After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

◎ Brother, please save Sister! ◎

After dinner, the production team announced that the filming tasks for the day were over, allowing the guests to finally step away from the cameras for a brief rest.

Upon returning to his room, Mu Yao went straight to the bathroom. He lifted his wig to inspect the ends in the mirror.

“So that’s how it is. That small braided pigtail was a warning and a threat; the hair came from Kong Yanfei, Qu Fu, and me.”

Looking at the section of the wig’s tail that had been cut off, Mu Yao felt a chill run down his spine.

Hair cannot be taken away soundlessly; it could only be the work of a ghost. Kong Yanfei and Qu Fu were ordinary people, so it was understandable that they wouldn’t sense a spirit approaching.

But he was different. He was a half-living Impermanence, extremely sensitive to yin energy. Even if this was a wig, he should have sensed the yin energy drawing near. How was the end of his hair taken?

“Wait… if the female ghost did this, she actually did have a chance to get close to me.”

Mu Yao began to remove the wig, his mind racing. He recalled the moment he fell from the wooden stakes—his vision had been obscured, and his body was suspended in mid-air.

In that state of extreme tension and chaos, it would have been easy for the ghost to take his hair.

Furthermore, the interval between the ghost taking his hair and the braid being delivered to his hand wasn’t long. Only a few people had come into contact with that braid; narrowing down the target would be easy.

“He really isn’t afraid of being exposed. Heh, I have no choice but to go now!”

After a quick wash, Mu Yao changed into his night-op clothes and waited for the night to fall.

Late at night, Mu Yao held the little bunny hairpin he hadn’t had time to return that afternoon. Following the faint red silken thread appearing on it, he arrived outside a house located next to the Ancestral Hall.

The lights inside were on, but there were no flickering shadows of people; he couldn’t tell the situation inside for the moment.

He stood atop a large tree outside the house, pondering how to confirm what was happening within.

“You little Impermanence really don’t listen to advice. Haven’t you heard that those who listen to advice eat their fill?”

While Mu Yao was still calculating, the magnetic voice of the Rakshasa suddenly drifted up from beneath the tree. His body stiffened instantly, and he looked down.

The Rakshasa was standing there, still wearing his mask, arms crossed over his chest with a playful glint in his eyes.

The moment he saw the Rakshasa, Mu Yao felt his hair stand on end. His subconscious urged him to jump down and flee—if you can’t beat them, avoid them. He was just about to bolt when he remembered he had already run away twice before; he couldn’t flee in a panic again.

Besides, he had to investigate the Village Chief’s house tonight to find clues about the culprit. If he ran, he would find nothing. He had to strive for the truth to protect the safety of the people in the production crew.

Is it that I don’t listen to advice, or is it that you’re just a lingering spirit appearing everywhere?

Mu Yao struggled to control his legs, which were itching to run, while grumbling internally as he looked at the Rakshasa.

“Listening to advice requires the person giving it to be normal. Are you normal?”

“Heh, how am I not normal? Aside from wearing a mask, I look more like a person than you do—at least my face isn’t a blur.”

The Rakshasa gave a light laugh and kicked the tree. He used just the right amount of force to make the tree sway without knocking it over.

The swaying tree made it impossible for Mu Yao to keep his balance, so he had to jump down.

“It’s normal for a living Impermanence to obscure their face when traveling; it’s not unusual. Third time’s the charm—I won’t run again, but I don’t have time to bicker with you. I cannot ignore the matters in this village; I have a reason I must intervene. However, I don’t wish to be enemies with your Supernatural Investigation Bureau.”

Mu Yao looked directly into the Rakshasa’s red eyes, his blurred features hiding his expression.

“And so?”

The Rakshasa uncrossed his arms and adjusted his sleeves, his posture very relaxed.

“Cooperation. We find the culprit behind the village’s troubles together. I—we of the Underworld—won’t steal the credit from the Supernatural Investigation Bureau. I only want to deal with the culprit. Our goals are the same; there’s no need for hostility.”

