C37 – Nuo Masks (X)

 

Kou Dong looked at the small wooden bead. It was placed by the evil god on his spread palm, it lingered with a light layer of black gas. This black gas spread rampantly around the scarlet moon and gilded it with a side of luster.

 

He caught a glimpse of a bit of bright red, the bead stained the hands of the evil god with blood. It beat faintly, like a real, clutched heart in the hand. Seeing too much of it, even made him feel dizzy.

 

It didn’t give anyone a good feeling.

 

Ye Yanzhi’s eyebrows knitted up, he looked at the evil god, he obviously didn’t think this was something good.

 

Obviously, Kou Dong also thought so.

 

 

He just stared at the heart, with an attitude of enthusiasm that was almost abnormal. It was as if it was not a wooden bead lingering with darkness, but a luminous night pearl shining with light.

 

“Come,” the evil god lowered his voice to a very low pitch, which seemed to carry a sweet, honey-like compulsion, leading Kou Dong to step towards the temple, “come – just walk in and I will give it to you. ”

 

Any normal person wouldn’t move at this time.

 

Not to mention Kou Dong who had just seen that it was a trap.

 

 

The little man sitting on Kou Dong’s shoulder, expressionlessly looked at this scene, but then, he suddenly noticed a slight tremor.

 

The young man’s gaze was still closely following the bead, but he took a leg and slowly took a step forward.

 

Ye Yanzhi was stunned, “Kou Dong.”

 

There was no emotion in the eyes of the young man, and Ye Yanzhi was shocked to find that Kou Dong’s shoulders had become hard, and he could even make a clicking sound when stepping on them, as if tapping on the Nuo mask.

 

He couldn’t describe what this state was, but Kou Dong in this moment wasn’t like a human being, he was more like…

 

More like the statue standing behind the evil god.

 

Once this thought came to him, Ye Yanzhi’s heart suddenly tightened.

 

Kou Dong took another step in the direction of the temple.

 

This advance made Ye Yanzhi more anxious than ever, he patted Kou Dong’s cheek to wake him – but no matter how he patted, Kou Dong was like a wooden sculpture, and wouldn’t respond to his movements.

 

He just took one step toward the temple, staring at the heart with longing. Half of the evil god’s body had been hidden in the darkness, the remaining half was standing in a thin slice of light cast by the candles on the god’s table. The corners of the exposed half’s mouth curled upward, as if in a smile.

 

“Come,” he whispered, “what a good boy ……”

 

The remaining Nuo masks watched the scene dumbfounded, and no one had the courage to step forward to stop it. They were all afraid of the evil god’s methods, in the dead silence, someone whispered: “Where is he taking him?”

 

Ye Yanzhi’s heart snapped, realizing that it looked like he was leading him to the god’s table.

 

His scalp began to tingle all of a sudden.

 

He finally realized that both he and the youth had made a mistake.

 

gods couldn’t be reborn.

 

Ye Yanzhi knew this, but this was the world in the game, compared to the real world of gods and ghosts, they would always add some, reduce some. As they sorted out the evil god’s motives, it was natural to assume that the evil god was doing all this to resurrect the right god –

 

But what if there was no resurrection method at all?

 

 

What if the evil god’s methods were more simple and ruthless than they thought, just bring the youth who had been reincarnated as a mortal, and then feed him his own heart, teaching him to take over the throne and become the new evil god?

 

Before this, Kou Dong had discussed with him the foresight card drawn.

 

 

In the Tarot, the Judgment card was positive, representing clear judgment, understanding oneself; while the reversed position, represented the negative method to fill the emptiness inside. In this copy of the interpretation, Kou Dong preferred the latter. It was also this foresight card that allowed him to more directly connect the evil god with the deceased god.

 

There was a clearer and more concise message on it than the ambiguous word “judgment”: knights and dragons.

 

Knights and dragons.

 

These words, there was a version in the folk tales – the ancient dragon robbed the village, forcing the world to give beautiful girls as their sacrifice.

 

So the world elected the most brave and warlike knight.

 

 

The knight was also true to his name, after a fierce battle, finally he cut the dragon under his sword. But immediately after, he saw the treasure piled up in the cave, those treasures reflected the golden light under his eyes –

 

He caught a glimpse of the unclothed girl.

 

He heard the prayers of the world in awe.

