Chu Yi certainly had no objections. The three of them hurried to the warehouse where the props had gone missing. They saw that the warehouse was also an antique wooden structure, with a covered walkway at the entrance and a small courtyard. Apart from its remote location, it was no different from the sets used for filming.
By now, quite a few people from the film crew had gathered in the courtyard to watch the excitement.
When Chu Yi and the others arrived, the handyman in charge of guarding the place and the Props Brother were complaining to Director Mo: “Director, it really wasn’t negligence on our part. Xiao Wang and I always remembered to lock the door after wrapping up each day. Director Zhao saw it when he opened up this morning—the lock was still hanging on the door. Look, the lock itself is still perfectly fine.”
Taking advantage of his height, Chu Yi craned his neck to take a look. Sure enough, the lock was intact, with no signs of tampering around the keyhole.
This was strange. The warehouse doors and windows were all intact, making it seem like a sealed chamber. How could things vanish into thin air?
“The guy who snuck into the set buildings a few days ago still hasn’t been caught, and now props are missing again. Could it really be like they guessed before—someone from the neighboring film crew sent over to sabotage us with malicious competition?” a staff member whispered from within the crowd.
Another female actress disagreed: “I don’t think so. These incidents have all been pretty eerie. Maybe the opening ceremony didn’t go right and offended the Land God.”
For opening ceremonies, they picked an auspicious day, set up an altar table, burned incense, and paid respects to the gods—a tradition from Port City. They usually worshipped the Land God and Guan Gong, but once it spread inland, Demon Immortals like Wong Tai Sin were added to the mix.
Some film crews followed the rituals strictly, but most just went through the motions for peace of mind.
Director Mo’s crew was shooting a costume drama, not anything supernatural or monstrous, and he himself wasn’t superstitious. So the opening ceremony had been done half-heartedly. Because time was so tight, they’d even forgotten to prepare the sacrificial roast pig.
This actress must have believed in such things, hence her comment.
“Yi Ge, what do you think? Could it really be one of those things?” Mu Jiajun glanced toward the dim interior of the warehouse, feeling a chill creep up his arms. He quietly scooted closer to Chu Yi.
Ouyang Yuyuan felt the same.
He hadn’t believed in such things before, but after narrowly escaping disaster thanks to Chu Yi’s warning, and then hearing Chu Yi and Master Zhang mention “souls” and “Peach Blossom Evil” in the hospital room that morning—concepts way beyond his understanding—he felt both terrified and irresistibly curious.
Chu Yi shot an exasperated glance at the two hopeless guys, left them behind, and approached the warehouse. He scanned the area and soon spotted two faint claw marks in the gap beside a cluttered cabinet against the wall.
His eyesight was sharp; he could see in the dark. Mu Jiajun and Ouyang Yuyuan couldn’t. Seeing Chu Yi squat motionless in the corner, Mu Jiajun pulled out his Mobile Phone and turned on the flashlight: “Yi Ge, did you find something?”
The sudden light startled Chu Yi for a moment. He turned to look at the Mobile Phone in Mu Jiajun’s hand, a thoughtful expression crossing his face—so phones could be used like that?
No wonder everyone was glued to them. It seemed he needed to study his own more when he got back…
Their commotion drew over Director Mo and the others, who had gotten nowhere with their questioning. As they approached, they heard Ouyang Yuyuan point at the claw marks on the ground and ask: “What animal left these claw prints? A weasel?”
“No, a rat.” As Chu Yi answered, he looked up at the rafters, tracing possible routes and vents.
“A rat this big? Bigger than a cat!” Ouyang Yuyuan exclaimed, his handsome face twisting in disgust.
He had attended high school abroad in a boarding school. That old dormitory building retained last century’s architecture, with garbage chutes connecting the floors.
Convenient for dumping trash, but at night, hordes of rats climbed up through the chutes. They weren’t afraid of people, scurrying everywhere. Once, one even crawled onto his bed right in front of him, grossing him out completely!
He hadn’t dared confirm earlier because these prints were much larger than ordinary rat prints.
Director Mo frowned: “Young Master Chu thinks a rat stole our props?”
“Impossible. Why would a rat steal useless junk instead of food? Is it going to doll itself up like the actresses?” The Props Brother shook his head repeatedly. Strangely, everything stolen had been shiny trinkets.
“An ordinary rat wouldn’t, but this one…” Having lived so long, Chu Yi suspected it had gained some spiritual intelligence—perhaps even carrying the bloodline of a Treasure Seeking Rat.
Treasure Seeking Rats, like dragons, hoarded anything visually appealing in their nests, useful or not.
Director Mo and the others were skeptical but had no better leads, so they followed Chu Yi’s clue to track down the missing items.
The group circled to the back of the warehouse and followed the prints to an area of abandoned palace ruins. The tracks led into a sewer pipe and vanished.
“Ah, the trail’s broken.” Ouyang Yuyuan let out a disappointed cry.
