That day, a blind fortune teller came to the pharmacy. He saw Song Shiyan and immediately calculated the divination.

Song Shiyan refused to believe in fate and immediately tried to send him away, but Song Shiyi stopped him.

The blind man shook his head regretfully at Song Shiyi.

Then he told Song Shiyan that going to Jingning City could revive his pharmacy, but he would lose something precious.

If Song Shiyan is willing to go, and if what the blind man said is true, he must give the blind man a gold ingot as a fortune-telling fee upon his return.

Back then, Song Shiyan was young and impetuous, and he didn't care about the consequences.

In addition, Song Shiyi kept trying to persuade him.

Although he was still skeptical of the blind man's words, he set off for Jingning City overnight.

Just as the blind fortune teller had predicted, he encountered a "benefactor" as soon as he arrived in Jingning City.

No, he was kidnapped by a mysterious person.

That's right, they were kidnapped.

A group of people rushed out of the alley, put a sack over Song Shiyan's head, and then tied him up tightly.

The people coming and going on the street seemed not to see anything, and did not even try to avoid it.

After being carried for an unknown amount of time, Song Shiyan finally stepped back onto the ground.

Someone lifted the sack off his head, revealing a man wearing a wooden mask, with a man standing respectfully beside him.

The masked man sat high on the platform, his voice, neither male nor female, emanating from his mouth.

"An inkstone from the Song Dynasty?"

Song Shiyan glared fiercely at the masked man on the stage, cursing the blind fortune teller in his heart.

“I know what you’re thinking. I’m the one who invited you here,” the masked man chuckled. “I’ve invited you to discuss a business deal.”

“We have nothing to talk about.” Song Shiyan turned his head away and ignored him, saying coldly, “Let me leave.”

No, you do.

The masked man laughed loudly, his hoarse laughter echoing in the empty room. Song Shiyan suddenly felt his hands and feet turn cold.

"Do you really want to watch your family's legacy crumble in your hands?"

"Or are you planning to hand Song Shiyi over to someone else?"

Song Shiyan's body trembled, his bound hands clenched into fists, and he remained silent for a long time.

The masked man wasn't in a hurry. He turned his head and glanced at the man beside him. The man, with great insight, bent down and leaned his ear closer.

Song Shiyan didn't know what the two said, but he saw the man quickly walk out of the room.

The sudden light made him involuntarily close his eyes, yet he felt an overwhelming longing in his heart.

After the door closed again, Song Shiyan said coldly, "What are your demands?"

"I'll give you ten thousand taels of gold to help you make a comeback, and you'll find me a placenta."

"Placenta? You can find it in every pharmacy on every street corner. Why would I need to look for it?" Song Shiyan sneered. Even if he didn't know anything about pharmacies, he wasn't so easily fooled.

The masked man wasn't annoyed and laughed, "I want fresh ones, and quite a lot of them. Of course, I won't let you buy them for free; I'll buy them at a price higher than what your pharmacy sells for. How about it?"

Song Shiyan grew up in a pharmacy, so he knew exactly how to obtain placenta.

That's why he didn't dare to agree so easily.

What do you need this for?

"Immortality, how about it? Interested?" The masked man raised his hand and said loudly, "If you continue to work for me, I can guarantee your life. Even if your soul goes to the underworld, I can bring you back to the mortal world."

Immortality—what an alluring phrase.

"As long as you sign a contract with me, you will live as long as the heavens!"

Seeing that Song Shiyan was still doubtful, the masked man turned around and clapped his hands.

Immediately afterwards, a group of people suddenly appeared on both sides.

They entered the house in an orderly fashion, their movements perfectly synchronized, yet it gave off an eerie sense of incongruity.

They stood in front of Song Shiyan, their faces expressionless.

"You, go and kill him."

The masked man pointed to two people with great interest.

The person whose name was chosen drew his longsword without hesitation and plunged it into the chest of another person.

The moment the man drew his sword, Song Shiyan closed his eyes and struggled to run away, but was held tightly by the masked man.

"Open your eyes and look."

Song Shiyan winced in pain and opened his eyes a crack.

Blood splattered onto his face.

What surprised him even more was that the person who had been stabbed in the heart was still bleeding, yet he was able to deflect the sword, casually straighten his clothes, and stand back in the same spot.

"See that? This is immortality!" The masked man whispered seductively in Song Shiyan's ear, "If you promise me, you can be like them too."

Song Shiyan only had a moment of doubt before he was overwhelmed by it.

He completely forgot the advice the blind fortune teller had given him earlier.

Just then, the man who had just run out rushed back in, carrying a tray with a piece of paper and an inkpad on it.

"Ye Baichuan, you will be a witness."

The man was Ye's father when he was young.

Ye's father nodded and pressed his fingerprint on the paper as well.

Once the signature and fingerprint are drawn, the contract is formed.

