Yin yang frog

The mind-soothing potion flowed down his throat, the feeling given by it surprisingly refreshing. It tasted like mint, leaving behind a slightly bitter and biting tang, yet the sensation was not unpleasant at all.

Yang Jingshen licked his lips as he remembered the final advice of the soul guardian. It had insisted that he consume this after returning to reality, instead of trying to recover by himself. Inevitably, his mind would be affected by the prolonged stay in the heart lake– all because of the weakened state of his soul.

So, this was the best solution for his chaotic soul energy… at least according to the soul guardian.

And Yang Jingshen had to admit that it might actually be right about this. After all, when he came back from his last visit to the heart lake, he could clearly remember the out-and-out lethargy and the overall tiredness he felt for days on end. Even his cousin had gotten concerned in the end.

But this time though, he couldn't afford to be wilful like that. He was in the midst of filming and even had to shoot some scenes tomorrow. So, he had to be focused and in top shape if he wanted things to go smoothly without a hitch. Hopefully, this might work.

Also, it wasn't like he can't get more of these potions if he was in need of them in the future. He already had another one in the storage, and there was also the guardian shop in his panel.

And Yang Jingshen had never been one to mistreat himself by trying to needlessly and meaninglessly scrimp and save. When he really wanted to enjoy life and treat himself to the best, there would be nothing and no one stopping him from getting what he wanted.

***

Location: East coast region of L peninsula, H Island rainforest, H province.

Date: 25/02/2032

It was another humid day in the H island monsoon rainforest, despite the cold climate prevalent in other parts of the empire. Various insects buzzed in the surroundings and mixed together with the myriads of bird calls, it made for a huge cacophony of sounds.

A leaf monkey(1) -a female one from the looks of it and carrying a baby clinging to its underbelly- sat on a high branch of a towering tree and stared curiously down at something below it. But once one follows its line of sight, it was easy to understand the reason for the absurd expression of curiosity and surprise on the primate's bland face.

It was a group of people; there may be hundreds, no even more than that– many of them moving around busily doing this and that, carrying stuff, talking and laughing, or just sitting and doing nothing. But none of these actions appeared as absurd in the eyes of the monkey as what was done by two humans in this group of people.

At one moment, these two would shout loudly or chatter away, and at the next moment, they would run around and jump in the air without any reason whatsoever or swing around some weird-looking short sticks in their hands. Ah, look! Now they are rolling in a pool of mud on the ground.

The leaf monkey watched in bewilderment as a third one joined the fray and they started scuffling all of a sudden. These humans– were they playing or fighting?

After a busy morning spent filming nonstop, Luo Cheng changed out of his dirty costumes and went inside his trailer for a small nap, under the urgings of his assistant. He still had more filming to do in the evening and at night, so it was best to rest while he could.

This time, the film he was participating in was an action thriller about a group of commando officers doing a secret mission to save civilians from a group of underground terrorists. The film was action-packed and the director and the investors have huge hopes about it becoming a blockbuster.

"Why wouldn't it?" Qin Mu muttered rather crossly. Their god Luo(2) was acting in it. Of course, it would be a blockbuster.

But this director was a slave driver and was very adept at taking advantage of their artist's hard-working attitude. It really was a case of working someone to death. Not to mention the awful tropical climate with all sorts of mosquitos and insects and other such worrisome creatures.

Qin Mu felt like all of his hair would fall out due to stress by simply trying to protect Luo Cheng from getting his skin destroyed by insect bites. He had even taken to running around with insect repellent sprays, continuing to slather this person every chance he got.

But, as for the person concerned– he himself didn't seem too bothered by this, not showing a single iota of interest in this problem. Seeing this behavior, Qin Mu felt speechless. Obviously, this guy eats using his face– shouldn't he take better care of it?

Fortunately, the filming would end by next week. Or he was afraid that either this top star from Star dreams would become a skeleton because of overwork or getting his blood sucked off by all forms of bloodsuckers in this darned forest. Either that or he himself would end up becoming one due to running around after this guy, Luo Cheng, and too much worrying.

The top star who was greatly pitied and hated by his own assistant was currently staring at a certain chat group on his mobile phone, his face as expressionless as ever. The mobile signal for this area was quite low and even with a signal booster, the best you could do was chat on social media.

Nothing strenuous like playing games or watching videos– but for the internet-obsessed crowd, this was more than enough.

Luo Cheng painted a picture of nobility with a hint of raw sexual magnetism, as he half reclined on the pitifully half-sized trailer bed that wasn't enough to fit his tall frame. If his fans saw him in this setting, they would have screamed and wailed about how hot and sexy he looked.

But, this picture of pure male appeal would only last until one takes a look at the chat group on his phone named 'Most magnificent and noblest young masters of the imperial capital.'

'...'

No matter which way one looked at it, this name– it screamed of an utterly incomparable chunni feel. The cringe it gave off was a thousand percent. I assure you of that.

Whoever saw this name, they would twice, no–thrice look at the dignified face of god Luo, hoping to reconcile him with this particular flashy and childish image. But, no matter which way one looked, this guy doesn't seem to be the type to have ever had the (mis)fortune of suffering from the second grader syndrome?

But, no– the history of this group would, without fail show that this person was indeed a member of it. And not some sneaky adult who secretly joined a chat group maintained by a group of middle schoolers with a bad case of hero complex.

'...'

At this moment though, the interface was not that lively with only one or two occasional messages popping out every hour or so. Luo Cheng finished looking at it and feeling bored after some time passed, decided to exit the page to take his much-needed nap. Looks like nothing of interest was happening back home.

But, it was just at this moment that a 'ping' noise suddenly sounded and one lone message appeared under the avatar of a person calling himself 'Yin Yang frog'. Even the profile picture was that of an abnormally hideous frog staring directly at the camera with its protruding eyes.

Really spooky! But what drew Luo Cheng's attention was not the absurd name 'Yin yang frog' that was neither here nor there, nor the ugly picture of the spooky frog itself.

No, it was the image that was posted by this person that made him freeze in shock on the spot and stare at the screen with a hard-to-describe expression on the usually inscrutable but handsome face.

#####

Glossary:

01) Leaf monkey - Also known as lutungs, these are a group of old-world monkeys, mostly found in the Southeast Asian region.

02) God Luo - In China, fans would usually address their idols as gods and goddesses. Also, if an artist is really popular and talented, not just their own fans, but other enthusiasts would also call them in this manner. Here, Luo Cheng is a famous and renowned young actor, so they would endearingly call him 'male god Luo'.

In short, it's just a respectful but endearing term used by fans to address famous idols. Probably because these artists portray a beautiful, perfect and unreachable image, just like how a god or goddess would do.