Suspicion

1,300 words

Chapter 153: Suspicion

Seeing Li Huowang eating in the main hall, Lü Zhuangyuan, who had been standing with his hands on his hips, instantly shrank a head. A fawning smile naturally spread across his face.

"Esteemed little Daoist, you mock me. That was no argument, merely fellow pear-garden disciples discussing opera. Heh heh, one learns until the end, you know."

Li Huowang's mouth curled slightly. "So? You were arguing with those locals. They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

Lü Zhuangyuan happened to be bursting with delight, with nowhere to share it. The moment Li Huowang engaged him, he immediately rolled up his sleeves, propped one foot on a stool, and began to boast without end.

"Esteemed little Daoist, you understand—when it comes to opera, I've been singing for over thirty years. Do you think three lads barely into their twenties could intimidate me?"

"When I first arrived, they tried to put on airs. But we're all opera men—did this old man fear that? Slap, slap, slap! I plopped my backside right down on their costume trunk and barked out, 'You're singing your tune all wrong!' Heh heh, guess what happened?"

"What happened?" Li Huowang played along, and Lü Zhuangyuan immediately plunged into the tale.

"Hey! Those three young whelps were stunned on the spot. The youngest one even asked me, 'Where's the tune wrong, sir?'"

"He wanted me to teach him! As if I'd just hand out that kind of knowledge for free. I sat right there and gave him the cold shoulder. They didn't even offer me a cup of tea—dream on!"

"Oh, you should have seen how they looked at me then～ The respect was overwhelming! They called me 'Old Senior'!"

"But fair is fair, I didn't lie. Their pitch was indeed too high. As an old senior, I have a duty to support the younger generation. Am I right?"

Listening to Lü Zhuangyuan's vivid bragging, Li Huowang thought to himself, with this man's gift of gab, it's a shame he isn't a storyteller.

Li Huowang finished his meal just as Lü Zhuangyuan finished his tale.

His face glowing red, Lü Zhuangyuan picked up his teacup, let out a satisfied sigh, and felt thoroughly pleased.

"Head Lü, what opera were they singing? It sounded very strange," Li Huowang asked as he scraped the last bite of rice into his mouth.

"Oh, they were performing The Great Nuo Expels the Twelve Ghosts. That's an old opera. I hear it's been passed down for thousands of years. Since it's an ancient piece, the singing style is bound to be odd."

"Who is the Great Nuo?" Li Huowang stuck a chopstick into his mouth, using it as a toothpick.

"I don't know either. From the lyrics those three lads sang, it sounds like some kind of immortal."

"It's said that this region—the old Shu land—was a ghost country many years ago. People were no better than livestock; as soon as they were born, they'd be eaten."

"Then the Great Nuo came. It drove away the twelve most powerful ghosts from the ghost country, taught the ancients to walk upright, to speak, to use characters, and even how to use fire."

"So it's a myth..." Li Huowang narrowed his eyes, the image of the three masked figures performing the Nuo dance surfacing in his mind.

"Could that man from last night be related to this Nuo dance troupe?"

It wasn't unreasonable for Li Huowang to be suspicious of them. The moment he entered this town, he saw them performing that eerie Nuo dance, along with that unsettling tooth-manipulation act.

Wait, tooth-manipulation? Li Huowang recalled the man from last night, who had worn a mask made of copper coins. If the mask was used to hide the teeth, that would fit perfectly.

At this thought, he glanced at Lü Zhuangyuan beside him. "Head Lü, those three lads performing the Nuo dance—when they spoke to you, did they take off their masks?"

"No, they didn't. When they saw me, they were so busy, they hadn't even removed their makeup yet. They respectfully served me tea!" Lü Zhuangyuan said, his face full of pride.

"Could it really be them? But there were only three of them. Was the man from last night deliberately trying to mislead me?" Li Huowang's brow gradually furrowed.

"Daoist! Daoist!" A loud voice interrupted Li Huowang's train of thought.

He looked up and saw the disheveled monk standing at the entrance, grinning at him happily.

