Chapter 193: Filial Piety

The moment his face brushed against the ghost woman’s, Shi Ziliang suddenly realized—
Perhaps the condition for death wasn’t just appearing in the same frame as her.
It also included her noticing that you had discovered her—just like being startled by her sudden appearance in a mirror.

Last night, he had narrowly escaped death.
This time, there would be no such luck.

Outside the main gate, the director was still fuming over Zhao Yangzhou’s sudden disappearance, when a panicked scream erupted from the courtyard.
By the time the group rushed in, Shi Ziliang was already lying on the ground, his head covered in blood.

His skull had been almost completely smashed by a fallen camera.
Blood pooled around him, mixed with parts of his brain. His eyes were wide open in fear, his face still frozen in shock, and bloody foam spilled from his mouth.

Screams broke out. The scene was filled with the sound of retching.

The director stared in disbelief at the bloodstained camera on the ground, as if unable to comprehend how such a thing could kill a grown man like that.
He had been bludgeoned to death.

The NPCs didn’t understand, but the players did.
Only when a death condition was triggered would someone die so suddenly and bizarrely.

The scene descended into chaos. Tianwen’s group looked grim.
They knew better than anyone how Shi Ziliang had died. They had failed to kill someone—and ended up losing one of their own.
Already at a disadvantage in numbers, their position against Peacock had become even weaker.

Li Feng led a team to take care of Shi Ziliang’s body.
Li Zhi and Lu Caiwei supported the limp director into the house, and several key crew members followed Li Jianxi inside.

Previous deaths could still be covered up,
but this one—so public, so gruesome—was impossible to hide.
While Lu Caiwei and the others tried to calm the director inside,
Li Zhi stepped out and found the dazed cameraman, taking him to review the footage from the other camera.

On the screen, Shi Ziliang’s death appeared to be a complete accident.
He suddenly leaned back, tripped over some wires on the floor, and the equipment fell, smashing his head.
No one was near him when it happened.

Li Zhi and the cameraman brought the footage into the room, played it for the director and the others.
“It was just an accident.”

The director clutched his head, on the verge of collapse. “So what if it was an accident? Someone died on our set! How can we keep filming this movie?”

“Director, if that’s really how you think, then this film is probably going to be scrapped.”
Lu Caiwei’s voice was low. “Songqin Village is our final location. We came all this way.
If we stop because of one accident, all our past efforts will be wasted.”

The director’s face was ashen. He mumbled, “But someone died…”

“Accidents happen every moment of every day in this world. People die constantly.”
At this point, it was the only kind of reasoning that could stabilize the crew and keep the project alive.

Li Zhi lied to minimize the director’s panic:
“We all know Shi Ziliang. He grew up in an orphanage. No family.
And the camera footage proves it was an accident—no one has to take responsibility.”

Li Jianxi, who had been silent since entering the room, finally spoke coldly,
“If this movie isn’t completed and released on time, as per the contract, you’ll owe me triple the penalty fee.”

The director looked stunned. “Is… is that in the contract?”

Li Jianxi, expressionless: “You can check the contract again.”

The director collapsed weakly onto the bed. After a long pause, he gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
“We’ll keep filming! We’ll deal with everything else after!”

The players in the room quietly exhaled in relief.

Outside, Li Feng and his team had already buried Shi Ziliang’s body and cleaned up the bloodstains.
Though the crew was full of dread, everyone had poured so much effort into this film—no one wanted it all to be for nothing.

The director soon emerged to rally the team and prepare for the next shoot.

Night had fallen.
Tonight’s scene involved the female lead and her group experiencing a series of supernatural events at the old house.

The room with the memorial portraits had been locked.
Lu Caiwei glanced at the sealed doors and windows, suppressing the unease in her heart.

She hoped tonight’s shoot would go smoothly,
and that nothing else would go wrong.