Ch 92: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

He had been streaming this kind of content for two years, and had seen plenty of spirits.

Most of them were nothing more than shadows, wandering in a fixed place—just as viewers said, like moving holograms, with almost no awareness or thought.

A few, perhaps because of some obsession left over from life, could move, even speak a little, carrying faint traces of intelligence.

Those were the ones he liked interacting with—teasing a few words out of them, piecing together a complete story.

But the one before him, crawling out of the ground, stared straight at Xiang Feicheng. When he didn’t answer, it repeated: “You stepped on my head.”

It reached out to grab him, but its pale hand passed right through his ankle.

Seeing this, Xiang Feicheng let out a breath of relief, and the fans who shared his perception also relaxed.

【Scared me half to death—just now I thought I’d been dropped into some old ghost movie, where spirits could actually touch people.】
【That would be truly terrifying. Just imagine, such horrible creatures with special abilities, if they could hurt humans—how scary would that be?】

After all, horror fans liked these livestreams because everything they saw couldn’t actually harm them.

Realizing the spirit couldn’t touch him, Xiang Feicheng calmed down and even joked, “So I stepped on you—what do we do about it?”

The spirit froze at his words, looking confused, as though trying hard to think. Its dazed expression carried an odd touch of humor.

Fans burst out laughing, taking endless screenshots.

But Xiang Feicheng only felt more uneasy.

The spirit was thinking.

Its reaction was slow, but it had understood his words—it was thinking.

That meant it possessed self-awareness, and even the ability to communicate like a human!

His heart pounded.

This was a huge discovery. He crouched down, wanting to talk more, to confirm his suspicion.

But suddenly, the spirit shuddered, turned its head, and scuttled on all fours into the darkness.

At the same time, the female ghost that had been following him floated off the ground, drifting in the same direction.

As if they had discovered something—or been summoned.

Xiang Feicheng looked on in confusion, just about to follow, when he froze.

In his vision, countless red dots suddenly converged in that direction.

They moved fast. As they drew closer, their outlines became clear: spirits of every shape, some expressionless, some fearful, some curious, all heading toward the depths of the mansion.

His assistant, who wasn’t wearing the equipment, couldn’t see them, but he could feel gusts of cold wind sweeping past. Nervous, he edged closer and whispered, “Brother Xiang, what’s going on? Why do I feel so cold?”

Xiang Feicheng didn’t answer.

He just stared blankly, stunned speechless by the sight before him.

In the livestream chat, the screen was flooded. Viewers spammed screenshots like crazy.

【Holy shit, I’ve never seen anything like this in my life!】
【I’m recording this—gonna post it on the forum later. Anyone who missed this stream is gonna regret it.】
【What’s happening? Is this… the legendary Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts?】
【Why are the spirits doing this? It looks like… a pilgrimage?】

Xiang Feicheng watched for a long time before finally speaking: “Friends, tonight we’re going big.”

Such a rare opportunity—how could he miss it? He had to follow, to see what these spirits were doing.

The fans instantly guessed his intention:

【Ahhh I’m so hyped!】
【Master Xiang is fearless!】
【But won’t it be dangerous? I mean, I want to see too, but the streamer only has one assistant with him—I’m a little worried.】

But Xiang Feicheng, once he made up his mind, would not waver. He took a deep breath and followed the spirits inside.

From the third-person view, the stylishly dressed Xiang Feicheng walked among a vast sea of greenish ghostly figures—the scene was breathtaking.

Fans were already posting the footage to forums, and in mere moments, the livestream’s popularity skyrocketed to an astonishing level.

But Xiang Feicheng had no attention to spare for that now.

He was immersed in the strange environment, moving with the spirits through the front courtyard and along the decayed, carved corridor, heading deeper into the inner compound.

The moment he stepped from the corridor into the inner courtyard, his heart gave a heavy thump.

It felt like he heard something—like a dull boom inside his skull, sending a shiver through his whole body.

But in truth, there was no sound.

And then—he stepped into a world of illusions.

The pitch-black courtyard lit up with lanterns, one after another. Palace lanterns embroidered with flowers, fish, and birds glowed warmly. The ground beneath his feet was now clean and smooth; the weeds were gone, replaced by carefully tended exotic plants.

The dry artificial lake shimmered with rippling water, where crimson koi swam gracefully under the lantern light.

This ancient mansion, abandoned for a thousand years, at that moment came alive—breathing again with vitality.

