The Doubts Remain, the Yi Garden is Shrouded in Fog

“The Han soldiers have seized our land~”

“The songs of Chu surround us on all sides~”

“My lord's will is at its end~”

“How can this consort bear to live~”

The performance of Farewell My Concubine was gradually drawing to a close.

Although Yu Ji was only striking the gong at the side, he couldn't help but hum along softly under his breath. A trace of naivety faded from his eyes, replaced by the bearing of an Overlord.

This lowly actor's son was digging the subservience out of his very bones, determined to portray the most brilliant Overlord of all.

It was just as the old troupe master had thought.

He was an excellent seed for a Wu Sheng, a martial opera role.

In the dozens of years the old troupe master had served as the Prince's spy in this Opera God's Righteous Garden, he had never seen a child grasp opera so quickly.

One had to understand, in an era where a full stomach was a lifelong pursuit, many would sell their children to the Yi Garden for a pittance. More often than not, it was because they truly couldn't afford to raise another child.

For children like these, mastering the skills taught by the Yi Garden was the only way to earn a meal. Everyone was just struggling to live.

In such circumstances, Yu Ji still managed to stand out. He was so exceptional that everyone believed he could succeed as the next troupe master of the Opera God's Righteous Garden.

It was more than enough to prove his brilliance.

"Hahaha, excellent, excellent!"

The Prince declared, casually brandishing the Overlord's Spear. With the song finished, he felt utterly exhilarated. The murderous aura he had long suppressed on the battlefield was soothed by his hobby.

Seeing this, the old troupe master was about to step forward and ask if the Prince had any other instructions.

Just then, Yu Ji suddenly spoke.

"You have not yet removed your makeup. You must not speak."

For a moment, the entire opera building fell into a strange, deathly silence.

The old troupe master looked at him, his face ashen, while the Prince simply narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

What Yu Ji had just quoted was a sacred rule among the Disciples of the Pear Garden.

【After applying the face paint, one must not speak any words unrelated to the performance until the makeup is removed.】

In their view, putting on face paint meant that you were no longer yourself. You were the character you portrayed, much like the sacrificial vessel in a Nuo Opera, the so-called "corpse."

The ghosts and gods were watching from the heavens. To speak of other matters at such a time was to be disrespectful to them. Only after going backstage and removing your makeup could you be yourself again.

But was this a rule that could be applied to the Prince?

"Hey! You little bastard! What nonsense are you spouting!" the old troupe master immediately rebuked him. "Hurry up and help the Prince remove his makeup and costume!"

Damn it, does this kid really think the Prince is some lowly actor?

What do the rules of the Pear Garden have to do with the Prince? He can speak when he wants and sing when he wants!

If you've lived too long, kid, don't drag my old bones down with you!

Yu Ji seemed to realize he had overstepped. He lowered his head, pursed his lips, and silently walked over to take the Overlord's Spear from the Prince's hand. He carefully set it down, then turned to help the Prince remove the opera costume and wipe off the face paint.

As he worked, the Prince asked placidly, "What is your name?"

"Your Highness, his name is Yu Ji. He is a Wu Sheng here," the old troupe master said with a fawning smile.

The Prince, however, shot him a cold glance. He spoke one word at a time.

"Was I asking you?"

Those four short words made cold sweat break out on the old troupe master's back. His entire body felt as if it had been plunged into an ice cellar, a chill running down his spine.

This was the borderland Prince, a man who slaughtered his enemies on the battlefield as if scything wheat. The corpses of those he had slain could have blocked the gates to the entire Yi Garden.

Although he had been the Prince's spy in this garden for many years, in the Prince's eyes, he was still just a stray dog that could be crushed at will.

"Never mind. Bring wine."

A moment later, the makeup was gone from the Prince's face and he had changed back into his python-patterned robe. He waved his hand casually and spoke.

Only then did the old troupe master manage to catch his breath. He had been terrified that the Prince's next words would be a death sentence. He nodded repeatedly and brought over a cup of wine as clear as spring water.

But he handed it to Yu Ji, his expression solemn.

"This is a gift from the Prince. Drink it, and rest well."

Overwhelmed by the honor, Yu Ji accepted the cup. He knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times to the Prince with great solemnity.

"Thank you for your reward, Your Highness!"

No matter how much Yu Ji had embodied the Overlord a moment ago, in front of the Prince, in front of the harsh reality of the world, he was still just an actor of humble status. When he had to kowtow, he kowtowed. When he had to give thanks, he gave thanks.

He raised the cup and downed the wine in one gulp.

The Prince glanced at him before speaking to the old troupe master.

"How are the arrangements I asked you to make?"

