Chapter 962: Nuo

Clatter-clatter—

The train gradually picked up speed along the tracks, having completely left Shanghai behind as it continued its journey south. Outside the window, the scenery transformed from towering city buildings to endless mountains and farmland. Sunlight streamed onto the empty fruit bowl, casting a faint silver gleam.

Shen Nan looked at the empty seat opposite him, feeling a growing unease. Just a few minutes ago, Chen Ling had said he was going to the restroom and hadn't returned yet.

"That guy... surely he hasn't run off, has he?" Shen Nan muttered to himself.

Shen Nan couldn't quite figure out Chen Ling's temperament, but he thought that since the man wanted to resolve the 'two souls in one body' situation, he shouldn't have run away.

Just as he was wondering whether he should get up and look for him in the restroom, an unfamiliar young man, wearing an overcoat, casually sat down opposite him.

"Excuse me, this seat is taken," Shen Nan politely stated.

The young man glanced at him but said nothing.

As if realizing something, Shen Nan tentatively asked, "Are you... Chen Ling?"

Chen Ling did not deny it.

"How did you change your appearance again after such a short time?"

"Is that strange? Before you met me, I had already changed identities three times," Chen Ling said calmly. "Now that the train is far from Shanghai, I should be completely safe. Naturally, I need a completely new identity for my activities in other cities."

Shen Nan scrutinized Chen Ling's appearance, a look of disappointment he couldn't quite hide on his face.

"?" Chen Ling looked down at himself. "Is there a problem with this appearance?"

"No, but the beautiful woman from earlier was much more pleasing to the eye."

Under Chen Ling's almost murderous, cold gaze, Shen Nan immediately chose to change the subject:

"How much do you know about Nuó?"

"Nuó..."

Chen Ling thought for a moment. "Not much..."

"Nuó opera, also known as 'ghost opera,' is a dance performed to worship gods, banish spirits, ward off plagues, and invoke peace and prosperity. At its core is 'witchcraft'," Shen Nan slowly began to speak.

"From the moment humans first knelt before nature, 'witchcraft' was born. Essentially, 'witchcraft' is a way for humans to communicate with 'gods,' encompassing practices like totems, shamanism, sacrifices, spiritual healing, and altar rituals, among others. There are countless witchcraft rituals throughout history and across cultures, but all of them stem from human desires that individuals cannot fulfill on their own. Thus, they resort to rituals to communicate with 'gods' and satisfy the wishes in their hearts.

Nuó opera, specifically, is a method of communicating with 'gods' through 'drama' to request divine miracles."

"Worshipping gods through dramatic dance..." Chen Ling mused thoughtfully, "But do 'gods' truly exist in this world?"

"That depends on how you interpret 'god'," Shen Nan said, pointing to the sky outside the window.

"Before any religions appeared, 'god' was nature itself—all forces beyond human comprehension. It was heaven and earth, thunder and lightning, tsunamis, and frost. During this period, ancient people depicted nature as totems and worshipped them day and night. But as human civilization continued to develop, people's beliefs also began to change. Besides nature, they started worshipping ancestors, believing that after death, ancestors would protect their descendants in another form, warding off disaster and bestowing blessings.

Later, religions emerged. Based on the foundations of different civilizations, various divine stories began to spread among humans. People combined their own desires with incomprehensible natural divine powers, creating specific 'gods' that were passed down through generations. These became spiritual anchors for people, but could also serve as tools for manipulating others.

Nuó opera has a wide variety of performance styles, and the objects of worship also vary. However, one thing is paramount."

"What is that?"

"The Nuó mask."

Shen Nan took off the grotesque mask hanging from his waist and solemnly placed it on the table.

—Hum—

Almost simultaneously, the train entered a tunnel, and the warm sunlight that had been streaming in suddenly vanished.

It was a mask that looked quite ancient; many parts were covered in scratches and cracks, yet its surface was spotless. Especially its enraged eyes—when Chen Ling's gaze fell upon them, it was as if he was drawn by some force, unable to look away...

Chen Ling wondered if it was his imagination, but in the dimness, the mask seemed to come alive, its bloody maw opening as if to devour him!

Chen Ling's pupils slightly contracted.

—Whoosh—

As Shen Nan's palm rested on the Nuó mask, the train roared out of the tunnel. Sunlight once again shone on Chen Ling, and the sensation that had made his hair stand on end vanished.

"Different Nuó masks have different effects on wishes and require different performance styles. They are like the facial masks in traditional opera; without a mask, you are just yourself, a free ordinary person... But when you wear the mask, you become the 'god' who answers wishes."

"Wear a mask, become a 'god'?"

Chen Ling muttered to himself, looking at the Nuó mask, mostly obscured by sunlight. He instinctively reached out to touch it...

"Don't touch it!" Shen Nan immediately raised his hand to stop Chen Ling, but just as his hand was halfway up, the mask reappeared, fully formed, before Chen Ling!

As those grotesque eyes met Chen Ling's gaze again, the familiar sense of impact surged through him once more. Under the dimming light, Chen Ling felt countless crimson eyes suddenly open in the void, and the corners of his eyes involuntarily took on an apricot-red hue...

Huì Zhūyán!

With his apricot-red eyes locked with the Nuó mask, the next moment, the environment around Chen Ling shattered!

A bonfire slowly rose in the countryside.

When Chen Ling opened his eyes again, the dazzling bonfire filled most of his vision. The evening breeze from the countryside, carrying the scent of damp earth, entered his nostrils, making him recall his childhood, walking along the field paths in his rural hometown.

Chen Ling stood stunned for a long time before lowering his gaze to his hands and muttering:

"Huì Zhūyán... activated on its own?"

The last time Chen Ling activated Huì Zhūyán was when he was viewing Lu Xun's past. But this time, he didn't initiate it; the moment his eyes met Shen Nan's Nuó mask, Zhūyán manifested on its own.

Chen Ling looked around and saw that under the starry night sky, a figure was sitting by the bonfire, busy with something. Chen Ling walked over to him and found that it wasn't Shen Nan, but a middle-aged figure who bore a strong resemblance to him.

The man couldn't see Chen Ling. Using only the light from the bonfire, he held a paintbrush in one hand and a mask in the other, concentrating on painting it.

The moment he saw that mask, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly...

He had actually entered the past of a mask?

Meanwhile, a child wearing a white vest and green shorts ran quickly across the field and came before the middle-aged man.

"Dad! I've finished all my medicine!" the child exclaimed proudly, leaning closer to the middle-aged man. "I didn't throw up at all this time, really!"