CH 68

Fortunately, Director Zhang didn’t bring any bad news. He just told Bai Xinyan that 《Trace of the Source》 was about to start official promotion and they needed to find some time to take sample photos. In addition, Director Zhang also explained that he had time to read more scripts before joining the group.

If it wasn’t for the last point, Director Zhang probably wouldn’t have contacted Bai Xinyan specifically, just communicated it through his agent Zhang Kai. However, judging from Director Zhang’s more polite tone than before, it was obvious that he also wanted to have a good relationship with Bai Xinyan.

The broadcast of 《Career Story》 was coming to an end. Bai Xinyan’s popularity was no longer what it used to be, coupled with the superb acting skills that Director Zhang had seen with his own eyes and the recently exposed, huge capital of Bai Yin behind Bai Xinyan. In fact, with just the last one, Bai Xinyan would be regarded as a guest of honour by many insiders, not to mention that he still had such comprehensive conditions. It could be said that almost no one wanted to befriend him now. Even the long-established Director Zhang was no exception.

The shooting of the sample photos went very smoothly. Director Zhang decided to wait for the finale of 《Career Story》 to officially announce the starring cast of 《Trace of the Source》 while taking advantage of the heat. But before that, Xinghuan had leaked some news to the gossip account they had made and had given various fans and netizens a preventive measure in advance.

Except for Li Zhibai, who hadn’t changed much, the other male protagonist wasn’t someone else, but Bai Xinyan.

With Bai Xinyan’s qualifications, this was naturally not completely convincing to everyone. Bai Xinyan’s character in the reality show wasn’t in line with Lu Zifeng’s character. Even passers-by fans who had a good impression of Bai Xinyan said that there was no way he deserved this role.

Relevant revelations had aroused many disapproval voices. The fans of the original work even had many opposing remarks. Netizens who had nothing to do with themselves felt that they could understand. After all, Bai Xinyan had such a background and now he was populer, it wasn’t so surprising to get such resources. However, some people who weren’t used to it sarcastically said that Xinghuan, who had always been fair, had also fallen and surrendered to the power of money.

In short, no matter whether it was a fan or a hater, no one thought that Bai Xinyan could play Lu Zifeng because he really had excellent strength.

Although there was some controversy at present, under the multi-party control and evaluation of the public relations team, it was still harmless to Bai Xinyan, but it could also bring some publicity to 《Trace of the Source》. After the official announcement, the team also had a follow-up response plan and was ready to give Bai Xinyan a good stir to ensure that the wind direction could be reversed. Therefore, at this time, the people involved weren’t in a hurry.

However, they didn’t expect that before the announcement of 《Trace of the Source》, another thing happened.

Only the finale of 《Career Story》 was left. When the popularity was about to reach its peak, Tang Yuying once again posted on Weibo, claiming that she had been suppressed and targeted by the program group. She was bullied during the recording process and many scenes were deleted.

Because she had posted a similar protest on Weibo before and it just died, not many people paid attention to her at first this time. Except for a small number of otaku fans who were surrounded by faces and pure goddesses, other guests, including fans of the entire show, were mostly cynical about it. After all, Tang Yuying didn’t behave well and delayed others no matter when there were few shots in the early stage or a few more shots in the later stage. She was the worst evaluated person in the program.

Originally, Tang Yuying’s action this time also couldn’t make any waves, but then she broke the news again. They didn’t take it seriously at first, just casually watching the lively people. They were shocked this time.

Tang Yuying not only pointed directly at the program group this time but also directly pointed out the guest who had suppressed her before—

It was none other than Li Zhibai!

Not only that, but Tang Yuying also said that she was forced by Li Zhibai to do unspoken rules, but because she didn’t cooperate, she angered the other party, so other people in Li Zhibai’s joint program group targeted her and deleted her scenes.

At first glance, these words seemed completely ridiculous. After all, with Li Zhibai’s status and that face, how could it be possible to make such a big effort to dive into a newcomer? However, Tang Yuying directly released some close-up photos and the protagonists were her and Li Zhibai.

