Chapter 9: The Fortune-Telling Eye for the Lottery!
“Wall?”
Zhou Cheng looked ahead with some confusion.
At the end, the rocky wall seemed to dissipate like mist.
The lake water rushed forward with a splash.
It appeared that what they had just seen was indeed an illusion!
“Damn!”
“Third Master, what’s going on?”
“How is this like a magic trick?”
Terry’s face was full of shock.
Zhou Cheng’s mouth formed an ‘O’ in surprise; it took him a long moment to regain composure.
Zhou Ze frowned deeply, shock evident on his face as well.
After a moment, he took a deep breath and said, “It seems the disappearance of the wall has something to do with the three candles at the bow of the boat.”
Zhou Cheng, now excited, said to Zhang Xuan, “Brother Xuan, this is incredible!”
“The rocky wall really disappeared.”
“Can you explain what just happened?”
His voice echoed in the livestream room.
Over six thousand viewers were stunned by the scene.
When the connection first started, they had indeed seen a rocky wall at the cave’s end through the camera.
Now, the wall suddenly vanished!
Who could explain this?
“What’s going on? I’m totally baffled!”
“Is the candle going out related to the wall disappearing? Damn, this is scary!”
“Brother Xuan must have figured out the trick long ago!”
“I’ve watched these live streams for years, never seen anything like this!”
.......................................
In the monitoring room,
Liang Jingyi and Xiao Lü, focused on the livestream, exchanged a glance.
Shock was written all over their faces.
“Is this a special effect?”
After a long pause, Liang Jingyi cautiously spoke.
Xiao Lü’s expression was hesitant, “A small broadcaster with just ten thousand followers—could he really pull off such a spectacle?”
Liang Jingyi frowned, “Then what about the wall that just disappeared?”
Xiao Lü scratched his head, “I have no idea...”
“This is really puzzling!”
“Let’s keep watching!”
...........................................
[Host appraises the crystal coffin’s value and gains a lottery chance worth three million!]
Zhang Xuan was taken aback; he hadn’t expected a lottery notification at this moment.
A dazzling golden treasure box appeared before his eyes.
A lottery chance worth three million!
Even if converted to cash, it could buy a house!
He immediately chose to confirm.
The treasure box emitted a brilliant golden light and slowly opened!
The system’s voice rang out again.
[Congratulations to the host for winning the “Qi-Perception Eye” ability!]
Zhang Xuan blinked, “Qi-Perception Eye?”
“What is that?”
[Qi-Perception Eye: Every dragon vein treasure site is marked by soaring purple energy; every malevolent place is occupied by ominous qi. It allows one to see both yin and yang realms, observe mountains, rivers, and seas—nothing can hide!]
After hearing the system’s explanation, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath.
This was like the heavenly eye!
Drawing such an ability in a three-million lottery was a huge bargain!
He inhaled deeply, closed his eyes slightly, and felt a sphere of energy rush into his brain.
After a moment, he opened his eyes.
A purple light flickered within his pupils.
Looking back at the camera:
Deep within the dark cave, a woman with black hair and white clothes stood out starkly.
“Brother Xuan, you’re amazing!”
“When I get out, I’ll send you ten Carnival gifts!”
“I’m heading out now!”
“I’ll talk to you later!”
Zhou Cheng’s excited voice sounded.
Zhang Xuan saw the three get on the boat, seemingly ready to move forward.
If nothing unexpected happened, at the corner ahead, the three would come face to face with that white-robed female corpse.
The area ahead was thick with yin energy; the three couldn’t see the corpse at all.
“Sigh... this looks like disaster about to strike...”
Zhang Xuan sighed.
Though tomb raiders, they were still three lives at stake. Moreover, from his past experience dealing with tomb raiders, he knew not all were bad people.
“Hm?”
“Disaster about to strike?”
“Brother Xuan, who are you talking about?”
Hearing Zhang Xuan’s muttering, Zhou Cheng stopped.
“Who else?”
“Of course, it’s you guys!”
Zhang Xuan said helplessly. A treasure appraisal streamer worrying about tomb raiders—what else could it be?
“Us?”
Zhou Cheng was confused, “Brother Xuan, could you explain?”
Zhang Xuan nodded, “Although it doesn’t concern me, these are still three lives.”
“I can’t help but feel for you.”
“Alright, since you’re my fan, I’ll give you some pointers!”
“Brothers, hit follow!”
.......................................