The masked man told the two that he would find a way to bring the Chu Emperor to Jingning City. What Ye's father had to do was to use opera to keep the Chu Emperor there, while Song Shiyan had to gain the Chu Emperor's favor during this time and make Song's Pharmacy a pharmacy that dispensed medicines for the imperial palace.

They also lived up to the high expectations of the people and gradually gained the trust of the Chu Emperor.

Ye's father and Song Shiyan gradually became close friends despite their age difference.

During their time in Jingning City, they often drank and made merry together.

However, soon after Emperor Chu left Jingning City, Song Shiyan returned home with the boxes of gold.

With the help of the masked man, the Ye family rose to become one of the most prominent opera troupes, and Ye's father led his disciples to travel all over the country.

It wasn't just to collect placenta, but also because of the masked man's request.

He wanted to make Ye's father famous throughout the entire Great Chu.

However, Ye's father's obsession with immortality ultimately harmed the entire Ye family.

While Song Shiyan merely regarded the masked man as a collaborator, Ye's father did not; he revered the masked man as a deity.

But human nature is greedy; he wanted to blaspheme "God" and wanted to know the true face of "God".

Unfortunately, the masked man always wore a tightly wrapped wooden mask, so he had no chance at all.

He also inadvertently allowed the masked man to discover his plan, and the masked man, regardless of whether Ye's father was working for him, issued a "warning" to the Ye family.

Left with no other choice, Ye's father watched helplessly as his disciples left one by one, and could only leave with his two young daughters.

However, the contract signed and sealed back then is still valid, and even if Ye's father dies, he will still be resurrected.

So, on the seventh night after his death, he returned.

He said he felt like he had taken a nap, and when he woke up he went home.

But there are some differences.

He is sometimes very clear-headed and knows what he is doing.

Sometimes he would lose consciousness, and when he woke up again, he would either have left the town where he was staying or find that his daughter had become distant from him.

He was very anxious, as if something was out of his control.

Not long after, he was surprised to find that what was flowing from his wound was not blood, but wood chips.

Curious, he cut open his arm, only to find it was a whole piece of wood.

"As expected... there is no immortality... I've become a puppet... the strings have been severed..."

This was the last sentence Ye's father left on the paper.

Beyond that, they could not find any more text.

However, even so, it still had a huge impact on Tang Nian.

Judging from the scrambled handwriting and incoherent sentences at the back, Ye's father was probably already acting strangely at that time.

He realized he wasn't human.

But what he meant was that after his resurrection, he became a puppet controlled by others.

What about inkstones from the Song Dynasty?

He was also resurrected.

They still have their own thoughts now, but what about later?

Tang Nian rubbed her temples, her eyes showing signs of fatigue.

"So, the deaths of the Ye family members had nothing to do with Jiang Chen; it was this masked man who was behind it?"

She suddenly realized that if it were Jiang Chen who did it, things might not be so complicated.

The precious thing the blind fortune teller pointed to must be Song Shiyi.

Could that masked man be the mastermind behind the Fuyao Theater?

Otherwise, why would Ye Liunian and Song Shiyan say that they were cooperating with the opera house?

The two searched the secret room again but found nothing else useful. The candles were about to burn out, but they still decided to go up.

Ye Liunian was still unconscious, and the two human skins were still lying on the ground.

Ye's father signed a contract and became a puppet, but what about Ye Liusi?

And why did it turn out like this?

What agreement did she reach with the masked man?

Let's go.

Tang Nian took one last deep look at the two human skins.

She still refused to believe that Ye Liusi was as terrible as they described.

Back at the inn, after settling Ye Liunian in, the young prince made a quick trip back to the Ye residence.

Only Tang Nian and Lou Mu were in the room.

What are your plans?

"It's not advisable to go out tonight. I'll stay next door and keep watch over Ye Liunian," Tang Nian said softly, gazing at the pitch-black sky outside the window.

"I'll go with you." Lou Mu decided his destination without hesitation.

Tang Nianyu choked, the words she wanted to say circled in her mouth, and in the end, all she uttered was "Whatever you want."

"Did you see Wangshu today?" Lou Mu picked up the two people's luggage and suddenly thought of a question.

Tang Nian stopped in her tracks and turned around abruptly: "No."

"It seems we've all forgotten about Wangshu." Lou Mu said solemnly, pushing open the window to look at the fire that had been extinguished sometime earlier.

"Do you think Wang Shu might also be among those human skins?"

Tang Nian frowned, thinking for a long time but unable to remember anything: "Let's wait for the young prince's news first. If he hasn't found out, I think we'll have to go to the theater again tomorrow."

Filled with doubt and unease, Tang Nian sat down beside Ye Liunian's bed, gently placing one hand on Ye Liunian's hand.

After a busy day, with Lou Mu by her side, Tang Nian felt exceptionally at ease.

She propped her head up with one hand, nodding it little by little.

When Lou Mu looked at Tang Nian again, he saw that she had fallen asleep by the bedside.

Seeing this, Lou Mu got up and blew out the flickering candlelight.