An Rugu stared at these strange comments and fell into deep silence.

If she hadn’t been there, she would almost have believed what the audience was saying.

“It’s not an ascension tribulation.”

An Rugu lowered her eyes slightly, opened her phone, and as soon as she opened the local hot list, she saw many entries related to golden lightning.

Many people were discussing the golden lightning last night, but because it appeared so briefly, few people managed to capture it on camera. Cloud Rise was also extremely remote, and only a few blurry photos of the phenomenon were available online.

But these few photos alone have already excited everyone.

[May the god of thunder protect me; hang a Kobe poster, not Conan, it’s hard to fail.]

[May the god of thunder bless me with a smooth and successful year, a promotion, a raise, and the chance to marry a rich and handsome man and reach the pinnacle of life.]

[May the god of thunder bless all lovers in the world, so that they may ultimately be revealed as siblings.]

[…]

These photos have become a place where netizens gathered to make their wishes.

Many people didn’t share koi fish pictures anymore; instead, they shared golden lightning pictures, along with their most recent wish for the god of thunder’s blessing.

After all, the photo of the god of thunder’s miracle was much more spectacular than that of a fat koi carp that just swam around in the water.

Some people believed that the god of thunder has descended upon Cloud Rise Temple, and they now wanted to go to Cloud Rise Temple to offer incense.

Little did they know that it was merely a powerful and yang-infused thunderbolt used to ward off evil, and it would have no effect on their prayers.

… …

Before long, three destined people were selected. An Rugu put down her phone and contacted the first person selected, <Unemployed College Graduate>.

After communicating, she dialed the number, and a young man in his twenties appeared on the screen.

He was wearing a hat and a thick cotton-padded coat, with his hands tucked into his sleeves; his skin was rough and dark.

His eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept well, and his mental state seemed off.

The background behind him was filled with trees, laden with plump, round jujubes that looked particularly delightful.

<Unemployed College Graduate> couldn’t help but yawn, then smiled at the screen, revealing a set of white teeth, looking very cheerful.

“Hi host, I’m Unemployed College Graduate. I watch your streams often and I’m a long-time fan. I had a feeling I’d win a prize today. And lo and behold, I did!”

As he spoke, he felt a mix of emotions, a mixture of joy and worry. After all, winning a prize in this livestream was generally not a good thing.

As expected, the viewers didn’t care that he was a long-time audience member and enthusiastically performed their usual routine.

[Welcome to the first person who is destined to meet the host!]

[Welcome to the first person who is destined to meet us too!]

The chat was flooded with comments welcoming newcomers, creating a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere. Occasionally, new viewers would accidentally wander into the live stream, assuming the viewers were of high quality and very hospitable.

<Unemployed College Graduate>: “…”

An Rugu looked at the destined person on the screen and said, “If you want your fortune told, pay the divination fee, a high-powered gun salute.”

“Okay.” <Unemployed College Graduate> snapped out of his thoughts and sent the gift as divination fee.

He closed the gift-giving interface, looking somewhat worried, “Host, you must know that ghosts exist, right? I watched your livestream from the Underworld that time.”

Many people said it was all just special effects, but he, like some others, thought it was real.

An Rugu asked in return, “What’s wrong?”

<Unemployed College Graduate> swallowed hard, visibly shaken, “I must have seen a ghost.”

An Rugu’s eyes sharpened, and upon closer inspection, she saw that there were indeed wisps of ghostly aura surrounding him, indicating that he must have recently been in contact with ghosts.

<Unemployed College Graduate> couldn’t help but glance behind him twice. Seeing that no one was around, he relaxed a little and said into his phone, “Jobs are hard to find these days. When you’re young, you don’t know the value of taking the civil service exam. Alas, the ultimate goal of the universe is actually to take the civil service exam.

“So I went home and studied for the exam.

“My grandfather is old and my parents took him to the city to live out his retirement, leaving this jujube orchard behind. He especially misses the jujubes and hopes that, as in previous years, he will pick them all as soon as they ripen and give them to relatives and friends.

