Chapter 346: Red Dust

A light drizzle rippled across the small river, sounding like crisp silver bells, clinking and clanking.

On the damp bluestone road, a figure pushed a wooden cart. The wheels splashed through the moss in the gaps of the stone slabs, bumping and swaying from time to time. A figure in green robes pushed the cart, moving leisurely through the hazy drizzle.

"Once the horse left the Xiliang border~

I couldn't help but let tears spill across my chest.

Green are the mountains, green are the waters, a world of flowers~

Xue Pinggui is like a lone goose returning..." (Note 1)

The green-robed figure’s singing echoed through the misty alleyways, clear, loud, and melodious... He tilted his head, letting the rain roll down his neck without avoiding it at all, as if he were completely immersed in the lyrics, his eyes as bright as stars.

At the same time, on the wooden cart piled high with firewood, a red-clad figure’s eyelashes trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.

Chen Ling woke up.

The first thing that entered his vision was the azure sky covered with light rain clouds. The rain, fine as needles, hit his face, bringing a hint of coolness. On both sides were white walls and gray tiles constantly receding, and green weeping willows dancing in the wind along the bank.

Where... was this?

Seeing this scene, Chen Ling momentarily thought he had traveled back to some water town in the modern era. But as his consciousness gradually cleared, he remembered that he had just been in the pale flower field of the Gray World.

Was this the Red Dust Boundary?

How did he get in?

Chen Ling was filled with confusion. He rubbed his head and slowly sat up from the pile of firewood. When he exerted force, he could still feel the weakness in his body.

"Eh? You’re awake?" A voice came from the side. "Sorry about that. I wanted to carry you, but since I had to pull the firewood, I had to let you lie on top of it..."

Chen Ling turned his head. The speaker was a young man wearing a green long gown, who was currently pushing the wooden cart, looking at him with a face full of apology.

"You are..."

The young man raised his head and said with a smile, "I am Li Qingshan. May I ask which opera troupe you are a star of, brother?"

"Star? I’m not any kind of star."

"Brother, you’re joking. Your makeup is clearly that of a Clown! Looking at your attire, a red-clad Clown... hmm... strange, which opera script is this character from?" Li Qingshan examined Chen Ling carefully, confusion appearing between his brows.

Chen Ling froze. As if remembering something, he immediately got off the wooden cart and ran toward the small river nearby.

"Brother? Brother!"

Li Qingshan’s shouts came from behind. Chen Ling had already stepped onto the small stone pier used for laundry and looked down into the river water.

The hem of his bright red opera robe floated on the water surface, and a familiar face stained with white ash was clearly reflected on the water.

Damn it... this thing is still here??

Chen Ling’s expression turned ugly instantly. He sensed his body again; both his mental energy and skills were sealed by this smear of white ash, leaving his body empty.

"Brother, you can't run around right now. I think you have low blood sugar, otherwise you wouldn't have fainted on the back mountain..." Li Qingshan hurried over from behind and kindly supported Chen Ling. "Look, how pale your face is!"

Chen Ling’s brow furrowed. He turned back and asked, "What place is this?"

"Ah? This is Willow Town."

"The Red Dust Boundary?"

Li Qingshan froze for a moment. "What else would it be?"

Chen Ling’s guess was correct. He looked around. This town was different from the one he and Plum K had started from. According to Plum K, there were hundreds of towns like this in the Red Dust Boundary... In such a vast place, where was he supposed to go to find the Master and the others?

"Brother, I think you’re confused from hunger." Li Qingshan saw Chen Ling’s pale face and couldn't help but speak. "How about this, you come back with me to eat something first, get your blood sugar up... Come, let me help you up."

Chen Ling didn't let Li Qingshan help him; he stood up on his own. He stared at Li Qingshan for a moment and nodded:

"Alright, thank you very much."

He was alone, having arrived in the Red Dust Boundary for the first time, and was unfamiliar with everything here. If he could get some information from this local, it would save him from running around elsewhere. Of course, more importantly... he was indeed hungry.

The white ash had swallowed his mental energy and drained his physical strength. Chen Ling was currently in a starving state, and his current weakness was likely due to this.

Li Qingshan pushed the wooden cart again, asking as they moved forward:

"Brother, you haven't told me your name yet."

Chen Ling touched his face, pondered for a moment, and then spoke: "Lin Yan."

Because [Faceless] was sealed, he couldn't change into Lin Yan’s face right now. Fortunately, this was the Red Dust Boundary, and no one knew him, so using which face shouldn't be much of a problem.

"Lin Yan." Li Qingshan muttered the name twice. "Which opera troupe are you from?"

"What is an opera troupe?"

"You don't even know what an opera troupe is?" Li Qingshan looked at him in surprise.

"My hometown is in a very remote location; I haven't heard of these..."

"No wonder. So your Clown role is self-taught? Then you’re the same as me." Li Qingshan explained patiently, "You must know the Red Dust Main City, right?"

Main City... meaning something similar to Aurora City?

Chen Ling nodded slightly. "I’ve heard of it, but I don't know much about it."

"The Red Dust Main City is the most prosperous and brilliant city in the Nine Boundaries! Gold is everywhere, and superstars are all over the place. Any singer or celebrity who walks out of there is enough to cause a sensation in other boundaries... Do you know Tian Yingjun? That superstar who sang 'Starry Sky'? She held a concert in the South Sea Boundary a few days ago, and before it even started, hundreds of people fainted from excitement at the scene!"

"There’s no shortage of famous stars, like Teacher Chen Xiangui, whose operas I grew up listening to." Li Qingshan’s eyes were incredibly bright.

"In short, the most influential people in the world are basically all there..."

"Gold tickets and colored silks are always flying in the Red Dust. There is singing and cheering twenty-four hours a day. There is never a lack of wealth and adoration there; it is the center of human art and wealth!"

Chen Ling’s brow furrowed even tighter. He couldn't imagine what the Red Dust Main City that Li Qingshan described was like... After all, it sounded incredibly decadent, a world of difference from Aurora City.

"I think I've gone off-topic." Li Qingshan also felt that he was getting more and more worked up. After a light cough, he continued,

"In short, the entertainment conglomerates in the Red Dust Main City, in order to constantly churn out 'stars' that attract traffic and popularity, send people to the small towns outside the city to scout for suitable talent. Over time, they simply set up local opera troupes in these towns. On one hand, it's to operate the local entertainment industry, and on the other, it's to supply fresh blood to the Red Dust Main City...

Anyone with a bit of talent who wants to work in this industry basically joins the troupe. If you happen to become famous, money and power will follow. By then, not only will you be set, but your whole family can turn their lives around!

And if you're lucky enough to get into the Red Dust Main City and become a superstar of the main city or even the entire human domain, then your descendants for generations to come will bask in that glory!"

Chen Ling fell silent.

Drip—drop—

The rain in Jiangnan was not cold. It fell onto Chen Ling's bright red opera robe and onto the surface of the muddy bluestone path... The rising steam blurred into mist on the ground. Chen Ling watched the mist rising from the mud in silence, as if he were seeing the rolling red dust of the mortal world.

…………

Note 1: Taken from the Peking Opera "The Red-Maned Steed."