Lu Qiyao was the female streamer from another media company who had been dragged along with Xiao Zhu to entertain men over drinks back then, though she had probably gone willingly.
One of the bosses there had taken a fancy to Xiao Zhu and promised that if Xiao Zhu became his, he would make him the top streamer on a certain short-video platform. What had Xiao Zhu done then?
Qu Nanzhu recalled that Xiao Zhu had remained silent, neither agreeing nor objecting. Perhaps the others had thought he had accepted his fate, but he had actually just been working out how to escape.
That boss, surnamed Zhong, had told Xiao Zhu to come offer him a toast. Xiao Zhu had not moved, and the atmosphere around the table had gradually chilled. Just as Zhong was about to lose his temper-Lu Qiyao had stepped forward to offer a toast in a deliberately sweet voice.
Manager Zhong's ugly expression had softened a little, and he had held the beauty in his arms while eating the food she picked up for him.
As the banquet drew to a close, Manager Zhong had still insisted on Xiao Zhu by name, saying that everything would be negotiable once Xiao Zhu spent a night with him. Watching Manager Zhong insist on Xiao Zhu's company, Lu Qiyao had been unwilling to accept it, her eyes reddening with jealousy.
But who could have known that Xiao Zhu would refuse to go along with the arrangements entirely? Not only had he punched Manager Zhong, but he had also taken advantage of the chaos to kick him in the balls.
The private room had erupted into chaos. Lu Qiyao had crouched in a corner, her pretty face drained of color in fright. When the room finally quieted down, she had seen Xiao Zhu lying unconscious on the floor with his forehead split open, leaving her trembling with fear.
But what happened next had truly made her scalp prickle. Manager Zhong had tugged casually at his clothes and said, "He's stopped breathing. Find someone to take care of him."
But Xiao Zhu had not actually been beaten to death at the time. His injuries had merely been so severe that his soul had left his body. Under those circumstances, if a celestial master had come to save him, they could still have stuffed his soul back in.
Of course, that had been impossible.
What happened afterward was that Qu Nanzhu had happened to die and lose his cultivation as well, and his soul had been reborn in another world.
Strictly speaking, there was no grudge between Lu Qiyao and Qu Nanzhu. On the contrary, because of Xiao Zhu's unexpected death, Lu Qiyao had gained Manager Zhong's favor and become the top rookie streamer on that short-video platform.
So Qu Nanzhu really could not guess why she had come to him.
Almost as soon as her face appeared, people in the barrage recognized her and began squealing things like "A beauty!" and "Hi, wifey!" But Lu Qiyao did not glance at the barrage even once. Instead, she watched Qu Nanzhu opposite her with an unreadable gaze and pulled her lips into a smile. "Hello, Master."
Qu Nanzhu tilted his head at that. Was she pretending not to know me, or had she really forgotten?
Surely not? Something that serious happened. Someone died right in front of you.
Fortunately, Qu Nanzhu did not want unnecessary trouble either. He likewise pretended not to know her, nodding in greeting, thinking that he could end the stream after telling her fortune.
But Lu Qiyao's next words disappointed him.
Lu Qiyao concealed her fear very well. She sent Qu Nanzhu three thousand in gifts as his divination fee and said evenly, "I just wanted to ask you, Master, whether there is any power in this world that can bring the dead back to life."
As she spoke, her gaze remained fixed on Qu Nanzhu's face without wavering for a moment, trying to discern something from it.
Qu Nanzhu was merely a little surprised-surprised that Lu Qiyao would ask a question like that so directly. As for any other reaction, he really had none.
The viewers in the livestream were cheerful too, treating Lu Qiyao's words entirely as a joke.
[Well, well!! Yaoyao isn't streaming herself! She's come here to have her fortune told instead!!]
[Boohoo, this stream was so hard to find. Luckily, I'm a Zhu fan too. Hehe.]
[Sis, why are you suddenly asking such a fantastical question? Is there someone you want to bring back to life?]
[Bringing back the dead is a forbidden art, right? Besides, this stream has always emphasized karma, reincarnation, and eventual retribution. If you want to resurrect someone, you have to pay an equivalent price.]
[Could something that science can't explain have happened to someone around you, sis? I'm curious!]
All one could say was that the last comment had hit the truth. Lu Qiyao probably could not understand how someone who had clearly died was alive again. And not only was he alive, he had now become a hot commodity that all the major media companies were competing to win over.
