I'm not a drama god

Bangdang—— Bangdang——

The train gradually accelerated along the track, completely moving away from Shanghai and continuing to move south.

The scenery outside the window gradually changed from tall buildings and cities to endless mountains and farmland. The sunlight poured on the empty fruit plate, giving off a faint silver glow.

Shen Nan looked at the empty seat opposite him and felt a little uneasy... A few minutes ago, Chen Ling said she was going to the bathroom and hasn't come back yet.

"This guy...could he have run away?" Shen Nan muttered to himself.

Shen Nan couldn't figure out Chen Ling's temper, but he felt that since this guy wanted to solve the problem of two souls in one body, he shouldn't run away.

Just as he was struggling over whether to get up and go to the bathroom to find someone, a strange young man in a coat sat casually opposite him.

"Sorry, someone is sitting here." Shen Nan said politely.

The young man glanced at him and said nothing.

"..."

Shen Nan seemed to realize something and asked tentatively, "Are you... Chen Ling?"

Chen Ling did not deny it.

"How come you look different after not seeing you for a while?"

"Is it strange? Before you met me, I had already changed three identities." Chen Ling said calmly, "Now that the train is far away from Shanghai, I should be completely safe. When I move around in other cities next time, I will naturally need a completely new identity."

Shen Nan looked at Chen Ling and could not hide the disappointment on his face.

"?" Chen Ling looked down at herself, "Is there anything wrong with this appearance?"

"No, but the beauty just now is more pleasing to the eyes."

"..."

Under Chen Ling's murderous cold gaze, Shen Nan chose to change the subject immediately:

"How much do you know about [Nuo]?"

"Nuo..."

Chen Ling thought for a moment, "I don't quite understand..."

"Nuo opera, also known as ghost opera, is a kind of dance that worships gods, drives away plagues and epidemics, and expresses peace. Its core is 'witchcraft.'" Shen Nan spoke slowly.

"Since the first time humans bowed down to worship nature, 'Wu' was born... In essence, 'Wu' is a way for humans to communicate with 'God', such as totems, shamans, sacrifices, prayers, and rituals...

There are countless witchcraft rituals in ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, but all of these witchcraft rituals are because people have something to ask for, but they cannot do it themselves, so they can only use rituals to communicate with "God" to satisfy their wishes...

Nuo opera is a way of communicating with the gods in the form of opera and asking them to perform miracles.”

"To worship the gods with drama and dance..." Chen Ling seemed to be thinking.

"But does 'God' really exist in this world?"

"That depends on how you understand 'God'." Shen Nan pointed to the sky outside the window.

“Before all religions emerged, ‘God’ was nature, all the forces beyond human understanding, the heaven and earth, thunder and fire, tsunamis, and frost… The nature of this period was portrayed as a totem by the ancients and worshiped day and night.

But with the continuous development of human civilization, people's beliefs began to change. In addition to nature, they also began to worship their ancestors, believing that after their death, their ancestors would protect their descendants in another form and eliminate disasters and bring blessings.

Later, religion emerged... Based on the background of different civilizations, various stories full of divinity began to spread among humans. They combined their own desires with incomprehensible natural divine forces to create specific "gods" and passed them on to each other. This is people's spiritual sustenance, but it can also become a tool to manipulate others.

There are many different ways to perform Nuo opera, and the objects of worship are also different, but one thing is the most important. "

"What."

"Nuo mask."

Shen Nan took off the hideous mask from his waist and placed it solemnly on the table.

hum-

Almost at the same time, the train entered the tunnel and the warm sunlight suddenly disappeared.

This was a mask that looked quite old, with many places covered in scratches and cracks, but the surface was spotless, especially the angry eyes. When Chen Ling's eyes fell on them, it was as if he was attracted by some force and could not move away...

I don’t know if it was Chen Ling’s illusion, but in the dim light, the mask seemed to come alive, opening its bloody mouth, and was about to swallow Chen Ling!

Chen Ling's pupils contracted slightly.

Ode——

When Shen Nan placed his hand on the Nuo mask, the train roared out of the tunnel, the sun shone on Chen Ling again, and the feeling that made his hair stand on end disappeared.

"Different Nuo masks will have different effects on prayers and different performance styles... It's like the facial makeup in opera performances. Without the mask, you are yourself, a free ordinary person...

But when you put on the mask, you are the god who answers prayers."

"Put on a mask and you become a 'god'?"

Chen Ling muttered to himself. He looked at the Nuo mask that was mostly hidden in the sunlight and subconsciously reached out to touch it...

"Don't touch it!" Shen Nan immediately raised his hand to stop Chen Ling, but as soon as his hand was raised to mid-air, the mask appeared in front of Chen Ling again in its entirety!

When those ferocious eyes met Chen Ling's gaze again, the familiar shock surged into his heart again. Under the dim sky, Chen Ling only felt that a series of scarlet pupils suddenly opened in the void, and the corners of his eyes unconsciously dyed a touch of apricot red...

【Painting the Red Face】!

She looked at Nuo with red eyes, and the next moment, the environment around Chen Ling suddenly shattered!

……

Bonfires were burning in the countryside.

When Chen Ling opened his eyes again, the dazzling bonfire occupied most of his field of vision... The evening breeze from the countryside, accompanied by the damp smell of earth, penetrated into his nostrils, making him dream of his childhood on the ridges of the fields in his hometown in the countryside.

Chen Ling stood there in a daze for a long time before he lowered his head to look at his hands and muttered:

"[Embroidered Vermillion]... activated on its own?"

The last time Chen Ling activated [Painted Red Face] was when he was watching Lu Xun's passing, but this time he did not initiate it on his own initiative. Instead, the moment he looked at Shen Nannuo, Red Face appeared by itself.

Chen Ling looked around and saw a figure sitting by the campfire under the starry night sky, busy with something with his head down... Chen Ling walked to his side and found that it was not Shen Nan, but a middle-aged figure who looked 50% similar to Shen Nan.

He couldn't see Chen Ling, but with the light of the campfire, he held a paintbrush in one hand and a mask in the other, concentrating on coloring them.

The moment she saw the mask, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly...

He actually entered the past of a mask?

At the same time, a child wearing a white vest and green shorts ran quickly across the field and came to the middle-aged man.

"Dad! I finished all the medicine!" The child came up to the middle-aged man and shouted proudly, "I didn't vomit at all this time, really!"