Chapter 58

Peng Jingshan suddenly looked up at Ke Xingzhou.

He had indeed concealed the time when he first noticed the abnormal situation around him.

Just as Ke Xingzhou had said, the first time he realized he had become invisible was during the audition for that film.

This historical film had a huge budget. The director had spent ten years preparing for it and finally decided to bring it to the big screen. Initially, the plan was to cast a few talented newcomers for the lead roles, with no intention of considering an experienced actor like him.

But after reading the script, he really liked it and was confident he could match the role. After being rejected a few times, he decided to give it another try.

The director attached great importance to the film, even using real props during the audition. This gave Peng Jingshan an opportunity to deceive them.

Peng Jingshan wore the mask of the main character, King of Fengdu, and lied about his name and age before walking into the audition room to perform.

He used all of his acting skills, and without even being seen, he won the admiration of the director and the production team.

When he took off the mask, he was actually a little nervous. After all, his actions had deceived the production team, and if they got angry, they could blacklist him, and there might never be another opportunity to work with them.

To his surprise, after taking off the mask, neither the director nor the production team showed any signs of difficulty. Instead, they enthusiastically asked him how he thought of portraying King of Fengdu in such a way—it was simply brilliant.

Peng Jingshan couldn't help but smile bitterly as he continued: "I suppose you all already guessed—they didn’t recognize me at all."

At first, he was overjoyed, thinking he had finally made it, that his acting had conquered the director and the production team. But soon after, he heard them call him by the fake name.

Peng Jingshan didn’t understand what was happening at first, and after a moment of confusion, he confessed his identity: "Director, it's me! Peng Jingshan! We’ve worked together many times, the one who played the male supporting role in Film 3!"

The director was stunned.

He looked Peng Jingshan up and down carefully, as if finally recognizing the old colleague in front of him, and his expression changed instantly.

The earlier praise disappeared, and everyone looked extremely awkward.

The director even tried to persuade Peng Jingshan: "Old Peng, you really aren’t suited for this role. I’ve made it very clear before that we can't afford someone like you for this film. The audience also needs fresh faces to fully immerse in the story. Please don’t make things difficult for me..."

The director said this very politely, but Peng Jingshan knew that it was because they thought he was too old and had played too many supporting roles. They feared he couldn’t carry the lead role.

Once a supporting role, always a supporting role.

Over the years, Peng Jingshan had heard countless similar rejections, each one like a blow to the head, leaving him battered and bruised.

But this time, for some reason, he absolutely didn’t want to give up.

"…Later, I voluntarily gave up the salary for the role and promised the director that as long as he needed me, I would drop whatever work I had to help him. Only then did I get the chance to try for this role." Peng Jingshan smiled bitterly. "I originally thought I had finallyDuring the entire filming process, Peng Jingshan felt like he was invisible to the rest of the crew.

Everyone subconsciously ignored him, and only when he actively introduced himself would they suddenly notice him and become enthusiastic again.

At first, he thought his behavior during the audition had angered the director, and that the director had intentionally instructed the crew to treat him this way. Later, he realized that wasn't the case. Even when his wife and children came to visit the set, they would subconsciously bypass him and look at others.

It was at that moment that he realized something inexplicable was happening to him.

"I didn’t intend to hide it; this event was a turning point in my life. I had waited for decades to finally get such an opportunity..." Naturally, he was unwilling to admit that everything he had achieved was simply because the director didn’t recognize him.

As long as he was still Peng Jingshan, he could never play the lead role.

Peng Jingshan felt like he had taken advantage of a loophole, but couldn't bring himself to accept this truth. So, he chose to vaguely erase this part of the process and only spoke about what happened after leaving the crew.

Now, having finally pulled out the thorn buried deep in his heart, he was unexpectedly not as unable to accept it as he had imagined.

Instead, he felt a sense of relief.

Peng Jingshan let out a long sigh and, only after a moment, began to feel a bit uneasy.

He had never shared these experiences with anyone, and the crew had no idea they were ignoring him. Naturally, they didn't gossip about it.

But when Ke Xingzhou spoke, he directly pointed out the very first point in the whole issue. How did he know?

Looking into Ke Xingzhou's calm eyes, Peng Jingshan felt a chill in his chest, as if someone had cut him open with a sharp knife, exposing him without any barrier to everyone.

He snapped back to reality and, recalling his previous neglect toward this master, cold sweat started to form. Subconsciously, he took out his wallet, pulled out all the cash, and shoved it into Ke Xingzhou's hand. "Master, I apologize for my earlier rudeness."

Ke Xingzhou, who had been listening to his story, was confused when the money was suddenly shoved into his hands.

He had originally only planned to clarify things for Peng Jingshan, leaving the rest to the people from Jiulong Temple. This way, Peng Jingshan wouldn’t have to spend money for nothing.

