The line slowly moved forward, and finally, it was Shi Pengpeng and her two friends’ turn.
Jin Jie, as expected of a top-tier cosplayer, maintained a first-class professional attitude, completely unaffected by the earlier minor incident.
He kept a perfectly curved smile throughout, interacting with his fans.
“Darling, thank you for your gift, but what I truly desire is your heart.” Jin Jie handed the small gift prepared by Cao Yinru to the staff, then took her hand with a deep, affectionate look, tapping his chest.
“Giggle giggle!” Cao Yinru let out a series of excited hen-like sounds, babbling incoherently, “Take it all, take it all, even my life is yours!”
Cao Fanzhen, standing behind them, thought to herself: It seems my sister will soon move on from the sadness of parting with Zhou Xiao Lu.
When it was Shi Pengpeng’s turn, Jin Jie followed the standard procedure, taking her hand and reciting the male protagonist’s lines from the game with deep emotion:
“Darling, can you feel my pulse? That’s my heart beating for you.”
Their hands clasped together, and Shi Pengpeng suddenly sensed something unusual, instinctively tightening her grip.
Jin Jie: “?!”
Jin Jie’s expression cracked slightly, but he maintained his smile:
“Darling, ease up a bit, you’re so strong.”
Feeling that his response lacked the expected boyfriend charm, he paused, then added professionally, “As expected of my woman.”
“….” Shi Pengpeng nonchalantly withdrew her hand, took out Cao Yinru’s notebook, opened it, and handed it to him, “Please sign this for me.”
“Of course, anything for my darling…” Jin Jie’s smile froze mid-sentence.
Spread open on the notebook was a yellow talisman.
Jin Jie looked at the talisman, then at Shi Pengpeng’s outfit, hesitantly asking, “Is this your prop?”
“Yes,” Shi Pengpeng gracefully picked up the talisman and handed it to him, “Keep it as a memento.”
“Th-thank you, darling.” Jin Jie hesitated for a moment before carefully pinching the talisman with his fingertips and putting it in his pocket, “You don’t have to be so polite in the future.”
“Yay, so many autographs from Teacher Jin!” Cao Yinru, while eating lunch, repeatedly looked at the stack of signed cards and notebooks, her face filled with satisfaction, “Today, I am the happiest little girl in the world!”
Cao Fanzhen felt both amused and relieved, finally letting go of her worries.
Shi Pengpeng subtly glanced at the otome game booth.
Jin Jie had already left, and a “Resting” sign hung where he had been standing.
She put down her chopsticks and stood up: “I’m going to the restroom.”
Cao Fanzhen didn’t think much of it, only saying, “We’ll watch your bag for you?”
“No need.” Shi Pengpeng casually replied, silently reciting an incantation in her heart, and quickly walked towards an exit on the side of the venue.
Outside the exit was a long, empty corridor with only a few scattered passersby.
Shi Pengpeng followed the faint trail left by the yellow talisman, walking all the way to the end of the corridor.
She pushed open a heavy fire door and entered the fire escape.
Jin Jie stood by a trash bin in the corner, holding the yellow talisman given to him by the girl dressed as a Taoist priest, about to throw it away, when he suddenly heard a creak.
He instinctively turned his head and locked eyes with Shi Pengpeng.
Shi Pengpeng’s eyes curved into a smile:
“What a coincidence, Teacher Jin, throwing away my talisman?”
“…” Jin Jie awkwardly smiled, “It’s nothing, I just happened to be passing by…”
As he spoke, he reluctantly tried to retrieve the yellow talisman.
Unexpectedly, in the next moment, a flash of fire appeared before his eyes, and the talisman burst into flames.
“Ah!” Jin Jie felt a burning sensation on his hand and quickly flicked the talisman away.
Just as he was about to step back, his wrist was immediately grabbed.
Shi Pengpeng swiftly executed a grappling move, twisting his arm behind his back.
Her strength, combined with her martial arts skills, left Jin Jie completely immobilized.
He yelped, “Master, please show mercy! I’m a law-abiding good spirit, I’ve never harmed anyone—”
“Is that so?” Shi Pengpeng remained noncommittal, but seeing that this creature had minimal magical power and likely couldn’t cause much trouble, she slightly loosened her grip and asked,
“What is your origin? What is your purpose here?”
When they shook hands earlier during the group photo, she had sensed a trace of demonic aura on Jin Jie.
However, with so many people around at the time, she couldn’t act immediately and could only leave a talisman to test him.
Jin Jie dared not hide the truth and honestly replied, “My true form is my name, Ginger.”
“?” Shi Pengpeng thought for a moment about the Chinese meaning of “ginger,”
“Ginger root?”
“Yes, yes,” Jin Jie said.
