Chapter Twelve: A New School of Thought
Are radio hosts switching stations so frequently these days? Fu Yuntao was a bit puzzled. The last time he tuned in to Baoshan Radio, the midnight host had also disappeared without warning.
He didn’t dwell on it for long. After accepting the memory card from his assistant Liu Hai, he turned and left.
By the time he finished work, it was already three in the morning. Fortunately, the streets were lined with restaurants still open, so he grabbed a quick late-night meal before returning to his hotel.
After washing up, he thought of the new show he’d agreed to host—“Produce 101.” As the first domestic girl group creation show, it had caused a sensation both at home and abroad from the moment the three major streaming platforms announced it. After three months of preparation, more than thirty agencies from all over Asia had sent their artists’ audition letters last month. Nearly twenty thousand girls participated in this star-making campaign, an entertainment feast without precedent.
It was, to date, the most explosive talent show in China.
Now, with the selection completed for these twenty thousand girls, Fu Yuntao felt strangely invigorated.
Despite washing up, he had no intention of sleeping. He picked up his phone, intending to adjust the FM frequency, but suddenly remembered “Ghost Blows Out the Light.” He quickly inserted the memory card his assistant had given him into his laptop and turned on the multimedia speakers.
He got up, opened the minibar, uncorked a bottle of rum, and poured it evenly into a glass. He rummaged through his travel bag, pulled out a few packs of snacks, tore open a bag of peanuts, and, humming a tune, settled onto the bed.
“…A huge slab of snow rolled down, sealing the mountain crevice tightly, stirring up countless snow dust, making the five people cough violently. Overhead, the rumbling continued for a long time before finally quieting. Judging from the noise, it was impossible to tell how many million tons of snow had covered them…”
Fu Yuntao drank rum and chewed peanuts, quietly listening to Ayuan tell the story.
Unconsciously, an hour passed…
Two hours passed…
Usually, a glass of rum would leave him drowsy and ready for sleep. But tonight, the vivid scenes battling in his mind kept his adrenaline pumping, rendering him wide awake.
He suddenly realized that “Ghost Blows Out the Light” would make an excellent film or TV series.
The images conjured in his mind stirred his heart. To his knowledge, neither books nor movies on the market had yet featured tomb-raiding stories.
Could this be a new genre?
That thought made Fu Yuntao shudder.
Make it?
Yes, I must bring this story to the screen!
Hu Bayi, Wang Kaixuan! Tomb raiders from fifty years ago!
The inspiration bursting forth excited him beyond endurance, but the story continued to play, so he eagerly tore open another bag of peanuts and kept listening to Ayuan.
When the story reached the moment in the Wild Man Ravine tomb, where two child companions appeared, Fu Yuntao felt a chill run up his scalp.
“In the coffin’s two ends stood a boy and a girl, both naked, looking about five or six years old, their faces lifelike. The boy wore a topknot, the girl’s hair was styled in two buns—styles not from recent times, but reminiscent of ancient figures on frescoes. Could they be the sacrificed children of the tomb’s owner? The body in the coffin was nearly decayed, so why were the boy and girl so perfectly preserved?”
Why were they so perfectly preserved?
Fu Yuntao felt a pang of sadness.
Back in his school days, reading history books, he’d encountered similar accounts. It was said that live burial with companions began in the Shang dynasty, an especially cruel practice of the slave society.
Besides swallowing mercury, the companions had holes drilled in their heads, backs, and soles of their feet, filled with mercury, then their bodies were coated in mercury powder after death, thus creating specimens.
Even after millennia, the flesh would not rot.
This technique was far more advanced than ancient Egypt’s mummification, though the two civilizations had different backgrounds and values. Using mercury to preserve a corpse’s appearance required a living body—because dead blood wouldn’t flow, so mercury couldn’t be injected. Thus, since its invention, this technique was never used on the tomb’s owner.
Time ticked away, and dawn began to break.
“Hello, friends from all directions, I am the new midnight host of FM107.7, your old friend Mi Maodian. Welcome to my new show, ‘Late Night Tales’…”
The unfamiliar voice startled Fu Yuntao out of his reverie.
He was confused, glanced at the time—it was already six in the morning.
He was still itching with anticipation, eager for Hu Bayi and company to venture to the borderlands and excavate the ancient tomb of the Queen of Jingjue, but then an annoying voice suddenly rose up.
Wait.
Mi Maodian?
That name sounded familiar!
Wasn’t this the host from Baoshan Radio’s “Late Night Storytelling,” Mi Maodian?
Fu Yuntao began to understand.
Not long ago, he had enjoyed listening to this host tell stories. Whenever he had insomnia at night, he’d listen to a few segments.
But after the host left Baoshan Radio, he disappeared. Unexpectedly, he had now become a broadcaster at Donghai Radio.
Fu Yuntao felt some anticipation, but after listening to Mi Maodian’s new story for a while, he couldn’t help but be full of complaints. “What is this? It’s nothing compared to ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light.’ This industry is full of mediocrities.”
Impatient, he opened his computer, returned the broadcast to the previous segment, and continued listening to “Ghost Blows Out the Light.”
His excitement grew as he listened, and the images forming in his mind made him eagerly type on his laptop, noting various filming points.
“I’ve always wanted to find the right story. Who knew the solution would present itself? If only I could obtain the adaptation rights…”
Thinking this, Fu Yuntao finished the rest of the rum in one gulp, feeling invigorated.
He then went online to search for information related to “Ghost Blows Out the Light.”
As soon as he opened the search engine, his eyes fell on the real-time search rankings—#GhostBlowsOutTheLight#, and he was stunned.
He instinctively clicked the search term.
Soon, nearly three million search pages appeared.
#Complete ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light,’ online viewing, txt full download, e-book#
#‘Ghost Blows Out the Light: Strange Tales of the Mortal World,’ latest chapters, microdisk download#
#How do you evaluate the recently viral ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’?#
#‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ taken down, causing public outrage; original author rumored to be fired due to low listenership#
#Listen to the audio novel ‘Ghost Blows Out the Light’ online, host Ayuan highly recommends#
…
Fu Yuntao scanned the pages, information flooding into his mind until he felt dizzy.
Complete collection?
There was a complete collection?
He clicked into the page, and the next moment, a male voice screamed through the speakers: “Macau’s first online casino is live! Sexy female dealers dealing cards online!!”