HEIFEIGU -Chapter 63

Although they had stayed up late the day before preparing small gifts for the islanders, everyone was already awake when Wu Muhan came knocking the next morning, looking much more energetic than the previous day.

Luo Feiang, who had planned to flaunt his looks all day, had even styled his hair, exuding a top-influencer aura as soon as he stepped outside.

Except for Xie Jixing, who stayed behind to help Wu Muhan prepare for the purification ritual, the others were led by the young teacher to visit the islanders.

The purification ritual was to take place in a cave, ending at a natural pit.

Directly below the pit lay a massive stone, shaped like a petrified giant python, its head raised toward the light streaming from above.

The features on the python’s head were clear, and even the scales could be counted.

There was no signal in the cave. The camera lost connection almost immediately after entering and could only capture long shots from above the pit.

During the ritual, Wu Muhan would perform a shamanic dance to entertain the gods, with the giant python’s head serving as the stage.

Running his hand over the scaly stone, Xie Jixing couldn’t help but wonder if dancing on it might wake it up.

Sneaking a quick burn with a flicker of spiritual fire, he confirmed it was indeed stone.

The moment the spectral flame flared, Wu Muhan sensed it and pressed her hand to the stone. “It’s been here for thousands of years.”

Then she turned to Xie Jixing. “How long have you been here?”

Xie Jixing paused for a moment. Seeing the camera floating far away, probably unable to record audio, he decided to tell the truth. “Not long… just a few months.”

Satisfied, the shaman tugged at his cheek happily. “Honest little brother.”

She then took a tortoise shell from her small cloth bag. “I don’t usually help people divinate—it’s exhausting—but for an obedient little brother, I’ll do a free reading.”

Wu Muhan’s method was ancient and mysterious, using tortoise shells and seashells. Xie Jixing didn’t understand it at all—he was more of a fighting-and-action type, not someone versed in fortune-telling.

Besides, her fully armored outfit looked completely out of place next to the tortoise shell.

“You have a deep connection with this world. Those you wish to see will appear very soon.”

Those he wished to see?

Xie Jixing scratched his head. Who else could he want to see? His unlucky master and senior brother? His master was skilled in soul restoration and alchemy, and his senior brother specialized in geomancy, crafting, and paper offerings.

Neither could match him in combat, so when the great calamity came, he had already sent them away. Though he hadn’t seen them yet, he could sense they were safe—no need to worry.

More pressing was his curiosity: “When will I get to see Qian?”

Wu Muhan smiled mysteriously. “Haven’t you already seen him?”

Why was she speaking in riddles all of a sudden?

Xie Jixing shivered. Her smile reminded him eerily of certain smiles from Sister Yue—it was unsettling!

The python’s head towered about five meters. Now Xie Jixing understood why Wu Muhan wore short armor today—they would be climbing it by hand.

Luckily, the surface of the stone was rough and covered with some vines, making it climbable, though physically taxing.

When he finally stood atop the python’s head and looked out over the pit, the sudden view of light breaking through the long darkness was breathtaking, even for him.

He instinctively tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, sensing a long-missed spiritual energy. “This place is really amazing!”

Audience comments on the livestream:

【Aww, the camera really can’t go in? I want a first-person view of the cave!】

【Wow, standing up there is so cool. If they develop this as a tourist spot, I wonder if it will open?】

【If it opens, the photos will be incredible!】

【Daily content, I’m impressed. Don’t you think this snake looks too real? I’m scared it might bite next!】

【From this camera angle, it’s truly a spectacle. Can’t wait for this island to open up.】

【Wait, shouldn’t a team of experts decide whether a tourist spot should be developed? Why can a few celebrities and a so-called shaman decide? This is reckless!】

【Also, can this performance even be publicly promoted?】

These final comments ignited the online discussion around the already-troubled production.

Duan Yanming had been held at the island’s police station for 24 hours and, once sober, was transferred back for continued investigation. During the chaos, Xie Jixing had seized the phone containing all his calls with Xia Letian and handed it to Xuan Caiyan.

When Xia Letian received the news, he smashed everything in the room in a fit of rage. The past few days, he had been anxious and sleepless.

He had initially assumed the show would spotlight Qian Shuyun and Luo Feiang, with others as supporting roles. His goal had been to attach himself to one of them for his acting career, not seeking the limelight. Yet now, the most popular participant was Xie Jixing.

