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The sound of the gavel echoed through the theater, mingling with the scent of wax from the corpses. Zhou Yanhui clutched the yellow talisman left by the Yin Soldier, his fingertip tracing the unique texture of human skin. The back of the talisman was adorned with gold powder, outlining a map of the theater's secret passages, leading directly to the room where Liu Chanyi had once stored Yan Zhi.
As he tore open the hidden compartment, a half piece of jade mask fell to the ground—exactly like the one where the Blood Centipede had made its home in the trunk from the first chapter. The stone steps of the secret passage were slick with moss, each step splashing up foul black water. Zhou Yanhui's sword sliced through cobwebs, revealing rows of Liuli jars embedded in the wall.
The eyeballs soaking in medicinal wine turned to follow his footsteps, their pupils reflecting Liu Chanyi's graceful form as she sang "Mu Ke Zhai." At the very end of the row, a costume lay at the bottom of a jar, its cracked ring spelling out "Meet at the Hour of the Pig." The stench from the water's surface suddenly intensified as Zhou Yanhui pushed open a hidden door and saw twenty-eight costume skeletons floating in the murky water.
Red threads soaked in blood wrapped around their wrists, with the other ends tied to the hands and feet of members from the opera troupe. A martial skeleton suddenly leaped from the water, its jeweled headpiece shattering to reveal Liu Chanyi's complete skull—seven coffin nails inscribed with spells were driven into her Crown of Heaven.
"Senior Brother..." The skeleton's jaw opened and closed, droplets of water forming into a Xiangxi Corpse Transport Talisman in mid-air. Zhou Yanhui swung his sword to sever the red threads, causing all the skeletons to turn towards him, silver-winged centipedes crawling out from their hollow eye sockets.
The faces on their backs began chanting "Peony Pavilion," their voices resonating and causing Liuli jars to explode. From the direction of Ferry Crossing came the sound of hooves splashing through water. Zhou Yanhui plunged into the icy Yuanjiang River and saw a line of Yin Soldiers walking beneath the surface.
The Hundred-Year Stage they carried cracked open, releasing countless joss papers depicting portraits of opera troupe members. When the lead Yin Soldier suddenly halted, maggots crawled out from gaps in his armor to form new words: "Desire to Unravel the Skin Spell, must cross Sheng Si Men."
Amongst the wreckage sat a woman dressed in bridal attire. She combed a skeleton's hair with her left hand while holding a tortoiseshell comb in her right; her makeup box contained seven still-beating hearts. When she turned her head, Zhou Yanhui saw that her scalp was attached to an intact piece of human skin—exactly like Liu Chanyi's face on the day he sent her off three years ago.
"Chan Yi!" Zhou Yanhui thrust his sword to lift her bridal gown, revealing her bone-white ribs. Suddenly, a heart burst apart, and amidst a mist of blood appeared scenes from when the theater was built: craftsmen sealing living people within Liang Zhu, their struggling faces unmistakably those of today's opera troupe members. Liu Chanyi was chained at the altar's center while an undertaker drew spells on Wu Sheng's corpse using her blood.
The woman abruptly tore off the human skin from her head.
The face that belonged to Zhou Yanhui unfolded in the blood, transforming into a map leading to the sunken ship's hold. Inside, the Ebony Coffin was nailed with nine hundred and ninety-nine Coffin Nails, each cap engraved with the birth dates of the Opera Troupe members. The gaps in the coffin lid oozed Cinnabar, casting a reflection of the Xitai Bagua array on the ground.
" Boss Zhou has a keen eye," Wang Sihai said as he emerged from the shadows, holding a Witch Doll. The doll was dressed in Liu Chanyi's Costume, with a Tortoiseshell Comb inserted into its chest—one that he had gifted.
As Zhou Yanhui reached out to snatch it, the doll suddenly opened its eyes, its mouth stretching from ear to ear. "Do you remember, Senior Brother, when we practiced 'Farewell My Concubine' together?"
The blood boiled violently. The Wu Sheng skeleton burst forth from the water, forcing Zhou Yanhui to the edge of the altar. Wang Sihai tore open the Costume, revealing hundreds of stitched Human Skin pieces on his chest—each one belonging to a member of the Opera Troupe who had met a tragic end over the years.
The outermost layer was melting away, revealing Liu Chanyi's ashen face beneath. "The brows you painted for me back then are due for repayment now..."
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