The Fake Heiress's Guide to Self-Rescue - Chapter 11
Chapter 11: The Unworldly Variety Show [2]
“Beep, beep, a mission has been released!” A sharp electronic sound suddenly rang out, making Jiang Qianqian, who was curled up on the sofa, jump. The ceiling lights in the living room flickered twice, and a bl00d-red subtitle slowly appeared on the TV screen:
“This mission requires you to hold a soul-summoning ritual in the first-floor bathroom at midnight while facing the mirror. The method for the ritual has been written somewhere in the bathroom and needs to be found by the guest. The guest must summon the vengeful spirit of the deceased millionaire through the ritual and ask her five questions to deduce the real reason for her husband’s murder.”
“Note: The millionaire’s vengeful spirit can only answer yes or no to the guest’s questions. Please ask your questions carefully.”
“The executor of this mission is—Zhang Man.”
Everyone’s faces turned grim. They hadn’t expected the production team to actually arrange such a sinister ritual for them to complete.
“No way, is the production team playing this big?” Zhao Wen mumbled. He knew that since this was a pre-recorded show, this sentence wouldn’t be in the final cut. The camera in the living room panned, scanning the different expressions on the guests’ faces. Zhang Man stared at her name and wailed, “Why me again? I still haven’t gotten over the trauma of catching ducks in the mud pit last time!” She hugged her arms, shivered in fear, and then saw Jiang Qianqian sitting on the sofa. She immediately pounced on her. “Sister Qian, save me! You’re the only one among us with real skills!”
“Hold on, hold on!” Jiang Qianqian tried her best to shrink back. She looked at the words on the screen and recalled the planchette ritual she had played with her roommate. The familiar sense of unease once again clouded her heart. This damned production team really wants to summon a ghost, huh? Jiang Qianqian grumbled in her mind.
She already knew that there was a ghost in this villa. If this soul-summoning ritual was actually performed, she wasn’t sure if it would be the so-called vengeful spirit of the millionaire. It was even highly likely that a real ghost would be summoned. Thinking of this, Jiang Qianqian rubbed her temples in frustration. She turned her head and saw that Li Weizhao and Song Zhe were also frowning.
Song Zhe didn’t know if the soul-summoning ritual mentioned by the production team would really summon a ghost or if they had a staff member prepared for it. If it was a real ghost, it would be a huge problem.
Zhao Wen suddenly squatted in front of the camera, pointed at himself, and said seriously, “Friends, if I disappear from the entertainment industry after this episode, please remember my last appearance.” He then took a cross out of his pocket, shook it, quickly made the sign of the cross on his chest, and murmured, “Hallelujah.”
His actions immediately made everyone in the room laugh. The heavy atmosphere was instantly filled with a sense of relief.
“Be serious!” Li Sheng said, tapping the coffee table with his finger, but he couldn’t help but laugh. He pretended to kick Zhao Wen lightly, then said to everyone, “Let’s go take a look at the bathroom first.”
Inside the bathroom, three GoPros were pointed at the misty mirror from different angles. Lu Yige wrapped his fingers in a tissue and poked the edge of the bathtub. “The rust is too real, isn’t it? Did the props team use real bl00d?” His eyes scanned the drain of the bathtub, and his pupils suddenly contracted. He jumped up, scaring Zhang Man, who was rummaging through a cabinet.
“What, what is this?”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to his scream. Jiang Qianqian glanced at the bathtub and saw a clump of black hair clogging the drain, twitching from time to time.
“Lu Yige, you’re a murderer!” Zhang Man rubbed her waist and grimaced. Lu Yige quickly put his hands together in an apologetic gesture and apologized profusely.
“Everyone, come and look! I found this.” Lu Yige found the ritual method under a row of toiletries. He unfolded the paper and read it out to everyone.
“Vengeful Spirit Summoning Ritual: The executor of the ritual should place and light two red candles on both sides of the mirror at midnight. Sit in front of the mirror and use a fruit knife to peel an apple. While peeling, chant the name of the vengeful spirit and say, “I need you to answer my confusion.”
“In bold: You must not break the apple peel before the vengeful spirit appears, or there will be bad consequences!”
The reading of the rules stopped. The guests in the bathroom silently stared at the mirror. The edges of the mirror were slightly yellowed. It had probably been here for a while. There were some messy scratches on the sink, as if a horrible murder had really happened here.
