TRYMBPIETM 90: Revival of All Things (11)

The colleague could not control himself and, inexplicably, continued to complain incessantly for a long time.

He complained about the director, the producer, and even the male and female leads, as if he had suffered so many grievances.

The more he complained, the longer the few people standing across from him silently listened.

Seeing the stiff expressions of those people, the colleague gradually regained his rationality.

His heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely guessed a possibility, feeling a bit of a chill on his scalp.

The complaints that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down. He stared blankly at the people in front of him, his face turning a ghastly pale.

The area suddenly became eerily silent.

In the distance, the vendors at the snack stalls were shouting their wares in turns.

The vendors selling grilled sausages, rice noodles, and fried skewers with flatbread… The regular calls blended with the evening breeze, filling the air with the bustling life of the world.

The extreme contrast made everyone’s breath grow rapid.

They stared intently at the blurred figure behind their colleague, their eyes full of hesitation and anxiety.

The colleague opened his mouth, wanting to ask what was behind him, but fearing he might provoke whatever was there, he forced himself to swallow the questions.

A light breeze brought the sound of children laughing—clear and lively, mixed with the ringing of small bells, which added an odd feeling.

The figure in the red robe stood up straight, seeming to tilt its head, its dark eyes averting from their gazes.

It paused for a few seconds, and then, as if its shadow was erased by an eraser, it disappeared into the air.

The few workers stared wide-eyed for a long time before they dared to confirm that the figure in the red robe would not appear again for now.

At that moment, their legs went soft, their strength vanished, and they couldn’t even stand anymore.

Overwhelmed with relief, they collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Only then did they realize their backs were already drenched in cold sweat.

They exchanged glances and saw fear and shivering in each other’s eyes.

One person, still shaken, murmured, “What was that figure just now? Could it have something to do with the strange incidents that happened to the crew before?”

…

That night, the experiences of these staff members reached Fang Mingge’s ears.

Fang Mingge, upon hearing the producer recount the incident, did not react much.

He stood up from the couch in the rented apartment in Linghe Village, lit a cigarette, took a puff, and walked to his desk. He picked up the newly printed “Wanxiang” script and handed it to the person sitting on the sofa.

“I won’t be using the old script anymore. Here’s the new one. If you want to make a cameo, you can take a look.”

Shen Wenxing took the script, casually responded, and started flipping through it.

The producer, seeing this, felt a headache coming on.

“Director Fang, do you have any plans for this? Last time, we at least shot halfway before things got strange. This time, we haven’t even started, and there’s already such a big problem. Can we really keep filming smoothly?”

Fang Mingge’s expression remained calm, “Brother Wang, don’t worry about this. There might be a bit of trouble over the next few days, but once Teacher Chi enters the set, it will be fine.”

The producer asked, “Teacher Chi? You mean Chi Qingzhou?”

Fang Mingge nodded.

The producer’s lips twitched, and he looked at Fang Mingge with a complicated expression.

Although Chi Qingzhou could be considered a second-generation rich kid, what could a rich kid do in a situation like this?

If it were a second-generation Taoist, he’d feel more at ease!

The producer suddenly had a thought. He had heard a rumor that Fang Mingge hadn’t originally studied directing.

With a scholarly background, this director had apparently studied religions in the past.

Unable to resist, the producer took a look at Fang Mingge. Could it be true, this outlandish rumor?

If that’s the case, then what about Chi Qingzhou…?

He found it hard to believe the guess, and his mind became a little muddled. He just quietly fell silent for the moment.

“Hmm?” Shen Wenxing raised his head, his expression odd. “Old Fang, is the character of Daoist You Ling based on Chi Qingzhou?”

Fang Mingge took a drag on his cigarette and raised an eyebrow, “What, isn’t it obvious from the script?”

“It’s obvious, but… but,” Shen Wenxing looked completely confused. “Didn’t you take inspiration from Linxi Village for this?”

Fang Mingge: “Yes, it’s from Linxi Village. What’s the problem?”

Shen Wenxing: “Then, shouldn’t this have something to do with Cheng Shang?”

Fang Mingge gave a strange look: “Of course it has to do with Cheng Shang. Didn’t you read the script?”

Shen Wenxing: “Huh?”

Shen Wenxing never expected Fang Mingge to give such an answer. He flipped through the script again, feeling even more lost.

This You Ling clearly seemed to be inspired by Chi Qingzhou, but didn’t his cousin say that the person who resolved the Linxi Village’s issue was Cheng Shang?

Fang Mingge, seeing his bewildered look, couldn’t help but laugh.

He flicked the cigarette butt, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke.

“Don’t you think the male lead resembles Cheng Shang quite a bit? Or have you seen someone like him elsewhere?”

Male lead?

Shen Wenxing instinctively looked down, just in time to see a monologue of the male lead Han Le in the script.

This catchphrase belongs to the strange man who kept crying and smashing a skeleton to pieces with a brick, lamenting with great effort and enumerating the skeleton’s top ten sins, including but not limited to “wasting my time and delaying my meeting with the Daoist,” “slandering the Daoist as not being warm and friendly enough,” and “spreading rumors that the Daoist is timid.”

Shen Wenxing: “…”

Some forgotten memories suddenly began to attack him.

He vaguely remembered his cousin saying that Cheng Shang was a crybaby.

