Chapter 303

Chapter 303

◎Blessed Beast Turned Malevolent◎

Bai Yilong’s two apprentices conferred and eventually decided that Bai Yisong would accompany Ji Nanxing and the others to Xindu Port. Xindu Port was the actual filming location built for the set. Ji Nanxing wanted to inspect the situation on-site. Though he wasn’t as skilled as some, he was still a Taoist. If any emergencies arose, he could at least manage them somewhat.

Bai Guanqi was not a Taoist, but with their master hospitalized and the location close to the Management Bureau, any urgent situations could be addressed by the Taoists stationed at the hospital or by calling for backup from the Bureau. Thus, Bai Guanqi stayed behind to care for their master.

Once the decision was made, Bai Yisong quickly arranged for transportation. Ji Nanxing didn’t have to worry about the arrangements—he naturally took care of everything.

Xindu Port was neither too far nor too close to the city, about an hour's drive away. On the way, Xiao Ye handed Ji Nanxing the information he had gathered about the Ren Family: "The Ren Family has been involved in several scandals before. Their rival company even hired investigators to dig up dirt on them, coincidentally through a firm run by my friend. So, I have some internal information about the Ren Family."

Ji Nanxing: "What kind of information?"

Xiao Ye passed his phone to Ji Nanxing: "Skip the tabloid nonsense. Ren Jichang's grandson, Ren Wenle, leveraged his family’s business connections to establish a service chain—customized services and 'special' services. It exploded when a celebrity’s fan scandal went viral, triggering public backlash and rival attacks. That’s how some details about the Ren Family came to light."

Though Xiao Ye said to skip it, Ji Nanxing skimmed through out of curiosity. The customized services involved tailoring preferences for clients, with preparations starting three to six months in advance. The selected individuals would adjust everything from their daily meals to their physical attributes—bigger busts, slimmer waists, whatever the client desired.

Weight adjustments were just the basics. There were even standards for body fragrance, skin texture, and firmness.

Ji Nanxing knew some wealthy people indulged in extravagant pleasures, but this was next-level depravity—worse than an emperor’s excesses.

While the customized services exploited legal gray areas, the "special services" were blatantly illegal with no wiggle room.

The "special services" referred to minors, specifically those aged fourteen to sixteen—young enough to be naive and vulnerable, catering to the tastes of certain perverts.

Ji Nanxing frowned: "Was this guy arrested?"

Xiao Ye shook his head: "No. When the scandal broke, it wasn’t him who got caught. In their circles, this kind of thing is routine. They’ve long established ways to evade consequences. Since such crimes don’t carry the death penalty, as long as they can afford it, there’s no shortage of people willing to take the fall."

The profits from this service chain were enormous, filling only a handful of pockets. A fraction of those profits could buy years of prison time in exchange for a lifetime of wealth—plenty were willing.

The true beneficiaries never dirtied their own hands. No matter how far you dug, their hands stayed clean. Everyone knew who the real masterminds were, but without evidence, nothing could be done.

The entertainment industry moved fast. Damaged goods were tossed out, and new cash cows were cultivated—there was never a shortage of pawns ready to rake in money. Once the heat died down, the service chain would resume under a different guise. That’s why such practices persisted—the payoff was too big.

Bai Yisong, sitting in the passenger seat, was floored to hear about the Ren Family’s activities. They had investigated the family before but only uncovered surface-level details about their businesses. Getting the full picture was tough given the suddenness and time constraints.

Hearing Xiao Ye and Ji Nanxing’s conversation from the back seat, he frowned: "So, someone in the Ren Family committed crimes but escaped legal punishment due to insufficient evidence?"

Xiao Ye: "That’s one way to put it."

Bai Yisong turned around: "Could there be even darker things we haven’t uncovered? In this kind of industry, were all participants truly willing? What if some weren’t? What if some even died from abuse?"

Darkness existed everywhere. Those who walked in sunlight saw only peace and prosperity, unaware of the despair festering in the shadows.

In a society governed by law, some were denied basic human rights, fairness, or even the freedom to live. Imagine the rage they felt dying like that? No wonder they’d come back as Vengeful Ghosts.

Xiao Ye: "Wouldn’t rule it out, but we haven’t found evidence."

Bai Yisong looked at Ji Nanxing: "If there were, maybe the Ren Family didn’t deserve saving at all."

If this was the work of lingering ghosts who died tragically under such dark circumstances, then whether the Ren Family deserved saving was worth reconsidering.

