Jian Jing was just there to watch the fun at first, but as soon as they met, the other party immediately made a big move.
"What do you mean I'm still alive?" She was surprised, "Should I be dead?"
Master Long then seemed to come back to his senses, awkwardly said: "It was just a slip of the tongue, don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously." Then it was as if nothing had been said at all, and he continued busying himself with what was in his hands.
Director Li wanted to say something but stopped, while Jiang BaiYan was very unhappy: "Teacher Jingjing, don't listen to his nonsense, you've seen more dead people than ghosts he's seen."
Jian Jing: "???"
What do you mean, taking revenge on her for saying he was a liar?
Petty.
After a series of complex preparations, the exorcism ritual officially began.
Master Long held the dharma bell in one hand, swung it with one hand, and the crisp sound of bells echoed in the gloomy old building, quite eerie.
He chanted spells in his mouth, and soon took out a copper bell and struck it with a "ding".
The echo was endless, lingering in the air.
The incense on the incense case went out abruptly.
The talismans placed on the case changed, and the originally bright cinnabar quickly became dark, as if they were losing power. Beads of sweat emerged on Master Long's forehead.
His face was pale, and he chanted the scriptures faster and faster.
The talismans began to smoke.
Wisps of blue smoke diffused, giving off a strong and strange bloody smell.
Master Long spat out, "Yin and yang have different paths, evil spirits retreat, I order you to leave quickly--" Before he could finish speaking, he spit out blood, staggered a few steps, and almost fell to the ground.
Director Li was shocked: "Master?"
"I'm fine." Master Long wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, said bitterly, "I'm ashamed, I let that female ghost get away."
Director Li comforted: "You did your best, it's just..." He hesitated uneasily, "Is that female ghost so powerful?"
"She died with injustice, her resentment pierced the sky. After hundreds of years, she has long been a overlord here, extremely difficult to deal with." Master Long said hesitantly, "Besides, she seems to hate men extremely. Just now when I looked at the yin qi here, there were more men and fewer women, especially him."
He nodded at the supporting male role Qu, with a strange expression: "The concentration of Yin Qi is so thick that I have rarely seen in my life. I'm afraid there is more than one female ghost."
Jian Jing curiously asked, "Are there other ghosts around him?"
"Hard to say." Master Long sighed lightly and sighed, "I'm just average in talent and haven't opened my heavenly eyes, so I can't see clearly."
"Then how did you know?"
"Unless you are gifted, ordinary people simply cannot see fox demons, gods and ghosts in their eyes." Master Long said, "I rely on my sense of qi. Cultivators have keen perception, just like chefs with excellent taste buds who can discern smells that are overlooked by ordinary people."
He pointed at the ugly-looking supporting male role Qu and talked eloquently: "For example, he has mixed smells on him, but with strong unwillingness and resentment. The most pungent one does not seem to be directly related to him, seeming vague."
"What about him?" Jian Jing casually pointed to Jiang BaiYan.
Master Long hesitated and said, "Hard to say. Yin qi also lingers around him, vaguely, I'm afraid he will get involved."
Sister Chen who believes in superstition nods her head and says, "That's right!"
"What about me?" Jian Jing continued to ask.
Master Long suddenly shut up.
She urged: "Why don't you say it?"
"I don't want to cause trouble." After leaving this sentence, Master Long refused to pay attention to him anymore. Instead, he said to supporting male role Qu, "If you don't make preparations early, I'm afraid your life will be threatened."
The supporting male role Qu didn't believe in these things at all. He mocked, "How much do you want to get from me to resolve this? One thousand? Ten thousand? Or one million?"
Master Long's expression changed drastically. He said coldly, "How can this be! Do you think I'm one of those swindlers?" He laughed angrily and threatened, "Okay, just for what you just said, even if you kneel down and beg me, I will never save you."
He walked away angrily and said directly to Director Li, "I won't charge you money this time, let's just forget about it."
Director Li was shocked and quickly spoke kind words to keep him.
After much efforts Director Li finally eased Master Long's expression. Master Long earnestly said, "This was originally the haunt of the female ghost. You guys came here to film, you should explain things nicely and make peace."
So Director Li asked what should be done.
Of course, Master Long's method was also very simple: burn more spirit money, offer some tributes, and most importantly, do not anger the female ghost, otherwise there will definitely be crazy revenge.
Director Li agreed to everything and asked him to be sure to go to the best restaurant in town to eat.
