Death Follows Close Behind

Hiss...

Hot steam billowed from the top of the medicine cauldron as the flames beneath it dwindled.

The Troupe Leader, who had been sitting nearby, shot to his feet. He looked like he wanted to stick his head right into the cauldron to see what had happened to Li Ling.

From his perspective, it was a death sentence.

After drinking that strange liquid and being sealed in a cauldron with the fire still burning... forget the poison, shouldn't he have been incinerated by now?

But in the next second, the cauldron's lid was thrown violently open.

A dark, bruised arm emerged from within, followed by the sound of rough, heavy breathing.

Then, a humanoid creature covered in menacing, spiked armor slowly stood up.

Its face was ashen, just like the Prince's, making it look like a Jiangshi at first glance. Long fangs jutted from the corners of its mouth. Its eyes glowed with an unsettling red light.

"Is… is this Li Ling?"

The Troupe Leader found it hard to believe.

Wu Wang glanced at the words on his panel, 【Twisted Resentful Spirit · One】. He nodded and lied through his teeth.

"Of course it's Li Ling. Didn't you see him walk in yourself?"

It was obvious that the Li Ling who had entered the cauldron was already dead. This creature was now a Resentful Spirit, born from his 【Suffering】, 【The Twisted】, and 【Hope】.

Wu Wang had noticed this back during the 【Relic Scramble】.

The appearance of a 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 either resembled the Relic they consumed or mirrored the object of their faith in life.

These guards were so loyal that if the Prince ordered a rebellion, they would point their spears at The Supreme Ruler on the dragon throne without a moment's hesitation.

It was because of this steadfast faith in the Prince that the 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 so closely resembled the Prince's own Jiangshi-like form.

Seeing this, the Troupe Leader couldn't help but hurry over. He raised a hand and tapped "Li Ling's" exposed, bruised arm.

A dull thud echoed out, like striking a steel plate.

Marveling, he took a set of instruments from a cabinet, the same ones he used for dissecting poisonous insects. He aimed a sharp blade at the creature's forearm and stabbed down hard.

Clang!

To his astonishment, the small knife bent out of shape. Not a single mark was left on the creature's flesh.

This was clearly beyond the Troupe Leader's comprehension.

Forget whether the telepathic Human Refining Method was a success. Based on this physical enhancement alone, he was confident he could recommend Bai Sha to the Prince as a guest of honor.

"What about the telepathic connection? How is it achieved?" the Troupe Leader asked impatiently.

Wu Wang looked at Li Ling and pointed at the Troupe Leader.

"Remember, from now on, he is your master."

Of course, his words were just for show. In reality, Wu Wang was clutching the seed of the 【Tree of Sighs】 and issuing a mental command to the 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】.

At his command, Li Ling knelt on one knee before the Troupe Leader.

The Troupe Leader was surprised, a hint of hesitation in his mind.

Could it really be telepathic?

As a test, another thought crossed his mind.

Go get the medicinal ingredients from the cabinet in the sixth row, fourth column on my left, and place them in the medicine cauldron.

The 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 immediately stood up and walked directly to the location he had specified. It carried out his mental command meticulously.

This left the Troupe Leader astounded. He couldn't help but applaud.

"Bravo! Bravo!"

"Quick, come with me to see Brother Xiang. If he knew of such a secret art, I can't imagine how happy he'd be!"

With that, the Troupe Leader grabbed Wu Wang and rushed out of the Alchemy Pavilion.

It was already late, and they had missed the evening meal. But the Troupe Leader couldn't be bothered to eat. He was in a hurry to get to the Prince's residence.

On the way, however, they ran into an unexpected problem.

A skinny old man stumbled toward them. He ran up to the elated Troupe Leader and cried out.

"It's terrible, Troupe Leader! The Star Actors are gone!"

"Oh, heavens! You can't do this to our Yi Garden!"

Hearing the skinny old man's cries, the Troupe Leader reluctantly stopped. He frowned with impatience.

"Speak clearly. It's not like I'm the one who's gone. What on earth happened?"

"Troupe Leader, Lan Wan and Chi Xin… they're both dead!"

The skinny old man's eyes filled with tears as he spoke. He was clearly genuinely saddened by their deaths. It made one wonder why a simple handyman would have such deep affection for the Opera God's Righteous Garden.

At the news, the Troupe Leader's expression changed.

Just when Wu Wang thought the man was grieving the passing of the garden's famous actors, the Troupe Leader leaned close to his ear.

"Which parts of the body do these two correspond to? Tell me, quickly."

"The life-restoring secret method requires the freshness of the used bodies. I have to preserve the parts I need from their corpses as soon as possible."

He wasn't the least bit sad! He was only worried that their bodies would rot!

Wu Wang's expression darkened, but he still told the man which body parts corresponded to the five-element attributes of the blue-haired executioner and Power King.

Still, a trace of confusion arose deep in his heart.

The death of the blue-haired executioner made sense. Wu Wang had already suspected he died last night, and that the person moving with the group was some kind of puppet or ghost. Now, the truth of his death had simply been exposed.

But the other death felt wrong.

Power King… his death was far too sudden.

How long had it been since he separated from the other players? In just one or two short hours, another one had already met with disaster.

The crucial point was that no one had died during the performance with the Prince. Yet now, after the show, two were reported dead in succession. It was far too strange.

Wu Wang had already speculated that the blue-haired executioner's death was likely caused by another player. This made him suspect Power King had died the same way.

Could there be people from the Calamity Cult in this Instance?

"Where did they die?" the Troupe Leader asked the skinny old man.

The man replied timidly.

"At the entrance of the Nuo… Nuo Opera Garden."

"Hmph! Serves them right for daring to go to that kind of ghostly place!" the Troupe Leader cursed.

He then turned to Wu Wang.

"Fine, Bai Sha, you'll come with me to deal with these two corpses first. We'll see the Prince a bit later."

With that, the Troupe Leader started walking in the direction of the Nuo Opera Garden.

Wu Wang watched him go, a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

This Troupe Leader was a world away from the image he had seen in his memory at the Dilapidated Opera Building. Although the memory was brief, it was clear that the Yu Ji of the past had been an opera fanatic, full of hope for the future of the Opera God's Righteous Garden. He wouldn't have practiced so diligently even when alone if he wasn't.

But the Troupe Leader of today was different. He was unmoved by the deaths of the Yi Garden's actors and even called the Nuo Opera Garden a "ghostly place."

Did what happened that night really change everything?

Or could it be... that the Troupe Leader before him... was not the original Yu Ji?