Chapter 9
In the old man’s story, they had all focused on the fire and the haunting, but they had overlooked a crucial question.
What about the genius Troupe Master?
If he had only injured his leg and not died, why would he abandon the opera he had loved his whole life, leave the theater, and disappear without a trace?
Too much time had passed, and many clues were lost. It wasn’t until Jiang Liu saw that struggling figure in the depths of the fire that she suddenly realized a fact.
What if he had already died in the fire?
That’s why he was so unwilling, so crazily possessing others to fulfill his theatrical dream.
Before seeing the whole story, Jiang Liu had indeed thought so.
***
Everyone gathered below the stage, the photo album spread out before them.
The first picture was of two fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls, brimming with youthful vitality. Even the black and white tones couldn’t dilute their sincere smiles. The two were dressed in identical outfits, holding hands and leaning against the stage, their posture intimate.
On the back, a small inscription read, “Second year of knowing A Xiu, at the Curtain Dream Theater.”
Xu Meng stared at the two figures in the photo for a long time, then suddenly frowned. “Look, have we seen this person before?”
The album was thick, with photos documenting more than a decade of the two girls’ past, mostly set around the theater. As the childishness faded from their faces in the later photos, Xu Shu finally realized.
“It’s her!”
One of the people in this album was identical to the Troupe Master in the old man’s photo.
“The Troupe Master was a girl? Then why did she dress as a man?”
Xu Meng found it strange and couldn’t help but look at the others in confusion.
Everyone looked at each other, but no one could give a definitive answer.
Only Jiang Liu remained silent, quietly flipping through the following photos.
Most of them were of the Troupe Master in costume, with A Xiu applauding from below the stage. It was clear that the two were very close, until one particular photo appeared…
Zhang Xiaochen snatched the photo in disbelief and read the line of small characters on the back.
“Mid-Autumn Festival, drinking and talking with A Xiu, confessing our feelings.”
In the photo, the two were very close. A Xiu was leaning against the Troupe Master’s chest, her expression shy.
“Confessing our feelings.”
Zhang Xiaochen repeated the words, stunned. “They were a couple?”
Xu Meng snorted lightly, clearly looking down on his overreaction. “What era is it now? Is it necessary to be so surprised?”
She rarely spoke so sharply, and this sarcastic remark seemed strangely uncalled for, making Zhang Xiaochen laugh awkwardly and fall silent.
After this photo, the Troupe Master always dressed as a man, took over the theater, and married A Xiu. The two were in perfect harmony, living a very happy life.
“So, she dressed as a man to marry A Xiu?”
Xu Shu looked through the recorded text again and sighed softly. “In that era, it was indeed a possibility.”
After looking at everything, the atmosphere fell silent again.
“So the ghost controlling us is the Troupe Master? What does she want to do?”
The male student who had been silent all this time suddenly spoke up, feeling extremely uneasy.
They had been busy all night, and the sky was already brightening, but now they were even more confused.
Even if they knew the Troupe Master existed, so what? They couldn’t just rush into the illusion like Jiang Liu, risking their lives just to get a few clues, could they?
Once everything was sorted out, everyone became dejected, leaning back in their chairs and sighing.
Zhang Xiaochen stared at the photo for a long time, then suddenly asked, “Wait, if she died, what about A Xiu?”
They couldn’t have both died, that would be too unlucky.
Jiang Liu gave him a look of approval. “Not bad, you’re quick on the uptake.”
She stretched slowly. “The dead are not to be feared. The important thing is the living.”
Xu Shu glanced at her hesitantly and said, “You suspect A Xiu is Granny Chen?”
If so, then Jiang Liu’s actions today would make sense.
As for how to confirm her identity, Jiang Liu already had a plan.
Weren’t only those who had been on stage able to see that house?
And tonight’s Du Liniang—happened to be her.
After instructing Xu Shu and Yellow Hair to keep an eye on the others, Jiang Liu set off on the small path to the east. She didn’t know how long she walked, but the bright sunlight was finally enveloped by a spreading mist. At the end of the path, a faint, flickering house gradually came into view.
As she got closer, she realized the house’s structure was very old, probably built by the same person as the theater. Although it wasn’t as exquisite and magnificent as the theater was initially, it still had a classical charm.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Along with the crisp knocking sound, a shuffling of footsteps came from inside. After a long while, a middle-aged man’s voice asked, “Who is it?”
Jiang Liu smiled slightly. “I’m here to see Granny Chen.”
Before coming, she had sought out Ren Linlin and confirmed that no matter how she answered, she would be able to enter. That’s why she had so confidently stated her purpose.
The door creaked open a small crack. A pair of eyes appeared, slowly sizing up Jiang Liu, their gaze tinged with drunkenness.
This appearance immediately reminded her of the butler Chen Si had mentioned, the one who could be bought with a pot of wine.
The old butler narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a long time, then suddenly shook his head. “No, the mistress is not seeing guests today. You should go back.”
As he spoke, he was already raising his hand to close the door, his movements much more agile than his gaze.
Jiang Liu was speechless.
“Wait!”
She quickly grabbed the edge of the door, her eyes fixed on the old butler. “Why?”
The old butler glanced at her impatiently. “The mistress is not feeling well and is not fit to see guests. You should come back another day.”
He tried to slam the door shut, but to his surprise, Jiang Liu had an unknown strength and held the door firmly in place.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
She chuckled, knocked the old butler out with a punch, pushed the door open, and walked in.
With just one glance, Jiang Liu was almost certain that the so-called Granny Chen was A Xiu.
The reason was simple: the furnishings in the courtyard were strikingly similar to the scenes in the old photos. It seemed they hadn’t changed in decades. The pavilions and towers all showed signs of age.
