Everyone looked at Jing Cheng nervously. Could it be that even their almighty Master Jing had no chance of winning against this guy?
No way...
However, when they met Jing Cheng's unquestionable gaze, everyone's heart sank, and their faces were immediately filled with expressions such as "This is absolutely unexpected", "Are you kidding me", "My life is over", "It's going to be cold tonight"... Their inner thoughts were more sad than each other, and the atmosphere suddenly became stagnant.
Director Zhao had a subtle expression on his face. He had seen Jing Cheng slay demons with his bare hands and his incredible ability to bring the dead back to life, but he said that he couldn't deal with a wild monster. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed wrong.
Was he trying to scare them on purpose so that no one would run around and avoid the accident that happened to Yang Hong?
Director Zhao, who felt that he had guessed the truth, felt at ease. He looked around at everyone calmly, but was startled by the "disappointment" that almost solidified on other people's faces.
Director Zhao: “…” Isn’t this a bit too much?
Qin Yan and Fu Le were the only ones present who knew Jing Cheng well. They could sense something from the sudden change in Jing Cheng's tone after he paused.
Thinking of his usual cunning, the two looked at each other and saw what they were thinking in each other's eyes.
Orange, is he doing something bad?
...
...
Sure enough, the next moment, Jing Cheng spoke.
Jing Cheng's original intention was to make everyone serious, not to be so careless and not take their lives seriously, and he had a little idea of dealing with the wild monsters. But he didn't expect that his half-true and half-false threats would have such an effect. How come everyone was so full of fighting spirit just now, and they all became like eggplants hit by frost in a short time?
Jing Cheng: It was just a joke, why did you take it so seriously?
He had no choice but to stop hiding it and sighed, "The Xiao ghost likes to devour human spirits, but from what I know, the people it chooses to confuse are usually the elderly and children, and rarely young people."
Although Qin Yan remained silent and looked relaxed, no one knew that he was actually worried. Over the years, he had been harassed by demons and ghosts because of his physical condition. He was worried that Jing Cheng would be implicated because of his physical condition. After all, this had happened before in the ancient city.
Although Jing Cheng had always appeared to be at ease in front of him since he had known him, there was still no guarantee.
Hearing Jing Cheng say this, she couldn't help but look at him twice more, as if she wanted to ask something, but considering that there were not only many people here but also a non-human being, she had to hold it back.
Qin Yan: It turns out that he is the safest person among all the people present. Who among these people can have as much yang energy as him?
Jing Cheng maintained a serious face. When no one was paying attention, he took Qin Yan's hand, pinched his fingers, and slowly made a small circle in his palm, signaling him to be at ease.
Qin Yan: ...
Even in the middle of the night in the wild, Qin Yan's hands were still as hot as fire. The touch of the back of his hand and the palm made him feel the other person's palm was as warm and cool as jade. Just this brief touch made him feel a palpitation.
In his impression, Jing Cheng's hands were always icy cold no matter when. Qin Yan had heard him say that this was because of his yin constitution.
Qin Yan once saw this sentence in the booklet that Jing Cheng gave him - "Yin and Yang combine their virtues, and hardness and softness have their own form"①.
At that time he didn't quite understand the meaning of this sentence, but now this sentence appeared in his mind without any warning. He thought about his own pure yang constitution, while Jing Cheng's was extremely yin. With yin and yang combining, doesn't it mean that the two of them being together is a sign of destiny?
The temperature on Qin Yan's face, which had just dropped, turned into a fire cloud again (……).
It was pitch dark, and everyone was immersed in the anxiety of being stared at by the mandrill. No one noticed the slightly ambiguous actions of the two people in private.
"But in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, don't the monsters like young and strong men? And isn't there a saying that monsters and ghosts won't hurt human babies?" Someone objected by pointing out a TV drama or novel he had watched before.
What's going on in your mind? Jing Cheng said helplessly, "Real life is not Liao Zhai. Children are the easiest to be frightened. Young people have enough yang energy and too many distracting thoughts, unlike children who have pure souls. As for the elderly, their lives are already fading and their souls are weak. Simply put, they are easy to be attacked."
"Humans are not the only species that bully the weak and fear the strong. The strong prey on the weak, which is in the instinct of all living things."
Seeing everyone's incredulous expressions of "Are you fucking kidding me?", Jing Cheng looked around at everyone present. The youngest was already an adult, and the oldest was only in his early forties, so they were all within the "safe" range.
He added slowly, "As long as you are not in Mercury retrograde recently, or you are not trying to cause trouble, you should wear a good amulet, and you should not be so... unlucky."