Of course, if Mu Yao could beat the Rakshasa, he certainly wouldn’t seek cooperation. Instead, he would beat the Rakshasa up first and then handle the culprit alone. Since he couldn’t win, he might as well turn a potential opponent into a partner.

With this partner by his side, he would have a better chance against the culprit.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll stab you in the back?”

“You won’t. If you wanted to do that, you would have done it already.”

Mu Yao spoke with conviction. He had met the Rakshasa only three times. In each of those times, the Rakshasa had the opportunity to wound him from behind, yet he didn’t.

The first time, they faced off directly, and the victor was clear.

The second time, Mu Yao was besieged by ghosts; the Rakshasa could have taken advantage of his peril, but he chose to help.

The third time, Mu Yao hadn’t even sensed his approach; the Rakshasa could have attacked him while he was unaware, yet he didn’t strike.

These three meetings allowed Mu Yao to glimpse the tip of the iceberg of the Rakshasa’s nature. He believed this man would not resort to backstabbing.

“Fine. As long as the Underworld doesn’t overstep, I don’t mind having an extra helper.”

Hearing the Rakshasa’s answer, Mu Yao finally stopped being so tense. He looked at the distant house and spoke quickly.

“The Underworld will definitely not interfere, I can guarantee that. This house should be where the culprit is located. To know the truth, we must enter and investigate. But since the lights are bright right now, I don’t know if the culprit is inside. The situation is unclear; we must be cautious.”

“Heh, how do you know this is the culprit’s room? Because of the yin energy? Most of the houses in this village are overflowing with it.”

The Rakshasa’s gaze fell upon the house. In his vision, the building was shrouded in yin energy, but that was common in this village.

“I didn’t judge it by yin energy, of course. I have my own methods and clues. Rest assured, since we are partners, I won’t deliberately harm you. After all, I’m the one who proposed the cooperation.”

The clue came from the little bunny hairpin, but Mu Yao wouldn’t show such a thing to the Rakshasa. He was only in a temporary partnership with him to ensure he wouldn’t be stabbed in the back; they weren’t exactly brothers-in-arms who trusted each other with their lives. One still needed a healthy level of wariness.

“It seems you’re still hiding secrets. Fine. Since you’re certain this is the culprit’s hideout, you take the lead. I’ll cover the rear.”

The Rakshasa made a sweeping “after you” gesture, indicating for Mu Yao to move forward.

This guy is so shrewd. Seeing that I’m hiding clues, he makes me take the lead.

Behind his blurred features, Mu Yao gave the Rakshasa a silent glare and moved forward to take the lead. Since he was the one hiding clues, it was fair enough for him to go first.

Looking at it another way, with such a powerful person covering his rear, at least his back was safe.

The two of them arrived at the courtyard wall and skillfully flipped over it.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Mu Yao felt a wave of coldness spread over him. A complex stench of rot and sickly sweetness instantly filled his nostrils, making him instinctively cover his nose and mouth.

He turned to look at the man behind him and saw him doing the same, his brow furrowed, clearly choked by the smell as well.

The inside and outside of the courtyard felt like two different worlds, with the wall acting as the boundary. There was no life inside the yard; the garden that should have been full of flowers and grass was instead filled with withered blossoms and dead leaves.

These shriveled, rotting plants lay flat on the ground, waiting to become fertilizer for the soil.

In a corner of the yard stood a square dog cage. There wasn’t a single dog inside—only scattered bits of fur and bones that made one’s scalp tingle.

The cage door was wide open, and a section of iron chain extended from it, eventually snapping off in front of the house door. It looked as if something had broken the chain to flee inside, or as if something had been dragged into the house with such force that the chain was snapped in two.

The courtyard was incredibly quiet—so quiet that one could hear their own thumping heartbeat.

Luckily two of us came in together. If I were alone, this would be pretty terrifying.

Mu Yao glanced at the Rakshasa, feeling a trace of relief. Even though he had seen countless ghosts as a living Impermanence, he was still not used to such eerie scenes devoid of any life, filled only with an uncomfortable aura of misfortune.

