Chapter 51: Rainstorm Wild Temple 13 Part 2
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The viewers in front of the camera held their breath, so afraid that some of them couldn’t even react to send messages in the chat. They endured the chilling sensation of goosebumps crawling up their bodies and watched everything unfold on the livestream.
Some viewers had initially come seeking excitement because they had heard about the haunted events in the previous episodes. However, after witnessing the ghosts firsthand, their previous excitement vanished, replaced by layer upon layer of fear building up in their hearts, causing their hearts to pound and making it difficult to catch their breath.
Some viewers were so scared that they cried, huddled under their blankets, trembling as they wiped away tears. They dared not make a sound, even though they knew they weren’t on the scene. They were still frightened by the actress’s clearly unnatural behavior, fearing that speaking up might attract her attention.
However, things always had a way of happening when you least wanted them to.
As Rourou passed by the live broadcasting equipment, she tripped over a fallen wire on the floor. Her already stiff and unresponsive legs instantly gave way, and she knelt down with a loud thud, pulling down the previously set up live broadcasting equipment in the process.
The viewers’ perspective spun wildly, and when it finally stabilized, they found themselves looking at the ground.
Directly at Rourou’s face.
Viewers: […………]
Well, they definitely had some bad luck today. How unlucky.
[Ahhhhhhhhh, what the f**k! Get away from there!!!]
[Damn it! I got so scared that I fell off my chair, my butt broke the chair. Now I’m stuck in this plastic circle, and there’s nowhere to run, facing the TV screen. Get rid of this screen now! I don’t want to keep watching her!!!]
[Is that the same Rourou? Wasn’t she the female lead in that romance drama a few days ago? I remember her being really good-looking. How did she turn into this? She wasn’t like this at night, it’s only been a short while, what happened?]
[Look at her hand! Look at her hand! There’s no flesh left, you can see the bones, my goodness!]
[I zoomed in on the screen and took a closer look. The wounds on her hand are fresh, and they have an irregular, jagged shape. Although the wounds are deep, it doesn’t look like they were caused by a sharp weapon. It’s more like they were bitten, and the size of the bite marks resembles human teeth. And she’s still eating something that looks like meat… Could it be that she did this to herself?
[To the person who enlarged the screen above, you’re a real warrior! I dare not look, and you actually zoomed in on the screen. Just thinking about the face of that ghost we saw earlier, I feel like I’m suffocating.]
[Well, normal people might find this image a bit uncomfortable. I’m watching it because it’s an assignment from my teacher. I’ve had professional training, so I can handle it better. I’m a forensic science major. After watching the last episode, our teacher said the skinning process was quite standard because it was still animated, and you could see the direction of every muscle, so he asked me to take a look…]
[This is way off track! Wasn’t what I subscribed to a travel variety show? Why has it turned into a forensic science class!]
[No, seriously, what’s going on with Ruoruo? Her condition is obviously not right, and what about those red things from earlier? Are they ghosts? Are they f*cking ghosts? This is the first time in my life seeing something like this, and I’m completely dumbfounded!]
[Dumbfounded! Why are there ghosts here? And what about Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan who ran over earlier? With so many ghosts, it seems like Brother Yan isn’t here yet. Could something happen to them?]
[Shivering, my first time seeing ghosts, and there are so many of them, standing silently in the hall… I used to be alone at home, but now I suddenly feel like my house is crowded.]
[…Who would have thought that just a few days ago, I was a firm atheist. Now? Now I just want to scream—Aaah, Brother Yan, help!!]
“Oh, right! Why isn’t Brother Yan here? It’s so late, where could he be if not in his room? Could something have happened to him? What about the others?”
The barrage of comments and the comment section were in chaos, rapidly increasing the discussion, and climbing up the natural recommendation positions on the video platform. In the late hours when there were fewer people online, it quickly reached the top.
Many night owls and insomniacs who had originally intended to browse the video platform couldn’t help but click on the rapidly rising show out of curiosity.
And then, just like those viewers, they came face to face with a strange, pallid face, causing many of them to almost lose their breath.
Many startled viewers quickly exited the video platform and went to social media to post updates about how they were scared to the point of almost having a heart attack. Some even shared gifs and screenshots of that particular scene, startling passersby who happened to click on them.
Discussions about this show snowballed, with many people getting involved. In addition to the program’s regular tags on the real-time popularity chart, several new tags began to appear, steadily climbing up.
Brother Goose, who had been on edge and afraid of encountering a ghost, finally breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that all the guests on the show were sleeping soundly without any unusual occurrences. He posted an update saying “Today’s episode went smoothly” and happily logged out of the video platform, opting to play games instead.
However, Brother Goose had only been playing the game for about half an hour when he suddenly noticed notifications on his social media platform. Many people were either mentioning him or sending him private messages.
Puzzled, he followed the new message notifications and immediately saw the trending hashtag on the real-time popularity chart: #FirstTimeInLife.
Brother Goose: “?”
Then he did something he would regret for the rest of the night.
—He clicked on that hashtag.
