The Otherworldly God I Serve Is Actually a Demon - Chapter 2

The live stream had already been going on for two hours, but when Ruan Jiao clicked in, the streamer was still hunched over, devouring food.

The female streamer on screen was thin and frail, with sunken cheeks, resembling a famine victim from a time of starvation, gaunt and sallow. At first glance, one would think her appearance matched her name perfectly.

Starving Ghost.

The female streamer ate just as crudely, as if she hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years, grabbing noodles from the bowl with her hands and shoving them frantically into her mouth.

It looked utterly unappetizing, yet the live stream had over 10,000 viewers online.

[Streamer, can you live stream eating an entire cow?]

[What’s so interesting about eating a cow? Streamer, since you can eat so much, why not learn from Lao Ba? I’ll gift you 10 Huazi for every pound you eat.]

[The person above, eating a pound of shit for only 30,000? How stingy can you be? How dare you even bring it up?]

Ruan Jiao saw many bored netizens spamming the chat in the live stream, all with vulgar language. The streamer didn’t even lift her head, completely ignoring them, just eating nonstop.

There were many comments, and the one suggesting the streamer eat shit was quickly pushed down.

Suddenly, a golden message floated across the screen, someone had paid for a broadcast message, aiming to make sure the streamer saw it.

[So, streamer, think about what I just said. If eating shit is too much for you, how about raw pork? I’ll gift you 10 Huazi for every pound you eat. I mean what I say.]

The person who sent the broadcast message was the same netizen who had suggested the streamer eat shit earlier. Their ID was “Rich and Reckless,” with a user spending level of 45.

Even though Ruan Jiao wasn’t familiar with live streaming, she knew that a level 45 user was a high-tier spender for most streamers, and 10 Huazi was likely within their means.

The comment section erupted into a heated discussion because of “Rich and Reckless’” broadcast message.

[Front row for the screenshot, feels like this might make it to the highlights.]

[Raw pork? Some ethnic minorities do have that as a dietary habit. Given the streamer’s appetite, eating a pound of raw pork shouldn’t be a problem at all. It just depends on whether she’s willing.]

[A pound of raw pork for 30,000? Rich and Reckless, what about me? I can eat too.]

[Bullshit. I bet this Rich and Reckless account was bought. A few dozen yuan for a broadcast message and you’re all fawning over it? If they can actually gift 10 Huazi, I’ll eat shit while doing a handstand right now.]

The comment section buzzed with arguments, some doubting that “Rich and Reckless” was just showing off, but most were there for the spectacle. Marketing accounts, catching wind of the drama, flooded into the live stream to record the screen.

Because of this incident, the number of viewers in Starving Ghost’s live stream actually broke 20,000 and was still climbing.

Ruan Jiao, who had originally intended to swipe away, stopped. She was also curious about how the streamer would handle this situation.

Under the watchful eyes of thousands, the streamer finally paused her frantic noodle-shoveling. She slowly raised her head to face the screen, her sallow, gaunt face revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes.

Those eyes held only emptiness and a chilling coldness, the red veins covering the entire eyeballs, giving her the fierce appearance of a malevolent ghost at first glance.

Ruan Jiao was indeed startled. She had a strange feeling that the streamer wasn’t looking at the screen but directly at her. She wasn’t the only one who felt this way, the comment section erupted into another round of discussion about the streamer’s terrifying eyes.

At this point, Ruan Jiao was already somewhat reluctant to continue watching this live stream. Just as she was about to exit, the “Starving Ghost” finally spoke.

Her voice was hoarse and low, unpleasant to the ear.

She said, “Dear viewers, that’s all for today’s stream. I need to prepare tomorrow’s recipe. What do you think of the dish ‘Eating the Rich and Reckless Raw’? Hehehe…”

Ruan Jiao was taken aback, unable to tell whether the streamer was joking or being serious. The live chat fell silent for a couple of seconds, with no comments appearing. When it became lively again, opinions varied widely.

[The streamer is quite humorous, but it’s the Ghost Festival, let’s show some respect and avoid telling ghost stories.]

[I feel like the streamer is a bit crazy.]

The Starving Ghost’s statement clearly caught everyone off guard. In the dead of night, it sent chills down their spines for no apparent reason.

The user “Rich and Reckless” in the comments section was clearly provoked and immediately purchased over a dozen public messages to hurl insults at the streamer.

Feeling uneasy, Ruan Jiao swiped her finger and exited the live stream. Whether it was truly because of the Ghost Festival or not, everything she encountered lately seemed tinged with an eerie strangeness.

Moreover, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this streamer, the Starving Ghost, was serious about making “Rich and Reckless” part of tomorrow’s recipe.

This bizarre thought completely killed her interest in using her phone. She decided to take out her textbooks and study, hoping to cleanse her mind in the ocean of knowledge.

Seeing this, Xiang You exclaimed “666”, amazed that Ruan Jiao was studying behind her back, was she planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam? Not one to be outdone, Xiang You immediately put down her phone and pulled out her own textbooks to study.

In the noisy classroom, the two of them became anomalies, burying their heads in their books, drawing curious glances from their classmates.

Who would have thought that even in the first semester of freshman year, some people were already working so hard? Looking around, others were either playing on their phones, eating, or chatting, it was simply outrageous.

So, when the class advisor hurried back after dealing with personal matters, she almost thought she had walked into the wrong classroom. The harmonious scene of everyone buried in their books, was this really the class she was in charge of?

