Props

Translator: Cinder Translations

--------

"This seems like... a stage play," Tang Shirou, who had come closer, whispered. "I've seen the art school students rehearse this before in the university's art troupe. The sketches their teacher drew looked a bit like this."

"A script?" You Qi asked, wide-eyed.

An Xuan put away the paper and looked up at the middle-aged woman, asking, "Does the young master's play only require the few of us, or does everyone need to participate?"

"Everyone."

"Then does everyone get a copy of this?" An Xuan gestured to the paper in his hand.

"No," the middle-aged woman shook her head. "After you've finished reading it, I'll need to take it to the doctors in the other two rooms."

As soon as she finished speaking, the middle-aged woman reached out her hand, clearly wanting the paper back.

An Xuan smiled and said in a very respectful tone, "How about this? To save you the trouble of making another trip, I'll go and inform them about the contents of this paper."

The middle-aged woman stared at him coldly for a moment, then asked, "Can you guarantee that they will all participate?"

An Xuan nodded and replied, "I guarantee it."

"At the third watch," the middle-aged woman announced in her usual tone, "when the drum sounds, all doctors should be prepared as the young master has requested and gather at the lakeside stage."

"Later, you can go to eat by the pavilion near the lake. The food has already been prepared for you. The props needed for the play are placed near the pavilion. Don't forget."

"Don't worry," An Xuan replied.

The middle-aged woman gave An Xuan a few more glances before turning and leaving. Just like before, her steps seemed slow, but she moved astonishingly fast, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Acting.

"Just listening to the play is scary enough, but now we have to act in it?" You Qi was overwhelmed. "Who are we acting with? Ghosts?"

Tang Shirou, who was already terrified, felt her legs go weak at his words. She had just been captivated by the eerie painting, and now, in a few hours, she would have to act with that young master Huang.

"Brother You," An Xuan turned around and said in a tone that brooked no argument, "If you don't want to go, no one is forcing you."

You Qi shut his mouth and didn't say another word.

He was just venting, but he still understood the gravity of the situation. Going might lead to trouble, but not going would definitely lead to trouble. Besides, there was still that strange painting in the room that clearly had something wrong with it.

"Mr. An," Qin Jian spoke to An Xuan in a much more polite tone. He glanced at the paper in An Xuan's hand and tentatively asked, "Should we... go and inform the others?"

An Xuan tilted his head, looked at Qin Jian for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled. "Old Mr. Qin, what are you saying? We're all poor souls caught in this nightmare. Helping each other out is the least we can do."

Qin Jian was taken aback, realizing he had misspoken, and quickly explained, "I misspoke. What I meant was, when do you think would be a good time for us to go?"

"Right now," An Xuan said without hesitation, clutching the paper tightly in his hand. "The sooner, the better. We should inform the others as soon as possible so everyone can prepare."

"Mr. An is right," Tang Shirou chimed in. "If we're all together, we can come up with a better plan."

Qin Jian and You Qi didn't even bother to pretend to agree with Tang Shirou's words.

After closing the door, the four of them—An Xuan, Tang Shirou, Qin Jian, and You Qi—headed toward the rooms where Zuo Jing and the others were staying. But before they could knock, the door opened by itself, revealing Shi Liaozhi's messy, straw-like yellow hair.

"What's going on?" Zuo Jing, who was standing beside him, asked.

Clearly, they had already seen the middle-aged woman come to their room, so they were prepared.

"We're putting on a play tonight," An Xuan said, holding the paper as he walked into their room. "At the young master Huang's request. We'll be acting with him."

Before Zuo Jing and the others could react, An Xuan turned and walked toward the room where Jiang Cheng and the others were staying.

But to his surprise, Jiang Cheng and the others had already stepped out, blocking An Xuan's group at the door. "What's going on?" Xia Meng asked, tilting her chin up.

Her tone didn't show much respect for An Xuan.

An Xuan glanced at the closed door of Jiang Cheng's room, then looked back and said, "Steward Zhou just sent someone to inform us that we'll be putting on a play tonight." He paused. "At the young master Huang's request. We'll be acting with him."

Unsurprisingly, Fatty's expression turned colorful upon hearing this.

"Tonight," An Xuan said, staring into Jiang Cheng's eyes, "at the third watch."

The scene fell into silence for a moment. Then, Jiang Cheng, who was also staring at An Xuan, tilted his head lazily and said calmly, "How terrifying."

A few pairs of eyes subtly glanced at Jiang Cheng's face, but after a moment, they all looked away without a trace.

Only Tang Shirou remained lost in her own world, completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere. She looked at Jiang Cheng, who seemed indifferent, and said anxiously, "Mr. An came to inform you as soon as he got the news! Otherwise, it would have been that middle-aged woman coming!"

She seemed eager to credit An Xuan, as if in her mind, any interaction with that strange and eerie middle-aged woman would inevitably lead to something bad.

Hearing this, An Xuan's expression shifted slightly.

"Then it seems we really should thank Mr. An," Zuo Jing said. She had already been somewhat displeased with An Xuan for barging into their room without permission, and now she seemed to have noticed something.

"Mr. An, since you intercepted the message early, did you find anything?" Jiang Cheng asked in a tone of seeking guidance.

An Xuan remained as calm as ever. "This is what the young master Huang sent. It notes the things we need to prepare, as well as the blocking and movements." He unfolded the paper and pointed to it naturally.

"It's getting dark," someone said.

Looking up, the sun, which had been overhead not long ago, was now setting in the west, with only a faint glow remaining on the horizon. Everyone knew that time in the nightmare world flowed differently from the real world.

But this world was still too exaggerated.

It seemed as if everything... was preparing for the play tonight.

"Let's go eat first," Fatty suggested. "We can talk while we eat."

With their minds preoccupied, no one had much of an appetite for dinner that night. The thought of young master Huang appearing at night made even the most delicious delicacies hard to swallow.

After eating a few bites, everyone gathered under a tree near the pavilion.

There were several large boxes placed there, presumably containing the props needed for tonight's play.

Opening the boxes, they found rows of neatly arranged heads.

They were fake heads, made of papier-mâché, with cheap dyes used to paint the facial features and add blush.

The heads were hollow, with two large holes cut out where the eyes should be. They were very light to hold.

You Qi picked one up and held it against his head, his expression turning strange. "Why does this thing look so much like the paper effigies they burn for the dead?"

(End of the Chapter)

---

Read (NS) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c368.

Early Access at $1.

Translated (5) Series, (2K+) Chapters, (2.5M+) Words.

🎁If I can get 5 Reviews on WebNovel and ScribbleHub Combined, I'll do a mass release. (1/5)