“He said someone was stealing jujubes, and he wouldn’t feel at ease if he didn’t keep an eye on them.

“I have a good relationship with my grandfather and wanted to help him fulfill his wish, so I returned to the countryside to take care of the jujubes while preparing for the exam. The air in the countryside is fresh and the area is secluded from the world. After a while, I felt particularly calmer and my exam preparation efficiency improved even more.”

As if recalling something, a chill crept up his feet. He licked his dry lips and said, “The other day, I encountered a ghost!”

He walked to the gate of the orchard hut, pointed to the wooden door and said, “The night before last, I was just about to go to sleep when suddenly someone started banging on my door.

“The people here are very kind and honest. I thought it was an elderly person from the village coming to see me and bring me some fruits and vegetables. But when I opened the door, there was no one there. I thought it was just the wind making me hallucinate and didn’t take it seriously.

“However, the next day, when I went to bed, I heard someone knocking on the door again. I opened the door and saw that no one was there. I thought it was the village kids playing a prank on me, but after looking around, I didn’t see any footprints.

“Later I asked the old people in the village if anyone had gone to the orchard to look for me, and they all said no.

The viewers in the live stream were terrified.

[Damn! That scared the hell out of me. My cabinet moved, I’m not looking anymore.]

[Holy crap, this is like a ghost knocking on the door! Just imagining it, if I encountered something like this, I’d be terrified.]

[Just as there are good and evil humans, ghosts also have good and evil. Ghosts only knock on the doors of those with whom it has a karmic connection, and doesn’t necessarily come in to harm anyone. It reminds me of someone I knew who had a karmic connection with one. His house had problems with its feng shui, and the ghost was knocking to warn him. Perhaps this is a good ghost.]

[Not necessarily. I’ve heard that many homes have door gods for protection, so ghosts might not be able to get in at all. It’s not that they don’t want to harm people, but that they can’t.]

I Livestream Divination to the World translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

T/N: Lei Shen is the god of thunder in ancient Chinese mythology. He appears in the Classics of Mountains and Seas (from around 200 BCE) as a dragon with the head of a man. When he thumps his belly, loud thunder roar out. 

Over the years, Lei Shen has also been depicted as a strong man or even a monkey with a mallet and drums around him 

=============

The Kobe thing really does mean Kobe Bryant, the NBA star 😅

‘Hanging up Conan’ (as in Detective Conan, the anime/manga) sounds like ‘difficult to fail a course’ so students would hang up pictures of Conan on their walls during exam week. It’s mostly for self-encouragement and self-deprecating humor. 

Because the internet is weird and wonderful, it has somehow evolved to ‘Hang a Kobe, not Conan’ to mean ‘failing a course is even more difficult’.  

Kobe is very popular in China and I guess many students already have his poster up, so no need for Conan?

This apparently is the original meme:

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi and get access to advance chapters as reward. Thank you for your support! ☺️

Chapter 80.2 — This Family of Four is Easily Duped!
Chapter 80.3 — This Family of Four is Easily Duped!
Chapter 80.4 — This Family of Four is Easily Duped!
Chapter 80.5 — This Family of Four is Easily Duped!
Chapter 81.1 — Girl Ghost Anxious About Her Looks
Chapter 81.2 — Girl Ghost Anxious About Her Looks
Chapter 81.3 — Girl Ghost Anxious About Her Looks
Chapter 81.4 — Girl Ghost Anxious About Her Looks
Chapter 81.5 — Girl Ghost Anxious About Her Looks
Chapter 82.1 — Grand Gathering at Celestial Masters Mansion
Chapter 82.2 — Grand Gathering at Celestial Masters Mansion
Chapter 82.3 — Grand Gathering at Celestial Masters Mansion
Chapter 82.4 — Grand Gathering at Celestial Masters Mansion
Chapter 82.5 — Grand Gathering at Celestial Masters Mansion