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The drumbeat of Zi Shi sent ripples across the surface of Yuanjiang. Zhou Yanhui's fingers turned white as he gripped the Silver Spear, while the water beneath the Xitai bubbled ominously. The Twenty-Eight Costume Skeletons began to rise slowly with the rhythm of the Redwood Box.
Suddenly, the Martial Dan Skeleton in the front row turned its head. In the empty eye sockets beneath its green headdress, a Silver-Winged Centipede hummed the melody of Youyuan Jingmeng in Liu Chanyi's voice. "Let the show begin!" Boss Wang Sihai's shout was laced with the stench of decay.
As the curtain lifted, Zhou Yanhui saw that the audience was packed. The onlookers had their necks wrapped in blood-soaked white silk, their severed tracheas moving in sync with the singing lyrics. In the front row, an old woman cradled a swaddled infant whose bony little hand beat out a rhythm that matched perfectly with the sound of Liu Chanyi's ruler when he practiced his techniques.
When the Silver Spear thrust forward, it suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Zhou Yanhui caught sight of a piece of Human Skin stuck to Wu Dan's flag, inscribed with his birth date in gold powder. The copper bells attached to the flag fluttered without wind, each chime accompanied by the sound of a backstage trunk—specifically, the sandalwood box that held Liu Chanyi's costume.
"Boss Zhou, it's your turn to take center stage!" Wang Sihai's face glimmered with corpse-like spots under the lantern light. Zhou Yanhui leaped onto an imaginary cart, but his heavy boots landed on something solid. The wooden planks of Xitai collapsed with a thunderous crash, revealing a suspended array of corpses soaked in black water below.
The skeletons clad in costumes were gnawing at ropes, and at the center, one Martial Dan Skeleton held up its pinky finger, which glowed faintly. The drumbeat suddenly shifted pitch, and cheers erupted from the audience as the Headless Corpses' chests vibrated violently, spewing black blood that coalesced into talismans at the edge of Xitai.
Zhou Yanhui used his Silver Spear to propel himself into the air, its tip striking Wu Dan's flag and sending it flying. As Human Skin fell away, he glimpsed its reverse side embroidered with Liu Chanyi's birth date—the very day she had plunged into the river three years ago.
"Brother... catch my spear..." The Martial Dan Skeleton suddenly raised its hand and tossed him the Silver Spear. At that moment when Zhou Yanhui caught it mid-air, he noticed countless bite marks along its shaft, each imprint embedded with half a Jade Mask.
The water surface began to boil as Wu Sheng Skeletons sang Ye Ben in unison; their costumes unfurled into a blood-red bagua amidst the waves. A thunderous explosion echoed from backstage as Zhou Yanhui crashed into the storeroom and saw Liu Chanyi's crimson costume floating mid-air.
The Silver-Winged Centipedes wrote on the wall in blood: "At three quarters past Hai hour, return of painted skin." The Jade Mask suddenly closed around him, wrapping his costume into a human shape; at its waist was a Jade Belt—the token he had given her years ago.
"Quick! Pour Black Dog Blood!" Zhang Songling kicked open the wooden door, and strings from his zither ensnared the neck of the human-shaped costume. Old Qin Master Zhang Songling's whites had been devoured by Gu Worms; from his dark eye sockets crawled a centipede: "These costumes need to be wrapped in living Human Skin to remain calm..."
Before the words had left his mouth, the Costume suddenly exploded, and countless Blood Centipedes surged toward the crowd, each with a screaming face on its back.
Zhou Yanhui swung his sword to cut through the curtain, revealing an Ebony Coffin hidden behind it. Inside lay twelve neatly stacked Human Skins, the face on the top layer belonging to Lin Xiu, who was currently screaming.
As he lifted the third layer of Human Skin, a familiar scent of sandalwood wafted toward him—Liu Chanyi's skin was pierced at the nape with a Xiangxi Corpse Transport Talisman.
From the direction of the Ferry Crossing came the sound of hooves as Yin Soldiers crossed over. Zhou Yanhui leaped out of the window and saw a line of faceless soldiers walking across the surface of Yuanjiang River.
From the crack in the Hundred-Year Stage they were carrying, Cinnabar flowed out, drawing a map of Xitai on the river's surface. When the lead Yin Soldier suddenly turned his head, corpse insects crawling through the gaps in his armor formed words: "To see the Bone-Clad Maiden, open the Gui Box at the hour of the Tiger."
Suddenly, the Zaojing theater collapsed. Zhou Yanhui looked up to see a new corpse hanging between Liang Zhu, its body clad in his Costume, with a Jade Belt tightly constricting its waist. The face of the corpse was melting away, revealing Liu Chanyi's chilling white bones beneath it, with a Tortoiseshell Comb he had given inserted into the Crown of Heaven.
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