Chapter 50: The Devil’s Game

Late at night, all was silent.

In the pitch blackness, Pei Liu’s entire body was stiff, as if sunk deep in a swamp of fear—sticky, cold, and trembling incessantly.

He couldn’t understand.

Why had the evil ghost appeared again?

Why did it insist on targeting him?

Why did it have to be him?

His head was buzzing, swallowed by a flood of terror, leaving him unable to think. Tears rolled down silently, wetting the pillow.

Xie Wuyu noticed he was crying, reached out to stroke the corner of his eye, and wiped away his tears.

Eyes are very fragile organs.

Pei Liu was already terrified, and instantly imagined the evil ghost gouging out his eyeballs. He trembled in sheer panic, dodging violently.

Xie Wuyu’s face darkened.

He used to like watching Pei Liu curl into a ball and cry pitifully, but now, for some reason, he felt somewhat irritated.

When he was disguised as Qin Wu and Shen Jin, they could chat and interact closely, and Pei Liu smiled a lot. But when he appeared in his true form, there was only ever fear.

Xie Wuyu’s expression was gloomy, and the ghostly energy around his body surged unsteadily, causing the room temperature to plummet.

Pei Liu trembled even harder, gritting his teeth, not daring to make a sound, only occasionally letting out a low whimper—like prey struggling in vain under the claws of a wild beast.

Xie Wuyu noticed this and stabilized his ghostly energy.

In this situation, perhaps only his departure would make Pei Liu feel better. But Xie Wuyu had no intention of leaving.

The illusion spell had already been used once. Pei Liu was close and trusting to him back then, but once he snapped out of it, his attitude rebounded severely, turning into disgust and fear.

Xie Wuyu had the power to alter Pei Liu’s memory for a lifetime, but after all, that was fake and meaningless.

Finally, Xie Wuyu said in a deep voice: “Let’s play a game. If you win, I’ll teach you how to make ghosts fear you and obey you. If you lose, I…”

His words paused, because he didn’t know what he specifically wanted. What did he want Pei Liu to do? Stay in his line of sight forever? Control him in the palm of his hand?

Deep in his soul lay a dense, intense craving, with no way to relieve it.

Pei Liu didn’t hear the rest of his words, his face turning even paler. The unknown was always the easiest to evoke fear in people’s hearts because they would imagine endless, terrifying possibilities.

It was as if a sharp sword hung over his head, ready to drop heavily at any moment.

Pei Liu finally couldn’t hold it in, breaking down slightly as he asked: “You’re going to eat me, aren’t you…”

His voice was thick with tears, his words broken and muffled.

But Xie Wuyu heard them clearly.

Pei Liu was talking about devouring his soul. The moment Xie Wuyu heard it, an inexplicable, tingling excitement struck his heart. When he looked at Pei Liu, he indeed felt a strong desire, though he wasn’t clear on what exactly it was.

He had lived for thousands of years and learned many skills, but rarely interacted with humans. His worldview and values differed greatly from humans, and emotionally, he was practically a blank sheet, acting on instinct like a wild beast—doing as he pleased, without restraint.

Just like before, when he crushed the gorgeous, fragile rose petals to squeeze out the juice, he wanted to crush the person in his arms like that, making him bloom with the most vibrant colors, and then swallow him whole to become one.

He thought this was appetite.

Pei Liu’s entire body exuded the fragrance of flesh and blood, and his soul was surely very delicious.

Xie Wuyu couldn’t help but agree: “Yes, if you lose, I will eat your flesh and soul.”

Pei Liu didn’t doubt the truth of his words at all. Instead, he worried that if he was lucky enough to win, the evil ghost might go back on his word in anger and end up eating him anyway.

But even so, he could only take a gamble.

Because he simply lacked the power to refuse.

Pei Liu took a deep breath, trying hard to calm himself down.

He asked cautiously: “What is the game?”

Xie Wuyu: “Find out who among the people around you is me.”

Pei Liu was startled, his heart tightening abruptly. A chill shot from his spine straight to his scalp, his entire body going numb. He simply couldn’t believe that the other party had been around him all along, yet he was so foolish as to not notice at all.

“Have you possessed someone?”

Xie Wuyu: “Not exactly. You only need to find one to count as a win.”

…One? That meant there was more than one?!

Could the evil ghost split into slices, having many clones?

