Hermit in the Mountains

The next day, 500 meters away from Xiahe Village, two men and two women stood in front of a courtyard by the river, their eyes fixed on the Hongqi Guoyue convoy slowly approaching.

Security guards wearing uniforms, black sunglasses, and earpieces were stationed around the courtyard and further out.

These security guards were all muscular, upright men. Instead of focusing on the convoy, they were on alert for any potential incidents outside.

At the gate of the courtyard, Uncle Shen, who is not one to sit still, shifted his feet and quietly approached He Jiong next to him, jokingly muttering, "Teacher He, do you know who organized this game? I, a billionaire movie star, am quite uneasy."

Teacher He was preparing to greet the arriving guests when he suddenly heard a devilish whisper in his ear. Startled, he turned his head and saw Shen Teng's familiar old face. In an instant, he cursed the other person no less than ten times in his mind.

Teacher He rolled his eyes, said nothing, pointed to the microphone on Shen Teng's collar, gave him a look that said, "Is this something I can ask? Have you forgotten the confidentiality agreement you signed yesterday?"

"Oh dear, I feel a little dizzy." Uncle Shen immediately realized what was happening and pretended to have a headache, holding his forehead.

"I told you to go to bed early yesterday, but you insisted on staying up until midnight. You must be feeling uncomfortable this morning." Teacher He took the opportunity to give the other person a way out.

"You still have to listen to the elders, otherwise you'll suffer the consequences." Shen Teng joked as he walked down the steps and returned to his seat, rubbing his temples from time to time.

The two goddesses, Gao and Wang, were focused on the convoy and didn't notice the subtle actions of Teacher He and the other person beside them.

In the director's room a hundred meters from the courtyard, the National Spirit Bureau personnel disguised as production staff exchanged glances when they heard Shen Teng's question. They refrained from taking any action only after he had covered it up and it hadn't attracted anyone else's attention.

Information regarding the spiritual revival and the National Spirit Bureau is still confidential and only known to a select few. For the sake of social order and stability, it is not yet time to disclose it to the public; their task is to keep it as confidential as possible.

They didn't take action against Shen Teng because the target hadn't appeared yet, and the guests participating in the variety show couldn't be replaced. Otherwise, they could have replaced him immediately when Shen Teng asked that question.

They still signaled to Zhang Guoshi to remind everyone, in his capacity as the chief director, to focus on recording the variety show properly and not to discuss topics that shouldn't be discussed.

The director's voice came through the earpieces of the four people at the entrance of the courtyard. The four of them tensed up and exchanged glances before turning their attention back to the convoy that had just been parked.

The first car stopped, and Hu Ge was the first to get out, followed by the other members of the Legend of Sword and Fairy group.

The second car to get out was taken by the Running Man team, led by Deng Jiu'er.

They were all dressed casually, not in the haute couture gowns they wore on the red carpet.

Teacher He led the three of them forward to greet them and introduce themselves.

After several tens of minutes, Teacher He proceeded with the process, leading everyone into the Courtyard of Time.

Inside the courtyard hall, He Jiong and three others stood in front of the long table. After everyone was seated, he announced the details of the variety show recording.

"Welcome everyone to the recording of 'The Courtyard of Time.' We'll be living in the courtyard for the next week. During this time, you're welcome to stroll around the nearby Xiahe Village, but please don't stray too far from the courtyard."

"The first floor of the courtyard is the boys' dormitory, and the second floor is the girls' dormitory."

Teacher He suddenly became more serious and urged everyone, "I hope everyone can record this variety show in a harmonious manner this week."

He had to emphasize one thing to everyone, for fear that they might affect the recording of the variety show.

Teacher He had long sensed that something was wrong with this variety show. The guest lineup, the staff configuration, and especially the security guards who were setting up a cordon around the area, were obviously not real security guards.

In addition, Shen Teng was warned by the production team for a casual question at the door, which suggests that he is not simple and that there may be an unknown secret behind him.

It's somewhat like a political task assigned from above.

As for the purpose, that was not his concern. He only hoped that the recording this week would go smoothly and without any unexpected problems.

The people in the room were all seasoned veterans in the industry, so how could they not realize that this variety show was different? They all nodded in response to He Jiong's instructions.

Teacher He gave everyone a few words of advice, then looked to the group on his right and continued, "Yuanyuan and I are in a group, responsible for contacting your Immortal Sword Team. If you have any problems, feel free to come to us."

"Hugo will be your captain."

