Chapter 871: Play

Chapter 871: The Play

"The sound of a play?" Li Huowang was stunned. Ever since the Lü Family Troupe had vanished, he hadn’t heard the sound of singing for quite some time.

After quickly identifying the source, Li Huowang immediately realized that the voice was coming from the massive landscape painting before him.

At that moment, the enormous mountain-and-river painting in front of Li Huowang parted like a curtain of pearls, and a figure emerged from within.

This person wore a red cord around his neck, tied to a green tassel ball atop his head. He was draped in white feathers, and his face bore a stark, theatrical white makeup—like that of a performer on stage. Combined with his attire, he looked like a character straight out of a traditional opera.

But the problem was, this creature’s appearance was utterly bizarre. His skull was sunken, nearly as large as his body; his face was elongated, and his eyes were uneven—one larger than the other, with many more deformities scattered across his features.

If one called him human, he more resembled a malformed, imperfect being.

The grotesque visage, combined with his theatrical makeup, evoked an unsettling effect—the kind that lurked in the valley of the uncanny. It was strange, unsettling, and deeply disturbing.

Li Huowang no longer cared about what this thing looked like. His attention was entirely focused on its hands—hands made of jade-green flesh.

The distance was close enough now for him to see clearly. The fingertips were almost transparent, gradually turning green as they rose, finally disappearing into the folds of his theatrical robe.

"It's it! It can touch the real thing I’ve constructed with my own hands! What is it? A descendant of royalty or perhaps something from the Unspoken Army?"

Footsteps echoed. Zhuge Yuan, holding a fan, stepped in front of Li Huowang, his brow furrowed as he stared at the creature.

Before Li Huowang could speak, the creature opened its mouth—a grotesque maw adorned with three sharp teeth above and two below—and began to sing:

"What is said of flowers blooming under the moon, people living long lives, mountains and rivers stretching for thousands of miles, yet so much sorrow!"

It wasn’t singing that disturbed him—it was the fact that this bizarre, unnatural creature was actually performing a traditional opera. The strangeness deepened, and the pain in Li Huowang’s head intensified, making his skull throb with agony.

"Damn it, what the hell is this thing!"

Zhuge Yuan raised his brush and charged forward, but before he could even draw, the creature lay back and transformed into a painted figure within the landscape painting.

While Zhuge Yuan fought ahead, Li Huowang suddenly heard a new sound behind him—a low, mournful cry from a woman.

He turned sharply and saw a tall, face-covering black-haired woman, her white silk sleeves fluttering as she passed by, her sorrowful opera voice echoing through the air.

"Heaven, you act with cruelty, favoring the strong over the weak. Earth, you judge not between good and evil. Heaven, you misjudge the wise and foolish, all for naught!"

For some reason, Li Huowang felt like he had seen this scene before—but he knew he had never encountered such a thing.

Before he could make sense of it, the woman had begun to approach him, dancing in small steps while singing.

With a roar, Li Huowang shouted, and Zhuge Yuan, who had been fighting in the sky, descended swiftly. With a single stroke, he drew a magical formation on the woman’s path.

After pushing her back slightly, he quickly turned and used the brush to draw a protective circle on Li Huowang’s robe, shielding him from further attacks.

"Quickly end this. If we linger much longer, I’ll collapse," Li Huowang gritted his teeth, clutching his head tightly.

To practice cultivation was already difficult, but to contend with Zhuge Yuan was another matter entirely.

Zhuge Yuan nodded. But when he turned again, he found that the two creatures had multiplied into five—male lead, female lead, villain, supporting role, and clown—all present.

They didn’t concern themselves with anyone else. Instead, they surrounded Li Huowang, blocking every escape route.

Zhuge Yuan glanced at Li Huowang and solemnly pulled out an old almanac from his robes, preparing to go all-in. “Brother Li, hold on. I’ll break a hole first and get us out of here. I’ve never seen such a thing in Great Qi. I don’t know if it’s real or not.”

"This might be a trap. They may have laid an ambush for you." With that, Zhuge Yuan tore off a page from the almanac and threw it into the air, then began writing.

Just then, a gust of wind blew the paper open, revealing a painted face of a female opera performer standing behind it.

The woman flicked her sleeve, sending it flying toward Zhuge Yuan.

Zhuge Yuan leapt high, dodging just in time. His robe brushed against her sleeve as he soared.

Then, something no one expected happened. The sleeve stuck directly to the hem of his robe.

As the sleeve tugged downward, it effortlessly tore off Zhuge Yuan’s lower half.

As the sleeve shook violently in the distance, Zhuge Yuan’s lower body shrank rapidly until it became nothing more than a blob.

With a sudden snap of her mouth, the woman swallowed the blob whole.

Seeing this, Li Huowang’s expression darkened. The pain in his head began to ease—he understood now. This female performer was consuming the true essence he had cultivated. She could devour the spiritual energy from Zhuge Yuan himself!

As the woman retreated, the others—male lead, villain, supporting role, and clown—surrounded Li Huowang once more. With only half his body left, Zhuge Yuan struggled against four opponents.

He barely managed to toss his spine back to Li Huowang before being torn apart.

“Brother Li, watch out! This thing can touch heaven and alter fate!” With those final words, Zhuge Yuan vanished completely.

The five figures stood still, surrounding Li Huowang once more.

Li Huowang’s face grew grim. Whatever these beings were, one thing was certain—they were going to be trouble.

"Ji Zai!" Li Huowang whispered urgently. "Ji Zai! Help me! If you don’t, you’ll die too!"

But nothing happened. Everything remained silent.

Just as the old male lead, with his long beard, laughed loudly, a sound of “Wuhahahaha” rang out from the valley’s sides.

All five figures turned their heads to look behind them and saw a vast crowd of people approaching.

Among them were members of the newly formed Celestial Observation Bureau of Great Qi, followed by the military sects, and behind them, the recently fed citizens of Great Qi.

From where Li Huowang stood, the crowd seemed endless, as if the entire city of Youdu had come to aid him.

"Devotee, do not fear—we are here to help you!" The abbot Chan Du called out from the front.

"Inconspicuously, Great Qi has grown so large," Li Huowang murmured, a hint of relief on his face. These five were formidable, but with so many people, he could simply overwhelm them.

But just as he thought that, the surroundings shifted once more into a forest. From within, figures emerged one by one.

Ten. Fifty. A hundred!

All were deformed, all dressed in theatrical costumes.

At that moment, Li Huowang finally understood their identity. They were the Unspoken Army!