Chapter 236

Could it be that the mountain rat has turned into a spirit!

In the midnight livestream, there were originally only a few scattered comments flashing by, but as soon as "Mountain Rat" appeared, the sleepy night owls instantly perked up.

Meanwhile, Xu He, in front of the camera, was still looking for something to eat.

He lifted the pot lid, but the big pot had no water at all; then he opened the nearby electric cooker, inside which a bowl was placed. Because there was no light, relying on the faint moonlight from outside the window, he could only roughly see its outline.

His eyes lit up all of a sudden, and he excitedly picked up the bowl.

Huh, it's so light?

Xu He felt something was off, so he opened the kitchen door, and bright moonlight poured across the floor.

The moonlight, like water, revealed a clean porcelain bowl and also illuminated the person holding it.

The curious viewers were instantly stunned.

Xu He!

Just then, Xu He muttered under his breath: "Where's the food? My food?!"

He had no idea that a bowl of rice had been left for him, but Er Ha gulped it down in one bite, sneakily eating it, leaving him only an empty, clean bowl.

【Holy crap, Xu He stole food!】

At half past midnight, a piece of news suddenly topped the hot search list on Weibo; many night owls who saw the headline were instantly stunned.

#Xu He stole food#

What does that mean?

Many people rubbed their sleepy eyes, clicked in, and the screenshot showed Xu He holding an empty bowl in the moonlight, with a note attaching the livestream link; seeing it instantly energized everyone.

At midnight, the livestream's traffic surged instantly.

The night-shift staff member eating instant noodles stared at the suddenly soaring data, then clicked in to discover that the chat comments at that moment were incredibly lively.

Xu He, after all, is a top-tier star, and earlier today he had firmly said, "I'm not hungry, I won't eat!"

As a result, in the dead of night, he sneaked into the kitchen, only to find a perfectly clean empty bowl—what a humiliating twist.

Even the brainless fans felt sorry for their brother, and the onlooking netizens were about to burst out laughing.

【Oh my god, what a haul at midnight? Awesome!】

【Daytime: I won't eat! I'm not hungry! Nighttime: the rice is truly fragrant!】

【Hahaha, what should I do? I still have to go to work tomorrow!】

Xu He, furious and exasperated, threw the bowl to the ground with a bang, but it didn't crack; the thin porcelain bowl rolled around on the floor with a gurgling sound, then finally landed upside down with a clap.

Xu He: "……"

Livestream netizens: "……"

【Ahahaha, I'm gonna laugh myself sick!】

【Help, others came to travel, but he's just here to be funny!】

【Look at that bowl on the ground—it's big and round!】

Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, jerked his head around, and came face‑to‑face with a red‑flashing camera.

At that moment, his face was darker than the night outside, as if he could squeeze out ink any second.

Damn, why is there a camera here!

Voices of other people came from the courtyard; without thinking, he bolted out the door, and by the time others noticed, he had already fled far away.

The cooking courtyard used Song Youli's big house, since the attached small kitchen had all the utensils; hearing the noise, she rushed out in a hurry.

The girl wore a plain cotton nightgown that outlined her frail, slender figure; her pure, pretty face looked like a little fairy unfamiliar with the world, yet her thin, feeble arms were slightly bent as she held a thick, long club bristling with wolf‑tooth spikes.

Her heroic, vigorous stance resembled that of a female warrior raising and lowering her weapon!

The accompanying female staff member and cameraman who had run out fell silent at the sight of her.

Song Youli looked wary: "What on earth is it? Did you see it?"

The two of them shook their heads; the livestream chat burst into laughter, and after a while they replied remotely——

【I saw it—it's Xu He, he came to steal food!】

【You scared him off, little fairy with the wolf‑tooth club!】

【Hahaha, he must have run two li by now—how miserable, utterly miserable!】

【Xu He: For just a bite of rice, do I have it easy?】

Xu He, the unlucky kid, sprinted at full tilt just as the netizens described, dashing two li in one breath until his legs went limp like noodles; he barely stopped, leaning against the wall, panting like a poor dog.

He wiped his forehead, his hand sticky with cold sweat, only then realizing he seemed to have run to some unknown place.

The nighttime countryside was silent; this was an ancient village, with stone‑built houses visible everywhere, tall and large, tightly interwoven.

By day it looks lively and vibrant; but after night falls, shrouded in darkness, the pitch‑black shadows seem like an endless abyss of ten thousand zhang.

He felt as if someone was watching him.

Xu He's whole body tensed; his ears, unusually sharp, picked up a rustling sound, like shoes scraping on stone, making him shudder involuntarily.

