"What was that just now?" Gu Qiansi spoke up as soon as they gathered in the privacy of Zhao Yunxiao's room. "So, it's not the Night Emperor's soul. But what's the deal with Lei He? Is it him or not?"
Lu Zhiying and Nie Hanchang silently turned towards Zhao Yunxiao, hoping that the latter had the answers.
"I'm not sure either," Zhao Yunxiao answered with a frown. "What happened was definitely out of the norm. If it were him, the array should have worked. If it weren't, the spirit shouldn't have been weakened. Unless..."
"Unless what?" Gu Qiansi asked curiously.
"Two possibilities – the spirit is either toying with us on purpose, or has deliberately hidden its true strength up until now for some reason," Zhao Yunxiao analysed. "But for the first to be true, it needs to have knowledge of the Soul Suppression Shell Array to be able to play along with such perfect timing. That much is unlikely. As for the second possibility, that is also unlikely to be the case. Considering its apparent hatred for humanity, there shouldn't be anything stopping it from materialising to kill more efficiently."
"Unless it is trying to lay low and avoid being targeted by cultivators," Nie Hanchang suggested.
"That's possible, but improbable," Zhao Yunxiao said. "If that's the case, it should have avoided constantly targeting only the one actor that is closest to the pendant. That is simply a magnet for trouble. If it is powerful enough to materialise, it can easily seek out other targets."
"The fact that it only harms the actor playing the role of Lei He could also be due to it trying to send a message..." Gu Qiansi rubbed her chin in contemplation. "From the words of the spirit, it is definitely not the Night Emperor. But whose spirit could it be other than the Night Emperor and Lei He? Maybe Lan Fangyan? It is said that he wore the pendant after the passing of Lei He."
"But why would Lan Fangyan's soul curse the pendant?" Lu Zhiying asked. "Just because he feels unjust that he died an early death?"
"Indeed, that doesn't seem to fit the words of the spirit in the pendant," Zhao Yunxiao said. "In the end, we also cannot discount the possibility of it being a wild spirit that has been summoned as part of a vicious curse. That would be the worst-case scenario, as it would mean that it would be nigh impossible to fully purge the spirit from the pendant. If we are forced to forcibly exterminate it, it could end up hurting Ling Jiping, and to a lesser extent, the new actor now that he has performed with the pendant as well."
"What needs to be done, has to be done," Nie Hanchang said. "It is better than leaving things be."
"Agreed," Zhao Yunxiao nodded. "But before doing so, let's try to find out more about the background of the pendant. Who knows if we would be able to gather enough information to help us determine the true identity of the spirit?"
"That's probably the best course of action for now," Gu Qiansi agreed. "Let's do just that."
The group dispersed after a short discussion and retired for the night. As morning broke, the group immediately caught wind of a shocking piece of news that was propagating through the city like wildfire.
Ling Jiping, the previous actor for the role of Lei He, had been found dead in his home. Suicide – that was the cause of death determined by the city guards.
If that was all, people would focus on grieving the loss of a huge star.
The problem here was that he was not the first actor of the role to have claimed his own life in recent years. Therefore, along with the grief that struck the hearts of the masses, there was also an uncanny sense of uncertainty and fear.
Having heard the news, Zhao Yunxiao's group hurried to the scene.
With a wave of his hand, Zhao Yunxiao cast a simple concealing technique that shrouded over the group, allowing them to slip past the guards and directly enter the house.
That was when they saw the corpse of Ling Jiping lying on the ground, with his hand holding a chopper and a brutal gash that spread across his neck. It was no clean wound, meaning that it likely was done in a manner that was either hesitant or inexperienced.
Apparently, a neighbour had noticed droplets of blood sprayed onto the window, and looked in out of curiosity. That was how they discovered the dead Ling Jiping.
Unfortunately, it was difficult to determine if there had been any break-in before his death, considering the entrance had been damaged when the city guards forced their way in to examine the scene.
Nevertheless, all signs pointed to Ling Jiping having taken his own life. That was, except for the fearful look in his eyes.
Zhao Yunxiao frowned when he noticed that the talisman that he had given Ling Jiping was nowhere to be found. That was supposed to have not just protected him from harm, but also alerted Zhao Yunxiao to any dangerous situation that Ling Jiping was in.
"I think you are looking for this," Nie Hanchang walked over with the familiar talisman in hand. "It had been thrown out the back, along with a few bottles of wine. I might not be able to tell for sure, but I don't think he appreciates your gift very much."
Zhao Yunxiao looked at the talisman and let out a helpless sigh.
From the looks of it, Ling Jiping had turned to drinking to drown his anxiety. After doing so, he had chosen to throw out the talisman instead of taking Zhao Yunxiao's caution seriously.
What a pity.
"Why is he being left like that? Did none of his relatives show up to handle things?" Gu Qiansi asked in disapproval. "And Cai Caoyuan isn't here either!"
"He has no family. As for Cai Caoyuan, this place isn't far from the theatre group's shophouse. Had he wanted to come, he would have been able to get here by now," Zhao Yunxiao answered coldly. "My guess is that this is how Cai Caoyuan screens people to play the role of Lei He. By approaching struggling actors with no family and nothing to lose, these actors can be easily tempted into challenging fate despite the widespread rumours. After all, the other option is simply to starve alone. And since they have no family, there would be nobody trying to help them seek redress if something happens. This saves the theatre group from future problems."
