Chapter 2

The Earth God Temple

As night descended, neon lights flickered through the gaps of the city.

In a corner of the bustling city, Lin Qianyou, an unremarkable 18th-tier artist, stood at the end of a forgotten alley, holding a serving of oden, her vacant gaze fixed on the ancient Earth God Temple ahead.

The small temple’s door was worn and weathered, and time left deep marks upon it.

Lin Qianyou took a deep breath, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Since entering the entertainment industry, she, with no background, had faced countless rejections and failures, each one feeling like the cold reality had ruthlessly shoved her back to square one.

“She’s pretty, but just lacks something.”

“Ugh, does anyone have her back in the industry?”

“She’s so good-looking, why’d she go into the entertainment industry if she was going to be like this?”

“…”

Lin Qianyou shook her head vigorously, stamping her foot in frustration, and muttered, “This is so annoying! It’s all that bastard Lin Bozhi’s fault!”

Lin Bozhi was her older brother, who had changed her college entrance exam choices five years ago.

Lin Qianyou pulled out her phone from her bag. Her manager, Ke Siyu, had sent her several WeChat messages.

Ke Siyu: Lin Qianyou, where have you gone?

Ke Siyu: I’ve been knocking on your door for ages, no response!

Ke Siyu: I’ve fought for that role with Director Li Zheng. He wants to meet you in person.

Ke Siyu: Go meet him tomorrow. I’ll send you the hotel location once he sends it to me.

Ke Siyu: He’s a big director, so mind your attitude and tone when you speak.

Earlier, Lin Qianyou had come out of her rented apartment to get something to eat, and while eating, she had aimlessly wandered into this desolate alley, not noticing the messages on her phone.

Seeing that she hadn’t replied for a while, Ke Siyu sent a few more messages after several minutes:

Why aren’t you replying?

Where are you?

Sigh, don’t be discouraged. Although we don’t have connections, you’re beautiful, right? Lin, the campus goddess?

In the entertainment industry, you’re a natural beauty!

Hurry up and reply! Hurry, hurry, reply!

Damn it! You’re not in trouble, are you?

Kidnapped?

Which kidnapper would be so blind as to kidnap an 18th-tier actress?

Sorry, sorry, I was wrong. Please reply to me… Please…

Lin Qianyou stared at the phone screen and sighed. She adjusted her crossbody bag, casually tossing the oden packaging into the trash can, then used both hands to type.

She had big, wavy hair, natural dark brown color, parted in the middle and flowing gently behind her ears. She looked gentle and serene, with curved eyebrows and long, feathery lashes beneath them. Her nose had a slight tilt, and her skin was fair and flawless.

Lin Qianyou: Siyu, I don’t want to be an actress anymore. Maybe you should sign someone else.

Ke Siyu replied immediately: Lin Qianyou, what’s going on with you?!

Ke Siyu: Have you forgotten the vow we made by the dorm balcony by Daming Lake that year?

Ke Siyu: Didn’t we promise to become the best partners?

Ke Siyu: Damn, are you really serious about this?

Lin Qianyou’s expression remained calm. She gently pressed her lips together, their natural pink hue fresh and soft.

After a long pause, she finally opened the message box and typed.

Lin Qianyou: I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t think I’m suited for this industry.

Lin Qianyou: Also, my brother changed my college entrance exam choices. I never intended to study acting.

Just as she was about to type a third sentence, Ke Siyu suddenly sent her a voice call. Lin Qianyou hesitated for a few seconds before pressing the answer button.

As soon as she pressed it, a sharp, shrill voice screamed from the phone speaker.

Ke Siyu: “Lin Qianyou! What’s wrong with you today?! If you keep being so negative, we’re done!”

Ke Siyu’s voice was loud, and Lin Qianyou instinctively frowned, pulling the phone a little further from her ear.

After Ke Siyu vented, Lin Qianyou took a deep breath, leaned closer to the phone, and said, “Siyu, I know you’ve been working hard for me, running around every day, but I really can’t do this. I’ve always played small roles, I’m not making money, and I’m just wasting time.”

