Taboos of the Stage

Nuo Opera Garden.

This place had left a deep impression on Wu Wang.

After all, he had approached its very entrance just last night. He and Xiaoxiao had been exploring the Puppet Garden when she was possessed, forcing Wu Wang to scramble for the Book of Calculation.

Even then, just standing at the gate, he could feel a malice so intense it was almost tangible.

It was a pure, ultimate evil.

It didn't just exude oppression; it also manifested a strange phenomenon. A Ghost Wall.

Whenever he tried to push through the pressure and step inside, he would inexplicably find himself having just stepped out of the Nuo Opera Garden.

The entrance was the exit.

It seemed impossible to take a normal step inside.

Last night, he and Xiaoxiao had ultimately decided not to press their luck and explore it.

When Wu Wang's group arrived at the entrance, they saw the other players already gathered there, discussing something amongst themselves.

Strangely, however, there was only one burly corpse lying on the ground.

The Troupe Leader walked forward and chided the crowd.

"What's all this noise about!"

He scanned their faces with disdain.

"You're all Star Actors, yet you're gawking like you've never seen a dead body before."

His gaze sharpened.

"Someone, tell me what happened here."

At the Troupe Leader's question, the crowd glanced at Wu Wang, confused. They had no idea how this kid had ended up with the Troupe Leader again.

Their gazes then shifted to the 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 Li Ling standing behind him. Its Jiangshi-like appearance was certainly hard to miss.

Finally, Zi Jin stepped forward to speak.

"Troupe Leader, after we removed our makeup backstage, we all went our separate ways. I returned to my room to tidy up my cosmetics. I can't speak for the others."

"About half an hour after we separated, we gathered for the evening meal. That's when we discovered that Lan Wan and Chi Xin hadn't come."

"The two of them never showed up, even after we finished eating."

"We were worried, so we came out to look for them."

"In the end, we found both of their bodies here, at the entrance of the Nuo Opera Garden."

Hearing Zi Jin's words, the Troupe Leader's expression didn't change.

He simply walked forward, squatted down, and examined Power King's body. Then, his brow furrowed.

"Where is Lan Wan's body?" he asked. "Did it walk into the Nuo Opera Garden on its own?"

At these words, Wu Wang raised an eyebrow.

Is he trying to act out a horror film with me? A corpse walked away on its own? And he's asking the others if they saw it? Isn't this a bit much?

Zi Jin, however, exclaimed in astonishment.

"How did you know!"

Wu Wang was speechless.

Bro, are you even listening to what you're saying?

In fact, the Troupe Leader was telling the truth.

At first, they had indeed found the bodies of both the blue-haired executioner and Power King lying at the entrance to the garden. But while the skinny old man was off finding the Troupe Leader, something terrifying happened.

The blue-haired executioner's corpse on the ground had suddenly climbed up.

Everyone had thought he had some kind of escape technique and had only been faking his death. Qiao Biluo had even been about to mock the man for how convincing his performance was.

But after the man stood up, he didn't say a word. His eyes were lifeless as he staggered unsteadily toward the Nuo Opera Garden.

When the other players tried to step forward to stop him, they were shocked to find they couldn't enter the garden no matter what they did.

Every time they stepped in, they found themselves stepping out. It was exactly like the legendary Ghost Wall.

Even with others observing from the side, no one could detect any abnormality. It was as if their minds were being tricked.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as the blue-haired executioner's body disappeared into the depths of the Nuo Opera Garden.

"Hmph! They showed no respect for the Ancestor Master and broke the rules at will. They deserved to die," the Troupe Leader said dismissively.

He glared at the assembled players.

"What about the rest of you? Did you burn incense and pay respects to the Ancestor Master before going on stage?"

At these words, everyone exchanged confused glances.

What Ancestor Master? What respects?

Standing behind the Troupe Leader, Wu Wang's expression suddenly turned grave. He knew what the man was talking about.

In the memory from the Dilapidated Opera Building, he had seen Yu Ji burning incense and paying respects to a portrait backstage.

So that was a mandatory ritual before performing.

"Hmph! Don't think that just because you've become Star Actors, you can throw the rules to the wind!" the Troupe Leader berated them loudly. "Quite the opposite! These rules are the very foundation of our Opera God's Righteous Garden!"