In the photo, Li Zhibai’s face was completely uncovered and it looked like it was indeed him, but for some reason, it gave off an extraordinarily vulgar feeling. His actions were obviously taking advantage of Tang Yuying. Looking at this photo, it was said that Li Zhibai was forcing Tang Yuying to do the unspoken rules. He was afraid no one would believe it.

There was a lesson from the past that was deceived by fake video not long ago. The first reaction of many people when the photo appeared this time was to question whether it was edited. However, although Li Zhibai in the photo had a sense of disobedience, they really couldn’t find any traces of P-ed photos. Now Li Zhibai’s fans were completely panicked and the 《Career Story》 program group was also facing a big enemy for a while.

“What’s going on with this photo!?” Shao Ping looked for Li Zhibai anxiously again. He originally thought that the photo must be P-ed, but he didn’t expect the technician to say no after identificating it? Could it be that Li Zhibai really did something to Tang Yuying? How could that be possible!?

After Li Zhibai knew about the situation, it was rare for him to frown. He didn’t have the heart to worry about whether it would cause wrinkles.

“I… I don’t know either, but the person in the photo is definitely not me. I’ve never been alone with Tang Yuying and I’m not at all interested in her.” Li Zhibai hesitated and said it.

“Are you sure? Is it possible that you were accidentally drunk?” Shao Ping still believed him, but the current situation was so strange that he could only reconfirm all possible situations.

Li Zhibai shook his head, “No, it’s definitely not me.”

Shao Ping frowned, puzzled, “I also think that although this person in the photo has exactly the same face as you, he still doesn’t look like you. But if it wasn’t you, who is this person? Is there anyone who has grown up like you and still be unknown?” Even if it really wasn’t Li Zhibai, they were already completely in trouble.

“I can only find a way to check. As long as I find the person in the photo, I can prove my innocence.” Li Zhibai said.

Shao Ping sighed deeply, “I guess it’s not that easy to find. The other party must have deliberately done this to frame you. They must have been hidden by now. There’s no evidence now and it’s inconvenient for us to respond.”

Li Zhibai’s expression darkened and didn’t speak.

“I’ll try to communicate with the people from Youjia first, and see if I can figure out what’s going on. Is Tang Yuying trying to mess with you or being used as a gunman?” Shao Ping patted Li Zhibai’s shoulder, “Although there’s no evidence, the statement still needs to be issued and Strawberry TV also needs to discuss it. I will go to the company to deal with it. You shouldn’t go online or go out for the time being.”

Li Zhibai nodded. Shao Ping hurriedly left after instructing a few more words.

Li Zhibai stared at the photo again for a long time, but he really couldn’t think of how the other party took it. They specifically asked someone to do plastic surgery on their face? It shouldn’t be like that…

The matter this time was far more difficult than the last time. Li Zhibai couldn’t figure it out either. After struggling for a while, he couldn’t help but think of Bai Yin, thinking that he might need help from the other party this time.

Li Zhibai thanked Bai Yin for what happened last time. However, because Bai Xinyan deliberately ran on him and called him ‘Aunt’, Bai Yin wasn’t only disorganized, but also very satisfied, which made him a little uncomfortable with Bai Yin again. They hadn’t been to each other’s house for two days. But that awkwardness was just because he was thin-skinned and embarrassed. Now the business was important, Li Zhibai didn’t hesitate for a long time and took the initiative to contact Bai Yin.

This time the matter wasn’t small. In order to think comprehensively, it finally turned into four people discussing countermeasures together.

Bai Xinyan looked at Li Zhibai’s distressed expression and said sympathetically, “Didn’t Tang Yuying like you? Why did she drag you into the water? When she said that someone was suppressing her last time, I thought it was me.”

