"It’s been sealed off. Unless Liu Wufeng acts personally, he won’t be able to sense us."

Tang Yun glanced at the burnt-out Talisman Paper. "This is some high-grade Talisman Paper. You all really spared no expense."

The Female Daoist shook her head. "A small price is nothing for the sake of the plan. You performed well today. Both the Wild Taoist Sect and the Wild Buddha Sect will remember this."

Now that the topic was broached, Tang Yun could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked.

"What exactly are you trying to do? Just have me perform opera every day? If that’s all, it doesn’t seem like it will accomplish anything."

He felt that ever since arriving in Fenglin State, all he’d been doing was his usual work. He hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary.

It hardly felt like a collaboration at all.

This was precisely what confused Tang Yun the most.

The Female Daoist shot Tang Yun a cool glance. "There are some things you should ask, and some things you shouldn’t. We have our own plans, naturally."

Her words stung him, and anger flared in his heart.

But when he remembered he was the only one from his troupe present, he forcibly suppressed his anger.

"Fine. As long as the plan succeeds, I can cooperate. Just don’t let this end with Shen Bai still alive and all the heat falling on me."

The Female Daoist chuckled. "Rest assured, Shen Bai can definitely be killed."

With that, the Female Daoist got to the point.

"Starting tomorrow, the operas you perform will change."

Tang Yun frowned. "Change to what?"

Recently, ever since they had arrived in Fenglin State, all the operas they performed were celebratory ones.

After all, sorrowful plays like that were never popular with the common folk.

The Female Daoist took a book from her robes and placed it before Tang Yun. "Starting tomorrow, we perform this. You will play one of the roles."

Tang Yun picked it up and flipped through it, a look of shock spreading across his face. "This is ’Encounter in a Dream’! I think I see what you’re trying to do!"

The plot of ’Encounter in a Dream’ is exceptionally mournful. It’s about a young couple who, forbidden from being together by their families, take their own lives.

After death, they transform into two dream butterflies, their love continuing to intertwine in the dreamscape.

The entire play is steeped in sorrow.

This kind of play is unsuitable for Fenglin State. It won’t be popular at all.

Of course, that was only one of the reasons.

Tang Yun slapped the libretto on the table and shook his head. "We can’t perform this. The moment we do, the entire Observatory will know it was us. I know what you’re getting at. First joyful plays, then sorrowful ones. The sharp contrast between joy and sorrow will create a massive emotional shock among the people. Then, when they dream at night, they’ll all dream of the couple, and you’ll use that to lure out the Nightmare. Am I right?"

"Once an anomaly like that appears, it will plunge all of Fenglin State into despair. It would only take a minor investigation for them to find out I did it. The Peach Opera Garden might be under Marquis Fengjiang’s patronage now, but there’d be no way for us to survive."

"At that point, Marquis Fengjiang would absolutely cut his losses and throw the Peach Opera Garden to the wolves. That’s a deal I can’t make."

At this point, Tang Yun had said all he needed to say.

His stance was extremely firm.

Nightmare. A very special kind of anomaly, one that exists only in illusory dreams.

In the long years since its first appearance, no one had ever managed to kill a Nightmare.

The reason was simple: people will always dream.

There are good dreams, and there are bad dreams.

A good dream brings a good mood for the day, but a bad dream will cause a person to unknowingly accumulate resentful energy.

If you want to eliminate the Nightmare for good, you can’t just stop people from dreaming, can you?

And so, this anomaly was also impossible to kill.

Just like the Shadows That Wear Clothes that appeared not long ago.

Tang Yun knew full well that if he went through with this, the Observatory would undoubtedly follow the trail right back to the Peach Opera Garden.

And when that happened, there would be no escape for him.

The Female Daoist looked at the book on the table and shook her head. "You’re truly loyal to the Peach Opera Garden. But have you considered this? If we weren’t absolutely sure of ourselves, why would we even suggest it?"

"If you were exposed, wouldn’t we be offending Marquis Fengjiang?"

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend. We know what Marquis Fengjiang wants, so he is our friend. We would never allow a friend to fall into an impossible situation."

But despite her eloquent reassurances, Tang Yun remained unconvinced and stood his ground.

"Unless you tell me how you’ll clear the Peach Opera Garden of suspicion, I absolutely will not do it," Tang Yun said firmly. "Or you can kill me." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’Dead if I do, dead if I don’t.’

Tang Yun now felt even more strongly that he needed to negotiate.

Of course, he wasn’t actually daring the Wild Taoist Sect to kill him; he was probing to see if there was any room for maneuver.

After Tang Yun spoke, the Female Daoist’s expression remained perfectly nonchalant, as if she had expected him to say that all along.

The Female Daoist sat opposite Tang Yun, casually brushed some dust from the table with her sleeve, and poured herself a cup of tea.

Her movements were unhurried, and the room descended into silence.

The Female Daoist seemed completely unconcerned with Tang Yun’s thoughts, simply sipping her tea at her own pace.

The silence only made the atmosphere feel heavier.

Sitting there, Tang Yun felt the air grow increasingly oppressive.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He had just been testing the Female Daoist, trying to sound her out and gain some leverage.