Suddenly, a figure crouched down, a coughing fit erupted, and a wavering silhouette emerged from the moonlight; his curiosity spiked, he furtively poked his head out, his eyes just peeking——

A wrinkled, elderly face suddenly loomed before him; in the shadow it showed a horrible bluish hue, Xu He stared, mouth agape, his scream choked off in his throat!

He looked exactly like the photo in the memorial hall!

With a bang, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.

Overnight, the phrase "Xu He stole food" rose to the website's hot search; the next morning, Director Liu, seeing the headline, was still puzzled, and after the duty staff's explanation, he too was stunned—just before he could feel happy, a piece of bad news arrived——

Xu He fell ill.

He had a cold, lying in bed; at first he kept shouting "Ghosts! Ghosts!" but then, for some reason, his mood eased, he suggested quitting, declaring he would never come back no matter what.

Director Liu narrowed his eyes, tone indifferent: "Did his agent agree?"

"Of course not!" the Vice Director chimed in; initially, their show was also quite popular in the industry, thanks to big investment and high pay, attracting many second‑ and third‑tier stars.

Xu He, as a newly risen top‑tier star, doesn't have a solid position; he has several million Weibo followers, at least half of which are bought by the company, his fame is inflated, and getting in here is just dumb luck.

The penalty for breaching their show's contract is clearly written, amounting to eight figures; even for a top‑tier star, that's a huge loss.

"The agent over there came straight to me, telling me he won't quit, he just wants to buy a day."

"Besides, he's had terrible luck with this."

The assistant director scratched his head: "He said that after running out last night, he ran into a ghost—or rather, the old man he saw in broad daylight yesterday, who looks exactly like the photo."

The assistant director said this, lowering his voice slightly: "I only just found out that an elderly man in the village died, his funeral and the seventh day were held together, and the seventh day was moved up—this matter is… suspicious."

This line of work is indeed rather superstitious; after hearing that, the assistant director also felt it's better to believe it might be true than to dismiss it.

Things having come to this, Liu Hengdu couldn't say much either; he gave him a day off, and the five‑person group became four.

Their destination today is the Jin Ge Dong cave on the mountain of the ancient village, which is the name of that natural grotto.

As for Xu He, Ling Yue recalled seeing him before, wrapped in a thick cotton blanket, shivering, and she couldn't help but frown.

The Fengshui Turtle Master, who had been running around somewhere unknown all day yesterday, slowly came out of Xu He's room: "Still thinking about that guy?"

Ling Yue nodded, taking advantage of the fact that the camera wasn't filming.

Fengshui Turtle Master: "I just checked; he hasn't picked up any more ghostly energy."

Ling Yue: "Maybe he scared himself?"

The Fengshui Turtle Master didn't answer; hearing they were going up the mountain today, he suddenly became excited and said with deep meaning: "The mountain is great—this mountain is blessed with spiritual vitality and gorgeous scenery!"

Ling Yue blinked, then suddenly remembered its disappearance from yesterday: "Master, have you been there?"

The Fengshui Turtle Master said nothing, walking slowly ahead; as soon as the small animals saw it, they cheered and ran to greet it: "Grandpa Turtle!"

Including Ru Tan's Persian cat Guo Guo in her arms, which plopped onto the turtle's back; the husky Er Ha enviously stretched out its feet, and the Fengshui Turtle's bean‑large eyes glared over: "What are you up to, kid?"

Its wise little dog eyes rolled around, left and right, not daring to look at the Fengshui Turtle.

Guo Guo on the turtle's back licked her paw pads: "Stupid dog, take a look at yourself! Didn't you sleep all night beside the bed?"

Hui Hui the husky stared at it in shock: "How do you know?!" After saying that, it clapped a hand over its mouth: "No, no, this is about me and my owner's bedroom affairs—I can't tell you!"

After saying that, it actually pointed its butt at Guo Guo.

Ling Yue: "Pfft—"

She really couldn't hold back her laughter.

Bedroom affairs?

Where do dogs learn these words from? Don't use them if you don't know how! Only she can understand; otherwise, this would be really hard to wrap up.

Guo Guo the Persian cat: "???"

The cat tilted its head and said: "You stupid dog! With how filthy you are, who'd let you on the bed?"

The husky suddenly realized, then lifted its paw to examine its own black, grimy claws, the fur hardened to a board, and fell into deep withdrawal.

No wonder—before, the owner used to give it a scented bath, but yesterday it didn't even touch itself, QAQ.

It howled as it ran to its owner's side, wanting to nuzzle him.

Qin Mingwei turned terrified into a meme‑style image: "Don't come over!". JPG

Hui Hui the husky looked utterly disbelieving and shocked: "Owner, I'm your beloved Hui Hui!"

