Qu Nanzhu was a little bewildered too. He had never expected them to be two familiar faces.
But he quickly accepted it, not feeling in the slightest that he was unworthy of being called their senior. He nodded and asked, "Your masters sent you?"
In front of Qu Nanzhu, Daoqing instantly went from a masterly figure to a callow youth, still scratching his head. "Our masters told us to learn more from you."
Qu Nanzhu was expressionless. "Oh."
Qu Nanzhu looked at him. "Have you paid the tuition?"
Qu Nanzhu griped, "Your masters are pretty lazy, then, dumping you on me instead of teaching you themselves."
Daoqing and Daoming: "..." They dared not make a peep. They really dared not make a peep. They dared not imagine how mortified their two masters watching the livestream must be.
The others who heard this were having some trouble keeping their composure too.
Why did this make it sound like Qu Nanzhu held a very high position among celestial masters!!?
Seeing that the atmosphere was off, the floor director promptly stepped in to break the awkwardness, urging everyone to head over and hear the director explain the filming process ahead.
Director Li stood in front of the villa, his expression kindly as he looked at the guests with eyes full of affection-or, more precisely, at Qu Nanzhu.
His gaze held the tenderness and affection of someone looking at the most accomplished member of his younger generation, so intense it was impossible to ignore.
Enveloped in that unwavering gaze, Qu Nanzhu felt uncomfortable all over.
He wouldn't deny that he was exceptionally capable and fairly good-looking, and he had even made a special effort with his appearance today, but wasn't Director Li going a little overboard, staring at him like this?
He could even feel that gaze roaming over his face and body.
It was utterly impossible to ignore.
Qu Nanzhu sighed inwardly, shifted his feet, and raised his eyes to meet the director's gaze, so full of "fatherly love."
He offered an awkward yet polite smile and gave the director the tiniest nod.
There was a little stiffness to his forced social performance. Then he casually looked away, pretending to study the ivy on the villa's outer wall intently.
When had Candlelight in the livestream ever seen Qu Nanzhu like this? Every one of them was delighted.
[Hahaha, the director looks at Master Qu like he's looking at his own chubby grandson!]
[God Qu: this ivy sure is ivy.]
[So cute! He looks like he's being forced to socialize, hahaha!]
[Director: my precious darling. Qu Nanzhu: help.]
Having received this greeting, Director Li smiled even more brightly and began hosting the opening, thoroughly satisfied.
Wearing the gentle smile familiar to people in the industry, he tapped the megaphone to test it, then spoke into it.
"First, welcome, everyone, to the livestream filming location for 'Master.'" His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it clearly. "We're all old friends, so I'll skip the introductions. Just call me Director Li as usual. If you want to cozy up to me for a little more screen time, call me Brother Li."
The moment he finished, Su Liyun called out, "Brother Li," making the guests there and the livestream viewers chuckle.
The others followed suit, calling out a few times. Only Qu Nanzhu's gaze remained on the villa wall, though his expression was no longer as casual as before.
Daoqing and Daoming, standing on either side of Director Li, noticed this and exchanged a look.
When he had gotten out of the car earlier, he hadn't looked closely and had only felt that the villa's yin energy was frighteningly dense. Now it seemed the situation inside was rather complicated too.
As Qu Nanzhu was thinking this, he suddenly felt many gazes settle on him. He turned back and met a dozen or so pairs of curious eyes.
It turned out that Director Li had been watching him while he was a little distracted, and the other guests had followed his gaze.
Director Li asked kindly, "Master Qu, you've been looking over there. Is something wrong?"
Qu Nanzhu didn't answer directly. He only rubbed his nose and said, "If Director Li picked it as the filming location for a supernatural show, wouldn't nothing being wrong be the biggest problem?"
Director Li nodded in satisfaction and began explaining their filming assignment to the guests, whose expressions were already showing some hesitation.
"You've all seen the villa behind me, right? This villa was first built thirty years ago. A famous local tycoon spent a fortune hiring a feng shui master to select this auspicious site. Once the villa was finished, his whole family moved in. During the first year, everything really did go smoothly for them, but problems started in the second year."
"First, the tycoon's youngest son fell from the second floor and died on the spot. Three months later, the tycoon's mother fell into the swimming pool and died. It's worth noting that she knew how to swim, but according to the forensic findings, she happened to have a leg cramp at the time."
"Next were the tycoon's wife and eldest daughter. A burglar who broke into the house pushed them down the stairs, killing them on the spot. The burglar has since been arrested, but the tycoon's family was completely destroyed."
"In the end, the devastated tycoon chose to sell the villa and now lives abroad. This house became a haunted building. Three households moved in afterward, and all of them died under mysterious circumstances. It has been abandoned ever since."
Once Director Li finished, Su Liyun immediately voiced her question. "Did the three households that moved in afterward all die in accidents?"
Director Li looked at her and nodded. "Yes. Twelve people in total, all killed in accidents."
They fell silent for a moment.
[Whoa, the very first assignment is already this intense?]
[It feels like watching a mystery movie. There have been variety shows about solving cases before, but those were scripted stories. This is real people and real events!]
[And it's supernatural! Sixteen people lived in this house, and fifteen died!]
[Do you really need to brainwash yourself like that? The tycoon didn't die, did he? Maybe he orchestrated the whole thing himself.]
[For what? To destroy his own family? And even if he did orchestrate his family's deaths, what about the twelve people who moved in afterward? Would the tycoon, far away overseas, need to kill them too?]
[This really is a supernatural incident. Let me state first that I'm a local. I've heard about the haunted building in Sha District since I was little.]
[Blind guess: the person above isn't thirty yet.]
[...]
Zhao Lin's thoughts were much the same as those in the comments. In a superior tone, she said, "Maybe the tycoon did it himself. His goal was to get rid of his elderly mother and the children dragging him down, then run off abroad to enjoy himself."
Beside her, Lu Luqing asked with an easygoing smile, "Then why did the twelve people who moved in afterward die mysteriously?"
Zhao Lin said, "So you're saying ghosts did it? The police already said they were accidents. Why do you still have to overthink it? Don't you think it's disrespectful to put people's deaths on display for entertainment?"
Lu Luqing stopped speaking.
He kept smiling.
Fucking lunatic.
Unable to stand Zhao Lin's attitude, Bai Shiyu spoke up. "But twelve people all dying is really strange, isn't it? Brother Lu was just making a reasonable guess."
Zhao Lin shot him a sidelong glance and rolled her eyes. "Right, I was wrong. Ghosts did it. Master Qu, or whatever your name is, sorry for the trouble, but hurry up and capture the ghosts. Then the show can end, everyone's happy, and we can all go home to our mommies."
[This is making me angry for no reason.]
[It's hilarious thinking about those people who say God Qu is backed by capital. This is what being backed by capital looks like, understand?]
[Who here isn't her senior? And who here is as arrogant as she is?]
[With her as a contrast, even that scammer master is starting to look good to me.]
[Stop calling him a scammer every other word. Does God Qu have to yank out your soul, season it with cumin, and roast it over karmic fire for forty-nine days before you learn what respect means?]
[Well said, commenter above.]
Zhao Lin's words soured the expressions of the seniors present. They weren't idiots. With things having reached this point, they certainly knew the production team wasn't faking it, and the talk of ghosts was most likely true too.
Their most important task now was to follow the two celestial masters' arrangements later and finish filming the show safely.
Seeing the atmosphere reach a stalemate, Director Li coughed twice and ushered the two celestial masters beside him forward.