Chapter 45

Ke Xingzhou and the others finally emerged from the haunted house, twenty minutes later.

Originally, it shouldn't have taken this long if they had followed the route. However, due to the unexpected situation with Ji Han, their frantic running had led them into a dead-end. It took them quite some time to turn around and find the right path again.

By the time they reached the exit, their legs were already weak. When they saw the familiar banner by the exit, An He Guang was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the ground.

He had planned to crawl out on all fours, but Ke Xingzhou pulled him up.

An He Guang: "?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…Watch your image."

Following his gaze, An He Guang looked outside and saw his manager’s murderous expression. He immediately became alert.

It was as if he finally remembered that he was an entertainer. He quickly got up and, feeling guilty, walked out of the haunted house.

The banner at the entrance still had talisman papers attached. As they walked through it, they couldn't tell if it was from the mental strain or the exhaustion from finally relaxing, but their eyelids felt heavy, and they were extremely tired.

An He Guang, Ke Yuanbai, and Ji Han all couldn't help but yawn, but Xie An was still full of energy.

He looked back at the filming base gate not far behind them, muttering suspiciously, "It doesn't even seem that big, why was it so hard to walk through?"

If it wasn’t for his brother being next to him, he might have thought he hadn’t just gone through a makeshift haunted house, but rather a maze of ghosts!

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

In some ways, this kid really had thick nerves.

When Ji Han was helped out by the others, his legs were so weak that he almost kneeled in front of the director team waiting at the door.

When he chased after Mo Lili's ghost, he hadn’t thought about anything, driven only by the urge to prove his innocence. Looking back now, all he felt was overwhelming fear.

Now, whenever Ji Han closed his eyes, all he could see was Mo Lili telling her past and transforming into a terrifying vengeful spirit.

If Ke Xingzhou and the others hadn’t chased after him, he would have already been dead!

The director team also looked like they had narrowly escaped death.

In the last twenty minutes, each of their phones had been blown up. There were calls from the investors and platform managers who had bombarded them earlier, as well as many calls from their peers. Some phones had overheated and shut down, and others hadn’t been able to respond in time.

Fortunately, these people all thought that this "live broadcast" was fake. They believed it was a movie that had been filmed in advance and was just being released now under the guise of a live event.

Some had even started inquiring about the special effects team that worked on it and asking if Ke Xingzhou and the others were interested in taking on scripts.Only they knew how dangerous the events of today truly were.

They weren’t sure if what appeared on the screen was truly a ghost, but the haunted house staff were certainly not ordinary people.

After hanging up the phone, they reviewed the recorded footage and were stunned to see several staff members from the haunted house walk straight through the walls!

However, in the same spot, just minutes before, they had witnessed An He Guang crash straight into the wall, only to be knocked backward by the immense recoil and end up sitting in the lap of a young male ghost!

If Mo Lili's earlier performance had been impressive due to the makeup skills of the haunted house staff, and their acting so flawless that even they hadn’t noticed anything unusual, then the events that followed could no longer be explained by science.

The director team nervously gathered around, completely convinced.

At this point, no one cared about why the temporarily arranged haunted house set and staff turned into a real haunted house and real ghosts. They were just looking at the few live contestants who had followed Ke Xingzhou out from behind him, feeling a strong urge to run to a nearby hill and offer a prayer.

Thank God! Thankfully, nothing serious happened!

The managers and doctors waiting at the entrance immediately whisked away the three injured people for treatment. The director team moved forward and surrounded Ke Xingzhou.

Looking at his overly young and strikingly handsome face, the usually composed directors were suddenly awkward, unsure of how to communicate with Ke Xingzhou.

Although Ke Xingzhou had previously predicted a few paranormal events correctly, they hadn’t taken it too seriously. They even thought the viewers who believed Ke Xingzhou had some metaphysical background were naive.

How could a real master be so young? And why would they not pursue the highly profitable metaphysical field but instead let the Ke family push him into becoming a stepping stone for Ke Yuanbai?

Therefore, they had always regarded Ke Xingzhou as just a special contestant with a unique persona, someone who was likely to be eliminated soon, and they hadn’t even bothered to greet him properly on usual days.