“Uh, Daoist Priest Li, can this ritual really summon a ghost?” Zhao Wen’s cautious voice broke the silence in the bathroom.
Everyone looked at Li Weizhao, who was standing at the door. The metaphysics consultant’s face was grim. After hearing Zhao Wen’s question, he slowly nodded. Now everyone’s faces turned grim. They hadn’t expected the production team to play this big and actually have them perform a soul-summoning ritual.
“I’m not doing this. I took this show to pay my rent. Now my life is on the line, so what’s the point of earning money?” Zhao Wen was the first to speak. He said what everyone else was thinking. “I’d rather go back and act in anti-Japanese dramas and tear up Japanese soldiers than to act like I’m seeing a real ghost here!”
Yes, who would have thought that a variety show would involve a real soul-summoning ritual? Everyone here was in the entertainment industry. No one was a firm materialist. Zhang Man was the one who had to perform the mission tonight. Her face was pale. When she heard Zhao Wen say he wasn’t doing it, tears welled up in her eyes. “But, if I don’t do it, I can’t afford the breach of contract fee.”
Lu Yige also had a long face. “I haven’t even paid off my credit card bill from last month—” He took out his phone and used the calculator. “The breach of contract fee is enough to buy three hundred boxes of self-heating hot pot. I wouldn’t be able to finish them even if they expired!” He had just debuted. The money he earned from shows was less than a tenth of the breach of contract fee. If he really refused to film, he couldn’t afford to pay the penalty.
Zhao Wen frustratedly ran his hand through his hair. He turned to Li Sheng, with a last glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Brother Li, you’re an industry veteran. You don’t have to stay for this show…”
But Li Sheng shook his head. He didn’t agree with Zhao Wen’s approach. “Little Zhao, if we leave, what about these kids in their twenties? If something happens to them, can you live with yourself?”
That’s right. Li Sheng was known as a kind person in the entertainment industry. He definitely couldn’t leave these young people here to face danger. Zhao Wen thought angrily. In that case, he couldn’t leave either.
“Let’s… let’s find the red candles first.” Zhang Man wiped her face, trying to make her voice not sound so shaky. She forced herself to cheer up and suggested that they look for the props for the ritual first.
“Oh, those red candles? They’re in the storage room. I’ll get them for you later,” Lu Yige said. He remembered seeing red candles in the storage room when he was looking for the chessboard. He had wondered at the time if the owner of the villa had kept things from their wedding.
“There are some apples in the fridge. I’ll get some for you to practice peeling,” Li Sheng said. He remembered seeing apples when he was looking for ingredients for lunch. He left the bathroom to get the apples for Zhang Man.
Just like that, the other guests also left the bathroom one after another to help find the props for the evening’s mission.
Although Jiang Qianqian was afraid of meeting a ghost that would take her life when she first came here, when she saw Zhang Man’s somewhat崩溃 (collapsing) expression, she suddenly felt that she at least had Jiang Huai by her side to protect her, while Zhang Man had nothing and would have to face a ghost that was very likely to appear.
So, Jiang Qianqian walked to the balcony and called Jiang Jing.
“Hello?” The phone rang twice and was immediately answered. The familiar voice made Jiang Qianqian feel a little more at ease.
“Will this talisman work against a ghost in a mirror?” Jiang Qianqian organized her thoughts and asked.
“Why are you asking all of a sudden?”
“The director of the show I’m on actually found a ghost-summoning ritual and is making a young girl do it alone. I’m afraid something will happen to her,” Jiang Qianqian said, briefly telling Jiang Jing about the problem she had encountered.
The other end of the phone was silent for a moment, and then Jiang Qianqian heard, “Damn, that director is an idiot.”
Why is she still scolding people at a time like this? Jiang Qianqian urged her impatiently, “Just tell me if it will work.”
“It will work. If there’s a ghost, just throw the lightning talisman at her. The range of the lightning talisman is very wide. The bathroom is so small that it will take effect immediately after you throw it.”
“What if she can come out of the mirror?”
“That means this ghost has a lot of resentment and has some cultivation. Just stick the talisman on the girl. That way, the ghost can’t attack her.”
Jiang Qianqian wanted to ask more questions, but she heard Jiang Jing’s instructions. “Go and stick the ghost-repelling talisman on your room door now, and then cover all the mirrors and reflective objects in your room.”
