On Weibo, a GIF of a handsome young man on a dim, unlit staircase pinching a spark of spiritual light between his fingertips and flicking it at the vicious ghost behind his companion, sending it fleeing, made it onto the lower ranks of the trending list.
Blogger: Who gets how satisfying it is to see someone drive off an evil ghost so casually with that cold expression!
Passersby who didn't know the context left comments under the post.
[I get it, I get it! So what new drama is this? I've had nothing to watch for ages!]
[Aaaaaah, this male lead is pretty good-looking, and he somehow has the vibe of an office drone forced to work overtime. Love it, love it.]
[So after all that, where's the drama's name?]
The blogger deliberately kept them in suspense, letting the comments clamor for ages before slowly replying: [It's not a drama. It's a paranormal web variety show. The guy in the picture is Qi Gu. Turns out he really is a mystic master!]
The followers were already annoyed at being kept dangling. The moment they heard Qi Gu's name, the tone of the comments changed completely.
[What the fuck, unfollowed. Do you not vet your sponsorships at all now? You'll even take money to promote a show with someone like Qi Gu???]
[Help, it's actually that filthy creep Qi Gu. My eyes!]
[A mystic master, my ass. You must really be desperate if you'll swallow anything.]
Of course, there were also new Qi Gu fans who had just watched that part of the livestream and come online looking for others who shared their reaction.
[These really aren't special effects. If I'm lying, may I never get another photo-editing commission!]
[Ha, as if anyone would commission you if you weren't lying.]-This came from a commenter who couldn't even be bothered to open her profile before attacking her.
[...What are you talking about up there? This is Gardenia! It's really hard to book a slot with her, and every image she edits is a masterpiece!]
[If any other blogger vouched for it like this, I'd definitely think she was being paid to promote Qi Gu, but if Gardenia says so... fine, I'll check out the livestream.]
[Wait, you're just believing this? No wonder so many people get scammed every year.]
[Lmao, would you sooner believe ghosts really exist or that I'm an Egyptian pharaoh?]
Passersby, haters, and Qi Gu's new fans immediately tangled in a heated, chaotic battle.
But the flame war ultimately produced just one result-everyone flooded into the ghost investigation livestream, hoping to use it to prove their point.
Outside, with the production crew.
Normally, seeing the viewer count shoot up like this should have had Song An cracking open champagne-scratch that, iced black tea-to celebrate. Unfortunately, his mind was filled with the bizarre events that had just occurred, leaving him in no mood to think about the numbers.
As soon as he noticed something was wrong inside the health center, he contacted the guests and their camera operators, telling them to withdraw together.
He only coveted fame and money. He had no desire to get anyone killed.
There were ten lives in there, families!
If something really happened to the people inside during the livestream, it would be a black mark on his directing career for the rest of his life.
Yet no matter what he said into the communicator, he received no response-the connection had cut out at some point.
Song An steeled himself and decided to take the crew inside to fetch the guests himself.
But no matter what they tried, the unlocked glass door at the health center's entrance wouldn't open. Even when he raised a metal camera stand and smashed it against the door, it didn't budge.
"What do we do now, Director?" Old Ke and Little Li were frantic.
Song An took a deep breath and said firmly, "Call the police."
Producer Zhang Aicai, who happened to be there, said, "If word of this gets out, our show's finished! Nothing's happened yet, has it? That Qi Gu seems to have some skills. What if he manages to bring them all out safely?"
Looking at the soaring viewer count, he thought, That's all money!
Song An sneered. "You fucking want to gamble ten lives on a 'what if'?"
That left Zhang Aicai speechless, unable to find a retort.
Song An walked straight past him, entered the tent, picked up his phone, and called the police. A policewoman with a gentle voice answered. After learning what he needed, she asked him to wait, saying she would transfer his call to the relevant department.
Song An had heard rumors that Huaxia had a department specifically responsible for unusual incidents like these. This was his first confirmation.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from his palms as he listened nervously to the tone on the line stop. Then a young, casual voice came from the other end, getting straight to the point. "What's up? Make it quick."
The voice sounded like a boy no older than ten. Song An paused and looked down to check whether he had dialed the wrong number.