"Your Highness, the children with suitable birth dates and five elements have all been found," the old troupe master said in a low voice. "At the latest, they can all be brought to the garden by tomorrow. They will certainly be well-fed. On the day of your departure, they will be ready to repay you with their lives."

Hearing this, the Prince nodded. He gently rubbed the giant saber that lay on the table beside him, feeling the sharpness of the blade and the mottled scars on the scabbard. This saber had been with him on the battlefield for many years, repaired and mended time and again. Though the blade itself looked brand new, the scabbard showed its weathered history.

"In ancient times, Chancellor Zhuge used the Seven-Star Lantern to extend his life, but alas, it was ruined by that reckless Wei Yan."

The Prince's voice was low.

"Today, I too can use the 【Five-Flower Melody】 to break the gap between life and death."

He looked at the old troupe master, his eyes cold.

"Remember, this matter must not be known to others, or I will hold you responsible."

The old troupe master shuddered and fell to his knees with a thud. Pressing his head to the floor, he declared sonorously, "I am willing to offer my life and soul for the Prince!"

Although those were the words he spoke, Wu Wang, watching through Yu Ji's eyes, saw a different thought flicker above the old man's head. After a moment of reading it, a plan formed in his mind.

It turned out the Prince felt his health deteriorating. An imperial physician had long since discovered he had a terminal illness and would likely not live for more than half a year. With no medical cure available, he had turned his attention to forbidden arts, ones that communed with the Yin World and understood the Yang World.

He eventually found a text describing the 【Five-Flower Melody】.

The ritual required taking five people with suitable birth dates and zodiac signs. Their corresponding body parts could then be pieced together to form a new vessel, a body capable of connecting the Yin and Yang worlds. It would allow a soul from the Yin World to return to the Yang.

To be reborn using this body as a Carrier.

Since there was no cure for his current body, the Prince planned to find a new one and live another life. He intended to use the evil art of the 【Five-Flower Melody】 to resurrect himself after his own death.

Yu Ji, standing at the side, heard all of this. He was greatly alarmed.

Though he didn't know what the 【Five-Flower Melody】 was, he understood the Prince was preparing to kill five innocent children for some ritual.

Just as he was about to ask, a sharp pain erupted in his abdomen.

Yu Ji immediately doubled over like a boiled shrimp, curling up on the floor as sweat poured down his face. The pain was so intense he couldn't even manage a scream. In an instant, his breathing grew shallow, more air leaving his lungs than entering.

That cup of wine was poisoned, a drink to send him to the afterlife.

Only now did he understand why the Prince and the old troupe master had discussed everything so openly in front of him.

It was because he was never meant to walk out of this opera building alive.

Yu… Yu… I can't see you anymore…

The image that appeared in Yu Ji's mind was Lou Yu's smile under the moonlight. He had no idea that Lou Yu wasn't the old troupe master's biological daughter. From his perspective, her "father" had arranged everything, from the Prince's visit to his own role in the performance. It all seemed like a conspiracy to frame him.

Yet Yu Ji felt no blame for her. He refused to believe she would ever plot against him.

All he wanted was to warn Lou Yu, to tell her to be careful of the bloody deeds the old troupe master and the Prince were planning. He wanted to see that girl whose eyes curved like crescent moons when she smiled just one more time.

Unfortunately, he would never make it to the well in the Nuo Opera Garden. He would never fulfill his promise to admire the moon with the girl he had secretly loved for so long.

Looking down at the breathless Yu Ji, the old troupe master slung him over his shoulder, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, a ruthless glint flashed in the old man's eyes. He spoke softly to the Prince.

"Your Highness, this lowly one recently found an Extraterrestrial Object, possibly a gift from an immortal that may grant long life and ward off evil. Why don't you prepare a few more backup plans?"

He knew the Prince would go with him to see it. Forget long life; even if it was just a method that might cure his terminal illness, the Prince would absolutely go to judge its authenticity for himself. After all, the 【Five-Flower Melody】 was a ritual to be performed after death. If anything went wrong, everything would be lost.

Having a method that could be used while he was still alive was naturally for the best.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the Prince stopped stroking his great saber. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the old troupe master.

"Oh? There is such a treasure? Why tell me only today?"

"Your Highness, this immortal object fell from the sky into the Yi Garden's well a few days ago. It was only yesterday that this lowly one found a record of it in an ancient book. It just so happens that you were coming to the garden today, so my report was delayed. This lowly one deserves punishment."

The old troupe master's words were extremely smooth, boiling everything down to a coincidence. More importantly, he made it clear that as soon as he knew, he had reported it to the Prince, not kept it for himself.

The Prince was all smiles. He patted the old man's shoulder reassuringly.

"You are quite thoughtful. Lead the way. The moonlight is fine tonight. This Prince will take a walk with you."