Until today.

The director team now felt deeply ashamed, nervous about their previous disrespectful behavior.

The chief director’s expression was particularly complex as his gaze swept across the contestants, his mind focused on a single thought—

Wow! These rich second-generation kids sure keep their mouths shut tight!

A person of this caliber is in his show, and no one even warned him!

He withdrew his gaze and, after a long while, managed to regain his voice: "Ke Xing... no, Master. Is this haunted house situation resolved? Those inside... they won’t come out to harm anyone again, right?"

Ke Xingzhou cleared his throat softly: "No."

The chief director immediately pressed his palms together and muttered a prayer to the gods. Then, he remembered to thank Ke Xingzhou: "Thanks to you, Master, for handling today’s situation, or the consequences would have been unimaginable. I hope you don’t laugh, but this is the first time I’ve encountered something like this. I’ve never had experience with hiring someone to perform rituals before. May I ask, Master, how much do you usually charge for a ritual like this?"

He silently thought to himself that if the price was reasonable, perhaps he could hire Ke Xingzhou to help exorcise the ghosts at the base too.

— Mr. Nie had indeed hired a Taoist temple for a ritual yesterday, but it was clear now that it had no effect at all!

Mr. Nie must have been deceived!

Ke Xingzhou saw through the chief director’s thoughts and paused for a moment.

After all, this was his own domain, and the ghosts under his management were not properly handled, which led to the contestants getting hurt. He felt somewhat awkward: "No need for payment. The price you paid for the haunted house was quite high. But if you really want to give something, just cancel the after-sales compensation claim."

Ke Xingzhou paused again and added, "Getting a bad review on your first transaction would make your public rating look pretty bad."

Public rating...The chief director was stunned, taking a long time to process what Ke Xingzhou had just said. Finally, he mustered the courage to confirm: "Does this haunted house have anything to do with you?"

Ke Xingzhou blinked and replied, "Didn't the person who introduced the haunted house to you tell you? This haunted house and the staff inside are part of our Taoist temple's business!"

The chief director: "............"

No matter what, as long as the ghosts in the haunted house didn’t suddenly pop out to harm people, that would be fine.

The chief director, still in a daze, eventually accepted this reality and withdrew his negative review and after-sales complaint about the haunted house. His only request was for Ke Xingzhou to have Xie An and the others walk through the haunted house again to complete some post-production material for the live broadcast.

He pointed to the managers who were scolding their own artists and quietly added, "This is their request."

Ke Xingzhou: "......"

To be honest, he didn’t want to agree to this, but since it was caused by his own staff, as the boss, he couldn’t escape responsibility.

Moreover, the program team had paid the haunted house way too much!

He looked at the rising merit credits and the incoming payments on his phone and reluctantly agreed to the chief director’s request.

So, a few minutes later, they were once again standing at the entrance of the haunted house, experiencing the eye-opening talisman and the eye-opening incantation once more.

An He Guang and the other two were like frightened roosters, clinging tightly to the least scared Xie An as they nervously moved forward.

For Ke Xingzhou and Xie An, this haunted house was nothing, but for the three of them, it was an unbearable weight on their lives.

If it weren’t for the fact that Ke Xingzhou’s expression was so cold, even carrying a hint of murderous intent, they would have desperately wanted to pull Ke Xingzhou over for courage.

But fortunately, although Ke Xingzhou didn’t allow them to hold on to him, he followed behind them at a relaxed pace, which was a small comfort.

When they passed by the head that had caused a series of terrifying events, even though they had mentally prepared themselves in advance, An He Guang and the others still felt a chill run down their spines and screamed in unison: "Ahhh! So scary!"

While shouting, they climbed up onto Xie An, causing him to panic: "Ahhh, you're too heavy! Don't all climb on me! I’m losing my balance... Who!? Who covered my eyes?!"

There was a moment of chaos. When they finally reached a place where they could breathe, they turned around to seek some comfort from Ke Xingzhou, only to find that the area behind them was completely empty with no trace of him.

An He Guang and the others, who had just relaxed, froze. Their faces turned pale.