Li Zhibai’s beautiful eyebrows were twisted together, “I want to know, too. Brother Shao said that she might have been used as a gunman by someone else, but I thought about it. When I recorded the next episodes, her attitude towards me also hasn’t changed much.” Tang Yuying no longer rubbed against Li Zhibai regardless of the occasion, but when there was no camera, her expression of admiration was still quite obvious. If she really was forced by Li Zhibai as she said and didn’t want to have anything with Li Zhibai, then would she continue to like him?

Bai Xinyan thought for a while and said, “That means Tang Yuying deliberately framed you? Well… Although it’s hard to understand why she likes you and framed you, it’s a reasonable assumption.”

Li Zhibai sighed, “If she did it on purpose, it would be even more trouble for me. I guess I won’t be able to get the truth and evidence to prove my innocence from her.”

Bai Yin glanced at the photo again with an obvious coldness in his voice, “Tang Yuying is probably just an irrelevant idiot. The most important thing to solve now is to find the person who pretends to be you and the culprit. It’s obvious that this person has a deep hatred for you, I’m afraid he did what happened last time. If we don’t catch them again, there will be another trouble.”

Bai Xinyan looked at his little uncle’s icy expression and silently ordered a wax for the culprit who framed his aunt. Although Bai Yin looked gentle, his revenge was probably stronger than Yin Heng who slaughtered several sects at the beginning. That person would definitely not have a good life. But then again, “Who the hell hates you so much?” Bai Xinyan asked again, “Can’t you think of a suspicious person?”

Li Zhibai couldn’t have imagined it before, but after what happened this time, he seemed to have a faint feeling. He hesitated for a moment and said, “It should… reasonable to say that no one would hate me so much like this. But I have a little guess without evidence… I think… it may be Yu Anyan.”

The other three reacted for a while before they remembered who Yu Anyan was.

Li Zhibai said, “Actually, Yu Anyan just has a competitive relationship with me, but he hasn’t had a direct conflict yet. It stands to reason that it shouldn’t be him, but…”

Bai Yin reached out and rubbed Li Zhibai’s hair, “Don’t think so much. We just check to see if it’s him.”

He clearly had the claws of the tiger he was most afraid of on his head, but Li Zhibai couldn’t help but feel more at ease. “En, in fact, you can take your time to catch the culprit. It’s the person in the photo. I don’t know when we’ll be able to find him…” If someone was hidden far away or even ran out of the country and couldn’t be found, it would be really troublesome.

At this time, Yin Heng said, “Actually, if you really want to find him, it’s not too difficult. It’s estimated that you won’t be able to find him with ordinary methods.”

“Huh?” Bai Xinyan didn’t understand and looked at Yin Heng curiously, “What do you mean?”

Li Zhibai didn’t quite understand the meaning of Yin Heng’s words either. Bai Yin looked at the two little fools with the same ignorant faces. He couldn’t help laughing and said, “You two thought that this person was born alike or had plastic surgery?”

“…otherwise?” Little Fool X2 still didn’t respond.

Bai Yin looked at Li Zhibai’s gorgeous face with an ignorant look. He couldn’t help but flicked his forehead, “It’s normal for ordinary people to think this way. You are a demon and you can’t think of such a trick? Most of the time, the demons deliberately changed their appearances to take pictures.”

“Ah!?” Li Zhibai and Bai Xinyan were startled. Li Zhibai said in a trance, “So the one targeting me is also a demon?”

“It’s not necessarily a demon, but it must be someone who knows these things and can find a demon to help him.” Bai Yin snorted lightly and said, “But the cultivation base is probably not very good. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be used with such a low-level means.”

At this moment, Bai Xinyan couldn’t help but whispered, “It’s not low-level, right? If the framed one is an ordinary person, wouldn’t that person have no way to clear his name?” Let alone ordinary people, he and Li Zhibai, these two demons, who had been cultivated to waste, couldn’t remember the use of magic at all and they didn’t think that the truth was actually like this.

Bai Yin glanced at Bai Xinyan angrily when he heard the words, “How dare you say it? You can’t see this little trick, where has your cultivation gone?”

