Chapter 968: Sacrificing to the Gods

Chen Ling was struggling.

Relying on the absolute control of material form from [Reshaping] and the absolute insight into details from [Secret Pupil], theoretically, he could make this mask look like anything he wanted. He could even recreate a "Chen Ling" face one-to-one, down to the very pores.

But Shen Nan had stopped him. A Nuo mask wasn't better just because it was more realistic; it was like a facial makeup—it required exaggerated techniques to amplify features and present the character’s personality in the most straightforward way… In other words, it needed artistic processing.

Director Chen had studied directing, and he wasn't skilled in art, especially the aesthetics of drawings and masks.

“Do you need to be this conflicted?” Yao’s voice sounded from the bottom of his heart.

“If it were my own face, of course I wouldn't be conflicted… but…”

Chen Ling let out a long sigh.

“Maybe you’re overthinking it,” Yao said patiently, “You could make a mask first and try it out. What if this thing isn't actually that strict?”

Chen Ling thought about it and felt it made sense.

A long time had passed since he entered the era archive, and dragging it out like this wasn't a solution… Regardless, he would just have to try.

After making up his mind, Chen Ling didn't hesitate. He visualized Yao’s appearance in his mind and, relying on his vague impression of Yao’s personality, began to carve bit by bit onto the mask.

……

Heavy clouds gradually covered the sky.

Shen Nan had managed to find a small table and set it up in the open space in front of the house. Yang Xiao and the others sat on small stools around the table, staring intently at the playing cards in their hands.

“A 6.”

“A Q.”

“K。”

“Small Joker.”

As Lu Xun threw a gray Joker onto the table, the other three remained silent. Everyone knew there was still a red Joker on the table, but no one wanted to play it at the beginning… The most powerful card had to appear at the most critical moment; this was the simplest logic.

After a few rounds, Yang Xiao threw the remaining cards in his hand into the pile and looked helplessly at Shen Nan beside him:

“Can’t you start with small cards? I have a bunch of 3s and 4s that I can’t play.”

“I can’t help it, the smallest thing I have is a 6… If I don’t play it, how can I bait out the Small and Big Jokers? I finally got the first move; I can’t just waste it.”

Shen Nan shrugged and, as the representative of the losing side, began to shuffle the cards.

“There’s strategy in playing cards too. If you know your hand isn't good, you have to find a way to let your teammate run first,” Lu Xun handed the cards he hadn't finished playing to Shen Nan, “You lost because you’re not united enough.”

“It’s not just about being united,” Shen Nan looked at the winner, Su Zhiwei, and let out a long sigh,

“Your hands are too good. You have both the Big and Small Jokers, and two sets of bombs… how are we supposed to play?”

“You have plenty of bombs too. You could say luck is part of strength.”

Su Zhiwei replied with a smile.

While Shen Nan was shuffling, Yang Xiao looked back toward the direction of the desolate field,

“Huh… is Director Chen almost done carving?”

Everyone turned to look and saw that Chen Ling was no longer using [Reshaping] to restore the wood, but was seriously carving the details of the mask after establishing the basic outline.

Because they were too far away, they couldn't see exactly what the mask in Chen Ling’s hand looked like, but it seemed to be nearing completion.

“Pretty fast,” Shen Nan checked the time, “I thought he’d be dragging it out for a few more hours.”

As they were talking, Chen Ling in the dim field slowly stood up and walked straight toward the open space.

“Director Chen, are you finally finished?” Su Zhiwei took the initiative to speak.

Chen Ling saw the three of them and was stunned for a moment. He couldn't connect them to any characters in the script in his mind, but judging by the situation, they should be his acquaintances.

He didn't have many acquaintances in the era archive. Two men and one woman…

“How did you guys come here?” Chen Ling asked.

“We came out of the 749 Bureau, saw your message, and followed the network signal to find you,” Yang Xiao said, a smile appearing on his face as he saw Chen Ling approach.

Chen Ling seemed to realize something and examined Yang Xiao several times with surprise.

He had guessed right; this was Yang Xiao. If so, the identities of the other two were obvious… But what surprised Chen Ling was that Yang Xiao had only learned to control magnetic fields a few days ago, and now he could actually locate his phone via network signals… The speed of this guy’s progress was simply too fast.

“You’re already playing cards,” Chen Ling looked at the poker on the table, “Looks like you’ve been waiting for a while.”

“We saw you were busy, so we didn't want to disturb you.”

Shen Nan shuffled the cards, handed them to Chen Ling, and raised an eyebrow,

“Tired? Want to play a round?”

“No time.”

Chen Ling casually stuffed the poker into his pocket and handed the mask to Shen Nan with his other hand, “Take a look and see if this works.”

Shen Nan took the mask and let his gaze fall upon it. It was a black and white mask. Unlike the grotesque and ugly black mask of Shen Nan, the mask in Chen Ling’s hand was peaceful and quiet. It didn't look like anything special, except for the purple tint at the corners of the eyes, which gave it a faint sense of mystery.

Shen Nan stared at it for a while, his expression somewhat strange.

“What’s wrong? Is it no good?”

“Do you know how many years I spent learning to make Nuo masks?” Shen Nan sighed, “Although yours still has some flaws, to be able to do this on your first try is already perfect… Even if you have that special ability, I still think it’s a perverted level of talent.”

“So it works?”

“In terms of craftsmanship, there’s no problem. But whether it can solve your problem still needs to be verified.”

“How do we verify it?”

Shen Nan didn't answer immediately. He looked at the sky, pondered for a moment, and then turned to walk into the house.

When he came out again, everyone was slightly startled.

Shen Nan was now wearing that black and red theater robe again, with bells hanging from his waist and a black flag on his shoulder. The grotesque Nuo mask was held in his palm, and the hem of the theater robe swayed gently with his steps.

“What are you…”

“Whether it works or not, we’ll know if we try it according to the method of [Nuo].”

Shen Nan walked into the open space where a cold wind was blowing, holding the mask, and slowly closed his eyes, as if listening to something… Theater and Shaman intertwined in his hands, and the cold wind was mixed with faint prayers, lingering in his ears.

Lu Xun, Yang Xiao, and Su Zhiwei were all seeing this kind of formation for the first time. At this moment, they were all observing Shen Nan, who was silent with his eyes closed, not knowing what he was going to do.

But Chen Ling had seen Shen Nan take action with his own eyes. When Shen Nan came to save him last time, he was wearing this same theater robe… And judging by Shen Nan’s current posture, he should be completing a “prayer.”

However, this time he wasn't praying himself, but listening to the wishes of others nearby.

Everyone waited for a long time before Shen Nan’s voice slowly rang out:

“Chen Ling, you must remember my dance steps next…”

Shen Nan looked at Chen Ling solemnly, “This dance is a dance to communicate with the ‘God.’ After you put on the Nuo mask, it will be the medium to induce the divine descent…”

“Its name is [Sacrificing to the Gods].”