Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 81 - 76: What is a Legendary Performer?

Chapter 81: Chapter 76: What is a Legendary Performer?

"The northland is distant, the south under my feet constantly changes," the chant went, "sorcerous clouds and Chu rains bind with silken threads. Willow flowers scatter through the alleys, swallows flip over the walls, recognizing the old grounds of the Red Mansion. Idle sentiments gently rise like grass, stirring new sorrows chaotic as smoke, while the spring mourners continue to sleep..."

The lyrics flowed melodically, with lingering resonance.

On stage, Su Xianjun seemed fully immersed in the song, every line sung and every movement precisely executed, like the workings of a finely tuned machine.

Yet, this precision did not come off as mechanical; it wholly infused with emotion.

Below the stage, the previously boisterous bandits were all struck dumb, expressionless for a moment.

They couldn’t understand Su Xianjun’s lyrics, but they could feel the faint melancholy in the air, as though the words transported them into a completely unknown world...

The scholar was utterly captivated by Su Xianjun’s performance. He felt a rush from the wine, shaking his head as he listened, suddenly feeling that everything he had ever done was worth it.

To hear a singing voice like the music of immortals was a lifetime without regrets!

However, when he glanced sideways at the Eastern Barbarian General, he noticed a strange expression on his face, seemingly caught in a conflict and entanglement.

Clearly, the Eastern Barbarian General was also drawn by Su Xianjun’s perfect performance on stage and could not help wanting to immerse himself in it. Yet, on the other hand, he seemed to be resisting and paying attention to the situation outside the theater.

The demon possessing the Eastern Barbarian General was continually battling with the General’s own will.

"This Su Xianjun truly deserves his reputation as a famous actor across Jiangnan Road," mused the demon. "A few lines of lyrics have captivated even those who cannot understand them.

"I have sent out two Eastern Barbarian Shadow Servants to pursue Wang Jinhui and Yang Xinyan, they should be back soon. But it’s not the time to be complacent, militia could attack at any time, alertness is necessary...

"But why is this so difficult!"

At that moment, the demon felt like an ordinary person completely dominated by sleepiness, who, despite reminding himself constantly that he absolutely must not sleep, began unwittingly to nod off.

The demon possessing the bandit, unlike the Eastern Barbarian General’s, was more of a coexistence with the original will of its host. Although in most cases, the demon could influence or even control the decisions of the bandit, the bandit’s will was not entirely powerless.

When the bandit’s will grew stronger, it could, in turn, influence the decisions of the demon.

Now was such a case.

The Eastern Barbarian General’s original will was completely captivated by the lyrics on stage, making it difficult for the demon to stay alert and focus on the situation outside the theater despite its best efforts.

The demon was perplexed; it didn’t know if it was because the Eastern Barbarian General liked the play too much, Su Xianjun sang too beautifully, or if there was some other reason.

Finally, as the high point of the lyrics reached its climax on stage, the demon gave up resisting.

The Eastern Barbarian General, like the other bandits, listened intoxicated.

"Such a wonderful performance!

"How many years of skill does it take to achieve such perfection?"

The scholar watched Su Xianjun on stage with eyes full of admiration.

However, at this moment, Meng Yuan, who was possessing Su Xianjun, felt somewhat bored.

His current perfect performance on stage was indeed due to his previous rigorous training, but also slightly because he had chosen the Returner’s talents.

"It seems I need to be more thoughtful when choosing talents next time; this feels like I’m on autopilot—there’s no real experience..."

Meng Yuan’s three talent skills were all related to opera.

[Ren·Opera Mastery (Gold): Your knowledge of opera and vocal skills are improved accordingly.]

[Ren·As If Present (Gold): Your performance is highly infectious, placing everyone in the vicinity completely under the spell.]

[Ren·Detail Mastery (Gold): Details of your physical movements, speech, and expressions are automatically corrected to a perfect state.]

Strictly speaking, this third talent "Detail Mastery" can also be considered a combat skill to some extent; it corrects the details in body movements, speech, and expressions, and greatly improves maneuvers and techniques.

Of course, it is limited to enhancing details.

For Meng Yuan, he first raised his opera knowledge and vocal skills to a high level through "Opera Mastery," activated the muscle memory in Su Xianjun’s body through repeated practice, then adjusted every little detail to perfection through "Detail Mastery," ensuring that there were no minor flaws, and finally enhanced the infectious power of his performance even further with "As If Present."

