Chapter 10: Three Souls and White Bones 2
The mountain road was a series of winding twists and turns, with bridges vaulting across chasms to connect tunnels bored through two mountains. In the distance, the lush, dense forest was a deep and mysterious green, giving off an intimidating air that warned away all intruders. Rows of towering peaks seemed to fly past the car, the endless range exuding a solemn majesty, as if it could collapse at any moment.
The further up this road they drove, the sparser the signs of human life became, though the clear, bright calls of birds would occasionally echo from the surrounding woods.
Jiang Si followed the GPS navigation to a guesthouse located halfway up Yanming Mountain.
From a distance, he could see someone standing in front of the guesthouse entrance. As his headlights cut through the darkness, he realized it was Wang Zhao.
The temperature on the mountain dropped sharply at night. He was wearing a denim jacket, a cigarette dangling from his lips. When he saw Jiang Si, his face lit up with an expression of sheer, unadulterated relief, as if he’d just been granted a royal pardon.
“Old Jiang, you’re finally here.”
After parking the car, Jiang Si glanced around before finally letting his gaze settle on his friend.
Whether from the cold or something else, Wang Zhao looked awful.
The second thing he said was, “Something happened today. We can’t go up the mountain. I’ll take you up to have a look tomorrow.”
“Are you alone? Where’s the rest of the crew?” Jiang Si asked, reaching out to brush something off his friend’s shoulder.
Wang Zhao thought it was just a friendly greeting and looked slightly more at ease.
Only Jiang Si knew the truth: an unclean spirit was clinging to his shoulder.
Every living person has three flames representing their yang energy—one on top of their head and one on each shoulder. Right now, the flame on Wang Zhao’s shoulder was dim and murky, as if covered by a layer of fog.
“Sigh. First, an actor fell from the wire rig this afternoon. Then, just before sunset, a crew member tumbled down the mountain path. Luckily, neither was seriously injured. The director sent a few people to the hospital to look after them. The rest are having dinner in the restaurant.”
Wang Zhao took a deep drag from his cigarette, blowing a cloud of smoke into the air. Noticing Jiang Si was still carrying his luggage, he stubbed out the cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can.
“Have you eaten? Drop your stuff off first, I’ll take you to get a bite.”
Jiang Si stared at him without a word. A sudden chill ran down Wang Zhao’s spine. “W-what is it?” he stammered.
“No need, I’ve already eaten.” Jiang Si blinked, then unceremoniously handed his suitcase to his friend, keeping only the small doll for himself as he headed towards the guesthouse rooms.
“Hey, why’d you bring a thing like this on a trip? Is this your new OC?”
Seeing the doll in Jiang Si’s hand managed to dispel some of Wang Zhao’s fear, replacing it with puzzlement. He knew his friend was laid-back, but he never thought he was this laid-back.
He reached out to touch it, but the moment his finger landed on the doll’s face, its eyes slowly swiveled to meet his.
The inky black eyes were like bottomless pits, possessing a mesmerizing power.
Wang Zhao froze for a second, then leaped back with a yelp, pointing a trembling finger. “Holy—holy crap, it moves! What the hell, you scared the life out of me.”
Jiang Si, however, was perfectly calm. He patted the doll’s head and introduced it. “His name is Hai Di.”
The doll gave a slight nod toward Wang Zhao, its soft, cute face pulling into a cool, aloof expression.
“Phew, you scared me. I knew I wasn’t seeing things. But you gotta admit, technology these days is amazing. A doll this small can be fully automated?”
Wang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and stepped closer to inspect it again.
“Haidai, is it? You know, that name’s got a nice ring to it, kinda like yours. You two really are family.”
“…If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”
Jiang Si shot him an annoyed glare. He’d come all this way, and Wang Zhao was already making fun of his name. He didn’t bother correcting his friend’s misunderstanding.
“Heh heh.” Wang Zhao led him to a new room. “Our crew booked the entire guesthouse. This is a fresh room, you can stay here for now. Director Zhang said he wants to meet you in a bit.”