Ji Han: "Ke... Master Ke?!"

"Did he leave early?" Ke Yuanbai, who had interacted with Ke Xingzhou earlier, remembered most vividly the scene of Ke Xingzhou sleeping in the practice room every day. He now thought that Ke Xingzhou had run off to slack off.

"No, when did he leave?" He almost burst into tears, looking at the eerie shadows of ghosts on the road ahead and feeling like the sky was falling. "There’s still such a long way to go, and it’s just the four of us. How are we going to walk through this?"

The three of them all turned their gaze to Xie An.

Xie An: "........."

With faces ashen, they set off once more, but Ke Xingzhou hadn’t left the haunted house as they had imagined.

In fact, just when An He Guang and the others were scared and clinging to Xie An, Ke Xingzhou had intended to step forward and warn the ghost staff to tone it down a little.But before he could say anything, a dry, warm hand suddenly gripped his wrist, followed by a familiar deep male voice from behind: "Don't speak, follow me."

It was Nie Chen.

As soon as Ke Xingzhou realized this, his body stiffened, instinctively resisting leaving with the other person.

Since opening his third eye, his physical condition had changed, making him incredibly strong. As long as he didn’t want to, Nie Chen wouldn’t be able to pull him away.

Fortunately, Nie Chen hadn’t intended to use force. He only gave him a light tug, and when he saw that Ke Xingzhou wouldn’t move, he stopped.

The darkness blurred their vision, but Ke Xingzhou could feel a tall, shadowy figure approaching him. The familiar scent enveloped him, and soon, the man's breath sprayed against his cheek.

Nie Chen had gotten closer.

He lowered his head and leaned towards Ke Xingzhou’s ear. The dry air seemed to have become heavy with moisture, and Ke Xingzhou couldn’t tell whether it was Nie Chen’s breath or his lips and tongue that were touching his earlobe.

His heart skipped a beat, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He instinctively glanced at the passage ahead.

An He Guang and the others’ ghostly screams were still ongoing, with his name being mentioned frequently, as if someone might snap from the terrifying atmosphere and rush back to find him.

In reality, due to their overwhelming fear, An He Guang and the others hadn’t strayed too far.

They were only one corner away from him. As long as Ke Yuanbai turned around, the phone’s flashlight would catch their faces.

Nie Chen slightly tilted his head, his thin lips nearly brushing the corner of Ke Xingzhou’s mouth.

“……” Ke Xingzhou tensed, holding his breath.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he thought he heard Xie An call out, “Mr. Nie?”

He immediately snapped out of his daze and quickly turned his head, focusing on the corner ahead.

Xie An’s voice came from that direction: "By the way, didn’t the program team say that the investors would send someone? I even confirmed with Mr. Nie that he’d come, but he didn’t show up."

They seemed to have passed through the most terrifying part of the path and had slightly calmed down.

An He Guang asked in surprise: "You actually know Mr. Nie? He’s such a cold, unapproachable person! How did you get his contact info?"

Xie An probably turned around to glance at him with confusion, his footsteps briefly pausing: "No, Mr. Nie is very easygoing. He even asked my brother to perform a ritual for him yesterday. If you don’t believe me, you can ask my brother."

Hearing his name, Ke Xingzhou’s heart raced, and he twisted his body, trying to break free from Nie Chen’s grip and put some distance between them.

However, Nie Chen, who usually paid close attention to his feelings, didn’t let go this time. Instead, his fingers tightened inch by inch around Ke Xingzhou's wrist, his gray-green eyes reflecting the occasional light, glaring at him like a wolf.

Ke Xingzhou felt like his rationality had split in two. One half was nervously watching the corner of the passage, fearing that An He Guang and the others would realize he was lagging behind and come back to look for him.

The other half, however, was trapped in the present by Nie Chen, his back pressed against the faint wall, the space in front of him further compressed, and his nostrils filled with Nie Chen’s scent.

Fortunately, Nie Chen still had some rationality left. Perhaps remembering their current relationship and the cameras nearby, he stopped just a few millimeters away from Ke Xingzhou’s nose, making no further moves.

