I Ruined the Long Ao Tian Script
Chapter 106

Lucid Dream

Bai Roushuang couldn’t shake off the phrase "chopped three of them" from her mind. Watching Xu Shulou hack away at the giant shadow monster, she glanced at the crowd that had followed her senior sister. Ah, this is more like my overly kind senior sister, she thought. When had Xu Shulou ever ignored cries for help in the face of danger?

Just as she was about to seek comfort from her fellow disciples, Bai Roushuang paused mid-step. Wait a minute…

She scrutinized the faces in the crowd. "Senior… senior sister, why are there people who look exactly the same among those you brought?"

"Monsters pretending to be them, obviously," Xu Shulou replied nonchalantly.

Bai Roushuang shuddered. "So many…"

"Everyone was having trouble telling who was real, so I just brought them all along."

Bai Roushuang spotted a pair already locked in a scuffle, hurling insults at each other. "Isn’t that Thirty-three?"

"Yep. Originally, his friend Twenty-Nine was helping identify the real ones, but…" Xu Shulou pointed at the crowd. "Look, there are three Twenty-Nines now, each insisting they’re the real one."

Bai Roushuang followed her finger and saw three versions of Twenty-Nine—one cold-faced, one with arms crossed, and one with chin raised. All three seemed eerily true to his usual demeanor. It really was hard to distinguish the real one unless you knew him well.

She mused, "Seems this trial is testing our ability to discern truth from falsehood."

Xu Shulou had already finished dismembering the giant monster, leaving behind a scene that resembled a massacre. She strode into the brightly lit room, dragged over a chair, and sat down. "Let them sort it out themselves."

This was everyone’s trial, and Xu Shulou had no intention of stepping in to help.

Bai Roushuang obediently followed. "Oh, senior sister…"

She pulled forward the female cultivator who had been bitten. The woman’s entire arm had turned pitch black, trembling as she awaited her fate.

"Don’t be afraid," Xu Shulou said, pressing a finger to the back of her neck and knocking her unconscious. She turned to her junior sister. "She’ll be fine."

Bai Roushuang opened her mouth but said nothing. The woman had been knocked out by the giant monster earlier, and Bai Roushuang had just revived her—only for Xu Shulou to knock her out again.

But this was the real senior sister. If she said the woman would be fine, Bai Roushuang trusted her completely.

Xu Shulou smiled at her. "How did you recognize that imposter wasn’t me?"

Bai Roushuang cleared her throat. "Senior sister, would you like some lotus seed soup?"

"Yes."

"…"

"What?"

"Nothing," Bai Roushuang suppressed a laugh. "I’ll make it for you right away."

She pulled a small stove from her qiankun bag and started a fire. Then she asked, "How did you recognize me?"

"The fake one looked smarter."

"…"

Seeing her junior sister glare, Xu Shulou chuckled and explained, "It was a calculating kind of shrewdness. You haven’t had that look in your eyes for a long time."

Had she? Bai Roushuang froze, recalling their first meeting… So much had changed in these past few years. She steadied herself and asked, "What should we do about the scattered shadow monsters outside?"

"They don’t seem very useful. Not like the Snow Maiden, who can make shaved ice," Xu Shulou mused. "At best, they could put on a shadow puppet show."

"…"

"Which play would you like to see?" Xu Shulou asked. "I’ll negotiate with them."

Bai Roushuang thought for a moment. "Hmm, how about The Romance of the Western Chamber?"

She deliberately picked a common folk tale, not wanting to stump the shadow monsters.

"I happen to have a copy," Xu Shulou pulled a book from her qiankun bracelet and handed it to the monsters. "You’ve got half an hour to rehearse."

The shadow monsters glanced at the remains of the giant monster and tearfully accepted. One rebellious creature held up the book, contorted its features into a cross-eyed, tongue-lolling expression, pretending to be illiterate and dim-witted.

But after some forceful persuasion from Xu Shulou, it quickly mastered the art, even extending a shadowy limb to mimic the flourish of a water sleeve—a true theatrical prodigy.

Bai Roushuang rested her chin on her hand. "They can’t speak. Isn’t this a bit too much to ask?"

"Some of them can," Xu Shulou directed her. "Go check if those two Thirty-threes outside have finished fighting. Bring the loser in to play Zhang Sheng."

"…"

"Oh, and invite Third Brother Feng Yi in too. He’s always enjoyed mortal operas."

Soon, Feng Yi entered with a smile. "Brilliant idea. Who knows how long those outside will take to sort themselves out? Might as well enjoy a play while we wait."

Xu Shulou analyzed, "The trial probably won’t end until all the imposters are exposed."

Bai Roushuang worked efficiently, soon dragging back three humanoid monsters—battered from their beatings by fellow disciples—to play Cui Yingying, Zhang Sheng, and Hongniang. The remaining minor roles were filled by the mute shadow monsters.

And so, under Xu Shulou’s supervision, the shadow monsters contributed their talents to the theatrical arts.

The Romance of the Western Chamber began, albeit with halting lines, recited rather than sung, and frequent forgotten cues. But the raw, unfiltered performance had its charm, especially with the monsters’ flexible movements—backbends and sleeve flourishes executed flawlessly.

