The Strange, Dilapidated Opera Building

“I urge my king to drink and listen to Yu's song… I dance gracefully to dispel my king's sorrow…”

The ghostly Beijing Opera lyrics echoed through the courtyard.

Wu Wang and Xiaoxiao squatted in the nearby bushes, looking at each other in bewilderment as an inexplicable sorrow welled up in their hearts.

Prepared for this, Xiaoxiao had already taken out a prop to eliminate the negative effect. Just as she was about to ask Wu Wang how he was holding up, she heard him speak first.

“Why don't you ask that ghost if she needs a backup dancer?” he whispered. “I think there was an Overlord Xiang Yu marionette back at the Puppet Show. I only know the ‘flower hand wave,' though. You should go.”

Xiaoxiao was speechless.

Alright, no need to ask. The bastard was fine.

How strange. She hadn't seen him use any props to counteract the Mental Contamination. What he said back in the Puppet Show garden must have been complete nonsense. This definitely wasn't his first time dealing with an attack like this. In fact, he seemed quite skilled at defending against it.

She rolled her eyes.

“Why don't you go ask? Don't want to?”

With a completely serious expression, Wu Wang retorted, “I can't. I have a family. I can't just go around striking up conversations with other women.”

“Then why are you wandering around with me at night?” Xiaoxiao ground her teeth, fighting the urge to shove him out into the open. “Am I not a woman? Am I not even human?!”

Ever since leaving the Puppet Show garden, they had followed the sound of opera singing. They quietly approached, only to sense that something was wrong the moment they entered the area.

The singing was real, but there was no one there.

The ethereal voice echoed from within a small, empty, and dilapidated opera building. Peeking through a window, they saw nothing inside. Only the voice was heard, but no person was seen.

Realizing the danger, Xiaoxiao decided they should retreat. But when she turned to tell Wu Wang, she found the bastard had already squatted down in the grass outside the door, his brow furrowed as he shielded himself.

With a dark expression, she ran over and squatted down beside him. And so they remained, in a standoff over who would go in first to investigate.

The situation was clear. The singer in the building was not human; it was most likely a ghost.

Usually, a ghost's presence meant there were clues to be found. But even high-level players were unwilling to barge in recklessly. No one could guarantee they wouldn't be killed by a ghost whose methods and strength were unknown.

Vigilance and caution were the keys to survival.

“You? A woman?” Wu Wang looked at her teasingly. “Little Miss Steel Plate, you probably still get presents on Children's Day, don't you? Does your kindergarten close for the holiday?”

His gaze traveled from her head down to her neck, then moved a bit lower before he shook his head with a disappointed expression.

Veins bulged on Xiaoxiao's forehead.

It wasn't like she wanted to have this kind of figure! If she hadn't been looking for a solution to this problem, she wouldn't have been matched into a Nightmare-level instance twice.

That damned fortune-teller! If I can't find a way to break this curse, I'm going to find him and make him regret it!

“What about you?” she shot back, her own gaze glancing down at a certain part of his body. “What family? You probably celebrate Children's Day where you're from too, right?”

But unexpectedly, the boy spoke with extreme gravity.

“I have an eighty-year-old mother sick in bed and a pair of eight-year-old children crying for food. I cannot die. So I'll have to trouble this heroic lady to scout the path ahead.”

“Are you kidding me?” Xiaoxiao retorted. “How old are you? An eighty-year-old mother and eight-year-old children?”

“Just turned eighteen,” Wu Wang said in all seriousness.

Xiaoxiao stared at him, baffled.

Seeing the look on her face that said she wanted to eat him alive, Wu Wang remained unfazed. With 【Undying】 on his side, he could have charged in first to investigate.

But the moment he was about to step into the Dilapidated Opera Building, 【Vision of Truth】 had revealed a flood of information.

【The soul of Chou (Clown Role) Li Hua has been shackled here for 20 years.】

【The soul of Sheng (Male Role) Cheng Haonan has been shackled here for 16 years.】

【The soul of Dan (Female Role) Xiao Li has been shackled here for 17 years.】

Countless similar messages warned him that the danger of this place might not be death, but being shackled and sealed. At least twenty souls were trapped inside.

This was why he had stopped. It was only the first night of the instance; there was plenty of time. There was no need to get bogged down in an area that clearly couldn't be cleared quickly.

But from the looks of it, Xiaoxiao was very curious about this place. So, Wu Wang was happy to tease her a little. In any case, he had already obtained the item he needed for tonight.

Compared to exploring the other gardens, he was now more interested in finding out what special props were associated with the identities of Xiaoxiao and the other players, like the fortune-telling book he now possessed.

“Shh… Someone's coming.”

Wu Wang, who had been joking around, suddenly turned serious. His gaze locked onto the end of the small path not far away.

Xiaoxiao, who had been about to say something else, immediately fell silent. She glanced at her wrist, then at Wu Wang's Joker-like makeup.

Her bracelet could detect targets approaching within ten meters. Although it was only a piece of 【Fine Quality】 equipment with no other attributes, its effect was still quite useful.

But the bracelet hadn't given her any warning. Instead, it was this guy, the lowest-leveled player in the entire group, who had reacted first.

Was he really just level ten?

Da da… da da…

Faint footsteps approached from the path. A dim light began to illuminate the garden, making it slightly brighter.

Wu Wang and Xiaoxiao pressed themselves even lower into the bushes to avoid being seen. Since the newcomer was carrying a lantern, it was unlikely to be another player. Even the most foolish player wouldn't carry a lantern while exploring at night. It was far too conspicuous.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a stooped, skinny figure slowly walked over.

The old servant?!

They never expected that the old servant, who seemed to have the most humble status in the opera troupe, would appear here. What was he doing?

Knock, knock, knock.

The skinny old man held his lantern and knocked lightly on the door of the Dilapidated Opera Building.

The opera singing from before came to an abrupt halt.

The old man took the opportunity to speak. “Young Master, you haven't left the building to eat for five days. Even if the young miss is watching from the heavens, she wouldn't want to see you like this…”

Bang!

Before he could finish, the main door of the opera building burst open. A violent, sinister wind howled out from inside.

The old man's frail body was thrown back several meters. He slammed into a wall and coughed up a mouthful of blood before the sinister wind finally subsided.

A furious voice roared from within the building.

“Get out! I told you, Xiao Lou isn't dead! She just wandered into the Ghost Gate Pass by mistake and can't find her way back.”

“Once I have gathered the five-flower body, I will be able to bring her back from the other side.”

“If I hear you speak another ill word of her, there will be another set of dried bones at the bottom of a well in this Opera God's Righteous Garden!”

Wu Wang and Xiaoxiao looked at each other, stunned. They could both read the astonishment in each other's eyes.

That voice… it was the troupe leader's!

Wait a minute. He hadn't left the building for five days?

Then who was the troupe leader they had seen with the Prince earlier?