"……" Ke Xingzhou knew he was just deceiving himself.

Even if there were no substantial progress, anyone who saw their position at this moment would never think they were simply whispering to each other.

Especially with Nie Chen’s deep eyes, his intense gaze frequently falling on his ear, making Ke Xingzhou feel as if his earlobe was still being nibbled on.Ke Xingzhou's hands and feet went soft as he raised his hand to push Nie Chen, but for some reason, whether it was a mistake in controlling his strength or the inability to reject such closeness, his push didn’t move Nie Chen at all.

The temperature under his palm and his rapidly beating heart almost burned him.

The two of them were breathing heavily, and Ke Xingzhou couldn’t hold back anymore. He opened his mouth and exhaled a hot breath.

Who knew that this seemingly small action triggered something in Nie Chen. The man, who had already calmed down, leaned forward again and, without hesitation, kissed Ke Xingzhou on the lips.

"Nie Chen! You..."

Ke Xingzhou’s voice was muffled by the kiss, and Nie Chen teasingly pinched his ear, sending a shiver through him. At the same time, Ke Xingzhou noticed that the voices of the others had mysteriously stopped.

He couldn’t help but panic for a moment, trying to recall if he had missed any noise. But at this moment, Nie Chen acted even more mischievously. Not only did he not stop, but he skillfully tangled his tongue with Ke Xingzhou’s.

Their breaths had been heavy since earlier, but now they were mixed with the sound of water. Ke Xingzhou felt as if all sounds were amplified a thousand times, and he could almost see An He Guang and the others' figures appearing before him.

He imagined the shocked expressions on their faces if they saw him and Nie Chen like this.

Ke Xingzhou’s scalp tingled, and a strange, indescribable numbness crawled up his back. He tried to push Nie Chen away.

However, for some reason, Nie Chen seemed to get angry, and he became even more forceful, creating more sound.

The wet sounds of their lips and teeth colliding grew louder. Nie Chen’s dark eyes reflected a swirling current, as if he didn’t care about being discovered. The top heir of a prestigious family, who had just been described as an “iceberg,” was now passionately kissing a young Taoist.

He didn’t care about being exposed, but it only made Ke Xingzhou feel more restrained.

The two of them were perfectly in sync, and Nie Chen was familiar with every inch of Ke Xingzhou’s body. Even after three years, he could easily destroy Ke Xingzhou’s rationality.

His tongue gently scraped across the roof of Ke Xingzhou’s mouth, and with one hand on his waist and the other pinching his earlobe, Nie Chen moved his hand to the back of Ke Xingzhou’s head and deepened the kiss.

This time, it was incredibly gentle and lingering.

The special episode of All-Round Idol hadn’t even ended when Ji Han’s scandal made it back to the hot search.

As things had progressed, with all the "solid evidence," Ji Han’s reputation was completely ruined. Countless netizens loathed the name, and even fans who had once adored him, wishing they could bang their heads against a wall for him, had completely lost faith. His team had given up on him.

Now, when people saw his name trending, their first reaction was that Ji Han had been arrested.

They eagerly clicked on the link, only to find out it wasn’t what they had imagined at all.

In fact, the situation had taken a completely unexpected turn.

The first post on the Super Topic Square was a video recording of All-Round Idol’s special episode, with a cover showing Ji Han standing across from the already-dead Mo Lili.

This bizarre scene immediately caught everyone’s attention.

When they opened the comments section, people who had seen the live broadcast appeared to confirm it, stating that the girl in the video looked exactly like Mo Lili. The various place names and customs she described matched perfectly.

The most ridiculous thing was that the video had been thoroughly examined by all kinds of internet experts, and there was no sign of editing.

Many netizens who had watched the live broadcast stopped to comment under this post, trembling and saying they were terrified.However, these statements seemed completely unbelievable, too much like a desperate attempt to clean up the mess. Netizens didn’t buy it at all and scoffed at it.

Especially after hearing that Ji Han had begged the ghost of Mo Lili in the show to clear his name, they found the entire situation too staged and felt a strong sense of humiliation.

