freenovelworld Chapter 109: The Identity Revealed! Professor Gu is actually Gu Huaizhou!
Chapter 109: The Identity Revealed! Professor Gu is actually Gu Huaizhou!
A fortune telling?
Will you meet a benefactor?
Although he suspected the old Taoist priest was lying to make him happy, Zhou Zui still generously scanned the Taoist temple's QR code and donated five hundred yuan as incense money.
Seeing Zhou Zui's generosity, the old Taoist smiled and said inscrutably, "Good luck."
"Thank you."
Zhou Zui turned and walked out of the main hall. When he reached the large incense burner, he brushed past a young woman wearing a warm apricot-colored down jacket.
Noticing a gaze fixed on him, Zhou Zui looked up from his phone screen and met a pair of smiling phoenix eyes.
Zhou Zuichi asked hesitantly, "Do we know each other?"
"Zhou Zui, Mr. Zhou." The beautiful woman's voice was clear, crisp, and pleasant to listen to.
Zhou Zui felt that her voice was very suitable for dubbing the pampered princesses in film and television dramas.
"Who are you? Have you investigated me?" Zhou Zui's eyes were full of wariness and vigilance, and his voice was stiff.
It was clear that he was very wary of Li Xi.
Having been bullied and suppressed by Qiao Yuhong and his gang for a long time, Zhou Zui did not feel smug or narcissistic when he met a stranger who could call him by name.
A few years ago, he was also arrogant and narcissistic.
But what happened in reality shattered his pride. His years of struggling to survive made him realize his ordinariness and weakness.
He may have some talent for directing, but he lacks the luck and connections to become a director.
That's why he showed a guarded expression when Li Xi called out his name.
Li Xi smiled and said, "It's been a long time, Director Zhou."
Director Zhou?
"Who are you?" Zhou Zui looked at Li Xi suspiciously, wondering which faction had sent her to test and manipulate him.
Li Xi said, "Director Zhou shouldn't know him, but we've met before."
"Seven years ago, during the summer vacation, I worked as an extra in a film crew. I wonder which film you were the director of? Director Qiao Zhiheng was still around at the time, and he even came to the crew to give you some guidance."
"By the way," Li Xi said, taking her hands out of her down jacket and rubbing them in the cold air. "That movie hasn't been released yet, has it? I was really looking forward to seeing it with my friends when it was released."
"But I waited for many years and still didn't get the movie 'House of Life and Death' released."
The original title of "The Roommate" was "House of Life and Death", so the production team was called the "House of Life and Death" production team at that time.
After Qiao Zhiheng removed Zhou Zui from the cast list, he changed "The House of Life and Death" into "The Roommates," which was directly approved for release and won numerous awards.
Therefore, apart from the staff who participated in the filming at the time, no one knew that the roommate was originally called the House of Life and Death.
No one knows that the director who created such a stunning film as "The Roommate" was actually the young Zhou Zui.
Upon hearing Li Xi's explanation, the wariness in Zhou Zui's eyes lessened somewhat, but it was quickly replaced by a dimness.
"...I never thought that after so many years, there would still be people who remember the House of Life and Death."
"Director Zhou," Li Xi said, "Actually, I am Yun Ge, the original author of the suspense comic 'Seven Days of Nightmare.' Xie Zheng and I plan to make 'Seven Days of Nightmare' into a movie and bring it to the big screen."
"I have seen Director Zhou creating on set, and I think Director Zhou is the director I most want to work with."
"I wonder if Director Zhou has any free time to go to the teahouse halfway up the mountain for a cup of tea and chat about my work?"
Zhou Zui was astonished, "You are the creator of 'Seven Days of Nightmare'?"
Zhou Zui is skilled at making suspense films, and naturally pays close attention to domestic suspense works.
He had been following "Seven Days of Nightmare" since it had just reached chapter 120. Zhou Zui followed it from chapter to chapter until the end, and even bought the "Seven Days of Nightmare" comic book.
Zhou Zui was fully aware of the uproar that would ensue if the news of the adaptation of "Seven Days of Nightmare" into a film or television series reached the entertainment industry.
So, when Zhou Zui heard Li Xi say that she was the creator of this comic, her first reaction was—
This is a scammer.