[Snow-white long legs gift to the streamer Carnival!]
A dreamy castle-like special effect appeared on the screen.
Zhang Xuan squinted, “Bro, do you know why the wall disappeared just now?”
Zhou Cheng shook his head, “I asked you earlier, but you didn’t tell me!”
“Could it have been an illusion?”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “That wall was a manifestation of yin-killing qi!”
“The white candles consumed the yin-killing qi, which made the wall vanish and revealed another crystal coffin.”
Zhou Cheng nodded, “So that’s what happened! I understand now!”
“Thanks, Brother Xuan!”
Zhang Xuan retorted, “You understand nothing!”
Zhou Cheng was taken aback, “What’s wrong?”
Zhang Xuan sighed, “Aren’t you curious where such thick yin-killing qi is coming from?”
Zhou Cheng chuckled, “Testing me, huh?”
“I know this! It must be from that place glowing green nearby.”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “How are you so dense?”
“Rotten corpses and bones can’t produce such thick yin-killing qi!”
“Look above your heads; the source of the yin-killing qi is right over you!”
Zhou Cheng looked up with curiosity but only saw the transparent crystal coffin.
“Above... there’s nothing there!”
Just as he said this, he suddenly realized and gasped, “Wait!”
“There’s a corpse in the coffin opposite; there should be one in this one too!”
“But why is this crystal coffin empty?”
Zhang Xuan sighed, “Brother, you finally got it!”
“The corpse in the crystal coffin ran out!”
Zhou Cheng was shocked and looked around nervously, “Where did it go?”
Zhang Xuan saw him shaking the camera and said, “At the corner straight ahead, on the riverbank!”
Zhou Cheng shuddered and nervously glanced toward Zhang Xuan’s direction but saw nothing.
“Why can’t I see anything?”
Terry frowned, slowing his oar, “No way...”
Zhou Ze whispered, “Better to believe it’s there than not.”
“Be careful!”
The viewer count in the livestream had grown to eight thousand, with eight thousand pairs of eyes glued to the screen.
Just as Zhou Cheng said, ahead was only a bit of dark mist; nothing else was visible.
“Brother Xuan isn’t fooling us, right? Why can’t I see anything?”
“Yeah, I see nothing either.”
“It’s real! Side-eye smile!”
“I see it too, hehe!”
“Don’t spam nonsense or you’ll scare people. I don’t see anything either!”
“What’s going on? Could the corpse really be reanimated?”
“.........”
Zhang Xuan remained calm, “Keep moving forward, you’ll see it.”
“But I must warn you: if you see it, that means it can see you too!”
Though unable to see it, Zhou Cheng didn’t dare be careless.
“Brother Xuan, what should we do?”
“I’ll follow your lead!”
Zhang Xuan blinked, thought for a moment, and said, “Simple.”
“Light the three candles and row forward along the river, keeping your eyes on the candles the whole time.”
“As long as the candles don’t go out, you’ll be safe!”
Zhou Cheng swallowed nervously, “What... what if the candles go out?”
Zhang Xuan shrugged, “Then close your eyes.”
Zhou Cheng took a deep breath, “Closing eyes prevents the ghost from stealing the soul, right?”
Zhang Xuan shook his head, “No.”
“Closing eyes means leaving it to fate!”
Zhou Cheng, “Huh?”
Viewers in the livestream, already nervous, were stunned by Zhang Xuan’s words.
“Looks like the streamer’s just putting on a show, but still, that scared me. Are you satisfied now?”
“Be a person, streamer, don’t do this at night!”
“Streamer, I swear you’re kind!”
.................................................
Inside the cave,
Terry had goosebumps all over. Normally, he wouldn’t believe such things, but the sudden disappearance of the stone wall and the unexpected appearance of another crystal coffin left him no choice.
“Third Master, what now?”
Zhou Ze’s face was dark; though calm on the surface, he was internally panicked.
“I’ve been around the mountains and rivers, seen all sorts of strange things!”
“But this cave really taught me something new!”
Terry showed surprise, “Third Master, you mean...?”
Zhou Ze nodded slowly, a grim look on his face, “Better to trust that it’s true than not.”
“That Zhang Xuan, even through the screen, seems to understand this place better than us; he’s got skills far beyond ours!”
“Also...”
He looked at the empty crystal coffin, “There should be a corpse in here!”
Zhou Cheng nervously covered his microphone and asked Zhou Ze, “Third Uncle, can a corpse really run away on its own?”