"You must burn incense and pay respects to the Ancestor Master before going on stage. You must never kick the opera chests. With the exception of the Chou, no one else can sit on the opera chests."

"There are dozens of rules, big and small. Did you all treat them like nothing?!"

The things he spoke of were unwritten rules within the opera troupe, sacred traditions that every true actor held dear.

Unfortunately, the "Star Actors" standing before him were no longer the people the Troupe Leader remembered. They were players, completely unaware of these insider rules.

The Troupe Leader's words, however, sparked a memory in the crowd.

They now recalled that after the blue-haired executioner had come off stage, he had indeed sat on a chest that held costumes.

And after the Book Boy and Wu Wang left, Power King had been fuming. In his anger, he had kicked a nearby costume chest several times while cursing.

Only a few of them had seen it happen. Wu Wang and the Book Boy, who had already left, were unaware.

"Now you see how serious it is, don't you? The gods are watching from three feet above your head, and the Ancestor Master is watching from the heavens!"

The Troupe Leader casually kicked the leg of Power King's corpse, flipping its foot over. The cloth shoe had been worn completely through, revealing the sole of the foot underneath. It was a mess of blood and mangled flesh.

"Failing to pay respects to the Ancestor Master already displeased the gods and ghosts," the Troupe Leader sneered. "By kicking the opera chest, you disturbed the souls within the costumes. It's your own damn fault they took your legs!"

"Your fate was sealed the moment you walked with that bastard who sat on the opera chest."

"The gods and ghosts wanted him to go kowtow and apologize in person. By following him, weren't you just asking to die?"

After his tirade, the Troupe Leader shook his head, his expression a mix of anger and disappointment. He then walked over to Wu Wang's side.

From his robes, he took out a soft, strange Beijing opera mask. He handed it to Wu Wang.

"I'll go bury this corpse first, to avoid the Prince seeing it and finding it an eyesore."

"You lead the others to bring back Lan Wan's body. With this, you'll be able to get in."

With that, he sighed, putting on a helpless expression. He waved his hand, signaling for the 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 Li Ling to carry the corpse away.

Wu Wang knew perfectly well this was a lie.

The Troupe Leader wasn't going to bury the corpse. He was taking it back to the Alchemy Pavilion to dig out its heart for preservation. This was just an excuse to avoid suspicion.

As the Troupe Leader retreated, the other players crowded around Wu Wang, their eyes fixed on the mask in his hand. Its face paint was a striking pattern of black and white.

Zi Jin recognized it immediately.

"This is the makeup of Overlord Xiang Yu."

Wu Wang recognized it too. It was identical to the face paint of the Remnant Soul.

Of course, he recognized more than just the face paint. He also recognized the material.

He rubbed it between his fingers and spoke casually.

"This is a mask made from human skin."

Wearing this would allow one to enter the Nuo Opera Garden. And the place where Lou Yu had fallen into a well and disappeared was also inside that garden.

It seemed the reason the Nuo Opera Garden was now inaccessible wasn't just because of the "gods and ghosts" the Troupe Leader spoke of. It was likely also related to what happened that night, some change that had warped the entire area.

Coincidentally, Zi Jin, who held Lou Yu's Hairpin, was also here. Perhaps this trip would finally reveal the rest of those memories.

When the crowd heard that the mask was made of human skin, the hands reaching out to touch it immediately froze in mid-air.

After all, the Troupe Leader's lecture had made them realize the Yi Garden was filled with hidden, deadly rules. Who would have thought that two high-level players like the blue-haired executioner and Power King would die simply for sitting in the wrong place or kicking a chest?

The fluke of surviving the battle with the Prince had almost made them forget.

This was a Nightmare-level Instance.

The dangers were far greater than what appeared on the surface.

Who knew what taboo they might break by casually touching a mask made of human skin?

Seeing their hesitation, Wu Wang gave a scornful smile. He raised his hand and placed the human skin mask over his own face.

He turned and started walking toward the entrance of the Nuo Opera Garden.

As he walked, he even began to hum a little tune from the old movie Red Sorghum.

"Sister, you boldly walk forward~"

"Walk forward~ Don't look back!"

"The great road to the heavens! Nine thousand nine hundred~ Nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine!"

And so he went.

To walk the Nuo Opera, a sacrifice for gods and ghosts.