Knowing what Zhou Zui was thinking, Li Xi was prepared and directly opened the homepage of the author's backend on Guanman and handed it to Zhou Zui to see.
"Look, this is my author's backend homepage."
Zhou Zui leaned closer for a look.
It really is Yun Ge!
Zhou Zui was somewhat flattered to realize that the girl in front of him, who looked several years younger than him, was actually Yun Ge, his favorite comic artist.
When Yun Ge approached him, Zhou Zui felt neither ecstatic nor excited.
His reaction was more one of questioning and doubt.
With so many famous directors out there, why did Yun Ge specifically choose him?
She said she had worked as an extra on the set of The House of Life and Death and had seen what it was like to work, so she recognized her directing abilities.
This statement was too flimsy to be true, so Zhou Zui directly raised his question: "Let's not beat around the bush, Yun Ge, why did you come to me?"
Li Xi knew that Zhou Zui wouldn't easily trust him.
Right.
He had been betrayed by his respected mentor.
Even the mentor who sponsored his studies and led him into this circle could betray him, let alone a stranger?
Li Xi stepped forward, looked directly into Zhou Zui's eyes, and said, "The roommate should be called the House of Life and Death, and its director should not be Qiao Zhiheng, but Zhou Zui."
This is the real reason she sought to collaborate with Zhou Zui.
Zhou Zui slightly opened his eyes.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his shock and confusion, and said to Li Xi, "Let me treat you to a cup of tea."
"Okay."
“But we’ll have to wait,” Li Xi said. “I’ll also go inside to pay my respects to the ancestral master and donate some incense money.”
After speaking, Li Xi first lit incense outside the main hall, and after offering the incense, he walked towards the main hall.
A couplet written in calligraphy was pasted on either side of the main gate—
If you harbor evil thoughts, burning incense will bring you no benefit.
If you stand upright and righteous, what harm is there in not bowing to me?
Li Xi stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at the couplets for a while, before entering the main hall and bowing in worship.
She was performing proper Taoist rituals.
The old Taoist priest sat behind the table watching her without saying a word.
After bowing, Li Xi did not make a wish, but walked to the table and directly scanned the QR code to donate merit.
The Taoist priest, not wanting to be bothered, asked, "Would the virtuous person like to draw lots?"
Li Xi smiled and said, "I've already won the best lot, so I won't draw any more."
To be able to live a second life and change one's destiny ahead of time—that would be the best fortune slip ever.
People should be content.
They asked the gods for health, and then they wanted wealth.
That's insatiable greed.
The old Taoist priest stroked his long beard and smiled, "Your mind is clear and insightful; the best fortune slip is right in your heart."
After carefully considering these words, Li Xi also found them quite reasonable.
After donating the money, Li Xi took two steps back, but then suddenly returned to the table.
The old Taoist priest looked at her quietly and asked, "Sir, are you still troubled?"
“Master, there is indeed something that is puzzling me,” Li Xi said. “I have hatred in my heart that I cannot let go of or put down. I will not feel at ease until I take revenge.”
"Master, do you think I should let go of this, or should I follow my heart?"
The old Taoist priest smiled slightly and said, "Life is only a few decades long. Whether you're happy or frustrated, you'll live your whole life."
He suddenly slammed his fist on the table.
Several cracks appeared on the table.
Pointing to the cracks and showing Li Xi the red marks on his fist, the old Taoist said, "Look, the table is an inanimate object, but when I hit it, it still knows to hurt me."
So, as a living, breathing human being, Li Xi was bullied so badly by the Xie family, it's only right that they get the lesson they deserve.
Li Xi's mind immediately cleared.
"Thank you for your understanding, Taoist priest."
Li Xi walked up to the statue and bowed again.
Standing upright before the statue of the patriarch, Li Xi said softly, "I have a wish: may the patriarch bestow blessings upon me, may the Longyang Taoist Temple prosper, and may Master Li enjoy happiness and freedom!"
After saying that, Li Xi winked at Master Li, then left the main hall with light steps.
Master Li smiled as he watched Li Xi's departing figure.
He sat there on the solid wood chair, his hands habitually clasped together in the Zi-Wu mudra, motionless, and soon fell asleep.