Qu Nanzhu was not nervous about this at all. He said earnestly, "Under normal circumstances, no such thing exists. As that comment just said, our line of work emphasizes karma and reincarnation. Bringing the dead back to life goes against heaven. Forcibly changing someone's fate requires paying an equivalent price, so I advise you not to entertain such unrealistic ideas."
Lu Qiyao's expression worsened a little, but she quickly composed herself again. She brushed back the hair behind her ear, her tone remaining calm and unhurried. "I understand. Then please tell me about my financial fortune, Master."
Qu Nanzhu nodded and continued, "As the ancients said, 'Great virtue can bear all things.' Wealth is something you need sufficient blessings and virtue to sustain. I hope you understand what I mean."
[My gut says case closed. There's something wrong with this influencer.]
[I knew it. Like I said, this beauty got popular so suddenly. I don't believe there wasn't money pulling strings behind the scenes.]
[Don't spout nonsense if you don't know, okay? Yaoyao was born in the countryside. What money would she have backing her?]
[How naive. For a beauty like her, getting financial backing would be a piece of cake.]
[So you're spreading sexual rumors again? Just because of one vague remark from this fortune-teller?]
[You're the one who shouldn't yap when you don't know anything. Do I need to explain how legit God Qu's livestream is?]
[What the hell is going on? I come in and see people spreading rumors about our precious Yaoyao? Reported.]
[Go ahead and report us. Let's see if they dare ban this stream.]
Lu Qiyao wore a gentle smile, but where the camera could not see, she had already pinched her own hand red.
Lu Qiyao said, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I'll disconnect now."
Qu Nanzhu nodded obligingly. "Mm, bye-bye."
With that, he ended the call.
Qu Nanzhu had also seen the comments in the barrage and spoke up to interrupt the speculation. "Everyone, there's no need to make baseless guesses. If there really were a problem, I wouldn't leave it unsaid. That young lady just made a few small mistakes in the past. There's no need to dwell on them."
He already knew why she had come to him. Lu Qiyao was extremely self-serving and would stop at nothing to achieve her goals, even selling herself, so she had viewed Xiao Zhu as a competitor from the very beginning.
She had probably come to sound him out this time. After all, the purpose of that banquet could hardly be called respectable, and her conduct had been far from innocent.
Lu Qiyao did not harm others. She simply wanted to rise to a high position. She was hard on herself but worked hard enough, and she was reasonably attentive to her fans. Qu Nanzhu's words were more of a reminder.
If she had not shown up of her own accord, Qu Nanzhu probably would never have thought of those people again.
As for Manager Zhong, Qu Nanzhu had already transferred the karma onto himself on the very night of his rebirth. There was no need for him to act personally; karmic backlash alone could make that man surnamed Zhong suffer a fate worse than death.
His words also put a stop to the various speculative comments about Lu Qiyao in the barrage.
Lu Qiyao's fans clearly had not expected Qu Nanzhu to say that either. Just moments ago, they had been indignantly cursing him for spreading rumors, but now they could not swallow their pride and apologize or thank him, so they hastily left the stream.
[True, who hasn't made mistakes? Who in this stream can guarantee they're an absolutely good person? Since Master said there's no major problem, let's not slap labels on her.]
Having already disconnected, Lu Qiyao did not know what Qu Nanzhu had said in the livestream. She merely sat on her bed, anxiously biting her nails.
Several devoted fans sent her messages to comfort her, telling her not to take that charlatan's nonsense to heart. One big spender even transferred her 5,200 outright to show his concern.
Lu Qiyao replied to them one by one without putting much thought into it, her mind beginning to go over what Qu Nanzhu had just said.
She really was running out of options now. She had been unable to contact Manager Zhong lately, and when she finally managed to hear something, it turned out that he had liver cancer and was in the ICU!?
On top of that, the company had recently been discussing how to bring Qu Nanzhu into the fold. With Manager Zhong no longer backing her, several competitors who had joined the company at the same time as her had begun eyeing her position as its top female streamer, openly banding together against her.
After wrestling with herself for a while, she still opened a charitable donation website and donated three hundred thousand to mountainous regions in her own name. Then she put down her phone as though nothing had happened and went to shower.
She did not care whether what Qu Nanzhu had said was true or false. She could not fall. She had to stand high at the very top of the company.