Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 66 - 62 Memory Fragments

Chapter 66: Chapter 62 Memory Fragments

Yang Xinyan saw the hesitation in Chuge’s expression and thought his persuasion had taken effect. He quickly struck while the iron was hot, "Xianjun, listen to me. You must never bring up the matter of setting fire to the theater with anyone else. Speaking one more word about it could very well bring about a lethal disaster!

"In this small county town, who knows if there are people secretly involved with the bandits? By then, both you and I could end up with nowhere to bury our bodies!

"We perform on stage, and to speak from the perspective of the greater good, it is for the sake of the people of the entire town. Once the bandits are gone, even if we have to bear infamy, it won’t matter. Let’s just keep ourselves alive first!"

Chuge shook his head and cleared his mind of all distractions.

Was he about to be swayed by an NPC in the game?

I am still a scholar, with the innate talent of overwhelming righteousness!

Chuge’s expression became resolute once again, "You’re being foolish!

"If everyone thought like you, only caring for their own safety, unwilling to take any risks, wouldn’t the County Magistrate’s death have been in vain? If the Eastern Barbarians violate our land and slaughter our people, won’t they just come and go as they please, doing whatever they want?

"If King Chu had thought like you, he would have surrendered to Great Wei already, and would not have fought to his last breath!

"Although we are actors and can’t compare to scholars, we sing of our country and heroes. Others might say actors lack integrity, but we must not think so of ourselves!

"Even if the task of setting fire to the theater is extremely difficult, we must do it. Even if we perish in the flames, we must show these bandits the price of every inch of our land soaked in blood!

"If you are too afraid, then I will go find Mr. Wang. There are always people willing to undertake this task."

Yang Xinyan’s expression changed again, "Xianjun, don’t be rash. I’ve told you before that this Wang is not to be trusted. These scholars talk of morality and righteousness, but when it comes to a critical moment, they are no better than us actors!

"If you trust him, you’ll end up being sold out and still help count the money for the seller!

"If Gao Ze were here, there might be a chance of organizing local militia, but now with Gao Ze’s whereabouts unknown, we cannot support this alone. Let’s first get through the current crisis before thinking about other matters.

"As long as the green hills are still there, you won’t worry about firewood!"

Chuge tried to persuade from various angles, but Yang Xinyan shook his head, completely disagreeing with the plan to set the theater on fire.

Chuge had no tricks left and could only helplessly give up.

You should know, as a scholar, he possessed the innate talent for imposing righteousness. This talent not only could buff others, enhancing their combat power but also had an important effect: when a scholar speaks in a state without guilt, his words have more impact and are more convincing.

That is to say, it was easier to sway, no, convince others.

Yet even so, Yang Xinyan still remained unmoved, which meant, from the game mechanics standpoint, Yang Xinyan—at least at this stage—was simply not persuadable.

If not even a scholar could do it, let alone other professions.

Thinking this, Chuge could only sigh and continue with the original script.

"You fear death so greatly, wasting half your life acting as a conquering king; your acting has gone to the dogs.

"Get out!"

With an angry rebuke, Chuge drove Yang Xinyan out.

The door closed, and Chuge fell into melancholy.

What should he do?

He knew the following plot. Yang Xinyan would come back later, continuing to plead outside the door. In less than an hour, Wang Jinhui would also come.

Should he try to repeat the same words to Wang Jinhui? See if the plan to set the theater on fire could succeed?

It was probably still in vain, because Su Xianjun initially placed his hope in Wang Jinhui, only to be stood up.

The key problem was the uncertainty over which character’s role was altered, so there were too many interfering factors to consider.

Just then, Chuge’s vision began to slowly reveal a special fragment with the vague image of Yang Xinyan on it.

"Huh?

"Is this the effect of the golden talent? Memory fragments activated!"

"It seems to be the result of that conversation with Yang Xinyan!"

Chu Ge hurriedly tried to touch the fragment, and then, scenes flashed before him like a carousel.

Because they were memory fragments, they were not particularly complete or coherent, but for Chu Ge, they still held utmost significance.

...

Scenes emerged in the memory, still from the first-person perspective, but the figures in the scenes could vaguely be made out as the young Yang Xinyan.

This perspective clearly belonged to Su Xianjun.

Snippets of dialogue surfaced in Chu Ge’s mind along with the memories.

Some words were Su Xianjun’s, some were Yang Xinyan’s, and some seemed to belong to others, all mixed together.

"I was born a man..."

"Wuuu, big brother, tell me, how can I get a role? How many beatings do I have to endure? When can I get a role?"

"Master said, to make a name for yourself in public, you must endure hardship in private. Rest assured, little brother, our day to shine will come."

"You two listen well, I beat you so you’ll remember! Not a single line can be wrong on stage! You are the person in the play, and the person in the play is you!"

"I was originally a delicate woman..."

"Big brother, do you think we can keep acting like this for a lifetime?"

"Little brother, what’s there to worry about? As long as there are people, there will be audiences for plays. Forget the people; even those Eastern Barbarian thieves listen to plays. As long as there are plays, we’ll have food to eat."

"Big brother, I’m not talking about food; I’m asking if you and I can act together like this for a lifetime?"

"Why not? Haven’t we been acting for so many years? As for the future, who can be certain? Let’s just take it one day at a time."

"No! Big brother, I want to act with you for a lifetime, until the day I die!"

"Xianjun, what are you talking about? Have you gone mad? ’Farewell My Concubine’ is just a play; it’s not real! We live among mortals, not inside a play!"

"Wei soldiers have claimed the land, the sound of Chu’s defeat echoes all around... The king despairs, why should his concubine live any longer..."

Along with these dialogues, scenes flickered by rapidly, just like a carousel.

It seemed to include Su Xianjun and Yang Xinyan training together, being punished and made to kneel in the courtyard, practicing their vocal scales by a well, and the two of them performing on stage for the first time...

"Boss Yang."

"Hmm?"

"Starting today, all that’s left between us is acting, taking each day as it comes."

"That’s more like it. We’re actors, ordinary people; when offstage, we should live as ordinary people do. Hey, little brother, little brother? Xianjun?..."

...

The memory fragment ended abruptly there.

Chu Ge’s expression was somewhat dazed; such a multitude of information had flooded into his mind, naturally and yet so real, it even gave him the illusion that this was a memory he himself had actually lived.

Moments later, Chu Ge came back to his senses.

He found it somewhat difficult to determine how much time he had spent absorbing this memory fragment, but there was still no knocking at the door; it seemed that not much time must have passed.

"What a large amount of information..."

"This memory fragment’s talent indeed seems key to passing this trial instance. Although they are fragmented memories, their absolute authenticity helps a player more accurately define the characters."

"Thus, the character images of Yang Xinyan and Su Xianjun can be said to be fairly clear now."