In high spirits, the class advisor kindly reminded everyone during the evening self-study session that while studying was important, they should also remember to rest and strike a balance between work and leisure.

“Is the advisor in the running for the ‘Most Beautiful Class Advisor’ award or something? She’s in such a good mood,” Xiang You muttered while packing her bag.

“Hey, Jiaojiao, my mom is picking me up later. Why don’t you ride home with us in our car?”

Xiang You enthusiastically invited Ruan Jiao. Her family was relatively well-off, and as the only child, her parents doted on her. Even in college, they drove her to and from school every day, treating her like a precious treasure.

Ruan Jiao’s parents were ordinary working-class people, likely still working overtime at this hour. Her home was nearby, and she usually walked back alone.

Without much thought, she declined Xiang You’s kind offer, she didn’t like troubling others.

Carrying her backpack, Ruan Jiao bid farewell to Xiang You at the school gate and headed in the opposite direction.

Jiang University fit the stereotypical image of a public university. It wasn’t located in the city center but rather in the third ring road area. A short walk would take you to the urban-rural fringe, and a bit further would lead to the outskirts.

Ruan Jiao’s residential complex was situated between the urban-rural fringe and the school. The developer had leveled the original rural area to build the housing project, so the location wasn’t ideal, with some remaining single-story houses nearby that hadn’t been demolished.

The front gate of the residential complex faced a highway, while outside the back gate stood a hill, making travel quite inconvenient. However, the housing prices were cheap. Ruan Jiao’s parents only needed to repay a 30-year mortgage to buy an apartment here.

In fact, if the hill behind the back gate were leveled and used for construction, the property prices in this complex might even rise further.

But for some reason, whenever construction teams tried to excavate the hill, various accidents would occur. Coupled with resistance from local villagers, the plan to dig up the hill was eventually abandoned.

Ruan Jiao had heard all this from her parents’ gossip. They said the hill behind the back gate was eerie, with what seemed to be the ruins of an ancient temple. The temple had collapsed many years ago, so no one knew who it had been dedicated to, but occasionally, local villagers could be seen going up to pay their respects.

Out of curiosity, Ruan Jiao had visited the hill as a child. Aside from a strange small pagoda and a few weathered carvings on the stones, there was nothing else there.

As she grew older, she would occasionally look toward the hillside from her balcony and feel that the small pagoda looked lonely.

Fortunately, her nightly route home didn’t require passing by this hill.

Today, there were few pedestrians on her way home, and the surrounding buildings were mostly dark. However, several burning basins had appeared along the roadside, filled with yellow paper, some accompanied by red candles.

Perhaps because Xiang You had mentioned that today was the Ghost Festival, combined with the forum post and the incident about the “starving ghost” streamer, Ruan Jiao felt uneasy looking at those burning basins.

This sense of fear persisted until she reached a completely dark intersection. This road usually had streetlights, but for some reason, they weren’t lit today.

The only source of light was a pile of burning yellow paper not far ahead on the road. No one was around the fire, which burned alone in the darkness.

Ruan Jiao paused her steps. This small path was a shortcut home, and taking it would save her a lot of time.

But the darkness made it seem unsafe. Adhering to the idea that it was better to walk a little farther than to stumble blindly in the dark, Ruan Jiao, feeling somewhat cowardly, chose to take a detour.

Taking the detour meant passing by the foot of the hill behind the back gate.

Just as Ruan Jiao stepped away from the small path, the pile of burning paper money suddenly flared up. A withered, black, and bony hand reached into the flames, grabbing handfuls of something…

The night was deep and silent.

Ruan Jiao took out her phone to check the time. It was already 11:05 PM. Normally, she would have been home by this time, but today, because of the detour, she hadn’t returned yet.

It wasn’t that she was afraid her parents would worry if she came home late, the two elders were likely not home at this hour anyway. What worried her was that she was supposed to take her medication at 11 PM. If she didn’t take it on time, she might experience that feeling again.

The feeling that someone was constantly watching her from the shadows.

Thinking of this, Ruan Jiao quickened her pace, eager to return to the warmth of her home as soon as possible.

As she passed through the flat-roofed residential area near her home, Ruan Jiao suddenly stopped. As if sensing something, she slowly turned her head to look in a certain direction behind her.

Just a moment ago, she had felt someone watching her again, and this time, they felt very close.

Indeed, not taking her medication on time would trigger her symptoms.

“It’s all an illusion, just an illusion. Hurry home.” Ruan Jiao murmured to herself, breaking into a run as if her feet had sprouted wings.

She took off running without a care for whether anyone would give her a second glance for sprinting wildly in the dead of night. Along the way, she hadn’t seen many people anyway.

But no matter how fast she ran, that intrusive gaze clung to her like a stubborn parasite.

Ruan Jiao was panting heavily, completely out of breath. As a college student who spent most of her time sitting and rarely exercised, running even a short distance was already a struggle.

What puzzled her was why the road home felt so unusually long today. Even if she had taken a detour, she should have at least reached the vicinity of her neighborhood by now. Yet, there was still no sign of it in sight.

It dawned on her belatedly that something was off. Coupled with her dwindling stamina, she came to a stop.

Once she paused and took a careful look around, her face instantly turned deathly pale.

Hadn’t she passed this exact spot earlier?

The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only a few small, squat houses standing nearby. The dim streetlights cast a faint glow on the ground, giving off an inexplicably cold and clammy feeling.