He was originally a wild ginger plant from the deep mountains, nurtured by the essence of the sun and moon, and over time, he became a spirit.
After cultivating a human form, like many other spirits before him, he came to the city to gain experience.
His magical power was not strong, and he had initially worried about how he would survive in human society.
However, not long after entering the city, he discovered a profession that suited him perfectly.
“We ginger plants are best at mimicking all things,” Jin Jie said, glancing at Shi Pengpeng and carefully choosing his words, “Master, if you’ve ever eaten in the cafeteria, you must have had the experience of wanting to pick up a chicken drumstick but ending up with a piece of ginger instead…”
Shi Pengpeng: “……!!”
Of course she had!
And it wasn’t just chicken drumsticks; she had also encountered ginger disguised as potatoes, pork tenderloin, tofu, radishes, and even fish slices.
In short, any dish that included ginger was bound to be a victim of ginger’s deception!
“Seriously?”
Just thinking about it made Shi Pengpeng’s temperature rise.
Suppressing the urge to slice this ginger into shreds, she asked with a dark expression, “So you became a cosplayer?”
Jin Jie proudly smiled, “Wouldn’t you say I’m perfectly suited for this line of work?”
After becoming a cosplayer, Jin Jie quickly leveraged his natural talent for mimicry, standing out among many cosplayers.
The characters he portrayed were all incredibly lifelike, just like ginger pieces mixed in with braised chicken, making it hard to tell the real from the fake.
In just a few short years, Jin Jie became the undisputed top cosplayer in the circle, amassing countless fans and becoming a sought-after favorite by major companies.
Every community eagerly awaited his portrayal of their characters.
“Hehe, I’m not boasting, but my fans often praise my cosplays for having the same spirit as ginger…” Jin Jie said with no small amount of pride, “I can only say, they truly have a keen eye.”
Shi Pengpeng: “….”
When Cao Yinru was recommending Jin Jie to them earlier, she had indeed mentioned this description.
At the time, they just thought the fans were being witty.
They never imagined that the truth was hidden right there in the joke.
She decided to take him in.
However, if Jin Jie was indeed as he claimed just going about his normal work and always abiding by the law-then there was no need to make baseless accusations.
“I swear I’ve always been a well-behaved demon,” Jin Jie said earnestly, raising four fingers.
“I don’t eat people, sleep with fans, evade taxes, or even smoke…”
Shi Pengpeng scrutinized him and suddenly asked, “What about that fan just now?”
Jin Jie was momentarily stunned before realizing she was referring to Jin Saosao.
He quickly waved his hands, “That has nothing to do with me!”
He looked troubled, “To be honest, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. A while ago, she even followed me to the hotel I was staying at, which scared me so much I almost called the police. But after all, she’s an old fan of mine.”
“Back when I was just a small-time cosplayer, she did a lot of promotion for me. I really don’t want to leave her with any criminal record. Honestly, I wish more than anyone that she could calm down a bit.”
Seeing his sincerity and sensing no malevolent aura around him, Shi Pengpeng indeed found no evidence of him harming others.
After a moment of thought, she retracted her spell and said, “Alright, I’ll let you off this time. But from now on, you need to be cautious in your words and actions. It’s best if you register with the relevant authorities. Otherwise, if you fall into the hands of other cultivators, you might not be so lucky.”
“Of course, of course. Thank you for your mercy, Master,” Jin Jie said, relieved, wiping the fine sweat from his forehead.
“I’ll take my leave now. I have an event this afternoon and need to prepare…”
“Mm,” Shi Pengpeng glanced at the time, “I should head back too.”
Jin Jie hurriedly stepped forward to push open the fire door, “After you, Master.”
Shi Pengpeng found it amusing but shook her head and walked with him back to the long corridor outside.
Just as they were about to head toward the venue, they ran straight into Cao Fanzhen and Cao Yinru, who were coming from the opposite direction.
Both parties froze in their steps.
The sisters had finished their meal and, noticing that Shi Pengpeng hadn’t returned for a long time and hadn’t responded to their messages, had gone to the restroom to look for her.
When they didn’t find her there, they had started searching nearby and had inadvertently ended up here.
Cao Yinru was visibly startled.
She looked at Jin Jie, then at Shi Pengpeng, her eyes slowly widening in shock.
She nervously waved her arms, “Eek-Pengpeng-jie, you can’t be a sasaeng fan!”
“It’s not like that…” Shi Pengpeng broke into a cold sweat and gave Jin Jie a look, “You explain.”
Jin Jie:”…..”
How was he supposed to explain this?
However, he quickly recognized the little girl in front of him as the fan who had just lined up to take a photo with him.
His professional instincts kicked in, and he stepped forward, performing a standard gentlemanly bow, “Hello, sweetheart.”
The face of her 2D boyfriend suddenly appearing right in front of her, Cao Yinru’s ears instantly turned bright red.
