TRG was the most established team in the league, undefeated since the summer season. How could they possibly lose three to two against a new team?
In the bullet comments, TRG fans started cursing directly.
"Bullshit! You Horror Zone streamers just love talking nonsense, don't you?"
"Exactly, how could TRG possibly lose?"
"God Rang, make her refund the money!"
"I want to watch a horror streamer, not a scammer streamer. God Rang, let's switch to another stream. Don't give this scammer any traffic!"
Qin Rang chuckled. "Everyone, don't worry. Whether the streamer sister is lying or not, won't we know the result soon enough?"
"Mm," Shen Zhiyi said. "If my reading is wrong, I'll refund your money."
With that, she directly kicked Qin Rang off the voice channel.
"Anyone else want a reading?"
Kicked off without warning, Qin Rang's mouth twitched, and he sent a bullet comment in the stream.
"Sister, I'll come find you after the match."
"What do you want to see me for?" Shen Zhiyi frowned. "I only refund if the reading is wrong."
This guy wasn't planning to back out, was he?
Qin Rang: "…"
His fans couldn't take it anymore.
"We're always gentle with pretty girls, but scammers are the exception. Family, report her stream!"
"God Rang, you've been scammed! A rocket! My heart hurts!"
"Remember this stream, report her!"
"Damn scammer!"
These people had terrible manners.
Shen Zhiyi couldn't be bothered with them. She let them chatter away in the bullet comments, treating it as free traffic for her stream.
She looked down and continued playing her match-three game.
A notification suddenly popped up on her phone—an email.
"Master, I've run into some trouble here. Could you come take a look for me?"
The email was signed by Yu Qing, from the Spirit Research Association.
Yu Qing was a member of the Spirit Research Association stationed in Jiangcheng, hailing from the Yu family of the imperial capital.
The Yu family was a lineage of exorcists, wealthy and deeply entrenched in power.
But in this era, spiritual energy was scarce, and few exorcists were truly formidable. Though Yu Qing had the backing of the Yu family, she had only learned to draw talismans and practice the planchette method, and she wasn't even proficient at those.
She had some connection with Yu Jin, the head of the Yu family, and had been entrusted by Yu Jin to look after Yu Qing.
Seeing Yu Qing's message, Shen Zhiyi replied with "Coming now" and put away her phone.
"I have something to do today. If you need a reading, you can contact me through the backend."
With that, she logged out of the stream.
The bullet comments in Qin Rang's stream exploded instantly.
"God Rang! That scammer ran away!"
"Report her! Report her!"
"Brothers, raid her stream!"
"…"
Qin Rang cleared his throat and smiled. "Don't get so worked up. The match result isn't out yet, is it? What if she actually got it right?"
Even as he said that, he knew in his heart that TRG could never lose to a rookie team.
In the league championship match, the score reached two to zero.
…
Summer in Jiangcheng brought frequent torrential rains. A gust of wind swept through, blowing in black clouds that obscured the moon and stars. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled, and rain poured down in sheets.
On an open lot in the western suburbs of Jiangcheng, several people stood inside a makeshift construction shed, staring at the pitch-black building not far away, their expressions varied.
"Engineer Zhang, the old master said we have to make our move tonight."
A portly man lit a cigarette, his face full of impatience.
"What are you hesitating about? You're not buying into those ridiculous rumors, are you?"
"Just wait a moment." Zhang Quan wiped the sweat from his temples and peered down the main road.
The potbellied man grew even more impatient. "What are we waiting for? It's just demolishing an abandoned orphanage—just drive the machinery straight in!"
Zhang Quan frowned. "President Liang, you've heard about this orphanage's situation. After that big fire, it's been abandoned for ten years. It was auctioned off twice in that time, and both developers ended up ruined… You don't want Morningstar Group getting tangled up with something unclean, do you?"
Liang Yousheng was taken aback. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and said irritably, "Then how long do we have to wait? This has to be dealt with eventually."
Zhang Quan quickly replied, "I've arranged for a Metaphysics Master to come—he'll be here any moment. We'll have him go in and take a look first. If there's no problem, then we demolish."
