Chapter 349: The Door

"Brother Lin, what happened to your face?"

Li Qingshan couldn't see Chen Ling's face clearly, but seeing the black veil, he felt a bit puzzled.

"It's nothing." Chen Ling spoke calmly. He looked back at Li Qingshan, and seeing his spotless cyan gown and the meticulous "Sheng" role makeup, he asked in surprise, "You are..."

"It's the troupe's preliminary auditions today. Although there are no requirements for costumes or makeup, it never hurts to be well-prepared."

Li Qingshan smoothed his sleeves and stood tall in the morning breeze, his robes fluttering. He truly had a transcendent, otherworldly air about him.

Chen Ling remembered that Li Qingshan had mentioned this audition yesterday, so he couldn't help but ask: "What exactly do they do in this preliminary audition?"

"It's like a selection process. The troupe periodically opens preliminary auditions to the five nearest towns to cultivate potential new stars, covering fields like singing, dancing, opera, drama, and so on. If you pass two rounds of auditions, you'll have the chance to be recommended by the entertainment conglomerate to enter the Red Dust Main City..."

"Oh." Chen Ling nodded expressionlessly.

Chen Ling had no interest in this, but now he just wanted to find an opportunity to increase audience expectations and ask about the whereabouts of his mysterious master.

Isn't this just like the talent shows before the Great Cataclysm... Although the Aurora Domain was harsh, entering the main city from the seven major districts still depended on aptitude and strength. But this method of entering the main city in the Red Dust Domain based on artistic talent was simply absurd. What time was it, and the Red Dust Domain was still immersed in this atmosphere of entertainment-to-death?

But come to think of it... in the Red Dust Domain, it seems there are no existences similar to law enforcement officers?

Where did their possessors of the Divine Path go?

"Brother Lin, since you're going to the troupe anyway, why don't you participate in the preliminary audition as well?" Li Qingshan's voice came from the side. "You're a member of an opera troupe yourself, so I believe you have the strength. If you pass the audition, wouldn't it be better to develop in the Red Dust Main City?"

As he spoke, Li Qingshan's eyes grew brighter.

"I sing the 'Sheng' role, and you sing the 'Clown' role. We could totally perform 'Famen Temple' together, right?"

"I'm not interested."

Seeing Chen Ling refuse so bluntly, Li Qingshan sighed deeply.

"...Alright, then we'll talk about it next time."

The two crossed several small bridges and walked straight along the bluestone path. After about half an hour, they arrived at a crowded road.

On this road, there was only one medium-sized theater. Dozens of people were crowded at the entrance, seemingly waiting anxiously for something. When someone inside shouted, the crowd swarmed in.

Above the theater entrance, in old red metal, a line of large characters was written in a flamboyant style:

——Flower Capital Opera Troupe.

Around the name of the troupe, there was a circle of lightbulbs. From a distance, it looked exactly like a dance hall sign from the 70s or 80s—gaudy and extravagant.

"This is it." Li Qingshan looked up, his eyes full of longing as he gazed at the door. "Brother Lin, you go inside first to ask for the information you need. I'm going to sign up."

"Alright."

Watching Li Qingshan hurry into the crowd, Chen Ling swept his gaze around and walked straight in through the side door.

Walking through the corridors of the troupe, he could still hear the noise coming from the main hall. The deeper he went, the quieter it became. This area seemed to be mostly office space, with doors to offices tightly shut, and he didn't know what they were used for.

Across the corridor, a staff member walked by hurriedly with documents. Seeing this, Chen Ling stopped him directly:

"Hello, may I ask who is in charge of opera troupe performances?"

The man saw Chen Ling wearing a bright red opera robe and a black veil, sized him up with suspicion, but still said:

"Supervisor Sun, his office is in 302."

"Thank you."

Chen Ling walked straight to the third floor.

Following the room numbers, he found 302. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a faint, delicate panting sound coming from inside.

Chen Ling's hand suddenly paused in mid-air.

His eyes narrowed slightly...

Three distinct sounds overlapped, accompanied by the heavy breathing of a man, and then the room fell into dead silence.

The theater's construction was solid; both the doors and walls were extremely thick, and the soundproofing was excellent, like a series of reinforced prison cells.

That Chen Ling could hear the faint sounds inside meant he was standing close enough and his hearing was extraordinary.

About half a minute later, the office door was suddenly opened. A girl with disheveled hair walked out, and seeing the bright red opera robe standing at the door, she let out a startled cry.

Behind her, several other figures followed. They were all women, the youngest about seventeen or eighteen, the oldest looking to be in her thirties, though their figures were extremely eye-catching and hot.

"What's going on?" A middle-aged bald man followed.

He saw Chen Ling standing outside the door, frowned immediately, and shouted coldly: "Who are you? What are you doing??"

The girls lowered their heads and walked past Chen Ling timidly, their cheeks still flushed.

To Chen Ling's surprise, they didn't leave. Instead, they walked silently to the door of the next office and knocked gently...

The door opened, and a pair of hairy man's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her straight inside, accompanied by greasy laughter.

Click—

The door locked, and the corridor fell into dead silence.

Chen Ling's frown deepened.

"No, who are you? What exactly do you want?" Supervisor Sun's face was extremely gloomy.

"Are you Supervisor Sun?" Chen Ling withdrew his gaze and spoke calmly. "I'd like to check the recent opera troupe performance records... I've been separated from my companions."

Supervisor Sun narrowed his eyes and sized Chen Ling up carefully.

"Are you a police officer?"

"No."

"Then why the hell should I check for you? Damn, you're sick."

Supervisor Sun cursed and reached to slam the door shut, but the moment the heavy door was about to close, a palm firmly caught it in mid-air.

Supervisor Sun was stunned. He pushed the door with all his might, but it remained motionless, as if welded in place.

Behind the door, the figure in red spoke calmly, his tone carrying a chill from the far north:

"Supervisor Sun..."

"Would you like to... reconsider?"