“…”

Lou Yu didn’t answer, merely watching Wu Wang in silent contemplation.

Wu Wang didn’t wait for her to speak.

He stood up and addressed the baffled players, “This is Lou Yu’s inner world.”

“All the people you’ve seen here are her incarnations. The guards represent the confusion and aimlessness of her early life. They have no thoughts of their own and just do whatever they’re told.”

“Prince Xiang represents the gold in her subconscious. He is unyielding and believes that strength is paramount. That’s why he was able to command the guards from the very beginning.”

“In truth, the persona of Prince Xiang also represents the old troupe leader, doesn’t it? In your eyes, there was no difference between them, so they merged into one.”

At these words, Lou Yu trembled. It was as if she was recalling some terrible memory. Her vacant eyes flashed with a mix of intense killing intent and stark fear.

Wu Wang sighed. It seemed his guess was right.

It wasn’t that the old troupe leader persona didn’t appear in this inner world. It was that he had merged with another.

Based on his understanding of old-time opera troupes, the saying went, “Three minutes on stage, ten years of work offstage.” Fundamentals had to be drilled into you from a young age. For children sold to be actors, the training they endured was nothing short of torture.

It was common for children to be injured, maimed, or even worked to death during practice. If they tried to run away and were caught, they wouldn’t just be beaten black and blue. Even if they were beaten to death on the spot, no one in the opera troupe would shed a tear.

Such was the man-eating cruelty of the old society.

As a girl, Lou Yu was physically weaker than the boys, so she must have suffered even more to succeed. During this process, she must have harbored an immense fear of the old troupe leader. He was like an insurmountable mountain weighing down on her heart.

And this mountain, when faced with Prince Xiang, felt just as small and servile as she did. The old troupe leader also had a mountain of fear in his heart.

In Lou Yu’s mind, Prince Xiang and the old troupe leader were the same kind of person. Therefore, their personas merged in this place, forming the Jiangshi-bodied Prince Xiang.

“Troupe Leader Yu represents the water in her subconscious,” Wu Wang continued. “He seems gentle and refined, able to get along with everyone, a smooth operator. But in reality, a violent undercurrent rages within him, and his actions are as ruthless as a tidal wave.”

“The skinny old servant represents the earth in her subconscious. He’s simple, honest, and down-to-earth, taking care of all the miscellaneous tasks throughout the garden.”

After explaining these three, Wu Wang glanced at Lou Yu again. She neither denied nor admitted it, which made him even more certain of his deductions.

“And in the Dilapidated Opera Building, there’s the elusive Yu Ji, who has sealed himself inside, never taking a single step out.”

“He is your last remaining conscience. Even though he knows of the 【Five-Flower Melody】, he still takes no action.”

“Because of this, he also retains half of your true memories.”

“He is the life-giving, all-nourishing wood.”

Wu Wang speculated that this was also why he had been able to enter her memories in the Dilapidated Opera Building. These NPCs were not just played by Lou Yu’s five-element clones; they also represented her complex inner emotions.

There was the love that wanted to save Yu Ji.

The hatred for a cruel era.

The attachment to the Opera God’s Righteous Garden.

The desire to escape her station.

And the tenderness that couldn’t bear to harm others.

Humans are, by nature, emotionally complex creatures. Unfortunately, Lou Yu’s kindness was fragile and couldn’t withstand this cold world. That flicker of goodwill, like a candle in the wind, was like trying to fight a war with bare fists.

It was beaten down mercilessly.

In the end, it could only curl up in the Dilapapidated Opera Building. It faded away so gradually that, aside from the skinny servant, no one could even sense its existence.

“Then what about the fire?” the scholar boy asked, frowning in confusion.

If what Wu Wang said was true, Lou Yu had split her soul into five parts to form these incarnations. This meant she intended to use herself alone to complete the 【Five-Flower Melody】 puppet, which originally required five lives.

Honestly, it was insane. The scholar boy didn’t think he could do something so noble if he were in Lou Yu’s shoes.

In this era, human life was the cheapest thing there was. Killing five people to refine the 【Five-Flower Melody】 would have been much faster.

Yet, Lou Yu ultimately chose to sacrifice herself.

But now there was a problem. All the NPCs they had met in this Instance had a symbolic meaning, except for the one representing blazing fire. It was nowhere to be seen.

Wasn’t that strange?

His question made Wu Wang’s expression complicated. Yes, that was precisely the problem. There was no NPC representing fire in this inner world.

This didn’t just mean the 【Five-Flower Melody】 would be missing a heart as red as fire. It also meant that Lou Yu’s soul was incomplete. She was not whole. As a result, her other soul fragments began to have problems.