Now that he had taken the money, it would be awkward to leave things as they were. After thinking for a moment, he decided to pull out a piece of talisman paper and hand it over.

"You borrowed someone else’s identity, so you naturally need to return something to them. The medium should be that mask. Once they took your face, some things that originally belonged to you might be taken away as well. Keep this with you, and it can temporarily suppress their methods."

Peng Jingshan was overjoyed and immediately took the item, carefully placing it close to him, thanking Ke Xingzhou profusely.

Ke Xingzhou waved his hand. "The rest, let Jiulong Temple handle it."

The two priests over there had also received the money and felt it wouldn't be right to not do anything.

The two Taoist priests, one fat and one thin, were surprised as they listened to Ke Xingzhou’s explanation, thinking this young man was indeed capable. A seemingly absurd sentence had actually been made plausible by him.

Moreover, this whole face-changing thing—why did it increasingly sound like a technique from their own unorthodox path?

To use one’s own spear against one’s own shield—it was really clever.

They were both amazed, realizing that this was why the Xiaoyao Sect had turned an unorthodox practice into something like this. They thought they should learn more when they returned. Suddenly, they were called by name and were a bit confused.

Ke Xingzhou smiled at them and nodded. "I can't leave, so I can only help him figure out what's causing the trouble. Handling the evil spirits, that’s forDuring the entire filming process, Peng Jingshan was like an invisible person on set.

Everyone instinctively ignored him, and only when he actively mentioned his name would others suddenly notice him and become enthusiastic again.

At first, he thought it was because of his behavior during the earlier interview that upset the director, who deliberately told everyone to treat him this way. But later, he realized that wasn't the case. Even when his wife and children came to visit the set, they would instinctively bypass him and look at others.

It was then that he realized something inexplicable was happening to him.

"I'm not deliberately hiding it, it's just that this matter is a turning point in my life. I’ve waited for decades to finally get such an opportunity…" He was naturally unwilling to admit that he got all of this simply because the director didn't know who he was.

As long as he was still Peng Jingshan, he could never play the leading role.

Peng Jingshan felt like he had taken advantage of a loophole, yet he couldn't bring himself to admit this fact, so he just vaguely wiped away this process and only talked about what happened after leaving the set.

Now, finally removing the thorn buried in his heart, he was unexpectedly not as overwhelmed as he had imagined.

Instead, he felt a sense of relief.

Peng Jingshan exhaled deeply, and belatedly felt a bit nervous.

He had never mentioned these experiences to anyone, and the people on the set didn't even realize they were ignoring him. Naturally, they wouldn't gossip about it.

But as soon as Ke Xingzhou spoke, he pointed out the very first part of the issue. How did he know?

Meeting Ke Xingzhou's calm gaze, Peng Jingshan felt a chill in his chest, as though he had been cut open with a sharp knife, fully exposed in front of everyone.

He came to his senses and thought about how he had previously treated this master carelessly. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat and instinctively took out his wallet, pulling out all the cash inside, and handed it to Ke Xingzhou's hand: "Master, I was rude earlier. I’m truly sorry."

Ke Xingzhou was listening to his narration when suddenly, a stack of money was pressed into his hands, leaving him somewhat confused.

He had only intended to clear things up for Peng Jingshan and leave the rest for the people from Jiulongguan to handle, so that he wouldn't end up paying for nothing.

At this point, accepting the money felt inappropriate, so he thought for a moment and decided to hand over a piece of talisman paper.

"You borrowed someone else's identity, so you must return something to them. The medium should be that mask. Once the other party leaves your face, some of the things that originally belonged to you might be taken by them as well. If you carry this with you, it can temporarily suppress their methods."

Peng Jingshan was overjoyed, quickly took the item and tucked it close to his body, thanking him profusely.

Ke Xingzhou waved his hand: "Let Jiulongguan handle the rest for you."

The two others had also received the money, and it wouldn’t do for them to sit idly by.

The plump and skinny Daoist priests from Jiulongguan were listening in amazement to Ke Xingzhou's explanation, thinking to themselves that this young man indeed had some skill. Such a nonsensical statement had actually been explained so smoothly.

And this face-swapping thing… the more they heard, the more it sounded like a method used by their own heretical practices?

Using one's own spear to attack one's own shield—how clever, truly clever.

The two of them were amazed, thinking no wonder the Xiaoyao Sect could turn a heretical way into something like this. They would need to go back and learn more carefully. Suddenly, they were both called out by name, feeling a bit dazed.