It was hard to refuse his hospitality. Master Long reluctantly agreed.
After the two left, the supporting male role Qu spat twice, and said to his agent, "If they want to plot against me, it won't be so easy." He looked around and sneered coldly, "Whoever makes my life difficult, I will make his life difficult too."
The agent opened his mouth as if he wanted to advise something. But the supporting male role Qu ignored him at all, turned and left. The agent had no choice but to hurry to follow him and whispered, "Be patient, there are so many people here..."
I didn't hear the rest.
"I have something to do, I have to go first."
The female lead Bei perfunctorily said goodbye, also full of worries on her face as she left.
Jiang BaiYan scratched his cheek and asked Jian Jing, "Jingjing, what do you think?"
Jian Jing shook her head: "Hard to say."
Master Long looked like a liar, but after walking many nights, she was inevitably suspicious now. She didn't dare to say that the other party really had no skills--Since there is a Qi Tian who can do it, can't others have true talents?
However, the system did not prompt anything throughout.
That's very tormenting.
"Let's wait and see. Anyway, I have nothing to do since I've submitted the manuscript." People who have handed in their manuscripts have the right to be willful. Jian Jing decided to stay in Ning County for a few days as a tourist.
She thought, "What do you think, should I write a ancient version prequel about the demon's past for Demon 4?"
Jiang BaiYan immediately asked, "Can you leave me a role?"
Jian Jing said, "You have to ask Director Huang about this."
"No need to ask, he must be willing." Jiang BaiYan knew his status well. "If I don't mention it, he definitely won't take the initiative to find me. But I really want to act in your book!"
He said bitterly, "Is Demon 4 about to end? The last time."
"Uh, how do you know I plan to finish it?"
"Fickleness is the nature of women..." Before he could finish speaking, his cheeks were pinched again, "I'm wrong."
Jian Jing regretfully retracted her hand.
Cats are cute, but when they stick their paws in cups on purpose to make trouble, they really deserve a beating.
In the next few hours, Jian Jing visited some ancient buildings in Ning County, the most valuable of which were formerly owned by local rich families.
Among them, the most famous was the Zhang family. They were the leaders in Ning County. Their biggest house occupied half a street. The houses of other clansmen surrounded the ancestral hall in the middle. The entire northeast corner of the land used to be surnamed Zhang.
Currently, only three parts of the Zhang family old house have been preserved.
One is the ancestral hall. Ancient people valued clans. When they encountered wars, they would first gather their clansmen in the ancestral hall. The rich people in the clan would also often donate money to repair it. It was repaired from the Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty, with vivid details.
Second is the family house of the Zhang clan leader, which is also the filming site for rent.
The third is the Zhang family garden, which used to be the landlord ancestor’s house along with the B&B. Compared with the homes of the clan leader and ancestral hall, the style of this mansion is more Western, incorporating many Western elements.
According to the landlord, his ancestors had studied abroad and rebuilt the old house when they returned home. At that time, it was the most fashionable household in the county.
In a small corner of the garden, Jian Jing saw the story of a rich family's daughter who died.
It is said that influenced by new ideas, she opposed arranged marriage and refused to marry the man her family had found for her. Instead, she secretly married a scholar.
The scholar said he would marry her, but after becoming famous all over the country for his articles, he abandoned the rich man's daughter--no matter how rich the daughter's family was, they were just landlords, while the one he married later was the younger sister of a senior official in the political circle at that time.
Not long after he left, Ms. Zhang was pregnant.
At that time, the concept in the county was still very feudal. Premarital pregnancy was a disgrace even in big cities, not to mention small places. The Zhang family was a big clan, and the head of the clan held the power of life and death. Under the strong demands of the clan elders, she only had two choices.
Either commit suicide to preserve the Zhang family’s reputation, or be expelled from the family and never be able to return home.
Ms Zhang had a tough personality. She hanged herself at home.
The case was recorded in the county’s chronicles. When the Zhang family garden was restored, she was portrayed as a typical figure who resisted arranged marriages and criticized feudal rituals and teachings. Only then could later generations see this story.
In the afternoon, filming at the scene resumed normally.
This scene is very important, relating to the male lead's change in mentality, while also serving as a confrontation scene between the male lead, female lead and supporting male role, with all three appearing in the same shot.
The process does not go very smoothly.
Bei, the female lead, is a famous diva, and is not of the same style as Zheng Keyan, but their popularity is comparable, and in recent years there has been no shortage of hype about her acting skills. She does not want to be outshone by Jiang BaiYan, 10 years her junior.