According to Wu Wang’s speculation, if Lou Yu wanted to constitute the 【Five-Flower Melody】 puppet with her body alone, then the roles played by these soul fragments had to be truly disconnected from her.

It was just as Yu Ji had said when observing the Prince playing the part of the 【Overlord】.

“The way of opera is to entertain the gods and sacrifice to the ghosts. Although it is all a performance, if even I do not believe I am the character in the play…”

“Why would the world recognize me as the Overlord?”

Each of her soul fragments believed itself to be real. But she was also missing the 【Heart Like Fire】, which prevented her from remembering her original purpose. Coupled with her obsession with the 【Five-Flower Melody】, things had gone completely off the rails.

Prince Xiang truly wanted to resurrect himself. Troupe Leader Yu believed the missing person was Lou Yu. The skinny old servant became a genuinely subservient handyman. Her only conscience was sealed away, driven into the Dilapidated Opera Building to wail every night.

So where did the 【Heart Like Fire】 go?

Wu Wang looked down at his right wrist. There, a Red Vertical Pupil was staring at him playfully, as if to say, You guessed right, but it’s a pity you can’t change a thing.

He sighed.

“Truly, the Abyss God gives, and the Abyss God takes away.”

“The 【Fire】 was exiled to another world.”

He slowly extended his other hand, rolling up his sleeve and turning his arm over.

Only then did everyone see it. On the inside of Wu Wang’s left wrist was a lifelike black-and-white opera mask, identical to the makeup of Overlord Xiang Yu in Beijing opera.

Lou Yu had indeed used the power of the Abyss God’s aura to create this inner world. But by accepting the contamination with her entire being, a part of her soul had also been swept away by the Abyss God.

This residual soul was the 【Heart Like Fire】 that had been taken from Lou Yu.

“This… This is…”

The scholar boy’s eyes widened, and he froze on the spot. The other players also cast bewildered glances at Wu Wang, clearly having no idea where he had found this clue. Had they missed a location in the Opera God’s Righteous Garden?

But Wu Wang just shrugged.

“Don’t overthink it. This is a curse that was placed on me in another Instance.”

After speaking, he shot the scholar boy a meaningful glance.

The scholar boy had a flash of insight. Of course! Pending Death had encountered the mark of 【亡】(Death) in other Instances. This opera mask curse must have been left on him back then. No wonder he was able to survive in the well. He already had a curse left by 【亡】 on him!

Using his 【Vision of Truth】, Wu Wang coolly read the thoughts that appeared above the scholar boy’s head. This was exactly the effect he wanted. Let this person, who knew a little about the Abyss God but not much, misunderstand in the most skewed way possible. It would prevent him from becoming curious about his own abilities.

“You… you’re me too?” Lou Yu said dazedly.

Her arm, as thin as a withered bone, trembled as she raised it, wanting to touch the opera mask mark on Wu Wang’s hand. Her mind was so contaminated that it was almost subhuman. She was completely incapable of normal thought. Sensing the familiar aura, she subconsciously thought Wu Wang was another one of her incarnations.

To put it bluntly, forget the Vertical Pupils covering her body. Even if Lou Yu were to transform into a six-eyed flying fish on the spot, Wu Wang would find it perfectly reasonable. The Abyss God’s contamination was not so easily resisted, and she had never even tried.

So, he didn’t pull his arm back. He simply offered the black-and-white opera mask to her.

“I’m not you,” he said softly.

“But you really need to remember who you are, or Yu Ji will never be able to come back.”

Drip.

As soon as he said this, a hoarse voice emerged from the black-and-white mask on his wrist.

“The Old Days… the 【Old Days’ Fragment】 stolen by the 【Yin Fate Thief】…”

“As long as I have this… I can go back…”

“Yu… I’ll be back…”

Hearing its words, Wu Wang was stunned for a moment. Hold on, what does the Yin Fate Great God have to do with this? You two aren’t even in the same Instance! Stop making guest appearances everywhere!

A moment later, he had an epiphany. Oh, so that’s how it is.

Wu Wang suddenly understood why this thing had been on his second sister. The Yin Fate Great God had said that his sister, Wu Xiaoyou, was a perfect Yin Body It had created using the so-called 【Power of the Old Days】. The Yin Fate Great God had also left behind many places of sacrifice, like the 【Yin Fate Village】, in different Instances.

This meant that It could use the 【Power of the Old Days】 to leap out of its original world and travel to other Instances, just like the Mary doll imbued with the power of the 【Spirit Venerable of the Sea of Desire】.

So, it wanted to occupy his second sister’s body, using her as a springboard to return to this world and complete the refining of the 【Five-Flower Melody】 puppet. To complete the missing part of Lou Yu’s soul.

“I… I’m back?” a trace of confusion appeared in the residual soul’s hoarse roar.

