Chapter 031: A Call from the General

Lotus Television Station, live studio, “Perfect Myth” program, Episode Fifty-Four of “Journey to the West,” broadcasting live.

Outside the studio, the control room was rather crowded, with more than a dozen people standing inside. Among them were Le Xiaotian’s wife, Sun Yuzhen, and six stunning beauties from Nine Phoenixes, each eager for a closer relationship with him. Thanks to Le Xiaotian’s recent successful performances at Nine Phoenixes, they had reason to be present.

There was also the excited Director Tang, Li Hongmei, Zhao Dezhu, the man with the mustache, and others, along with the influential host Huang Qiang, who harbored a bias against Le Xiaotian. Not only that, but Le Xiaotian’s three beautiful housemaids—Xiangxiang, Xiaomei, and Qiuyan—were also there.

Inside the studio, Le Xiaotian opened the public channel. “Hello, friends! After more than a month on air, both the schedule and duration of ‘Journey to the West’ have expanded. Since I’ve been working so hard, it's only fair that I set a challenge for you…”

As he finished his opening remarks, the public channel erupted into chaos.

“Wow, Brother Xiaotian, I love you!”

“Master Xiaotian, come to my house tonight!”

“Great Ziyang, please let me follow you!”

“Please, Great Ziyang, hold a grand pop concert. I’ll kneel and listen to your divine music from start to finish!”

“Great Ziyang, please perform your divine tune live!”

Cries of excitement filled the air, some listeners so moved they began to sob on the spot—overwhelmed with joy.

With a faint smile, Le Xiaotian casually selected a lucky listener from the floating screen before him. “Listener ending in 123, please sing a few lines for us.”

Immediately, listener 123, overwhelmed by excitement, burst into song, their voice cracking, “Monkey brother, Monkey brother, you’re incredible—”

Swiping the screen again, Le Xiaotian chuckled, “Not bad at all! Next, let’s hear from listener 235.”

Listener 235 sang, “You carry the load, I lead the horse, welcoming the sunrise, bidding farewell to the evening glow.”

After picking several more listeners to sing various “Journey to the West” tunes, Le Xiaotian stood and began to play the legendary piece. “Today, we’re talking about the Kingdom of Women. How will our four travelers overcome this trial? Let’s listen to the music first.”

At the sound of “Cloud Palace Quick Beat,” the divine tune played before every episode, all the listeners fell silent in anticipation. To encapsulate boundless meaning in a single piece, it had to be pure instrumental—no lyrics, just music.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, Ve’er buzz-buzz, dong-dong-dong—”

As the divine music started, the listeners lost themselves once more, wild with excitement.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!”

“Take a blow from my staff!”

“Here comes the Great Sage!”

Listening to the fervor on air, Director Tang outside clenched his hands—Le Xiaotian was simply too powerful.

The first night’s listenership for “Journey to the West” was seventeen percent. After a month, the program had expanded from one hour to three, from one chapter per episode to two, and legendary tunes kept coming. Last night’s “Perfect Myth” even set a new record in Fama: fifty-eight percent listenership.

Compared to Lan Cang’s thirty percent on “Midnight Myth,” it was an overwhelming victory.

At that moment, Nine Phoenixes’ beautiful sound engineer pleaded, “Sister Zhen, please let me spend just one night with Brother Xiaotian.”

The other five beauties seized the opportunity as well. “Sister Zhen, please help us just this once.”

Sun Yuzhen scolded them with a smile, “How could I allow that? Letting you sneak a little affection now and then is already generous enough.”

Unexpectedly, Huang Qiang interjected sarcastically, “Girls these days, no self-respect at all.”

Before the six beauties could respond, Xiangxiang retorted with disdain, “That’s called charisma, something you clearly don’t understand.”

A female sound engineer giggled, “To spend just one night with Brother Xiaotian would be the greatest happiness. I’d gladly do it—what’s wrong with that? Jealous, are you? You’d better go home and amuse yourself.”

The women all laughed.

Director Tang, Li Hongmei, the mustached man, and Zhao Dezhu all glared at Huang Qiang in unison. What on earth are you doing?

Le Xiaotian’s talent was beyond doubt, but his success was owed to relentless effort as well. He was a true music enthusiast, immersed in it twenty hours a day, even listening while asleep.

Every day he produced new hits; at live shows, the audience wept with emotion, and listeners fainted from excitement in the studio—all won through painstaking practice and natural talent.

You could never compare to him. The two of you lived in different worlds. Why persist in being so tactless?

Sensing the atmosphere turning tense, Sun Yuzhen spoke up, “Let’s listen to the music—it’s about to start.”

For a time, only Huang Qiang remained in the control room, gnashing his teeth.

As the divine music faded, Le Xiaotian began his impassioned narration. “Episode Fifty-Four: ‘The Truth of Dharma Arrives from the West, Meeting the Kingdom of Women; The Mind-Ape Sets a Plan to Escape the Land of Pleasure.’ The story continues as the master and disciples bid farewell to the villagers and head west, traveling not more than thirty or forty miles…”

With Le Xiaotian’s storytelling, listeners were utterly entranced, envisioning the scenes as if journeying themselves to the Kingdom of Women.

But just over half an hour into the broadcast, as Le Xiaotian began the modern retelling, a voice came through his earpiece: “I hear you want to bring down Lan Cang. Interested in cooperating?”

Le Xiaotian was taken aback.

He wore the earpiece as a precaution, but this sudden voice was definitely suspicious. If it had been a listener, it should have come through the public channel. Could it be Lan Cang again? No, something was off.

From the voice he gathered: a man around forty, in good shape, strong and steady, with the air of someone in power—his composure betraying confidence.

And his words were clear: he wanted to help. Was he an enemy of Lan Cang?

Glancing toward the control room, Le Xiaotian made a gesture to amplify the sound, then smiled at the audience. “Friends, I’ll grab a glass of water. Here’s a musical interlude. We’ll continue shortly.”

He lit a cigarette, took a draw, then sipped a glass of chilled red wine.

Exhaling, he swiveled in his leather chair and gazed through the bulletproof glass at the Beihai nightscape.

The voice remained, breathing evenly and calmly throughout. If this wasn’t a madman, then he was a formidable character—perhaps both.

Having analyzed the situation, Le Xiaotian finally smiled. “I’ve never believed in something for nothing—it’s always a trap. Cooperation can be discussed, but I need to know your reasons.”

The voice replied, “I want to bring down the powerful figures backing Lan Cang in the capital. You have fame, and you’ve chosen Lan Cang as your rival. That’s why I’ve come to you.”

Le Xiaotian flicked his ash, grinning. “To show your sincerity, what’s your name?”

“Ying Dengbo.”

Le Xiaotian narrowed his eyes, realizing his assumptions had been off. He’d expected this mysterious caller to withhold his name. Instead, the man announced it outright. There was no way someone of this level wouldn’t see through such a simple trick.

In other words, Ying Dengbo wasn’t just a madman, but a formidable one—perhaps both at once.

Meanwhile, the Lotus staff, who had been tracing the call since Le Xiaotian’s signal, were completely baffled—this was an untraceable number.

Now, two of the hosts even dropped to their knees. My god, General Ying Dengbo himself called in?!

Director Tang wasn’t faring much better, breathing as if suffering a heart attack.

General Ying was on the line, inviting Le Xiaotian to take on Lan Cang together?!