Hui Hui the husky stepped back step by step, then flopped onto the ground with a plop, looking up at its owner with pleading dog eyes, and wailed: "Big pig trotter! Scumbag! When you liked me you called me 'sweetie', but now you don't like me you ignore me completely!"

"Wuu wuu wuu, dog, my life is so hard~~"

Qin Mingwei: "If I hadn't seen the dog shedding bits all over, I might have just let it go, but now—dame!"

【Hahaha, drama‑queen dog!】

【Ah ah ah, hurry up and hug it, pet it, kiss it, the dog's gonna get angry!】

【Help! Help! Help! If I hadn't seen the dog, I really would have rushed over in one stride, but now—I daren't!】

【Take a look, a freshly unearthed mummy‑dog, crispy to the point of falling apart! 【thumbs up】【thumbs up】】

Even netizens have created a new meme—

A dog black as coal lies on the ground, pose alluring: "See how much I resemble my former self.". JPG

The dog went from pitifully cute to furious enough to dig a hole; only a second apart, seeing its actions, Qin Yingdi—no surprise as the owner who knows it best—bolted, running ahead while the dog chased behind.

The picture was edited by netizens into a meme.

The dog gave a wicked grin, its tank filled with 95‑octane gasoline, with a note attached: "The three‑year period is up, the Dragon King returns to his throne, I'll take back everything that's mine!"

Ling Yue watched this scene and let out a quiet sigh: "Hui Hui."

Noticing the dog's sudden odd obedience, even Qin Yingdi was surprised: "Whose dog is this really—mine or Xiao Yue's?"

Ling Yue smiled faintly, silently putting away the King of Beasts aura, hiding it deep within her identity.

Hui Hui: "You won't believe this, but I saw a female tiger! So big! So fierce!"

Ling Yue: 【smile】【clenched fist】

After a round of laughter, the tour guide sent by the production crew also arrived; seeing the visitors, Ling Yue's expression turned surprised.

【Wow, it's that shy young man from yesterday!】

Indeed, it was Qiu Jun, the village official of Lianhua Village; after seeing the guests, he smiled shyly, then, catching sight of the camera, immediately straightened his chest: "Honored guests, hello—I'm the village's tour guide."

Song Youli had a question mark pop up on her head: "But aren't you a College Graduate Village Official?"

Qiu Jun had pondered this at home over and over, anticipating all kinds of questions, and now he explained: "I am a College Graduate Village Official, but I'm also a native of this place; this time I'm just taking you to see our village's Jin Ge Dong, which was previously rated one of the nation's seven great caves."

Song Youli: "One of the seven great caves? Is it the same as Jingdong Great Cave in Jing Shi's Pinggu District?"

Hearing that, the audience in front of the screen instantly perked up—this was exactly Qiu Jun's goal; his smile grew brighter, his tone hinting at pride: "Yes, our Jin Ge Dong, Zhangjiajie's Dragon King Cave, and Jing Shi's Jingdong Great Cave are all of the same tier; not only that, our Lianhua Village is also an ancient settlement with nearly a thousand years of history."

"There's also a local temple fair passed down through the generations; I'll take you there too."

He said this with a simple smile, then shifted the topic back to the purpose of this trip.

Savvy netizens would hardly miss that he's promoting his village; many have been tempted, and indeed, after going up the mountain, the scenery here is truly breathtaking.

The production crew was well-funded, directly employing drone aerial filming; lush, verdant green mountains stretched in continuous swaths, towering trees visible everywhere, and one could hear a couple of long, clear cries.

A pure white bird, nimble in form, spread its wings and soared high, like a white sail weaving through a sea of clouds.

Mist and clouds wreathed the scene, resembling a mortal paradise.

As the drone was filming, Qiu Jun happened to be introducing the Lotus Mountain behind them.

"According to legend, a hunter came up this mountain chasing a white fox, ran all the way to the summit, and discovered a white lotus over a meter tall; afterward, the mountain gradually came to be called Lotus Mountain."

He also described Golden Dove Cave: "The shape of Golden Dove Cave resembles a dove with wings spread in flight, and besides, many doves nest nearby; moreover, there is a legend that long ago a poor family's mother fell gravely ill, and then a heavy snow blocked the mountain; the hunter's son, determined to save his mother, braved the wind and snow to go hunting on the mountain."

"He spotted a golden dove, took it for an auspicious sign, and chased after it; he chased it all the way here, only to find that the original dove and a flock of golden doves were flapping their wings, circling above Golden Dove Cave. He became entranced without realizing it, and when he came to his senses, the doves had already vanished."