It sensed a familiar aura. Looking up, it was stunned by the sight of Lou Yu’s gaunt, haggard face.

The next second, the mark attached to Wu Wang’s wrist slid off like flowing water. It dripped onto the ground and slowly took on a humanoid form. It had no face, no gender, as blurry as the Ghostly Shadow summoned by Troupe Leader Yu.

But in its chest, a fiery red heart was beating, like an eternally burning torch in the dead of winter. This time, there was no trace of malice, only the warm light of a fire. It illuminated the countless, vacant, and despairing Vertical Pupils on Lou Yu’s body.

“I… I am Lou Yu…” she muttered.

“I fell into the well, martyring myself for love, and sought the aid of an otherworldly immortal artifact.”

“Five-Flower Melody, to summon a Yin soul.”

“Through the Ghost Gate, a corpse returns to life.”

As she spoke, the crowd heard footsteps approaching from behind. Turning to look, they were startled to see the skinny old servant. He was hunched over, carrying a lantern, and he nodded at them with a smile.

Behind him floated a verdant green residual soul whose face was identical to Troupe Leader Yu’s. This was the conscience trapped in the Dilapidated Opera Building, the incarnation of the 【Thighs of Sinking Wood】.

When Lou Yu remembered she was Lou Yu, the five flowers were gathered once more.

And they all remembered.

They slowly walked toward her, transforming into yellow and green rays of light that merged into her body.

Lou Yu’s arms, so fragile they looked like they would snap at a touch, began to grow fair and lustrous. At a speed visible to the naked eye, they transformed into slender, jade-like fingers.

Her legs, once so weak that even standing was a struggle, grew strong. Her thighs became full and rounded, her calves powerful, and her entire body slowly rose to a stand.

A light as white as shining gold descended from the sky. This was the 【Head of Shining Gold】 represented by Prince Xiang.

Whoosh—

A sinister wind howled through the small courtyard.

Lou Yu’s face, once filthy and caked with dirt, began to recover, returning to the appearance Wu Wang had seen in his memory. No, it was even more beautiful. Her face could be described as graceful as a floating cloud and vigorous as a startled dragon.

The bright morning sun vanished, replaced in a flash by a round moon like a jade disc. Under the moonlight, a head of raven-black hair scattered freely like a waterfall as she wore a Phoenix Cape and danced with enchanting grace.

She was like a fairy descended from the Moon Palace, a captivating sight.

The 【Five-Flower Melody】 puppet was complete.

Boom!

At that very instant, a violent roar erupted from the bottom of the well.

Everyone, like startled birds, instantly became vigilant. The Heavenly Eye on the scholar boy’s forehead opened once more, and the White Dragon on his clothes bared its fangs, coiling around his shoulders. It hovered over his neck, maw open as if ready to bite through it.

He and Wu Wang looked into the well at the same time. This time, however, they did not see the eerie Red Vertical Pupil. They only saw a door as black as ink, exuding an ominous aura.

It was slowly opening.

Through the crack, they could vaguely see vicious ghosts roaring, their sharp claws gripping the gap, trying to push it open faster. The oppressive aura from each ghost was no weaker than Prince Xiang’s had been.

“Gods above,” the scholar boy breathed. “A true Hundred Ghosts Night Parade!”

【Ghost Gate Pass】!

Something so absurd actually existed in this Instance. His scalp tingled. This was far more terrifying than the Prince or Lou Yu. Once that gate opened, the entire Instance world would be destroyed by malevolent ghosts.

“Yu, are you calling for me?”

Lou Yu’s dancing figure slowly came to a halt. She looked into the distance and couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

In the next second, the left half of her face began to melt. It transformed from a fairy’s visage into a half-familiar, handsome face. It was the young Yu Ji from the memory.

Wu Wang was certain. This time, it wasn’t Lou Yu playing Yu Ji. It was his Yin soul, truly possessing this body.

“Yu, I see it.”

“That night, the moonlight was so beautiful.”

The moment Yu Ji’s voice sounded, Lou Yu’s body trembled. From the corner of the eye on the right side of her face, which was still her own, a crystal-clear teardrop fell. This time, it wasn’t a tear of blood.

She tremblingly raised her hands toward her face, touching her skin as if it were the most fragile thing in the world. She feared this was just an illusion.

“Yeah, tonight’s moonlight is pretty good too.”

Wu Wang’s voice suddenly cut in.

“I really don’t want to interrupt you two lovebirds, but could you please spare a thought for your audience’s survival?”

He pointed helplessly at the well.

“This thing is about to open.”

“When it does, forget the old troupe leader and the Prince. All your long-lost relatives are going to crawl out and demand a wedding banquet.”

“Ma’am, you wouldn’t want the entire underworld to find out your husband just cheated death, would you?”