 

Slowly, his forehead sprouted sharp horns and scales appeared on his arms: the dragon was indeed dead, but the knight who slayed it didn’t make it out of the cave.

 

He became the new evil dragon.

 

 

Putting this interpretation in the copy, Ye Yanzhi then completely understood the meaning of that one painting. Kou Dong was the chosen knight, he had found the identity of the evil god in this game, according to the rules of the game, he had to kill the dragon.

 

But at the same time, the evil dragon compelled him to take over his mantle – this was the true reckoning of this god!

 

For this calculation, the evil god obviously lost his heart, but still tried his best to compel the person in front of him with spells.

 

What kind of obsession was this?

 

Ye Yanzhi was clear, it should be said that no one in this world knew better than him. But being clear didn’t necessarily mean agreeing. After clarifying the logic, Ye Yanzhi made a decisive decision and took a deep breath, performing a super powerful combo on the young man’s face.

 

 

He had no other props at hand, so he could only rely on this primitive method to try to wake him up, “Kou Dong!”

 

Kou Dong was suddenly hit, his expression seemed a little confused, his steps stalled for a moment. But before the little man was pleased, he raised his feet shakily and took a step closer to the shrine.

 

 

Ye Yanzhi lying on his ear, gritted his teeth and raised the volume: “Wake up, you don’t want to go in – wake up, you from top to bottom, there is no place to stuff that thing!”

 

This statement was actually not precise. Ye Yanzhi was very clear that there was only one place on his body, and he was also aware that NPC definitely intended to put the heart in from that place——

 

To say why, none of these NPCs had a normal mindset.

 

They were all perverts.

 

 

Kou Dong didn’t react to his words, his toes were about to touch the high threshold of the temple, and he was about to step in.

 

It was too late!

 

Ye Yanzhi’s heart was tight, but he couldn’t access the items in the luggage bar, “Siren’s Tears” was clearly on the light, but he simply couldn’t touch it.

 

There was only one last solution.

 

Ye Yanzhi crossed his heart, he also didn’t care much, lying in Kou Dong’s ear, he raised his voice and shouted “Dad”.

 

This shout was like a posture of circling the beam three times.

 

Dad.

 

Ye Yanzhi was actually not fully confident. Although he was usually fond of making him shout like this, it was just a joke after all, it wouldn’t be ——

 

The youth’s footsteps that had already stepped on the threshold stopped. Then, he actually didn’t go further in, but put his feet down and glanced to the sides in confusion.

 

Although there were no words, but that action was obvious. He was looking for his cheap son.

 

Ye Yanzhi: “……”

 

He also couldn’t say whether he wanted to celebrate more, or fu-ck the youth a little more.

 

He always thought he was just verbally taken advantage of, he didn’t expect him to really have sincere feelings about wanting to be his father.

 

 

For this, even the evil god’s magic barrier could be broken.

 

…… in the end, it was no less than an NPC’s obsession?

 

Although humiliating, but in the end there was still an effect. Ye Yanzhi held the arms of the youth, and viciously shouted Dad, each word made him grit his teeth tighter. The more he shouted, the clearer Kou Dong looked, and eventually shivered before realizing that he was standing at the entrance of the shrine, he couldn’t help but be bewildered.

 

 

“Strange,” he muttered, “what am I standing here for?”

 

“……”

 

Ye Yanzhi really didn’t want to answer him.

 

 

Kou Dong hadn’t yet noticed the steep change in his cub’s attitude, and was still glancing back and forth in awe and disbelief.

 

 

“Holy shit, how come I don’t have half a memory of this part of my walk over here?” In the end smart, he thought a little, he knew the answer, “He actually still has a backhand?!”

 

The little man said in a muffled voice: “It should also be the last hand.”

 

This hand was enough to deplete the remaining magic power in the evil god’s body. The god was now leaning on the jig, and seemed to know that his move had failed to work, he coughed slightly.

 

He still held the wooden bead, the blood spilled on the wooden bead, dripping everywhere on the ground. His palm was still spread outward, but he no longer waited for someone to take it.

 

 

Kou Dong took a step backwards, and understood in his heart.

 

This NPC, was trying to give him his heart.

 

“What,” said the evil god holding the wooden bead, “you don’t want it?”

 

 

“-No.”

