Chapter 472: His Eyes

Hearing these two words, everyone stopped in their tracks.

"Coming here is enough." The master stepped on the void, walking slowly from the other side of the curtain. "You all go back... leave the rest to me."

The next moment, the master, draped in his stage robes, vanished instantly from their sight, as if he had crossed thousands of miles in a single step.

Secret Technique, 【Cloud Step】.

The group looked at each other in silence.

"...We should go," Mo Jiao sighed. "This place is indeed not somewhere we should be..."

"Besides Master, it seems only the eldest brother has been here?"

"I’ve only occasionally brought Master back when he’s had too much to drink," Ning Ruyu shook his head. "Normally, I don’t have the clearance to enter the depths either."

"The junior brother stumbled in by accident; he’ll be fine, right?"

"With Master following him, he’ll definitely be fine."

"Eldest brother, what exactly is in here? Can you tell us?"

The other three looked at Ning Ruyu simultaneously. After a brief silence, Ning Ruyu answered vaguely:

"Inside... there’s actually nothing much, just a room similar to the fifth one."

"Just a room?"

The group nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing not to press further, and each pulled open a void curtain, vanishing from the desert.

……

Deep in the desert.

A flash of red streaked through the sand, the black smiling mask silent and hideous.

In this barren cultural desert, there was no sign of life or water, like an endless cage trapping humans as small as ants.

It wasn't until "Chen Ling" had traveled nearly tens of kilometers with his Cloud Step that a black dot gradually took shape at the end of the desert.

As he drew closer, he saw it was a building standing in the center of the desert, larger than the one at Ugly Peak. Once they were within three kilometers, the appearance of an ancestral hall became clear.

"Chen Ling" was moving incredibly fast. Just as he was about to enter the hall, a voice rang out from above:

"『Fix』."

The moment this word sounded, the red figure came to a sudden halt, frozen like a statue with one foot across the threshold... But if one looked closely, they would see he wasn't completely frozen, but rather restrained by some force, his muscles trembling as if he were about to break free.

In front of this natural enemy of the Theater Path, the effects of secret techniques were greatly diminished, much like lines in a play—no matter how compelling, it was difficult to influence the "Audience" for long.

The master walked up to "Chen Ling," looked at that pitch-black "Audience" mask, and spoke slowly:

"Chen Ling, you need to wake up."

"Even if confusion has swallowed your past, there must still be something that can serve as your 'anchor'..."

"Those past events that left a deep impression on you, those people who changed the trajectory of your life—it is their existence that has made you who you are today... Find it, grasp it, I know you can."

The pitch-black Audience mask struggled again, and "Chen Ling’s" body began to tremble violently.

In the pitch-black world.

Chen Ling clutched his head with both hands, endless confusion battering his perception. He didn't know what these things were, nor how he could have so much confusion, but he could vaguely guess that behind this confusion, a shocking secret must be hidden...

"Anchor... do I have other anchors?"

Chen Ling endured the pain and struggled to open his eyes. In a daze, he saw a figure walking slowly toward him through the heavy snow.

The makeup of a "Dan" role covered his face, and the identical bright red stage robe fluttered gently in the wind and snow. He stood in the frost-white world, his apricot-like eyes gazing at Chen Ling’s face.

"Brother, I’m here," he said softly.

"A-Yan...?"

Chen Ling’s pupils contracted slightly.

"Regardless of whether Brother’s past is true or false, our bond is real," Chen Yan smiled slightly. "We met earliest, and I have the deepest influence on Brother. Master used the 【True Self Mirror】 to awaken the instincts of this body, just to let me become your first anchor...

Your confusion is too powerful; only I can anchor your perception."

Chen Ling was stunned.

Numerous details surfaced in Chen Ling’s mind, and everything seemed to connect. When he first entered the Theater Path Ancient Treasury, Master had him learn basic secret techniques—whether it was "singing" or "reciting," it was all to lay the foundation for the lyrics needed to master 【Painting the Red Face】... And his encounter with the 【True Self Mirror】 was no coincidence, but a preparation Master made specifically to awaken Chen Yan’s consciousness. After all, in this world, no one likely understood the power of "Mockery" better than him...

From the first day he stepped into the Theater Path Ancient Treasury, Master had been preparing for this day... No, even before he entered, Master had already been planning.

This just proved that the importance of 【Painting the Red Face】 was far beyond Chen Ling’s imagination. It wasn't just to dispel confusion; it might even be related to the "Mockery" disaster!

Chen Ling asked immediately:

"A-Yan, what should I do?"

Chen Yan smiled and shook his head in the snow. "Brother, you don’t need to do anything... Do you remember saying you wanted to teach me how to apply makeup?"

"...Yeah."

"I actually know I’m not very good at makeup, but at least I can always get the eye makeup just the way I like it." Chen Yan’s lips curled up, looking happy. He continued,

"Let me paint the first stroke of makeup on Brother’s face."

Chen Yan gently wiped the corners of his own eyes, and a touch of apricot red transferred to his fingertips, as if he were removing a piece of makeup that belonged to him, and walked slowly to Chen Ling...

"Brother, close your eyes."

Chen Ling paused, then closed his eyes instinctively.

Chen Yan raised his hands, his thumbs reaching toward Chen Ling’s face... In this pitch-black world, that pure white mask remained spotless. As Chen Yan’s fingers fell and wiped gently, a pair of apricot-red eyeshadows remained permanently on the surface of the mask.

With this stroke, the dull, monotonous pure white mask finally gained its first touch of color, coming to life like the final touch on a dragon painting. A wave of white spread wildly from beneath Chen Ling’s feet!

The small boat sailing on the turbulent sea finally dropped its first "anchor." The hull, which could have shattered at any moment, gradually stabilized, and the endless confusion was dispelled from a corner by the ship’s lantern, like the night fading away.

That was the mark Chen Yan left for him, the proof of "Chen Ling’s" existence...

That was the facial makeup belonging solely to Chen Ling. Perhaps in the future, this face would become more complete due to his experiences, but this stroke of apricot eye makeup would always be his pillar and starting point.

Chen Ling’s eyes opened slowly. Unlike the delicate and gentle eye makeup on Chen Yan’s face, Chen Ling’s apricot-colored corners were hooked like a phoenix tail, appearing eerie while carrying a unique sharpness and murderous intent...

At the same time, Chen Ling could feel a mysterious sensation rising from his eyes. He seemed to be able to see more than before, and even his 【Secret Pupils】 began to be absorbed by this eye makeup. A more powerful ocular technique was about to be born!

"This is... my 'Red Face'."

……

……

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