“Director Zhang? Where is he?”
“He’s sitting in the lobby, on the phone with the producer. We spent a ton of time on location scouting for this movie, and now this happens. The actors’ schedules are a nightmare to coordinate…”
He rambled on, but Jiang Si barely heard a word. The rooms in this guesthouse were laid out like a standard hotel, a long corridor with rooms on either side.
The two of them walked all the way to the end, stopping in front of room 3018.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Zhao asked, pulling out the key card to open the door when he noticed Jiang Si had stopped in his tracks.
Jiang Si was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Why is it the room at the end of the hall?”
Judging by how Wang Zhao wouldn’t even say the word “ghost” over the phone, he’d thought his friend was deeply superstitious. He never expected him to be so oblivious to this. The man seemed to believe in things only when it was convenient.
“What’s wrong with the room at the end? It’s nice and quiet, isn’t it?” Wang Zhao asked, his eyes wide with confusion. The dark circles from his chronic lack of sleep somehow made his gaze seem clearer.
“It’s nothing.” Seeing his expression, Jiang Si decided not to explain. It was better this way. Let him keep his innocent view of the world.
The room itself was very clean. It was a king-sized bedroom with a private bathroom, a small balcony, and a single armchair.
“How is it? Clean, right? I know you’re a neat freak, so I made sure to ask the cleaning lady to be extra thorough.”
Jiang Si slowly paced around the room, his eyes scanning the corners, while verbally agreeing with his friend. “Clean. It’s definitely clean.”
Wang Zhao grinned, oblivious as ever. Jiang Si was used to his thick-headedness. Meanwhile, the paper figure in his pocket poked its head out to meet Hai Di, whispering.
“This guy seems a little slow, doesn’t he?”
“Probably from pulling too many all-nighters,” Hai Di replied, his face a stoic mask.
.
Director Zhang had just finished a heated argument with the producer. The investors didn’t want any delays and were demanding that the crew resume filming tomorrow to finish the scene on schedule.
But having personally witnessed two crew members get into accidents, Director Zhang had to prioritize the safety of his team.
The two sides were at a stalemate until the assistant director stepped in to smooth things over. Even so, the investors gave them an ultimatum: solve the problem in three days, max, or they would have to change locations.
Director Zhang was so angry he didn’t even bother with a cigarette. He rolled up his sleeves, ready to call them back, but the assistant director snatched his phone away.
“Director Zhang, calm down, calm down. We still have a few days, right? We’ll do our best to solve this as quickly as possible…”
“That bastard!” Director Zhang spat viciously. “Who the hell does he think he is, ordering me around? I’m the one making the movie!”
“Hey, now—he’s the one paying the bills. He’s the boss. We still need their investment to finish filming,” the assistant director said helplessly. It was an investor’s market; whoever had the money had the power.
Director Zhang knew this, of course. Seeing he couldn’t win the argument, he changed the subject to Wang Zhao.
“…Didn’t Little Wang say his guy was here? Where is he?”
“He’s here.”
The assistant director gestured vaguely. The young man who had been trailing half a step behind Wang Zhao was walking toward them.
Director Zhang squinted. He saw a man approaching, bathed in the cool moonlight. He was tall and slender, moving with the easy, confident grace of someone taking a leisurely stroll.
He looked completely self-assured, but that face… it was far too young.
The moment he saw him, Director Zhang had already mentally planned out where to move the entire production.
As they drew closer, Wang Zhao introduced him enthusiastically. “Director Zhang, Director Li, this is the master I told you about. His surname is Jiang.”
“Ah, hello, hello.” The assistant director stepped forward to shake his hand, smiling. “Master Jiang, may I be so bold as to ask your esteemed age?”
He’d heard that some masters looked younger than their years due to their cultivation practices. You couldn’t judge a book by its cover in this line of work. He knew that much.
Esteemed age?
Jiang Si wasn’t on the same wavelength. He wondered why the man was using such formal language.
