Witchcraft Dolls

"I know you're telling the truth."

Just then, the director, Wang Xiang, came in with a group of staff members. "Everyone's here? Perfect. Let me explain the rules for this episode."

His gaze paused when it swept over Su Li. Wang Xiang had originally wanted a minor celebrity with good looks but little popularity, someone who wouldn't need much screen time and could simply serve as a foil for the others on the show. He hadn't expected Su Li to be so exceptionally attractive.

That made him change his mind. People these days were visual creatures, and looks like that were a selling point too. Giving him a few more shots wouldn't hurt.

"Everyone, the rules this time are different from the previous two episodes. We'll be livestreaming. If you split into groups, each group will have its own livestream. Besides the livestreams, we'll also edit the footage afterward and upload it to the website."

Wang Xiang had realized that this episode had everything from an award-winning actor and a queen of song to a popular young actress. Livestreaming could attract more viewers and generate more revenue, so they had decided to use that format for this episode.

The other celebrities felt rather uncomfortable, since this meant they would have to watch their words and actions at all times. After all, livestreams couldn't be edited, and any inappropriate words or behavior could spark controversy.

Su Li's eyes, however, brightened slightly. Wouldn't livestreaming let him harvest more emotional energy?

"All right, we'll give you the scripts now so you can familiarize yourselves with the details of this episode. The staff will take you to your rooms to rest. The livestream starts tomorrow."

Su Li followed a staff member to his room. The manor was as large as a castle and had numerous rooms. His was at the far left end of the second floor.

He looked around the room. It wasn't particularly large or well-lit, and it had a small private bathroom. That was normal, though. With his status, he would naturally be assigned an inferior room.

What interested him was the ceiling, where a corpse hung. Its face and body were livid and rotting, its clothes tattered. The blood on them had dried black. Its eyes bulged, and where the rope constricted its neck, the flesh had separated to expose stark white bone.

As though sensing Su Li looking at him, the corpse fixed his venomous eyes on Su Li and revealed an eerie smile.

"Don't your eyes get sore?"

The hanged ghost: ????

Su Li's sudden question caught him completely off guard. It was one thing for this person to see him, but why wasn't he scared at all?!

Just as the unwilling hanged ghost was preparing his next move, Su Li's pleasant voice rang out, nevertheless sending a chill through him:

"If you dare get this room dirty, I'll refine you into little candies to feed my dolls~"

He looked down and saw the young man smiling gently. At some point, two dolls had appeared in his arms, one a girl wearing a black Gothic dress, the other a boy in a little tailcoat.

Their faces were adorable, but both radiated an aura that terrified the hanged ghost. Two pairs of eyes turned eerily toward him.

Now, in his eyes, the young man was emitting a strange energy that alternated between black and red, even more terrifying than the two dolls. That energy filled the hanged ghost with unprecedented fear.

Just as the dolls in Su Li's arms slowly began to rise, the hanged ghost's survival instinct made him shout, "M-my lord, I was wrong! Spare me!!"

The dolls stopped moving and leaned back into Su Li's arms. Then the youth said, "I don't like looking up to talk."

The hanged ghost felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He scrambled down from the rope, not even daring to touch the floor, and could only hover. His waist was bent at almost ninety degrees, and blue-green fear energy covered his entire body.

"Tell me, where else around here are there dead souls like you?" Su Li sat down in a chair. The two dolls in his arms suddenly rose, making the hanged ghost flinch. Only after realizing they were merely flying over to fetch the youth a bottle of milk tea did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"M-my lord, there are three more on this floor. There's a female ghost in the bathroom of the second room on the left, a box ghost in the storage room at the end, and a headless female corpse hiding beneath the floor of the first room on the right. She put her own head in a cabinet in the kitchenette on this floor.

"I haven't left the second floor much, so that's all I know for now... Please don't kill me, my lord. I can guard your door!!"

His hoarse voice trembled. The hanged ghost wanted to cry but had no tears. Since becoming a ghost, he had never encountered anyone so terrifying, yet today he had actually run into one. His soul was nearly scared apart.

"Keep watch outside. Come back in when I call you."

"Yes! Thank you for sparing my life, my lord!! I'll go guard the door right away!"

The hanged ghost suddenly felt that this was the happiest moment of his ghostly existence. Never mind guarding the door, he would even scrub toilets.

Shooting out of the room at top speed, the hanged ghost quickly hung himself to the left of the door. His eyes constantly scanned his surroundings, making him look just like a human-shaped surveillance camera.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Su Li was directing two black, humanoid Soul Bodies to unpack his luggage. He put the dolls on the bed and patted their heads. They narrowed their eyes and nuzzled his palms.

"Master, this is the first time Yuan has seen you treat Witchcraft Dolls so well." A mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

"What, are you jealous?" Su Li teased.

Yuan didn't answer. Su Li grinned mischievously. "Don't worry, you're still my favorite~"

Yuan still spoke, whether out of shyness or something else.

Su Li had created these two Witchcraft Dolls by combining the power he collected through the Eye of Emotion with his own witch energy and the energy from Yuan's chip. They had consciousnesses of their own and could also harness emotions to use witchcraft. They could grow stronger by devouring souls, and both were very dependent on Su Li. He had also named them: the girl was Xiaoxue, and the boy was Xiaohan.

The humanoid Soul Bodies were shadows Su Li had created with witchcraft. They had little consciousness or ability and were used only as servants.

Su Li knew that entities such as undead Soul Bodies existed on Blue Star, but he hadn't found many recently. He hadn't expected there to be so many in this manor. Ghostly Soul Bodies could also provide him with emotional energy, and it was even purer.

After coming out of the shower, Su Li received lunch from the production team: an ordinary boxed meal with only two vegetable dishes.

"Is this all?"

"This is all that's left. You're lucky you have anything to eat. What more do you want?" The staff member glared at him, his tone hostile, then turned and left as soon as he finished speaking.

"Yuan, did you see that? The show hasn't even started, and there's already low-grade nourishment." Though Su Li was smiling, his gaze gradually turned icy.

"Master, I found out that Zhao Yuhao had his assistant give the logistics team perks so they would deliberately send you poor-quality food all day today. This place is remote, making takeout difficult to order. That way, you'd be in poor condition tomorrow." Yuan's voice carried killing intent.

Sensing their emotions, the Witchcraft Dolls flew to Su Li's side, and the auras around them began to change as well.

Before long, a knock came at the door. Knowing that the hanged ghost wanted to come in, Su Li had a shadow open it.

Sensing the dangerous atmosphere in the room, the hanged ghost shrank back, but still spoke. "My lord, I noticed that the food that human just delivered to the other rooms was different from yours. How dare they do something like this! I came specifically to report it to you."

As Su Li ate the sushi Yuan had brought him, he gave his orders. "I don't like low-grade nourishment. That staff member and the head of the logistics team-I think you know what to do. Just don't kill them for now."

"Yes, my lord. I'll make sure it's done!"

"Do a good job and there'll be a reward. Go."

The hanged ghost grew even more excited. "Of course, my lord! I'll do a splendid job." With that, he rushed out of the room, not forgetting to close the door behind him.

"Master, I'll go deal with that Zhao Yuhao." Yuan's voice remained icy.

Su Li took a sip of milk tea. "Him? There's no hurry. He's still of some use for now. We can take our time playing with him."

"Yes, Master."