The Livestream That Never Got Off the Ground

The Hunter, indulging in his mischievous whims, began telling Ning Caichen a "story," a tale that took the scholar from initial bewilderment to growing apprehensive and pale-faced—a journey we won't go into detail about.

--On the other side, in a dilapidated open courtyard within the temple, as a thick cloud temporarily obscured the moonlight, the shadowy figures within quietly revealed some faint traces.

"Grandma has given her orders. Many strangers have come to Lanruo Temple today. This is a rare opportunity, unlike any other. Xiao Qian and Xiao Qing, you two go and handle this matter. There must be no mistakes."

"Yes."

Two voices rang out, one from the front and one from the back.

As night deepened, the dilapidated eaves in a corner of the courtyard, bathed in the pale moonlight, resembled the outstretched claws of a ghost.

Only that ancient, thick locust tree, with its gnarled branches and intertwined roots, rustled and sobbed in the wind, as if it were a collection of countless foolish and delusional words from the past, filled with endless resentment.

As wisps of yin energy gathered, they transformed into a dark, thin mist visible to the naked eye in the courtyard. A group of women dressed in various styles stood in the mist, their figures appearing and disappearing. They all had somewhat pale faces, yet their former beauty was undeniable.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, these ethereal "fairies" with their flowing robes avoided the long roots of the locust trees on the ground. After hearing their "instructions," they bowed deeply and then quietly departed as a gust of wind.

Of those present, only two women, or rather, female ghosts, remained who had been "named".

One wore flowing white robes and had her eyes lowered. The other wore a light blue dress and had a graceful figure, but her eyes held a captivating intensity.

"Grandma has already said that of the few people who entered the temple today, only one or two had slightly stronger qi and blood, and there was nothing else unusual about them. They were not like the swordsman surnamed Yan from that day. However, there were still two strangers dressed in Daoist robes among them. You should be more cautious. Now you may leave."

"Yes."

Unable to disobey, the two women gracefully bowed, and then transformed into a wisp of yin wind and departed.

Two gusts of cold wind swept silently past the dilapidated porch of the main hall, through the overgrown courtyard, and drifted toward the direction from which faint lights and signs of life still lingered within the temple.

The wind stopped.

Two beautiful figures materialized from the light breeze, gracefully landing under the eaves of a half-collapsed side room, their forms concealed by the shadow of a thick pillar.

Not far away, from an old monk's hut that was still somewhat intact, flickering firelight shone, and the faint sounds of men talking and laughing could be heard.

This was clearly the "target" that had been instructed to achieve.

"Sister, look." The female ghost named Xiao Qing raised the corners of her lips slightly, with a hint of disdain and eager excitement, and pointed lightly with her slender finger, "There are only seven or eight people in total—hmm, there are even two guards?"

His words shifted to a hint of surprise.

Clearly, the two "Black and White Impermanence" figures, compared to each other, were far more eye-catching and immediately attracted attention, making Xiao Qing take a few more glances.

"Two white-bearded, black-haired foreigners, a thin, scholar-looking man, and those two—"

"Yes, he is dressed as a Daoist priest, but judging from his murky aura and unsteady gait, he is probably just a charlatan with poor skills, not the kind of person Grandma fears."

"A man with slightly more vigor than average, a Hunter from the mountains—they're just ordinary folks."

"But that makes it rather unusual for these people to get together."

"Don't underestimate the enemy," Xiao Qian said softly, but with a hint of warning. "Grandma brought it up specifically for a reason."

Her relationship with this "Xiao Qing" had never been exactly harmonious, but since she had been given orders, she naturally had to prioritize the "serious matter," otherwise—

The people here are very clear about the methods of that Tree-Demon Granny.

In the past, the punishment ranged from whipping the soul to sending it to the underworld to be given as a plaything to the Black Mountain King in the Wrongful-Death City. In more serious cases, the soul was simply scattered and never to be reincarnated.

Who wouldn't be afraid?

Just as the two female ghosts were whispering and discussing carefully...

For some reason, the Daoist priest lying on his side in the room stretched out his arms and yawned, "Sigh, it's so dark and there's nothing fun to do. Suddenly I'm craving Lao Mo's fish."

"His fish dishes are absolutely amazing."

Upon hearing this, especially the word "fish" repeated twice, several people in the room showed a slight reaction.

--A fish has taken the bait.

But at this moment, no one showed any particular reaction; they were simply infected by the yawning.

"Forget it, the ancient practice of holding talks by candlelight late into the night is definitely not suitable for us. Let's go to sleep early."

"Yeah, I'm exhausted today, brothers, I'm going to sleep first!"

"Brother Ning, it's up to me, you do as you please--"

"Oliver, if you two aren't sleeping, you can keep watch while you're at it; at least the candles in the house won't need to be extinguished—"

Several people, some sitting and some lying down, who already looked sleepy, quickly got into "sleep mode," completely ignoring the three puzzled "outsiders" next to them.

"I feel like we're being targeted, but I don't have any legal evidence."

That "Kunlun Slave" Sandit even leaned close to the white man Oliver's ear and whispered something like, "O..."

"Shut up."

All he received in return was a cold rebuke from his "employer".

"Okay, okay, that's awesome! You're the boss, you're the boss!"

Sandit simply raised his hand in a French military salute.

Despite the joke, he still dutifully leaned against a pillar, showing no intention of lying down and falling asleep like the others.

As expected, soon, a faint, lingering melody of a zither drifted on the wind from afar, lingering and melodious.

Interspersed throughout were the soft, plaintive tones of a woman's voice, deeply moving.

The main event is here!

Aside from the three "outsiders," everyone else who was "asleep" was well aware of what was going on.

Like the others, the young Hunter groggily rolled over and sat up, casually patting Ning Caichen, who was lying on the futon beside him, already looking somewhat drowsy. "Huaimin, it's decided—cough cough, I misspoke."

"Brother Ning, it's time. You should get up at eight in the morning."

"On a beautiful moonlit night, as the zither and lute play in harmony, a sudden, high-pitched melody rises—surely a hero is eavesdropping!"

Seeing Ning Caichen suddenly wake up, the "Hunter" also showed a look of curiosity. "Let's go, Brother Ning, let's go listen to the live broadcast of this 'love between a human and a ghost,' 'love until death'—how does it go?"

"I'm afraid we'll be late and it will be too late--"

"How dare you, you ghost, be so arrogant?!"

A sharp shout, like a thunderclap piercing the clouds, suddenly exploded outside the temple walls!

The sound surged and rolled, carrying an incomparably sharp and masculine sword energy, instantly shattering the mournful and poignant zither music, bringing it to an abrupt end.

Even more shockingly, the thin, dark mist that had been spreading through the courtyard at some unknown time was also shaken and scattered by this sound!

The voice hadn't even reached them before they arrived!

A dark figure flashed across the crumbling wall like lightning, flipped over, and landed firmly in the center of the courtyard, causing the large bluestone beneath its feet to crack loudly.

The newcomer was tall and straight like a pine tree, with a thick Bearded Man covering most of his face, but his eyes shone brightly in the night, like two cold lamps.

The sword case remained unopened, and the green sword at his waist was not drawn, but this bearded man, who was clearly quite old, simply stood there with his eyebrows raised, and in an instant, he was like a peerless, sharpened sword right in front of him!

The chilling killing intent and intense blood energy emanating from it caused the surrounding cold mist to rapidly dissipate as if it had encountered its natural enemy.

It's Yan Chixia!