The recording studio abruptly fell into dead silence.
“……”
Ji Song coldly stared at Yun Yueming, as if trying to bore a hole through that beautiful face.
The film emperor Ji, who had always avoided variety shows, had descended from the heavens like an immortal for this occasion.
Even the staff who had no interest in singing or dancing quietly crowded backstage, eager to observe his teaching session.
Respect, adoration, admiration.
Everyone looked up at this untouchable, unattainable flower.
—Yet, this atmosphere was brutally shattered by Yun Yueming’s single phrase: “Bathroom.”
Was he out of his mind!?
Given Ji Song’s status, authority, and notoriously aloof personality, Yun Yueming was sure to be thrown out immediately!
Whether he could continue participating in the recording was now in question!
No one at the scene dared to speak. They all instinctively felt the overwhelming pressure emanating from the film emperor’s gaze.
It was suffocating, their hearts pounding like drums.
Who would have thought that at this moment, Li Rang, who shared a dorm with Yun Yueming, would step forward and defend him: “Teacher Ji, nature calls. Yueming definitely didn’t do it on purpose…!”
He was scared too, his voice trembling a little.
“Please… please don’t be angry…”
Yun Yueming, completely lacking any sense of self-preservation, pouted and said, “Teacher Ji is so stingy. I just wanted to go to the bathroom.”
Without sparing Li Rang a single glance, Ji Song’s gaze remained fixed on the guilt-ridden, pretty but empty face of the “vase.”
He slightly raised his chiseled jaw, his command as firm as a mountain: “You.”
Yun Yueming pointed at himself curiously.
Ji Song: “On stage.”
Yun Yueming’s goal was to cause trouble deliberately, to get on Ji Song’s nerves. So, without any hesitation, he walked onto the stage and stood beside him with a nonchalant air, taking a microphone.
Ji Song’s gaze was calm and cold, like water.
“If you already know everything, then naturally there’s no need for me to teach. The world is vast, and you’re free to go wherever you please.”
Yun Yueming looked at him, his heart suddenly clenching.
He suddenly remembered the over a thousand years he had spent following Ji Song in the Peach Garden Immortal Mountain.
He had learned almost everything.
Except how to transform into a human form.
Back then, Ji Song, the mountain god, would always sigh as he gently pinched the little fox’s fuzzy muzzle: “Will I never get to see it?”
Who would have thought those words would become a prophecy?
Until the day Ji Song perished into ashes, he never saw the little fox he had raised grow into human form.
—Even if we meet, you shall not recognize me.
—Film emperor Ji, vase idol Yun.
Not knowing why his master had died nor why he had been resurrected, Yun Yueming felt an inexplicable dejection, his eyes losing focus as he gazed at Ji Song.
Ji Song felt uncomfortable under his aggrieved, pleading gaze, raising an eyebrow subtly.
Was he about to cry?
His words hadn’t been that harsh, had they?
“Alright, I’ll sing…”
The DNA-deep fear of his master was truly ingrained in his bones.
Back when Yun Yueming was still a fox, his master had taught him the Six Arts of the gentleman.
Singing was among them.
For a fluffy little red fox, though, it was more accurately the “Six Arts of the Fox.”
Anyway, those few howls and whimpers from his fox mouth—even Ji Song couldn’t tell if he was on pitch.
Yun Yueming’s singing had never been criticized, so he always had a good opinion of his own abilities.
He was sure he possessed a voice as beautiful as a siren’s.
Holding the lyrics in one hand and raising the microphone with the other, he opened his mouth without warning—
“Pick love! Pick love!”
Booming and powerful, it sounded like he was about to start a fight with his fans.
The trainees, already a bit nervous, collectively flinched and clutched their chests. “Whoa, that scared the hell out of me!”
They looked at the beautiful man on stage, their faces full of confusion.
“Is that a sound a human being can make?”
Ji Song narrowed his eyes and immediately arrived at an answer—
Yun Yueming’s sudden bathroom excuse was all because his singing was just that terrible.
During the initial stage, he had mostly rapped, so it hadn’t been noticeable. Now, his true colors were exposed.
But who would have thought this guy, brimming with overconfidence, would unleash such a devastating auditory assault the moment he opened his mouth, unable to stop. Everyone hurriedly covered their ears.
—This ultimate move was too ruthless. A deadly diva dealing area-of-effect damage, draining everyone’s health bars at lightning speed!
“On the same stage~ see how I’m so different from the!”
“Rest~~~”
Yun Yueming was enjoying himself, singing with gusto.
It would be unbecoming for the mentors to also cover their ears.
But Ji Song was gradually reaching his limit. A vein faintly bulged on his pale, cold forehead: “…”
How could this be.
So… unbearably bad.
He even cracked on the high notes!