"Where did you disappear to? Why are you just showing up now? I looked for you this morning but couldn't find you."

Li Huowang put down his chopsticks, walked over to him, and scrutinized him carefully. "Looking for me? What is it?"

"Of course it's important! Come on, I found a fun place!"

The monk's words triggered some unpleasant memories for Li Huowang. Last time the monk said that, he ended up leading him straight to the Flesh Buddha.

But then again, that's also how Li Huowang saw through Zhengde Temple's disguise. In a way, the monk was half his savior.

Glancing at the strong sunlight outside, Li Huowang stepped out. "Fine, let's go."

The moment he finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion behind him.

"Heh heh heh..."

Li Huowang whipped his head around, staring in the direction of the low laughter.

It was Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi. They stood together in the corner, the two of them bearing four faces, all twisted into grotesque, mocking smiles.

"Daoist! Hurry up!" The monk, already out on the main street, was basking in the sun and calling urgently to Li Huowang.

"Monk? Could it be him?" Li Huowang stared at the distant figure, deep in thought.

Although he had tested him several times yesterday, the monk's sudden appearance here was indeed a bit too abrupt.

"Is it some kind of illusion? But such things have never been very effective on me. And now that my perception has improved so much, if he were a fake, I should have caught on by now."

"Wait, why am I letting those two hallucinations influence me? They're both fake." Li Huowang's mind was inexplicably in turmoil, slipping into self-doubt.

"Daoist! Come on! What are you dawdling for?"

Seeing that the monk had almost shouted himself hoarse, Li Huowang took a deep breath and walked over.

Whether he was real or not, he had to test him further.

If he was the real monk, that would be for the best. But if he was a fake, then this was a perfect chance to strike, to figure out what this person's real goal was, and whether someone was pulling his strings.

The way that man last night had fled made Li Huowang bolder in how he handled things.

In the afternoon, the streets were still crowded. It was probably because this town was a border outpost. Mules, horses, and camels kept brushing past Li Huowang.

"Monk, where are we going?" Li Huowang asked, one hand secretly resting on the Thousand Greats Record at his waist.

"Not far. We're almost there. Look, right over there."

Li Huowang followed the monk's finger and saw three men wearing wooden masks, performing an opera.

"Heh heh, what do you think? Never seen this before, have you?" the monk said with great enthusiasm.

"Nuo opera. This is the 'fun' thing you were talking about?" Li Huowang's face showed a trace of exasperation.

"If you've seen it, then watch it again. This kind of opera can only be seen here! You can't find it anywhere else! Later on, you won't be able to see it even if you want to. Ah, look, they're packing up."

The monk looked regretful, but Li Huowang's attention sharpened. He was watching the three performers, who were finally taking off their masks.

Share to

Reading Guide Decoding

Masks and Paranoia – The Great Nuo's Shadow

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

The Great Nuo Expels the Twelve Ghosts is a fictional opera within the novel, but it draws heavily from the real Chinese folk tradition of Nuo opera. Nuo culture is one of China's oldest ritual performance systems, dating back at least three thousand years. Its core function is exorcism: performers wear fierce wooden masks that are deliberately terrifying—uglier than ghosts—to frighten away evil entities and disease spirits. The novel weaponizes this logic perfectly: if a mask is meant to look scarier than a demon, then who is hiding behind it, and what are they doing here?

Li Huowang's suspicion of the Nuo dancers is not unfounded. The tooth-manipulation technique (耍牙, shuaya) is a real and unsettling folk art, often performed alongside Nuo opera in rural China. Performers hide dozens of boar or cow fangs inside their mouths, then rapidly switch and roll them into view—a sight designed to shock and awe audiences. Given that the masked figure from the previous night wore a copper-coin face cover, the connection between hidden teeth and hidden identities becomes too strong for Li Huowang to ignore.

The chapter also deepens Li Huowang's relationship with his own hallucinations. The mocking laughter of Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi is not just noise; it's a deliberate attack on his reality-anchor. Every time Li Huowang tries to think clearly, the visions shove doubts back into his head. This is the central mechanism of the novel's horror: the protagonist's own mind is weaponized against his judgment.