As soon as Lin Qianyou finished speaking, Ke Siyu’s anxious, slightly tearful voice came through the phone: “What the hell? It’s not your fault, it’s me, your manager, who’s not good enough! If I had connections, all those damn directors would be fighting to cast you. Boohoo…”

Ke Siyu’s sobbing voice traveled through the phone to Lin Qianyou.

Again with this trick of playing the martyr, but somehow every time, Lin Qianyou would soften and fall for it.

“Alright, alright, stop crying, I’ll stay, okay?” Lin Qianyou really had no way of dealing with her.

“Alright, alright! I knew my Lin, the campus goddess, would be the most considerate!” Ke Siyu immediately replied with a cheerful laugh.

Lin Qianyou: “…”

“Stop calling me the campus goddess, I’m no goddess at all.”

On the other end, Ke Siyu got anxious: “What do you mean you’re not? Everyone at school recognizes you, okay? Lin Qianyou, remember this: loneliness is just temporary, one day you’ll soar to greatness!” Then she added with a wink: “And remember, if you get rich, don’t forget about me!”

“…”

They chatted a little longer, and Ke Siyu reminded her to meet Director Li tomorrow night, and they’d go together.

Lin Qianyou agreed, but agreeing didn’t mean she’d be accepted by the director.

Facing so many star-studded competitors, Lin Qianyou knew her chances were slim. Besides, their company’s Ye Shuwan seemed to be vying for the same role.

“Siyu, I think Ye Shuwan is also competing for the role.” Lin Qianyou said as she walked, “I don’t think I stand a chance against her.”

“What do you mean, no chance?! You’ve got a huge chance! Ye Shuwan’s just relying on her dad being a small director, what else does she have? Is she more beautiful than you? Is she nicer than you? Does she have a better figure than you?”

“…”

“Stop thinking so much. I’ll go with you to meet the director tomorrow.”

“Okay, fine.”

As they were chatting, Lin Qianyou didn’t realize she had walked all the way to the entrance of the earth temple.

The small, ancient earth temple stood quietly. The door had been gently touched by time, and the weathered marks seemed like detailed verses of poetry, etched with the depth and vastness of the years, carrying the countless sincere prayers and sorrowful thoughts of past visitors.

Lin Qianyou unconsciously touched the weathered marks on the temple door. In the moonlight, the red-brown door made her hand appear even more smooth and fair.

Ke Siyu had been talking to herself for a while, but there was no response from Lin Qianyou. She shouted loudly: “Hey! What’s going on, Lin Qianyou?”

Lin Qianyou snapped out of her thoughts and said, “I spaced out. What did you just say?”

Ke Siyu sighed helplessly, “I didn’t say anything. What are you doing? How can you space out while talking to me?”

Lin Qianyou pressed her lips together and furrowed her brows. She shook her head and said, “I’m at a earth temple. I just started spacing out while looking at it.”

The voice on the other end seemed very surprised. “A earth temple?”

“Mm.”

“What are you going to a earth temple for? To pray for a child?”

“…”

“To pray for a child, you worship Guanyin, the Goddess of Childbirth…”

“Oh… then what are you doing there?”

Lin Qianyou tucked her loose hair behind her ear again, and noticing the door was unlocked, she slowly pushed it open. The old door creaked as it moved.

“I’ll hang up now, Siyu. I’m going to pray to the land god. I’ll try to pass tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye. Be a bit more sincere in your attitude, alright?”

“…”

The earth temple seemed like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. The courtyard was dilapidated, and even the walls had chunks of dirt falling off.

Lin Qianyou tripped on a dry twig underfoot, almost falling. Suddenly, a shadow swept by her side, and she was so frightened that she screamed.

“Who’s there?!”

No response.

“Who’s there?”

Still no answer, only the sound of a cat’s wail.

This earth temple felt eerie. Lin Qianyou suddenly became scared and decided to come back tomorrow during the day.

However, as soon as she took a step, the temple door suddenly slammed shut on its own.

This terrified Lin Qianyou. She quickly dropped her crossbody bag and ran to open the door.

But the temple door was tightly shut, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t open it.

“Is anyone there?! Open the door! Help!” Lin Qianyou desperately knocked on the door, but the street was so desolate that no one would hear her.

At the same time, a noise came from the small hall on the north side. Lin Qianyou turned around, only to see an even more bizarre sight.

The candles inside the hall had lit themselves!

