Chapter 466: The Fourth Wall

The next day.

Chen Ling got up, washed up briefly, and walked out of his room early.

Knowing that Master was going to teach him the secret technique personally today, a sense of anticipation and novelty washed away Chen Ling’s sleepiness. Although he was now familiar with his senior brothers and sisters, he didn't have much deep interaction with Master beyond daily conversation and meals.

In his perception, besides being unserious and unreliable, "mysterious" was the most prominent label for Master.

"Little junior brother!"

As soon as Chen Ling pushed the door open, he saw the Mo role walking over from a distance.

"Fourth senior brother, why are you here?"

"Master asked me to come get you."

"Get me? Where to?"

"Master chose a specific place for you, saying he was afraid of accidents." The Mo role checked the time and didn't explain further, instead reaching out to pull back a curtain in the void.

"Let's go."

Although Chen Ling was confused about what this "accident" referred to, he followed the Mo role into the curtain. After a slight sensation of spatial inversion, his feet landed back on the ground.

Chen Ling looked around, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

This was a theater.

A theater inside the Opera Path Ancient Treasury.

Chen Ling was currently standing in the aisle of the audience seating area, surrounded by endless empty chairs. Strangely, these chairs were of different styles and eras—some were ancient, hard wooden chairs, some were comfortable, grand red chairs from modern theaters, some were white, Western-style round chairs, and there were even a large number of odd-shaped small stools...

It was as if countless audience members from different eras had gathered here, each bringing their own chairs, looking forward to a spectacular performance that transcended time and space.

Following the aisle forward, there was an ordinary stage—neither too big nor too small, without luxurious decorations, nor too crude. It was like a "stage" itself, stripped of all additional attributes, simple and pure.

"This is..." Chen Ling asked, puzzled.

"[Performance Area]," the Mo role explained. "This area has two functions: 'performing' and 'viewing'."

"Performing happens on the stage. All the plays, scenes, and props recorded in the Opera Path Ancient Treasury can be called up here at will. It's usually a place for creation and rehearsals. Occasionally, when we want to stage a new opera or performance, we come here."

"Viewing happens in the audience area. Whether it's opera, drama, or crosstalk, it can be materialized on the stage. You can adjust whatever you want to watch..."

"Moreover, there is a 'Fourth Wall' between the stage and the audience area."

"The Fourth Wall?"

Chen Ling, who had a background in directing, naturally knew what the "Fourth Wall" meant. It was a theatrical term referring to the boundary line between the stage and the audience in a traditional proscenium theater. It separated the actors from the audience, allowing actors to focus more on character development while the audience could immerse themselves more deeply in the world of the play.

The implication of the "wall" was that it was "impassable"—performances on stage would not affect the audience, and the audience could not intervene in the performance.

It was like a program playing on a TV screen; no matter how much the world collapsed inside, it wouldn't affect the person watching the TV in the slightest. The same principle could be applied to novels, comics, movies, and stage performances... In other words, as long as the Fourth Wall existed, a "story" would always just be a "story."

"What do you mean by the Fourth Wall exists?" In Chen Ling’s understanding, the existence of the Fourth Wall was just a concept, a term, something ethereal.

"I mean it literally," the Mo role pointed to the stage. "There is a 'wall' between the stage and the audience in the [Performance Area]. Even if you detonated a nuclear bomb on stage, we wouldn't be affected in the audience, because the Fourth Wall has already separated us into two different worlds."

"So... here, the Fourth Wall is real?"

"That's right."

Chen Ling was filled with shock. The wonders of the Opera Path Ancient Treasury truly exceeded his imagination.

The Mo role led Chen Ling through the aisle, and they soon arrived below the stage. In the first row of the audience, several figures were already seated: Ning Ruyu, Wenren You, and Luan Mei.

Just as Ning Ruyu was about to explain something, a voice echoed leisurely from the stage:

"I asked them to come and be your teaching assistants."

Chen Ling looked back and saw a young man wearing an opera robe, sitting leisurely on the edge of the stage. As he waved his hand gently, sounds echoed through the theater.

Deng deng deng——

The lights around the stage lit up one after another, soon illuminating the entire theater.

"Master." Seeing Master appear, the senior brothers and sisters, including Chen Ling, stood up from their seats and spoke respectfully.

Master nodded slightly and continued:

"Sixth one, how much do you know about face makeup?"

Chen Ling pondered for a moment. "In theater, face makeup is a concrete manifestation of a character's personality and identity. Different colors and patterns have different meanings, allowing the audience to know relevant information about the character at a glance."

"Not bad."

Master looked at Ning Ruyu and the others. "Come on, show your little junior brother?"

Ning Ruyu and the others exchanged glances and stepped onto the stage. The four of them stood in the center, the bright lights hitting them, instantly making them the visual focus.

"Little junior brother, you must watch carefully."

As Ning Ruyu finished speaking, the four of them slowly closed their eyes. Four distinct auras began to spread across the stage, and a terrifying pressure, like an immovable mountain, weighed down on the theater.

But perhaps because of the "Fourth Wall," Chen Ling didn't feel the slightest discomfort under this pressure. He stared at the stage without blinking. A moment later, distinct face makeups appeared on the faces of the four senior brothers and sisters!

Ning Ruyu’s face makeup was very delicate. Besides the light-colored embellishments that made him look even more handsome, there were a few pattern lines that brought a cold, stern, sword-like sharpness to his gentle, jade-like face.

Luan Mei’s face makeup didn't have complex colors or lines; it was as if some light colors had just been blended onto her original face, giving her a fresh, refined beauty, like a cold plum blossom in the twelfth lunar month—aloof and chilly.

Of the four, the third senior brother Wenren You’s face makeup was the most flamboyant, with rough lines and bright colors. His already burly physique combined with that majestic face made one feel fear at a single glance, not daring to look directly at him.

The Mo role’s face didn't have overly distinct lines either. In fact, Chen Ling couldn't say what was special about it; the moment he moved his gaze away from the Mo role’s face, he seemed to forget what that face looked like...

At this moment, all their other details seemed to disappear, leaving only four face makeups of vastly different styles, like labels representing their respective roles.

It was as if all the [Sheng], [Dan], [Jing], and [Mo] roles in human history had gathered together, condensing into these four faces and presenting themselves before Chen Ling.

……

……

Writer's block (ㅍ_ㅍ), let me slow down and sort things out. Two chapters for now~