In the night, the sudden clear ring sounded like the rings of a Daoist bell. Following that was the shuffling sounds of someone stepping on dried leaves.
“Ah!”
A scream of terror could be heard from the gazebo. The three men, Huang Lei, He Jia, and We Daxun looked pale. Meanwhile, Zhao Liangying and Hu Yue’er’s faces turned ashen as well. Their eyes were tightly shut and shuffled close to Ye Lingchen, wrapping their arms tightly around him.
“Hey, what are you doing? Is this necessary?” Ye Lingchen looked at them, asking helplessly.
Not only them, but even the director and other crew members had their faces drained of color, obviously all in shock.
“God Ye, what was that sound earlier? It’s so scary!” Wei Daxun carefully looked around and asked with his trembling voice.
“I made that sound. It’s a vocal trick. You’re too cowardly,” Ye Lingchen stated. Following that, another shuffling sound in the night could be heard.
Huang Lei and He Jia finally recovered from their shock and let out a sigh. “God Ye, can you please give us a heads up before making those sounds? We might die from shock.”
“That’s right. I’m so scared.” Zhao Liangying stuck out her tongue. Hu Yue’er similarly patted her own head.
However, for whatever reason, both of them did not loosen their hold. One from each side, they both held onto Ye Lingchen’s arms.
[F*ck! I was so scared earlier.]
[Damn it, I got too immersed listening to God Ye’s story. Who could take that sudden scare like that.]
[God Ye is really amazing. He’s not only good with storytelling. Matching with that vocal trick of his, it’s even more exhilarating than a movie.]
[I’m afraid I won’t be sleeping tonight. It’s too scary!]
[You guys are cowards. God Ye, please continue. I can’t wait!]
…
After everyone had recovered from the shock, Ye Lingchen finally continued. “Corpse herders had a lot of rules to follow. Furthermore, the corpse herders did not accept all sorts of requests. Corpses were differentiated into categories, for example, the beheaded—who must have their head and bodies sewed back together, the hung, and the drowned. Those three types are sent to death against their will. They died resentful, missing their family, therefore their souls could be collected. These types were herdable.”
“Those that died of sickness, suicide, or struck by lightning will not be accepted as their souls have already returned to the underworld, beyond collection…”
Ye Lingchen told the story professionally, helping those listening to him to be fully immersed in the story. Accompanied by the sound effect from his vocal tricks, the crowd felt the initially beautiful environment around them transform into a gloomy and scary one.
They could not help but look around, feeling as though all sorts of demons and spirits were watching over them, sending a shiver down their spines.
However, despite being afraid, they were curious to listen to the rest of the story.
With that story, two hours passed. It was quite late, and Ye Lingchen yawned. “Alright, it’s getting late. Everyone should get some rest.”
“You’re stopping now?” He Jia was not done with listening.
“Please don’t. I want to know what happens when the corpse arrives at the desolate mountain. Will they transform?” Huang Lei asked.
“Mommy, I’m scared.” Although Wei Daxun had a strong body, he was the most cowardly and was still plagued by the lingering fear.
“You guys should check what time it is. I’m tired.” Having said that, Ye Lingchen got up and headed to the Mushroom Hut.
[No! God Ye, you can last through the night. We’ll accompany you!]
[Hey, don’t go. Director, stop him! If he stops telling the story, I’ll stop watching this show!]
[God Ye, another half an hour please. I’m begging you.]
[Director, are you underpaying God Ye? I demand a pay raise!]
…
Ye Lingchen naturally ignored the requests from the stream. After showering, he laid on his bed and checked out his popularity points. After an entire day, his stream finally went from 30 thousand viewers to 70 thousand. The results were satisfying.
As expected, it was great to take part in this type of show that had good exposure. It was only the first day. If this went on, his popularity points would increase quickly every day.
At the same time, Li Lihua was checking the statistics from the live stream. Her face was glowing with excitement. The first episode of season three’s Life’s Struggles had reached the peak viewership compared to the past two seasons!
A majority of those viewers were brought in by Ye Lingchen. When she invited Ye Lingchen, some of the higher-ups in Apple TV were disapproving. With such a quick face slapping, she would like to see who else would disagree with her.
After a moment of thought, she gave the director a call and had them do their best to cooperate with Ye Lingchen, giving him more screen time so that he could have more chances to display his talents.
As for the Mushroom Hut under the night sky, it was not as peaceful as one might think.
Zhao Liangying and Hu Yue’er were both lying on their beds. They rolled around, failing to fall asleep.
What happened during the day kept replaying in their mind. Finally, they looked at each other and felt a similar feeling coming from the other party.
“Hmph!”
The next moment, both of them huffed, then turned to face the other side.
Although they were not well acquainted with each other, they were both goddesses of the silver screen without any conflict or competition between them. Although they might not be best friends, it was normal for them to befriend each other.
However, at that moment, they just could not see eye to eye for some reason. A weird sense of annoyance and threat gripped their hearts.
Both of them had difficulty sleeping, yet were unwilling to speak up. The entire room fell into an awkward silence.
Right then, Hu Yue’er’s brows knitted into a frown. Her body trembled weakly. Following that, she quietly took out her phone and got onto WeChat, sending out a message. [Are you there?]
Ye Lingchen was just about to sleep but was awakened by the vibration of his phone. Taking a look at the message, he could not help but frown. Following that, he replied, [Mm.]
Hu Yue’er was delighted, then immediately replied, [My symptoms are coming back. My stomach hurts. Can you help me massage it?]
[Alright.]
Ye Lingchen did not dwell on the matter. Back on the plane, he sensed that Hu Yue’er’s condition was quite serious. It was normal for her pain to be intolerable. He would not have cared if they only met once. However, living under the same roof, it would be unjustifiable for him not to help her out. Furthermore, it was just a simple request.
[I’ll wait for you in the living room then.] Hu Yue’er’s lips curled into a smile, then immediately got out of bed.
Her movements naturally alerted Zhao Liangying, causing her to look over curiously.
Hu Yue’er then shot a haughty smile at Zhao Liangying, as though scoring a checkmate on her. She got up and exited the room.
‘There’s no live streaming at night. Why is she not sleeping? Where is she going?’
Zhao Liangying thought of Hu Yue’er’s smile earlier, feeling all the more frustrated, yet she could not bring herself to follow her out. She then tossed and turned in the bed, feeling even more restless. ‘Could she be meeting a lover?’
