Do documentaries have such high standards for looks now?

When Li Yuan came downstairs, he saw two figures of roughly the same height heading toward the entryway. In a panic, he called out, "Jian Ran, where are you going?"

"Didn't we agree on your pay?"

"It's one thing if you leave on your own, but why are you taking Emperor Lu too?"

Jian Ran glanced back with a radiant smile. "Emperor Lu is coming willingly. I didn't force him."

Hearing that, Li Yuan nearly cried. "Emperor Lu, we've already signed the contract. You can't just leave!"

"If you leave, the director will kill me!"

Lu Yanting deigned to turn his head. "If the director kills you, you'll at least have a little time. As for anything else, that's hard to say."

Li Yuan was speechless. What kind of cryptic talk is that? Why can't I understand it?!

Not wanting to waste time, Jian Ran told him the truth. "We're going into town to find out a few things. Any later, and we might not be able to get out."

"Really?" Li Yuan remained doubtful. "You're not lying to me?"

Jian Ran rolled his eyes. "Do I get paid for lying to you?"

"Just the two of you?" Li Yuan asked again.

Jian Ran scoffed. "Who else? Are you going to hire a few bodyguards for me?"

"No, no, no. I have faith in your abilities, Jian Ran, and yours too, Lu Yanting." Li Yuan waved his hands.

Funding wasn't easy to come by these days!

Jian Ran was about to leave when two more people came downstairs and stuck to them like burrs, speaking in unison. "Where are you going? I'm coming too."

Jian Ran looked at Yu Fengyi, his gaze lingering for less than half a second before shifting to Ji Yuanming's face. Finally, he gave Lu Yanting a meaningful look. "See? I told you."

"I'm fated to attract morons."

Yu Fengyi's and Ji Yuanming's faces fell at the same time, but both held back from lashing out.

At that moment, the two shared the same thought.

They absolutely couldn't let Jian Ran spend time alone with Lu Yanting. What if they developed feelings?

After all, their little group of people looking for substitutes had impure motives, and they often psychologically manipulated Jian Ran...

But Lu Yanting was different.

Although they didn't know what his aim was,

still,

he was undoubtedly the greatest threat!

"There's strength in numbers." Seeing the atmosphere grow tense once again, Li Yuan could only steel himself and play peacemaker. "Go together. We'll have dinner ready and wait for you to come back."

"Oh, and don't forget to promote our inn!"

And so, the four of them, along with the cameras, left the Mountain Villa and headed toward the national highway.

Jian Ran glanced back as if by chance and spotted several figures standing at the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Shen Jiafei, Yang Ruoxi, Du Yunmeng... The three stood in their respective rooms, their faces shrouded in shadow, their expressions unreadable. Against the shabby, antiquated Mountain Villa, they looked especially sinister, like a scene from a Western slasher film.

Besides them, he also saw something else.

Faint and indistinct,

black shadows drifting like ghosts...

"What are you looking at?" Ji Yuanming leaned over to ask.

Jian Ran moved away with a look of disgust. "None of your damn business."

"You-" Ji Yuanming was too angry to speak. He could only watch as Jian Ran strode over to Lu Yanting. The two put their heads together, discussing something he couldn't make out.

Yu Fengyi quietly came up beside him and lowered his voice. "Let's form a temporary alliance. Otherwise..."

Before he could finish, Ji Yuanming rushed to say, "I agree. An alliance!"

"If we keep letting this happen, Jian Ran will get stolen away!"

Following his memory, Jian Ran returned to the single-story home of the old man who walked like the wind. Looking over the fence, he saw a stooped figure-

The old woman was watering the vegetables in the yard.

Before going in, Jian Ran gave orders to the three behind him. "Ji Yuanming, stay here."

"The rest of you can come in with me or not. Suit yourselves."

Ji Yuanming immediately protested. "Why should I stay here?!"

Jian Ran sneered. "Why? Don't you have a damn clue?"

Despite the camera filming right in his face, Ji Yuanming still recalled the unpleasant incident in the yard that day. The rejection on the old woman's face had been so obvious that he couldn't ignore it even if he wanted to.

Yu Fengyi glanced back at him, signaling him to settle down.

Ji Yuanming could only swallow his anger. "Fine. I'll wait here."

Jian Ran curled his lip in distaste and stepped into the yard, immediately putting on a smile. "Ma'am, I'm back."

"I didn't get to hear the end of that story last time. I've been dying to know what happened next."

"So here I am again today!"

At his voice, the old woman straightened and turned around. The sight of Jian Ran's pretty face immediately brought a delighted smile to hers. "Oh, young man, it's you! Why have you..."

As she spoke, she spotted the two strangers following him. Hesitation and apprehension crept onto her wrinkled face. "Who are they?"

"My coworkers." Jian Ran made himself right at home, picking a low stool and sitting down. "We're filming a documentary together."

"A documentary?" The old woman sounded a little doubtful. "Do documentaries have such high standards for looks now?"

Jian Ran took her hand and helped her sit down. "Never mind them. How about continuing that story?"

"Did the village girl ever get her lover back?"

The old woman's expression suddenly shifted. "Young man, do you really want to hear the rest?"

Jian Ran nodded emphatically. "I have this problem. When I read a novel, I have to finish it, or I can't eat or drink."

The old woman sighed. Even in the scorching summer heat, there was a sinister chill to it. "Ah, that poor girl. Her lover never came back, and her belly began to grow."

"She started showing in the fourth month. The villagers noticed and began pointing fingers."

"Her parents couldn't stand the gossip, so they locked her in the house and wouldn't let her out."

"Later, they even tried to force her to get rid of the baby."

"Oh, young man, you know how traditional people were back then. Before long, word reached the elders at the ancestral hall."

"They decided the girl had disgraced public morals and sent people to tie her up and bring her in."

Something suddenly occurred to Jian Ran, and he asked, "Don't tell me they locked her in an iron cabinet?"

The old woman shook her head. "Not at first."

"To force her to tell them where her lover lived, the elders at the ancestral hall used the pig-cage punishment."

"They threw her into the water and pulled her out only when she was half-drowned."

"They tormented her until she nearly miscarried, but they still couldn't get an answer."

At that, Yu Fengyi couldn't help asking, "Why wouldn't she tell them where her lover lived? Didn't she want him to take responsibility for her?"

The old woman looked up at him, then spoke to Jian Ran. "That girl was too foolish. She insisted her lover had his difficulties, that his family mustn't be disturbed, and that he could only come back to marry her once he'd taken care of things."

"So no matter how they tortured her, she refused to speak."

"In the end, the elders ran out of options and resorted to the cruelest method."

Jian Ran's brows drew together slightly. He was about to speak when a clear, low voice came from behind him.

"The cruelest method was..." Lu Yanting raised his brows slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Locking the woman in an iron chest, then pouring sand and mud into it?"