Chapter 55

Ke Xingzhou's fingertips trembled.

Nie Chen had softened towards him before. In fact, it could be said that during most of the time they knew and loved each other, it was always Nie Chen who was accommodating him, which had led to the development of his current self-centered personality.

But it was precisely because of this that Nie Chen's vulnerable posture at this moment made him at a loss.

He had no idea how to respond to this version of Nie Chen.

Fortunately, perhaps considering they were at the gate of the filming base, Nie Chen didn't make any further moves. Even the kiss was very restrained, a brief touch on the back of his hand before pulling away.

Ke Xingzhou was still processing the situation when Nie Chen had already released his hand.

Nie Chen lowered his gaze, steadying his breathing. When he looked up again, he had already composed himself, though the corners of his eyes were still slightly red, and his eyelids seemed a bit moist.

He gazed deeply at Ke Xingzhou, but suddenly noticed that Ke Xingzhou’s gaze was off, as if he was looking past him at something behind him.

Nie Chen: "?"

His brow twitched, and just as he was about to turn to check what was behind him, he felt Ke Xingzhou's gaze return to him, the look in his eyes complicated and hard to read: "You..."

Ke Xingzhou paused, unsure of how to describe his feelings at that moment.

After a brief silence, he could only gesture for Nie Chen to turn around.

Nie Chen followed the direction of his finger and saw a incense burner, almost as tall as a floor, standing at the entrance of the filming base. Beside it, there was a hastily made temporary sign hanging on the security booth:

[Follow the "All-Purpose Idol" live stream to receive three incense sticks for free!]

Ke Xingzhou's voice floated over softly: "Is this your sincerity in missing me?"

Nie Chen: "…………"

The news about the incense burner set up by the "Xiaoyao Sect" at the filming base quickly spread like wildfire. The whole internet soon knew that incense could be burned at the entrance of the "All-Purpose Idol" filming base.

An He Guang saw this and immediately became displeased.

Previously, he had been one step behind Xie An in placing an incense burner at the Ke family's entrance. Now, with the Xiaoyao Sect opening a branch at the filming base, he was still one step behind—this was absolutely intolerable!

The eldest son of the An family had never been humiliated like this. In a fit of anger, he—

Had the Ke family's entrance and the filming base's entrance each equipped with a full set of offering tables, candle holders, and ritual instruments.When Ke Zhengye returned home, he nearly fainted from anger. However, it was unclear whether it was because he had eaten too well during the recent New Year celebrations or something else. He swayed a bit, but still stood straight.

His face was purple with rage, and his roars could be heard several dozen meters away: "Ke Xingzhou!! Have that ungrateful son roll out here and face me!!"

— Naturally, there was no way to meet him.

The second episode of the show was still live-streamed, and Ke Xingzhou had already gone to the production team.

The butler passed on a warning from the movers, saying that once these items were placed, they could not be casually moved or discarded, as it would bring bad luck.

Recently, due to his mishandling of feng shui, Ke Zhengye had been experiencing a streak of bad luck: "..."

Thus, while Ke Zhengye was fuming in frustration, he could do nothing about the items at the door. He could only angrily stomp around the water tank and Taoist ritual items, his steps echoing loudly.

On the other side of the filming base gate, however, things were completely different.

Although the chief director had some criticisms of the Xiaoyao Sect’s way of doing things, he still greatly respected Ke Xingzhou's abilities. Moreover, this could bring more attention to the show, so he was quite accepting of the incense burner at the gate. He even personally lit three incense sticks when passing by.

In no time, the once quiet base entrance, which rarely saw any visitors, became bustling with people. The incense and offerings that the director had arranged were running out, and he hurriedly had someone purchase more supplies from a nearby incense shop.

A few elderly ladies, carrying baskets, went to the incense shop to pick up their orders and were shocked to see the shop almost empty.

One of the ladies, dressed in a floral padded coat, asked curiously, "Boss, your business is so good today, have you sold out of all the incense?"

"Exactly," the shopkeeper replied as he packed up their pre-ordered incense. "I heard there's a very powerful Taoist temple nearby, and many people have come to buy incense here these days. If it weren’t for your early reservations, I would have sold out already. You’re lucky I set some aside for you!"

The elderly ladies were shocked: "Such a thing exists?"

"Which Taoist temple? Is it more effective than the Jiulong Temple we worship at?"

