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

The old teahouse in the west of the city is hidden in an inconspicuous alley, with an old-fashioned facade.

At 10 a.m., there weren't many customers in the store.

Lu Fan chose a private room, ordered a pot of green tea and some snacks, and waited quietly.

At 10:05, a man wearing a black mask, sunglasses, and a black baseball cap pushed open the door and walked in quickly, sitting down opposite Lu Fan.

"Mr. Lu?" he asked in a low voice.

"It's me." Lu Fan poured him a cup of tea. "What's your name?"

"Just call me Xiao Li. I worked as a publicist at Xingyue for three years, and now I've just come out of retirement." He took off his mask but not his sunglasses, and his hand trembled slightly as he picked up the teacup.

Lu Fan observed that Xiao Li appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a rather thin build.

Lu Fan remained calm: "What is your purpose in inviting me here?"

Xiao Li took a deep breath, put down his teacup, and laughed mockingly: "What purpose could I possibly have? My only wish in this life is to make Xing Yue receive the punishment she deserves."

Three years ago, I joined Xingyue. At that time, I thought it was a big company with a good platform where I could learn a lot. I worked in publicity, starting with writing press releases, liaising with the media, and maintaining the image of the artists. I worked very hard, often working overtime until midnight, just wanting to achieve something.

When I finally gained recognition from above through hard work, I never expected that the first project I took on would not be to help one person, but to ruin the reputation of an artist.

Thinking about my parents getting old and the fact that I needed this job, even though it was with a competitor, I reluctantly took it.

Later, the company wanted to sign a new actress, but they disliked her for refusing to accept the unspoken rules of the industry. They asked me... to set a trap for her.

Mr. Lu, I can do some things against my conscience, but I really can't do something like this!

As Xiao Li spoke, a tear rolled down his cheek behind his sunglasses.

"You refused to obey orders, so Xingyue took action against you?" The rest is not hard to guess.

Xiao Li nodded heavily: "Yes, the very next day after I refused, the company produced witnesses and physical evidence that I had threatened that actress. I was speechless. My girlfriend broke up with me immediately, and my mother was so angry that she couldn't catch her breath. But I didn't even get to see her one last time."

Xiao Li's voice trembled with tears: "They ruined me, but they got away scot-free. I'm not happy about it! I'm not reconciled!"

Lu Fan listened quietly, feeling as if a heavy stone was lodged in his heart.

"Mr. Lu, I came because I don't want to see you ruined by Xingyue like I did. Xingyue has capital and connections behind it; it's very difficult for us to fight them." Xiao Li wiped away a tear. "I have some internal information from Xingyue regarding you, which might be able to help you."

After Xiao Li finished speaking, he took out a tablet from his old canvas bag.

He unlocked the screen, brought up an encrypted folder, and pushed the tablet in front of Lu Fan.

Lu Fan swiped the screen, which contained dozens of screenshots.

The first thing Lu Fan saw was a screenshot of a group called "Project Task Force (Internal)".

The screenshot's profile picture and name are heavily blurred, but the conversation content is clear:

"Lu Fan's scandals will be released in three batches. The first batch will focus on 'acting like a diva,' the second on 'harassing actresses,' and the third on 'moral depravity.' The timeline will follow this schedule."

"Are the online trolls in place? The initial budget is 200,000 yuan, and we need to ensure they stay in the top five trending topics for at least six hours."

"Young Master Wang has added 300,000 yuan, requesting that 'solid evidence' chat logs be made urgently to make them look real."

"Received. The tech team is working on it, and a sample will be ready tonight."

Next is a table titled "Detailed Expenses for Special Handling of Lu Fan's Cases," which lists various expenses: purchasing online trolls, collaborating with marketing accounts, media management, technical processing, etc.

The remaining documents are photos of paper documents, which are the approval signatures of Xingyue's senior management regarding the "smearing" of Lu Fan's project.

Lu Fan flipped through the pages one by one, his face expressionless: "To be honest, these screenshots are nothing compared to Xingyue's PR team. Of course, they're not entirely useless; I need you to come forward and testify."

