As the faint rustling sounds drew closer, Yuan Xingcheng tossed a piece of wood into the campfire.
He picked up a stick and pointed it at Yuan Meng's tent. "Are you sure you want to cause a commotion at this time?"
"As we all know, she has a terrible case of morning - anger. Once you wake her up, I'm not sure if it'll be you guys scaring us as ghosts or her beating up the ghosts."
After saying this, Yuan Xingcheng casually threw the stick into the campfire.
Anyway, he had said what he needed to. This was the most sincere advice he, as a guest on the program, could give to the program director. If the director didn't listen, there was nothing he could do.
At this moment, the director sitting in front of the monitor had a complex expression on his face, recalling the way Yuan Meng had seemed possessed by a ghost just now.
He took a deep breath. If it hadn't been for the quick - acting heart - saving pills beside him, he might have fainted from fright.
"Director, do you think we should call the staff back?" the prop manager quietly asked the director.
If he had the final say, he would definitely call the staff back right away.
The scene of Yuan Meng pretending to be a ghost just now had almost stopped the hearts of everyone watching on the monitor.
That was when she was still awake. God knows what would happen if she was woken up from sleep.
"Y - yes, call them back," the director gritted his teeth.
He felt that Yuan Meng might be his nemesis. Not only did she have the lucky koi buff, but now she also had the morning - anger buff.
With the double buffs, she was truly invincible.
Thanks to Yuan Xingcheng's warning, the director didn't dare to let the staff play any tricks all night.
The next day, Yuan Meng emerged from her tent refreshed. She stretched widely and embraced the sun.
Since coming to the program, she had never slept so soundly.
It seemed that one shouldn't be too nice. One had to show the program crew her terrifying side.
Yuan Meng was in an extremely good mood today. She didn't even care if any more ghosts came to scare her.
After breakfast, everyone continued to search for clues.
After what had happened yesterday, the program crew didn't try to scare Yuan Meng anymore. Mainly because no staff member had the guts to do so.
Even though it was daytime, if she just let out another shrill laugh, they might pee their pants from fright, let alone trying to scare her.
In terms of pretending to be a ghost, they were truly in awe of her.
With such reverence, even if the director offered double the salary, they still didn't dare to act.
Without any staff scaring them along the way, Yuan Meng was in an even better mood.
This time, the group had a very smooth journey and successfully climbed the mountain. On the mountain, they saw a dilapidated small hut.
The hut was made of wood, seemingly a makeshift structure. It looked utterly unappealing.
"The director's taste is really bad. Even if our variety show doesn't require a large investment, at least they should build a decent - looking house," Xiang Bo, the well - known honest guy, was the first to complain. The others nodded in agreement. It really looked too shabby.
Yuan Meng thought of the long - tongued ghost she had seen a few days ago. The tongue had a very plastic look. The director's taste was indeed poor.
"You're right," she said.
The director sitting in front of the monitor sneered at the two. Although he couldn't do anything to Yuan Meng for the time being, Xiang Bo was an easy target.
After observing for a while, he found that apart from being overly bold, there was nothing about Xiang Bo that couldn't be messed with.
The director decided to target him next. Didn't he say his taste was bad?
At this moment, Xiang Bo had no idea that he had been targeted by the director. As they just stepped into this dilapidated small wooden house.
Getting closer, they found that the door was wide open, and an old man was sitting in the yard.
As the most innocent - looking one in the group, Yuan Meng was sent to ask the old man about the village.
She showed a shy smile, the kind that all elders liked, and said, "Grandpa, do you know what happened in this village?"
Hearing this, the old man, who had been smiling and sizing her up, immediately changed his expression. "I don't know anything."
"I've already said I won't receive you reporters. Get out!"
After saying this, the old man picked up a broom and drove Yuan Meng and the others out of the yard.
The group watched as the door slammed shut in front of them. They really got the cold shoulder.
Hearing the old man say he wouldn't receive reporters, could he really be a native of this village?
The group waited in place for a while, but the program crew didn't come to stop them.
"It seems he's really an NPC arranged by the program crew," Yuan Xingcheng said.
He raised his voice and asked, "Grandpa, what exactly happened in the village?"
"If you don't tell us, we'll just stay here in front of your door. I don't believe you'll never come out."
His words left everyone in awe. He was really more of a hooligan than a hooligan.
Yuan Xingcheng scratched his head embarrassedly. "It's just a normal move."
Not long after his words, the old man with a livid face opened the door.
"Come in," he said.
His cloudy eyes scanned the group and finally landed on Yuan Xingcheng. "You stay outside."
Yuan Xingcheng scratched his head. He had been disliked.
"You guys just want to know what happened in the village. I'll tell you..."
The old man slowly told a story in his hoarse voice.
The Liu family had been in the business of human trafficking. They were well - known in the village. Many bachelors in the village had been able to marry wives thanks to them.
This time, the Liu family brought back more than a dozen women. The bride Yuan Meng and the others had seen was bought by Liu Dashan to ward off evil spirits for his sick son.
However, Liu Dashan's son didn't make it. He died on the very day before the wedding night.
After his son's death, the bought - in wife was strangled to death by Liu Dashan so that the two could be married in the afterlife, and she could be his son's bride in the underworld.
"My God, this is so disgusting. They could strangle a living person. Are there still people who treat life so lightly these days?"
Xiang Bo was extremely shocked. Even if the village was backward, it couldn't be this backward.
The old man's cloudy eyes looked at him sharply. "It's their bought - in wife. They have the right to decide her life and death."
"But it's a human life!" Xiang Bo retorted.
The old man let out a cold snort from his nose and didn't want to talk to him anymore. He continued, "After that, people in the village started to die."
"Liu Dashan accidentally fell into the river and drowned. Later, some of those women were beaten to death while trying to escape, and some committed suicide by jumping into the river. Strangely enough, it rained heavily those days, and even the bodies couldn't be found."
"Then..."
At this point, the old man's body began to tremble. "Someone saw her, the bride in the red wedding dress. It's her return! She's back for revenge!"
"We tried many ways, but she just wouldn't leave. Later, the villagers started to flee."