Ji Song drew upon years of cultivation to suppress the rising irritation in his heart. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he subtly formed a hand seal, and a refreshing breeze suddenly swept through his mind.
That cleared his head a bit.
This level of terrible singing was truly rare. Was he singing like this on purpose, just to grab screen time?
What a cunning, pretty-face who also knew how to slip him a hotel key card.
Yet, Yun Yueming, a little fox who had grown up with unwavering confidence, smiled at him. “Not bad, right?”
Ji Song was silent for two seconds, then suddenly said, “Get off the stage.”
Everyone was stunned: “???”
Whoa, no sign of the film emperor’s thunderous rage. He didn’t even give Yun Yueming a hard time at all!
Yun Yueming happily bounced off stage, pumping his fist: “Yes!”
He knew it! All that studying of the Six Arts of the gentleman back in the day hadn’t been in vain!
After all these years, his master was still so satisfied with his singing voice!
·
In the empty practice room, Meng Qi sat on the floor, hugging her knees in regret.
All Yun Yueming had wanted to do earlier was give her a high-five…
She had been so rude.
Flashes of being pushed and mocked suddenly flickered through her mind. Her heart ached, and she felt utterly drained.
For the past few years, the ones who had bullied her were none other than her own teammates.
Meng Qi had gone to South Korea alone, debuting with great difficulty after years of grueling training.
Her hard work paid off; her popularity grew, and she gradually became the most well-known member of her group.
Among fans of the girl group Queen, many only knew Meng Qi.
Seeds of resentment had long been planted. Led by her teammate Cha Min-hee, the others began to ostracize and isolate her, and as time went on, it only got worse.
They would squeeze paint into her water, pour sewage water on her bedding.
This was all routine.
Human malice and jealousy are the hardest things to underestimate. No matter how much Meng Qi resisted, it was futile, leaving her increasingly exhausted physically and mentally.
More recently, while promoting with the group, she started experiencing strange, supernatural incidents.
Unable to bear the immense psychological pressure any longer, Meng Qi decided to temporarily return to China.
Public opinion on her had also drastically reversed. Many of her most devoted fans turned against her.
“Being a fan of Meng Qi has been humiliating every step of the way!”
“Returning to China for variety shows while still on the rise? Is she that desperate for money?”
“That plastic surgery monster has no team spirit!”
The more she thought about the online abuse and the inexplicable strange occurrences, the more panicked Meng Qi became. Just then, she heard footsteps behind her. She whipped her head around—
Still no one.
“…”
Meng Qi tried to comfort herself: “I’m back in China now. There won’t be any more strange things.”
Not daring to just sit there, she decided to practice dancing to take her mind off things.
“One, two, three…”
Keeping the rhythm in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror, Meng Qi’s mood began to improve slightly. Then, a strange noise suddenly came from a corner!
Her face went deathly pale in an instant.
She had been watching the mirror.
There was clearly nothing there.
Just as Meng Qi was about to move, the dance mirror that reflected the entire room suddenly filled with numerous shadows—hazy, indistinguishable shapes.
Her mental state completely collapsed; she wanted to scream!
But no sound came out. Countless, densely packed black characters began to appear on the mirror’s surface. They weren’t Chinese characters; they came from the small neighboring country where she had debuted.
The scrawls spread across the mirror as quickly as crawling insects, then suddenly transformed into a thick, viscous black tide that surged toward Meng Qi—
Her eyes widened in terror as tears streamed down her face.
Why couldn’t she escape this, even here?
“Creak—”
The practice room door suddenly swung open, and a bright, sunny voice called out: “Hey, is Mentor Meng Qi here too?”
All the bizarre phenomena vanished instantly, as if they had never existed.
Soaked through with sweat, Meng Qi stumbled backward and collapsed onto the floor.
Yun Yueming quickly steadied her. “Are you okay?”
Meng Qi’s face was ashen. “Did you see anything just now? Was there… anyone else here?”
Yun Yueming had just been trying to familiarize himself with the teaching building. As he approached this floor, his keen fox nose had picked up something amiss. Now, looking at Meng Qi, he couldn’t even clearly see her face—a strange, sinister black mist obscured her features.
…This situation was truly dangerous.
Meng Qi’s mental state was already precarious. Yun Yueming certainly wasn’t going to tell her the truth. He shook his head. “I didn’t see anything. Mentor Meng, are you perhaps just too tired?”
Meng Qi lowered her head with a bitter smile, hesitating as if she wanted to say something.
Never mind.
No one would believe her talk of unscientific ghosts and monsters anyway.
·
The dormitory bathroom was thick with harsh, stinging cigarette smoke.
