Chapter 343: White Ash

"Fifth Brother!?"

Seeing that the Jester was still "unrepentant," Plum Blossom K immediately reached out her hand, grabbing for his collar. But the Jester didn't even glance at her. With a nimble somersault, he rolled into a ball and slipped past Plum Blossom K's grasp. His movements were so agile that Plum Blossom K once again grabbed nothing but air.

"Eek-hahahahaha..."

Laughing, the Jester curled into a ball and rolled down the steps with incredible speed.

The veins on the back of Plum Blossom K's hand bulged. She tightly gripped the handle of her Horse-Slaying Saber, her aura rising steadily, as if she had been truly enraged! She took a step forward, her lips slightly parted, her breath resonating and overlapping in her chest. The next moment, a sharp, domineering opera voice roared like thunder beneath the sky!

"What are foreign kings or jesters? With one swing of my blade, I can fend off a million soldiers!"

Her Horse-Slaying Saber whistled as she threw it! The moment the Horse-Slaying Saber left her hand, a sonic boom erupted from its tail. Invisible airwaves formed rings that rippled through the air. As the blade cut through the void, streams of large red drapes burst forth from it! In the Ash Realm, the drapes appeared an eerie black. They seemed to come alive, circling the Horse-Slaying Saber as it shot directly towards the Jester. The drapes arrived before the blade!

Curled into a ball and rolling down the mountain path, the Jester seemed to sense the danger. He suddenly shot out a short leg, stomping hard on a step, and launched himself upwards with a swift movement, precisely dodging a drape that moved like a swimming snake!

"Eek-hahahahaha!!"

Mid-air, the Jester floated, spreading his limbs wide like a flying "大" (big/large) character. On his face, smudged with white ash, his small, dark eyes darted around before locking onto Chen Ling in his red clothes, who was now very close.

Immediately, hundreds of large red drapes surged from all directions! The Jester lightly tapped his toes in the void. His short stature made him incredibly agile. Like an acrobat, he danced in the air, evading all the pursuing drapes, and forcibly carved out a path from the absolute blockade!

This scene also fell upon Chen Ling's eyes. Even with his secret pupils, he couldn't keep up with the Jester's movements. He was dancing on the blade's edge! That small figure broke through the overwhelming drape blockade and plummeted straight towards Chen Ling. Even with his chest already opened and the Blood Robe's augmentation, Chen Ling couldn't match his speed... The Jester was like a monster with maxed-out agility, his ash-white face rapidly expanding in Chen Ling's vision!

"Fifth Brother!! Stop!!" Plum Blossom K's furious shout echoed from afar.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Ling could see drapes coiling towards him from every direction. But before them, a hand slowly extended, just fractions of an inch away from grabbing his head!

Chen Ling wanted to move, but it was too late; his speed was almost stagnant in front of the Jester. Just then, several drapes tightly wrapped around the Jester's ankles, forcefully pulling him to a halt mid-air. The Jester's tiny "sesame seed" eyes widened to their maximum, now probably the size of pearls. That ash-white face, so close, looked like a literal "囧" (puzzled/distressed) character... His finger brushed lightly past Chen Ling's nose.

Chen Ling narrowly escaped his grasp once more, and sprinting at full speed, he created a distance of several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.

Boom—!!

The Horse-Slaying Saber descended from the sky, smashing the Jester's body into the mountain. Dust and smoke billowed out!

Chen Ling broke out in a cold sweat. He had now left Jester Peak and his feet were back on the ground of the Ash Realm. Only then did he look back. Jester Peak was now violently trembling as if an earthquake had struck, or as if someone was fighting fiercely within it. The Jester's figure had just "Urrah!"-ed out of the dust, ready to continue pursuing Chen Ling, when the Horse-Slaying Saber, close behind him, slammed him back into the mountain!

Plum Blossom K's furious voice rang out from the mountain: "I don't know what kind of madness Fifth Brother has fallen into... I can't hold him back for long!"

"Chen Ling, go now! Find Master!! Only Master can suppress him!"

"They are in the Mortal World Domain. If you truly met us back then, Master should be able to sense the mark on you! They will come looking for you!"

"Urrah!!!" The Jester furiously burst through the drape blockade, only to be suppressed by Plum Blossom K with a single kick.

"Hurry and go!!"

Seeing this, Chen Ling knew he couldn't stay here. His current Audience Expectation Value was insufficient for rebirth, and if the Jester truly broke free from Plum Blossom K and killed him, it would be disastrous... Moreover, the Jester was the gatekeeper of the Ancient Trove of Theatrical Arts. If he disagreed with Chen Ling entering the trove, even if Plum Blossom K won, there would be no way forward; he would just have to wait at Jester Peak. The only one who could resolve the situation was the mysterious Master.

Having thought this through, Chen Ling turned and sprinted back the way he came. His red robe flashed across the barren land, and Jester Peak rapidly receded behind him.

At Chen Ling's current speed, Jester Peak disappeared from sight after little more than a minute.

"Damn it... Why exactly does he want to kill me?"

Chen Ling couldn't understand it at all. All the people he had met so far in the Ancient Trove of Theatrical Arts, from the Minor Role to Plum Blossom K, had good personalities. Only the Jester immediately sought to kill him... Had he offended him somehow? Or was it something else?

As Chen Ling pondered, his steps gradually slowed, and his body grew heavier and heavier.

Audience Expectation Value: 1

"...Hmm?"

Chen Ling felt something was wrong and looked down in confusion. Unbeknownst to him, his legs were no longer able to maintain his previous running speed. The Blood Robe's augmentation had completely vanished, and even the slowly healing gaping wound on his chest had stopped closing...

Audience Expectation Value: 1

"Something's wrong... What's happening to me..." Chen Ling murmured. Before he could finish, his mouth suddenly opened on its own!

"Eek-hahaha!!"

After a burst of laughter, Chen Ling abruptly covered his mouth, bewilderment appearing in his eyes. He quickly glanced around but found no trace of the Jester. In such a short time, the Jester should still be suppressed by Plum Blossom K at Jester Peak... But what was happening to him? Fine beads of sweat broke out on Chen Ling's forehead. He felt his state becoming stranger and stranger. His mental energy felt dry, and the Blood Robe gave no response. He stumbled as he walked across the barren land.

His body grew heavier and heavier, as if... something was gradually draining him. At the same time, his face gradually grew hot, as if something was about to grow out of it!

Audience Expectation Value: 1

Seeing several lines of text continuously appear on the ground, Chen Ling immediately felt a bad premonition. He seemed to see pairs of crimson eyes in the void, watching him mockingly.

"Damn it... What's happening to me? I... eek-hahaha... Is this the Jester's... haha... trick?"

Chen Ling felt his nose growing hotter and hotter. As his mental energy and physical strength were depleted, his consciousness also began to blur...

Just then, he saw a puddle on the black ground ahead. He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to walk towards it, his mouth and throat parched with a desperate thirst for water. But just as he finally reached the puddle, and was about to scoop up some water to drink, he suddenly froze.

On the shimmering surface of the water, Chen Ling's pale face was reflected. And at that moment, on his nose, a smudge of white ash had appeared sometime without him knowing...

"Eek-hahaha..." Chen Ling desperately covered his mouth, his eyes filled with shock!

He knelt before the water. A gentle breeze rippled the surface, distorting his features.

He looked like a "Jester" in red robes.

Audience Expectation Value: 5