“…”
Everyone was first startled by Jing Cheng's "May it be your own fault", and then they gasped at the mysterious smile of the mandrill ghost. Finally, Jing Cheng gasped and said, "Nothing will happen with the amulet", so that their hearts were up and down like a roller coaster, and there was a sharp turn at the critical moment. Everyone's gasps were stuck in their throats and they dared not let them out, and they almost suffocated to death.
For a while, there were coughing sounds one after another.
They looked at Jing Cheng accusingly. Couldn't the important things be said in one breath?
Jing Cheng said with an innocent face: I am just stating my thoughts. If you guys are eager to die, there is nothing I can do.
Everyone held the amulets in their hands and shook their heads wildly: They are not that idiot like Yang Hong who can throw away life-saving things at will.
The mandrill ghost tilted his head to look at them, with a thoughtful expression on his human-like face, as if he was evaluating which one of them was the easier one to pick on.
Those whose eyes were swept by it felt a shock in their hearts and retreated cautiously. Although Taoist Jing had explained that they were "very safe", the other party's inconsistent attitude made everyone dare not let down their guard.
This might be Schrödinger’s safety. Who dares to let down their guard?
Those who are not of my race must have different hearts!
Since they are man-eating beasts, they must live up to their characteristics. There are so many of them and most of them are strong and vigorous young men. In the eyes of the other party, they are just plates of fragrant dishes. Isn't this guy greedy when seeing them?
Even mosquitoes can mutate these days, so shouldn't goblins keep up with the times?
What if this "legendary mountain ghost" suddenly changes its diet to challenge them, and then becomes beastly and captures and eats them? They would have no place to cry.
Someone started to pray: "Don't come to me, don't come to me, I have a girlfriend..."
Some people were skeptical: "No, this guy is not a vixen who is well versed in seduction. How can he seduce people when he looks so ugly? It's not like we don't have eyes."
But he was immediately refuted by the people around him, who made a strong analysis: "Are you stupid? How can an ordinary mortal like you understand such an unscientific existence? When it really wants to confuse you, you will see a charming beauty. If she really waves her hand at that time, you will be so happy..."
Someone started to get suspicious: "I have an idea. Why do you think it has a human face? Could it be that this is a human it once ate? There are so many of us but it can't be scared away. Could it be that one of us is its target?"
The cameraman rubbed his face with both hands and took a breath, "Fuck, I had gallstones when I was young, and now I don't have any courage, don't scare me!"
Director Zhao comforted him: "It's the easiest time for demons and monsters to appear in such a deep forest in the middle of the night. We have seen them before. With Master Jing here, everyone will be able to live in peace, don't you think?"
As he said this, he winked at Jing Cheng: Stop pretending, I understand everything!
Jing Cheng: “…” What do you know?
The words he just explained to everyone were not all deliberately sensational. At least "the mandrill ghost cannot be killed, it can only be driven away" is not false at all.
The dead of night is the time when humans are most sleepy, and it is also the time when the human body's yang fire is at its lowest. He asked everyone to gather together so that the mandrill ghost would not dare to act rashly, and deliberately said harsh words to make everyone more vigilant, and also to prevent the mandrill ghost from taking advantage of their unpreparedness to confuse everyone.
It now seems to be quite effective.
The baboon saw that everyone was huddled together from beginning to end, and probably felt that he had no idea where to start. After hesitating for a long time, he just roared at them twice as if threatening, quickly passed by everyone, and disappeared after a few leaps in the jungle.
Everyone only saw a flash before their eyes, and when they looked again, the baboon ghost had disappeared.
Their tense nerves suddenly relaxed and they wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.
Since I joined this program, I feel like I'm walking on the edge of a knife every day, and my body and mind are in dire straits every day.
After a while, someone couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Did it... run away?"
Jing Cheng did not dare to relax, still holding the dagger in his hand, he carefully glanced at everyone, and after making sure that there was no one more or less, he put away the dagger and replied: "Probably, but there is no guarantee that it will come back again."
He looked back at Director Zhao and the others, and said, "Put the amulet on your chest and wear it well. Since mandrills can appear in this area, there may be other monsters. Let's leave quickly. It will be safer to go to places with more people."
Director Zhao just confirmed with the cameraman that the camera was working properly the entire time, capturing the mandrill ghost clearly from head to toe, and there was no "forced mosaic" of supernatural scenes.
Hearing this, he raised his head and waved his hands heroically: "It's okay, I'm wearing them."
