"Stand there, right there! I'll drive it toward you!"
"Hey, what are you doing? You scared my ghost away!!"
"I should be asking you that! Can't you see I'm catching ghosts?"
"Unbelievable. Another ghost let the one I'd just tied up escape."
"Catch that one first. He's the sneakiest of the lot."
"Fine, let's work together, then."
The guests who had been trembling in fear of ghosts just ten-odd minutes earlier instantly grew bolder once they discovered that these ghosts really wouldn't hurt anyone and only floated around aimlessly. They ran all over the villa catching ghosts.
Although the livestream viewers couldn't see the ghosts, they could see the mulberry silk in the guests' hands binding something in midair, so they understood that this wasn't an act.
Especially when they saw the stars who had looked so glamorous ten-odd minutes earlier now catching ghosts with dust flying over their heads and their faces filthy, they practically died laughing.
Bai Shiyu went all out more than anyone else, throwing himself onto the floor to catch ghosts several times just so he could catch more than the others and show off.
The ghost-catching scene was utter chaos.
[Well, this is a little different from what I imagined]
[Oh, so you're settling personal scores, Shiyu? I saw him smear dust on Wenxi's face]
[God, when has our Sister Yun ever looked this undignified?]
[Not a thought of keeping up appearances in their eyes, only the desire to catch ghosts]
Daoqing and Daoming also brought over chairs and sat down. Watching the guests leap and scramble around, they abandoned their dignified masterly bearing and roared with laughter.
Qu Nanzhu laughed without any restraint, eating tangerines as he watched the show, thoroughly enjoying himself.
It wasn't until nearly four that the guests finally cleared all the ghosts out of the villa.
They sat in the rest tent and let their assistants wipe the dust off their faces, still comparing their tallies.
Bai Shiyu looked immensely pleased with himself. "I caught thirty-two."
Luo Wenxi gave him a speechless look. "Well, aren't you impressive? I only caught twenty-three."
Zhou Mingzhong sighed. "I'm old and useless now. I only caught eleven."
Lin Qianyu explained quietly, "They ran too fast. I only caught sixteen."
Su Liyun made a show of modest restraint. "I did a little better, then. I caught twenty-one."
Lu Luqing kneaded his weak thighs. "I couldn't keep up physically, so I only caught fifteen."
Zhao Lin, meanwhile, looked utterly disgusted. "I caught about four. It was filthy and exhausting."
She was the cleanest of them all, from head to toe.
The others offered no comment on that.
Daoqing lifted the tent flap and walked in. His face still ached a little from laughing earlier, so he could only speak with a straight face, which made him look rather serious. "Everyone, rest for half an hour. We'll go set up the formation first."
They nodded in agreement.
Outside, Daoming and Qu Nanzhu were setting up the formation, so the cameras mainly focused on them.
Qu Nanzhu walked ahead, with Daoming following behind carrying eight bronze mirrors.
"Here, the Qian position."
"The Kun position."
"The Zhen position."
"The Xun position."
"Over here..."
[Let me explain for anyone who doesn't understand. The Qian position is northwest, Kun is southwest, Zhen is east, and Xun is southeast...]
[Look, look, look. This is what you call professional]
[Can't they just say north, south, east, and west?]
After placing the bronze mirrors in the eight directions, Qu Nanzhu led Daoming to the heaven and earth positions, which he and Daoqing would each occupy later.
Once the positions were confirmed, Daoming brought over cinnabar mixed with cooked glutinous rice and drew the eight trigrams diagram around the villa. It was a sizable undertaking, so Qu Nanzhu picked up the supplies and helped draw it.
Daoqing was responsible for teaching the guests to recite the scripture they would need later.
With their tasks clearly divided, it wasn't until after five that they officially activated the formation.
Qu Nanzhu and the other two each led guests to formation nodes, leaving the eighth node to Little Eighteen, who had been eager to show what she could do.
[Wow, wow, wow, our Little Eighteen gets a part too?]
[Waaah, it's been all day, and we finally get to see her again]
[She really is a paper figure. That's amazing]
The three repeatedly reminded them that they absolutely had to keep reciting the scripture over and over in their minds.
They also had to keep their footing.
At first, they didn't quite understand what that meant, but they nodded in agreement anyway.
Then the formation activated. They watched with their own eyes as it lit up, while a wind rose from its center, gradually swirling up and consuming the black qi surrounding the villa.
What began as a light breeze stirring their hair instantly turned into a gale strong enough to practically blow a person away.
The others at the scene and the viewers couldn't see the formation's light or the black qi being swept up, but they could see the clothes of those inside the formation whipping wildly and the surrounding vegetation swaying madly.
