Free Web NovelChapter 279: Chapter 240: Suspicion
Yang Xiao understood instantly and his gaze toward Li Qingxuan gradually turned icy. These Evil Cultivators were too despicable, actually thinking to impersonate a fellow enthusiast to deceive him.
What Yang Xiao found even more intolerable was the possibility that the real enthusiasts might have already fallen victim to their cruel hands, otherwise, they couldn’t have known about the relationship between Zhao, the script club owner, and himself.
It’s no exaggeration to say that in just the short span of 3 seconds, Yang Xiao had thought of at least 5 ways to kill him.
Seeing Yang Xiao’s unpleasant expression, Li Qingxuan suddenly panicked, "Yang... Teacher Yang, your scripts are so good, I like every one of them."
"Oh?" Yang Xiao asked with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
Li Qingxuan swallowed hard and, finding no way out, braced himself and said, "That... Teacher Yang, let me first say I’m a true fan, I don’t dislike any of them, but if I must say... if I must say which one was somewhat lacking, I might mention the one about the whale."
"Solitary Island Whale Spirit?" Yang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Right," Li Qingxuan nodded, "The script started off well, I really liked the suspense, but by the middle part it went off track, starting from the ancient altar, it turned into... like... like..."
"Like a pile of shit," Yang Xiao said.
Li Qingxuan was startled, his face suddenly a bit embarrassed, "It’s not that bad, Teacher Yang, don’t say that."
"There’s nothing wrong with saying it. That script got reported in the middle, the ancient altar involved human sacrifice, and I was ordered to revise it. The later plot was something I cobbled together in one night; if it had been any good, it would’ve been strange," Yang Xiao thought of Zhao, who notified him to revise the script overnight, and couldn’t help but feel sadness well up in his heart.
"Is there more?" Yang Xiao’s suspicions toward Li Qingxuan remained unassuaged.
"Can I still make comments?" Li Qingxuan asked cautiously.
"Of course."
"To be honest, I think the later part of May Station also wasn’t good, with forced values and an ending that was simply baffling, suddenly just coming out of nowhere. The enthusiasts were afraid to upset you and didn’t tell you directly, everyone discussed it privately that this script had a lousy ending," Li Qingxuan said with some regret.
Hearing this, Yang Xiao sighed, "There are some things in there that I can’t really talk about, but an abrupt ending is still better than a script disappearing altogether, don’t you think?"
"We have to thank Zhao for that, both Zhao and I tried our best," Yang Xiao suddenly thought of the man in his forties who had been worn smooth by life.
In fact, at this point, Yang Xiao was already fairly certain that there was no issue with this Li Qingxuan; after all, from receiving the ghost script to entering the Nightmare World, there was only about a day’s time. To verify his own identity and perform a series of tasks within one day, including finding and replacing a drama enthusiast and understanding the numerous scripts he had written—such a daunting workload was absolutely impossible to complete in a short time.
Unless this Evil Cultivator "Li Qingxuan" was originally one of his own drama enthusiasts and also in the enthusiasts’ group, but this possibility was extremely slim.
After Yang Xiao dismissed his suspicions of Li Qingxuan, to his surprise, Li Qingxuan became even more enthusiastic, pestering Yang Xiao to give him advice on the way.
"Teacher Yang, actually, I think there are flaws in the characters of your scripts too. Take the Great River Goddess, for instance. I know the protagonist just felt sorry for her, without really being moved emotionally. But think about it, they’re a man and a woman alone together, they talked all night about the poetics of snow, moon, and flowers. Then, when dawn broke and the door opened, nothing had happened. Do you think that’s proper? I was looking forward to it all night, and then this?"
"And there’s more, the rest of the scripts also have abrupt endings. Let me tell you about them..." Li Qingxuan rambled on the whole way, and Yang Xiao almost wished he could stuff his mouth.
"Stop!" Yang Xiao interrupted. "I don’t want to hear it."
Li Qingxuan became anxious, "Teacher Yang, you can’t shy away from your problems!"
Since it was confirmed that Li Qingxuan was a genuine script enthusiast, Yang Xiao still felt obliged to look after him. The moment Yang Xiao took out money from his pocket, Li Qingxuan obediently shut up. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Here’s 15 yuan. Take it. As long as you don’t encounter any major trouble, it should save your life." Yang Xiao counted out three 5-yuan notes and handed them to Li Qingxuan.
"Teacher Yang, this doesn’t seem right." Li Qingxuan skillfully took the money and stuffed it into his pocket.
Poor Li Qingxuan, since entering the script, had only earned a measly 1 yuan and was even marked by Miss Su in room 4017 as a useless person.
But Yang Xiao was different. At his richest, he had 41 yuan and 70 cents on him. He had spent a total of 5 yuan and 50 cents on candied hawthorn sticks and now had given 15 yuan to Li Qingxuan. Even so, he still had 21 yuan and 2 cents left, which was enough to handle most trouble.
As for those deadly troubles, like making eye contact with the Ball-slapping Ghost that Mo Daidai mentioned, no amount of money would be useful.
"By the way, keep an eye on Tong Han," Yang Xiao reminded. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Teacher Yang, you said there’s someone here who bears a grudge against you. Is it Tong Han?" Li Qingxuan seemed to have realized something and lowered his voice, "Could it be she’s the one who reviewed your script?"
After all, Li Qingxuan couldn’t understand how a writer of supernatural scripts, with almost no social life, could have made enemies with anyone.
"Ha, if that were true, do you think I would have let her survive the first night?" Yang Xiao sneered, "I can’t confirm her identity for the time being, but it seems like she has her eye on me."
About Mo Daidai’s matter, Yang Xiao did not inform Li Qingxuan. After all, one must maintain a level of vigilance, especially since he had promised Mo Daidai.
The reason Yang Xiao chose to patrol tonight was to return to his room and verify the truth of what Mo Daidai had told him.
Even if Mo Daidai was deceiving him, with the more than 20 yuan in hand, the problem shouldn’t be too serious. Moreover, Mo Daidai didn’t seem to have a reason to deceive him. He didn’t seem like an Evil Cultivator; otherwise, he wouldn’t have opened the door to help him when he was being chased by the Ball-slapping Ghost.
As Mo Daidai himself said, he came across more like a profit-seeking and harm-avoiding businessman. He thought that opening the door to save him was to his advantage, so he did. If it had been a few useless newcomers instead, Mo Daidai probably wouldn’t even bother with them, unless it was a last-minute situation where they needed more people.
At present, Tong Han seemed the most likely to be the Evil Cultivator, followed by Mo Daidai and Li Qingxuan. Yang Xuechang’s behavior was still decent, but Yang Xiao always felt there was something missing.
As for Qu Yi, who had been left with a bloody handprint, and Cheng Ya, who was already half-crippled, Yang Xiao genuinely hoped they were the Evil Cultivators. After all, if the Evil Cultivators were of this caliber, the Patrol Defense Bureau’s job would be much easier.
Of course, there was also the possibility that the so-called Evil Cultivator had already died in one of the previous tasks. After all, unexpected things happen often, and even a horse can stumble.
In the Nightmare World, this ghostly place, any mistake is fatal, especially in the early stages when the case is unclear, and people are essentially gambling with their lives.
As the two talked and walked, Yang Xiao mentioned some places where they should be cautious, and soon, they arrived at the same street they had come to yesterday morning.
Not far ahead, there was a sign that read Dongzhou Street.
