Chapter 382: The Stage and the Unreachable Wind and Rain

"What??"

"Twilight Society?? [Heart 6]?!"

"Him? That’s the top-level wanted criminal [Heart 6]? He... he’s actually in our Red Dust Realm?!"

Hearing Elder He’s words, the other two were struck with terror.

"Red opera robe, face-changing, returning from the dead, unpredictable behavior... With these points overlapping, it must be him." Elder He glanced at the two. "Now, do you still dare to underestimate him?"

The other two shook their heads immediately.

A Third-Order Opera Divine Path and the [Heart 6] of the Twilight Society were two completely different concepts... No one dared to underestimate a terrifying existence who had once, single-handedly, nearly destroyed an entire realm.

Elder He leaned on his cane, his gaze fixed on the slowly moving black clouds in the distance. The gale, mixed with raindrops, whipped their hair about...

He tapped his cane and spoke slowly:

"Let’s go..."

"Today, we execute [Heart 6]."

……

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

A torrential downpour fell upon Willow Town. Under the hurricane, the willow branches on both banks whipped about in disorder.

Dense ripples spread across the water, creating a red, fragmented shadow that moved slowly along the bank. He held a plain oil-paper umbrella, which made a rhythmic tapping sound as the raindrops struck it.

"It should be just ahead..." Chen Ling looked at the misty wasteland before him and muttered to himself.

Having learned from the Lin Xi incident, Chen Ling had specifically found an umbrella without any patterns this time. He remained constantly vigilant of his surroundings, as he didn't know when the enemy might arrive in Willow Town or from where they might spring to deliver a fatal blow.

Perhaps because of the wind and rain, there were no other figures on the road. Chen Ling walked alone on the bluestone path, so quiet it felt as if he were the only person left in the world.

He headed east, gradually moving away from the town, and the surrounding houses became fewer and fewer. At the same time, his palm, resting in his pocket, could clearly feel a heat rising...

Chen Ling pulled his hand out and discovered that it was the invitation emitting the heat, especially the four large characters "Nameless Actor" in the signature, which were glowing faintly.

"It seems this thing is the key to entering the performance venue... Is it some kind of ritual artifact, or is it because of the characters on it?" Chen Ling pondered.

Chen Ling held the invitation and continued forward through the wasteland.

Finally, as he took a step forward, ripples stirred in the air, as if some invisible curtain had been lifted at a corner with his arrival.

Chen Ling suddenly stopped.

The heavy rain fell along the edge of the oil-paper umbrella. Chen Ling’s gaze pierced through the water vapor, looking at the invisible curtain fluttering before him. Dense raindrops fell upon it, yet passed through as if it were nothing.

"This is..."

Chen Ling tentatively reached out his hand toward the front. As his fingertips brushed it, the invisible curtain was pulled up at a corner.

At the same time, the invitation in Chen Ling’s hand became incredibly hot, as if someone were calling to him from behind the curtain.

"Only those with an invitation can enter behind the curtain..."

Chen Ling stood under his umbrella behind the fluttering spatial curtain. As if having made up his mind, he took a deep breath and stepped inside with a long stride... The invisible curtain brushed past Chen Ling’s shoulders, and his figure vanished into thin air, as if he had arrived in another world.

The red figure disappeared into the rain curtain. Ten minutes later, a figure in green also walked over from the distance.

Li Qingshan held an umbrella, his body already soaked by the wind and rain. He protected the invitation with his sleeve, his eyes blurred by the rain as he struggled to examine his surroundings.

As he moved forward, the invitation in his hand began to glow and heat up, eventually guiding him to the invisible curtain as well.

"This..." Li Qingshan saw the dreamlike, fluttering curtain before him, astonishment appearing in his eyes.

"Really... this invitation is actually real?"

This was the first time Li Qingshan had been so close to a mysterious phenomenon. Curious and worried, he poked at the curtain for a while, and after looking around to ensure no one was there, he ducked inside.

As Li Qingshan entered, the invisible curtain gradually vanished into the rain, as if it had never appeared at all.

……

A foot stepped into a puddle, sending droplets dissipating into the air.

Li Qingshan held his umbrella, looking around blankly... After passing through the invisible curtain, he was still on the wasteland of Willow Town. Even looking back, the path he had come from was clearly visible, as if the curtain just now had been an illusion.

But Li Qingshan knew clearly that it wasn't an illusion, because the rain filling the sky swept across his body, yet passed through as if he were nothing, as if he didn't exist at all.

No... rather than saying he didn't exist, it was more like the raindrops and he were no longer in the same world.

Li Qingshan could see the raindrops sliding past his umbrella and through his body, yet they couldn't leave a single trace of moisture on him, just like some kind of holographic projection—all appearance but no substance. And under the pouring rain, the ground before him was actually dry.

Seeing such a magical scene, Li Qingshan’s confusion grew even deeper. He put away his umbrella and walked forward cautiously.

In the wasteland before him stood a crude wooden stage.

From the outside, this was almost the shabbiest stage Li Qingshan had ever seen. A few wooden stakes were driven into the ground as a foundation, the wood on the stage surface was worn and faded, and on the stage pillars supported by a few lonely long poles, bright red curtains danced in the wind. Through the gaps in the curtains, one could even see the drafty open-air backstage behind it.

Li Qingshan’s expression was subtle. He looked down to confirm the content of the invitation—

"The Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts sincerely invites you to witness the New Era 380 Realm Performance."

When he first saw this sentence, Li Qingshan subconsciously felt that this should be a fairly magnificent and solemn performance, at least a hundred times better than the Flower Capital Opera Troupe, after all, it was the legendary "Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts"... But when he saw that crude stage, his fantasies were shattered.

This was the shabbiest stage Li Qingshan had ever seen.

Li Qingshan’s gaze continued to scan the surroundings. In front of the crude stage were two rows of equally crude wooden chairs, which must have been where the audience was meant to sit, totaling about a dozen seats.

A crude stage, empty seats,

In the unreachable wind and rain filling the sky,

A single red figure sat quietly and lonely in the front row.

Seeing that figure, a look of astonishment appeared in Li Qingshan’s eyes. He tentatively spoke up:

"Brother Lin...?"