Bai Xinyan: “……” He had been cultivating diligently with Yin Heng every day. His cultivation would catch up with Li Zhibai. He didn’t scold Li Zhibai and scold him, he really had a young wife and forgot his nephew.

He could almost see Bai Xinyan’s murmur in his heart. Yin Heng smiled and reached out to pick up the orange on the table, peeled it and put it into Bai Xinyan’s hand.

Bai Xinyan held the round and golden oranges. He immediately forgot about his little uncle’s lesson. He ate it happily, feeding it to Yin Heng while eating.

The atmosphere that should have been serious and dignified was completely disturbed by the sweet orange-eating duo. Bai Yin snorted coldly in his heart, but he didn’t care about them. He said to Li Zhibai, who relaxed a lot after knowing the problem, “Since the other party used means other than ordinary people to frame you, then we can also use this method to solve the problem. That Tang Yuying is stupid, but she shouldn’t take the initiative to do this kind of thing. She is confused or controlled. We just need to go to her directly, release her from the control, and then follow the clues.”

Even if Tang Yuying didn’t know the other party’s information, as long as the man had contact with her, they could find a way to track the other party. With the two Nascent Soul stage demons on their side, he didn’t believe that person could still escape.

It was best to solve this matter as soon as possible, so they soon found Tang Yuying. Most demons could easily distinguish the smell of people. After knowing the approximate location of Tang Yuying, Bai Yin and others could easily find her directly.

Tang Yuying was staying in her own home alone and turned off her mobile phone. She refused contact with everyone, including her manager and the company. She sat frantically in front of the computer, staring at the time on the screen with red eyes and dishevelled hair, waiting for the next action.

When Bai Xinyan and the others suddenly appeared, she was stunned for a moment, then screamed. She stared at them in anger and fear.

“How did you get in!? What do you want to do!?” Tang Yuying shouted fiercely.

Li Zhibai, whose thinking habits had been similar to ordinary people for so many years, felt a little guilty. It wasn’t really good for the four big men to break into the girl’s house like this. Even if he didn’t like Tang Yuying, he couldn’t help but prepare to apologize first. But Bai Yin didn’t wait for him to speak and with a slight movement of his hand, Tang Yuying, who was still yelling just now, fainted.

“……” Li Zhibai paused and saw that Bai Xinyan had moved closer curiously. He asked, “What should we do next? Is she under control?”

Bai Yin ignored him and directly cast a spell on Tang Yuying, only to see Tang Yuying suddenly shaking her head and struggling.

Yin Heng thoughtfully explained to Bai Xinyan, who was full of curiosity, “This is a mind-clearing technique, which can eliminate some simple mind-controlling spells. If the other party isn’t controlled, there will be no reaction after using this spell.”

“In other words, she was really being controlled?” Bai Xinyan said, seeing Tang Yuying struggling with her eyes closed.

Yin Heng nodded, “Our previous guess was correct.”

After a while, Tang Yuying slowly calmed down and the control was released. However, Bai Yin didn’t plan to wake her up, but when she was faint, he used another spell and began to ask questions.

There was no difficulty in asking questions. Although the other party seemed to be quite cautious, but he didn’t deliberately guard against the same methods that weren’t ordinary people. Of course, it was also possible that there was no ability to guard against it.

In short, they successfully got the information about the person who controlled her from Tang Yuying’s mouth. They also learned that she originally planned to target Bai Xinyan and the exposure was his thing to suppress her.

Because of her being controlled, Bai Yin didn’t plan to do anything to her, even if he didn’t like the other party coveting Li Zhibai very much. But after knowing this, Bai Yin couldn’t let her go. Bai Yin didn’t do anything, but there was also Yin Heng, who also protected his shortcomings.

Bai Xinyan, who was laying innocently with a gun, was very generous, “Anyway, at her level, she always lifts a rock and gets hit on her own feet every time. To be honest, we don’t need to do anything…”

“Then let her be unlucky for a few months. There won’t be any danger, it’s just that it’s easy to drop the phone and the wallet.” Bai Yin said.

