Guessing the Answer

When the show aired, Xiao Ming's popularity surged once, but that was only among VIP users. Free users were the real majority, and Xiao Ming's personal Weibo followers had already surpassed one million.

He had started with fewer than three hundred thousand followers. After only the first episode, he had gained nearly a million more. Not even novels dared write something like that.

Of course, he still didn't know about it himself.

"Then ask Xiao Ming what he thinks. Our production team has to seek the guest's own opinion."

Producer Li couldn't persuade the director otherwise. Since Xiao Ming also insisted on continuing with the show, they could only let him do as he wished.

Because of the time constraint, Xiao Ming had the production team prepare to head for East Street while he continued on his way there.

He wasn't forcing himself. A wound of this severity really wasn't a problem, as long as he didn't carry anything heavy enough to make it split open.

Yi Xiaoda had already arrived at East Street. When he saw Xiao Ming approaching, he went with him.

"Xiao Ming, is your hand all right? That wound looks like it bled a lot. Why don't you get it treated first?" Yi Xiaoda had noticed the wound on Xiao Ming's hand too. Although much of the blood had been wiped away with tissue, it was still seeping blood, which looked rather frightening.

"It's fine, it's fine. Just a small wound, nothing serious. I've already asked someone to bring a first-aid kit. Finding people is more important."

Xiao Ming quickly spotted the person waiting at the street entrance. He was holding a wooden box carved with scenes from The Heavenly Match, dressed in a long gown from the Republican era. He didn't look too out of place in the surrounding environment.

Xiao Ming asked, "Hello, are you the leader of the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe?" The Celestial Immortal troupe leader replied, "Ah, young man, what can I do for you?"

Yi Xiaoda asked, "Do you have any clues?" The Celestial Immortal troupe leader said, "Young man, I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm currently looking for the male actor for our opera troupe's Magpie Bridge performance from The Heavenly Match."

Yi Xiaoda continued questioning him, but Xiao Ming had already caught the three keywords: The Heavenly Match, Magpie Bridge, and "male actor."

He felt that the first two were likely the key points. Yi Xiaoda had already gone to help the Celestial Immortal troupe leader find his male actor. The troupe leader looked back and forth between Xiao Ming and Yi Xiaoda for quite a while before slowly following Yi Xiaoda.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Ming caught his breath and used the first-aid kit handed over by the production team to treat his wound.

There were many small cuts on his palm, with grains of sand embedded in them. Xiao Ming took a bottle of mineral water and rinsed away the dust and sand before applying ointment to the wounds and skillfully wrapping them in bandages.

In the past, Xiao Ming had learned quite a bit of basic medical knowledge to save time. He had even specifically studied at a hospital, so he had later gotten used to handling minor, unimportant injuries himself.

Meanwhile, while Yi Xiaoda was helping the Celestial Immortal troupe leader search for the male lead, he turned a corner and saw the hunter who had been chasing them earlier. Forgetting about the missing person, he immediately hid to the side.

"Why is it this person again?!" Yi Xiaoda had already run into this hunter three times.

[We only just saw Yi Xiaoda with Xiao Ming. How is Xiao Ming doing?]

[It looked so painful when his hand scraped across the ground.]

[It seemed like it was because of the cameraman. The cameraman got in the way.]

[Ah, Guan Jun got caught earlier because a cameraman blocked him too. Seriously, what are these cameramen doing?]

[No idea how serious it is. If it's serious, he might have to leave the show.]

[Yi Xiaoda looks like he's running out of strength. The director is about to cut away again.]

All one could say was... fate was not on their side. Where there was one, there would be a second, and a third wouldn't be far behind.

If everything is fate~ if everything is heaven's will~ no matter how you flee, you cannot escape~

Elsewhere, Qu An found Dong Yong in a small house on East Street and brought him out. Before treating his wound, Xiao Ming had called him and told him their location.

On the way, he ran into Guan Jun and Gu Wuping, and they proceeded together. At the same time, he learned that You Duidui and Lin Xiang were heading for Huangmei Tavern.

The moment he received the news, Qu An rushed over. However, the smile on his face vanished the instant he saw the bandages on Xiao Ming's hand.

"What happened to your hand?" His expression darkened, making him look rather intimidating.

Xiao Ming, however, didn't notice. His entire mind was on the mission. "It's nothing. I just scraped it on the ground. Is this Mr. Dong Yong?"

Dong Yong replied, "Yes."

"Mr. Dong Yong, do you have any clues for us?"

Dong Yong said, "I was originally the male lead in the Seven Fairies Opera Troupe's The Heavenly Match, but I was framed and now have nowhere to go. This gentleman said he could help me."

The term "sheng" referred to a male role, generally the male lead in an opera.

Guan Jun and Gu Wuping caught up from behind and heard the news as well. They had actually heard it once already, but Qu An had run so fast that they had fallen a few steps behind.

