Su Ran thought about it seriously.
“My grandfather said I’ll face a disaster within the year. If I start filming a new project now, it’ll take about six months for preparation, shooting, and promotion. If luck’s on my side, I might even win this year’s Best Actor award before the end of the year…” Thinking of it this way, he felt a surge of excitement.
Jiang Yimian immediately seized on the key phrase. “What does ‘facing a disaster’ mean?”
Su Ran briefly explained the verdict his grandfather had given him.
Jiang Yimian shook his head, with a doubtful expression. “Ah Ran, I don’t think you have a short lifespan. Is your grandfather trying to scare you on purpose?”
“You can read faces too?”
“Of course, don’t you know who I am? Have you heard of the famous metaphysical master in the industry, Jiang Qiao? He’s my uncle. I was raised by him since I was a child. It’s only normal for me to know a bit about face reading.”
With his youthful face, Jiang Yimian confidently patted his chest and assured him, “Don’t worry, later you’ll come back to my house with me. I’ll draw you a talisman. I guarantee nothing will happen to you! I’ve even thought it through. When we secure investment for our new project, we’ll have my uncle choose a good day to start filming and exorcise some bad energy. The new drama will definitely be a hit, and we’ll get back at all the haters!”
Su Ran had certainly heard of Jiang Qiao’s name. Many superstitious old celebrities in the industry had sought him out for fortune-telling and held him in high regard. Hearing his close friend’s assurance, Su Ran felt more at ease.
Maybe his great-great-grandfather was just trying to deceive him to pressure him into paying off his debts?
Heh, trying to control him? Not a chance! Su Ran had always lived recklessly, loving freedom—no one could make him follow their rules!
“Let’s go to your house!” he said cheerfully. “By the way, you’ll have to let me stay at your place for a few days until I find a new investor for the project. After that, I’ll confront the company.”
“No problem! My uncle’s not home right now, so feel free to stay with me for as long as you want!”
Meanwhile, in the living room, Su Ran’s grandfather, with his “not dying anytime soon” status, was leisurely flipping through a book. This was not the only one in his hands; on the coffee table, there was a thick stack of materials—everything from historical records, gossip magazines, dictionaries, to even the “Manual for Raising Older Children”. It was quite comprehensive.
Bai Songyin walked into the room, sighing as he held up the phone that had been hung up. Su Weisheng glanced at him and casually asked, “Worried about him getting into trouble outside?”
Bai Songyin nodded vigorously, looking concerned. “Great-Grandfather, not all ghosts are like you…” He paused, thinking of the word “gentle”, but seeing Su Weisheng’s extraordinary face and remembering how terrifying he had looked when beating up the top celebrity, he swallowed the word and instead said, “What if Brother Ran gets caught by ghosts outside?”
Su Weisheng watched his worried expression with interest. His great-great-grandson and his little assistant were quite amusing. Despite their usual banter and mutual teasing, they really did care for each other and were always there for each other when it mattered most.
This made him recall that he used to have a friend like that.
However, unlike this situation, that friend never saw them as equals and was always the one getting harmed by him.
Tch, what a friend I miss.
“Great-Grandfather…” Bai Songyin called out to him, “You seem to be in a good mood?”
Su Weisheng took a sip of water, suppressing the smile at the corner of his mouth, and lazily replied, “Maybe it’s because I was thinking about some interesting memories.” As he spoke, he suddenly put down the cup and, as if sensing something, looked toward the balcony. “It’s like when you think about something, it just happens.”
Bai Songyin turned his head to look but saw nothing.
Su Weisheng, however, had already withdrawn his gaze, and with a calm tone, instructed, “Go buy some food. We have a guest today.”
“Oh, okay.”
What guest? Bai Songyin didn’t know, but since the great-great-grandfather said so, he subconsciously followed the instructions. He pushed open the door to head out to buy groceries, but as he was about to close the door, he realized he hadn’t taken his phone. He quickly unlocked the door again and stepped back inside.
As soon as Bai Songyin raised his head, he saw an unfamiliar figure sitting on the couch, facing Su Weisheng. The person was dressed in a black robe and wore a hood, sitting silently, staring at Su Weisheng across the room.
—What the heck! When did they come in?!
Bai Songyin was so startled that a curse slipped out of his mouth.
The visitor in the black robe glanced at him coldly and said in a deep voice, “I’ve come only to assess your condition after waking up. No need to do anything unnecessary.”
Su Weisheng waved at Bai Songyin, signaling him to leave. Then, with a disapproving shake of his head, turned to the black-robed visitor. “You’re the Gatekeeper of the underworld and I’m a Star Lord from the mortal realm. We each govern our own domains. As colleagues, we should help each other. How can you treat me like this, so distant?”
The Gatekeeper stared at him expressionlessly.
Su Weisheng showed no fear.
After a moment, the Gatekeeper sneered and said, “The High Priest who ascended to the position of Star Lord must go through three heavenly tribulations. I’ve been the one to assess you each time. Which of the tribulations have you passed properly?”
The answer was none.
The first was the “birth tribulation”. He chose to sever his descendants. Then he exploited a loophole to switch his household registration and pass it.
The second was the “savior tribulation”. He was supposed to abandon the most important thing to him to prove his path. The Gatekeeper thought he was going to sacrifice himself, but instead, Su Weisheng generously donated all his wealth to the common people, keeping only a few magical items for himself.