Did Ji Han really think that netizens were fools?

Who would believe such a ridiculous attempt at a cover-up?

The justice-filled netizens couldn’t sit still anymore. They angrily clicked into the video to curse and even declared that they lived near the filming location. If Mo Lili’s ghost really haunted that place, they would go live and bring the netizens to find out the truth tonight.

The heat of the situation continued to rise, and more “enthusiastic netizens” joined the effort to investigate the scene. Eventually, the security guards at the filming base couldn’t stop the crowd. They broke through the security line, climbing over the gates and fences to enter.

When they saw the shabby ghost house setup at the filming base, they mocked Ji Han for overacting. It was such a small maze that they would’ve been out in less than five minutes, unlike the actors who had taken half an hour to escape.

A well-known ghost house exploration blogger sarcastically said into the camera, "This is the most unremarkable ghost house I’ve ever explored. Folks, let’s get to work. I’m taking you in to find Mo Lili!"

After saying that, he crouched down and squeezed into the passageway.

One person took the lead, and the others followed suit. Soon, except for those stopped by the security guards, everyone else had entered the ghost house.

A cloth strip with an opening charm swept over their heads, and faint chanting began to echo from somewhere. Moments later, the streamers rubbed their tired, sore eyes.

If they had looked outside at that moment, they would have seen dozens of benevolent ghosts floating above the ghost house, chanting the opening charm at them.

The benevolent ghosts looked angry.

They had planned to finish their work early today, but these mere humans dared to underestimate the ghost house they had painstakingly created?!

Especially the elderly ghost, who had spent a lot of effort to make the wall-climbing illusion, was so angry he was hopping mad: “I painstakingly recreated that mural! How dare they say it looks like a child’s drawing! Ridiculous!”

“Let’s go, let’s work! Let’s see if I can’t scare them to death!”

For the first time, the benevolent ghosts were filled with an unprecedented enthusiasm for overtime!

So, within less than half a minute, the expressions of the bloggers holding selfie sticks changed from sarcasm and excitement to sheer terror. The stream went crazy, shaking violently, making it impossible to see what was happening.

All that could be heard were the bloggers’ desperate screams: “Ahhh!! Damn it, it’s a ghost!!”

Ke Xingzhou barely knew how he managed to walk out of the ghost house.

He only remembered that not long after, the footsteps of those people sounded again, and An He Guang’s screams were still ringing in his ears: “Ahhh! I was wrong, I was wrong! I just didn’t want to smell the foot wraps! I didn’t mean to go around you!!”

It seemed that An He Guang and the others had encountered the old lady ghost again. However, due to their previous experience, they didn’t want to repeat the same mistake, so they were trying to sneak past quietly.

But the old lady ghost had worked hard to get this hanging ghost identity. How could she let them escape so easily?

So, she ripped off her foot wraps and chased them around in circles. Afterward, she cried and begged the three of them to comfort her for a while before finally letting them go, satisfied.

Ke Xingzhou: “…”

Not just Ke Xingzhou, even the director team and the agents were silent, staring at that painful-to-watch scene for a long time.

It was said that Xie An’s agent jumped up on the spot, enraged like a mother lion: “That old woman! I’m suing her for harassment!!!”In the end, it was, of course, prevented from happening. The director team firmly stopped it, and the director even signed an unequal agreement. At the request of the agent, they deleted a lot of video material that could have become blackmail material, and they also agreed to help Xie An and a few of his director friends by introducing job opportunities.

It was like giving up land and paying compensation.

Ke Xingzhou looked at the message sent by the chief director and couldn't help but close his eyes.

A moment later, a notice was sent in the staff group: 【@Old Lady Ghost Absent from work, harassing customers, fined 20, deducted from your salary.】

The old lady ghost didn't reply.

It was unclear whether she was immersed in the happiness of being surrounded by handsome men and hadn’t noticed that her salary was being deducted, or if she knew she was in the wrong and simply chose not to show up.

Making money is really hard!

Ke Xingzhou took a deep breath and sighed heavily.

Just then, Nie Chen pushed the door open and walked in. Hearing Ke Xingzhou’s sigh, he paused for a moment and cast a heavy glance at his lips.