"I think I know the answer for the Celestial Immortal side. It should be 'sheng,' meaning a male opera actor. That Celestial Immortal troupe leader is with Brother Xiaoda. I'll call him over and confirm it." Xiao Ming was almost certain of the answer, but out of caution, he still intended to combine both accounts before confirming it.

Qu An knew that during filming, the mission was Xiao Ming's highest priority. With a dark expression, he took out his phone to make the call. "I'll do it."

Before he could place the call, though, his phone rang first. "Brother Xiaoda and Sister Fanghua have been caught," Guan Jun said beside him.

There were currently nine remaining runners and four hunters.

Xiao Ming gave an "ah" of regret, then continued analyzing the situation rationally. "Brother Xiaoda didn't leave long ago. That Celestial Immortal troupe leader shouldn't be far away."

While tending to his injury, he had only vaguely seen which direction Yi Xiaoda had gone. "Let's go. He should be this way." Since he had only just finished treating the wound when Qu An arrived, they could go look for the Celestial Immortal troupe leader together. He immediately headed forward, motioning for them to follow.

Qu An knew he couldn't talk Xiao Ming out of it. Besides, they were in a game and had to show some sporting spirit.

With Guan Jun and Gu Wuping beside them, it wasn't appropriate to suggest stopping the recording either.

Still, as Qu An followed Xiao Ming, he didn't forget to ask, "Did a doctor examine you?"

"No. It's just a small injury. I treated it myself. It isn't serious, it only looks scary." Xiao Ming didn't pay it much mind.

But the more Qu An heard from behind him, the worse his expression became. Even the accompanying cameraman trembled a little while filming.

Especially Xiao Ming's personal cameraman. Although he had told Xiao Ming to pause filming and get treatment, Xiao Ming's fall had partly been because of him.

After walking for only a short while, they found the person. All that remained was for the two NPCs to excitedly question and answer each other.

From the details of the characters in The Heavenly Match to the costumes and settings, they became more and more animated as they talked. While listening to them, Xiao Ming also kept an eye out for hunters who might appear nearby.

Guan Jun kept asking, "So what exactly is the clue?" but received no response.

"Our opera troupe needs an all-around sheng role like you. Whether it's today's Magpie Bridge from The Heavenly Match or other operas in the future, we look forward to working with you. There aren't many young people nowadays who know opera."

Hearing that, Xiao Ming confirmed the information as well. He planned to find somewhere with Qu An and the others to analyze it together. As they were about to leave, the Celestial Immortal troupe leader took a cloth bundle from the wooden box and gave it to them, saying it was thanks for helping him find the male lead.

"Let's go to the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe or Huangmei Tavern first," Guan Jun urged.

"This place feels too dangerous. Let's find somewhere safer and talk as we walk."

The four of them were quite conspicuous, so for safety reasons, Gu Wuping suggested hiding inside a house first. Xiao Ming and Qu An agreed and hid somewhere safe together. Guan Jun hesitated for a moment before following them. Only then did they begin analyzing the clues and examining the contents of the cloth bundle.

There was a slip of paper inside. It bore a hint: "The questioner is not the answerer." It sounded rather cryptic, but Xiao Ming quickly understood what it meant.

Gu Wuping and Guan Jun began guessing the answer as well. Based on the information they already had, Qu An gave his thoughts first. "From what they said just now, 'sheng' and Magpie Bridge were mentioned the most. They should be the answers."

"This means that the answer to the clue held by the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe leader isn't for the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe. It should be for Huangmei Tavern." Xiao Ming handed the item in his hand to Qu An.

Qu An understood immediately. "So Dong Yong's clue is for the Celestial Immortal side. Then your initial guess that the Celestial Immortal side's answer is 'sheng' should be correct." He also confirmed Xiao Ming's earlier deduction.

Gu Wuping said, "Then the answer for Huangmei Tavern should be Magpie Bridge."

"Now that we've confirmed it, let's split up!" Guan Jun looked eager to complete the mission.

That made sense. During the first episode, he had barely participated in the missions, so viewers and netizens had criticized him many times. That was probably one reason he had been paired with Lin Shange.

"Brother Songyi is at the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe. I've seen the setup there, so I know which answer to press. We can have him go press it directly." Xiao Ming didn't become anxious because of this. His tone remained calm as he called He Songyi and explained the situation while walking.

Zhong Ka had also rushed over to He Songyi's side. Once they received the answer from Xiao Ming, they immediately dashed off.

Since this entire segment was Xiao Ming's shining moment, his overly quick mind left the director not knowing how to edit it even if he wanted to. Still, during editing, they tried to avoid showing his wound exposed on camera.

The cameramen were also instructed to avoid filming Xiao Ming's injury as much as possible, mainly to reduce unnecessary controversy.

The mission at the Celestial Immortal Opera Troupe was completed very quickly, and the phone notification announcing its completion soon rang as well. Gu Wuping also called Lin Xiang, wanting him to complete the Huangmei Tavern mission nearby and lock down the hunters.

But sometimes, plans could not keep up with unexpected events.