[Stop, stop, don't blow our Little Feather away]
[I can feel how much that wind hurts their faces through the screen. Wenxi can't even open her eyes]
[You can tell Lulu is eager to learn. He's still forcing his eyes wide open to watch God Qu]
[Looks like God Qu really is a god. He's standing in the center of the formation where the wind is strongest and hasn't even blinked]
[I can't, these grown men are less sturdy than a paper figure]
[Little Eighteen is pretty fierce. She's holding that mirror in such strong wind without budging at all]
The formation continued for about five minutes before everything fell quiet. The villa, previously surrounded by yin qi, finally returned to normal.
Daoqing and Daoming exchanged smiles, both delighted that they could finish work early today.
The seven guests, however, collapsed on the ground and refused to get up. They had truly exceeded their exercise quotas for the day.
Qu Nanzhu walked over, raking through his messy hair as he asked, "Does anyone have a comb? My hair is tangled."
[Hahahahahahahahaha]
[You're ruining the atmosphere! Drag him out!]
Director Li cheerfully brought him a comb. "Thanks for all your hard work today, everyone. That pretty much wraps up this afternoon's livestream."
[Huh, that's it? That's so abrupt. Keep filming a little longer!]
[Exactly, waaah, I'm going to have withdrawal symptoms]
Director Li continued, "Uh... we'll be having a group dinner tonight, around eight. There'll be another livestream then, so anyone who wants to watch can wait for that. See you all later."
[Okay, bye bye bye bye]
[See you tonight]
[Today's stream was super exciting, though of course I think these guests had the most exciting time, seeing ghosts, catching ghosts, and even personally taking part in activating a formation!]
[Agreed, agreed. Suddenly I'm so jealous. Not only do they get a generous paycheck, they also get to experience a one-of-a-kind real ghost hunt!]
[Waaah, I'd pay to be on this variety show if I could]
[You're not alone, commenter above!]
Beep-
The livestream ended there, leaving the viewers wanting more and with no choice but to continue discussing it online.
Director Li went over and helped Zhou Mingzhong up, smiling as he shared the day's results with everyone.
"Thank you for all your hard work. Our peak concurrent viewership today was 3.6 million, a new record. The show is currently number one in popularity, far ahead of the other shows airing at the same time."
Hearing that, the guests immediately felt that everything they had experienced today had been worth it. In every respect, they had gained a great deal.
Su Liyun rested for a while, then stood and walked over to Qu Nanzhu. Chen Xun was helping him sort out his hair, and he grimaced every so often.
"Gently, gently. Ow, ow, ow."
Chen Xun said expressionlessly, "You should get a haircut."
Qu Nanzhu said, "No, I want to grow my hair long." He had had long hair in his previous life, and he liked it long.
"Master Qu." Su Liyun interjected at an opportune moment.
Qu Nanzhu looked at her, his eyes asking what she needed.
Su Liyun wore a gracious smile, her tone humble. "I'd like to apologize to you. Before today, I always thought you were a fraud hyped up by capital, so my attitude toward you wasn't very good. But today, you showed me another side of this world and taught me that I shouldn't define others by the limits of my own knowledge. I hope you'll forgive my earlier rudeness."
After hearing her out, Qu Nanzhu blinked.
From his very first look at these guests, he had gained a rough understanding of their personalities and character. They all had their little issues to varying degrees, but they didn't harm others.
He hadn't expected Su Liyun to take the initiative to apologize. Perhaps she wanted to build a good relationship with him, but it wasn't a bad thing, regardless.
Considering that she hadn't caused him any trouble, Qu Nanzhu readily accepted her apology.
The guests returned to the hotel and showered. With over half an hour left before dinner, Qu Nanzhu stayed in his room playing games.
Just then, Huo Sili sent him a message asking whether he was tired today.
Recalling how he had spent the entire afternoon enjoying the ghost-catching spectacle, Qu Nanzhu really couldn't bring himself to say he was tired.
Qu's Bamboo: [I watched them catch ghosts all afternoon. I'm a little tired from laughing]
Huo Sili held back his laughter: [That really must have been hard work for you]
Qu's Bamboo: [You're too kind. Just doing my part]
Huo: [Chen Xun said you want to grow your hair long]
Qu's Bamboo: [Yes, lots of people online say I don't have the bearing of a master]
Huo: [Are you going to grow a beard too, then?]
Qu's Bamboo: [Nope, too ugly]
Then he told Huo Sili about Su Liyun apologizing to him, saying that he hadn't actually cared about their attitudes at all.
Still, he had been quite surprised that Su Liyun apologized to him.