Chapter Overview

Li Huowang finally enjoys a moment of relative peace, listening to Lü Zhuangyuan's gleeful account of his theatrical triumph over local opera rivals. But this quiet interlude is immediately poisoned by suspicion. The Nuo opera performers—whose eerie dance Li Huowang witnessed upon entering town—become the focus of his paranoia. Could the masked man from the previous night be one of them? The monk's sudden reappearance to drag him to another "fun place" only deepens Li Huowang's uncertainty. As hallucinations of Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi sneer at him from the corner, Li Huowang must decide whether to trust the monk or treat him as another enemy in disguise. The chapter's climax is a quiet, tension-soaked walk to watch the Nuo performers remove their masks—a boundary that could reveal a liar or confirm a trail of clues.

Key Plot Points

Lü Zhuangyuan recounts his encounter with local opera performers, bragging about how he intimidated them with his veteran expertise. The opera they performed is The Great Nuo Expels the Twelve Ghosts, a myth about a being called "The Great Nuo" who drove away twelve ghosts from a ghost country and civilized humanity.
Li Huowang connects elements of the Nuo opera—the masks, the tooth-manipulation act—to the masked figure from the previous night's attack. He suspects the three dancers may be linked to his assailant.
The disheveled monk reappears, inviting Li Huowang to a "fun place." Li Huowang is wary, remembering how the monk's previous invitation led him to the Flesh Buddha at Zhengde Temple.
Li Huowang's hallucinations of Danyangzi and Jiang Yingzi interrupt his thoughts, laughing at him from a corner, triggering a cycle of self-doubt about what is real and what is illusion.
Despite his suspicion, Li Huowang resolves to test the monk further. If real, good; if fake, he will strike and learn the truth. His experience from the previous night has made him bolder in seeking direct confrontation.
The monk leads Li Huowang to the three Nuo performers, who are now taking off their masks. The chapter ends on this moment of potential revelation.

Reading Guide

Here's the thing about Li Huowang at this stage: he's paranoid for a reason, but paranoia doesn't make him right. The chapter's tension comes from watching him oscillate between logical deduction and near-spiraling self-doubt. The Nuo performers are a perfect suspect—masked, ritualistic, and connected to the town's eeriness—but that's almost too neat. Is this a genuine lead, or is Li Huowang's suspicion being quietly fed by Danyangzi's influence? The fact that the novel doesn't hand you an answer is the whole point.

Also, Lü Zhuangyuan's bragging session is a masterclass in characterization through voice. The man is vain, proud, and desperately needs validation—but his pride is also his armor. In a world where performing troupes are at the bottom of the social ladder, his joy at being called "Old Senior" is touching in its vulnerability. He's not just a comic relief character; he's a man holding onto dignity with both hands.

The monk remains the wildcard. Li Huowang's memory of the Flesh Buddha trauma is a sharp reminder that "fun places" in this world are never safe. Yet the monk's genuine cheerfulness and his lack of malice make it hard to write him off as a villain. The question is not whether he's lying—it's whether he knows the truth of what he's showing Li Huowang.

Get ready for the mask reveal. After that, nothing will be the same.

Deeper Lore: The Nuo Mask as a Horror Device

The Nuo mask is not just a prop—it is the central icon of a folk-horror philosophy. In traditional Nuo culture, the mask is not a costume; it is a vessel. Performers believe that wearing the mask allows the spirit of the deity or exorcist to temporarily inhabit the wearer. The mask becomes a living interface between the human world and the spirit world. This is why, when the Nuo performers in the chapter refuse to remove their masks even while drinking tea, it's not just about convenience or performance discipline. The mask is their identity, their power, and possibly their protection. Li Huowang's relentless focus on the moment of unmasking is not curiosity—it's survival logic. He knows that in this world, a mask that stays on is a lie that hasn't been caught. When it finally comes off, the truth beneath will decide whether he lives or dies.