Teacher He then looked to the left, "Shen Teng and Wang Xiaohua will be in charge of contacting you..."

Deng Jiu'er, nicknamed "Demon Pill," lit up when she heard Teacher He's words. "Teacher He, who else but me is the captain?"

"Old Deng, you've lost all sense of shame." Chen Chichi, the mischievous friend, immediately chimed in with a grin.

Deng Jiu'er turned her head to look behind her, meeting Chen Chichi's cheeky, fleshy face. She glanced at the others behind her and raised an eyebrow. "How about we recommend Chichi to be the captain?"

"That's possible... Brother Aka has been talking about taking over the captain's position, so let's go along with Brother Aka today." The dashing deer-robed man immediately joined in.

"Chichi, you've finally reached the pinnacle of your life." Li Heiniu said earnestly, stirring things up.

The others followed suit, causing Chen Chichi to immediately surrender, "I also think it's better for Old Deng to take the captain's position; they need his never-say-die spirit."

With someone livening up the atmosphere, the sense of alienation among the group is reduced.

Compared to the lively atmosphere of the Running Man cast, the opposing team, the Chinese Paladin cast, was much quieter. After all, they rarely record variety shows and were just nodding and agreeing frequently.

Seeing everyone enjoying themselves and the atmosphere becoming lively, Teacher He explained the recording content for the day, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment..."

Once everyone quieted down, he continued, "Today, everyone will choose their rooms, pack their luggage, and familiarize themselves with the surroundings. Finally, each person will record a 30-second trailer and post it in the Years chat group to complete the task."

"You don't need to promote it yourselves; the production team will handle the promotion after review."

After speaking, Teacher He turned on the television behind him, and a QR code appeared on the screen.

"Please scan the QR code to join the group, and change your name to your real name in the group chat."

That's all for today. Everyone, get some rest today. We'll start recording tomorrow.

"Yuanyuan, Xiaohua, take the girls to the second floor to choose rooms."

"The boys will come with me and Shen Teng to choose their own rooms."

Teacher He clapped his hands. "Let's all get started!"

Meanwhile, Gu Changsheng on the mountain received a message from Yang Dashan, informing him that many celebrities had come to the Years Courtyard outside Xiaohe Village to film a variety show.

Remembering that Zhang Yuanfu had mentioned yesterday that the Courtyard of Time was built by the National Spirit Bureau, and that celebrities were coming to record a variety show today, Gu Changsheng immediately became interested.

He took his phone from the drawer behind him and searched for variety shows about Xiahe Village online.

The screen displayed a large number of topics related to the variety show "The Courtyard of Time," and all of the top ten topics on the entertainment charts were related to "The Courtyard of Time."

The guest lineup has garnered over 100 million likes, and the discussion is still soaring.

Looking at the guest list displayed on his phone, Gu Changsheng muttered to himself, "Interesting, really interesting!"

As his cultivation improved, his logical thinking, memory, and comprehension abilities were significantly enhanced. Upon seeing the list, he instantly understood why this variety show was on the show.

He raised his eyes and looked northeast, talking to himself as if speaking to thin air, "You guys have really gone all out, setting up a stage just for me. I'm truly honored."

He loved watching Chinese Paladin when he was in school, and even saved up his living expenses to buy DVDs to collect.

In terms of variety shows, the ones I watch the most are those featuring the people on the list, such as Running Man, Six Ha, Departure, Saturday, etc.

Gu Changsheng knew from the list that this variety show was a test by the National Spirit Bureau to see his reaction.

Appealing to someone's preferences is less risky and safer than using coercive methods.

There are online discussions about the topic of "what measures would a government take if it discovered practitioners or people with supernatural abilities in modern society?"

The cultivators who can be discovered are not very strong. They can be eliminated with firearms, secretly captured and studied, and then sent to the Western Paradise.

After all, cultivators acquire their skills through cultivation, so who knows what they did before?

If it were a demonic cultivator, it wouldn't be impossible for him to perform the sacrifice of living beings.

There is only one solution to this uncontrollable factor: study it and send it to the Western Paradise.

Gu Changsheng felt fortunate that he wasn't the only cultivator in the world, otherwise he would have been the subject of research.

The spiritual energy of Earth has been restored, giving birth to new spiritual energy, and all living beings have the opportunity to absorb this energy for cultivation.

Cultivation is a universal practice. For a country, the best solution is not to send practitioners to their deaths, but to recruit and cooperate with them.