noffsinger Chapter 179 Even if you don't tell, you won't live past a year.
Chapter 179 Even if you don't tell, you won't live past a year.
Her name is Li Manqi. She is an obscure actress in the same agency as Tang Rou. She has only played a few minor roles with barely any lines in the three years since her debut.
Just moments ago she was gritting her teeth at the wooden carving, but now her face turned deathly pale. The incense stick in her hand fell to the ground with a thud, and sparks splattered on the back of her hand, but she seemed not to notice.
They clearly recognized Su Wanqing and Jiang Xinlan.
"Miss Jiang... Miss Jiang? Su Wanqing?"
Li Manqi's voice trembled, and she subconsciously took a step back, her back bumping against the offering table. The candlelight on the table flickered, casting her face in shifting light and shadow.
"You... how did you get here?"
Her eyes swept erratically over the three of them, finally settling on Shen Yu.
She had never seen this man before, but just by standing there quietly, he exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.
Despite wearing the most ordinary black casual clothes, he seemed more dignified than any director or producer she had ever met.
His eyes, in particular, were as deep as a cold pool, as if they could see through all her secrets.
"How did we get here?"
Su Wanqing took a step forward, her eyes filled with anger.
"Li Manqi, I want to ask you! Why did you use magic to harm Tang Rou?! What did she do to offend you?"
"I didn't!" Li Manqi immediately retorted in a shrill voice, her hands tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, trying to appear calm.
"What nonsense are you talking about! I have no idea what you're talking about! This is my house, you've trespassed, I'm calling the police!"
As she spoke, she reached for her phone on the table.
"Call the police?" Su Wanqing sneered.
"Great, let the police see what you keep in your house! Let everyone know that you, Li Manqi, obtained your resources through such underhanded means!"
Li Manqi paused.
She bit her lip, looking at Su Wanqing with venomous eyes:
"Did Tang Rou send you here? I knew it, she's definitely jealous of me! That second female lead role should have been mine! If she hadn't acted pitiful and played the victim in front of the director, how could I have lost the role?!"
"You're talking nonsense!" Su Wanqing trembled with anger.
"Tang Rou prepared for that role for three months, auditioned three times, and got it based on her own ability! Your acting is terrible, you can't even memorize your lines, and you still have the nerve to blame others?"
"I don't care!" Li Manqi shouted hysterically.
"I've waited three years! I can't wait any longer! This role is my only chance! Anyone who tries to take it from me will die!"
As she spoke, she suddenly turned around and rushed to the offering table, clasping her hands together and frantically chanting to the wooden carving:
"Baby! Come out! Help me kill them! If you kill them, I'll burn you lots and lots of paper money! I'll buy you the best toys! Come out now!"
Her voice was shrill and frantic, echoing in the dimly lit room, sending chills down one's spine.
The wooden carving lay quietly on the altar, without any reaction.
The red eyes still gleamed with an eerie light, but not a trace of yin energy emanated from them.
"Honey? What's wrong? Come out quickly!"
Li Manqi panicked and reached out to pat the wooden carving.
"Aren't you usually the one who listens to me the most? Come out now! Come out now!!!"
Still no movement.
"Stop shouting." Jiang Xinlan said coldly, "That brat you raised has already been killed."
"Impossible!" Li Manqi turned her head sharply, staring at Jiang Xinlan with a crazed look in her eyes.
"You're lying! My baby is the best! It can't be destroyed! You're kidding me!"
She frantically grabbed the fruit knife on the table and, without hesitation, slashed her index finger.
Bright red blood gushed out. She placed her hand on the wooden carving, chanting obscure and incomprehensible incantations:
"With my blood, I summon your soul! Show yourself! Show yourself now!"
Blood soaked into the wood carving's grain, yet the wood remained cold and hard, unchanged.
Instead, a chilling backlash crept into her body through her fingers.
Li Manqi cried out in pain, staggered back a step, her face as white as paper, and a trace of black blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
"How could this be... How could this happen..."
She looked at her bleeding fingers, then at the unresponsive wooden carving, and the madness in her eyes gradually turned into fear.
"My baby... My baby is gone..."
She collapsed to the ground, trembling all over, tears mixing with her foundation as they streamed down her face, making her look utterly disheveled.
She always thought that this kid was her greatest asset.
With it, she could seize resources, take revenge on everyone who looked down on her, and become an overnight sensation. But now, this very thing she relied on for survival has been easily destroyed.
Who exactly is this man in front of me?
How could such methods exist!
Moreover, now that the little devil is gone, Su Wanqing's visit must be because she's certain that Tang Rou was the one who harmed her.
She has lost her support; what if they retaliate against her?
The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and her whole body started trembling.
Looking at her like this, Su Wanqing felt no sympathy whatsoever:
"You believe me now? Li Manqi, you actually used such underhanded methods to harm someone for a role! Do you know that Tang Rou was almost killed because of you! The doctor even issued a critical condition notice!"
"I... I didn't mean to..."
Li Manqi raised her head, her face streaked with tears, her voice trembling with sobs.
"I just wanted her to get sick and miss the start of filming... I didn't want her to die... really..."
"You didn't want her to die?" Su Wanqing sneered.
"That brat sucks people's life essence. If it had been three days later, Tang Rou would have been drained of her life essence and died! You dare say you didn't know that?"
Li Manqi's eyes darted away, and she lowered her head, not daring to speak.
Of course she knew.
The person who gave her the wood carving told her that the little ghost would suck people's life force, and the more it was used, the heavier the backlash would be.
But she was blinded by jealousy and only wanted to snatch that role, completely disregarding Tang Rou's life or death.
"Tell me, who gave you this wood carving?" Shen Yu finally spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority.
Li Manqi suddenly raised her head, a flash of fear in her eyes, and quickly shook her head:
"I can't tell! I can't tell you! That man is too powerful! If he finds out I betrayed him, he'll kill me!"
"Oh?" Shen Yu raised an eyebrow. "You won't die if you don't tell me?"
"I..." Li Manqi bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and then said insincerely.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I'm afraid he'll cause you trouble! He's really powerful, he knows a lot of evil magic, you can't defeat him! I don't want to drag you down with me!"
"Stop with your fake kindness." Su Wanqing scoffed.
"Are you afraid he'll retaliate against you? Even now, you're still pretending!"
"I didn't!" Li Manqi cried out anxiously.
"I'm telling the truth! He's really scary! Don't push me!"
Shen Yu looked at her, his eyes calm and expressionless, yet like a cold knife, piercing through all her pretense:
"Even if you don't tell, you won't live more than a year."