“Ahhhhhhhh, what the heck~~ It’s ghosts!!” Brother Goose let out a miserable scream, even making his teammates who were gaming with him shiver in fear.
“So ‘first time in life’ actually means the first time in life seeing ghosts…”
Brother Goose felt dazed and thought the viewers of the program were really out of line.
Meanwhile, the habitual followers who gathered under Brother Goose’s account to discuss noticed that Brother Goose had posted a new update.
He even changed his username.
@DesperateForBrotherYanToSaveMeBrotherGoose: I’m such a fool, really, I only knew the guests on the show would go to sleep at night, so I felt at ease, forgetting that something similar had happened during sleep last time. This show slapped me in the face with reality and told me, “You celebrated too early.” What’s the point of a peaceful day today? I almost became a ghost today ahhhh!!!
Because of Brother Goose’s update and the trending hashtag, many viewers who had initially left the live broadcast of the show out of boredom started flooding back into the live stream.
And then they noticed that something seemed a bit off about this perspective.
The camera was focused on the ground, giving an upward view of everything, and it was clear that those red translucent ghosts were floating in the air without feet.
It was as if the camera was now being continuously kicked and dragged on the ground.
From a different angle, the sudden appearance of Rourou’s face made many people realize the answer.
—Because the wires of the live broadcasting equipment were tangled around Rourou’s feet, causing her to keep kicking it forward, closely following those blood-red ghosts.
Viewers who realized it belatedly: [What the heck???]
[Is this a new VLOG mode? Taking us on a ghostly meeting from the ghost’s perspective?]
[I thought I had seen something scary before; I must have been too reckless… Sister Rourou! Please put down the live camera; I don’t want to see what a ghostly meeting is like!]
[Where are these ghosts going? They all look so organized, heading somewhere.]
[Ghosts, their lair, maybe? Anyway, I don’t want to watch a ghostly VLOG; spare me, please.]
[Alert! Brother Yan’s split screen is on; hurry and check it out! It scared me so much; you all better send some barrage comments; I’m trembling here.]
[Finally found Brother Yan; this is great! Please tell him about Bai Shuang and the ghosts, and Rourou’s situation.]
……
But the viewers didn’t realize that Yan Shixun only had a split-screen device with him, he didn’t have the guide tablet, so he couldn’t see the comments or barrages they were sending.
Walking silently in the tranquil Mountain Temple, Yan Shixun was preparing to explore the main hall. It felt as if all the sounds around him were swallowed by the rain, becoming indistinct. He couldn’t hear distant sounds or see any faint lights.
The small room next to the main hall had already turned off its lights, and the middle-aged man who managed the Mountain God Temple seemed to have gone to sleep, as did the other two villagers.
Since he had already started to suspect that something was amiss at the Mountain God Temple, Yan Shixun didn’t act recklessly. Instead, after quietly waiting for a while to ensure that there would be no interruptions from anyone in the small room, he quickly and silently dashed out from the courtyard’s veranda. He stood under the eaves of the main hall before the pouring rain could soak him.
Thinking about what the variety show celebrity had mentioned about making the program interesting, Yan Shixun pondered for a moment under the eaves and then decided to open his own split-screen live broadcast.
Although he didn’t really care if the show was interesting or not, the variety show celebrity had a point. If, after the reunion, Zhang Wubing discovered that the show didn’t attract many viewers and instead drove them away due to boredom, he feared that Zhang Wubing would cry and blame him again.
The image of Zhang Wubing wiping snot and tears all over himself made Yan Shixun feel so disgusted and uncomfortable that he didn’t hesitate for a moment. He decided to allow viewers to watch his split-screen.
—Whether it was interesting or not, at least he had taken action. Even if the viewers didn’t like it, it was no longer his concern, and Zhang Wubing had no reason to come and cry to him.
As for what the viewers liked… who knows what they liked!
Yan Shixun thought absentmindedly and turned to look at the main hall’s door.
The middle-aged man had locked the main hall door before going to sleep. The large lock, covered in copper rust and some blood-red marks, hung on the door, preventing Yan Shixun from entering.
Initially, Yan Shixun hadn’t paid much attention to it. Instead, what caught his attention was the rust on the large lock.
This large lock seemed to have been around for quite some time. The inner core had been polished shiny due to repeated openings and closings, but the exterior was covered in sharp scratches as if it had been scratched by a knife or animal claws, and it had spots of rust. Its old and worn appearance didn’t match the supposedly well-funded condition of the entire mountain temple.
As Yan Shixun approached and sniffed carefully, he could still smell a strong iron rust scent on the large lock. However, judging by the color of the rust marks, it should have been a copper lock with green rust marks, and the smell was different from the typical iron rust scent.
The contradictions puzzled Yan Shixun. Since the village held the Mountain God Temple in high regard and often engaged in rituals and festivals, even the main hall was adorned with finely crafted murals and the deity statues were gilded, why was the lock on the door so neglected? Furthermore, what were the scratches on the lock all about? If it were in regular use, it shouldn’t have accumulated so many layered scratches.
These red marks… looked more like traces left by blood rather than rust.