After confirming that he hadn't, Song An remained full of doubts, but still explained everything that had happened.
"Got it. Wait by the entrance, and don't go inside. I'll be there in about half an hour," Pubu Gesang, the current reincarnated sacred child, instructed, afraid these people would get themselves killed before he arrived.
Then that bastard boss will dock my entire performance bonus for the month!
Song An waited for the other end to hang up, still feeling a little dazed.
Surely... surely that wasn't really a child answering? Maybe it's just his vocal cords that make him sound like a child?
He comforted himself as best he could, watching the screen while waiting for the professionals to arrive.
He could tell Qi Gu had some ability, but he didn't know whether Qi Gu could really hold out. Still, all he could do now was hope Qi Gu could last until help arrived.
If Qi Gu really held out until the rescuers came, he would definitely give him a raise... and treat him to a feast!
And invite him to star in his film... no, forget that one. Qi Gu's acting really was toe-curling.
Qi Gu had no idea the director had unilaterally given him a raise. Under everyone's gaze, he entered Consultation Room Three while munching on sunflower seeds.
Before going in, he even held out a handful of ChaCha sunflower seeds and asked whether anyone wanted some.
Everyone else: "..."
Who besides you, you absolute menace, could eat in a situation like this!
[Came from Weibo. Let's see what bullshit Qi Gu's pulling today.]
[Quietly adding my +1.]
[Weibo check-in squad, +1.]
[Uh, as a livestream veteran who had to eat my words and is now a diehard Qi Gu fan, let me just say a few words. Basically, don't rush to insult him... or you'll regret it later.]
[Lmao, Qi Gu actually has diehard fans now?]
[Oh my god, what kind of cyber thug are you? I'll insult him if I want to!]
The newcomers clearly refused to believe it and immediately began furiously posting. The bullet comments, which had only just become a little more pleasant, instantly descended into chaos again.
Consultation Room Three was a traditional Chinese medicine consultation room. It was pitch-black, with two plastic dummies marked with acupuncture points on either side and assorted items commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture needles and cupping jars, on the desk.
Qi Gu munched on sunflower seeds, dropping all the shells into the open gourd, planning to let the little green ghost deal with them when it returned.
He scanned the room and saw no sign of a clue card. Just as he was about to start searching, one of the dummies in the corner suddenly opened its blank, pupil-less eyes and lunged straight at his face.
The camera operator jumped in fright, stumbled backward, and landed on the floor, his camera still happened to be pointing at Qi Gu.
"Hehehe." A familiar ghostly cackle sounded behind him.
Already annoyed at having to work overtime, Qi Gu turned around expressionlessly, his face plainly asking, Do you have a problem?
Overwhelmed in an instant by resentment even greater than a ghost's, the dummy actually didn't know how to continue.
"Go squat in that corner with your hands over your head. I'm busy right now. I don't have time for you." Qi Gu displayed the spiritual light burning at his fingertips and calmly gave his instructions.
Mostly, he couldn't be bothered to move.
This was the same ghost he had struck earlier, now possessing the dummy. Knowing how powerful his spiritual light was, it immediately walked to the corner with its joints moving jerkily, then clumsily squatted with its hands over its head.
Seeing that it was behaving, Qi Gu helped the camera operator up and continued searching the room for the clue card.
[??? Well damn. All I can say is, damn.]
[Looks like my earlier assessment of Qi Gu's abilities was still too conservative.]
[Lmao, that dummy's as practiced at this as I am when I come home to my parents after getting a zero on a test.]
[You up there...]
[Uh, there's probably a crew member inside it.]
[I'm curious how they built the mechanism for those eyes. Props person, please DM me if you see this. I'll pay.]
The newcomers' defining attitude was that they didn't believe any of it.
Just then, a little green ghost brazenly passed through the four guests waiting outside, slipped through the gap in the door, and entered Consultation Room Three.
Before it darted inside, Lin Hanzhi and Vivian both raised their heads among the four and glanced in its direction.
Lin Hanzhi's gaze in particular was scrutinizing... if he hadn't remained still, the green ghost would almost have thought he could see it.
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