 

Kou Dong said calmly, not trying to reach out to take it.

 

 

The evil god’s brow knitted up, although the corners of his lips still held a smile, but the smile was like a paper mache, a thin layer hanging on the skin, but couldn’t be conveyed in the eyes.

 

“Why?”

 

Kou Dong just looked at him.

 

“You should have known that from the time you made this.”

 

“He – is not going to like it.”

 

He didn’t confuse himself with the right god, but only recounted plainly, “He does not need a black heart.”

 

 

Kou Dong still remembered that god’s appearance. Although he had his face, it was gentle and loving – when he looked at the earth, a spring breeze passed over it.

 

 

He wasn’t the one who would tolerate his own defilement.

 

The evil god’s lips revealed a faint smile that quickly withdrew. He said indifferently, “You are him.”

 

He seemed to have a rather strong obsession with this, and his gaze almost took on a vicious intent, “You are.”

 

 

Kou Dong shook his head and didn’t argue much with this thought which was more like a self-deception. He just gazed at the deity in front of him and said softly, “As I recall, you were also guessed for your identity, right?”

 

“……”

 

The evil god didn’t answer.

 

“Yet you remain safe and sound,” Kou Dong whispered, “by virtue of what – is it this heart?”

 

 

The man suddenly pursed his lips.

 

This sentence wasn’t wrong, he was Kou Dong’s guessed identity, in fact, he lost. Even if he was a god, he also needed to abide by the rules of the game.

 

 

Even if the rules were set down by himself.

 

 

The Nuo-masks behind him exclaimed, and all saw the change in him. After pulling the wooden bead out of the statue’s body, the heavy black gas wrapped around the god suddenly shrunk and dissipated with the naked eye. In that huge black smoke, his figure gradually became clear.

 

From the feet, to the legs, to the upper body.

 

Moonlight and candlelight, for the first time, completely spilled over the fallen god – his pale skin glowed with an abnormal greenish-gray, the proof of being possessed.

 

“-after ripping out your heart,” Kou Dong asked softly, “will you die?”

 

The corners of the evil god’s mouth tugged upward, seemingly with a contemptuous smile.

 

“What heart,” he said with a cold expression, “if you don’t want it, it’s just a bead. — nothing special.”

 

He reached out and tossed the wooden bead far away. The bead rolled into the grass with a grunt and disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the surrounding flowers and trees were affected and died with the rolling trajectory.

 

The statue twisted his head to gaze at the wooden bead, trying to move his legs to pick it up.

 

“Not allowed to go.”

 

The evil god said in a cold voice, a divine force struck over and nailed it easily in place.

 

 

He was still gazing at Kou Dong, smiling.

 

“You want to forgive them?”

 

Kou Dong replied, “He wouldn’t want this.”

 

Not only for the villagers who had been muddled for a hundred years, but also for these muddled and innocent foreigners.

 

The villagers could still say that they deserved it, but what did the outsiders do wrong?

 

 

They were used as food, and after death, they could not leave, but also turned into a green-faced ghost.

 

Even for this, Kou Dong still hoped that Shanhai Village could be completely free. Whether it was good or evil.

 

The evil god looked at him steadily and suddenly raised an eyebrow.

 

“That’s why I’m most annoyed with you gods,” the man taunted, “all pretentious and uninteresting.”

 

He turned away abruptly and commanded, “Go away.”

 

The tall statue snapped back to attention and followed him in lockstep. The evil god walked forward step by step, his chest empty and silent.

 

He had lost the most important thing.

 

How long had it been? — from when he first opened his eyes and saw him.

 

The sky was bright then, cloudless for a hundred miles.

 

 

He took a big step forward and suddenly heard a loud boom in his ears. After the spell ran out, the statue without a heart finally heaved to the ground and fell headlong, splashing dust everywhere, he struggled to raise his fingers amidst a chorus of shrieks, finally it completely went limp and never got up again.

 

He was still holding on, however, and took a few more steps forward.

 

At least –

 

At least where he couldn’t see.

 

His arm began to burn, as if someone had set it on fire. When the evil god twisted his head, he saw a bright, burning flame on his own body.

 

The burning sensation spread, and he kept gritting his teeth and carrying on, but the punishment from the system was unforgiving.

 

Losing was losing.

 

–The character who loses has to die.