Li Rang, who usually went unnoticed, was smoking, exhaling clouds. In the mirror, his expression was cold, sinister, and fierce—a completely different person from the considerate facade he’d shown while looking after Yun Yueming over the past couple of days.
His jaw was clenched so tight it seemed he might shatter his teeth. He muttered angrily to himself, “Why?”
“Why have I participated in five talent shows and still haven’t debuted, while Yun Yueming, that useless vase with no real talent, effortlessly gets screen time?”
Li Rang slammed his fist against the mirror, shouting in fury, “How many more tricks does he have?!”
Cigarettes were contraband for the trainees.
He also knew little tricks to fly under the radar, but they never got him any screen time.
He tossed one cigarette butt after another into the toilet, practically marinating in the smell of smoke, when someone tried the doorknob. Finding it locked, they knocked. “Who’s in there?”
Li Rang: “…!”
He scrambled to clean up the evidence, turning on the exhaust fan and swiftly disposing of the incriminating butts.
Five minutes later, he opened the door, his smile warm and genial. “Yueming? Why aren’t you practicing dancing?”
Yun Yueming clutched his stomach, mimicking Li Rang’s own words from earlier: “Hehe, nature calls.”
Seeing no camera crew following Yun Yueming, Li Rang didn’t bother putting on a show of brotherly affection. After a few perfunctory words, he left the dorm.
Yun Yueming pinched his nose, wrinkling it in distaste. “Ugh, that disgusting smoke smell.”
He went inside, locked the door, and laid out the items he had just bought. Fortunately, the training base’s supermarket was practically a hypermarket.
Yellow paper, cinnabar, a writing brush.
Everything he needed.
Yun Yueming’s expression gradually grew serious—
Drawing talismans was something Ji Song had taught him back then.
Over the years, even when he was on the verge of starving, he had never used these little tricks to deceive people.
But now was different.
He couldn’t stand by and watch someone walk to their death.
·
Yun Yueming worked quickly and efficiently. After finishing a talisman, he immediately began searching for Meng Qi, finally finding her in the conference room.
At that moment, Ji Song, Meng Qi, and Reid were in a meeting with the production team.
Just as Yun Yueming tiptoed to the door, Ji Song caught sight of him from the corner of his eye. He assumed the man was there to see him—
But after waiting five minutes, he watched Yun Yueming furtively call Meng Qi out.
And the way Meng Qi looked at Yun Yueming was clearly different from how she looked at the other trainees.
Those two…?
Ji Song silently drew in a sharp breath, a tightness forming in his chest.
That hotel key card, which had long since turned into a pinch of frost and ash, was it going to rise from the dead and be given to another mentor?
“Teacher Ji, what’s wrong?” Reid suddenly asked.
Ji Song gathered his thoughts, his expression indifferent. “Nothing.”
After the meeting ended, he ran into Meng Qi in the hallway. She looked completely revitalized, as if something had made her incredibly happy.
For some reason, Ji Song’s expression grew even colder. He quickened his pace.
Sure enough, he found Yun Yueming ahead. The pretty vase had a relieved look on his face and even greeted him: “Hello, Teacher Ji!”
Ji Song was about to walk straight past him, but in the moment they brushed shoulders, something inexplicable came over him—
He abruptly seized Yun Yueming’s wrist.
His jade-like voice was frosty, carrying a hint of annoyance he himself hadn’t realized was there. “Do you give one to everyone?”
Yun Yueming’s mind went blank as he was forcefully pulled back.
The feeling of his fox paw being caught by his master was terrifying!
“Really, nothing gets past Teacher Ji…” He scratched his head guiltily, like a child caught red-handed. “But I only had one today, and I already gave it to Mentor Meng.”
Ji Song closed his eyes. “…”
That is to say, he usually prepared many key cards.
To give to different people?
This was simply…
Times were degenerate, morals were declining, utterly shameless!
Yun Yueming was more terrified than he had ever been.
His talisman-drawing technique was all from Ji Song. He had tried his best to change the style for that one just now, but Ji Song had keen eyes. If he noticed anything, wouldn’t his cover be blown on the spot?
Both of them were locked in intense internal conflict.
Ji Song’s feelings were especially complicated.
The next second, he saw that delicate, refined face lift up, looking at him timidly, its eyelashes fluttering—
“Teacher Ji… do you want one too?”
“?”
Ji Song’s pupils constricted violently.
Yun Yueming bit his crimson lip, looking torn but considerate as he said, “Actually, I’m not very good at it, but if you really want one, I’ll try my best.”
“—!”
The film emperor Ji had never been harsh or raised his voice over all these years; such behavior would be undignified.
But at this moment, he could no longer hold back. He gripped the slender wrist so tightly it threatened to turn red.
He gritted his teeth and scolded in a deep, stern voice: “Yun Yueming!”