Liu Tezhu, who followed behind, didn’t understand what was happening and glanced at Ke Xingzhou’s lips, then looked again.

Was it his imagination?

It seemed that Master Ke’s lips were a bit darker today than usual, almost glistening.

It was... strangely captivating.

Liu Tezhu was startled by this thought and immediately straightened up, pushing the dangerous idea out of his mind.

He quickly composed himself and said in a low voice, “The people from the management bureau are here.”

Management bureau? What management bureau?

Ke Xingzhou, confused, looked toward the door, only to see a group of people walking in.

Several of them were dressed in Taoist robes, exuding the authority of those who had been in power for a long time. One of them, the head of the group, he recognized as the head of Qingyun Temple from earlier.

Ke Xingzhou still remembered how the head of Qingyun Temple had helped him capture a benevolent ghost yesterday, so he smiled at him in greeting.

The head of the temple: "…"

He seemed to recall the humiliation from yesterday, and his expression stiffened as he turned to introduce the people beside him: “This is a disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect.”

The Taoist priests, who had initially been curious about the young man, all fell silent upon hearing the words "Xiaoyao Sect."

Xiaoyao Sect…

But it seemed that the focus of this meeting wasn’t on them. The Taoist priests merely frowned and then looked toward the few people in the middle.

Walking ahead of them were three young men and women. The two in the back were in their early twenties, while the one in front was a bit older, around thirty, with a scar running across his left eye, giving him a somewhat fierce appearance.

They didn’t look like police officers.

The three moved swiftly, and the scarred man at the front seemed to be well-trained. Every action was sharp and precise, and his speech was very direct: “Hello, I’m Xiang Ting from the Special Event Management Bureau. You can call me Mr. Xiang.”Mr. Xiang...

Ke Xingzhou immediately felt the pressure from the side as soon as he introduced himself. Without even needing to look, he knew that Nie Chen was currently wearing a cold expression, and he cleared his throat lowly: "Mr. Xiang. Are you here because of today’s incident?"

The Special Event Management Bureau, just by its name, suggested that it was a special department handling matters that ordinary people could not understand.

Although Ke Xingzhou had never heard of this department before, he could guess the reason they were looking for him.

Ke Xingzhou took a deep breath: "How much is the fine?"

Xiang Ting raised an eyebrow: "Fine?"

After all, this was for operating without a license, and he hadn’t yet heard back from Lu Li about this. Ke Xingzhou couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.

He had never been in business, and seeing the other person raise an eyebrow and ask him back, he thought things might be more serious than he had imagined. He was about to plead for mercy, but was interrupted by Nie Chen.

Nie Chen: "Team Leader Xiang is here to ask for your help with the investigation into the Ji Han case."

After giving a simple explanation, he gestured for Ke Xingzhou to look at the two young men and women behind Xiang Ting: "These two are the police officers in charge of the case investigation."

Ke Xingzhou: "!!"

There really were police officers! But they weren’t here to arrest him for operating an unlicensed haunted house?

Ke Xingzhou relaxed slightly and listened carefully as they explained their purpose.

It turned out that when the police were investigating the Mo Lili case, they encountered many baffling clues. They had been negotiating with the Special Event Management Bureau for the past few days. Unexpectedly, they saw Mo Lili’s ghost during the live broadcast of the "All-around Idol" special episode.

The two police officers, probably dealing with such a surreal case for the first time, seemed a bit uncomfortable.

The female police officer said: "We investigated Mo Lili's home, and from the signs of daily life, it didn't seem like she ran away. But the autopsy results and her travel information showed that she had been to another city. We've also contacted some netizens who claimed to have seen Mo Lili, and following the clues they provided, we really did find traces of Mo Lili."

This was quite strange.

Mo Lili had only one child at home, and after ruling out the possibility of twins, could one person really appear in other places after death?

The police investigation had stalled here. They had been checking the discrepancies in the evidence for the past few days.

"However, the investigation results completely defy our understanding—both sets of evidence are true, with no possibility of forgery."

But this was eerie.