Ji Nanxing: "The pieces don’t quite fit."

Xiao Ye nodded in agreement: "A Vengeful Ghost could kill directly. Why mess around with soul-snatching instead? Besides, the Ren Family’s business isn’t massive, but it’s not small either. Their troubles started with their corporate ventures—signed artists embroiled in scandals, projects tanking left and right. If it were a Vengeful Ghost, why not just kill them and be done with it?"

Bai Yisong pondered: "Could be pure spite driving this. They want to destroy the entire Ren Family, bankrupt them, and make sure they can’t crawl back to their dirty games?"

Xiao Ye analyzed rationally: "But the problem is, if it's as you speculated, the Vengeful Ghost should hate the illegal operations the most. Yet the incidents all involve their contracted performers or influencers, or projects—at most losing profitable assets or suffering losses. The things that could truly send them to prison haven't been exposed. If you were a Vengeful Ghost they had killed, would you take such a convoluted path for revenge?"

Bai Yisong thought for a moment and shook his head: "No."

If he were a Vengeful Ghost who had died tragically, he would kill the person responsible for his death immediately. That kind of slow, calculated revenge requires an extremely calm mind, but Vengeful Ghosts are most prone to having their reason consumed by vengeance. They wouldn’t use such roundabout methods.

This style of retribution seems more like the work of a human—first affecting the Ren Family's fortune to bankrupt them, then making them fully aware yet paralyzed, tormenting them day and night.

Thinking this, Bai Yisong looked at Ji Nanxing: "Do you think this is human interference or a Vengeful Ghost's revenge?"

Ji Nanxing: "Right now, it looks like human interference. As for whether it is or not, let’s go to Xindu and see."

Dropping the discussion of the Ren Family's underworld dealings, Ji Nanxing flipped through the documents: "Did Ren Jichang's ancestors make their fortune by donating cultural relics?"

Xiao Ye confirmed: "According to the records, during the war, Ren Jichang's grandfather, Ren Wushan, studied in Japan while also doing business to earn money. At the time, Chinese cultural relics were very popular overseas, and Ren Wushan would spend heavily to buy them whenever he saw them. After the war ended, he returned to China with a large collection of artifacts and accumulated funds to invest in reconstruction. Unfortunately, Ren Wushan's son—Ren Jichang's father—disliked the poverty back home and refused to return. That era saw an economic boom where opportunities were abundant, but it didn’t last. When the economic bubble collapsed and staying abroad offered no future, while domestically things were thriving, Ren Jichang resolutely returned to China, rebuilding the business empire his grandfather Ren Wushan had built here, slowly developing it to where it is today."

Bai Yisong: "So the Ren Family ancestors were patriotic merchants. Pity their descendants are unfilical."

Xiao Ye: "It’s common. The first generation is nouveau riche, the second is new aristocracy. Only by surviving the third can they barely be called an established family. But most don’t last beyond three generations. By that measure, the Ren Family has made it to the fourth. Ren Jichang’s brothers have all done fairly well, and their sons, while not producing any particularly outstanding talents, have at least maintained the family’s wealth. It’s the grandchildren who seem utterly incompetent."

Ji Nanxing: "If they can’t hold on, it means their luck has run out."

The question is whether this decline is the natural end of the Ren Family’s fortune or a deliberate act.

The car ride was smooth, and Bai Yisong had deliberately chosen a spacious vehicle to avoid cramped discomfort. Along the way, Ji Nanxing and Xiao Ye ate lightly and took a short nap. They arrived at Xindu at 2 p.m., the peak afternoon heat.

Bai Yisong led them toward the constructed set. Apart from the security guards at the foot of the mountain, the once-bustling filming site was now nearly empty: "After the incidents in the Ren Family, my master ordered the crew to halt production. The Ren Family was probably too overwhelmed by the sudden collapse of so many members to focus here. With the director and actors also spooked by the series of tragedies, they had no choice but to stop, even if it delayed progress. Later, when my master also succumbed here, even fewer dared to stay."

The entire Xindu area was nestled between mountains and water, with steep cliffs and emerald lakes. The extensive set construction was built along the mountain’s contours—grand palaces, elegant bamboo groves, and a lakeside pavilion with flowing white curtains dancing in the breeze.

Xiao Ye surveyed the lavish set construction: "No wonder they were desperate to suppress this place. Just the land here is worth a fortune, and the scale of this project is in the billions. They couldn’t afford to lose it."

