Chapter 176 - Possessed by an Evil Spirit

Richard's panic swelled infinitely. He knew the immense power of hypnosis.

One of his friends was a master of this hypnotic art.

Coming to China this time, Richard had intended to catch up with that friend.

Originally, the other party was supposed to go to Country B to find him.

But yesterday, the flight bound for Country B had nearly crashed.

So Richard decided to visit his two aunts first and then go see him.

"Stop looking for him. He is dead." Mu Ran leaned in, her voice whispering close to the ear of the man who stood frozen in terror, her soft words laced with a fierce ruthlessness.

"What?" Richard forced his mouth open, speaking in a slurred, indistinct voice.

A trace of mockery appeared on Mu Ran's previously expressionless face. She had overheard the man's inner thoughts; it turned out this Richard was a good friend of Gu Yan.

Birds of a feather flock together.

Mu Ran curved her lips, her eyes growing even darker. "I said, he has already committed suicide."

"Suicide?" Richard found it hard to believe. As his body returned to normal, his hands began to tremble involuntarily, and the fear in his heart gradually spread.

His palms were slick with sweat, and he felt a surge of nervousness. Did Mu Ran just say Gu Yan was dead?

Then who was the person who called him five minutes before the match just now?

Yet, the woman's expression and tone did not look like she was joking at all.

"Mu Ran..."

Richard turned his head to look straight at Mu Ran, only to find that the woman had already turned around and walked toward Gu Beicheng.

He looked back, subconsciously glancing outside the ski resort.

!!

Suddenly, Richard felt as if a thousand-pound boulder were pressing down on his chest, making every breath an arduous struggle.

Who was that person?

That man outside the ski resort, the man who had waved at him—why did he look so much like Gu Yan?

Yet that person did not seem to be Gu Yan; his facial features were completely different.

Recalling what Mu Ran had just said, and connecting it with that phone call, Richard swallowed hard, his heart racing as he forced himself to calm down.

"Richard, didn't you want to compete with me?"

A deep voice reached Richard's ears.

Richard froze for a moment, then followed the voice with his gaze.

It was Gu Beicheng—no, it was Nanyang.

"The scores I gave you were completely free of any personal bias; they were entirely because your skill level is too poor."

Gu Beicheng's eyes locked onto Prince Richard's pale face, which still bore a red handprint, as his cold, indifferent gaze swept over the man quickly.

Gu Beicheng felt a flicker of doubt. This Prince of Country B was afraid.

But he wasn't afraid of him.

What was Richard afraid of?

Richard raised a hand to his mouth and gave a dry cough, his gaze somewhat vacant, completely devoid of the swagger and confidence he had shown just moments before.

"What's wrong with you?"

Gu Beicheng's voice was hoarse yet possessed a piercing quality that cut right through the other man's panic-stricken heart.

Richard shook his head. "Nothing."

He knew that his friend Gu Yan was mysterious and bizarre. In the course of getting along with him, his strongest feeling had always been a deep sense of unease.

The only reason he had befriended him in the first place was because Gu Yan possessed the ability to hypnotize. He could hypnotize his father.

He could control his own father into passing the throne down to him.

"Prince Richard, Nanyang, shall we let our teacher proceed with the competition?"

Richard shook his head weakly at the host, his gaze scattered and his voice devoid of strength. "No need to compete anymore. I can't beat Nanyang. He's right; my skiing technique is far too impetuous. I admit defeat."

Before anyone could react, Richard walked to the very top of the ski slope and spread his arms wide.

He jumped.

The man's entire body slammed onto the ski slope and began to tumble.

He rolled all the way from the summit down to the very bottom, landing right beside the spot where Feng Chun was lying.

Everyone present and all the spectators in the audience were stunned.

What kind of behavior was this from the Prince of Country B!

It was as if he had been possessed by an evil spirit.

"Ranyan, is he—?"

Gu Beicheng looked somewhat startled. Why had Richard rolled down the ski slope? Could it be because of Mu Ran...?

"It wasn't me."

Mu Ran wore a cold and pretty expression, her eyes narrowing slightly. As she spoke in a low voice to Gu Beicheng, her sharp gaze swept across the entire venue.

Had Gu Yan come?

Yet she did not see Gu Yan's figure anywhere on the scene.

Gu Beicheng put an arm around Mu Ran, the two of them watching together as Prince Richard was hauled away by an ambulance.

"He's been hypnotized. Gu Yan is right here in the ski resort."

"Mm." Gu Beicheng lowered his head, his large hand firmly gripping the woman's shoulder, and gave a soft affirmative response.

He had known all along that Gu Yan had arrived.

But that man was hiding.

Gu Yan was waiting for the right opportunity.

"Don't worry, Ranyan."

