Chapter 566: The Wind Sweeping Through the Tower Heralds the Rising Rainstorm

After successfully cultivating the Judging Eye, my gaze had become extremely sharp, like a knife.

Wu Youde didn't dare meet my eyes. Smiling awkwardly, he looked away. "Streamer, what exactly happened just now?"

He had been possessed by an evil entity and had no memory of what he had just done. I called the pregnant woman over and let his wife explain it to him herself.

Naturally, words coming from his own wife held much more credibility than anything I, an outsider, could say.

After hearing the story, Wu Youde was struck by a wave of lingering fear. Trembling, he went to the safe in his bedroom and pulled out a handbag. "Streamer, I don't have much more than this, but take this hundred thousand as a token of my gratitude for stepping in to help. If it weren't for you today, I might have even hurt Meng Di. If I had done something so irreversible, how could I have the face to keep living in this world?"

"I didn't save you for the money. Put it away." I already knew from Wu Youde's wife that they had been struggling these past few years and had very little disposable funds on hand. A hundred thousand wasn't a small sum for them.

Glancing over, I noticed Wu Youde repeatedly clenching and unclenching his hands, along with a slight twitch at the corner of his eye. I knew it pained him to part with the cash.

"I won't take a single cent, but I need you to do me a small favor." I withdrew the Judging Eye, softening my gaze and putting on a smile. Wu Youde possessed the kuigang noble fate pattern, and Blind Liu had mentioned that the Kuigang Star would begin to shine brightly starting today. His future was boundless; naturally, I wanted to bind our interests together.

"What favor?" Wu Youde took the opportunity to sit down and placed the leather bag full of cash on the table. However, I noticed that he didn't put it in the center of the coffee table, but right in front of himself.

Looking at his posture, I figured he hadn't intended to give me the money from the very beginning. He was just putting on a show.

"It's like this: my live stream videos have been leaked and uploaded to the internet by people with ulterior motives. You know the kind of content I stream. A lot of those scenes can't be exposed to the public, so I want to minimize the impact of those video clips as much as possible."

The moment I finished speaking, Wu Youde understood immediately. "I thought it was something serious! Don't worry, this is actually incredibly simple. I'm not just blowing hot air here—when a certain actress had an affair and was on the verge of hitting the trending searches, our PR team forcefully suppressed it. Let me put it this way: as long as no competitors deliberately mess with us, I guarantee that within three days, you won't be able to find a single video, photo, or piece of related information about your live stream anywhere on the internet."

"Straightforward." I nodded. "How are you planning to do it? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No need." Wu Youde laughed aloud. "Streamer, we live in an era where everything updates at breakneck speed. New and exciting things pop up constantly. More often than not, before people even figure out the cause of the last incident, their attention has already been drawn away by something else. So you don't need to worry at all."

He patted his chest. "Our studio is top-tier in the industry when it comes to this. You definitely found the right person."

I chatted with Wu Youde at length. After learning the inside story of their gray-market industry, I gained a new understanding of him.

It might be more appropriate if Old Wu changed his name to a homophone meaning 'lacking morals'. The guy looked amiable and refined, but in reality, he was a cyber thug. He was wickedly unscrupulous—stalking, taking candid photos, and manufacturing hype. He even had a hand in that infamous photo leak scandal years ago. What was worse, rather than feeling ashamed, he took pride in it, using a boastful tone to recount his 'glorious' years of experience.

Still, the guy was undeniably capable and had a profound understanding of new media. Take the most basic form of internet event marketing, for example, which was what we usually called 'hype'. From that one simple concept, Wu Youde had researched and developed over a dozen methods, including suspense hype, contrast hype, celebrity hype, controversy hype, inside-story hype, and crisis hype.

He was a rare talent. Leaving the task of erasing my live stream videos' impact to him couldn't have been more fitting.

Toward the end of our conversation, we returned to the main topic.

The piece of paper Mr. Paper had hidden inside the Double-Faced Buddha Head was only part of the Paper Doll Mask. I placed the scrap of paper on the table and traced its outline with a pencil. To piece together a complete face, I would need at least three more fragments.

I suspected there were other victims besides Wu Youde. It was just that, because of their special fate patterns, they hadn't realized it yet.

After I shared this concern with Wu Youde, he surprised me by directly listing off several names. These were all top-tier bigwigs in Xinhu.

According to Wu Youde, all of these people had received gifts from Mr. Paper, and the feng shui layouts of most of their mansions had been personally designed by him.