As Zhang Quan finished speaking, yellow headlights grew closer through the rainy mist.
A black sedan pulled up at the roadside.
A young man held an umbrella, shielding a girl as they walked over.
"Master Yu!" Zhang Quan immediately hurried over and said respectfully, "You're finally here! It's this place—we're starting work tomorrow morning. Please take a look."
Liang Yousheng stubbed out his cigarette and sized up the newcomers.
The young man was no more than twenty, with a tall, straight posture, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and delicate, handsome features. From head to toe, his clothes and watch added up to a six-figure sum—clearly the young master of a wealthy family.
The girl's face was hard to make out clearly. She had a slender, graceful figure, wearing a white T-shirt with denim shorts and a pair of crocs. Her first impression was that of a college student who'd slipped out of school to buy skewers from a street vendor.
Zhang Quan said something to them, and the two young people walked side by side toward the orphanage.
When Zhang Quan returned, Liang Yousheng tilted his chin toward the girl's slender back and asked with interest, "That's your master?"
A couple of snot-nosed kids.
"President Liang, don't underestimate him," Zhang Quan said. "Last time I ran into trouble, he helped me solve it. I heard he's backed by an organization that specializes in Xuanxue—they work for the government, so they're very capable."
Liang Yousheng scoffed dismissively. "Then I can only say I look forward to their performance."
Just then, more headlights approached.
Liang Yousheng squinted over, his expression shifting slightly. Without even bothering to grab his umbrella, he hurried over.
"Mr. Lu."
He called out respectfully to the lowered car window.
…
With a creak, the iron gate, blackened by smoke, swung open.
Shen Zhiyi stepped into the orphanage and looked around at the scorched black walls.
Outside the gate, the rain was loud and chaotic, but just beyond the door, the pitch-black ruins were utterly silent.
A cold wind blew from the depths of the darkness, brushing past their temples.
As the chill passed through, Yu Qing shuddered.
"Sister Zhiyi, have you found anything?"
He'd actually come to investigate this orphanage a month ago.
But with his abilities, aside from a gut feeling that something was off here, he'd found nothing else.
"Mhm."
Shen Zhiyi responded briefly and walked deeper into the corridor.
Rage, fear, despair, pain, resentment… The malevolent energy gathered in this orphanage churned like rolling tides, threatening to swallow a person whole.
Shen Zhiyi focused her mind and followed the direction where the resentment was thickest.
In the quiet darkness, the sound of wind and rain faded completely.
After walking for a while, Yu Qing suddenly stopped.
"Sister Zhiyi, something's wrong."
No matter how he adjusted the angle or brightness, the beam of his flashlight could only reach five steps ahead.
Shen Zhiyi glanced at him.
This kid—did he only just now realize something was off?
The girl's gaze was as cold and clear as the moon, yet Yu Qing always felt he could read a hint of sympathy in it.
He pressed his lips together and asked cautiously, "Should we continue?"
He hadn't expected the resentment in this orphanage to be this fierce. Perhaps they should retreat for now and come back after he had summoned an elder from his clan.
"No need." Shen Zhiyi walked forward. "Even if you brought your clan elders here, it wouldn't help."
Most Spirit Cultivators of this era were only half-trained. Even someone like Yu Qing, who had some family foundation, could only manage "sensing"—and even that was incomplete. Anyone else who came would only end up getting beaten down.
Yu Qing gripped his flashlight tightly and kept close to Shen Zhiyi's steps.
"Hee hee."
From the boundless darkness came the sound of children's laughter.
"Over here, over here—"
"Quick, pass the ball!"
One after another, accompanied by cheerful voices, the darkness before the two suddenly dispersed.
The sky was clear, a gentle breeze blowing, causing wind chimes under the eaves to tinkle softly.
Looking out from the corridor, seven or eight children were playing soccer on the grass, their small figures running about, laughing and frolicking, full of vitality.
"This is—" Yu Qing rubbed his eyes, hardly believing it. "An illusion?"