The man took the woman's small hand and led her down from the live broadcast platform at the top of the ski slope.

Live stream comments—

[Oh my god!]

[So terrifying.]

[Is this even allowed to be broadcasted?]

[Why did he roll down like that?]

[He rolled down all by himself.]

[Could he be possessed?]

The skiing competition continued in full swing.

Top athletes from various countries competed against one another.

Ultimately, eight contestants advanced to the semifinals.

Due to the tight schedule and large number of participants, everyone was in a rush.

Mu Ran was drawn to go first.

The woman slid down, jumped, spun, grabbed her board, and landed smoothly before continuing her descent.

Her routine was as classic, high-difficulty, and standard as ever.

The other athletes standing at the top of the ski slope clicked their tongues in wonder.

Before the competition had even ended for them, they already felt like they had lost.

"What is the point of us even competing in this?"

"Yeah, we're destined not to win the championship."

"I never imagined that even after being retired for so many years, Mumu could still be this brilliant."

"They call this a world-class competition, but in reality, it's just an event specially hosted by President Gu for Mu Ran."

"Totally agree."

A few top-tier foreign skiers chatted among themselves on the side.

...

The semifinals concluded.

Four contestants successfully advanced.

Mu Ran, Shao Ping, and two other American athletes.

"Mu Ran, I think your current strength is formidable. You really should consider returning to the national team."

"Mitchell is right, Mu Ran. You are our idol, and we still want to see you appear in world skiing competitions again."

The four of them stood in front of the sponge barrier at the very bottom of the ski slope.

The two American athletes sincerely expressed their thoughts to her. "Mu Ran, if China's national team doesn't want you, our American national team's doors are open to you at any time."

Mu Ran smiled faintly and said nothing. She lazily glanced at Feng Chun, who was sitting slumped motionlessly on the ground in a daze.

The woman's voice was cold and detached. "I'm not considering returning to skiing. Instead, I hope you talented athletes will break my world records as soon as possible."

The two American athletes and Shao Ping scratched the backs of their heads in unison. "Forget it, we're still miles away from your level."

Mumu (Mu Ran), the former skiing star, was not only a naturally gifted athlete in the skiing world, but she was also exceptionally hardworking.

All in all, among the prominent figures in the skiing world, Mu Ran sat firmly at the very top.

"Mu Ran, you have no shame at all! You're still sitting there saying you're not considering skiing—look at who wants you! You're just an entertainer, an unruly piece of trash."

Feng Chun lifted her vicious eyes, craning her neck as she glared at Mu Ran.

"Mu Ran, you have no conscience! The national team nurtured you for so long, yet you refused to win glory for your country! Instead, you went off to the entertainment industry to become a stinking, infamous little celebrity."

Feng Chun turned sideways, steadying herself with a hand against the foam barrier, and slowly stood up. With a ferocious expression on her face, she stepped forward, marching right up to Mu Ran.

"Coach Feng, have you lost your mind again?"

Shao Ping stepped in front of Mu Ran. If it weren't for the fact that this old woman was the head coach of the national team, he would have punched her long ago.

This Feng Chun was hopelessly bureaucratic.

In the national team, whoever she looked upon favorably or liked would have a good life.

If anyone had bad luck and fell out of her favor, they would only face being squeezed out and driven away from the national team.

His former master, Mumu, had been a victim of the latter.

"Step aside, Shao Ping!" If Shao Ping hadn't been one of the few athletes in the national team who consistently delivered results, Feng Chun would have gotten rid of him long ago given his unruly attitude.

Shao Ping spread his arms, a cold sneer curving the corner of his mouth as his eyes narrowed, shooting daggers of icy light.

Though the boy wasn't old, having spent a long time following Mu Ran, he had picked up a good deal of the woman's ruthless and chilling essence.

"Coach Feng, with your verbal insults and moral kidnapping, doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"

Feng Chun suddenly felt a chill travel up her spine and hit the top of her head.

That chill originated from Shao Ping and the silent Mu Ran standing behind him.

"Hurt? Why should my conscience hurt?"

The old woman's words came out stuttering and halting, clearly lacking in confidence. Indeed, she often spoke without thinking.

The reason Mu Ran stopped competing for the country was because of her.

She had instigated the other athletes back then to squeeze out and frame Mu Ran, forcing her to leave.

Yet Feng Chun believed she had done nothing wrong.

Mu Ran's unruly and untamable personality meant she never belonged in the national team in the first place.

Without the national team, her status as a world champion meant nothing.

Thinking this, Feng Chun's facial expression grew increasingly sinister, yet tinged with malice. "Mu Ran, after all these years, you still owe Li Xue an explanation."

"An explanation?" Mu Ran gently pushed Shao Ping aside, took a step forward, and looked down from on high at the short-sighted, petty Feng Chun.