But Yan Shixun hadn’t forgotten the primary purpose of this night. He merely glanced at the large lock and silently began to chant a spell, preparing to have the lock open naturally.
However, the lock remained unchanged, and it didn’t open in response to the incantation.
Yan Shixun furrowed his brow and chanted once more.
Yet the result was still the same.
What was going on?
Yan Shixun was somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had encountered a situation where his spell didn’t work.
It wasn’t because of a mispronunciation or a memory error, nor was it because his power was insufficient… Could there be a spirit nearby interfering?
Yan Shixun quickly regained his composure and began to recite the “Purifying Heaven and Earth Spell,” wanting to dispel any spirits that might be disrupting his power before he continued.
“Tian Di Zi Ran, Hui Qi Fen San….”
Each word was pronounced clearly and scattered into the air.
However, the familiar golden light that Yan Shixun was accustomed to didn’t emerge.
In the air filled with damp, chilly rain, nothing happened.
Yan Shixun’s heart sank rapidly. Instead of persisting in opening the lock, he quickly began to cast divination, trying to seek answers from the heavens and the earth to understand what was happening.
Yet still, there was nothing but emptiness, and no response came.
It was as if he stood within a sealed metal box, cut off from all signals, unable to seek answers from heaven and earth, and receiving no response whatsoever.
It felt as if this place was abandoned by both gods and spirits, and even the heavens and the earth refused to sense its presence.
From his childhood, when he traveled the world with his master, helping people drive away ghosts and evil spirits to restore peaceful lives, Yan Shixun had never felt as lost and powerless as he did now.
It was like a warrior stripped of their strength or a soldier deprived of their weapons.
All the Taoist methods Yan Shixun had mastered and employed throughout his life were rendered ineffective; the gods did not respond to his calls for assistance.
After being stripped of this power, he was no different from an ordinary person.
However, Yan Shixun only stood quietly in front of the main hall’s doors for a few minutes before swiftly readjusting his mindset and regaining his composure.
Even without this particular power, he still possessed other strengths and confidence. He was not afraid of what lay ahead.
Losing the assistance of gods was only a temporary setback.
He was human, and relying on human wisdom and resourcefulness, what was there that couldn’t be overcome?
A spark of determined resolve flickered in Yan Shixun’s ink-black eyes. Even his charming and unruly visage came to life with a sudden surge of excitement.
He tugged at the corner of his pale red lips, forming a smile imbued with a hint of madness.
No help from the spirits, he can only rely on himself?
Interesting, very interesting.
Then let him see what chaos the Mountain God Temple had in store! Let’s see whether humans or the creatures lurking in the darkness were the stronger force!
The unexpected turn of events didn’t fluster Yan Shixun or make him panic. Instead, it ignited his fighting spirit, leaving him excited. His breathing became momentarily heavy with excitement, and his muscles tensed up, outlining sleek contours on his shirt. The culmination of strength and violence balanced perfectly in this moment, creating an extreme beauty.
In the darkness afar, a pair of sharp ink-black eyes belonging to someone who had been silently observing Yan Shixun froze for a moment upon witnessing his current state.
It took quite some time before they gradually regained their composure.
This was simply the ideal image of a human exorcist that he had envisioned for centuries. It was the result of his constant contemplation, repeated revisions, and reconstruction.
He had always thought that such a living exorcist would remain a figment of imagination. Yet, unexpectedly, he had encountered one in reality.
A true and living exorcist who didn’t rely on the heavens didn’t blindly follow rules, possessed their own principles and judgments, and combined the rationality of an exorcist with the sensibility of a human. This was the ideal human exorcist he had always imagined.
Yan Shixun, Yan Shixun, Yan Shixun…
The person kept repeating Yan Shixun’s name. In their once cold and indifferent eyes, a smile began to emerge.
However, Yan Shixun did not realize that he was being watched.
He unpinned a fastener from his outer garment and, in his strong hand, bent it into a straight, long needle. Then, he leaned closer to the large lock on the door and inserted the needle into the keyhole. He lowered his gaze, listened attentively, and patiently waited for that crucial moment.
A few seconds later, with a “click” sound, the large lock was successfully opened and fell into Yan Shixun’s hand.
He caught the lock steadily, ensuring it made no unexpected noises that could wake the middle-aged man in the adjacent room. Then, he walked quietly into the main hall, hung the lock back on the door, creating the illusion that the lock was still securely in place, and closed the door again.
As the door closed, the light that had leaked through the gap and spilled onto the floor in the main hall vanished once more.
It might have been an illusion, but when the light suddenly appeared, it seemed as though the figures depicted in the murals on the main hall’s walls, which had been in darkness for a long time, were momentarily startled by the abrupt brightness, and all the depicted characters closed their eyes.
It wasn’t until the door was closed again that the figures on the murals returned to their previous state, as Yan Shixun had seen them before.
Standing behind the closed door, Yan Shixun looked up at the multitude of figures on the mural surrounding him.
But then he suddenly sensed, with keen perception—
The mural had changed, it was not quite the same as before.
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