Trembling in the Skies

Chapter 38: Heaven Envies Talent

After the woman in sunglasses made her choice, it was the office worker’s turn, followed by the young girl. With both having the same number of points, the office worker gave the young girl the chance to choose first. Although the young girl didn’t want to get off the bus with the man in glasses, she found men like the pretty-boy type terrifying, so in the end, she chose to get off at the second stop with him. The office worker, meanwhile, chose to get off at the fourth stop with the pretty-boy type. Once all the choices were made, filming began. The director gave instructions through everyone’s headphones, asking them to place the bamboo sticks they were holding on the table in front of them, then set off together for a nearby bus stop. This time, there was no specific order; everyone walked over together. Guo’s mother kept her eyes fixed on Li Teng, worried he might try to pull some kind of stunt again. Although she felt Li Teng had no chance of turning the tables, she still had to be on guard. Last time, her son, Guo Zhipeng, had died at Li Teng’s hands because he let his guard down; she couldn’t let history repeat itself. The others also instinctively turned their gaze toward Li Teng, wondering if, in this desperate situation, he would resort to the same unconventional methods as last time to turn the tables. Soon, a scene unfolded that left everyone stunned and baffled! As Li Teng stood up, he actually picked up the bar stool next to him again. Then, clearly having received no cue through his earpiece from the director to put the bar stool down, he brazenly walked off with the café’s bar stool once again. “What is he up to?” the fair-faced young man asked Guo’s mother, thoroughly puzzled. “I don’t know,” Guo’s mother replied, her face ashen. She simply couldn’t fathom Li Teng’s true motive for moving the bar stool this time. In fact, even earlier, when Guo’s mother had watched the video replay on the terminal showing how her son, Guo Zhipeng, had died, she hadn’t quite understood what was going on when she saw Li Teng walk away from the coffee table and pick up a bar stool. It wasn’t until she’d watched the entire video that she realized her son, Guo Zhipeng, had died on Li Teng’s bar stool. But what did it mean that he’d brought another bar stool this time? Could it be that he intended to stab her to death with the bar stool as well? What a joke! Guo’s mother thought that if Li Teng could pull off another counterattack with the barstool this time and stab her to death, she might as well find a place to livestream herself eating shit. But why was he still holding the barstool? The woman in sunglasses, Gao Fei, the female office worker, and the others were also quite puzzled when they saw Li Teng pick up the barstool again. They hadn’t understood it last time, and this time, they still didn’t get it. If Li Teng managed to successfully counterattack and kill Guo’s mother with the barstool again, they felt their IQs would truly be dragged through the mud by him. Or was he just bluffing? Seeing Guo’s mother’s stern and grave expression, the others felt that Li Teng’s psychological tactics had at least worked. Guo’s mother was clearly wavering just a little; she wasn’t as confident as before. But could a wavering confidence really make up for the enormous power gap between a human and a ghost? Guo’s mother simply couldn’t fathom the point of Li Teng moving the barstool. A moment later, she made a decision: she might as well pick up the barstool she was sitting on as well. You’ve got a barstool? So does this old lady! At the very least, she couldn’t let Li Teng outdo her in terms of presence. Seeing that Mrs. Guo had been startled by Li Teng lifting his barstool—and that she now held one in her own hands—the others couldn’t help but laugh. Gao Fei laughed hysterically. In Gao Fei’s eyes, Li Teng was as good as dead this time. However, Li Teng still managed to outwit Guo’s mother—a seasoned actress—with his signature sense of humor. It threw Guo’s mother completely off balance. Li Teng was a true master of strategy; no one could figure out his tactics, nor could anyone guess his true intentions. With just a simple, casual gesture, he could send his opponents into a panic and leave them speculating wildly. In that sense, Li Teng had already won. “What a pity,” the woman in sunglasses sighed. Li Teng was born in the wrong era, and his luck was abysmal. Under the director’s direction, the group walked together toward the bus stop—the starting point of the scene they were filming. The pretty-boy helped Guo’s mother carry her barstool, while she kept her eyes fixed on Li Teng as he walked ahead carrying it, as if she were worried he might lift the barstool at any moment and smash her to death right there on the spot. Of course, even if Li Teng had actually done that—even if it had been a momentary outburst—there was a high probability the crew would have stopped him. And even if he’d succeeded, Guo’s mother would have been revived for free, while Li Teng would have been immediately turned into a wax figure for seriously violating the film studio’s regulations. So, the likelihood of Li Teng doing this was very low—unless he did something stupid. After staring at Li Teng for a few more moments, Guo’s mother suddenly realized something wasn’t quite right. Li Teng wasn’t walking obediently; instead, he was muttering to himself as he walked. To make sure she didn’t overlook any of Li Teng’s schemes, Guo’s mother deliberately moved a little closer and finally heard clearly what he was muttering. “Barstool, oh barstool, you’re the most effective at subduing demons and exorcising evil spirits. Last time you helped me slay a demon; this time, help me get rid of that witch. When one dies, all knowledge vanishes; the witch’s body is riddled with bloody holes. I bid farewell to the White Emperor amidst colorful clouds; I swear not to return until I’ve killed that witch. Don’t you see the waters of the Yellow River coming down from the heavens, rushing toward that sea of a thousand hues and ten thousand colors…” After listening intently to Li Teng’s ramblings for a while, Guo’s mother still couldn’t make head or tail of what he was trying to say. Even for a doggerel poem, wasn’t this level just too low? These meaningless thoughts left Guo’s mother restless and agitated. “Fiery ballads are what we long for; singing as we walk along the road is the freest way to be.” By the end of his recitation, Li Teng even began humming softly. Hearing that tune, Mrs. Guo almost broke into a square dance. “This guy’s crazy!” Guo’s mother hurriedly retreated to the side to avoid falling for Li Teng’s antics. Hearing Li Teng’s strange, rambling chant, the others couldn’t help but speculate in their own minds. They wanted to figure out if there was any special meaning behind Li Teng’s strange, rambling singing. Could this actually be a curse to kill Guo’s mother? After walking down a street, the group pushed open a door on the side of the street at the director’s instruction. After passing through the door and walking down a dim alley, they emerged onto another street. The area near the café where they had been earlier was set up to resemble a bustling city center. But after passing through the dark alley and arriving on this street, the surroundings looked rather dilapidated, and a chilling, foreboding atmosphere hit them head-on. The streetlights along the road cast a dim, yellow glow and occasionally emitted a crackling sound of electricity, creating the mysterious atmosphere characteristic of horror films. The air seemed to grow several degrees colder in an instant. It felt as if, at any moment, a ghost might burst out and claim a life with its claws. The group continued on, and the dim streetlights along the road grew even fainter. A chilling breeze blew in from the small grove by the roadside. Mysterious, muffled whimpering could be heard within the chill.