Chatting and laughing, the two left with Yu Ji's body. They pushed open the door and departed.

The entire memory ended there.

After all, Wu Wang was experiencing a first-person memoir. Now that the main character had kicked the bucket, what the hell else was there to see?

Even the last two sentences were just sounds heard after the screen went black. It was most likely what Yu Ji had heard in his final moments, as his consciousness faded.

Fortunately, he knew more or less what happened next. The story told by those masked specters was the follow-up.

The old troupe master threw the body into the well and told the Prince the immortal object was also there. When the Prince leaned over the edge to look, the old troupe master pushed him down as a sacrifice. In his elation, however, he failed to notice the wet, slippery ground and fell in himself.

All of this was witnessed by Lou Yu from a nearby roof. In fact, the ground was only slippery because she had gotten thirsty earlier and drawn some water. In the end, her own actions pushed her ruthless "father," the man who had killed her beloved, into the Abyss.

When Wu Wang opened his eyes again, he was already lying spread-eagled at the bottom of the well.

Years had passed. The water had long since dried up, leaving only a thin layer that couldn't even cover his mouth and nose as he lay there. He sat up and stirred the reflection of the Vertical Pupil on the water's surface with his hand.

The familiar feeling of corruption washed over him again, the sensation of having eaten poisonous mushrooms and drunk bootleg liquor.

Even so, he shook his head.

"This is weak, old pal. This isn't your real power."

A slight smile played on the corners of Wu Wang's mouth, which had already begun to sprout scales and hundreds of teeth.

"Or should I say, this isn't the real mark you left in this Instance, is it?"

This was indeed the extreme corruption produced by the Abyss God's Mark. But the fact that he could face it without almost losing consciousness… he'd felt something was off the moment he first looked down the well.

Now it seemed he was right.

Had his resistance to the Abyss God's corruption increased? No.

Had the Abyss God gotten weaker? Impossible.

That left only one possibility. The Abyss God's Mark here was impure.

After hearing the story from the masked specters, Wu Wang had already guessed that this place might not be the Opera God's Righteous Garden of the Yang World. Perhaps as the Abyss God's Mark of the Yin World, it had only recorded the reflection in the water.

The real mark remained in the Yang World.

He casually raised his gun, blew his own head off, and revived, his body instantly restored.

Only then did Wu Wang look at the pile of withered bones at the bottom of the well. He fell into deep thought.

The hairpin he had been clutching tightly before falling into the well was now, at some point, being held by the skeleton. It just sat there, facing him. There was no sign of it reviving or any other strange phenomena.

"But your very existence is a huge problem," Wu Wang muttered. "Why aren't you the old troupe master's skeleton? You are…"

Lou Yu, right?

Wu Wang was no coroner, but he was more familiar with corpses than any coroner could ever be. Nobody knows death better than I do! With a single glance, he could tell that this was the skeleton of a female, not a male.

But if that was the case, it overturned his theory about the Yin World. And yet, only the Yin World theory could explain the existence of the Jiangshi Prince and the Undying troupe master.

Besides, Lou Yu never died! So where did this skeleton come from?

"Oh… wait, there are more discrepancies," he realized. "What's the deal with the Yu Ji in the Dilapidated Opera Building? And why was the relationship between the Prince and that Yu Ji so intimate?"

"Who is the evil in this Instance?"

Wu Wang stared into the empty eye sockets of the skeleton, as if trying to see an answer within. Suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Hey! The King of Ideas makes his grand return!

In a few quick moves, he leaped out of the well. The masked specters were gone, having gone off to prepare an opera somewhere. He hummed an unknown tune and started walking out of the Nuo Opera Garden.

When he reached the large, arched gate, Wu Wang deliberately looked up. There were indeed many pieces of yellow talisman paper pasted on the inner side, so faded that the incantations were illegible.

Beside the rockery and pond, the long-haired female ghost was still sitting there in a daze. She watched as Wu Wang walked toward her step by step.

The long-haired female ghost was shocked.

"Impossible! Why didn't you become a sacrifice for those masks?"

Her eyes widened.

"Wait… this smell on you…"

"!!!!!"

"I… I'm warning you, don't come over here! I'll really eat you, don't you come over here!"

Her voice grew more and more wretched.

Although Wu Wang didn't know what scent she had caught, he knew this long-haired female ghost had seen more than the masked specters. She had been in the Opera God's Righteous Garden for much longer.

Most importantly, she could talk. This was the perfect audience.

"Tell me, what is your dream?"

Wu Wang found a chair from the long-abandoned audience area and brought it over. He sat down, kicking his legs to simulate a swivel chair.

He grinned. "Hey, no shots, no medicine. Just sit here and have a chat with me."

"I call this Talk Therapy."

"Let's talk about some adult matters."