Lin Qianyou gasped, staring in disbelief at the statue of the god inside the hall.

The land god had a warm smile, and the surrounding candle flames illuminated its figure with a red glow.

The statue was lifelike. Lin Qianyou could even see the statue’s eyes moving, staring directly at her!

In the midst of her shock, a sinister gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard. The candlelight flickered inside the hall, creating a very eerie atmosphere.

Next, a flash of blood-red light suddenly shot out in front of the statue, splashing onto the wall like fresh blood.

Lin Qianyou was completely stunned, but before she could react, the red light suddenly shot toward her, piercing her throat like a sharp sword.

In the next second, she lost consciousness and collapsed to one side.

The night was eerily quiet, the weeds covered half of Lin Qianyou’s body, and everything here felt strange and mysterious.

—

Not long after, the sound of hurried footsteps approached from outside the temple. The temple door was suddenly kicked open.

A man in black sports casual attire rushed in.

The moonlight washed over the scene, casting silver rays that filtered through the sparse clouds, dappled on his sharp, and defined face.

“Stop hiding, come out!” Qi Shanglan coldly spat out these words, his eyes filled with contempt.

With the sensitivity of a police officer, he cautiously scanned the area, quickly spotting a white women’s crossbody bag deep in the grass.

Qi Shanglan lazily ran his hand through his hair, his high nose and feather-like eyelashes casting deep shadows in the moonlight.

He bent down to pick up the bag. The delicate women’s bag appeared small in his large hands.

When he looked up, he unintentionally noticed an oddly placed small mound of dirt by the wall ahead.

Strange, this run-down earth temple usually doesn’t have visitors. Why would there suddenly be a mound of dirt here, and it looks freshly dug, as if it was just recently excavated?

Qi Shanglan frowned, smirking lightly, “Hiding in a hole? Habitual offender.”

“Stupid.” His tone was faint, lazy, and slow.

He walked closer to the dirt mound, crouched down by the hole, with one leg half-kneeled on the ground, and his muscular arm casually resting on his knee.

He leaned close to the hole, tossing a stone inside, casually saying, “Come out, stop hiding, I’ve found your lair.”

“Uncle, really… It’s the year we live in, and you’re still playing petty tricks,” he said in a cold voice, the corners of his lips curled up as he lazily threw another stone into the hole.

However, after the stone hit the ground, only a faint muffled sound was heard. No other sounds followed, and there was no response.

Qi Shanglan felt something was wrong after hearing the sound—it was dull, obviously indicating that the hole had been dug deep.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Qi Shanglan decided to jump down and investigate.

—

Half an hour earlier, Qi Shanglan had bought some oden at a convenience store. Just as he came out of the store, he saw a man sneaking behind an elderly woman. As expected, the next second, the man snatched the bag from her hand and quickly ran into a dark alley.

The elderly woman screamed and started chasing, shouting, “Catch the thief!”

Qi Shanglan watched the man with a neutral expression on his face. He first calmly sipped the still-hot soup, then impatiently threw the oden he had only eaten a few bites of into the trash, and immediately turned to chase after the thief.

He was tall and had long legs, quickly overtaking the elderly woman. While chasing, he didn’t forget to reassure her, “Auntie, wait here, I’ll get your bag back.”

The elderly woman was out of breath, holding onto her knees and panting as she said, “Thank you, young man.”

—

After several minutes, Qi Shanglan quickly climbed out of the hole with both hands supporting the ground. He patted the dirt off his hands and then made a serious phone call.

The other party answered quickly, and Qi Shanglan immediately said, “Captain Zhang, there’s a theft hole at the Land God Temple in the east of the city. It’s probably recently dug. The items may already be stolen. Please contact the cultural relics investigation team and have them come check it out.”

“Earth Temple? Theft hole?” The person on the other end sounded confused. “What are you doing at a Earth Temple? And you found a theft hole?”

Qi Shanglan glanced at the crossbody bag hanging on his arm and casually said, “I was doing the right thing, chasing a thief, and ended up here.”

“Oh, by the way,” he added, “I lost a hot oden, make sure to reimburse me.”

“…”

However, when Qi Shanglan returned and handed the bag back to the elderly woman, she said, “Young man, this bag isn’t mine.”

“What?”