Chapter 465: The Fourth Wall

The next day, Chen Ling got up, quickly washed his face, and left the house early.

Knowing that his master would personally teach him a secret technique today, a sense of anticipation and novelty washed away Chen Ling's sleepiness. Although he had grown familiar with his senior disciples, his interactions with his master, beyond daily conversations and meals, hadn't delved much deeper. In his perception, beyond being unconventional and unreliable, "mystery" was the most prominent label attached to his master.

“Junior brother!”

As soon as Chen Ling pushed open the door, he saw Mo Jiao approaching from a distance.

“Fourth Senior Brother, why are you here?”

“Master sent me to pick you up.”

“Pick me up? To where?”

“Master specifically chose a place for you, saying it was to prevent any accidents.” Mo Jiao glanced at the time, offered no further explanation, and simply reached out to pull back a curtain in the void.

“Let’s go.”

Although Chen Ling wondered what this so-called "accident" referred to, he followed Mo Jiao through the curtain. After a slight sensation of spatial disorientation, his feet touched the ground again.

Chen Ling’s gaze swept around, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

It was a theater.

A theater within the Ancient Repository of Theatrical Arts.

Chen Ling was currently standing in the aisle of the audience seating, surrounded by an endless array of empty chairs. Strangely, these chairs varied greatly in appearance and age: some were old, hard wooden seats, others were comfortable, grand red chairs from modern theaters, there were Western-style white circular chairs, and even numerous oddly shaped small stools. It was as if countless spectators from different eras had brought their own chairs and gathered here neatly, anticipating a spectacular performance that transcended time and space.

Walking forward along the aisle led to an ordinary stage, neither too large nor too small, without luxurious decorations or excessive simplicity. It was like a "stage" itself, stripped of all extraneous attributes, simple and pure.

“This is…” Chen Ling began, puzzled.

“The Performance Area,” Mo Jiao explained. “This area serves two functions: 'performance' and 'viewing'.”

“'Performance' takes place on the stage. All theatrical pieces, scenes, and props recorded in the Ancient Repository of Theatrical Arts can be freely summoned here. It’s usually a place for creation and rehearsal; we come here when we occasionally want to stage new operas or performances.

‘Viewing’ happens in the audience seating. Whether it’s opera performances, plays, or skits and crosstalk, they can all be materialized on stage. You can summon whatever you want to watch…

Moreover, there’s a ‘fourth wall’ between the stage and the audience.”

“The fourth wall?”

As someone with a background in directing, Chen Ling naturally understood the meaning of the ‘fourth wall’. It’s a theatrical term referring to the imaginary boundary between the stage and the audience in a traditional proscenium arch theater. It separates actors from spectators, allowing actors to focus more on character portrayal during a performance, while enabling the audience to immerse themselves more deeply in the world of the play. The implication of this ‘wall’ is 'insurmountable': the performance on stage will not affect the audience, nor can the audience intervene in the performance. It’s like a program playing on a television screen; no matter how catastrophic the events depicted, they won't affect the viewer in the slightest. The same principle applies to novels, comics, movies, and stage performances… In other words, as long as the fourth wall exists, a 'story' remains just a 'story'.

“What do you mean, the fourth wall 'exists'?” In Chen Ling’s understanding, the fourth wall was merely a concept, a term, something intangible.

“It means exactly what it says,” Mo Jiao said, pointing to the stage. “Between the stage and the audience seating in the Performance Area, there is an actual ‘wall’. Even if you detonate a nuclear bomb on stage, we won't be affected in the audience, because the fourth wall has separated us into two different worlds.”

“So… here, the fourth wall is actually real?”

“That’s right.”

Chen Ling was filled with shock. The marvels of the Ancient Repository of Theatrical Arts truly exceeded his imagination.

Mo Jiao led Chen Ling through the aisle and soon arrived below the stage. Several figures were already seated in the first row of the audience: Ning Ruyu, Wen Renyou, and Luan Mei.

Ning Ruyu was about to explain something when a voice leisurely echoed from the stage: “I asked them to come and be your assistants.”

Chen Ling looked back and saw a young boy, dressed in a theatrical robe, sitting leisurely at the edge of the stage. The lights around the stage illuminated one after another, quickly bathing the entire theater in bright light.

“Master.” Seeing their master appear, the disciples, including Chen Ling, all rose from their seats and spoke respectfully.

The master nodded slightly and continued: “Sixth Junior, how much do you know about theatrical facial makeup?”

Chen Ling thought for a moment. “In theater, facial makeup is the visual embodiment of a character’s personality and identity. Different colors and patterns carry different meanings, allowing the audience to understand relevant information about a character at first glance.”

“Indeed.”

The master’s gaze turned to Ning Ruyu and the others. “Come, show your junior brother?”

Ning Ruyu and the others exchanged glances, then stepped onto the stage. The four of them stood center stage, and the bright lights shining on them instantly made them the focal point.

“Junior brother, you’d best watch closely.”

As Ning Ruyu finished speaking, the four slowly closed their eyes. Four distinctly different auras began to spread across the stage, a terrifying oppressive force like an unshakeable mountain pressing down above the stage. However, perhaps due to the "fourth wall," Chen Ling felt no discomfort under this pressure. He watched the stage intently, and moments later, distinct facial makeup patterns appeared on the faces of the four senior disciples!

Ning Ruyu’s facial makeup was very refined. In addition to delicate light-colored embellishments that enhanced his handsomeness, there were subtle lines that brought a sword-like sharpness and solemnity to his gentle, jade-like face.

Luan Mei’s facial makeup had no complex colors or lines; it seemed only to have subtle light hues blended onto her natural face, giving her a fresh and ethereal beauty, like a plum blossom in the depths of winter—proud and aloof.

Among the four, the most elaborate facial makeup belonged to Third Senior Brother Wen Renyou. With bold lines and vibrant colors, his already burly physique combined with that mighty face instilled fear at a mere glance, making it difficult to look directly at him.

Mo Jiao’s face also lacked overly distinct lines. In fact, Chen Ling couldn’t pinpoint anything special about it; the moment his gaze shifted away from Mo Jiao’s face, he seemed to forget what it looked like…

In that moment, their other features seemed to vanish, leaving only four distinctly styled facial makeup patterns, like labels, representing their respective roles. It was as if all the archetypal roles of Sheng, Dan, Jing, and Chou from human theatrical history had converged, coalescing into these four faces, presented before Chen Ling.