"A new Taoist temple? I've been having some constipation lately and prayed at Jiulong Temple a few times but saw no improvement. If that new temple really is so effective, I should go try it!"

These elderly ladies mostly prayed to gods for trivial family matters or to pass the time, and not many were deeply devoted to any particular deity.

Upon hearing that there was an even more effective place, they were naturally intrigued.

Under their questioning, the shopkeeper reluctantly pointed them towards the direction of the Xiaoyao Sect's incense burner and hesitated before adding, "But I heard this temple has a lot of rules. To get incense, you need to follow their account. And you have to wait in line to light the incense. They say only a limited number of people can light incense each day, and the rest have to wait until the next day to rejoin the line."

The shopkeeper clicked his tongue, astonished, unable to imagine how popular the incense at this Taoist temple must be.

Even the most famous Taoist temple in the capital, Changsheng Temple, only limited the number of incense burners during holidays!

The elderly ladies were even more curious. They remembered how crowded Jiulong Temple had been before the New Year, but it had become much quieter after the holiday. They had no chance to show off their skills at squeezing onto the bus, which was quite disappointing.

Incense at Jiulong Temple was also extremely expensive, forcing them to detour to buy incense from a nearby shop before heading there.

In contrast, the Xiaoyao Sect seemed much better!

The elderly ladies exchanged looks, decisively picked up their small baskets, and headed toward the filming base.

On the other side, at Jiulong Temple.

Two young men in Taoist robes stood at the entrance, watching the backs of a few middle-aged and elderly devotees disappearing down the overgrown path. Their smiles quickly vanished.

One of the chubby Taoists frowned, looking worried. "Big brother, what’s going on recently? Since the New Year, it seems like the number of devotees has dropped a lot, and the auction price for the first incense has been less than half of what it used to be.""How many times do I have to say it? Don't call me 'Big Brother'! Call me 'Temple Master'!" The tall, thin man corrected the address with a grim face, but when he looked at the empty path, there was a hint of doubt.

Recently, the number of people coming to offer incense had indeed dropped significantly.

Despite their temple being in such a remote area, there used to be a lot of visitors, and during the days before the New Year, there was almost a stampede as people rushed to offer incense one second earlier than others.

Though offering incense and praying to Buddha is usually something that increases around the holidays, the number of visitors in the past two days has been shockingly low!

As he was deep in thought, a group of elderly women came mumbling from a distance.

The tall, thin man immediately put on a demeanor of an aloof master, wearing a calm smile as he prepared to receive the usual worship and incense money from the elderly women.

However, today, the elderly women were very unusual—they were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn’t even notice him as they walked closer.

It wasn't until they passed by and entered the temple that the tall, thin man overheard their conversation—

"Ai, we came a bit too late today. These young people really don’t know how to respect the elderly. I hinted so obviously, and they still didn’t let me cut in line!"

"Yes, that’s true. But we really did come a little too late. I heard they started lining up at five in the morning. Tomorrow, we’ll get up early and get in line first. Let’s see if those young people can get up that early!"

"Right, right. And over there, you don’t have to pay for the first incense offering. Just follow their live stream and you can get it. It’s such a bargain! Let’s get up early tomorrow and rush for the first incense offering!"

"By the way, what kind of deity do they worship over there? They’re really effective! I just asked a young man to help me offer three sticks of incense, and I immediately felt it—what a relief!" The elderly woman who had earlier complained about constipation paused, "Oh, speaking of which, they have free public toilets over there, and they’re even cleaner than here!"

The elderly women were chatting excitedly, and as they entered the temple, they saw the dilapidated temple in front of them, their expressions faltering.

What made them think that this temple was so reliable in the first place?

Looking at the peeling paint on the pillars, the drafty hall, the dusty statues, and the Taoist flags covered in spider webs, and even the area was barely over 200 square meters.

When they thought back to the temple they had visited earlier, it had at least several thousand square meters. The surrounding walls were tall and beautiful, the buildings inside were full of design, and they sparkled—nothing like a typical temple.

Even the gate was electric!

What had once filled them with a sense of history and grandeur now seemed to have lost all its appeal.

The elderly women shook their heads regretfully: "Temples these days are all modern buildings, with separate areas for people and vehicles. They’re nothing like this one!"

"Looks like we were too naïve before and mistook this small temple for something precious."

"Forget it, forget it, we’ve already bought the incense. There’s no point waiting in line over there. We’ll just offer incense here and leave. My granddaughter will be out of school soon."