"Oh, how smart!" Lu Zhiying remarked.
"Smarts used in the wrong way," Gu Qiansi reminded. "This is more like being scheming."
"Do you think he committed suicide of his own accord?" Nie Hanchang asked.
"Unlikely. Or at the very least, not while he had clarity of mind," Zhao Yunxiao answered grimly. "It looks like we are on a timer now. Let's make full use of today to gather all the information we can get. Tomorrow, we will attempt the exorcism once more!"
With that decided, the group left Ling Jiping's house as silently as they came. Even the city guards stationed directly outside the house never noticed a thing.
From there, the group of four separated into two.
Zhao Yunxiao and Gu Qiansi headed to the Lan Clan Residence in an attempt to hear more from the ruling clan of Demonfall City. As for Nie Hanchang and Lu Zhiying, they went to the Chang Clan Residence under Zhao Yunxiao's instructions.
After hearing Chang Huien's mocking poem and rumours about the supposed tension between the Lan Clan and the Chang Clan, Zhao Yunxiao wanted them to go ask about the Chang Clan's perspective when it came to the origin of the city. Hopefully, that would give some clues on the identity of the spirit in the pendant.
The Chang Clan truly lived up to its name as the faction second only to the Lan Clan. Not only was its residence situated near the Lan Clan Residence in the centre of the city, but it was also more than comparable in size.
In fact, just the two clan residences alone took up almost five percent of the entire city's land area.
Even if it was just in terms of public optics, to be seen as being on par with the powerful Lan Clan that had controlled the position of city lord for ages, one could imagine just how much power and influence the Chang Clan possessed within the city.
Upon informing the servants of their identity, Nie Hanchang and Lu Zhiying were quickly led into the Chang Clan Residence. Soon, the familiar face of Chang Huien appeared at the front hall where they awaited.
"To think that two great cultivators have arrived at our humble abode! To what do we owe this honour?" Chang Huien clasped his fists towards the duo upon his arrival.
"Greetings, Lord Chang," Nie Hanchang nodded in response. "Have you heard rumours regarding a curse on the performance by Good Luck Theatre Group?"
Lu Zhiying looked at Nie Hanchang in surprise, not expecting him to jump right into the issue at hand.
"The curse on the performance?" Chang Huien was slightly taken aback. "Have you come to Demonfall to investigate that issue?"
"That's right," Nie Hanchang said. "Because of that, we'd like to ask if you know anything about it. In addition, what do you know about the origin of Demonfall?"
Chang Huien blinked blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! If I didn't know better, I might even misunderstand that you are suspecting the Chang Clan of being the ones behind the curse!" Chang Huien laughed heartily.
This time, it was Nie Hanchang's turn to be slightly taken aback. As far as he was concerned, Zhao Yunxiao had sent them here precisely because there were doubts regarding the Chang Clan's innocence.
"It seems like we might have gotten the wrong message across. Thankfully, you do know better!" Lu Zhiying quickly interjected with a smile of relief. "We are definitely not suspecting the Chang Clan. On the contrary, we know that the Chang Clan is innocent. That is the reason why we are here – in hopes that the Chang Clan can render some assistance to help us solve this complicated matter."
"Is that so?" Chang Huien gave a meaningful smile. "In any case, there is a limit to what I know, so there is no harm in telling you everything. This rumoured curse has been casting a shadow over the city for a long time now. As a part of Demonfall, we would definitely be grateful if you could help us get rid of it. Please, take a seat."
With that, Chang Huien began to recount the stories of the past. Or at least, he began to recount the version of the stories that had been passed down within the Chang Clan.
And he did not bother mincing his words either – the first words that he started with were that despite how everyone hailed the ancient Lan couple as heroes, there were plenty of flaws in terms of their character.
Perhaps most importantly, Lan Fangyan's ascension as city lord had not been as unanimous a decision as the stories told. Instead, it was a result of careful machinations that he had schemed up in the past.
By making use of his popularity to continuously whisper in the ears of the people, he had successfully planted the idea that the then City Lord Chang was incompetent and had to be replaced.
It was all for the sake of the people.
For safety. For progress.
And people ate up his narrative on masse.
After all, he was the hero of the people, the one who had rescued everyone from the terror that was the Night Emperor. On the other hand, the then City Lord Chang had obviously failed to defend his people from the demon, and had simply lucked out when the three heroes did the job for him.
Dissent spread among the hearts of people like an infectious disease, and it naturally reached the ears of the then City Lord Chang as well.
In the end, the then City Lord Chang was too kind, and willingly abdicated his position to satisfy the overwhelming public sentiments that the hero Lan Fangyan should be the new city lord.
The so-called unanimous decision was simply when it came to the new generation who bought into his narrative.
As for the older generation of leaders, the majority of them left office along with the then City Lord Chang, unable to bring themselves to work under a youngling like Lan Fangyan who clearly did not shy away from taking extreme measures to achieve his aims.
"But don't worry. Those are all stories of the distant past. Any past grievances between the Chang Clan and the Lan Clan have already been buried by the sands of time. The current Chang Clan bears no ill will towards anyone, and is dedicating ourselves to improving the lives of people within Demonfall," Chang Huien assured. "Even if the rumoured curse on the performance is real, I swear that the Chang Clan has nothing to do with it. In fact, even if we wanted to curse someone, don't you think that it would have been the scheming Lan Clan instead of the Good Luck Theatre Group?"