She stammered, “H- Hello…”
“Now, I’m going to tell you a secret about me,” Jin Jie said with a deep, affectionate smile.
“Did you know? I’m actually a wild ginger from the deep mountains…”
Cao Yinru: “???”
The romantic pink atmosphere, like a balloon suddenly popped, vanished in an instant.
Cao Yinru’s face cooled down in a second, her lips twitching, “Teacher Ginger, are you okay?”
“Baby, listen to me…” Jin Jie was about to explain further when he suddenly twitched, letting out a soft “Ah,” and his body swayed before he fell to the ground with a thud.
Cao Yinru was startled and quickly went to help him up.
“Teacher, are you okay?”
“I’m not okay!” Jin Jie’s face turned pale as he suddenly turned to Shi Pengpeng, clasping his hands together in a pitiful manner.
“Master, can you help me? I suspect someone is trying to capture me!!”
Shi Pengpeng: “???”
Cao Yinru and Cao Fanzhen, who were standing nearby: “???”
The corridor wasn’t a suitable place for conversation, so Jin Jie led them to a quiet lounge, cleared out the staff, and began to explain his situation.
He said that starting a few months ago, he would suddenly feel dizzy from time to time, almost fainting on several occasions.
As a spirit creature, his physical constitution was far stronger than that of an ordinary human, so he knew this wasn’t normal.
After careful self- diagnosis, he realized he was suffering from a condition where his soul was being forcibly separated from his body.
Jin Jie was greatly shocked.
How could a proud ginger spirit like him easily have his soul separated?
After much thought, he suspected that someone had discovered his non-human identity and was trying to capture him.
Jin Jie couldn’t help but feel anxious.
His cultivation was shallow, and if he were truly captured, he might not be a match for his adversary.
If the other party simply wanted him to return to the mountains, that would be one thing, but he feared being imprisoned or outright killed.
Fortunately, ginger spirits have a method of escape.
Every time he experienced this soul-separation condition, he would break off a small piece of ginger from his body, transforming it into a decoy for the captor to take.
However, after doing this multiple times, he was starting to feel the strain.
“Master, look!” Jin Jie let out a mournful cry, extending his left hand in front of them and reverting it to its original form.
“This arm hasn’t fully healed in three months!”
The Cao sisters were caught off guard when they saw an arm transform into a thick piece of ginger in front of them.
Instantly: ???
“Wait, Teacher Jin, you…” Cao Yinru felt like she had been mentally scarred, her language system malfunctioning.
“No, I mean, Teacher Ginger…”
Shi Pengpeng, however, remained calm.
She glanced at the ginger arm and noticed several old fracture marks, evidence that Jin Jie had indeed been suffering for some time.
But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
Based on Jin Jie’s description, it did seem like someone was trying to capture him.
However, if the other party already knew he was a spirit creature, they could have confronted him directly.
Jin Jie, a celebrity cosplayer, had a transparent schedule and wasn’t hiding.
Why would the captor go through such a convoluted process?
Shi Pengpeng was puzzled and asked, “Do you know who this person is?”
“No,” Jin Jie shook his head, explaining that every time he used a decoy, the other party would back off for a while, so he had never actually confronted them.
But the captor never gave up, summoning his soul periodically.
Moreover, as time passed, the captor’s power seemed to grow stronger.
In the last two instances, Jin Jie was barely able to hold on.
As he spoke, his face turned pale again, and he let out a wail.
“Master, they’re coming again, ahhh, I can’t take it—”
Seeing him in such pain while wearing her boyfriend’s face, Cao Yinru couldn’t help but feel anxious.
“Pengpeng, can’t you help him?”
“Alright,” Shi Pengpeng thought for a moment and agreed.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Jin Jie was delighted and asked, “Master, what do you plan to do? Do we need to set up an altar? I’ll have someone buy the offerings right away…”
“No need,” Shi Pengpeng shook her head and glanced at him.
“You just need to leave your soul.”
Jin Jie: “????”
Wait, did he misunderstand, or did the master misunderstand?
He sought the master’s help precisely to avoid leaving his soul!
Fortunately, the master quickly provided an explanation.
“Once your soul leaves, the person will summon you, and I can follow you to locate them,” Shi Pengpeng explained.
She had recently used this method to resolve Lu Mange’s soul-separation issue, so she was quite familiar with the process.
“Oh, I see,” Jin Jie understood and breathed a sigh of relief, but he was still a bit uneasy.
He cautiously asked, “And after we find them?”
Cao Yinru puffed out her cheeks and blew on her fist with determination.
“Sister Pengpeng will reason with them!”
“I know.”
Jin Jie:”….”
Cao Fanzhen:”…..”
Seeing my sister make this gesture is still so out of place!