The large courtyard was empty except for the butler, eerily quiet.
Jiang Liu couldn’t help but frown, a sense of foreboding suddenly rising in her heart.
Logically, this place shouldn’t be empty.
Where did she go wrong?
Something’s not right!
The feeling of panic came out of nowhere. Jiang Liu pinched her fingertips, and the faint pain cleared her head a little. She calmly crept into the main house. From the furnishings, it seemed to be a woman’s residence. The faint scent of medicine still lingered from the stove, probably the medicine Chen Si had mentioned.
The further she walked, the dizzier she became. She could only keep pinching her fingertips to stay awake. Finally, she reached the innermost part of the screen—
It was a bedroom. The bed was neatly made, without a speck of dust, yet it looked strangely familiar.
Jiang Liu shook her head forcefully, feeling like she had overlooked something.
A pair of hands silently landed on her shoulders.
She was startled. Before she could react, her body had already moved faster than her mind. She bent down, grabbed the person’s wrist, and executed a back throw.
This was a purely instinctive reaction. Her strength wasn’t exceptional, but it was more than enough to handle an ordinary person. The person clearly hadn’t expected it and was thrown to the ground with a cry of pain.
The voice was also somewhat familiar.
By the time Jiang Liu came to her senses, she saw Chen Si on the floor, hissing in pain and rubbing her scraped arm. Her watery eyes looked at Jiang Liu, and she couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but she seemed to see a hint of accusation in them.
So light.
That was Jiang Liu’s first thought. She hadn’t expected the person who attacked her to be a delicate little girl like Chen Si, and even more so, that she hadn’t fought back at all.
Looking at her somewhat aggrieved expression, she felt a pang of guilt for no reason. She rubbed her nose and asked, “Are you okay?”
Chen Si clutched her arm and drew a sharp breath, her voice tinged with tears of grievance. “Sister, why did you react so strongly? I only did that because you weren’t responding when I called you.”
Seeing that she was about to cry again, Jiang Liu felt a headache coming on. She couldn’t stand to see people cry. She quickly helped her up and apologized, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Chen Si wasn’t really blaming her either, just shaking her head helplessly. “Are you here to see Mother? She went out today.”
Jiang Liu helped her sit on the edge of the bed and asked probingly, “By the way, I’ve never seen your father.”
“Has sister forgotten? I was adopted. Mother doesn’t seem to be married, so how could I have a father?”
Chen Si sighed and shook her head again. “You must be possessed by your role to have forgotten such things.”
Adopted?
Jiang Liu frowned slightly.
The theater had been abandoned for nearly forty years, and Chen Si was only in her twenties. It was normal for her not to know the past. But what she wanted to confirm now was—which Chen Si was she?
If the clock chimes were the dividing line between the mortal and spirit worlds, then the theater was a place where the two worlds met.
When the clock chimed at midnight, the worlds were reversed. If a player went out, they would end up like the Man in a Suit. Only by staying in the room, completing the rehearsal, and waiting for the worlds to revert could they go out normally.
Chen Si and the servants were the complete opposite. After the clock chimed, they would instinctively fear the theater, which was why they always ran away so quickly.
This period happened to be mealtime, which could also be considered a rest time for the players. As long as they didn’t go out looking for trouble, they were absolutely safe.
If that was the case, then there would be an exception.
The Chen Si who left after delivering dinner, and the Chen Si who quietly appeared in her bed in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep.
If she didn’t need to avoid this time period and could sleep soundly as long as she followed the rules, then what was Chen Si’s identity?
Jiang Liu could never figure this out.
She couldn’t help but look down at Chen Si beside her. She was leaning against her, rubbing her arm absently, her expression looking very normal, as if she hadn’t noticed her gaze at all.
The her of now and the her of yesterday, who had dared to meet her gaze, were completely different.
Could such a contrasting split personality exist in one person at the same time?
“What is sister thinking about?”
Perhaps noticing that she had been silent for too long, Chen Si knelt in front of her and looked at her carefully, mistakenly thinking that she was angry because of her comment about being possessed. She quickly explained.
“I didn’t mean to say that. It was the old butler.”
She blinked, recalling, “He said that the senior brothers who used to come for rehearsals also used to ask strange questions. They must have been possessed by their roles to act like that.”
The former senior brothers, possessed.
These two keywords enlightened Jiang Liu, and an idea suddenly came to her.
Could those people from before also be players who had fallen into the same situation?
If so, did Chen Si’s so-called “leaving” mean clearing the game, or disappearing in the literal sense?
She made a mental note of these words, then rubbed her stomach and got up. “I must have been too tired from rehearsing and forgot for a moment. Shall we go back and eat?”
Chen Si hummed in agreement, and the two of them walked back side by side. As their figures grew more distant, the house gradually blurred until it disappeared completely.
If Jiang Liu had looked back just once, she would have discovered a familiar figure following behind her.
***
Chen Si watched her walk away, then looked at her own fingertips for a long time, as if the warmth of holding Jiang Liu’s hand still lingered. A touch of tenderness appeared in her eyes.
On the empty wasteland, a mechanical electronic voice spoke coldly, “Number 097, are you sure there is no problem with this operation?”
Number 097 smiled, a fleeting look of defiance in her eyes. “I am very sure. There are absolutely no rule violations.”
The electronic voice emitted a buzzing static, the sound of it scanning the NPC’s recent activity records. After a long while, it spoke again, “Number 097 has no violations. The report is rejected.”
As the voice fell, Chen Si’s figure gradually dissolved into a cloud of mist, blending in with the surroundings.
The wasteland returned to its long-lost silence, as if no one had ever been there.