In the videos provided by people at the scene, a teenage boy led two strong young men in prying open the wrecked car doors and rescuing the unconscious victims.
He was thin, but his steps were steady, and he moved with a clear sense of direction. He even told people exactly which black sedan to overturn, rescuing someone trapped beneath it.
Netizens were abuzz.
[Holy shit! Who is this guy?! Handsome AND brave? Let me be the first to fall for him!]
[He looks familiar! Aaaaaah, come on, stupid brain, remember who he is!]
[Wait, how did he know exactly where someone was trapped under a car?]
[He tore a car door open with his bare hands?? Am I seeing things?!]
[Did nobody notice his own forehead was still bleeding? TAT]
[Has anyone dug up his identity? Those moves and that composure are definitely not ordinary!]
[I was there. He was super steady directing the evacuation the whole time, like he already knew where everyone was. So amazing!]
Two hours passed, and nobody had uncovered Qu Nanzhu's identity.
Clearly, Xiao Zhu really had no online presence whatsoever.
As the online discussion continued, so did the live news coverage at the scene. Soon, a reporter interviewed the middle-aged driver, who was still there because his car had been rear-ended.
He clearly had yet to fully recover and still looked dazed. The female reporter's questions restored some of his sense of presence, and when he spoke, his voice trembled with the agitation of having narrowly escaped death.
Facing the camera, his lips quivered a few times. "That boy was my passenger. He just saved my life..."
Tears welled up as he spoke, his voice choking. "He said he was an online fortune-teller, so I thought I'd ask him to tell my fortune. But he took one look at me and immediately told me to stop. Before I could even react, that truck came barreling out... I! If I hadn't stopped, I would've..."
He couldn't quite go on. Raising a hand, he wiped his face hard, but the tears and sweat kept streaming down.
His reaction actually left the reporter feeling rather awkward. What he was saying was simply too far-fetched.
But the driver's tears were so genuine that he really didn't seem to be lying.
Once this clip aired, someone finally followed the online influencer clue and found Qu Nanzhu's Douyin account.
Meanwhile, Qu Nanzhu, who was preparing to make a comeback, had just hidden Xiao Zhu's previous posts, leaving only a self-introduction video.
It lasted a few seconds, showing the body's original owner looking into the camera, stiffly introducing himself and asking people to follow him.
That one short video then became an outlet for the excitement of countless netizens.
[I'm here to follow you, handsome! You looked so cool saving those people!]
[That's clearly my long-lost wife!!!]
[Does your wife know he's your wife?]
[Did he really save that driver's life through fortune-telling? I've got goosebumps, sob sob sob.]
[Girl, same!!!]
[Thanks, I'm a guy.]
[Master, look at me! Can you tell me when I'll stop being single?]
[I can tell your fortune for that one. In your next life, hahahaha.]
[Get looooooost!!!]
[Isn't this obviously scripted? A fortune-telling influencer just happens to run into a car crash AND predict it?]
[People really will do anything for fame these days. They'd even stage a car crash?]
[So you do know a car crash can't be staged. Where's your brain?]
[Someone should check whether the truck driver was played by a relative of his.]
[What's that thing between your ears?]
[Fortune smiling down on him, 666.]
[A fortune-telling streamer turns around and becomes a people's hero? Sure bought that trending spot fast.]
[Thank you for acknowledging he's a hero. Rose.]
[Waiting for the twist. Here for the face-slapping.]
[Saving people deserves praise, but the timing was so convenient you can't help being suspicious.]
[So from now on, people have to consider the timing before saving someone? Haha.]
[If he can predict the future, why doesn't he buy lottery tickets? Who's he trying to fool?]
[Bro, can you not tell the difference between fortune-telling and predicting the future?]
[Judging by the videos taken at the scene, he was decisive every time he rescued someone. It really did look like he knew where the injured were beforehand.]