“Then what about her being controlled to frame me? Does she remember it after that?” Li Zhibai asked. If Tang Yuying’s memory wasn’t removed, she must wake up feeling inexplicable. However, if it was removed, everything she posted on the Internet would also be there. It would be very strange once she saw it.

Bai Yin didn’t care, “It’s okay. We can notify the non-human authority people to take care of the aftermath. After catching the guy who did the trick, we can hand him over to them.” According to the regulations, all demons and humans with cultivation levels couldn’t use spells and spiritual powers on ordinary people. Of course, there would be secretly used in reality, but as long as it wasn’t vicious and if the aftermath could be handled well, the general authority wouldn’t investigate it too much. Moreover, Bai Yin’s identity and cultivation base were high, so they wouldn’t be affected by the authority, but the guy who used control techniques on ordinary people and made such big trouble must not have this kind of treatment.

After notifying the non-human authority, Bai Yin began to track the other party.

This step didn’t take much effort. They found a man described as wretched in a rental house.

“Tsk, it turned out to be a weasel.” Bai Yin said contemptuously, sneering. “A guy like you could easily turn into him. He really doesn’t have eyes.”

As soon as they appeared, the man was so frightened by the terrifying demon power that he fell to the ground. When he saw Li Zhibai again, he soon understood what was going on and immediately begged for mercy, “Don’t, don’t kill me! I didn’t mean to offend, it was just someone who instructed me to hypnotize a woman and take some photos and videos, I… I was also deceived, not on purpose… Senior, please spare my life, please forgive me…”

This weasel was better to deal with than Tang Yuying. He explained everything without Bai Yin asking. Someone found him, spent money to make him look like Li Zhibai, took those pictures with Tang Yuying, and hypnotized Tang Yuying on the way. He also made a clear statement about the employer’s information because he was afraid that Bai Yin and the others wouldn’t be able to find the other party and then vent their anger on him.

Although it was a demon, the weasel still used a modern communication tool when trading with the other party. The transfer records and some chat records were all there, which could be used as evidence that Li Zhibai was framed.

But these alone weren’t enough.

Bai Yin thought about it. After discussing it, he let the weasel become similar to Li Zhibai again. When being asked, he would say that he looked a bit similar and then he made it like this through plastic surgery, and then put on makeup, pretending to be Li Zhibai. And all of this was directed by that employer.

Then they notified Shao Ping that they had found the person in the photo and called the police directly. “Several, several seniors, I can’t maintain my transformation for too long…” Seeing that Bai Yin had called the police from an ordinary person, the weasel said shiveringly.

Bai Yin said in a cold tone, “Don’t worry. You’re just going to the ordinary people’s side for a walk.”

The weasel was suddenly cold, shivering under the pressure of Bai Yin’s demon power. He wanted to run but dared not run, so he could only plead for himself again desolately.

Bai Yin looked at him crying and begging with Li Zhibai’s face. He said, “Okay, you can live, but if there’s any remaining plea, you can leave it in the prison of the Administration Bureau.”

The weasel was startled and understood that the other party meant that he would go to a non-human prison instead of a human prison. But it was better than losing his life. Seeing that Bai Yin was about to lose his temper again, he quickly calmed down and hid in the corner, daring not to speak.

* * *

The people arranged by Shao Ping hadn’t found any clues and the statement to help Li Zhibai’s hair had attracted a large amount of scolding. It was when he was extremely anxious that Li Zhibai suddenly called and said that he had found someone!

“Really!? How did you find it?” Shao Ping, who was so surprised that he could hardly believe it, couldn’t help but ask, and then he got the answer that Bai Yin helped. He calmed down immediately.

Well, this time it was this one. But it was a blessing to find someone so quickly. With the confidence to turn the tables, Shao Ping quickly arranged things in an orderly manner.

Not long after, netizens who were immersed in discussing whether Li Zhibai forced Tang Yuying to do the unspoken rules were true or false, found that things had made new progress—

News Flash V: S City police arrested a man who looks like popular actor Li Zhibai!