Master

"I got up and started simmering it. Let's have some soup today."

Ma Dong stood in the shared open kitchen on the third floor. The large clay pot before him was bubbling away.

He had started simmering it before heading out, and now the aroma of bone filled the air.

Besides the bone broth, he had added abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, shark lip, and other ingredients. It was nearly cooked down into a rich stock.

Wang Yi, drawn out by the fragrance, stopped coding and emerged from his room.

He had bought those beef bones himself, so of course he deserved a share!

Liu Xiaoke, who had only returned today, looked somewhat tired. She was just as unceremonious in asking for a bowl.

The rich, silky soup slid down her throat and into her stomach, seeming to spread a warm current through her body. She could not help letting out a long sigh, as though the fatigue of the day had been driven away.

"Delicious."

"Sister Xiaoke, did something happen again today?"

Ma Dong glanced at Liu Xiaoke and took the initiative to start a conversation.

Though she had clearly rejected him last night, he was still concerned about her as a woman he liked and as a neighbor.

Just as he had taken a liking to Liu Xiaoke, it was not merely because she was pretty. More than that, he saw a reflection of his past self in her.

Even if Liu Xiaoke had looked completely ordinary—well, he probably would not have pursued her—but he definitely would have looked after her to some extent.

"It was nothing. The Director found an excuse to fire me. Anyway, I already got half the money."

Liu Xiaoke did not seem to care.

A Director could indeed blacklist her from the industry, but it was unlikely he would specifically spend so much time and effort targeting her over such a trivial matter.

Liu Xiaoke had become a Guest Actor through her looks and ability. At most, he might spread some rumors to make it harder for her to get roles in the future. After all, he was not someone with limitless influence who could cut off her path with a single word.

"As long as you got paid, it's fine. Saves you the trouble too."

Wang Yi glanced at his first backer. She really did not seem to take it to heart.

He had to admit, this woman had quite a decisive personality. She was not the sort to get trapped in a dead end.

He had scared her that badly last time. Maybe his movements had been a little too sudden.

"By the way, you two are locals, so I want to ask you about something."

Wang Yi then took the opportunity to ask them.

The server had already been ordered, and he had begun compiling some of the underlying programs. However, Uncle Li's Eldest Son, Li Yao, would clearly need some more time to recover. He might as well ask whether there had been any supernatural incidents, preferably recent ones.

With so many people passing through a Film Studio, the chances of such things appearing were higher.

Hospitals might have plenty of deaths, but Wang Yi had deliberately passed by one after returning. Perhaps because there were relatively few violent deaths, he had not found any resentment strong enough to meet the threshold. At most, there were occasionally some naturally born spirits, the kind that dispersed after a few days.

"What, you've come around? I told you not to waste those looks."

Ma Dong chuckled. He had always been rather interested in Wang Yi's physique.

Liu Xiaoke, beside him, sipped her soup in small mouthfuls while looking curiously at Wang Yi, waiting for him to continue.

"I want to ask whether there have been any recent accidents at the Film Studio where someone died unnaturally, or whether there have been any rumored supernatural incidents. Anything you've heard is fine."

The question was as direct as it could be, and Wang Yi did not mind such things.

There were all sorts of Masters in the real world. One more mage pretending to be one would make no difference.

But Wang Yi's abrupt turn caught Ma Dong and Liu Xiaoke completely off guard.

Why was he suddenly asking about this?

"Ahem, I'm actually an Independent Musician, the kind who can make money from it. I want to look for inspiration. Also, I learned a few ancestral tricks, so I'm seeing whether I can deal with that sort of thing and earn some extra cash."

There were actually many superstitious people in the film and television industry. Before filming began, quite a few would even seek out feng shui masters, especially those from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

What Wang Yi said afterward sounded far more "honest" than his excuse about an Independent Musician looking for inspiration.

"Oh? You don't look like it, but you're a Master too? Give it up. You're too young. Why not read me first?"