With forced expressions, the elderly women offered their incense, not even taking the usual charms or amulets as gifts, and hurriedly left the temple.

They still hadn’t noticed the two young men in Taoist robes standing aside.

The chubby Taoist was dumbfounded as he watched them leave: "This... this... What are they saying? Big Brother? Why didn’t our illusion work?"

The tall, thin man’s face had already turned as black as a pot bottom.

The elderly women were speaking in dialects, and their mouths were chattering so much that he didn’t hear everything clearly, but it was enough for him to understand that his followers had been swayed by someone else.

His foolish subordinate beside him only made him angrier.He raised his hand and slapped the back of the fat Taoist priest's head, his teeth gritted in anger: "Idiot! The competitors have stolen our customers right under our noses, and you didn't even notice! Go and investigate now!!"

The fat Taoist priest, shocked from the slap, looked scared but hesitated before not leaving.

He hesitated, saying, "But boss, we’re practicing evil and unorthodox ways. It's not good to go to their proper Taoist temple and steal their people, right? What if we get caught…"

"Idiot!!" The tall and thin man was so furious that his voice cracked. He kicked the fat Taoist priest, "Did you not hear those old women talking? Modernized buildings, free public restrooms, automatic doors! They even need to watch a live stream to receive incense! Have you ever seen a real Taoist temple run like this!?"

This is definitely a local evil cult stealing our business!!!

While overseeing the incense offerings, strictly following the meet-and-greet standards where each person could only stay for 30 seconds to offer incense and make a wish, Zhu Chu suddenly felt his nose itch and couldn't help but sneeze.

He rubbed his nose and looked up at the sky. It seemed like it was getting cooler, so he texted the director:

[Director, it’s getting cold, some fans might catch a cold. Can we apply to give everyone in line two warm pads?]

Director: "…………"

After the renovation of the Taoist temple behind the talent show shooting base, the comfortable incense offering experience at Xiaoyao Sect quickly became a hot topic that everyone praised.

Most of the incense offering visitors were fans of the contestants, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols, but unexpectedly, they ended up becoming fans of Xiaoyao Sect.

After returning, they posted related guides and experience records, reflecting on how they had been prejudiced against offering incense and praying, realizing this was quite civilized and advanced.

At first, some netizens scoffed at these guides, thinking they were just another money-making tactic by the entertainment industry.

However, once Xiaoyao Sect began selling protective talismans, fortune-bringing charms, and consecrated bracelets, this idea was reinforced.

But many fans, not understanding the situation, still went to check in for their idols, or reposted fortune-bringing charms to fulfill their wishes, so the popularity of Xiaoyao Sect remained high.

It’s worth mentioning that the internet celebrities who had been scared by the haunted house and taken away by the emergency services have now been discharged from the hospital. It was heard that the "All-Purpose Idol" show crew had started to make things exciting again, and those who didn’t believe in the supernatural came to live stream once more.

The incense offering place naturally did not allow live streaming, and their equipment was quickly asked to be turned off by the security. They could only offer incense, buy a few bracelets, and some talismans before leaving to debunk the fraud.

Having suffered from the haunted house incident on "All-Purpose Idol" before, they were full of fighting spirit this time, vowing to debunk the fraud thoroughly. They started a long, uninterrupted live stream challenge.

However, after a few days, their live stream style quickly changed to:

"Ahhh! My bracelet broke! It must have blocked a disaster for me! Master, help me!"

This was from a haunted house adventure blogger.

"Where’s my talisman? Where’s my talisman? Have you seen my talisman? Ahhh! I can’t go out without it!!" This was from a funny blogger who accidentally became popular for always being unlucky.

"As a devout man, I vow to eat a balanced diet for the rest of my life, and I ask Xiaoyao Sect to open a Taobao store soon— I want to buy one hundred peach blossom charms!!" This was from a single humorous male blogger who suddenly became lucky after receiving fortune charms.

Once Xiaoyao Sect's reputation spread, it was time to start profiting.

Zhu Chu now opened the backstage every day, and his private messages were filled with requests for him to open stores on various shopping platforms to sell talismans.

He couldn’t help but feel a little dazed.

Just last month, he was worried that Xiaoyao Sect might go bankrupt under his master's leadership, but now, fans were actively asking them to release merchandise?He worked hard to operate the social platform for the day he could profit from it. Of course, talismans were going to be listed, but...

