Fabricating myths, starting with the creation of eight fictional ancient tribes

"Boss Ren is awesome!"

"That's a real man!"

"Let's ask for directions! Where exactly is that place?"

The fans' urging flooded the screen.

Although everyone knows it's roughly in the Qinling Mountains, the Qinling Mountains are too vast.

Stretching for 800 miles, without specific coordinates, it's no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

Ren Quanxu nodded, knowing full well that intelligence was the most important thing in this line of work.

"Okay, let's go ask the locals now."

He carried the stabilizer, and with the photographer and two strong assistants behind him, he walked towards a group of young people at the edge of the square.

This group of young people, with dyed blond hair and holding the latest smartphones, were playing games together.

"Hey guys, I need to ask you something."

Ren Quanxu handed him a few cigarettes, a polite smile plastered on his face.

The young men didn't even raise their heads, nor did they even blink.

"No time, no time, aren't you watching the team fight?"

One of the young men waved his hand impatiently, his fingers swiping rapidly across the screen.

Ren Quanxu wasn't angry. He patiently stood aside until the game ended.

"Well, I wanted to ask if you know of any abandoned village in these mountains? Or perhaps something called the Forbidden Ancient Wasteland?"

He spoke again, his tone more sincere.

The young people exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion.

"A deserted village? There are dilapidated houses everywhere in these mountains, who knows which one you're talking about?"

"What ancient forbidden land? Never even heard of it. You've been reading too many novels, haven't you?"

"We've grown up in this town and we've never heard of such a cringey name."

Faced with the young man's answer, Ren Quanxu sighed helplessly.

The impact of modern civilization has severed the connection between these young people living at the foot of the mountain and the ancient legends.

The viewers in the live stream were also somewhat disappointed.

"It seems that young people can't be relied on."

"You should ask the elders! Only they know about the past!"

"Yes, yes, Boss Ren, let's go to that big tree over there. There are a few old men there resting in the shade!"

Ren Quanxu glanced at the comments and thought they made sense. He turned and walked towards an old poplar tree on the other side of the square.

Under the tree, several elderly men dressed in Zhongshan suits were sitting on small stools, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, and squinting in the sun.

"Sir, could you tell me where this is?"

Ren Quanxu squatted down, trying to keep his line of sight level with the old man, showing great respect.

"Do you know if there's a particularly strange village deep in these mountains and forests? You know, the kind of place everyone says you shouldn't go?"

The elderly men stopped fanning themselves and looked Ren Quanxu over with their cloudy eyes.

They looked at each other, then slowly shook their heads.

"Young man, there used to be quite a few villages in these mountains."

An elderly man with a missing tooth spoke slowly, his voice hoarse.

"But in recent years, the young people have all moved out, leaving only empty shells."

"As for that particularly strange one you mentioned... I've never heard of it."

Another old man chimed in, "Yes, we're just wandering around the outskirts. Deep in the mountains, that's the territory of wild boars and bears; who would dare go in?"

The series of setbacks made the atmosphere in the live broadcast room somewhat heavy.

The initial enthusiasm was suddenly dampened, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over it.

"Holy crap, could it really be something Ji Xuanyuan made up?"

"Even the local elderly don't know about this; it's in serious trouble."

"It's just a scam, isn't it? Everyone, let's all leave, it's pointless."

Doubts began to emerge, and some even started hurling insults at Ji Xuanyuan in the live chat, calling him a fraud.

Just as Ren Quanxu was about to give up and try his luck elsewhere, the gap-toothed old man suddenly pointed to a corner in the distance.

"If you really want to ask... then go ask Old Li."

The old man's finger trembled as he pointed to the entrance of a secluded alley.

"Old Li is an old hunter, he must be over a hundred years old this year."

"When he was young, he really went deep into the mountains. There was no mountain valley within a hundred miles that he hadn't been to."

"If even he doesn't know, then this place really doesn't exist."

Ren Quanxu's eyes lit up, and he quickly thanked them before leading his team away.

They found the old hunter in front of a dilapidated tile-roofed house deep in the alley.

Old Li was sitting on a bamboo chair, puffing on his pipe.

His face was covered with age spots like tree bark, and his eyes were sunken, making him look somewhat dull.

Communication did not go smoothly.

The old man was very hard of hearing and had a heavy accent. Often, even if Ren Quanxu shouted until he was hoarse to ask a question, the old man would only give a blank "ah".

This made the viewers in the live stream extremely anxious.

"Oh my god, this is driving me crazy!"

"Boss Ren, speak louder!"

"Is this old man alright? He seems to be getting senile."

Ren Quanxu did not give up. He patiently gestured again and again, and even took out paper and pen to draw pictures.

Finally, when the keywords "village with coffins" and "dense fog" were mentioned, a look of extreme fear suddenly flashed in the old hunter's cloudy eyes.

"No...don't go..."

The old hunter's voice trembled, like a broken bellows being pulled.

"That place...is where the dead live..."

Ren Quanxu was overjoyed; he had finally gotten the information he wanted!

He quickly pressed on, "Sir, does that village really exist? Have you been there?"

The old hunter picked up his pipe with trembling hands, took a deep breath, and seemed to be lost in some terrifying memory.

"When I was young, I chased after a wounded lone wolf and stumbled into the area by accident..."

The old man spoke haltingly, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

"That village is really eerie."

"It's broad daylight, but the sun can't shine in; it's gloomy and eerie..."

"In every household, there was a large black coffin placed in the main room..."

"At night, a thick fog rolled in, everything was white, and you couldn't see anything..."

"Through the fog, I could hear strange noises, like someone crying, or like someone laughing..."

As the old man spoke, the surrounding air seemed to freeze.

The once noisy live stream room now has noticeably fewer comments.

Ren Quanxu swallowed hard, feeling a chill run down his spine.

But he still mustered the courage to ask, "Sir, how...how did you get out?"

The old hunter's eyes suddenly became fixed on a point in the void, and the muscles on his face twitched violently.

"Once I was tired and wanted to rest for a while..."

"Looking up, I saw many hemp ropes hanging down from the trees..."

"That rope was covered with gleaming gold bars..."

"I reached out to grab it, but... it wasn't a gold bar at all..."

"That was a rope noose! It tightened around my neck in an instant!"