Noticing some unfinished sets and scattered crew members still packing up, Ji Nanxing asked: "Where did you place the stone qilin?"

Bai Yisong led them toward the back mountain. His master had previously deduced that the Yin Eye of this Yin-gathering land was located there and had chosen a favorable alignment to place the qilin for suppression.

As soon as they reached the back mountain, Ji Nanxing sensed Yin energy permeating the entire hillside. Though the trees were dense, they weren’t thick enough to block out the sun entirely. Yet even under the strong afternoon sunlight, not a single ray reached the ground, and the temperature was chillingly cold the entire way.

Bai Yisong walked beside them: "This place was built years ago, and before filming started, there were never any incidents. The site is large, the structures are new, and my senior brother once heard workers here say the location’s feng shui was excellent—cool even in the height of summer, so outdoor historical dramas wouldn’t need fans or air conditioning."

After his master’s accident, Bai Yisong had also inspected the site. But if even his master had fallen victim, what could his modest abilities detect? Still, every time he walked this mountain path, the temperature felt chillingly cold, yet the Yin energy wasn’t strong enough to activate talismanic power. It was strange.

Ji Nanxing carefully assessed the energy here: "This doesn’t seem like a natural Yin-gathering land."

Bai Yisong: "It doesn’t? What seems off?"

Ji Nanxing stepped aside, making way: "Take three steps forward first."

Bai Yisong did as instructed.

Ji Nanxing: "Now step left once, then forward twice. Step right twice, then forward. Keep following this pattern."

At first, everything felt normal. But by the third cycle, Bai Yisong clearly encountered resistance. If he forced himself against it, the resistance intensified, making each subsequent step increasingly difficult.

Ji Nanxing approached and lightly touched the empty space with his fingertip. The resistance Bai Yisong had felt instantly dissipated.

Ji Nanxing: "This is the Wandering Spirit Steps. In a natural Yin-gathering land, you wouldn’t feel resistance—instead, you’d feel lighter with each step. The resistance here means the Yin force field wasn’t formed naturally in accordance with the Wu Xing. A foreign energy has disrupted the man-made equilibrium, creating the resistance."

Bai Yisong looked at Ji Nanxing: "If this isn’t a natural Yin-gathering land, then the favorable alignment my master chose... has it become unfavorable?"

Meridian points are interconnected—disturb one, and the whole system reacts. A slight error can have drastic consequences. Misjudging a geomantic site and placing a warding beast upon it can turn an auspicious creature into a malevolent one.

Ji Nanxing even suspected that the reason the Ren Family hadn’t been targeted earlier wasn’t due to careful planning by the person or ghost behind it, but rather a lack of capability. They could only manipulate the family’s fortune through disruptions in their business. However, once the warding beast was placed, the auspicious beast turned malevolent, amplifying the opposing force’s power, allowing it to directly attack the Ren Family.

When Ji Nanxing saw the stone-carved qilin, he felt his earlier speculation was at least eighty percent correct.

"If this isn’t a naturally formed Yin-gathering site, then the originally wood-supporting Wind (Xun) position instantly transforms into the metal-aligned Heaven (Qian) position, which suppresses wood. A blessed land becomes a cursed one."

Bai Yisong took out a compass to measure the orientation. If this were a natural Yin-gathering site, his master’s chosen location would have been the perfect suppression point. But if it wasn’t naturally formed, then the suppression point instead became a catalyst for Yin energy.

Bai Yisong’s face paled at the realization. "A blessed land turning cursed—can this still be undone?"

Ji Nanxing, unlike him, kept his cool. "Of course it can. The land is still the same land—it can’t run or fly away. First, remove the malevolent beast, then dispel the land’s energy, and it can naturally be resolved. The problem now is that aside from Yin energy, there are no lingering ghosts here. Yet the residual aura is chaotic, and what remains are traces of living souls (shenghun). That means, including your master, their souls once appeared here. The souls taken from the Ren Family members must have passed through this place. But right now, I can’t see where they are."

Bai Yisong’s heart clenched. "Even the Spirit Eye can’t see them—does that mean their souls aren’t here but have been confined somewhere else?"

Ji Nanxing nodded. "That’s possible. But there’s another possibility."

Bai Yisong and Xiao Ye both looked at him. "What possibility?"

Ji Nanxing scanned the area. "Due to the energy field here, a pocket realm may have formed. Simply put, this place might have already become a full-fledged ghost domain. The souls can’t return because they’re trapped inside it."