Zhu Chu glanced at the squiggly talisman he had drawn, which no matter how he looked at it, didn’t resemble any useful talisman at all. He felt quite sad: “Master…”

Ke Xingzhou lifted his eyelids and glanced at the thing he had drawn, falling into silence.

He was so lazy that he certainly wouldn’t be sitting at the desk every day drawing talismans. Fortunately, he had the foresight to take on an apprentice earlier. Even though Zhu Chu had just entered the field and hadn’t had time to memorize the basic knowledge, Ke Xingzhou had already brought him various talismans to copy.

Unfortunately, the results were not significant.

Ke Xingzhou wanted to comfort his only apprentice, but this talisman was truly beyond hope. After being stuck for a while, he could only pat his head in consolation.

"..." Zhu Chu’s mindset immediately collapsed even further.

Especially at this moment, Nie Chen slowly put down his pen, furrowed his brows, and rubbed his wrist. He looked directly at them and said, “I’ve only drawn a hundred. Do you want to inspect them?”

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Zhu Chu followed his master over to have a look. The hundred pieces of talisman paper were neatly cut, and the cinnabar ink strokes were all neat and beautiful. Even the talisman symbols, which he could never remember, were drawn so perfectly that they looked like they were printed.

He couldn’t help but let out a long sob.

He had been in this for so long, but he still wasn’t as good as Mr. Nie, who had just come to learn...

Speaking of why Mr. Nie was here, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness.

That day, his car was rear-ended by Mr. Nie. He mustered the courage to ask Mr. Nie to help deliver Ke Xingzhou and Ke Yuanbai to the base, then fixed his car and hurried back. Just in time, he saw Mr. Nie and Ke Xingzhou together at the door.

At that time, it seemed Mr. Nie was asking his master for something. He was too far away to see clearly, but when he got closer and asked, he found out Mr. Nie had donated an incense burner to their temple, the one at the entrance of the filming base.

Zhu Chu immediately became vigilant, thinking, Could Mr. Nie also want to become an apprentice?

Previously, Xie An and An He Guang had done the same thing—donating something and wanting to become an apprentice. Fortunately, his master hadn’t agreed to any of them!

Even Mr. Nie, who had donated such a large incense burner, was immediately brushed off by his master when he appeared.

Zhu Chu was deeply moved at that time, and he made up his mind to study Taoist methods well, to revitalize the Xiao Yao Sect as soon as possible and prove to everyone that his master's choice was correct!

But now...

Seeing how his master’s eyes couldn’t hide the admiration for those talismans, yet he was desperately trying to conceal it for his sake, Zhu Chu felt even more ashamed.

It was all because he was so useless. That was why his master couldn’t even show his real feelings.

After a brief hesitation, he still painfully spoke up: "Master..."

Ke Xingzhou and Nie Chen both looked at him at the same time, their expressions different. For some reason, Ke Xingzhou seemed a bit flustered.

Zhu Chu was a bit confused, but he didn’t think too much about it. Right now, he was immersed in his own sorrow, struggling to look away from the perfect talismans on the table, quietly clenching his own poor attempts.

His voice was hoarse, he closed his eyes tightly, and with all his strength, he said, “How about... you take Mr. Nie in as your disciple instead?”

Nie Chen raised an eyebrow, looking at him in surprise.Ke Xingzhou’s expression changed even further. He thought Zhu Chu had discovered something, and he quickly said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"

His agitation only made Zhu Chu feel more guilty. With a sense of loss, he said, "I'm not talking nonsense. I know you're good to me, but Mr. Nie is clearly learning faster than I am. Our temple really needs someone like him right now. You don’t need to worry about me."

Then, in a small voice, he added, "Moreover, Mr. Nie is very wealthy."

He had thought this through. The road to revitalizing their temple was full of difficulties, and the biggest obstacle was money. Relying on the support from followers like Xie An and the incense patrons, it would take ages to rebuild their temple. Therefore, attracting talent was also very important.

Zhu Chu’s gaze shifted back to Nie Chen’s face. This time, he no longer had the wariness from before, but rather felt more and more satisfied.

To donate such a large incense burner so casually, to have such talent for drawing talismans, and being an heir to a rich family, he must know how to make money. Not to mention the aura he carried—standing there, he was like a living advertisement.

Their temple was exactly lacking a person with such financial power!

Ke Xingzhou: "..."

Nie Chen: "..."