【Holy shit!】

【What is this? Is the streamer playing a holographic movie?】

【So beautiful… is this an ancient building? Looks a bit like the gardens I saw on Capital Star, but this one feels even more authentically old.】

【Such effects and detail—this is a big-budget production.】

【Wait, but we’re synced with the streamer’s senses. Why does this feel so weird?】

【The spirits are still around us. Everyone isn’t blind to it—we just don’t dare think about it…】

Xiang Feicheng’s head buzzed as he stared dumbfounded at everything before him, then whipped his head toward his assistant.

“Am I… dreaming?”

But he didn’t hear his assistant’s reply—the young man was frozen, mouth hanging open, blankly staring at the scene.

Xiang Feicheng suddenly realized something was wrong. He clapped his assistant hard on the shoulder. “You can see this too?”

The assistant blinked back to his senses. “Yeah, I can… holy shit!”

He finally reacted, face turning pale, and instantly glued himself to Xiang Feicheng’s side. “Brother Xiang, Boss Xiang, ancestor, what the hell is going on?”

Xiang Feicheng gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know either.”

The fans finally sensed something was wrong.

【What did Xiang mean by that? This isn’t a hologram?】
【Is he messing with us? Some streamers pulled that trick before and got exposed, ended up quitting.】
【No, I already tested—this is a normal livestream. No third-party interference.】
【The mansion may look gorgeous, but now I’m actually scared.】

Xiang Feicheng looked at the garden. Maybe it was just the strange atmosphere, or maybe he’d seen too many ancient gardens online, but it all felt oddly familiar.

Around him, spirits crowded thickly. Suddenly they stirred, all staring in the same direction.

Xiang Feicheng couldn’t help but look too.

From the shadows of a tree, a slender figure slowly walked out.

He wore robes of an ancient style, his hair loose, feet bare, each step like he was emerging from another world.

*

Mu Xing had walked around the room without finding anyone or regaining memories.

He got out of bed. Barefoot, he didn’t feel the cold—having lived as a merman before, he was used to going barefoot anyway. He didn’t bother finding shoes, just walked out to take a look.

Outside was a delicate courtyard, beautiful but eerily silent, without another soul in sight.

He kept moving forward, soon sensing an unusual disturbance ahead.

It was a bit like spiritual energy, but not—it was chillingly cold, saturating the front courtyard.

He also sensed unfamiliar presences.

Someone was there.

Mu Xing felt a flash of joy and headed out. Passing a rockery and rounding a corridor corner, he froze at the sight—

???

Had he walked into hell?

“What the… what are those?” He stumbled back a step, forcing himself to steady.

Before him, the wide courtyard was crammed with grotesque, bloody, horrifying figures—monsters of every kind.

Worse, all of them—let’s just call them ghosts—were staring at him with bulging, unblinking eyes.

Even with his courage, Mu Xing broke out in a cold sweat.

Why were there so many ghosts here?

His gaze swept across them, finally landing on the only two normal humans among the crowd.

*

But while he was shocked, Xiang Feicheng and his assistant were even more terrified.

In such a bizarre courtyard, filled with ghosts, suddenly seeing a boy in unmistakably ancient robes—anyone would be scared.

Even if that boy was strikingly beautiful.

The first thought that flashed through Xiang Feicheng’s mind when he saw him was: eyes like autumn water, bones like jade.

Yet appearing in this ornate but lifeless courtyard, the boy too carried a faint, otherworldly chill, lacking any human vitality.

The livestream chat exploded so wildly it was impossible to keep up—messages refreshed too fast to read.

【What a beautiful boy!】
【Wake up, people—obviously he’s not human!】
【A spirit? I’ve never seen such a clean, beautiful one before. Did he die peacefully in his sleep?】
【I don’t care, he’s gorgeous. I’d risk it for him!】
【“Boy”? Call him ancestor.】
【I remember an old book called Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. It recorded many beautiful spirits. I thought it was fiction, but were there really such beautiful ghosts in ancient times?】

Mu Xing looked at the garden full of ghosts—and at the two modern-dressed humans—and asked, “Who are you? Why are there so many ghosts here?”

The moment he said it, he felt awkward.

Oh, right. He was a ghost now too.

Xiang Feicheng and his assistant exchanged a look.

Xiang asked, “You can see him?”

The assistant shivered. “Yeah, but… there are a lot of ghosts here?”

Xiang Feicheng glanced at the countless spirits around and replied calmly, “Not too many.”

The assistant relaxed.

Mu Xing looked at the man’s nonsense: “…”

But he quickly caught on. “You can see me?”

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