 

He caught a glimpse of the shadow of death, covering him in a thin sheet, gradually weaving into an overwhelming net. And under this net, he saw a familiar golden light.

 

The fingers of the god touched his face, smiling at him slightly under the light. The smile was still compassionate and peaceful, but it was directed at him alone.

 

In a trance, he seemed to be the child again who had placed the bowl of rice he had saved on the divine platform. Tilting his head, he could see the face of the god.

 

Solemn, but so easy to let people close.

 

The wind came through the door of the shrine, almost as if the god was stroking his hair.

 

 

“Good boy,” he heard the voice of the god then hidden in the wind, soft almost like a murmur, “good boy ……”

 

He slept in this familiar scent and finally closed his eyes slowly. In this moment, there are no more villagers, he was the only, willingly looking up, but wanting to blaspheme the god of the people.

 

 

The orb held in Kou Dong’s hand let out a soft sigh, then it turned into water and completely flowed down from Kou Dong’s hand.

 

He used the “Siren’s Tears” to hypnotize the evil god at the last moment.

 

Ye Yanzhi obviously didn’t agree, but also didn’t speak out. He just hooked his arm around the youth, his expression seemed a bit gloomy.

 

The rules of the copybook came into play.

 

Under such rules, NPCs were as small as an ant. The evil god didn’t even get to say a few more words, but in a few seconds, his back had dwindled inch by inch – soon, in front of Kou Dong, he completely turned into a puddle of green ash that easily scattered when the wind blew.

 

The pillars of the temple began to crumble, a brick and a stone gradually in the air annihilated. At the end of the path, some villagers came rushing with their swords to follow the sound, but they saw Kou Dong’s face.

 

The knives they were holding fell to the ground with a jolt.

 

That face.

 

That face…

 

That was a face that the villagers of Shanhai Village would never be able to forget.

 

“…… god ……”

 

Someone shivered and uttered the first sentence. Then more and more people recognized him and gathered in this open space, not daring to take another step closer to Kou Dong.

 

 

“It’s god!”

 

“It’s god!!!”

 

Their legs snapped limp and they cried out in front of the re-emerging god. More and more villagers rushed to hear the news, and they fell down at the feet of the god as they did then, rushing to him to bow down again and again.

 

 

The ghosts in the Nuo masks also removed their masks and fell to their knees in front of this familiar face, unable to lift a single ounce of strength.

 

The middlemost trembling was the old village chief.

 

“It’s you!” The village chief face had long been snotty and tearful, “You are back …… we are finally witnessing your return ……”

 

How many sins? The villagers themselves had lost track of it.

 

From the moment they killed god, they stepped into this mire and never climbed out of it.

 

They trembled and knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads again.

 

There was something heavy weighing them down, so that they could never wake up from this nightmare, and even death was a wish.

 

The old village chief choked for a long time and whispered, “You–”

 

He buried his head heavily.

 

“I beg your forgiveness.”

 

Led by him, a hundred people bowed their heads.

 

 

“Please forgive me!”
“Please forgive me!!!”

 

Such voices grew louder and louder, eventually converging into a sweeping wave, the echoes of despair and grief echoing throughout the land. But now this land had dried up, and the people on it were no longer in the same state of mind.

 

Things were not what they used to be.

 

Only the gods was still exactly the same as the village chief remembered, wide white robe swung up, standing in the light was the young man’s side clear face, soft eyebrows, it was still the same.

 

 

He held his breath and waited for the god to answer.

 

 

Kou Dong didn’t answer them, but saw a little golden light shining in the grass.

 

“–what is that?”

 

He stepped forward and plucked away the grass, only to realize that it was the heart of the evil god. Now it was charred black, and the wooden shell cracked open to reveal what was hidden inside.

 

It turned out to be a finger of the rightful god.

 

It was also the only thing he could find from under the villagers who had gone berserk.

 

The wooden finger was now all gold and glowing with a faint light. Ye Yanzhi: “This power is enough to transcend the villagers.”

 

 

Kou Dong understood, this was the original that the righteous god personally hid the end for this sin.

 

After the statue was destroyed, the god was then annihilated, but knew that the sin of deicide would certainly not leave the land. For the sake of the people he had sheltered, he left his last finger behind, his last bit of mercy for the village of Shanhai.

