Despite the endless curses wishing for his death, Chen Chen's face remained numb.
He just kept murmuring under his breath, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. Please, don't curse my family."
[Should've thought of that sooner!]
[The ghosts of those victims will definitely come for you at midnight!]
[It's karma! You reap what you sow, and you'll definitely get what's coming to you. Don't you worry. It's not that payback isn't coming, it's just not time yet!]
[Go die! Just die! Your whole family should die!]
After a long moment, Chen Chen finally lifted his head, his eyes already red.
"It wasn't me! I didn't kill them!"
"I really didn't do it!"
[Get the hell out of here! Don't pollute the host's stream!]
[Trash like this, this vermin, should just die already.]
[When are you gonna die? I'll dig your grave for you!]
"I really didn't do it on purpose! I've been framed! I just saw that this host's readings are very accurate, and I want her to help me clear my name!"
The viewers ignored his explanation and continued their verbal assault, cursing him for refusing to admit what he'd done, calling him insidious, vicious, cowardly, and useless.
But Su Nian simply said one calm sentence, "I believe you. I believe you've been wrongly accused."
Chen Chen froze. He was an orphan, and ever since the incident, he had been despised and rejected everywhere he went.
Only now had someone—Su Nian—actually said she was willing to believe him.
"Your face shows you are a kind person. Though you are shy, you have always been an upright man who has done no evil. But your face is shrouded in black qi, destining you to a life full of tribulations."
"And this all stems from that recent incident. Can you tell me the whole story from the beginning?"
Chen Chen was so moved he was on the verge of tears. He quickly said, "I'll tell you right now!"
[What the hell? He didn't kill them?]
[I really want to believe Heavenly Venerable Bailian, but this is just too fantastical!]
[Whatever. Until there's an official announcement, I'm siding with Master Bailian!]
[I'm a little confused. Let's keep listening.]
"Three days ago, I was taking a bus back to my old hometown in the countryside. An older woman demanded I give her my seat, but I was feeling really unwell, so I refused."
"Unexpectedly, she filmed me refusing her and uploaded the video to the internet. I was furious that she had filmed me without my permission, so I started arguing with her. But then she just grabbed my backpack and threw it out of the bus. I had no choice but to get off and pick it up."
"But I never imagined that after I got off, the bus would plunge off a cliff. I became the sole survivor. But because that woman's video got out, everyone thinks I'm the one who killed them all."
[Tch. After all that, it's still your fault!]
[How sick could you have been? What's the big deal about giving up your seat for an elderly person?!]
[I'm speechless!]
[It's true you didn't directly kill them, but you're indirectly responsible.]
[Exactly! He didn't physically do anything, but if he hadn't refused to give up his seat and then delayed the bus by getting off, it wouldn't have been rushing and wouldn't have fallen off the cliff!]
[And this host says he's innocent? I bet she was paid to whitewash him!]
Even though Su Nian said he was innocent, absolutely no one believed it. Some even suspected she had been paid off.
Su Nian let out a cold laugh, her retort dripping with classic sass. "You're really something, running your mouth off with nothing to back it up."
"Excuse me, were you there at the scene? Is that why you know everything so clearly and speak with such confidence? Or perhaps you saw me when I supposedly took the money?"
[As expected of the Master, even her insults are so brilliant!]
[The Master is as sharp-tongued as ever.]
[Quietly taking notes for my little book of comebacks.]
[If you're all taking notes, then I am too.]
But Chen Chen just covered his face and started to cry.
"But no one believes me! No one believes me! I'm really not lying, but nobody believes me!"
Su Nian remained silent. She watched as the black qi on his forehead grew thicker, even beginning to form the shape of a tall hat.
'A black hat for a man about to die…'
"Someone is definitely lying, but it's not you."
"Then who is it?"
Chen Chen looked up, his face filled with hope.
[She can't be talking about everyone on the bus, can she? So many people were blaming him. It's obvious he's the one with the problem.]
But Su Nian just smiled faintly. "That's right. Besides him, everyone was lying!"
[Holy crap, are you insane?]
[You good? You good? Maybe you should take a chill pill or something!]
[All those old men and women framed one young guy? I don't believe it!]
Su Nian said, "Perhaps you should all learn a little something about that village?"
"Or maybe, who among you actually knows Chen Chen? You don't know anything. You're just making wild guesses based on a single clip you saw."
[That was the last video the victims made before they died! We're not just guessing wildly!]
Even after Su Nian said this, the live chat was still filled with comments condemning Chen Chen.
Some were also endlessly insulting Su Nian.
But Su Nian noticed that the faint black hat above Chen Chen's head was beginning to solidify.
Someone even tagged the people who had been very active online recently—the relatives of the deceased.
They had been clamoring for compensation.
A few of them were even dreaming of becoming major streamers and internet celebrities with millions of followers.
Ever since these people entered Su Nian's stream, the insults had been flying nonstop, but Su Nian remained completely unfazed.
"I take responsibility for every word I say. And by the way, cursing me will bring you bad karma!"
Then, Su Nian sent a live video call invitation to a certain girl.
This girl didn't have the most followers, nor was she the most active, but Su Nian could sense that she was the one filled with the most grief and sorrow.
At first, the girl was unwilling to accept the call, until Su Nian said one thing.
"If you want to know the truth, then join my video call."
Su Nian sent the video invitation a second time.
The girl accepted.
A girl with red, swollen eyes and an extremely pale face appeared on screen.
Her voice was hoarse from crying, and she spoke to Su Nian with a hint of anger. "What is the meaning of this! My grandmother is dead! Why are you still using her for clout?!"
Her grandmother had died in the accident, and she had just wanted to lick her wounds in private.
But she never expected her social media accounts to be dug up, her painful wounds once again exposed for all to see.
Su Nian said, "Don't be sad. I will intervene and give you the truth!"
[Damn, this host is nuts!]
[Pulling this kind of cringey, dramatic act at a time like this? Aren't you embarrassed?]
[What's with the act!]
[The truth?]
[The bus is destroyed, the dashcam is gone, and the only survivor is Chen Chen. How are you going to uncover the truth?!]
[Yeah, really. It's not like you can have the souls of the dead put on a show for us.]
After that comment appeared, the stream went silent for a few seconds. Then, Su Nian smiled.
"That's right. A real performance by the souls themselves to reveal the truth, presented by the very people involved."