing.”

Strange methods that were neither completely Daoist nor Buddhist, with half-baked cultivators who had picked up bits and pieces of knowledge and dared to show off everywhere, were becoming more and more common.

Non-human entities were becoming more active, and many well-established places had been affected. However, the righteous gods remained as stable as ever, with no signs of divine manifestations in temples leaving the Paranormal Control Bureau uncertain about how to handle the situation.

Cheng Yufei remained calm. “When the enemy comes, we fight. When the water comes, we build a dam. We’ll address the problem wherever it arises, and if we pay attention, we might just find the source.”

Daoist Du Ming nodded. “Indeed.”

The two of them discussed the next steps. Daoist Du Ming led the team to the poison Pool, while Cheng Yufei stayed behind to protect the crew and have them sign the necessary confidentiality agreements.

Most of the crew members were from the last episode, so they were quite familiar with the agreement.

When they learned that, in addition to compensation, there were rewards, the staff members, who had been terrified all night, were all smiles. Even the director forgot his previous complaints about Cheng Yufei due to the new investment promised by the Paranormal Control Bureau.

Xue Jinshi followed the crowd to sign the confidentiality agreement. Staring at the pouring rain, he spaced out for a while before inevitably asking Liang Ji, “So, you all knew… there might be problems with the filming location?”

Liang Ji glanced at him. “Didn’t you sign that risk agreement contract?”

Xue Jinshi fell silent for a moment, then said reluctantly, “I did.”

Liang Ji shrugged. “Then it’s settled, isn’t it?”

Wasn’t it clearly written on the contract?

Xue Jinshi had no response.

He did sign it, but he thought it was just the program’s disclaimer. Who would have thought there would really be this kind of risk?

His face was filled with numbness. “If I had known this was the situation, I would’ve bought more insurance.”

At that moment, Chi Qingzhou returned to the crew and looked at him with some surprise.

Knowing there was danger, but only planning to buy more insurance instead of directly abandoning the show, looking at it now, Teacher Xue really…

Probably truly cares about his younger brother?

Maybe because Chi Qingzhou’s gaze was too obvious, Xue Jinshi paused for a moment and instinctively turned his head to look at him.

The next second, he suddenly jumped up from the ground, his voice rising by an octave.

“Teacher Chi, you’re finally back!”