"The son, disheartened, prepared to descend the mountain, but he didn't expect to trip and fall; upon looking, he saw that what had tripped him was not a big stone but a pile of gold ingots. Because of this pile of gold ingots, an entire family's lives were saved. Hence the cave got its name, Golden Dove Cave."

"Wow, there are so many legends in this mountain; could it be some kind of blessed cave paradise?" Song Youli said enthusiastically, teasing.

Ling Yue heard this and froze for a moment, then immediately began observing the mountain's qi flow; her clear, limpid eyes reflected the white mist, and as sunlight fell, purple vapor rose.

The audience in front of the screen listened with great relish.

【The little brother tells stories pretty well; I got completely absorbed.】

【Wow, gold ingots! I want to pick some up too!】

Dong Qian was one of the avid followers of 《Little Life》, a nine-to-five office drone; hearing that the hunter had found a pile of gold ingots, she drooled with envy.

I really wish I could get rich overnight!

That lousy company where men work like oxen and horses while women are treated like men—I don't want to stay there another second!

She gulped, saliva gathering, while listening to the little brother's story and gazing at the breathtaking aerial scenery, then her eyes widened suddenly.

She studied civil engineering in university; besides the required major courses, there was an extremely important auxiliary class—though it had a proper name, everyone called it the feng shui course, and they used to joke, 'Whoever becomes a feng shui master, secure wealth and status, don't forget your old friends!'

Of course, in reality there is no actual feng shui master, but even that half-baked course benefited her greatly; at this moment, she stared in shock at the aerial shot of the mountain peak.

She typed away with a clatter: '【Everyone, quick look at the mountaintop—it's a lotus flower, a feng shui treasure spot!】'

Among them, the most typical example is the Lishan Tomb of Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, which is lotus‑shaped, surrounded by mountains and water, a genuine feng shui treasure spot.

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a stone stirring up thousands of waves; someone uploaded a screenshot, and even without tracing the outline, the obvious lotus shape could be seen.

Whether due to the angle or some other reason, the picture showed mist and vapor rising, purple light filling the sky, a vivid depiction of the golden mountain bathed in sunlight.

Looking again at the screen, there was a neat row of wishes——

【May I pass the graduate school entrance exam!】

【May I get rich overnight! May all my wishes come true!】

【Pass! Pass!】

Seeing these wishes, the directors couldn't help but laugh; what was even more unexpected was that the show topped the hot search list again and again.

Other contemporary variety‑show directors, looking at the hot search, were practically spitting with anger.

Nobody expected that a Cheng Qiejin would burst onto the scene midway—still, it was their most disparaged cute‑pet travel variety show.

The livestream room.

The gurgling stream sounded like a soothing melody, the tinkling sounds trickling into their ears; the group turned a bend, and behind a line of towering ancient trees, a stream flowing down from the mountain valley appeared before everyone's eyes—clear to the bottom.

"Plunk!"

Before anyone could react, the husky Huihui leapt up, splashing water everywhere; the dog howled 'aooo aooo aooo' as it lifted its head, and the mud on its body was washed away by the stream.

"Wow, there's a little crab!" Song Youli exclaimed, rolling up her pant legs: "How adorable!"

Everyone walked for an hour or two, each exhausted to the point of collapse; even the usually serene Rután sat down on a large rock.

Qiu Jun then let everyone rest on the spot; Lotus Mountain isn't high, and it can be reached in just a few hours.

The feng shui turtle slowly entered the water, swimming over to Ling Yue's side, stretched its neck, and wanted to compare notes: "Did you see that just now?"

Ling Yue scooped up a bit of water and poured it onto the turtle's shell; she looked relaxed, fully understanding the feng shui turtle master's meaning.

Ling Yue said with a smile, "I saw it—the feng shui and qi here are top‑notch; if I'm not mistaken, there must be a dragon vein underground……"

"Waa waa waa, help! I'm gurgling… I'm about to… gurgle… drown!"

Ling Yue's words cut off abruptly as she turned her gaze toward the source of the sound——

The crystal‑clear stream rippled in circles; on its surface, a ball covered in tiny spines drifted slowly with the water.

It looked like an oversized chestnut burr.

"Big chestnut" thumped and struck the old turtle's shell.

The feng shui turtle startled, turned its head; the little thing suddenly hit a stone, instantly unfurling, and Ling Yue saw its pinkish belly and tiny rear, raising her eyebrows.

"Waa waa waa, you big pervert, peeking at my butt!"

Its short pink limbs stretched out, clutching its chubby butt: "I'm not pure anymore!",,,.