Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When the lights flickered back on, I leaned forward with an excited look on my face.

The chaotic scene of dancing demons I had imagined didn’t happen. The room was quiet, still occupied only by the production crew-not a single vengeful spirit in sight.

However, everyone had a strange expression as they stared toward the bed.

Only the Director was looking at the camera, screaming in a rage.

“Where’s Ye Ran? How did Ye Ran disappear again!”

Xiao Zhao covered his mouth, his face pale. He patted the Director’s shoulder and pointed toward the corner of the room.

I turned to look. Beneath the bed in the corner lay a figure. A pair of deathly pale feet wearing pink slippers stuck out, with a large puddle of water pooling around them.

The set fell silent instantly.

In just those few seconds, Ye Ran had somehow crawled under the bed without making a sound. The Director clutched the crucifix hanging from his neck, gesturing wildly as he shouted for Ye Ran to come out.

After several shouts with no response from Ye Ran, the Director turned to Xiao Zhao.

“Go drag her out.”

A few stagehands walked over and grabbed Ye Ran’s ankles to pull her out. Ye Ran remained motionless, but the two burly men couldn’t budge her at all.

“Director, she won’t move-”

The Director swallowed hard, shouting with a false sense of bravado, “If you can’t move her, get more people! What’s the point of calling me?”

Two cameramen joined in. Four men pulled on Ye Ran’s legs together, but she remained under the bed, rooted to the spot. Everyone grew even more terrified.

A cameraman took two steps back and pleaded with the Director.

“Maybe we should let Qiao Moyu take a look?”

“Shut up!”

The Director glared at him. He had just told me to get lost; he definitely couldn’t bring himself to lose face by asking for my help now.

The Director waved his hand, signaling Assistant Zhao to crouch down.

“Maybe she’s caught on something. Crawl under the bed and check.”

Xiao Zhao stammered, “Huh?”

“Just go!”

The Director gave Xiao Zhao a hard shove. Xiao Zhao performed a sliding kneel and collapsed on the floor, clutching his leg.

“Ow! Director, I sprained my ankle. I can’t move.”

“Shit! You’re all useless!”

The Director took a deep breath and strode over to Ye Ran. He crouched down to look under the bed.

“Director, what’s under there?”

Everyone looked at the Director in tense anticipation. The Director straightened up, his eyes glazed. He exhaled, then took another deep breath and leaned down to look again. He repeated this three or four times.

I chuckled at the sight.

“Director, are you learning how to swim? Is that why you’re practicing your breathing?”

“Qiao-Qiao-Qiao-Qiao Moyu, you… come over here for a second.”

The Director waved at me.

I shook my head.

“I can’t. My leg is broken.”

The Director’s eyes widened, and he put his hands on his hips.

“You’re still a member of this crew, so you have to listen to me! Get Ye Ran over here next to me right now, or I’m docking your pay!”

“Fine. You said it yourself. You want Ye Ran next to you, right?”

I rolled up my sleeves and obediently walked over to the Director. Then, I jumped up and delivered a flying kick straight to his backside.

“Aaaagh!”

The Director let out a miserable shriek as his body flew forward. He dived headfirst under the bed, landing right next to Ye Ran. The two of them were now lying side-by-side in a neat row.

“Aaaah-Aaaaah-Aaaaah-”

The Director let out several more distorted screams, sounding like a rooster being strangled. Soon, someone seemed to cover his mouth, and the screams turned into muffled whimpers.

Everyone else was as quiet as mice.

After a moment, Xiao Zhao hid behind me, his voice trembling.

“Qiao Moyu, what exactly is under the bed? Will the Director and the others be okay?”

“They’re fine. It’s just a ghost pressing down on them. At most, they’ll have eight or ten years of bad luck.”

I waved it off dismissively. Then, I took out copper coins and a command flag from my bag and began setting up a Soul Sealing Array.

The Soul Sealing Array was a formation invented by Perfected Master Qiu Tongsheng, the first patriarch of Maoshan. It used seventeen Tongmei-ancient copper coins dipped in Tongzimei-to create a counterfeit Lesser Seven Gates on the ground.

Since money passes through thousands of hands, it carries heavy yang energy. When combined with Tongzimei, it can suppress the flow of yin energy and trap vengeful souls within the array.