The kind who cries while hitting people, and the harder he cries, the harder he hits.

He looked up at Fang Mingge, moved his lips, but in the end, didn’t say anything.

Fang Mingge, with a half-smile, said, “Do you understand now?”

Shen Wenxing: “…” After thinking for a moment, he asked, “So, the absolute yin land in Linxi Village isn’t actually that closely related to Cheng Shang? He’s just a trigger, and the one solving the problem is Chi Qingzhou?”

Fang Mingge laughed: “Why would you think that? Who told you the absolute yin land in Linxi Village was completely resolved?”

Shen Wenxing: “Huh?”

Fang Mingge shifted his posture, resting his right leg over his left, squinting his eyes as he took a deep drag from his cigarette.

“If the absolute yin land was truly completely resolved, why would we still be filming ‘Wanxiang‘? And why would the crew be encountering so many strange events?”

The producer suddenly raised his head, and Shen Wenxing was also startled.

What do you mean by “why would we still be filming ‘Wanxiang‘”?

The strange occurrences in the crew were actually related to the absolute yin land?

…

After breakfast at home, Chi Qingzhou’s assistant, Du Huan, drove to pick him up for work.

Chi Qingzhou sat in the back seat, obediently fastening his seatbelt, and took out his phone to scroll through gossip.

Du Huan glanced at him from the rearview mirror, hesitated for a moment, and wondered whether he should speak up.

Chi Qingzhou noticed his gaze. “Xiao Du, is there something you want to tell me?”

Du Huan fell silent for a few seconds, uncertain, and asked, “Chi-ge, do you know about Yu-ge and Fu-ge coming to me to learn Muay Thai?”

Chi Qingzhou nodded. “They mentioned it to me.”

Yu Jianqing and Fu He were two other artists under Guan Xihua, and according to the entertainment industry’s customs, they could be considered Chi Qingzhou’s senior brothers.

It made sense for Du Huan to call them ‘ge.’

Chi Qingzhou: “Do you not want to teach them?”

Du Huan said, “It’s not that… It’s just… I’m not sure if you’ve heard, but recently, things in Hexing City haven’t been peaceful. Especially for artists, many of them have been attacked.”

“I heard my senior brothers mention it a few days ago,” Chi Qingzhou asked with some curiosity, “Did you and the senior brothers also face an attack?”

Du Huan thought for a moment and said, “Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it an attack. Last night, after I finished teaching Yu-ge and Fu-ge, and we were leaving the company, it felt like someone was following the three of us.”

Chi Qingzhou squinted his eyes slightly. “Was the person special in any way? Or… you guys were cautious and felt someone watching, but couldn’t find anyone?”

“Chi-ge, you’re amazing!” Du Huan was stunned for a moment, his face lighting up with joy. “We couldn’t find anyone, but we clearly felt someone watching us in that area. We searched everywhere, but there was no one.”

This was the most confusing part for Du Huan and the others.

Honestly, if they hadn’t kept feeling like someone was watching them, they would have a hard time believing they were being followed.

They searched the underground parking lot and still didn’t find a single person.

Du Huan lowered his voice. “Chi-ge, I heard you know some masters? Yu-ge and the others are wondering if we encountered something unclean, and we want to find someone to take a look.”

Chi Qingzhou said, “There’s no yin or ghost energy on you.”

Du Huan almost slammed on the brakes, shocked, and instinctively asked, “Chi-ge, you understand this? That’s incredible!”

Chi Qingzhou smiled slightly and humbly said, “It’s just a hobby.”

Du Huan, not fully understanding the situation, didn’t find anything wrong with the response and seriously nodded. “That’s impressive. So, Chi-ge, we didn’t encounter something unclean?”

Chi Qingzhou said, “It’s hard to say. I haven’t seen what you encountered, so I can’t judge what it really is.”

You see, the world isn’t only full of ghosts and demons; there are also many species.

Among the ghosts, there are beings like Xing Shuangzhan who can hide their presence.

Without personally visiting the scene, even Xing Shuangzhan would have a hard time determining what’s following them.

[Right, Su-ge?] He asked in a only Xing Shuangzhan could hear.

Xing Shuangzhan laughed ambiguously. [Are you curious about what happened to them, or are you using this as an excuse to delay? You’re not planning to go home tonight, are you?]

Chi Qingzhou innocently blinked. [Su-ge, one should be kind.]

Xing Shuangzhan said nothing.

Chi Qingzhou pretended not to understand his meaning and said to Du Huan, “Are you still learning Muay Thai tonight? If you’re staying late at the company, I’ll walk with you guys.”

Du Huan’s eyes instantly lit up. “Then I’ll trouble you, Chi-ge!”

As a former Muay Thai champion, Du Huan naturally knew who was stronger.

He was an ordinary person and couldn’t tell Chi Qingzhou’s specifics, but instinctively revered him, so he didn’t believe anyone could be stronger than Chi Qingzhou.

Since Chi Qingzhou was willing to go, that meant everything was secure in his eyes.

Chi Qingzhou smiled and said it was no trouble. He wanted to ask Du Huan more about last night’s situation, but just then, his phone rang.

It was a call from Guan Xihua.

“Qingzhou, have you left yet? Don’t go to the company yet. Mr. Yi was attacked near our company last night, and he’s currently being treated at the provincial hospital. Have Xiao Du drive over and visit him first.”