Ke Xingzhou, with a very friendly smile, nodded at them: "I can't leave here, so I’ll help him figure out what’s causing the disturbance. The task of subduing the evil spirit will be left to you."Reignited with confidence, Peng Jingshan signed his name on every contestant he passed. On the other side, after entrusting the matter to the Daoist priests from Jiulongguan, Ke Xingzhou was preparing to return to the practice room to continue his sleep.

As he walked down the corridor, he saw the old lady ghost drifting by herself on the railing, looking downhearted.

He paused.

He intended to pretend he didn't see her and just leave, but the old lady ghost had already slowly turned her head, her face smeared with bright red bloodstains, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him.

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

He sighed silently and walked over to her. "What happened?"

The old lady ghost immediately began sobbing. "Sect Leader... do my feet really stink?"

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou was silent for a moment, for the first time unsure how to answer this question.

If he said they didn’t stink, his conscience would hurt. But if he said they did, his conscience would hurt even more.

Fortunately, the old lady ghost didn’t need his answer. Before he could respond, she continued crying. "But I didn’t want it to be this way…"

In fact, she had mentioned her past when they were at the demolition site before. She had briefly mentioned it, but as soon as Pu Li started kneeling and apologizing, she had stopped talking.

During her time at the filming base, with work to do, a salary to earn, and young, handsome men to look at, the kind-hearted ghosts were living a particularly leisurely life. The old lady ghost had been dead for so long that she could hardly remember what kind of person she had once been.

Now, with no one else around, she didn’t know why, but memories of the past suddenly resurfaced.

"Binding my feet really hurt. It hurt so much that I would roll on the ground every day, crying and begging my mother to take them off, but my mother wouldn’t agree… Later, seeing everyone else doing it, I gradually got used to it."

The old lady ghost sighed.

Did she not know her foot-binding cloth stank? But there was nothing she could do.

It was the smell coming from the wound. The gaps in her broken feet couldn’t be cleaned, and day after day, blood and filth built up inside, gradually emitting an unbearable stench.

The old lady ghost wiped her eyes and smiled awkwardly. "But actually, it’s much more comfortable after death. Because I can float around, my feet don’t need to touch the ground, and I don’t feel pain with every step."

Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have the mood to enjoy the sight of those young and vigorous boys.

What energetic young people! She didn’t get to see such things in her time—just looking at them more than once would have gotten her thrown into the pig cage!

Ke Xingzhou: "…"

Ke Xingzhou didn’t know what to say. After thinking for a long time, he asked her, "Do you still want to reincarnate?"

"Of course, why wouldn’t I want to?" The old lady ghost suddenly perked up. "I’ve been waiting in line for hundreds of years, isn’t that just to reincarnate? It’s a pity I was stuck in that big house before I died, and I didn’t have a chance to do any good deeds to accumulate merit. Now I can only take the ordinary reincarnation path. I don’t know how many hundreds of years it’ll take to be reborn as a human..."

As she spoke, she slumped again.

"Do you still want to be human?"It started raining lightly outside at some unknown time, and the sound of raindrops hitting the roof created a peaceful isolation from the world.

After a long while, Ke Xingzhou suddenly spoke, "How much merit do you still need?"

"Eh?"

"Never mind, you probably don’t know." Ke Xingzhou thought for a moment, then raised his hand to cast a summoning charm, bringing the long-missed Lu Li to his side.

Lu Li appeared to be busier than before. The number of keyboards surrounding him had increased from one to three, and when he materialized, his fingers were still tapping on the keyboards. He scratched his already messy hair and said, "No, Ancestor, what are you trying to do now?"

Ke Xingzhou pointed at the old lady ghost. "How can she go back and reincarnate?"

"Good ghosts can return to the Underworld at any time, but she made a mistake before. You need to provide a performance evaluation, stamp it with your organization's seal, and then burn it to the judge in charge of this matter for review. If approved, she can go back and reincarnate..." Lu Li unconsciously finished speaking, then suddenly felt something was wrong. "Why are you asking this? This old lady’s merit isn’t enough, so she can only queue up in the ordinary path according to the lowest standard, and it’ll still take at least another hundred years!"

Ke Xingzhou didn’t answer but asked, "Can merit let her skip ahead?"

"Well, it’s not exactly like that. You need to reach a certain threshold of merit..." Lu Li paused suddenly, then froze. "Ke Xingzhou, no way! How long did it take for you to accumulate this much merit, and now you want to give it to her?"

Seeing Ke Xingzhou’s calm expression, Lu Li's scalp tingled. "No way! If merit could be casually distributed, your ex-boyfriend would’ve already given all his merit to you, and you wouldn’t need to work so hard to accumulate it! Besides, don’t you want to make money? Look at your merit value—you could earn seven figures in one go now!"

After a pause, he emphasized again, "Living people cannot freely distribute their merit!"

Ke Xingzhou didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on him. "But there’s still you?"

Lu Li: "…………"