A new guest

[That look, that expression... looks awfully familiar.]

[I feel like I've already figured out what's going on with this show.]

[So what exactly does that look mean???]

[Has the person above not watched the first episode?]

Qi Gu deftly set the suitcase on his lap, then quickly unzipped it. The snacks already packed tightly inside immediately spilled out, making for a striking sight.

"Chips, chocolate, milk candies, of course..." Qi Gu said earnestly.

He listed every snack by name as though counting his treasures, his expression gentle and cherishing. Then he looked earnestly at the screen. "Clothes won't get damaged no matter what, but chips break easily if they get knocked around, and chocolate melts easily in the heat of the sun... In conclusion, snacks belong in a suitcase, and clothes belong in plastic bags."

[...]

[Why does that somehow make sense?]

[A well-supported, convincing argument.]

[Thank you, master. I have attained enlightenment!]

[Person above, finding enlightenment in everything will only hurt you!]

[Hahahahaha, I'm dying. Is this what it takes to be a top-tier foodie?]

The car sped along an asphalt road through increasingly desolate surroundings, arriving outside a guesthouse at the foot of a mountain.

The other guests had all arrived and were sitting in the lobby waiting for Qi Gu.

Vivian had not returned for this episode because she was pregnant. Her replacement was, unexpectedly, the little boy in sunflower sunglasses whom Qi Gu had briefly met outside the Lotus Town Health Center last time.

Qi Gu: ?

Even if this little boy was quite capable, surely having a child participate in a paranormal variety show was inappropriate?

What did surprise Qi Gu somewhat was that Sha Chuan was still willing to participate in the second episode.

He had been so terrified last time, yet he still dared to come?

Sha Chuan's face was pale, thick black energy gathered between his brows, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes. Clearly, he had not slept peacefully for days. Coming on a paranormal variety show with so little yang energy-he really was going all out.

At the sight of Qi Gu, all four guests rose to greet him.

Mu Xingchen even called him "Master" straightaway, only belatedly remembering that Qi Gu had not agreed to take him on. He sheepishly added another "Master."

Together, it became an awkward "Master-Master."

[Why didn't Vivian come?]

[To the person above, Vivian isn't feeling well, so she isn't participating.]

[Did she offend something back in Lotus Town? But didn't Qi Gu say Vivian had accumulated so much merit that she'd be fine?]-This was a hater sneakily trying to stir up trouble.

[Could you be a little less obvious about trying to sow discord? She's not feeling well because she's having a baby, okay?]

[Wow, congratulations to our kind, rich lady!]

[Lol, Mu Xingchen has already gone straight to calling him Master. You can tell how desperate he is to become his disciple.]

[Honestly, if Qi Gu were right in front of me, I'd definitely kneel down and beg him to take me as his disciple too.]

[Me too...]

[Why is the new guest a little kid? This isn't a parenting show. It would be awful if this left the child traumatized.]

[What happened to Sha Chuan? He looks like a ghost sucked the vitality out of him. It's been over half a month since the last episode. How has he still not recovered? He even looks worse.]

[+1. If he looks like that, he should stay offscreen instead of hurting the viewers' eyes. Viewers' lives matter too.]

Sha Chuan had actually not wanted to come. He had contacted Wei Cai earlier and threatened him, saying he still had a recording of Wei Cai telling him to go after Qi Gu. If Wei Cai did not sign him to Shengshi Media, he would expose the whole thing. If it came to it, they could all go down together.

His previously decent reputation had vanished during the first episode, and his current MCN wanted to terminate his contract too. If he could not get in with Shengshi Media, his career would be finished!

Wei Cai had also been seething lately. Not only had the head of the paid trolls screwed him over, but an A-list actress he had been just about to sign had turned on him too.

Several higher-ups at Shengshi Media resented him for terminating Qi Gu's contract back then, believing that if not for him, the company would now have a new cash cow.

Wei Cai's own backer was only a minor shareholder among the company's higher-ups and naturally would not stand up for him... So lately, absolutely nothing had been going Wei Cai's way.

It had gotten to the point where he wanted to visit a temple and pray.

Thus, receiving Sha Chuan's call only infuriated Wei Cai further. He simply demanded that Sha Chuan continue participating in the show and scheme against Qi Gu, or he could forget about signing a contract.

With no way out now, Sha Chuan could only follow the path Wei Cai had laid out for him all the way to its bitter end.

"Qi Gu, long time no see. Everything that happened in the last episode was my fault. I only acted that way because I was so scared. I'm really sorry." Sha Chuan's eyes shifted, and he stepped forward, trying to take Qi Gu's hand and offer him a sincere apology.

Looking at the hand wrapped in black energy reaching toward him, Qi Gu instinctively stepped back to avoid his touch. Then he frowned at Sha Chuan. "It's fine, but you have a serious problem... If you still want to live, you'd better withdraw from the show right now."

Sha Chuan was shrouded in dense yin energy. If he entered more places with heavy yin energy, his body would likely weaken further, beyond the help of medicine.

Moreover, though he did not know whether he was imagining it, Qi Gu kept sensing that Sha Chuan bore other karmic debts as well. Something seemed to be concealing them, leaving him unable to see clearly for the moment.

Qi Gu's warning was purely well-intentioned, but Sha Chuan clearly thought he had refused to accept his apology. He immediately played along, taking a step back and declaring his position with a wounded expression. "I really am apologizing sincerely."

"And I'm sincerely offering advice," Qi Gu said.

[What the hell? Our Sha Chuan already apologized. What more does Qi Gu want? Why is he cursing Sha Chuan again? He has no grace at all.]

[Qi Gu is seriously out of line. He has a little skill, so he thinks he can just say whatever he wants.]

[And his fans can stop claiming Qi Gu is capable and that his words become reality. Didn't that director and the actor from his cast he badmouthed before never get exposed for anything?]

[Exactly. With his character, people still treat his words as gospel?]

Those comments came from Sha Chuan's diehard fans.

[With things like this, it's better to believe than not.]

[Anyway, if a genuinely capable master gave me advice like that, I'd be thrilled. One casual pointer from him could let me avoid a huge disaster!]

[If Qi Gu had given my dad a warning back then, maybe he wouldn't have gone to work at that illegal coal mine...]

[Who says Qi Gu has to accept an apology? If I slapped you and then apologized, would you accept it?]

[Exactly. Sha Chuan's fans really take after their idol, all fake innocence and holier-than-thou attitudes.]

The barrage of comments showed signs of another argument brewing, but this time Qi Gu's fans had the upper hand, the complete opposite of how things had been during the first episode.