Chapter 34: The Clown

"Done. Let's go."

The two men patted the mud off their bodies, confirmed that the pit had been properly filled, and then turned to leave.

The pouring rain washed over countless unmarked graves, and dark red blood mixed with mud rolled down the mountain. A few dozen seconds later, two more figures in raincoats trudged up from the foot of the mountain.

"Let's do it here..."

The two men carried glass kerosene lamps, their eyes scanning the surroundings. They didn't notice the dark red mud flowing in the darkness and walked straight to the freshly dug pit.

They placed the sack they were carrying on the ground, took out shovels, and began digging next to the dark red pit.

"...A-Yan will get better, right?"

The rain pattered against their raincoats, and the woman's pale hands clenched tightly inside her sleeves. Her voice was hoarse.

"He will," the man digging said firmly. "The heart has already been delivered. The surgery should have started... Tomorrow, tomorrow we can go to District Two to see him!"

"It's just... poor A-Ling..."

"We must take this secret to our graves."

"But what if A-Yan asks about his brother when he comes back?"

"Then we'll tell him his brother passed the law enforcement exam and was transferred to District Seven... He won't be coming back."

"Will he believe that?"

"..."

The man didn't answer. He silently thrust the shovel into the ground and flipped over a large clump of soil.

"Let's just bury it like this," he said.

The two of them worked together to toss the black sack into the pit and slowly covered it with soil.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then picked up a wooden board from the side, as if she wanted to write something on it. But the man stopped her.

"What are you doing?"

"After all, we were mother and son for so long... Let's at least give A-Ling a gravestone."

"No. If we put up a gravestone here, what if the law enforcement officers or someone else sees it?"

"Then..."

"I told you, from now on, we take this secret to our graves."

The woman fell silent for a long time, then finally tossed the wooden board aside. Seeing this, the man comforted her softly:

"It's okay... When we wake up tomorrow, everything will be over."

The two of them took one last look at the patch of earth, then turned and disappeared into the rain.

The heavy rain washed over the dark red soil, as if trying to cleanse their guilt and resentment. Two lonely graves, separated by a thin layer of sand, lay connected.

Just as everything was about to be silenced by the storm, a strange grayness began to spread from the void...

The Gray Realm, converging.

---

"A-Yan... A-Yan!"

Tears streamed uncontrollably from Chen Ling's eyes as he frantically dug through the mud with his hands until his fingertips were bloody and raw.

He didn't know what had happened after the Gray Realm convergence, why only he had come back to life... No, Chen Ling hadn't come back to life either. He had just become himself...

But at this moment, who he was no longer mattered.

The world had played a cruel joke on Chen Ling, letting him die at the hands of the couple who had raised him... But at the same time, the world had played an even crueler joke on Chen Tan and his wife.

Chen Ling's vision blurred with tears. In his mind, the events of the past two days flashed by like a storm.

The Gray Realm convergence. A figure struggling to climb out of the mass grave, the wound on his chest slowly healing. Countless pairs of crimson eyes opening behind him. The rainwater on the ground forming a line of characters...[Audience Expectation: 17%];

A broken talisman of peace swaying gently in the wind, caught in the splinters of his fingernails;

The second calamity that attacked Ice Spring Street might never have existed. From the beginning, it had been Chen Ling himself... or rather, the version of himself that had lost control after his[Expectation Value]dropped below 20%.

Controlled by the "audience," he had slaughtered half of Ice Spring Street, until the audience was satisfied, and then leisurely made his way to District Three...

"No, it can't be like this..." Chen Ling muttered to himself. "It can't be that from the beginning to the end... there was only me?"

On the back mountain, he had washed the opera robe clean by the stream and handed it to Chen Yan... But when he was questioned by Jiang Qin, the robe had mysteriously reappeared in his arms;

Chen Tan and his wife, being taken away by law enforcement officers, their gazes piercing through Chen Yan's body, staring fiercely at him, cursing and shouting;

On Frost Street, law enforcement officer Jiang Qin had followed Chen Ling's pointing finger, looking into the darkness of the street corner, only to see a blurry shadow;

Chu Muyun, holding a letter, had stood at the doorstep of the house full of holes, speaking to the empty room: "I heard that Mr. Chen needed a[Doctor], so I came...";

The empty room being repaired;

The torn cotton coat being mended;

But from beginning to end, no one had ever spoken to Chen Yan.