Pei Liu panicked. More than one made it seem like the probability of success was higher, but since leaving the villa, he had interacted with so many people; identifying who it was would be no easy task. Moreover, the evil ghost’s clones could help cover for each other, and even if he guessed right, the evil ghost could just claim he was wrong.

Pei Liu fell silent for a long time, boldly trying to bargain with the evil ghost: “If I win, I have one demand.”

Xie Wuyu: “What is it?”

Pei Liu said: “I hope you will never appear by my side again, in any form.”

Instantly, ghostly energy surged like a sweeping storm.

Pei Liu’s body was tense and alert, but he didn’t change his words.

After a long while, the room quieted down, the silence bizarre.

Pei Liu could only hear the sound of his own breathing.

Xie Wuyu locked his arms around his waist, pulling him into his embrace.

Unwilling to give up, Pei Liu asked in a low voice: “Does this mean you agree?”

Xie Wuyu’s fingers pressed directly against his nape, forcing him to fall asleep, and then stared at his face, his voice dark and suppressed: “Never.”

The night quickly passed.

When Pei Liu woke up, he found he had slept surprisingly well and was in good spirits, except for the fact that he felt a bit cold even under the cotton blanket…

Cold?

Last night’s memories rushed back in an instant. Scene after scene flashed rapidly, and that deep voice seemed to still echo by his ear, causing a shiver.

Was it a nightmare?

Pei Liu hoped so, but when he went to the bathroom to wash up and saw the light red finger marks on the skin of his waist and stomach, he knew everything was real.

He had been forced into the evil ghost’s game, and he had to win, or he would die.

Because of this, he couldn’t even taste his breakfast.

When he entered the studio, his mental state and complexion weren’t very good. The makeup artist noticed immediately and asked with concern: “Teacher Pei, did you not sleep well last night?”

Pei Liu forced a smile and said: “I had a nightmare.”

The entity said he had already cloned himself as someone around him, but who exactly it was could only be found by him.

Because of this, Pei Liu began to suspect everyone.

He felt that if it was possession, even if the entity disguised himself well, his behavior and habits would surely have subtle differences. He should be able to spot them if he looked closely.

The easiest to eliminate were public figures, as there was plenty of information available for reference. Qin Wu, Lu Xiang, and some actors he was relatively familiar with could be crossed off first; they were basically no different from before.

The remaining ones were his manager, assistant, and the people on set.

His manager, Sister Yu, had only stayed for a few days during the opening and was now busy managing her other artists. She was highly unlikely to be the entity, and his assistant didn’t seem like it either.

Pei Liu directed his gaze to the bustling set, observing quietly.

Just then, a flash of silver-white caught his eye.

Shen Jin walked up to him, said good morning, and sat down beside him.

Pei Liu instinctively began to study him.

Could it be Shen Jin?

He thought of Shen Jin’s superb acting skills, portraying the villain to perfection. That character and the entity shared a subtle similarity in some sense. Just a single look from him could make one feel oppressed, their skin crawling.

Shen Jin smiled gently, handing him a cup of honey water, his cool silver hair lightly brushing against his hand.

But Shen Jin was gentle, meticulous, very good at taking care of people, and got along well with others, entirely lacking the dark terror of the entity. Furthermore, he possessed such a beautiful head of silver hair.

Pei Liu hesitated.

…It shouldn’t be him.

Or rather, he also hoped it wasn’t him. Otherwise, finding out that a friend he sincerely liked was actually the entity wanting to devour him would be truly distressing.

Pei Liu shifted his gaze away, silently sipping his honey water while watching Qin Wu and the female lead film.

Today’s Director Chen seemed to be going through menopause, exceptionally irritable. The female lead’s acting didn’t please him, so he roared and screamed in anger, his face terrifyingly dark.

At first, it was fine; the actress also realized she had issues and tried her best to correct them, but Director Chen continued to roar at the problems, cursing that her acting was like a pile of shit, his words getting uglier and uglier.

That actress was also a famous young star, beautiful and capable, loved by many fans. Being cursed at so harshly in front of so many people, her mindset collapsed, her acting grew worse and worse, and she eventually burst into tears.

Qin Wu frowned in comfort. If it were him, he wouldn’t be able to tolerate being yelled at like this either; it was too over the line.