[Reserving judgment for now, but there's no disputing that he saved people, and that deserves recognition.]
[If it's real, I hope he uses this ability to help more people. If it's a publicity stunt, know when to stop.]
[At least he did what most people wouldn't dare to do. That's impressive in itself.]
The comments were mixed, but the vast majority praised and supported him for saving people.
Some, however, latched onto the driver's claim that he told fortunes and insisted it was a publicity stunt.
Qu Nanzhu knew nothing about any of this. He was buying yellow talisman paper and cinnabar at a shop called the Heaven and Earth Studio.
With a grand total of 563 yuan to his name, Qu Nanzhu fell silent at the sight of blank yellow talisman paper priced at 50 yuan a sheet.
He wanted to set up a better Spirit Gathering Array for Xiao Zhu, which naturally required high-quality talisman paper, not to mention cinnabar, which cost over a hundred yuan per gram.
He couldn't afford it. He simply couldn't afford it.
After much deliberation, Qu Nanzhu miserly bought seven sheets of blank yellow talisman paper and two grams of cinnabar, figuring it would be enough if he mixed it with his own blood once he got home.
While paying, he noticed a jade pendant the shopkeeper had placed behind the counter. Its texture was lustrous and smooth as fine fat, and a gentle radiance shone through the warm white jade.
Though it wasn't as good as soul-nourishing jade, it would still make a very good temporary vessel for Xiao Zhu.
He just couldn't afford it.
He still needed to find Xiao Zhu a better vessel sooner rather than later.
Without enough money for a taxi home, Qu Nanzhu took two buses. Occasionally, someone on board would look over with an inquisitive gaze, but he assumed they were curious about the wound on his head.
By the time he got home and finished drawing the talismans, it was almost six. He walked around the room, looking things over, and finally found a suitable corner to set up the array.
He placed the leaf in the center of the array. As Qu Nanzhu tossed out the seven talismans, they automatically flew into their respective positions.
Golden light rose, and the array took shape.
When he picked up his phone again, the Douyin app icon displayed a red notification badge reading 999+. Curious, Qu Nanzhu tapped it, and the sheer volume of notifications made the screen freeze for a moment.
Qu Nanzhu opened his inbox. Likes: 999+. Comments: 999+. New followers: 999+. At a glance, red notification dots filled almost the entire screen.
Checking his profile, he found he now had 360,000 followers. His only video had already reached thirty million views, and the number was still climbing.
Qu Nanzhu tapped it. The top comments with the most likes all praised him for bravely saving people, and he immediately understood what had happened.
He spent a few minutes watching the videos of his rescues circulating online. Official media accounts had reposted them too, and they were all drawing considerable attention. Two trending topics were about him-
One was about him saving people, and the other was about his fortune-telling.
Qu Nanzhu opened the second one. It concerned the interview with the driver, and someone in the comments asked:
[A fortune-telling streamer? I've watched his streams. He's always been an entertainment streamer, basically just sitting there chatting and singing.]
[I checked his profile. Lots of videos have been deleted. Don't know if he's feeling guilty or what.]
[Could this be a publicity stunt? I don't mean the crash, just what the driver said. Maybe he wants to use this chance to get famous and coast on a fortune-teller persona for the rest of his life.]
[Has it occurred to you that he could also coast on being a people's hero for the rest of his life?]
[Fine, forget I said anything. Apparently even reasonable speculation isn't allowed anymore.]
[Reasonable by your standards? Then sure, very reasonable.]
There was no denying how much controversy it had stirred.
Qu Nanzhu hadn't expected things to go this way. When he saved those people, aside from wanting merit, he had acted more out of instinct.
But this development wasn't a bad thing.
With that thought, he replied to the two comments with the most likes-
Qu's Bamboo: [I used to be an entertainment streamer. I've just switched over. My first fortune-telling stream will be tonight at eight.]
Qu's Bamboo: [It's not guilt. It's a fresh start.]