“Why?” Jiang Qianqian was a little curious. After hearing what Jiang Jing said, she wasn’t as scared anymore and started to care about the reason.
“A ghost in a mirror uses any object that can reflect a person’s image as a medium. As long as you cover them, she won’t be able to manifest.”
“So, it’s like if you smash the TV with Sadako in it, she can’t come out?” Jiang Qianqian recalled a classic example.
“…Yes.” Where did she come up with such a strange example?
“Okay, I get it. I’ll hang up now. Talk to you later—” She was interrupted by Jiang Jing. “Wait, no matter what happens, make sure you’re safe first.”
Jiang Qianqian was a little overwhelmed by her sudden concern. She reluctantly replied, “Okay, okay. Is there anything else you want to say?”
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Wait for me.”
The call was hung up. Jiang Qianqian hadn’t even processed what Jiang Jing meant. She turned around and saw that Li Weizhao and Song Zhe had appeared behind her.
“Is there something you need?” Jiang Qianqian couldn’t help but ask, seeing the hesitant look on Song Zhe’s face.
“We came to warn you beforehand,” Song Zhe said. As Jiang Qianqian’s acquaintance, it was easier for him to speak than for Li Weizhao.
Li Weizhao’s gaze lingered on her neck, where the protective amulet Jiang Jing had given her was hanging. He gently rubbed the ring on his pinky finger. The ancient characters on it were slightly hot.
“The amulet on your neck is enough to ward off some low-level spirits. There are four normal people here that we need to protect. We’re afraid that if something really happens, we might not be able to look after you,” Li Weizhao explained, seeing Jiang Qianqian’s confused expression.
So that’s what he meant. Jiang Qianqian nodded. “I’ll be fine. You guys go and protect them.” Song Zhe looked at Jiang Qianqian seriously again. The dense green spiritual energy was still surrounding her, like a barrier protecting her.
“Hey, wait, take me with you. I can share a room with Zhang Man and protect her,” Jiang Qianqian said, quickly stopping the two who were about to leave. She now had the ability to protect others. She didn’t want to see the same look on her face when she was almost killed by a ghost appear on anyone else’s face.
The two turned around, looked at each other, and then bowed to Jiang Qianqian with their hands in the ziwu position. “Thank you for your help, Miss Jiang.”
Haha, what a classic young master. The corner of Jiang Qianqian’s mouth twitched. She quickly said it was nothing and just a small favor.
While Jiang Qianqian was still dealing with the two consultants, Zhang Man had already silently picked up a knife and was practicing peeling an apple. The sharp blade separated the peel from the flesh, squeezing out some juice, like a red ribbon. Zhang Man’s hand was shaking like a sieve. The blade made wavy lines on the peel and suddenly “snapped.” She shrieked and looked at the camera. “Director, remember to cut this part, heh, heh.”
“Sister, this is the seventh one you’ve broken…” Lu Yige held back a laugh and handed her a new apple. He suddenly lowered his voice. “How about we use super glue to stick the peel back on? Ghosts probably don’t know chemistry, right?”
“Are you trying to get me killed?” Zhang Man said, giving him a speechless look before peeling the eighth apple.
“Sister Man, have you thought about what questions you’re going to ask tonight?” Lu Yige sat next to her. They were both new to the entertainment industry and now felt a sense of camaraderie.
“No, I haven’t. My mind is a mess right now. I’m just afraid I’ll break the peel when I’m peeling the apple.” Zhang Man put down the knife. A whole apple peel was in her hand.
“It was mentioned before that the millionaire’s husband killed her for money. Since she’s asking us to find the real reason, it means the husband didn’t kill her for money,” Lu Yige said, thinking about the information left in the mission announcement and finding some loopholes in the text.
“Generally, there are a few reasons why a husband kills his wife: either he cheated, he wanted her money, or he was an abusive husband who killed her by accident,” Zhang Man said, counting the possible reasons she knew of on her fingers.
The sofa next to her sank. Jiang Qianqian sat down next to Zhang Man. “I watched the CD in my room. It’s a movie called She’s the Man.” Jiang Qianqian remembered that the main character disguised herself as a boy and joined the school soccer team, eventually winning the championship. It didn’t seem to have anything strange about it.
The few of them looked at each other in silence, completely unable to think of anything else to ask.