Seeing Ma Dong raise his brows, Wang Yi was somewhat speechless. He could not actually read faces, did not even know the terminology, and only knew how to catch ghosts...

Liu Xiaoke's big eyes sparkled with amusement, but then she seemed to remember something and said, "Oh, there really was an incident recently. Seven days ago, someone died while the Film Crew next to ours was filming a Period Drama. The media coverage was suppressed, but there are still police lines around the place. It might not have been an accident."

Liu Xiaoke's words made Ma Dong, who had been about to tease Wang Yi, turn his attention to the matter as well. He nodded and said, "I heard about it too. There seem to be some strange rumors, but the people in that Film Crew are unwilling to talk about it, as if they have some concerns. The Film Crew probably issued a gag order or something, worried that paparazzi would get wind of it."

Ma Dong added some more. His social circle was clearly broader, so he knew a bit more, but since he had not paid special attention to it, this was all he knew.

"Things like this happen all the time. They get exaggerated into urban legends, little rumors about supernatural incidents during filming and the like. It's practically a Film Studio tradition. Quite a few new extras have even been scared sick by them."

Ma Dong did not seem to care much. Clearly, he did not believe in such things.

"If you want to know, I'll ask around tomorrow and tell you when I get back."

Liu Xiaoke patted her chest and made the promise. Her fitted tank top, stretched taut over her chest, made the other two people at the table both sneak a glance.

Ma Dong immediately followed up as well, saying, "I don't really care about this stuff, but if you want to know, I'll ask around tomorrow too."

"It would be best if you asked about all similar incidents, then just tell me a few locations."

Wang Yi did not refuse their kindness. He was unfamiliar with the Film Studio, and searching around on his own would be quite troublesome.

A mage in a low-magic world, especially in a place where natural mana was so sluggish, had rather awkward searching abilities.

Moreover, sunlight carried a trace of light-aspected mana, which restrained spirit bodies. They could look into these matters during the day without worrying about safety.

After all, Ma Dong had said that such rumors occasionally appeared, yet nothing had ever happened.

When the time came, he could help them deal with some unclean things. Mutual benefit—what could be better...

After finishing every last drop of the soup they could not drink, right before his two neighbors' dumbfounded eyes, Wang Yi returned to his Rental Room in satisfaction.

Then, thinking there was no reason not to ride the wave of attention, he opened Weibo. Without responding to any of Fang Chuan's tags, he made a separate post.

"Accepting exorcisms, ghost-catching, and disposal of supernatural items within Shudian. Interested parties, leave a comment. No insincere inquiries.

"PS: No feng shui readings, face reading, or fortune telling."

Good lord, with Fang Chuan entering the fray, the attention had fully built up over the course of the day and had already surged into the top ten.

Fang Chuan was even making post after post elsewhere.

That blogger, "Studying Abroad in the Beautiful Country," had also joined forces with several friends to keep stirring things up.

Rather than responding to them, Wang Yi had posted something so blatantly unscientific. Those attacking him immediately acted as though they had discovered a new continent, endlessly reposting and commenting.

Only Fang Chuan felt as though he had punched cotton.

Fuck!

He had written so much and blanketed him with saturated firepower, all to prove that this was Folk Science, pseudoscience.

Yet Wang Yi's single post had made all his saturated firepower land on empty air.

It felt worse than a sharp counterattack. Or rather, this post itself was the sharpest possible counterattack against Fang Chuan.

What kind of move was this? Could it even be handled like this?

After typing for ages and deleting it all in the end, he could only reply with a sarcastic line.

"You forgot to add your tags: Independent Musician, researcher, supernatural Master."

It was obviously a jab, but after he posted it, Wang Yi tagged him.

"Thanks for the reminder."

Looking again, Wang Yi had indeed added the supernatural Master tag...

Two updates complete! Please support me! Asking in advance for your follow-up reads next Tuesday~

They are usually posted back-to-back. If they do not appear together, then one is under review. If the earlier chapter gets reviewed, chapters might get skipped...