“Twenty-five.”
“Hahahaha… twenty-five is a great age, twenty-five—huh?”
The assistant director suddenly paused, looking at him in disbelief. Jiang Si’s pupils were slightly larger than average, which made his face look even younger than his actual age.
He glanced at Director Zhang, who was already covering his face, unwilling to speak.
In the silence, the assistant director’s expression shifted to one of annoyance and grief.
What could a twenty-five-year-old possibly do?
A normal person at twenty-five would have just graduated with a master’s degree!
In the entertainment industry, that was the prime age for playing teenagers!
For some people, it was an age for still babbling incoherently!
His gaze fell on the exquisite little doll Jiang Si was holding, which only confirmed his suspicions.
Is this guy really not a con artist?
The assistant director’s suspicion extended to Wang Zhao, who had recommended him. Could it be that their screenwriter couldn’t take the pressure anymore and decided to dabble in some major criminal fraud?
Jiang Si cleared his throat, pulling the man’s thoughts back from a thousand miles away.
The assistant director quickly withdrew the hand he’d forgotten to retract in his shock, forcing a stiff smile.
“Um, Little Wang, why didn’t you tell us you were bringing a friend over? It’s so late, what is there for him to do for fun around here?”
“?” Wang Zhao looked completely lost. “He’s not here to have fun.”
Besides, who the hell comes to the middle of nowhere in the mountains to have fun?
The assistant director was practically having a seizure trying to signal him with his eyes. When Wang Zhao still didn’t get it, he was tempted to start cursing.
How did this blockhead end up on my crew?
His expression was a twisted mess. Director Zhang ignored him completely. After standing there for a moment, Jiang Si understood the source of the bizarre atmosphere.
He decided to cut to the chase. “Both of you directors know why I’m here. There’s no need to beat around the bush, is there?”
“No, that’s not it, we were just…” The assistant director’s smile was awkward.
“Frankly, whether your film crew lives or dies has nothing to do with me. Helping you is just asking for trouble. If Wang Zhao wasn’t my friend, and if I wasn’t worried about him being in danger here, I wouldn’t have made this trip.”
“Now that I’m here, I can guarantee Wang Zhao’s safety. As for everyone else, I’m young and inexperienced. It’s probably best to leave their fates in the hands of heaven.”
Jiang Si’s words were blunt. Now that he was out of the corporate world, no one was ever going to treat him like a doormat again.
Finally, Wang Zhao understood what was going on.
“I specifically asked him to come here to handle things, Director Zhang, Director Li! You can’t just judge him by his looks! My buddy might be a bit handsome and a bit young, but he’s the real deal!”
This bit of reverse-psychology salesmanship made Director Zhang’s head ache. He exchanged a look with the assistant director, then stood up to conclude the conversation. “Well, since you’re here, you might as well take a look with us tomorrow.”
Even Wang Zhao, as dense as he was, could see their dismissive attitude. He frowned, about to argue, but Jiang Si stopped him. He nodded at the two directors, turned, and walked away.
“Old Jiang, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be like this…” Wang Zhao said guiltily. “Everything happened so suddenly today, I was panicking and you were the first person I thought of. I was too reckless.”
The entertainment industry was a world of fame and fortune, and the people in it were shrewd and calculating. They judged you first by your status, then by your age and experience, and only lastly by your ability.
“It’s fine. It’s not a big deal,” Jiang Si said, long accustomed to it.
He changed the subject. “Tell me exactly what happened during the day.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t I already tell you?”
But Jiang Si felt there was more to it than he was letting on.
“If you were just filming, how could you have provoked something?”
“Maybe we disturbed its rest?”
“Then it would have just tried to scare you off. Why would it follow you all back here?”
As his words fell, Wang Zhao froze. It was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him, leaving him rigid and cold. His fingers began to tremble uncontrollably, and if you listened closely, you could hear the chattering of his teeth.
“What did you say?”
His voice was a whisper, instantly lost in the night wind.