All of this seemed to suggest that Chen Yan had existed... like a ghost by his side, or perhaps, just a figment of his deluded imagination.

Chen Ling kept digging. The soil below began to seep with blood. Just as he was about to continue, a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist...

Then, a large red opera robe was gently draped over his shoulders, shielding him from the raging snowstorm.

Chen Ling froze.

He looked up and saw the familiar boy crouching in front of him, tears streaming down his face.

"Brother, stop digging... I beg you, please don't dig anymore, okay?"

"...A-Yan."

Chen Ling stared at him blankly. His bloodied, mud-covered hands reached up, as if trying to touch Chen Yan's face... and he did.

"A-Yan... are you alive?" Chen Ling's voice trembled. "You're alive, aren't you?"

"I..."

Chen Yan glanced at the blood-stained soil, his head hanging low, not daring to meet Chen Ling's eyes.

"I'm already dead, brother..."

"But you're right here!"

"I'm here because of your power."

Chen Ling was stunned. "Me? I don't have that kind of power, I..."

Before he could finish, a blinding blizzard swept over him. In the next moment, Chen Yan's figure vanished once more, as if he had never been there.

[Audience Expectation +5]

[Current Expectation: 63%]

Chen Ling's gaze was drawn uncontrollably to the two lines of text that appeared in the snow. As if realizing something, his pupils contracted slightly.

The "audience" possessed the power to influence reality.

After his transmigration, they had repeatedly manipulated the world around him—the water stains in the kitchen, the prank on Dr. Lin, the gnawed bone-carving knife... But ever since Chen Yan appeared, they seemed to have stopped interfering in his life.

So, was Chen Yan's appearance in his eyes also the work of the "audience"...?

"...It was you."

Chen Ling's blood-stained hands clenched tightly. He glared into the void before him, the veins on his neck bulging:

"It was you who made me see him... You made me grow attached to him... From the very beginning, you were just using him as a prop, to deceive my emotions, and then destroy it all with your own hands..."

"You've been waiting for this moment for a long time, haven't you?"

[Audience Expectation +5]

The appearance of another line of text completely ignited the rage Chen Ling had been suppressing. He scrambled to his feet, the red opera robe billowing in the storm like an enraged lion!

"Are you satisfied now?!!"

"Have you had enough of this show?!! Are you enjoying it?!!!"

"Did I perform well for you?!!!"

"Go to hell!!!"

Chen Ling could almost imagine it—in the dimly lit grand theater, countless pairs of crimson eyes peered through the curtains, watching him converse with Chen Yan over the past few days, watching him promise to perform at the school's New Year's Eve party, watching Chu Muyun sit alone, deep in thought...

They orchestrated everything. They knew everything. They watched him pour his heart into the performance on stage, their lips curling into uncontrollable smiles in the darkness...

He felt like a clown, a fool who had been intoxicated in a false performance, entertaining others for their amusement.

His chest heaved violently, the flames of anger seeming to burn through the snowstorm. He frantically searched the snow-covered ground, trying to find a knife or a gun to end this absurd life.

He refused to be a clown, and he refused to be a tool for the "audience's" entertainment.

Just then, his foot slipped, and a few objects fell from his pocket, landing on the pristine snow and reflecting a silvery glow...

Nine silver coins.

The "payment" Qian Fan had handed him with a smile earlier that morning.

Seeing the coins, Chen Ling's pupils contracted. He stopped in his tracks, the rage in his eyes clearing slightly, only to be replaced by an even more intense hatred.

He stood in silence for a long time, then bent down and picked up the coins one by one.

"...Fine." Chen Ling's voice was hoarse. He slowly raised his head and looked in the direction of District Two, his eyes gleaming with unprecedented killing intent and madness!

"If you want a good show..."

"Then I'll..."

"Give you one more performance."

Chen Ling laughed, his laughter echoing through the snowstorm like that of a demon.