Secret World: I Became a God Through Lies

Chapter 94: Reshaping Destiny: Moonfall Flute

"Destiny is not given, but reshaped by oneself."

The Baleen Bar on the Whale Grave was still bustling with activity, with gamblers shouting and yelling around the dice table.
The wine glasses collided, making a crisp clash sound, and the bard plucked the rough but wild strings, singing the wild tune that the pirates were most familiar with.

The air was filled with the mixed smell of rum and spices, slightly sweet and spicy, as if even the air carried the madness and desire of the gamblers.

In a corner of the bar, Siming rested his chin on one hand, carelessly flipping through the cards he had won not long ago.

The dark blue card surface slid across his fingertips, casting a faint light. A deep-sea shrimp with a hard shell appeared on the card surface.

The obsidian eyes flickered faintly, revealing a cold and dangerous luster.

He looked at the card, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a bit of helplessness.

"The Sea of ​​Dreams is really full of seafood..." He muttered in a low voice, with a hint of self-mockery in his tone.

However, at this moment, a familiar and strange whisper sounded in my ears, as gentle as the tide, but with an omnipresent sense of erosion.

"If you don't like it, why not create a new destiny for it?"

Siming's eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingertips tapped lightly on the bar, as if he was thinking, or as if he was digesting the meaning of the whisper.

"A new destiny?" He chuckled and muttered to himself in a playful tone, "You, you think I'm a storyteller, don't you, One of a Thousand Faces?"

The card spun at his fingertips, and the light flickered slightly, like a response, but also like silence.

"It seems that you do have some skills, Siming." A lazy female voice interrupted softly with a hint of teasing.

Siming looked up and saw that Mrs. Mei had quietly sat down at the bar.

She gently raised her hand to signal the bartender to pour a cocktail. Under the light, her red skirt slowly spread out on the chair.
The scarlet rose on the hem of her skirt seemed to contain a hint of bright blood under the dim light of the tavern.

She picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

His eyes were scrutinizing, as if he were sizing up an interesting bet.

"What? Don't you want to go relax? This is the Whale Grave, a gambler's paradise."

She spoke casually, her tone carrying her usual lightness.

Siming toyed with the cards carelessly, his tone lazy: "Not interested. The opponent here is even weaker than the old man at the Sin Table."

Madam Mei raised her eyebrows, and the smile in her eyes deepened. "Oh? Then have you ever been to the 'Sleeping Chips' to take a look? That 'Two-Faced Gambler' Lorient is no rookie."

She gently swirled the glass, causing the amber liquid to swirl slowly. "Legend has it that his mystique controls the dice of fate."

Hearing this, Siming raised his eyes slightly and glanced at her face, but he just smiled and shrugged.

"No rush. After all, the official gambling game won't start so soon, right?"

Madam Mei sighed and shook her head with a hint of regret. "You are such a calm gambler, Siming."

Siming picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and felt the rich aroma of rum spreading on the tip of his tongue.

He swallowed, casually put the glass back on the bar, stood up, and casually tugged at his collar.

"But tonight, I just want to sleep in." He turned and walked out of the tavern, leaving behind a last lazy farewell.

"It's too noisy here, and reeks of pirates' malice and conspiracy."

Mrs. Mei looked at his back, smiled slightly, gently turned the wine glass in her hand, and murmured softly:

“Interesting people are always hiding deep inside.”

The night on the Whale Grave was not peaceful.

In this pirate city, the daytime is a carnival for gamblers, while the night belongs to the real hunters.

Siming walked slowly across the dock, the sea breeze blowing across the corners of his clothes, carrying with it the unique damp scent of the Sea of ​​Dreams, mixed with the salty and fishy smell of unknown spices.

He walked all the way back to the Lost, the lights along the way casting mottled shadows on the water, as if whispering unknown secrets.

He pushed open the cabin door and stepped into the familiar darkness.

Inside the cabin, Celia had already crawled into her blood coffin, and the sound of her gentle breathing could be heard faintly.

Occasionally, you could hear the sound of her turning over, and the coffin lid would sway slightly with her movements, just like a dream in deep sleep.

Siming sat casually beside the bed, lighting a pale blue oil lamp, the light reflected on the cards in his hand.

The "Ghost Shrimp" card still emitted a faint glow, with a light blue color flowing like waves in the deep sea.

He stroked the card and murmured softly, "Actually, you're right."

“It does require a recast of destiny.”

He pondered for a moment, smiled slightly, and whispered cheerfully, "'Moonfall Flute'...how do you like the name?"

He flicked his fingertips lightly, and the light on the card flickered slightly, as if responding to his question.

Sima Ming smiled slightly, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"O One of a Thousand Faces, let me tell you a new story."

Siming raised his head and drank the rum. His tone became sad as he told a story to the floating Thousand Faces Man:
"The fire in the building is burning, the night is cold and deep, the flute sounds sad, and the moon is invisible.

The sad strings are broken and the soul cannot return; the blood flute sounds and the hatred cannot be stopped.

During the late Tang and Five Dynasties, the country was in turmoil. The mountains and rivers of China were torn apart, and the people suffered.

The capital city of Bianliang, once bustling with activity and a dreamlike prosperity, was now ravaged by the iron hooves of the Liao barbarians, leaving nine out of ten houses empty and corpses strewn across the ground. The barbarians plundered like locusts, plundering even the most attractive women. The lives of the common people were worthless, not to be pitied.

Fanlou in the capital was once the number one brothel in the Tang Dynasty and a gathering place for wise and talented people in the old days.

Today, it has become a place for barbarian soldiers to enjoy music and debauchery.

That night, the candlelight on the Fan Tower flickered red, and during the Liao general's banquet, Hu drums sounded and dogs and horses shouted incessantly.