Zhou Ze glanced at his somewhat naive nephew, “Yes.”
Zhou Cheng’s face turned pale, “Ah?”
Terry patted his shoulder, “With me and your Third Uncle here, don’t be afraid!”
But Zhou Cheng felt his head buzzing, then said, “But... is this scientific?”
Zhou Ze laughed, “I only went to third grade in elementary school, don’t know about science.”
“All I know is, in evil places, strange things happen!”
“Terry, let’s move forward!”
.....................................................
Terry nodded, rowing the boat deeper.
Zhou Cheng stared anxiously at the candles, unwilling to look away.
........................................................................
The connection didn’t end.
The camera still showed the three white candles flickering.
The sound of oars dipping, water splashing, and heavy breathing intertwined.
The atmosphere grew increasingly eerie.
To vent this tension, the chat exploded with messages.
Though many were jokes or complaints, the underlying nervousness was palpable.
“Damn, I can’t watch anymore!”
“Treasure appraisal livestream turned ghost hunting, awesome!”
“All smoke and mirrors—I don’t believe it. Show yourself if you dare!”
“If you’re brave enough, take the corpse home!”
“............”
Messages flooded in, but Zhang Xuan’s expression grew more serious.
As the wooden boat rounded the bend, the flames began to flicker wildly.
Viewers finally reached ten thousand!
Their hearts seemed to beat in rhythm with the flames.
“Puff!”
Suddenly!
The flickering flames went out!
The chat filled with question marks!
Heavy breathing came from behind the camera.
Zhang Xuan sat upright, his voice grave: “Brothers, it’s here!”
This seemed to awaken viewers, and the chat exploded further.
“Holy crap, is it for real?”
“I can’t watch, could it really be?”
“I bet the streamer’s lying. No way there’s anything weird!”
“All smoke and mirrors—I’m not scared, hmph!”
“.....................”
Though Zhou Cheng and the others shut their eyes, the camera still recorded everything at the bow.
A white dress, empty and weightless, floated at the bow.
The camera caught only half of it, but the black hair hanging to the waist also appeared.
Combined with the boat’s sway, this terrifying first-person perspective made hearts stop!
“What the hell did I just see???”
“Momma, scared me to death!”
“Holy shit, it’s real!”
“I’m convinced, too scary!”
Zhou Cheng kept his eyes tightly shut but seemed to sense something, trembling as he said, “Brother Xuan... is that thing coming?”
Zhang Xuan’s gaze fixed on the white-robed figure, “Yes.”
Zhou Cheng shuddered violently.
Terry’s voice came from inside, “Damn!”
Zhou Ze said sternly, “Don’t panic, stay calm!”
Zhou Cheng’s teeth chattered, “Brother Xuan... save me...”
Zhang Xuan sighed, “I’m not a god or a ghost catcher!”
“But don’t worry yet!”
“For now, the female corpse is just standing at the bow, hasn’t made a move.”
“I’ll watch for you; if anything happens, I’ll let you know!”
Zhou Cheng was too scared to speak.
Terry seemed unable to bear the fear, “This is too much trouble; can’t we just open our eyes?”
Zhang Xuan sneered, “Try it and see if she plucks out your eyeballs!”
Terry gritted his teeth, “Fine, I’ll try!”
The wooden boat seemed to enter a fog maze; the darkness thickened around them.
The camera was only two meters from the bow, but the female corpse grew increasingly blurred.
Clearly, this was where the yin-killing qi was strongest!
Zhang Xuan frowned, then said, “This is bad...”
No sooner had he spoken, the white sleeve of the female corpse suddenly extended several gray fingernails like wide rice noodles!
The nails grew visibly at an alarming speed...
The viewer count instantly dropped from ten thousand to eight thousand!
Two thousand viewers fled in terror!
“??????”
“Holy crap!!!”
“Goddamn!!!”
“Shit!!!”
Hearing the change in Zhang Xuan’s tone, Zhou Cheng panicked, “Brother Xuan... what’s it doing?”
Zhang Xuan lowered his voice, “It’s stretching its claws...”
Zhou Cheng, “Ah???”
Terry, “I’m going to fight it!”
Zhang Xuan, “Wait a bit longer!”
Zhou Ze, “Wait? What for?”
Before the voice faded, the three candles suddenly flared back to life!
The thick black mist vanished along with the white-robed female corpse!
Zhang Xuan exhaled deeply, “Alright!”
“It’s safe now!”