How could two completely conflicting sets of evidence both be true? The police were at a loss, and in the end, they had no choice but to submit it to the Special Event Management Bureau.

The two young police officers looked dejected and quietly glanced at the room full of Taoist priests in robes.

Honestly, at first, they didn’t trust this kind of case-solving method, but their superiors had instructed them to hand over the case and fully cooperate with Team Leader Xiang, so they had no choice.

Especially since today's meeting was supposed to be held at the Capital City Taoist Association.

The Taoist priests set up offerings, arranged talismans, ritual tools, and so on, and had spent two whole days performing rituals, yet they hadn’t summoned even a trace of Mo Lili’s soul. Their doubts grew even stronger.

Who would have thought that before they could report the situation to their superiors, they saw the hot search for "All-around Idol."

The ghost of Mo Lili, whom the Taoist priests couldn’t summon even after two days of rituals, suddenly appeared on the screen...The Taoist priests sensed their gaze and couldn't help but fall silent, their mood becoming somewhat awkward.

It was the head of the Qingyun Temple, the leader of the Capital City Taoist Association, Daoist Li, who first broke the silence. He awkwardly addressed Ke Xingzhou: "Daoist Ke, why don't you call Mo Lili out first?"

Ke Xingzhou's gaze wandered for a moment, pointing toward a corner of the room while deliberately avoiding looking at Nie Chen: "She's right there."

Earlier, when Nie Chen had blocked him from leaving, he had followed them as well.

Nie Chen: "..."

Everyone exchanged puzzled looks, not understanding why the atmosphere between Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen seemed so strange, as though both of them were uncomfortable.

However, the matter at hand was more pressing, and they quickly redirected their attention. They placed the opening-eye talisman and looked toward the direction Ke Xingzhou had pointed.

Mo Lili’s ghost was indeed there, but her face was flushed, looking quite embarrassed.

When her eyes swept over Nie Chen and Ke Xingzhou, her expression became even stranger. The corners of her mouth were wildly lifted, but her eyes flickered as though she had discovered some enormous secret.

The Taoist priests fell silent for a moment, unanimously deciding to ignore the finer details.

Daoist Li, the head of Changsheng Temple and president of the Capital City Taoist Association, spoke hesitantly: "Mo Lili, we’ve been calling your soul for two days. Why have you not appeared until now? Instead, you're hiding here... causing trouble in this... this program?"

When he reached the last sentence, he hesitated, recalling the video his disciple had sent him.

He was uncertain, thinking, "Is this a program?"

On the way here, he had specifically checked and found out that "All-around Idol" was a variety show for selecting young male idols. In other words... Daoist Li paused and mentally defined the show—

"Life is hard, young men selling their talents."

When did ghosts from the underworld ever openly appear on variety shows? Moreover, this haunted house seemed a bit complicated. It didn’t just recruit kind ghosts…

Daoist Li’s gaze fell on Mo Lili.

If he wasn’t suffering from dementia, those black threads seemed to be resentment? But why did they so peacefully attach to Mo Lili’s soul, without the violent behavior he had expected?

A rush of thoughts flashed through Daoist Li’s mind, but he couldn’t make sense of any of them, and he couldn’t help but doubt his decades of professional experience.

Mo Lili, whether alive or dead, had never encountered so many Taoist priests before, and with the police present, she couldn't help but feel nervous.

She shook her head in confusion: "I don’t know. After I died, I just floated to Ji Han's side and haven’t left since. But are you sure you called for me? Is it just about these two days? Is there a mistake?"

The Taoist priests: "..."

Her three consecutive questions left them speechless.

Daoist Li fell into a long silence. He had personally presided over the soul-calling ritual for the past two days. Could it be that he had become so old that he couldn’t even successfully summon a soul anymore?

He remained silent, so bewildered that he couldn't speak. In the end, he turned his gaze to the one person in the room who might understand the situation:

"Qingyun Temple Master, I’ve heard that Qingyun Temple has deep connections with the underworld. What is your take on this situation?"

Qingyun Temple Master: "……"Don't throw him questions he doesn't know! Old Deng!