And Director Chen cursing like this only made the situation worse. A scene that could have been fixed with some minor adjustments was now a complete mess.

Qin Wu stepped forward, intending to advise Director Chen, but before he could even start, Director Chen turned his firepower toward him, bombarding him furiously.

“Are you the director or am I the director? Do I need you to teach me how to do things?! Do you think you act so well? Are you qualified to dictate to me? Get the hell out!”

Director Chen roared, his anger flaring, his hair standing up like sea urchin needles, his eyes blood-red—his state was exceptionally terrifying.

The studio was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The atmosphere was like a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.

In a corner, staff members whispered.

“What’s wrong with Director Chen? Is he under too much pressure? So scary, it’s like he’s lost his mind. With that expression, I’m worried he might hit someone.”

This staff member was right.

The actress returned to her dressing room to adjust her emotions. Since the leads weren’t there, they naturally had to shoot other scenes.

With Director Chen looking like this, it was easy to make the actors lose control from tension.

Lu Xiang’s acting was mediocre, but if he acted seriously, it was passable. However, he happened to run into Director Chen’s explosive temper today. As he acted, he turned his head and met Director Chen’s bloodshot eyes, recalling his nightmare of encountering a ghost. Seized by fear, he forgot his lines and froze in place, motionless.

Director Chen suddenly lunged forward, delivering two resounding slaps, the loud slaps shocking the entire set.

Although Lu Xiang was unpopular and most people on set didn’t like him, seeing this scene, they couldn’t help but pity him a bit.

Lu Xiang was beaten to the point where his back burned with pain, his grimace and facial features contorted. Anyone could see it was genuine pain, not something that could be acted out.

Pei Liu was so shocked he stood up, because he had just seen a trace of eerie ghostly energy surface on Director Chen.

Could it be… Director Chen?

Seeing him staring at Director Chen, Shen Jin guessed his thoughts, his expression turning somewhat subtle and bizarre.

In Pei Liu’s eyes, does such an irrational, ugly, and violent ghost fit my image?

Because of this incident, the people on set looked at each other, entirely unsure of what to do.

Lu Xiang ran off, and his assistant chased after him. Someone bit the bullet, preparing to step forward to advise the director to calm down, but one look from those eyes terrified them into stopping their steps.

“All of you are garbage! Useless trash! Replace them! Replace them all!” Director Chen roared ferociously, smashing things around, exuding a terrifying madness. That appearance easily reminded one of the frenzied look of the male lead wielding an axe to chop people in a classic horror movie—extremely similar.

Pei Liu heard the staff members whispering in fear.

“Do you still remember the past reports about Director Chen’s family? His dad was an alcoholic domestic abuser who frequently beat his wife and child. If his dad hadn’t died in a drunk driving accident years ago, Director Chen might have been beaten to death as a child. Do violent genes get inherited? He’s become just like his dad…”

Listening to this, a theory suddenly formed in Pei Liu’s mind—Is it possible that Director Chen is possessed by his dad’s ghost?

He sidled up to Qin Wu and whispered: “Your family believes in deities. Do you know if there’s any way to deal with ghost possession?”

Qin Wu froze. How could he possibly know this, and… the god was right here.

Qin Wu instinctively glanced toward Shen Jin. Just as he was about to say something, Director Chen’s terrifying gaze locked onto them: “Pei Liu! Shen Jin! Both of you get the hell over here!”

“Hiss—”

Qin Wu gasped. Director, why must you seek death like this?

Pei Liu and Shen Jin both walked over. The scene they were shooting this time was the flower-gifting scene.

Whenever Yu Chu passed by the flower shop, he would be stopped by the owner, Shen Wenrui, who would hand him a small bouquet of roses—an intensely vivid red, like splattered blood.

Yu Chu was a bit lost, shaking his head and declining.

But Shen Wenrui smiled and said: “These are left over from sales, just a small handful, but they’re still quite pretty, aren’t they? Take them back to decorate your room, or… give them to a girl you like?”

He said this, winking playfully.

Yu Chu blushed, a clean, delicate face flashing in his mind, his expression completely revealing a young man’s shy timidity.

In the end, he still accepted Shen Wenrui’s kindness, though of course, he lacked the courage to give them to that girl.

Holding that gorgeous bouquet of roses, he lowered his head, his gaze tender.

