Chapter 136
Chapter 136
The “Long-Life Trio,” having narrowly escaped disaster, watched Boss Qiao flee in panic and swallowed with lingering fear.
If even he had been driven this far, could anyone survive this Instance?
Zuo Qingquan frowned and spoke first. “We can’t sit around waiting for death. Boss Qiao is too busy dealing with the Ghosts. We need to find clues.”
Bian Feibai clicked his tongue. “What’s the use? This Instance doesn’t require a post-run review.”
Luo Yunmeng shook her head. “Of course clues are useful. We need them for filming too. Right now, the Ghosts are leading us by the nose. They perform however they like, and one wrong move kills us.
“Haven’t you realized why we escaped just now?”
Bian Feibai looked like an idiot. “Didn’t the expert save us?”
Luo Yunmeng elbowed him in fury. “He helped, but there was another reason! I shouted that I saw a ghost because the script establishes that ghosts exist, and what happened fit the plot perfectly.
“If we find clues about the original script, we can build on its plot and turn defense into offense. Then the Ghosts will have to follow our performance!”
She turned excitedly, only to see Zuo Qingquan standing beside Bian Feibai, asking softly, “Does it hurt?”
Bian Feibai laughed carelessly. “Luo Yunmeng barely hit me. Of course it doesn’t.”
“I meant your ankle. Does it still hurt?”
Understanding dawned on Bian Feibai. He instinctively rubbed one ear. “That… It’s much better.”
Luo Yunmeng: “…”
Heavens, save me!
Why did I always stumble into scenes like this?!
Please spare me.
Reassured, Zuo Qingquan finally looked at the despairing Luo Yunmeng and offered a reliable suggestion. “Your analysis makes sense. We can search the prop department for clues.”
Luo Yunmeng nodded.
If I don’t speak, I can’t be force-fed their affection.
**
Qiao Yu grabbed the Pen Spirit’s arm and narrowed his eyes as he leaned toward her dark-ringed gaze. “Tell me. Why aren’t you affected by the Charm?”
The Pen Spirit blinked slowly and lowered her voice. “Have you forgotten? I drank your blood. The Night Rakshasa’s enchantment has almost no effect on me.”
What?
Qiao Yu stared blankly at her. “Wasn’t I a ghost before?”
The Pen Spirit frowned. “Not necessarily.”
What did that mean now?!
“Can you explain everything clearly?”
What kind of infuriating habit was this?
Why couldn’t she finish in one breath instead of making him guess endlessly?
“I don’t know what species you are either. You should rank above a rakshasa.” Uncertainty entered the Pen Spirit’s voice as she speculated, “You might be an underworld officer who committed a crime.”
“What makes you think that?”
She snorted. “You run faster than a rabbit whenever you see one.”
“Why not say I’m a malicious ghost who committed a crime?”
“Please. You’re spotless, without even a trace of blood on you. Why would spirit officials arrest you?”
“Then why do I hide from them?”
“How would I know?” She rolled her eyes and picked idly at her nails. “Don’t you know what you’re like? Unless you’re broke and come looking for me to join your schemes and beg door-to-door, I can’t even catch your shadow.”
Qiao Yu corrected her. “Ahem… we sought charitable offerings.”
“Calling it begging is already flattering. Strictly speaking, you brought me along to extort people!”
Uh…
Qiao Yu fell silent.
Suddenly, something rustled behind the Pen Spirit.
He leaned around her and saw a skeleton cautiously inching closer. The instant it saw Qiao Yu’s face, its jaw dropped in amazement.
Strangely, Qiao Yu could actually read lust in that hollow skull.
Fuck. Just… fuck!
The inexplicable Charm completely shattered his composure. He strode forward, grabbed the skull, and twisted it one hundred eighty degrees with a crack.
“Stop looking at me. Face the wall!”
The skeleton’s body still faced Qiao Yu, but its head was stuck backward and would not turn around.
The Pen Spirit gave it a pitying glance and kicked it toward the wall. “You’re welcome.”
Their teamwork was flawless.
He fought, she handed him the knife. He raised a leg, she bent the target over.
Partners in crime, happy in their work.
As the man and ghost reminisced about their glorious past, a tremendous crash struck the bathroom door.
“In dreams, orioles sing. How riotously the springtime sprawls, while someone stands in a secluded courtyard. The incense has burned away, the embroidery thread lies cast aside-why does this spring stir the heart just as the last one did…?”
That irritating opera song had returned.
The Bridal Ghost-she was here!
The Pen Spirit’s previous fight had gone unfinished, leaving her full of anger. Before she could react, Qiao Yu pushed her from behind.
“What are you doing?!”
Qiao Yu clenched his fist, looking even more indignant than she did. “Go! If you turn down a fight delivered to your door, you’re either a coward or an idiot!”
The Pen Spirit rolled up sleeves that did not exist, thoroughly provoked. “Fine. Let’s fight.”
She threw open the door and charged out, remembering to warn Qiao Yu before she left. “Hide yourself.”
“Okay.”
Ever since acquiring that inexplicable Charm, Qiao Yu had become extraordinarily obedient.
He dutifully locked the door again, listened to the two malicious ghosts tearing at each other outside, and raised a satisfied smile.
His beachcomber persona-sending others into the surf while he waited for the catch-remained unshaken today.
While every Ghost searched for Qiao Yu, not even a Ghost Shadow remained in the prop room. This greatly aided the trio.
Luo Yunmeng lacked Qiao Yu’s precision in finding evidence. She could only rummage around as if searching for a needle in a haystack.
Jeweled ornaments and delicate accessories dazzled the eyes, but none were useful.
Bian Feibai found letters inside a drawer, all written in classical prose. “What does this mean?”
Unable to read them, he looked lost. Luo Yunmeng wisely ignored him and searched a cabinet.
Zuo Qingquan took the letters, skimmed them, and guessed, “The Pear Garden is a spy base for the Nanzhao Kingdom. The Princess Consort of Lanling is a traitor.”
“And this!” Luo Yunmeng raised a bright-yellow imperial decree. “It’s a decree announcing the ruler’s marriage to a princess of the Nanzhao Kingdom!”
But how did these facts connect?
Rubbing her chin, Luo Yunmeng murmured, “We know the princess consort and empress are allies. Was their goal to steal the kingdom?”
Zuo Qingquan considered it. “The empress also looks extremely similar to the Prince of Lanling. Did she discover the emperor’s feelings and kill the prince, then take advantage of the emperor’s grief to move closer?”
Luo Yunmeng clicked her tongue. “Then was the Prince of Lanling’s infatuation with Tao Zhuyue also a trap laid by Nanzhao?”
But what did this have to do with the Bridal Ghost?
Unable to understand, Luo Yunmeng resumed searching.
Meanwhile, Qiao Yu sat on the toilet and sighed deeply.
Eventually, boredom drove him to kick the skeleton. “Hey. How long have you been dead?”
Clack, clack.
Qiao Yu frowned. “I don’t understand you!”
Still facing the wall, the skeleton raised one claw and wrote a “4” in the air.
“Oh, four years. How did you die?”
The bony finger scribbled through the air. It took Qiao Yu a while to understand. “A mudslide?”
Clack, clack.
No wonder. The entire production crew had died.
That explained their obsession with dragging people inside to film.
And the faint, ever-present smell of earth…
Wait. Had he overlooked something?
Qiao Yu instinctively tried to summon the Live Stream Room, then remembered the broadcast had cut out again.
Sigh… The little flame of curiosity burned fiercely with nowhere to go.