 

The villagers were still waiting with bated breath.

 

After a long time, the voice finally sounded softly, “hold another Nuo play.”

 

He then added, “For the last time.”

 

This was the last grand Nuo opera in Shanhai Village. The noisy gongs and drums, the villagers themselves wore the Nuo masks and performed the Nuo opera with great enthusiasm. The whole twelve folds, they played from the West to catch the ghost of the city god, the old craftsmen consumed a lifetime of work, the carving of these Nuo masks were lifelike.

 

When they came from the village, it was really like a hundred ghosts at night.

 

 

Only this time, the sound of gongs and drums than every time before were more pleasing to the ear. The villagers who performed it used all their strength to blow, which was filled with the celebration of liberation and the joy of finally being able to redeem themselves.

 

What was left of the house was sacrificed, and the pigs and sheep were slaughtered and placed high on the god’s table. Fruits, sheaves of wheat, and fine wine were offered to god, the best of what man had.

 

Now there was no new temple and no more idols, the Nuo masks had long been told the answer and left the place. The god of old no longer sat behind the table, waiting for them, only the lone finger.

 

The vast procession stopped in front of this finger.

 

“Thank you indeed,” the village chief came first, and whispered as he knelt before it, “you have saved us once again.”

 

His demeanor was apprehensive, and after a long hesitation, he said, “I don’t know if you believe it or not, but we – never had the intention of killing you.”

 

How could they kill their god?

 

 

It was just that in this world, there were always things that could blind people. For example, fear.

 

The fear of death was the most vivid, to the point of manipulating their hearts and minds.

 

“Now we know,” the village chief murmured, “that life and death – is a common thing. As you said at the beginning, life and death are determined and cannot be forced.”

 

He kowtowed three times heavily in front of the cut finger, his voice trembling.

 

“Shinan is guilty!”
“The sin is in greed!”
“-Sin is in killing!”

 

After saying this, he raised his face again and bowed warily to the god once again.

 

“Please chastise ……”

 

A thunderstorm rang out in the sky. Immediately, drops of bean-sized rain splashed down and smashed down on the villagers.

 

Their flesh and skin gradually dissolved under these raindrops, but they let out joyful cries and couldn’t wait to reach out to greet them.

 

This was the first rain in the village of Shanhai in a hundred years.

 

The rain moistened the land and the villagers – in this rain, they soon dissolved their flesh and turned into miserable white skeletons. One by one, the skeletons fell down and eventually dissolved into the yellow earth.

 

Ashes to ashes, earth to earth, souls to everywhere. For this sin, they may still have to stay in hell for a hundred years.

 

Kou Dong let out a soft sigh in his heart. Ye Yanzhi hugged him tightly, “It’s time to go.”

 

“Right.” The youth replied, “-It’s time to go.”

 

The system popped up a new alert box.

 

[Is the final answer determined? A, yes; B, no.]

 

Kou Dong said his answer. Almost the moment he said it, his eyes went black violently, and the Shanhai Village scene suddenly shrank, finally being left far into the sky.

 

After reopening his eyes, Kou Dong was back at home in the game. He opened the dating panel and saw the evil god staying in the fourth frame, the corners of his mouth picking up as if he was smiling.

 

Kou Dong couldn’t tell what kind of mood he was in, and subconsciously rubbed his fingers on the Evil god’s face. At the same time, unawares, Kou Dong saw the evil god move in the frame.

 

It looked like he raised his hand.

 

“……??”

 

 

Without the slightest preparation, Kou Dong’s hand instantly pressed on the Evil God’s palm. A familiar force came, and the NPC in the picture frame held his hand tightly, and without refusal, without giving any leeway-

 

He dragged him in.

 

 

Kou Dong: “!!!”

 

Ye Yanzhi who couldn’t get in: “!!!”

 

Wasn’t this a scam!

 

He swayed a few times and was thrown down outside the frame, he simply let out an angry laugh. See, this was what Kou Dong spent a precious prop on – like he said, this group of NPCs, there was no one fucking good!

 

None of them were good!

 

 


 

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3 Replies to “C37 – Nuo Masks (X)”

  1. Thanks for the update!! 🤩🤩🤩

    1. Biack_ Gam3r says: Reply

      Where do I find the continuation?

      1. I’ll update it soon

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