The Gatekeeper, who valued order above all else, naturally didn’t accept it. But Su Weisheng, feeling heartbroken from parting with his treasures, successfully passed the tribulation.
He exploited the system again!
The Gatekeeper was furious, his usual icy expression cracking. He vowed to reclaim his dignity during the third heavenly tribulation. But he never got the chance to assess him for the third time. Su Weisheng had gone into a deep sleep for two hundred years before finally waking up.
Thinking back to his past antics, Su Weisheng didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty. He still smiled with a thick skin and comforted the Gatekeeper, “Why bother, Gatekeeper? Instead, tell me about the third heavenly tribulation. I promise I’ll pass it properly this time.”
“The third tribulation is not under my jurisdiction,” the Gatekeeper stood up, his handsome face obscured by the hood. Looking down at Su Weisheng, he said, “During the 184 years you were asleep, the underworld welcomed a new Lord of the Netherworld. The third tribulation will naturally be handled by them. But I’ll give you a warning: this new Netherworld Lord has a strange personality. You won’t be able to pass by using your usual tricks.”
The new Lord of the Netherworld. To think that even the usually rule-abiding Gatekeeper would describe their superior as having a strange personality—this really sounds like trouble.
Su Weisheng thoughtfully raised his head and looked at the arrogant demeanor of the Gatekeeper. He suddenly chuckled, “Gatekeeper, are you worried that I might offend the Lord of the Netherworld, so you came to remind me?”
“Would I worry about a slippery troublemaker like you disrupting my order?” The Gatekeeper instinctively retorted. Realizing his slip-up, he coldly snorted and quickly returned to his usual aloof self. “In any case, until you’ve passed the third heavenly tribulation, whether you’ll become a true god or a false god remains undetermined.”
A false god—one who loses their emotions and only acts according to fate, a monster.
The voice of the figure in the black robe and hood gradually faded into the air.
Su Weisheng’s smile also gradually faded, his eyes lowering as he gazed at the water cup in his hand. After a long moment, he sighed deeply, “The Lord of the Netherworld, huh… I wonder what kind of personality they have. It’s a real shame I can’t continue exploiting bugs in front of the Gatekeeper.”
It’s like trying to fleece the same sheep three times—such a loss.
At this point, the best course of action was to quickly obtain the Jade Bone Fan to enhance his self-protection ability. Given that, it was time to speed up the education of his great-great-grandson.
Late that night, his great-great-grandson was discussing how to find an insightful investor with Jiang Yimian when he suddenly felt a cold chill run through him. He couldn’t help but shudder.
Jiang Yimian raised his head in confusion, “Did the wind blow on you?” he said, reaching up to close the window.
“…Maybe,” Su Ran shivered, feeling a chill run through his body. For a moment, he couldn’t figure out the source of the unease.
As it was already late, Jiang Yimian yawned, not sensing his companion’s distracted mood. “Let’s go to bed early. Don’t we have to meet with investors tomorrow? Cast a wide net and we might find a sucker—ah, I mean, a patron willing to invest.”
He stood up, preparing to leave, but suddenly paused. He grabbed a talisman from his desk and handed it to Su Ran. “By the way, I drew this talisman for you myself. Keep it safe; it will ensure your career goes smoothly and you’ll have sweet dreams every night!”
Whether it was Jiang Yimian’s ominous words or just coincidence, that night, Su Ran had a dream.
In the dream, he and Jiang Yimian were sitting across from each other in an old, rundown house. He asked, “Where is this?”
Jiang Yimian replied, “It seems to be my grandmother’s house.”
As he spoke, an old woman entered with a bowl, calling them to eat.
Su Ran spent the entire night eating.
The next day, he woke up from the dream feeling a bit stuffed.
He was so tired that he yawned repeatedly as he got up and walked out. Just as he stepped into the room, he made eye contact with Jiang Yimian, who was also yawning and rubbing his full belly.
Su Ran said, “I dreamed that we were eating with your grandmother.”
Jiang Yimian gave a dry laugh. “What a coincidence… so did I.”
“Maybe it’s because we live together and our magnetic fields are influencing each other. But that doesn’t really mean anything!”
The two of them comforted each other, awkwardly brushing off the dream. However, the rest of the day was full of misfortune. The scheduled investors either got into car accidents or were hospitalized after being caught with mistresses. In the end, none of them were seen.
The next night, they spent another whole night eating with Jiang Yimian’s grandmother in their dream.
The third day, yet another night of eating.
On the fourth day, Su Ran was so dizzy and weak that he could hardly get out of bed. “I think… we’re definitely not going to find any investors. Let’s think of another way to make some money. What do you think about me going back and talking to my grandfather? Maybe we can join that variety show together?”
Jiang Yimian, clutching the toilet bowl and vomiting violently, weakly responded, “I… su… port… you…”
Meanwhile, Su Weisheng, who had been drinking tea, suddenly set down his cup and called out to Bai Songyin, “Xiao Bai, prepare some emetic medicine for Su Ran.”
“Huh?” Bai Songyin was stunned. “Is Su Ran coming back?”
“Yes.”
Su Weisheng paused for a moment before adding, “And by the way, buy some thick paper offerings for an elderly lady and burn them as a thank-you for her warm hospitality toward my great-grandson.”
Bai Songyin: “…” He couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was happening over at Su Ran’s side.
I thought the Gatekeeper was the ML, but now I bet it should be that new Lord of Underworld 🤭