The ministers who surrendered to the court, the learned scholars, and the high-ranking officials all bowed down to serve him, and ordered the famous actors in the building to come to sing and dance to entertain him.

The actor came as summoned, dressed in plain clothes, holding a jade flute, with a face like a jade carving, a slender figure, a male body and a female voice, and an extraordinary demeanor.

The actor raised his eyes slightly, looked at the Liao general in the hall, smiled faintly, saluted and said:
"Though I am of humble origin and lowly status, it is difficult for me to serve the enemy who invades my country and the wolves who slaughter my people."

The Liao general did not understand what he meant, so he looked sideways and asked the great scholar beside him.

The great scholar changed color when he heard this and scolded coldly:
"This actor's words are nonsense! The actors flattered the emperor, confusing the country and causing chaos in the court. The Tang emperor lost the world, and you cannot escape the blame.

Today I am only following the example of the old deeds of Prince Guo Fenyang, serving the Hu Kingdom with my humble body, and also for the sake of protecting the ancestral temple and the country.

How dare you, a mere actor, confuse right and wrong?"

Upon hearing this, the actor raised his head and laughed, his laughter as cold as frost:
"Yes, we actors have seduced the Tang Lord and deserve to be put to death.

However, sir, you are a scholar, willing to be a lackey,
Is it unforgivable to encourage the king to serve the Hu Kingdom by betraying his country for personal gain?"

Upon hearing this, the ministers in the hall all turned pale and lowered their heads in silence.

The actor sighed again:
"I don't want to talk to these traitors, but tonight is your last banquet.
I have come to send you dying people off, so that you can die knowingly."

As soon as he finished speaking, fire broke out all around!
The flames engulfed the building, and the Hu soldiers on Fan Tower were in chaos. The dignitaries and ministers rushed to escape, but the doors and windows were all closed and the flames shot up into the sky.

The actor played a flute, the sound was so deep and piercing,
Those who heard it seemed as if they had fallen into a bottomless abyss, their eyes were dull and they didn't know how to struggle. They didn't even cry out when they died in the fire.

The fire was raging and Fanlou was reduced to scorched earth.

On the top of the tall building, the actor was holding a jade flute, his long sleeves fluttering, and the sound of the flute drifted in the firelight and moonlight.

A bright moon in the sky shines like snow, and the moonlight pours down. The sound of the flute laments the suffering of the people and the hatred of the lost country.

From then on, the actor disappeared from the world without a trace, and in the area of ​​Fanlou, no grass or trees grew within a ten-mile radius, and wronged souls often lingered, wailing incessantly.

It is said that on full moon nights, people passing by this place often hear the melodious sound of a flute.
The sorrow is like tears, the resentment is like thorns, which makes people dizzy and lose their way and go in search of the sound.

When I reached the ruins of the building, I saw an actor standing on the top of the ruins.

She was wearing white clothes with red sleeves, with long hair hanging down, holding a jade flute. When the song ended, she raised her eyes and looked at me coldly. There seemed to be thousands of wronged souls wailing in her eyes, which was really creepy. Then she fell silent.

Some survivors also said that at that time, the actor's jade flute did not play, but he was chanting a long song:

"The people weep in sorrow and resentment, and the hatred of the lost nation cannot be eradicated.

You are silent, the night is dark, I am lost on the road, and my shadow follows me."

At that time, people's souls were sucked out alive, and their bodies turned white and withered.

The sound of the flute rose again, like the moonlight illuminating the night, adding to the chill and desolation.

Everyone knows that since then, the abandoned building has become a desolate place, and the moon-falling actor has turned into an evil ghost, and is called "the moon-falling flute actor".
The resentful spirits wander around, trying to steal the souls of lost people to comfort their endless hatred for the country's destruction.

"You are silent, the moon is cold and bleak; the flute's mournful sound laments the common people."

"Great, great, what a great piece of music for the flute player under the setting moon." The various faces of the Thousand-Faced Man appeared in the void, and they rejoiced at the birth of a new destiny.

On Siming's wrist, four stars of destiny ignited, and then the card floated in the air, as if the fire pattern had burned through it.

In an instant, the card glowed with a strange light, the original shrimp pattern gradually blurred, and a new image slowly emerged.

In a huge city that is half prosperous and half in ruins, there is an illusory Fan Tower floating in the void, looming in the moonlight. In the tower, the eerie sound of the flute echoes, as if it can penetrate the soul and make people intoxicated.

——Yueluo Diling, World System Intermediate Level No. 47
Secret (not effective if not bound)

Rule 1 (not effective): Within the range of the Fantasy Flute Tower, anyone who hears the sound of the flute will be hypnotized. The hallucinations are not limited to sea of ​​fire, freezing, flooding, or killing. Anyone who suffers from the hallucination will immediately suffer the corresponding damage.

Rule 2 (not effective): When being baptized by moonlight at the peak of Fanlou's domain, the injuries of the holder and their allies will be healed, while the injuries of the non-holder will be aggravated until death.

Legacy (domain, effective after paying a price):

Create an illusion, Fanlou evil, and those within its range will suffer from two random collective hallucinations: sea of ​​fire, freezing, sinking into the sea, and killing, which will last for ten minutes.

Sima Ming stared at the cards, a meaningful smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.

"This makes it much more interesting."

The card floated gently on his fingertips, and the moonlight sprinkled on the card surface, as if reflecting some unknown fate.

He casually lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and still had that lazy smile on his lips.

"One with a Thousand Faces... Is this a gift from you, or a test?"

But this is not important.

What’s important is that fate has been rewritten at this moment.

The night of the Sea of ​​Dreams is still deep and mysterious.

And in the cabin of the Lost, a gambler is shaping his own rules.

(End of this chapter)