Since leaving the show Hi, Let’s Get Wild!, Xia Letian had lost hundreds of thousands of followers. To maintain appearances, he bought fake followers, but anyone with eyes could see his account’s activity was far below before.

Meanwhile, Xie Jixing’s follower count had skyrocketed in units of ten thousand. The account, once only 20,000 followers, now had nearly three million, with high engagement—even without posting new content, fans were exploring and interacting extensively in his comments.

In the super-topic community, discussions about Xie Jixing were increasing rapidly. The most popular remained the Xingzhou CP super-topic, now in the top five of the CP rankings.

Meng Zezhou’s dedicated fans supported this CP fully. Even before the two main leads met, Xie Jixing had defended Meng Zezhou against haters, later officially unbinding their accounts with his fans’ help.

Now, calling it a CP hype or even asking Meng Zezhou to recognize Xie Jixing as a godfather would not be an exaggeration.

After the bouquet-giving scene at the Hundred-Family Feast, the Xingyun CP finally rose in prominence, reaching 20th place in the CP rankings.

Though modest, it marked a break from the cold zone. Most of Qian Shuyun’s old fans no longer used the platform—these were high-quality new fans gained through the show.

Even another notorious CP, “Never Air Force,” had surprisingly harmonious interactions, despite Luo Feiang’s usual toxic fandom.

Xuan Caiyan’s fans also established a super-topic for her friendship with Xie Jixing, energetically promoting her daughter’s reputation.

Previously, the fans who shipped the friendship between Xia Letian and Xuan Caiyan had mostly shifted to shipping Xuan Caiyan and Xie Jixing.

Flipping through their old posts, Xia Letian could even see the giveaways he had run himself. Seeing this, he felt like his teeth were about to shatter.

What right does Xie Jixing have?!

If he had just held back back then and continued maintaining the “friend” image with Xuan Caiyan, wouldn’t he, Xia Letian, now be the group’s favorite?

Those top-tier celebrities and movie kings he couldn’t reach before would have approached him willingly for contact info.

Later, they might even bring him along for shows and film projects—it would have paved a golden path straight to the top.

But now, all of that had gone to Xie Jixing instead.

Xia Letian couldn’t accept it!

If he hadn’t dragged that fool Duan Yanming onto the show, and had just played the “pitiful me” card after filming, Xuan Caiyan might have softened, and there might have been a chance to mend their relationship. But now, that possibility was completely gone.

It was all Xie Jixing’s fault—why did he go out of his way to save Xuan Caiyan? If she had quit the show due to injury, he wouldn’t have had to make the terrible move of letting Duan Yanming participate.

Why give Duan Yanming that potion? If it weren’t for that bottle, Duan Yanming wouldn’t have risked poisoning and secretly filming, only to be caught red-handed!

Everything was ruined now. Xia Letian knew that if he wanted a comeback, he had to trample on Xuan Caiyan and Xie Jixing during the live broadcast, ruin their reputations, and make them lose credibility.

Otherwise, after the show ended, Xuan Caiyan’s personality being what it is, she would definitely expose those chat records.

If that happened, Xia Letian might have only one option left—quit the industry.

Though the Xia family was in business, their network was vast, and there were many capable juniors. Without connections or influence, he couldn’t break into that circle.

If he lost the entertainment industry path, the meager dividends he had were nowhere near enough to live on.

Xia Letian had no choice but to go all in.

After several failed publicity stunts, his company was unwilling to provide resources, so Xia Letian even cashed out part of his shares from the group, hiring two highly reputable PR firms to manipulate the public opinion this time.

Unlike the cheap comment-farming bots from before, these firms wouldn’t just post pre-written comments in the live stream that could easily be refuted, nor would they post low-level sarcastic remarks that might backfire.

Using the live comments as a spark, they shifted the main battlefield of public opinion off the show, gradually guiding it.

#Is witchcraft truly essence or dross?
#What caused those copycat cultural towns to “die”?
#Why do they go all out to escape the mountains?!
…

These topics seemed unrelated to the “Hi, Let’s Go Wild!” show, but a closer look revealed countless connections. By the time Qi Zhen realized it was a full-scale media siege on the production team, the trending topics were unstoppable.

And the day of the purification ritual had arrived.