Shadow monsters were creatures of singular focus: when they wanted to bite, they bit; when forced to perform, they performed wholeheartedly.

The three spectators cheered enthusiastically, especially during Madam Cui’s interrogation of Hongniang. The actor playing Madam Cui got too into character, conjuring multiple shadowy whips to lash at Hongniang, who retaliated by ripping off Madam Cui’s arm and swallowing it whole—a truly gripping scene.

By the deception plot, the stage descended into chaos as the monsters devoured each other, with Zhang Sheng and Yingying both ending up in Zheng Heng’s maw. Never had the classic tale seen such an innovative adaptation, leaving the audience in awe.

Outside, the identification process raged on, with flashes of magical artifacts and the clang of weapons filling the night.

It was a lively evening indeed.

After The Romance of the Western Chamber, Feng Yi wanted to watch The Peony Pavilion, but the remaining shadow monsters were too few to stage another production.

Xu Shulou shook her head. "Let’s not let them butcher another masterpiece."

The surviving monsters, still hiccuping from their feast, seemed offended. After all our dedication, and this is the thanks we get?

Xu Shulou ignored them, using a folding fan to shield her eyes from the light. "I’ll rest for a bit. Wake me when it’s over outside."

"Alright."

As Xu Shulou closed her eyes to rest, Bai Roushuang watched her, knowing it might be years before they met again. She sighed softly.

Feng Yi sighed too.

Bai Roushuang turned to him. "Oh, Third Brother, are you still struggling with raising those spirit beasts? I recently saw a cultivator offering pet boarding services. Maybe you could look into it?"

Feng Yi shook his head: "I don't trust handing it over to strangers."

"That's fair," Bai Roushuang considered carefully. "It’s hard to feel at ease. No one else would care for it as attentively as you do. Shixiong, have you never entrusted your spirit beast to someone else’s care?"

"Not exactly. Shijie once helped me look after the snow leopard," Feng Yi replied with a complicated expression. "She took good care of it, but when I got it back, the leopard had gained ten pounds. I almost mistook it for a snow pig."

Bai Roushuang burst into laughter.

As the two chatted idly during this brief respite, Xu Shulou drifted into a dream—a long-forgotten one. In the dream, she stood before a full-length prism, and in the mirror was another Xu Shulou, the one from the storybook world.

She studied the prism closely, wondering if the Xu Shulou in the tale had fallen under a love spell, leading to those wild, unrestrained events. But through the mirror, she couldn’t tell. All she could see was the other Xu Shulou’s eyes brimming with hatred.

She blinked, gaining a sudden insight in this fleeting moment of clarity.

That Xu Shulou… her brow was etched with resentment and indignation, her spirit unyielding.

She recognized that expression. After the fall of her kingdom, whenever she happened to pass a bronze mirror, she would see the same furrowed brow staring back at her.

So, the Xu Shulou of the storybook world had never truly let go of the devastation of her family’s ruin. She had merely suppressed her desire for vengeance. Torn between personal vengeance and the greater good, she was bound to lose her mind—if not over Lu Beichen, then over something else.

Perhaps Lu Beichen and Bai Roushuang were merely outlets for her rage and bitterness, excuses to unleash her fury.

The real Xu Shulou could only feel a deep melancholy for her.

The figure in the prism was also watching her, eyes widening in surprise. She leaned closer, pressing a hand against the mirror’s surface. Just as Xu Shulou instinctively reached out to touch it, a clamor jolted her awake.

Bai Roushuang caught the lingering sorrow in her eyes. "Shijie, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing. What’s happening outside?"

"They’re fighting again. Originally, two Thirty-Threes were dueling, and the winner was decided. Everyone assumed the victor was the real one," Bai Roushuang shook her head. "But now three Twenty-Nines are brawling—one’s already dead. Of the remaining two, one insists the current Thirty-Three is fake, while the other calls it nonsense. So now it’s a free-for-all again."

"Quite the mess," Xu Shulou remarked.

"Let’s hope the remaining Thirty-Three is the real one," Bai Roushuang said with a shudder. "Because the losing Thirty-Three was the one I dragged in to play Scholar Zhang, and now he’s inside the shadow monster’s stomach."

"...I’ll go take a look." Seeing her shimei’s distress, Xu Shulou stood and headed out.

Bai Roushuang hesitated, then hurried after her. As she stepped outside, she saw Xu Shulou deliver a spinning kick, sending Thirty-Three flying straight into one of the Twenty-Nines. "These two are fakes."

"I told you he was fake!" The real Twenty-Nine exclaimed, vindicated. "None of these idiots believed me!"

Bai Roushuang froze. "Wait… does that mean the Thirty-Three I brought in was the real one?"

Xu Shulou reassured her, "They’re all fakes. Didn’t you see the black mist seeping from the severed halves when that one was devoured?"

Bai Roushuang sighed in relief.

"Exactly, both were fakes. As expected of Xu-guniang to see through them," Twenty-Nine gushed excitedly. "Truly the woman of my dreams!"

Bai Roushuang shot him a sidelong glance. "You’re still trying to pursue my shijie?"

Twenty-Nine struck a dramatic pose. "Who could resist a woman with a spinning kick like that?"

"...Be normal," Bai Roushuang warned. "Or my shijie might just mistake you for a fake and cut you down."