"This... I..." Xiao Li's body trembled, and he instantly hunched over. "I'm just a nobody, I have no way to fight Xingyue. They can send me in there once, and they can send me in there a second time. I've already lost my mother, I don't want to lose my father too."

Lu Fan did not answer, but kept his gaze on Xiao Li's face.

There was a very faint black aura swirling around Xiao Li's forehead, barely perceptible. It wasn't an innate bad luck, but rather something imposed by an external force.

"Lately," Lu Fan began, "have you been having a lot of nightmares? Dreaming of being chased, or falling into water?"

Xiao Li suddenly looked up, his eyes wide with surprise: "How did you know?"

"Also, you recently sprained your right ankle for no apparent reason, right?"

Xiao Li opened his mouth, then subconsciously touched his right ankle: "Yes... I sprained it when I went out this morning."

Lu Fan nodded: "You've been cursed. It's a very low-level spell, just something that makes you mentally disoriented and causes constant minor ailments and pains. After you came out, did Xing Yue's target contact you?"

"Yes, they told me not to say anything more, and that it would be easy to get rid of me." Xiao Li was still a little scared. "Mr. Lu means it was Xingyue's people who did it?"

You know what you're doing.

Lu Fan took out a small notebook and a pen from his bag.

He quickly drew a rune on the blank page, tore the paper off, and handed it to Xiao Li: "Keep this with you, and don't let it get wet. The nightmares and foot pain will subside within three days. Consider this your reward for giving me the information. As for testifying, I won't force you."

Xiao Li hesitated before taking the folded paper and clutching it in his hand. "Thank you, Mr. Lu. This tablet is for you."

Lu Fan didn't refuse, put the tablet away, and then instructed, "I'm afraid you can't hide the fact that you've been in contact with me from Xingyue, so try to stay home as much as possible lately."

"Xingyue is really despicable." Xiao Li's voice was heavy. After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice and said, "I was not planning to say this, but after seeing Mr. Lu's abilities just now, I think there is someone that Mr. Lu might be able to use."

"Who?"

"Your agent, Feng Qianqian." Xiao Li's eyes were obscured by his sunglasses. "I met a gossip inside; he got out last year. After I came out, he told me a secret. Feng Qianqian is unmarried, and she has a son."

"She has a son?" Lu Fan asked, somewhat surprised. "She's kept it a secret very well."

Xiao Li nodded: "Very few people know about this. Her son is her lifeblood. However, her son has a strange illness that the hospital can't diagnose. He won't eat or drink and often goes crazy. It's very strange. With Mr. Lu's methods, Feng Qianqian might be a breakthrough."

Lu Fan nodded: "This is indeed very useful information."

Xiao Li carefully put the talisman into his pocket and put his mask back on.

"Mr. Lu, this is all I can do. If... if you really need a witness in the future, I can testify anonymously. But appearing in public... I really don't dare. My parents are old, and if I go in, they will be greatly shocked. They can't take any more shocks now."

"I understand." Lu Fan stood up. "That's all for today. Stay in touch and be careful."

Xiao Li also stood up, looked around, lowered the brim of his hat, and quickly walked out of the teahouse, soon disappearing into the alleyway.

Lu Fan is an artist under Xingyue, but he has been training abroad for a long time and has just returned to China, so he is unaware of many things about the company.

Lu Fan initially thought that Xing Yue was forced to sideline him due to pressure from Wang Huajian.

Unexpectedly, such dirty tricks were commonplace for Xingyue, showing a complete lack of principles.

After slowly sipping a cup of tea, Lu Fan took out his phone and dialed Feng Qianqian's number. The phone rang for a while before being answered.

"Lu Fan, calling me won't help. I can't change the company's decisions. I'm very busy lately. If there's nothing else, that's all."

As soon as Feng Qianqian finished speaking, she immediately hung up the phone.

"Sister Feng," Lu Fan said quickly, "do you want to save your son?"