She acts very forcefully.
Jiang BaiYan has no choice but to keep up.
The two do not give way to each other, making things very difficult for supporting male role Qu, who cannot get a word in edgewise and is completely overwhelmed.
Director Li is furious.
He has no choice but to speak to them individually, and Bei promises to relax a little, while Jiang BaiYan promises to respect his senior. No one knows what was discussed with supporting male role Qu, but they overhear him utter threats: "You just don't want me to act, don't think I don't know about what happened before?"
With that he storms out, and says to the onlookers, "Don't think you can trick me so easily."
The set falls silent.
He strides off arrogantly.
Director Li charges out, red-faced with rage, and everyone is afraid he will erupt, so they all avoid his gaze.
Sure enough, the next instant, his roar resounds to the heavens: "What are you looking at? Get back to work! Who do you think you are, expecting to get paid for doing nothing?"
The crowd he implicitly scolds does not dare to talk back one bit.
The director is in a bad mood, so naturally the atmosphere on set grows increasingly oppressive, and it is past 10 pm by the time they finish shooting.
Returning to his room, Jiang BaiYan hurriedly showers then video calls Jian Jing.
"I have a very bad feeling, if this keeps up, this drama is going to tank." He is dejected, "The script and director are good, it's just my bad luck to have to work with him. If he knows they don't want him to act, why can't he take the initiative to quit?"
Jian Jing is curious: "What exactly did he do that you all have to tiptoe around him so much?"
"Some over the top things." Jiang BaiYan gives evasive answers, moving the camera farther away, "Can you hear that, there's a woman talking outside, he must have brought another girlfriend back again."
Jian Jing expresses her sympathy, but is powerless to help.
The two chat about this and that for a while, and just past midnight Jiang BaiYan falls asleep.
The video call is not ended, and through the phone camera one can see his sleeping face nestled into the pillow, his messy bangs, his rhythmic breathing, his long lashes. Even just the frontal camera view looks amazing enough for him to be a celebrity.
Jian Jing sneaks a couple glimpses at the screen, but does not hang up the video.
Who knows, maybe she'll catch something interesting on tape.
She opens up "The Fog", and tears open a bag of shrimp chips.
Crunch crunch, just as she is engrossed in her drama, the video suddenly transmits a shriek, giving her a fright and causing her to spill all the shrimp chips onto her bedsheet.
"Help!!" Despite being separated by the internet, the cry over there is still clear as day, "Ahhh!!"
Jiang BaiYan is jolted fully awake, wiping the corners of his mouth in confusion: "Who? Jingjing?"
"Who's screaming?" Jian Jing has completely abandoned her TV show, volume turned up max, "A woman?"
Jiang BaiYan's courage was tempered in Yellow Dusk Town, he steels himself and smartphone in hand, opens the door.
The screams grow even clearer.
"It's coming from Qu Jie's room." Jiang BaiYan says softly.
Jian Jing urges: "Go take a look."
"Hold on, let me get Director Li first." He cuts through a side door, and finds Director Li's room to knock, "Director, are you sleeping? Wake up."
Director Li flings the door open full of irritation: "What do you want? Who's making a ruckus in the dead of night?"
Jiang BaiYan points at supporting male role Qu's room.
Director Li presses at his temples, anger welling up: "What's his deal now? Will it ever end? Does he think this is his home?"
"Let's go take a look." Jiang BaiYan suggests, "In case something happens."
Director Li reluctantly nods, and strides over to the opposite room, shouting loudly, "Little Qu, it's the middle of the night, quiet down."
"Help..." A female voice cries out plaintively from within, the lights are on clearly.
Director Li and Jiang BaiYan exchange a look, both sensing things are not good, and hurriedly push open the door.
It's locked.
"Open the door." Jiang BaiYan pounds at the door, "Unlock it first."
Half a minute later, the door opens a crack, revealing a pale face. The girl leans against the doorframe, her body continuously slipping downward, stammering in fright: "There's a ghost, help...there's a ghost!"
Jian Jing is already impatient from waiting, urging him: "Point the camera inside, let me get a look."
Jiang BaiYan turns the camera around, not daring to step in himself, stretching his arm in to shine the light.
"Is there a ghost?" He asks apprehensively.
For a long while, there is only silence from the other end of the video.
The author has something to say: Conan's law, arrogant characters will always come to a bad end...
Little Bai is really working hard, kids with nothing always strive the most.