The Rakshasa didn’t speak. He lifted a finger and pointed toward the lit room, signaling Mu Yao to go over.

Mu Yao nodded and crept toward the door, gently pushing it open.

When they saw the scene behind the door, they both sucked in a breath, their eyes widening behind the magic and the mask.

Mu Yao instinctively gripped the Soul-Hooking Chain on his wrist, while the Rakshasa reached into his pocket to grip a dharma tool, ready to attack at any second.

The lights inside the room were so bright they made one’s eyes ache momentarily. Under the stark white glare of the ceiling bulbs, rows of ghost children stood there.

The ghost children were not living; they had no physical bodies and no shadows. They were like forgotten dolls, works of art on display.

There were no expressions on their immature faces—no pain, no smiles, no resentment—only peace. A peace so profound it was hair-raising.

Their eyes stared straight ahead without focus, not at all like the souls of humans after death.

Mu Yao’s gaze swept across the face of every ghost child. He did not see the red-clothed female ghost who had been causing trouble and was filled with resentment.

Nothing. She’s actually not here?

“Only ghost children. She isn’t here, and neither is the mastermind.”

While Mu Yao was still surprised by the ghost’s absence, the Rakshasa had already scanned the room. Once he confirmed the ghost and the mastermind were gone, he spoke directly.

“The presence of these ghost children is enough proof that the owner of this house is problematic. Let’s investigate and see if there are any clues about where the owner went.”

Mu Yao knew there was a high probability the mastermind was the Village Chief, but he had no physical evidence. He had to obtain it here.

Once they confirmed the ghost children wouldn’t suddenly turn violent, the two split up to search the house.

To find clues, Mu Yao didn’t dare miss a single detail on the tables or in the corners. His meticulous search allowed him to find something.

The edges of some furniture had slight scratch marks. Near some of these marks lay one or two bloody fingernails. In the corners, there were also strands of long hair scattered about.

Mu Yao remembered the villagers’ discussion that afternoon regarding the Village Chief’s current status. He had never married, nor did he live with his parents. The Village Chief’s own hair wasn’t long, so so much long hair shouldn’t have appeared in the house.

He pulled a small paper packet from his pocket containing the nails and hair he had found in the Mountain God Temple. After comparing them, he found the hair and nails seemed to come from the same person.

With the mindset of collecting evidence, Mu Yao gathered the scattered nails and hair.

“Little Impermanence, come look at this.”

Just as he finished gathering the evidence, Mu Yao heard the Rakshasa’s voice from the other side of the room.

“Hey, don’t call me ‘Little Impermanence’!”

He grumbled as he walked over.

“If I don’t call you Little Impermanence, what should I call you? You haven’t told me your name. Look at this.”

Seeing Mu Yao approach, the Rakshasa casually nodded toward a certain direction, signaling for him to look.

Mu Yao was about to remind the man that he did indeed have a name, but he remembered his name couldn’t be exposed, so he simply shut up and endured the nickname.

In the direction the Rakshasa pointed, a wardrobe had been moved aside, revealing a secret door hidden behind it.

The secret door was open, revealing a hidden passage leading underground. The sound of wailing wind drifted up from the dark tunnel.

“There really is something wrong.”

The room full of ghost children had already shown the owner was suspicious; finding a secret passage didn’t surprise him much.

“Let’s go. We’ll go down and check; maybe the culprit is down there.”

This time, the Rakshasa didn’t stay behind Mu Yao. Instead, he stepped forward, hand braced against the top of the passage, his tall figure almost filling the space.

This passage could only fit one person at a time; they had to go one after the other. This time, the Rakshasa was taking the lead.

Having a powerhouse in the lead was very reassuring. Mu Yao nodded and was about to follow.

“Brother, save Sister.”

Just as the two were about to enter the passage, a tiny child’s voice rang out abruptly.

The two of them tensed and looked toward the source of the sound simultaneously.

Among the rows of ghost children, a young girl in a white dress was wobbling out silently. Her black eyes looked quietly at the two of them.

“Brother, please save Sister!”