There was an indescribable excitement in his tone, as if everyone in the program group had turned into elementary school students following their teacher on an outing, showing childlike joy and innocent longing for the unknown environment. However, Jing Cheng's "antique" brain could not associate these, so he could only attribute his change in attitude to "the problems of modern people."
Jing Cheng's mouth twitched: "Then let's go."
After experiencing such a thrilling scene, everyone was exhausted both physically and mentally. They had no mood to joke along the way. They just followed the direction given by the driver, carrying their luggage and continued to move forward.
After walking for a while, the cameraman Xiao Qu felt it was too quiet and felt uneasy. He was just trying to find a topic to chat with the female colleague next to him, but he found that the female colleague was still standing there, facing one direction, staring blankly.
Xiao Qu was a little confused. Seeing that the large group was about to go away, he hurried back, patted the other party on the shoulder and asked a question.
"Hey? Wang Ningning, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and leave."
Wang Ningning showed no reaction on her face and ignored Xiao Qu. She seemed to be summoned by something, her eyes staring straight ahead as she slowly stretched out her hand in one direction.
Xiao Qu's scalp tingled as he watched. He thought that this girl was usually very brave and liked to pretend to be a ghost to scare people. He was also known to be timid and was often frightened by her pranks. Wang Ningning was probably pretending to be like this on purpose to make him look bad.
Thinking of this, Xiao Qu's expression did not look very good.
It's already this time, how can you still make such a joke?
A mandrill ghost appeared just now, can't you just be quiet for a while?
"Hey, if you don't leave, I'll leave by myself." Xiao Qu frowned.
As he got closer to the other person, he smelled a faint smell of rust at the tip of his nose. Before he could figure out what the smell was, Wang Ningning suddenly made a move.
Wang Ningning still had a blank expression on her face, but this time she did not pretend to be deaf and dumb. She actually slowly turned her head to look at him.
This slow motion scene is like a zombie turning its head in a movie...it's so fucking amazing!
Xiao Qu's hair stood on end, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He held his breath and cursed, "You're sick!"
He turned around and ran towards the main force, never daring to look back.
…
The program crew walked for more than an hour, the towering forest gradually disappeared, the tall trees on both sides were replaced by lush flowers and plants, and the dirt road under their feet turned into a slightly wider and flat country road.
The stars in the sky gradually faded, and a ray of light rose slowly from the east. It was almost dawn, and people could see rows of houses.
A light mist enveloped the entire valley. The air was slightly cool and moist. The downward leaves were dotted with crystal clear dewdrops. Countless birds chirped one after another, crisp and pleasant to the ears. In the distance, one could hear the gurgling stream and the silver bell-like laughter of women.
This morning with a strong rural atmosphere instantly relieves everyone's fatigue from traveling all night and makes them feel refreshed.
"Huh - the air here is really good, suitable for retirement." Director Zhao stretched his old waist and let out a long breath.
The cameraman at the side said with a smile: "You are only in your early thirties, and you are in such a hurry to retire? At least you have to win an international award before you can consider this."
Director Zhao also smiled and said, "You don't need to win a big prize. Just perform well. I guarantee that our show will cause a sensation across the country once it is actually broadcast."
Looking around, apart from the tired-looking cameraman, there was Jing Cheng who was standing and chatting with Qin Yan and Fu Le. Director Zhao couldn't help but feel envious and jealous when he saw the three kids beside him who were still full of energy after staying up all night.
Young people have good bodies, and he really wants to be eighteen years old again...
Director Zhao didn't dare to order these three around. Even though they were the youngest, he couldn't afford to offend any of them. He could only look around to find his younger brother: "Where's Xiao Qu? Go to the front and ask where the owner of the B&B who sent us the location is. Find a local to lead the way."
After calling out, no one appeared. Director Zhao asked in surprise, "Hey, where is the person?"
After tossing around in the mountains for half a night, many people in the production crew had almost no rest for a whole day and night. Everyone was very tired, so it was normal for them to have slow reactions.
After a long while, Xiaoqu walked out of the crowd with a pale face, looking dazed and responding hesitantly.
His expression was obviously not right, and Director Zhao was full of doubts, but when he saw Xiaoqu had already walked away quickly, he had to hang up.
But with Master Jing here, what could go wrong?
-----
The author has something to say:
Irresponsible Little Theater:
Director Zhao: Who doesn’t know you’re so awesome?
Jing Cheng: No matter how powerful you are, you can't stop someone from seeking death.
①: "Yin and Yang combine their virtues, and hardness and softness have their own bodies.
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