Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I held the Nine Demon Mushroom up to the camera, flipped over the cap, and pointed at the tiny black dots. “This is a Ghost Mushroom. The body of a Nine Demon Mushroom doesn’t have black spots. Legend has it that Ghost Mushrooms love to feed on carrion and bloom on mountains of corpses.”

Lin Xin burst out laughing.

“Ghost Mushroom, huh? A mountain of corpses? What, you’re saying there are bodies under here? You’re quite the storyteller.”

Behind the camera, the director was nodding in satisfaction.

“Not bad. This Qiao Moyu knows how to stir things up. Look, the live stream viewership is climbing again.”

Sure enough, the Bullet Comments exploded, most of them hurling insults.

[I just Baidu-ed it. There are Ghost Mushrooms in World of Warcraft. Is this girl playing a video game?]

[The production team is really going overboard for ratings.]

Zhou Xue rolled her eyes directly, but Zhao Sisi and Jiang Haoyan moved closer, flanking me on either side.

“Qiao Moyu, is this Ghost Mushroom dangerous?”

I nodded.

“It’s poisonous. Eating it causes hallucinations. Moreover, Mountain Goblins often frequent places where Ghost Mushrooms bloom.”

“Those things are very dangerous, even more so than zombies. You guys stay close to me when the time comes.”

The Mountain Goblin is a one-legged creature recorded in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*. It has a human face, long arms, a black body covered in hair, and it laughs when it sees people. It is formed from the sinister *jing* and *xie* energy within the mountains and possesses immense strength. If we truly ran into one, it would be a massive headache.

The Bullet Comments were full of ridicule.

[I Baidu-ed it again. A mandrill is a type of baboon found in West-Central Africa. They don’t exist in China at all.]

[Don’t say that. It’s not impossible that the production team actually brought a baboon here to scare us later.]

[This is so ridiculous. My curiosity is actually piqued now. I want to see what other nonsense this Qiao Moyu can pull out of her hat.]

The Bullet Comments were refreshing frantically. Lin Xin’s face was dark as he let out a cold snort.

“Boring!”

We continued forward. The mountain became steeper, and Zhao Sisi started to struggle. We walked for a bit and rested for a bit. After about half an hour, a fork appeared in the road ahead.

The path to the left was flat and lined with Ghost Mushrooms. The path to the right was wedged between massive rock crevices, with thorns growing near the entrance.

I walked over to the thorns and saw a bit of red hanging there, fluttering in the wind. I took it down; it was the tassel from the pendant on Chen Zhen’s backpack.

I crouched down hesitantly and took a closer look. There were indeed footprints at the entrance.

“Chen Zhen and the others went in through here. We’re going this way.”

I directed everyone toward the rock crevice, but Lin Xin lost his temper.

“Qiao Moyu, anyone can see that Chen Zhen and his group followed the trail of Nine Demon Mushrooms!”

He pulled out his phone and opened the live stream to show me.

“See that? What’s that by their feet?”

I shook my head.

“Ghost Mushrooms grow wherever they want. They can sprout in a second. This path clearly just grew to lure us in. We can’t fall for it.”

Having said that, I squeezed through the rock crevice first and signaled for Jiang Haoyan and the others to follow.

Lin Xin was on the verge of a breakdown.

“Qiao Moyu, can you use some scientific logic? These mushrooms can grow in a second? And they’re intentionally luring us? What, do they have brains now?”

“I *am* giving you scientific logic. Don’t you know that the largest organism in the world is a fungus? The honey fungus in America spans five or six kilometers-it’s bigger than a mountain.”

“Ghost Mushrooms are the same. They look small on the surface, but underground, their mycelia are connected to a massive parent body. Every Ghost Mushroom that breaks the surface is just a part of it. Of course they can pop out of the soil wherever they want.”

The Bullet Comments were refreshing like crazy.

[I Baidu-ed it. What she said is actually true. The largest organism really is a fungus.]

[She’s trying to use science to explain something totally absurd, and she’s actually making it sound plausible.]

[Woman, you have successfully caught my interest.]

Lin Xin was practically laughing from anger. He had graduated from a prestigious university in the US and was one of the few genuine intellectuals in the entertainment industry. He couldn’t stand my nonsense.

“Fine. You guys go this way. Zhou Xue, we’re going the other way. That’s where more Nine Demon Mushrooms are.”

Lin Xin turned to leave, but there was no way I’d let him have his way. Setting aside the money Zhao Sisi’s mother gave me, the production team was paying me an extra two hundred thousand as an appearance fee. I had to be responsible for the safety of the entire team.

I rushed over, snatched Lin Xin’s backpack, and turned to sprint up the mountain.

“Nyah nyah nyah! Come and catch me!”

Bullet Comments:

[Qiao Moyu is so annoying!]

[What bad luck. I really don’t want to see her bullying our Xinxin like this.]

[There aren’t even any Nine Demon Mushrooms on this path. It’ll be a miracle if they find Sister Bai and the others. Forget it, I’m bored. I’m going to the other stream. Bye.]