This way, seamlessly boosting his singing abilities from all angles.

The only downside affecting the experience was that these three talents almost completely locked down Meng Yuan’s own fluctuations, making it feel like he was being managed.

But Meng Yuan was ultimately a Reorganizer with a clear mind. He knew he was never meant for the opera stage, so he decided not to cause any unnecessary trouble and focus on resolving this historical segment diligently.

Outside the theater.

Zhao Haiping was continuously struggling with an Eastern Barbarian Shadow Servant, fighting while retreating.

The sharp blade of the Eastern Barbarian nearly grazed his clothes several times, but no matter how hard the assassin tried, he couldn’t inflict the slightest injury on Zhao Haiping.

A deep confusion and frustration were evident in the assassin’s eyes.

Yang Xinyan was just an opera singer, so why did he have such impressive skills?

Indeed, opera singers practiced basic skills, and those who played martial roles learned some martial arts, but that was far from actual combat!

Moreover, the most bizarre aspect was not even here.

If it were just about being agile and having skilled movement techniques, that was fine. The assassin had many secret and sneaky techniques, whether they were flying cross-shaped swords or various unexpected and indefensible stealth attacks, or peculiar moves unique to the Eastern Barbarian’s blade, none of which could be evaded by mere agility.

After all, Yang Xinyan was unarmed while the assassin wielded a blade. This meant Yang Xinyan had no margin for error; a single oversight due to carelessness would lead to certain death.

However, Yang Xinyan seemed to anticipate every move of the assassin as if he knew them all in advance. No matter whether it was a straightforward attack or a stealthy ambush, the assassin felt that as soon as he raised his hand, Yang Xinyan would know what he was about to do and dodge it effortlessly.

The assassin even wondered if Yang Xinyan could read minds.

Moreover, Yang Xinyan did not stay in place to fight to the death with the assassin, but kept retreating while fighting, hitting twice then running, leading the assassin further away.

The assassin initially thought of killing Yang Xinyan quickly and returning to the theater. However, every time he thought he was on the verge of success, he failed, and unknowingly, Yang Xinyan had led him far away.

The two men, one after another, arrived in a dark alley.

Yang Xinyan finally stopped, looked around anxiously, showing a frightened expression.

Because this was a dead-end!

The expression on the assassin’s face was originally grim, but now he finally showed a ferocious smile. Although the time spent chasing Yang Xinyan far exceeded his initial estimate, since Yang Xinyan had walked into a dead end by himself, things would be easier.

He held the Eastern Barbarian’s blade in both hands and slowly approached Yang Xinyan.

However, at that moment, a terrifying sense of crisis suddenly overwhelmed him!

The assassin couldn’t explain where this sense of danger came from, but he instinctively tried to dodge to the side.

But it was already too late.

A shadow suddenly leapt over the wall from the back of the dead-end alley, descending from the sky, and a sharp dagger accurately stabbed into his neck!

Under the exclusive talent boosted by a commoner’s fury, the assassin’s panicked evasion was futile, and the blade precisely struck his throat!

The assassin’s eyes widened, and only then did he see clearly, the one who attacked him seemed to be... a woman?

He felt he had indeed been too careless, should not have pursued so deep.

Perhaps he should have surveyed this ’dark box’ carefully before entering.

But he would never understand, to his death, why such a small county was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers...

Xia Ruoling stepped on the assassin’s corpse, pulling out her dagger.

Zhao Haiping reached out, taking the remaining cross-shaped swords from the assassin’s body, and picked up the Eastern Barbarian’s blade.

"The only drawback of the Yang Xinyan persona is that it doesn’t come with weapons.

"If I hadn’t encountered this assassin many times in the Trial Illusion and memorized all his moves, I might actually have been at a disadvantage today, unarmed."

Though unscathed, Zhao Haiping still felt a lingering fear.

This was the ultimate trial with 100% pain sensation; getting sliced by a blade would be dreadful, possibly resulting in the immediate loss of combat capabilities.

So, he must continue to strive harder.

This flawless victory still wasn’t perfect; next time, he aimed to handle it even more smoothly.

Without further delay, the two immediately went to rendezvous with others, ready to attack the theater and rid it of all these bandits and demons.

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