Chapter 1461: Tears of the Red King (Part 5)

The Red King’s autobiography was like a script, flipping continuously before Chen Ling’s eyes.

He didn't seem to intend to show his entire life to Chen Ling in its entirety, but the sparse sentences already contained the trajectory of his life... Seeing this, Chen Ling had actually guessed the identity of the Fourth Generation Red King, but when he saw the last line, his heart still trembled.

In the next second, those flipping script pages extended like a disc once more, and a scene appeared before Chen Ling’s eyes.

The same Prostitute Path Ancient Treasury;

the same calm lake;

and...

a mysterious black-purple coffin.

He saw that figure draped in a bright red theatrical robe standing before the coffin, remaining motionless for a long time like a statue.

“Why...”

“He knew that ascending to the Red Star meant death! Why did he still go??”

“Even if he had to go, why didn't he tell me beforehand?! Why did he leave without saying a word!!!”

Chen Yan’s eyes were bloodshot. He seemed to have broken down, angrily questioning the figure lying in the coffin, his roar echoing through the sky.

“It’s not that he didn't want to tell you in advance... it’s that he only deciphered the secrets left by the previous Red King just as the Red Star was about to descend,” the Gray King spoke slowly from the side.

The Gray King of the Fourth Generation world seemed to be a man. He looked at the emotionally shattered Chen Yan, his tone as calm as a lake.

“For some reason, the Third Generation Red King met with an accident very early on, so there was a gap between him and the Fourth Generation... He wasn't like you, who met the previous Red King so early and grew up by his side, with someone to cover for you no matter what you did.

You are lucky; your life has been smooth sailing under the guidance of the Fourth Generation...

But he was not.

Everything he has achieved so far, he figured out bit by bit on his own.”

Chen Yan’s fists were tightly clenched, veins bulging on his neck. He looked at that silent, ferocious Nuo mask, tears streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

He stood there for a long time, then tremblingly reached out his hand toward the mask that had never been removed...

He had been with the Red King for so long, yet he had never seen the true face beneath the mask.

Now that the Red King was dead...

At the very least, he wanted to remember the face of the most important person in his life.

As the ferocious Nuo mask was slowly lifted by Chen Yan, he saw that weathered yet somewhat familiar face. He was stunned at first, and then his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably!!

“…………Brother???”

The person now lying in the coffin was none other than Chen Ling, who had long since died in the mass grave.

Or rather,

Yao.

Seeing this scene, the conjecture in Chen Ling’s heart was confirmed.

[Nuo] is a combination of Shamanism and Theater. According to the world line development in Chen Ling’s understanding, [Nuo] should not have appeared in this era, because there were too few people capable of combining Theater and Shamanism; so far, there had only been Shen Nan...

But there was one person who possessed that possibility.

That was Yao.

Yao himself was of the Shaman God Path, and his younger brother Chen Yan was of the Theater God Path. According to the original story, both brothers should have been buried in the mass grave... Chen Ling didn't know what happened in that world; perhaps some fusion occurred between them, allowing Chen Yan’s Theater God Path aura to enter Yao’s body, creating the miracle unique to [Nuo]...

In any case, in that world without any Red King intervention, Yao was the one who survived in the end.

He inherited A-Yan’s power and became the true [Nuo].

That was why in Chen Yan’s Fourth Generation world, the Red King rushed home immediately to save Chen Yan before his heart could be dug out; that was why he knew so much about everything that happened in the Third District when they were at the mass grave; and that was why he said Yao was sick and was meant to die...

Because in Yao’s eyes, he was the one who had stolen his brother’s life and talent, and ultimately lived on.

In the new world, he wanted to change all of that...

So he watched his own death,

leaving the possibility of life to A-Yan.

He could have saved himself, but he didn't, because he knew that only if the brother in Chen Yan’s heart died could Chen Yan step onto the Theater God Path without hesitation.

Later, he took meticulous care of Chen Yan, taught him the secret techniques of the Theater Path, gave him protective charms, washed his clothes, and brought him delicacies... He did all of this to make amends, to make up for everything he owed Chen Yan.

“Brother????”

“How is this possible...”

“How could you be my brother?!!!”

Chen Yan was completely broken. He looked at that face in disbelief, his eyes splitting with rage.

In his life, Chen Yan had only trusted and been close to two people: one was his brother Chen Ling, and the other was the Red King... Chen Ling had died in the Third District, so he gradually transferred that affection to the Red King. But only after the Red King died did he realize that his two pillars of support were actually the same person.

He had lost the person he loved most... twice.

“He didn't manage to see you one last time, but he wrote everything he didn't get to say in this letter...” The Gray King slowly took a letter from his robes and handed it to Chen Yan.

Chen Yan tremblingly opened it.

Perhaps because time was too short, the content of the letter was very simple. The Red King confessed the whole truth to Chen Yan and apologized for leaving without saying goodbye. He hoped that even without his protection, Chen Yan could still live a good life, take over the position of the Red King, and complete the Twilight Society’s goal.

“Why... why can you say all of this so easily??”

“When I was a child, you accompanied me as I grew up! Now, you are the one who accompanied me as I became stronger!! My whole life has had your shadow; no matter the period, you were the one protecting me and guiding me... Now that you’re dead, what do you want me to do?! Can I just forget everything from the past with a simple ‘live on’?!”

“I am a human, not a machine!!”

“If you were destined to leave me from the start, then why... why were you so good to me?!”

“Brother...”

“Say something...”

“Answer me!!!!”

Chen Yan roared, questioning the figure lying in the coffin. His emotions had completely collapsed; reason and calmness were thrown to the back of his mind. As he said, he was a human, not a machine. No one could think or function rationally after losing their closest kin.

The Red King had been too good to him... The closer their relationship, the more painful the moment of separation.

What’s more, their parting hadn't even had a hint of warning; it was a cliff-like, devastating blow...

And furthermore, the Red King was his brother.

There is no crueler punishment in the world than this.

Chen Ling couldn't bear to watch anymore. He silently closed his eyes and let out a long sigh...

“So...”

“You avoided me, went around me, and even admitted to my face that you were using me, guiding me to hate you... was it also so that when this moment arrived, I wouldn't be as miserable as you were back then?”