I, the number one master of metaphysics, have achieved legendary status in the entertainment industr

"That old fox Han Sihai is very shrewd; he won't get involved in this mess now," Zhou Li sneered. "Since Yu Tinglan watched Li Chen's video and personally questioned Lu Fan, that thorn has been planted in her heart. Su Qin is too busy to take care of herself, Ding Jianguo dotes on his daughter, and with Ding Xingyou and Lu Fan having a falling out, he's even less likely to get involved."

She turned and looked at the pine tree in the quiet room, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Wait two more days," Zhou Li said slowly. "Once the formation is fully operational and Lu Fan's luck has plummeted to rock bottom, that will be the time for us to close the net. At that time, I want him to kneel before Hua Jian and admit that he is a liar and a thief."

"Then..." she paused, her voice as cold as ice, "she squeezed every last bit of value out of him."

Wang Zhentao put his arm around her shoulder: "Don't worry, he can't escape."

Yun Xuzi lowered his head, not daring to reply.

It was late at night.

Lu Fan stood in the center of the living room, with a simple array drawn on the ground using cinnabar mixed with special pigments.

He bit his fingertip, dripped a drop of blood into the array's eye, formed hand seals, and chanted softly.

The jade pendant was pressed against his chest, and it was slightly warm.

A faint golden light shone quietly from the crack.

The counterattack has begun from this moment.

The Zhou family would never have imagined that their meticulously planned "ambush" would ultimately trap them.

Lu Fan's counterattack began with the most subtle details.

The next morning, an inconspicuous entertainment news item quietly appeared in a corner of a second-tier entertainment website, with the headline "Lu Fan Studio's preparations encounter a cold reception, and the original cooperating brand's attitude is ambiguous."

The article was written in a vague manner, only mentioning vague terms such as "it is reported" and "according to multiple sources," implying that Lu Fan's studio open day might not have been as lively as expected, and that several brands that were initially interested had become less enthusiastic. The accompanying picture was a blurry profile of Lu Fan looking up at Boss Han's building a few days ago, his expression appearing somewhat solemn.

The news was quickly reposted by several marketing accounts, but it didn't generate much buzz. Amidst the overwhelming condemnation of "impersonation," it was like a small pebble thrown into a lake, barely causing any ripples.

But those who were meant to see it have seen it.

In the Wang family villa, Wang Huajian saw this news, scoffed, and tossed his phone to Yun Xuzi beside him: "Look, it's already starting to fizzle out. Even a small brand is hesitant. Let's see how his lousy studio continues to operate."

Yun Xuzi took the phone and glanced at it, then cautiously said, "Young Master, this might be the other party deliberately feigning weakness..."

"Play the victim?" Wang Huajian sat up from the recliner, an unnatural flush rising on his pale face. "He's practically been riddled with insults online. Yu Tinglan doesn't believe him anymore, Su Qin is barely holding on, and Ding Xingyou has turned against him—does he still need to feign weakness? He's genuinely weak!"

Zhou Li happened to bring in a bowl of ginseng soup. Hearing her son's words, she glanced at her phone screen and said calmly, "Whether it's a show of weakness or not, as long as the effect is achieved, that's fine. Everyone in the industry knows that Lu Fan is troublesome, and getting involved with him is equivalent to offending the Zhou family. Smart people will naturally stay away from him."

She handed the soup bowl to her son: "Drink it. It's what Mr. Qingsong instructed us to do—to strengthen the body's foundation and nourish the vital energy."

Wang Huajian took the bowl, gulped it down, wiped his mouth, and said with a fierce look in his eyes, "Mom, once the luck transfer is successful and I recover, I'm going to personally go to his studio to 'congratulate' him."

"Whatever you want." Zhou Li took the empty bowl, her tone as calm as if she were talking about the weather. "But now, let's not cause any trouble. Mr. Qingsong said that these three days are the most crucial for the formation to operate, and there can be no external interference."

"Got it." Wang Huajian pursed his lips, lay back in his chair, and scrolled through his phone. As he looked at the comments criticizing Lu Fan, his smile widened.

……

Meanwhile, in Lu Fan's large apartment...

Li Gang placed a newly printed document on the coffee table and said in a low voice, "Professor Lu, I've found it. Those marketing accounts that have been most smearing you online have all received large transfers from overseas virtual accounts in the past week, ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 yuan. Although they've gone through multiple layers of money laundering, the source should be the same."

"Furthermore, let's dig deeper along Li Chen's trail." Li Gang pointed to several photos in the documents. "This Li Chen did work as a trainee in South Korea two years ago and was injured, but the injury occurred in the summer, not the winter. After returning to South Korea last year, he worked odd jobs in his small hometown and struggled financially. But last month, his mother's medical account suddenly received an anonymous remittance of 300,000 yuan, and he immediately 'remembered' the 'life-saving grace' from back then."

Lu Fan flipped through the photos and transaction records, his eyes calm.

"Also," Li Gang continued, "I asked Lao Mao to check the possible witnesses you mentioned from that night two years ago. We found a delivery guy who was nearby at the time. He said he did see someone jump into the river to save someone that night, but it was too dark to see their face clearly. However, he said the person who saved them seemed to be a tall man, and he moved very quickly, even performing CPR on the person for quite a while after pulling them out—which matches what you said."

"Has this guy been contacted by anyone recently?" Lu Fan asked.

"Yes," Li Gang nodded. "About ten days ago, someone contacted him through a food delivery platform, saying they wanted to know something from him and gave him 500 yuan for phone credit. They were asking about what happened that night. The delivery guy said the other person kept trying to lead him to believe that the person who rescued the person might not have been alone, or that they had misremembered the time or something, but he insisted that he only saw one person."

Lu Fan nodded and closed the document: "Keep this evidence safe for now, don't touch it."

"Understood." Li Gang put the documents into the file bag, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Teacher Lu, Sister Feng... she asked me to tell you that she has started contacting the finance director of a subsidiary of Zhou's Capital, as you said. That person seems to be dissatisfied with some of Zhou Li's methods, so maybe we can find out something."

"Tell her to be careful," Lu Fan cautioned. "Zhou Li is no ordinary person; don't alert her."

"Sister Feng said she knows what she's doing." Li Gang paused, lowering his voice slightly, "Teacher Lu, about the formation... are you really alright? You look a little worse than you did a couple of days ago."

Lu Fan touched the jade pendant on his chest. The crack seemed to have extended a little further, almost imperceptible, but it couldn't hide it from him.

"The array's suction force is increasing," he said calmly, "but it's still within a controllable range. When they think they're close to success and lower their guard, that's when we'll make our move."

Looking at Lu Fan's calm face, Li Gang's unease subsided slightly, and he nodded emphatically: "I believe you."

……

That afternoon, in Yu Tinglan's office.