I told Wu Youde that if he had the time, he could secretly contact those people and call me over to help exorcise their evil spirits. That way, we could earn their favor while simultaneously obtaining the other fragments of the Paper Doll Mask.

"Why would Mr. Paper target people with special fate patterns? He's a feng shui master, not a fate usurper." I stared at the fragment of the Paper Doll Mask on the table, finding it more familiar the longer I looked. "Out of everyone I've encountered, only the people from the Underworld Live Show and the villagers in Suolong Village wore Paper Doll Masks. Could this mask have come from one of those two groups?"

In truth, no matter where the Paper Doll Mask came from, it was a crucial piece of intel for me. It was possible that this Mr. Paper had some connection to the Underworld Live Show. Taking it a step further, he might even be a live show streamer himself.

'Could he be Chen Jiuge?'

Shaking my head, I quickly ruled out that theory. Chen Jiuge should be studying the secret arts of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple. The Secret Dream-Making Art required an enormous amount of points to redeem. Once he learned that, there would be absolutely no need for him to study feng shui or anything of the sort.

The entirety of Shuangfo District had been planned by Mr. Paper. Designing such a massive feng shui array required profound knowledge of the craft. I didn't believe Chen Jiuge could have mastered feng shui while simultaneously focusing on the secret arts of Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple.

Aside from Chen Jiuge, there was no one else on Two-Faced Buddha's side who had any ties to the Live Show. Thinking it over, it was highly likely that Mr. Paper hailed from Suolong Village and was the descendant of an underworld walker.

'Everyone in that village, regardless of age or gender, has the surname Lu. If the opportunity arises, I can go verify it.' Packing away the fragment of the Paper Doll Mask, I noticed it was getting late. Since my goals had largely been achieved, I left my phone number and a few Profound Truth Talismans with Wu Youde before heading straight out.

I left the leaked live stream videos for Wu Youde to handle. As for the injuries Sakurako had sustained in the Dream Realm, I currently had no way to treat them and would have to wait until three days had passed.

Right now, I had two choices in front of me: first, return to the hospital and investigate the culprit who stabbed Blind Liu; second, accept Li Jingyu's commission and uncover the cause of her father Li Changgui's secretary's death.

'The person who stabbed Blind Liu was thoroughly prepared, and their identity is a mystery. Even if I invest a ton of time, it might not yield any results. The murderer who killed Li Changgui's secretary, on the other hand, should be one of Two-Faced Buddha's people. This murder involves the Li Group and Two-Faced Buddha. If I get involved, I might be able to fish in troubled waters and uncover some of Two-Faced Buddha's flaws. After surviving the Deep Dream Layer, my curiosity about Two-Faced Buddha has reached a whole new level.'

Standing at the intersection of Shuangfo District and Beigang District, I felt a bit helpless. 'I always feel like I have a mountain of things to deal with, yet here I am, actually struggling to decide what to do?'

Just as I was mulling it over, my phone suddenly rang. I took it out and saw that the caller was actually Leng Qingxuan.

"Hello, Daoist Priest Leng. Did you need something?"

"I have some good news for you. It seems Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple received some sort of information. They've decided to head out early, and they're expected to arrive in Jiangcheng tonight." Leng Qingxuan wasn't a scheming person, and his words carried a hint of genuine happiness for a friend.

"They're arriving tonight? Would the other accompanying Taoist temples and sects agree to that?" The Daoist sects were always inflexible and stuck in their ways. Changing the itinerary due to the sudden decision of a single temple would likely spark dissatisfaction among the others traveling with them.

"Of course they wouldn't agree. They aren't coming to Jiangcheng for a vacation—they'll be facing a Ghost Mother! Naturally, they need to be cautious. But it seems the people from Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple saw some kind of omen. Their stance was firm, so the other sects couldn't say much."

"As long as they can get here early, that's fine. Brother Qingxuan, thanks for going through the trouble this time." I sincerely thanked Leng Qingxuan. If Sakurako could be saved, I would firmly engrave this favor in my heart.

"Since you're being so polite, I'll give you another piece of inside information. Xiao Zhuang Taoist Temple is only sending one person this time. Word is that he's the number one disciple among the younger generation. His Daoist arts are peerless, and he is exceptionally skilled in dealing with the Dream Realm. There's a huge chance your friend can be cured." Leng Qingxuan's good-natured laughter drifted over the phone.

"A younger generation disciple? May I ask how I should address this Daoist priest?"

"His name is Chen Jiuge. His Daoist name is..."