*
Li Xi left the main hall and walked towards the entrance of the Taoist temple. Under a pomegranate tree in the courtyard, she saw Zhou Zui.
"Mr. Zhou, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's ok."
The two left the Taoist temple together and got into Lin Qiu's car to go to the teahouse at the foot of the mountain.
As soon as they arrived at the teahouse, Li Xi saw Lin Qiu looking up at the sky and saying, "What beautiful clouds! They're so colorful, even more beautiful than a rainbow."
Upon hearing this, Li Xi and Zhou Zui looked up at the sky and discovered a cluster of auspicious five-colored clouds above the Longyang Taoist Temple.
Seeing this, Zhou Zui said, "These clouds look..."
Li Xi's heart skipped a beat. She said with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty, "Could it be..."
Suddenly, a man wearing a Bodhi seed rosary rushed out of the teahouse, shouting in shock, "Master Li has passed away!"
Li Xi and Zhou Zui exchanged a glance, then got back into Lin Qiu's car and returned to Longyang Taoist Temple.
At this time of evening, there weren't many visitors to the Taoist temple.
Pilgrims crowded in the courtyard and at the main gate, all watching the auspicious clouds overhead.
The auspicious clouds kept changing, sometimes resembling feathers, sometimes round clouds...
Finally, it transformed into the posture of a Taoist priest sitting cross-legged.
About three minutes later, the auspicious clouds dispersed.
Then, Li Xi heard the abbot of the Taoist temple shout, "Our grandmaster has ascended to immortality!"
It actually ascended to immortality!
Li Xi and Zhou Zui exchanged a glance, both looking at each other in bewilderment.
"This is so sudden."
Zhou Zui said, "Just half an hour ago, he made me draw lots several times, saying that I drew a lot that would change my luck and that I would meet a benefactor today."
Li Xi also found it very sudden, "Just fifteen minutes ago, I was chatting with him for a few minutes."
"...Mr. Zhou, how about we discuss the cooperation again tomorrow? Tonight, let's send Master Li off on his final journey at the Taoist temple?"
"okay."
Master Li is the most respected Taoist master in Dongzhou.
After the 21 Taoist priests of Longyang Taoist Temple died, Li Dabao and his five children were left behind to struggle to keep the dilapidated temple afloat.
It was only after the old man of the Gu family donated incense that the Taoist temple was renovated.
The history of Taoist Li Dabao is like the end of an era.
As dusk approached, the usually busy high-ranking officials of the Dongzhou government all came to the Taoist temple to bid farewell to Master Li.
Not long after, more people arrived.
Li Xi and Lin Qiuzhou sat drunk in the vegetarian pavilion, and faintly heard someone say, "Old Master Gu has arrived."
Grandpa Gu is here?
Immediately afterwards, Li Xi heard someone say, "Who is that young man following Old Master Gu?"
"Could that be Mr. Gu Huaizhou, the young master of the Gu family?"
Gu Huaizhou?
That socially awkward person even showed up?
Like Lin Qiu and the others, Li Xi curiously walked out of the vegetarian restaurant and tiptoed to look towards the main entrance of the Taoist temple. Sure enough, he saw a group of people dressed in black Chinese suits walking in.
The elderly man at the head of the group was none other than Mr. Gu Wentao.
Following closely beside Gu Wentao was his inseparable butler, Du Yusheng.
A young man was following Gu Wentao to his right rear.
The man was wearing the same black suit as Gu Wentao, with his black hair combed back and a couple of stray hairs hanging down in front of his forehead.
He wore a black mask made of Xiangyun yarn, covering most of his face except for his eyes.
Even so, her aura of noble aloofness and unapproachability was still very strong.
Lin Qiu exclaimed in surprise: "That's Gu Huaizhou?"
"The Gu family heir is so tall! Judging from his facial features, he must be a very handsome guy!"
Li Xi stared intently at the small black mole hidden beneath the man's sword-like eyebrows above his right eye.
Her breathing became slightly rapid.
Gu Huaizhou?
Someone tell her why Gu Huaizhou looks exactly like her Professor Gu!
Even if he turned to ashes, Li Xi would still recognize that mole!
She kissed him just a few days ago!