Chapter 143: Chapter 136: Beast Master of the Mountain Village
Yu Mi blinked her eyes, a look of incomprehension on her face, "How did Luo Zhaoqing change his leg?"
Pei Qiuyu and the others were stunned for a moment, not understanding, and Song Yan almost laughed at the girl’s stupidity, "It’s not that he changed his leg, it’s that he’s been replaced!"
"Replaced?" Yu Mi’s eyes revealed a newcomer’s clear stupidity, "No way, if he isn’t Luo Zhaoqing, why would the crew follow him?"
Explaining things to newcomers was a thankless task, and Xiang Xiaolin said somewhat impatiently, "Because Luo Zhaoqing was replaced, that ghost impersonated him."
Hearing this, Yu Mi’s face was full of disbelief. At this moment, Yang Xiao knew he had to intervene. He feigned a very anxious look but tried to maintain composure, "No... no way, how could a ghost impersonate a human?"
"Believe it or not, it’s up to you, but that’s the fact," Xiang Xiaolin didn’t want to waste any more words.
A moment later, Yang Xiao seemed to realize something and suddenly looked at Song Yan. Song Yan, realizing what was going on, gave a wry smile and nodded, "You’re right in what you’re thinking. The person who called us last night wasn’t Luo Zhaoqing at all, it was that ghost. If we had agreed to let him stay and opened the door for him, it’s likely that we would be the ones missing now."
"Why didn’t you tell me last night?" Yang Xiao challenged.
"Brother Chu, you haven’t experienced these things, I was worried that you might panic and do something stupid, which could actually harm you," replied Song Yan, every bit the seasoned player, his acting no less compelling than Yang Xiao, his words full of apparent concern for his well-being.
"What time did you receive the call?" Lu Ji suddenly asked.
"Around 8:30 PM," Song Yan recalled.
The first time the surveillance camera captured Luo Zhaoqing was when he left the hotel to buy medicine at 7:40 PM, and the problematic Luo Zhaoqing appeared on camera at 9:00 PM.
"Based on the timing, something must have happened to Luo Zhaoqing between 7:40 PM and 8:30 PM last night, probably on the stretch of road he took," Tang Cui, who had been relatively quiet, analyzed, "Or it could’ve been at the pharmacy he mentioned when he called you, correct?"
"That’s right," Yang Xiao also mentioned the detail of Luo Zhaoqing saying there was a black handprint on his back.
The pharmacy was key, so everyone decided to look into it.
Soon after, an enraged Director Ding and his group returned. Inside the school bus, an unidentified liquid and paint had been splashed, many props had become unusable, and the nearby surveillance cameras had been broken, capturing nothing.
"These people are retaliating!" Director Ding seethed, "They just don’t want us filming here, these hypocrites!"
"Heh, I was planning to spare them some dignity, but since they’re being shameless, I see no reason to hold back anymore. Let’s just shoot the truth!"
"Director Ding, about Luo Zhaoqing last night..."
Song Yan had only started to speak when he was cut off by Director Ding, who was still angry, "Don’t worry about him. He and Xiao Liu must’ve been taken away by people sent by Principal Wu. Rest assured, they wouldn’t dare do anything serious. They’re just trying to trip us up, making us back down."
Song Yan gave a wry smile. He wasn’t really concerned about whether Luo Zhaoqing was dead or alive, but if someone had to die, they should at least leave some clues for their teammates.
Director Ding stopped paying attention to Yang Xiao and the others and turned to discuss the next scenes with a few people from the crew.
Song Yan, not ready to give up, tried to ask again but was pulled aside by a woman from the crew who wore a headscarf, kindly advising him, "Don’t bother Director Ding, can’t you see he’s furious? Director Ding has a bad temper, so don’t ask for trouble."
"Sister, I just want to know, which pharmacy did Luo Zhaoqing go to last night?" This clue was important; they were not willing to give up easily.
"What do you want to know that for?" the woman asked curiously.
"After all, Luo Zhaoqing is my friend. Now that a living person has gone missing, as a friend, I’d feel guilty if I did nothing," Song Yan’s acting was consistently on point.
"Yes, sister, we’re also worried about him," Yang Xiao chimed in, backing up Song Yan.
The woman from the crew sighed, "I’m actually quite worried about Xiao Liu too. I called him several times, but he didn’t pick up, and eventually, his phone just turned off."
"We called that pharmacy. There were two attendants on duty last night. They indeed saw a man come to buy medicine; based on the description, it was Luo Zhaoqing without a doubt. Because Luo Zhaoqing didn’t bring any money, he couldn’t buy the medicine, but the two attendants, being kind-hearted, saw that his leg was swollen and decided to help him with a simple treatment using the pharmacy’s emergency medical kit. They even gave him new medication."
"At first, everything was normal, but after Luo Zhaoqing went to the bathroom, he suddenly became very strange. He rushed out of the bathroom anxiously, grabbed the attendants, and asked them if they could see something on his back."
"But when he lifted his shirt, there was nothing on his back. He was extremely agitated, and the two attendants were scared; they thought he might have a history of mental illness and were about to call the police. But he seemed to get scared too and ran out the door."
"Is there surveillance footage?" Yang Xiao inquired.
The woman shook her head, "No, but based on the time and the description from the two workers at the pharmacy, it was definitely Luo Zhaoqing. There’s no mistake."
Now, the timeline was narrowed down further. Luo Zhaoqing must have been replaced by the ghost after leaving the pharmacy. Yet, according to the woman, the ghost had begun to haunt Luo Zhaoqing even earlier; the handprint that only Luo Zhaoqing could see was the evidence.
While everyone was still considering their options, Director Ding’s group had finished their deliberations. They decided to continue filming, temporarily disregarding the missing Luo Zhaoqing and prop master Xiao Liu.