Shen Wenrui watched, his smile exceptionally joyful.

These flowers were nurtured with fresh blood. See, aren’t they much more vivid than ordinary roses?

Truly too beautiful.

He wanted his chosen treasure to appreciate this beauty together.

The people on set were unconsciously drawn into the scene, watching entranced, praising the beauty and gloom of this scene, which perfectly fit the script’s character designs.

But Director Chen still wasn’t satisfied.

He pointed at the roses and yelled: “Who? Who prepared these roses?! Didn’t I say I wanted the feeling of blood? Do I need to actually splash some blood on them?!”

His voice was loud and harsh, with an echo, making Pei Liu’s head ache and buzz.

With Director Chen in this explosive state, filming was simply impossible. More importantly, he was possessed by a ghost, and who knew what terrifying things he might do.

Pei Liu took advantage of a touch-up break. Once the makeup artist left, leaving him alone, he lowered his head to contact Zhao Hai’s Heavenly Master relative, hoping they could come handle it. This kind of thing still needed a professional; an ordinary person acting rashly was just looking for death and might even make things worse.

A sudden chill brushed against his face.

Pei Liu looked up, discovering that his reflection in the mirror was invaded and wrapped in black mist, his entire body tightly enveloped, obscuring his features.

The entity whispered in his ear: “I can help you.”

Pei Liu felt no joy upon hearing this, only tensing in defense: “What do you want to do?”

Facing a sinister entity, Pei Liu truly couldn’t believe he harbored good intentions.

The entity drawled: “Nothing. Just, if you beg me, I can solve this ghost for you.”

In reality, even if Pei Liu didn’t beg, the entity couldn’t possibly let him come to harm; he just wanted to hear him say those words.

Pei Liu blurted out almost instantly: “I beg you.”

The entity: “…”

Solving a ghost with just two words—such a good deal is practically a guaranteed win. Pei Liu had instinctively jumped at it. But after reacting, he felt it wasn’t that simple. Would the entity be this kind? Is there some hidden conspiracy behind this?

Pei Liu immediately changed his tune: “No need, I’ll solve it myself.”

The entity, who had already prepared to step in, heard this, and looking at him chatting with the Heavenly Master again, was almost amused to the point of anger.

The black mist vanished instantly. Almost simultaneously, Pei Liu’s phone screen went black; it could still be used, but he simply couldn’t open the chat window with the Heavenly Master.

Pei Liu poked his phone hard, thinking to himself that the evil ghost was indeed ill-intentioned.

Pei Liu didn’t plan to act rashly, but things often don’t go as one expects.

He saw Director Chen enter the lounge with Qin Wu. Fearing Qin Wu might get into trouble, and before he could think too much, he immediately gave chase.

When Pei Liu ran into the room, he didn’t see Director Chen, only Qin Wu collapsed on the floor with his eyes closed.

His heart tightened.

He hurriedly stepped forward to check Qin Wu’s breathing; he was still breathing, seemingly just unconscious.

Pei Liu looked around nervously, searching for Director Chen’s figure. Looking up, he discovered him crawling on the ceiling like a giant spider—eyes rolled back, features distorted, his mouth dripping with foul, smelly drool—he was practically an alien monster.

No wonder Qin Wu had fainted; he felt like throwing up too, terrified to the point of wanting to faint.

In this situation, what should he do?

Pei Liu’s mind was blank. But reality offered him no time to think; the possessed Director Chen on the ceiling opened his bloody maw and lunged fiercely at him.

Pei Liu’s breathing stopped, his eyes wide. His terror reached its peak, and the blood and cells in his entire body felt like they would explode at this instant.

He thought he was surely going to die, a trace of regret flashing in his heart—If I had known, I would have agreed to that entity; at least I would die a bit later.

But the very instant the monster touched Pei Liu, the vengeful spirit felt an incredibly terrifying suction power. Powerless to resist, it was forced to strip away from Director Chen’s body.

Pei Liu watched the vengeful spirit be devoured by himself. With just a few gulps, it vanished completely.

Pei Liu was stunned, in disbelief.

Director Chen lay on the floor, semi-conscious, struggling to open his eyes to a slit as he looked at Pei Liu.

Pei Liu couldn’t help but feel guilty, stammering: “Director Chen, I’m sorry, I seem to have… devoured your dad.”