I'm not a drama god

If the Heavenly Star Position is the ceiling for the younger generation of humanity, then Chen Ling is the demon who dances recklessly on top of that ceiling.

When Li Qingshan heard that the other holders of the Tongtian Star Position had been completely outmatched and manipulated by Chen Ling, he felt no anger for his companions. Instead, he almost burst out laughing... As expected of Brother Lin, even outside the mortal realm, he is still a dominant force.

"Then you should know that my real name is not Lin Yan," Chen Ling said with a helpless smile.

"Chen Ling or Lin Yan, it's just a code name anyway." Li Qingshan laughed as well. "Don't be afraid of Brother Lin... no, don't be afraid of Brother Chen laughing at me, when I first started traveling, I even used the alias 'Li Huangshan,' hahahahaha..."

Reunited with old friends, Chen Ling and Li Qingshan were in high spirits. Their light laughter echoed in the quiet street, their thoughts seemingly drifting back to the time when they were still in the mortal world.

"Actually, I've been keeping track of your news, Brother Chen. I was worried when I heard you were forced to leave the South China Sea region... I originally planned to go find you, but unfortunately, my strength wasn't enough to cross the Gray Realm to the Ghostly Mockery Abyss... By the time I heard news of you again, the war had already begun."

"Did you stay in the Hidden Cloud Realm after that?"

"No, I only arrived a few months ago." Li Qingshan glanced around and sighed softly.

"When I arrived, this place wasn't like this... but a war caused heavy casualties in the Hidden Cloud Realm. Moreover, the calamities in the Bitter Flesh Forest almost drained the nutrients from the soil, making it extremely difficult for crops to grow. In addition, plagues broke out one after another, and Lord Hidden Cloud ordered the continuous dispatch of manpower to support the Spirit Void Realm, bringing the sick from the Spirit Void Realm into Hidden Cloud..."

And so, the Hidden Cloud Realm has become what it is today… ravaged by a virus, food is scarce, morale has collapsed—it's a living hell.

No wonder everyone is scrambling for food. It turns out the food shortage here is all the work of the Bitter Flesh Turbid Forest.

Chen Ling was thoughtful.

"But speaking of which, what exactly is the meaning of the date and performance listed on the invitation you gave me? If you just wanted to see me, couldn't you have just sent a message?" Chen Ling asked again.

Li Qingshan shook his head:

“Brother Chen, you’ve misunderstood… I did deliver that invitation to your contact point, but… I wasn’t the one who actually wrote it and wanted to see you.”

Chen Ling was taken aback. "Not you?"

Immediately afterward, Chen Ling seemed to have thought of something.

"Is it Kong Baosheng??"

As they were talking, Li Qingshan had already pushed Chen Ling to the entrance of a theater.

Chen Ling looked up and saw a familiar wooden opera stage standing silently at the edge of the street. The moment she saw it, the Jinghong Tower in Chen Ling's mind immediately overlapped with it. The two were almost identical in structure and appearance, except that the Jinghong Tower was slightly smaller than the one in the mortal realm, but the building was newer and the decorations were more exquisite.

Above the opera stage, a familiar plaque, imbued with the scent of time, instantly caught Chen Ling's attention:

——[Jinghong Tower].

Chen Ling was stunned. At this moment, he seemed to have forgotten that he was still in the Hidden Cloud Realm. His thoughts returned to the time in the Mortal Realm... After that, he experienced many things, all of which seemed like a dream.

It's so similar, it's as if the Jinghong Tower was moved from the mortal realm. Moreover, Chen Ling is almost certain that the plaque with the three characters "Jinghong Tower" on it was taken from the original site.

"These... were all made by Baosheng?" Chen Ling asked in a daze after a long pause.

“Yes,” Li Qingshan said with emotion, “I was shocked when I first saw it... This kid arrived even before me.”

"During the war preparations in the human realm, all the surviving residents of the mortal realm were evacuated and sent to the Cangyun, Tianshu, and South Sea realms. Baosheng was initially unwilling to leave, but he couldn't resist the officials' demands, and in the end, he could only come to the Cangyun realm alone, carrying the plaque of Jinghong Tower..."

"Later, he took the money you left him, and borrowed some more from various places, and opened another Jinghong Tower in the Cangyun Realm. He even hired actors to perform. When I first came here, the business was quite good, and it was basically full of people."

"Brother Chen, you can't imagine how shocked I was when I saw that scene..."

Li Qingshan seemed to recall the bustling and lively scene here, and added with a mix of emotion and guilt:

“When the two of us weren’t around… Baosheng really ran Jinghonglou very well.”

Chen Ling stared at the towering opera house before her, speechless for a moment.

That's right, he is the Lord of the Ghostly Abyss, the Red King of the Twilight Society, and a powerful figure stirring up trouble outside; Li Qingshan, although a rising star, has now become the owner of the Heavenly Star Position, one of humanity's youngest geniuses...

Perhaps the Jinghong Tower in the mortal world was merely a rest stop on their journey through life, a brief respite before they continued their hurried travels...

But Kong Baosheng, an ordinary teenager, did his best to pass on this shared memory.

Chen Ling couldn't imagine what the young man must have felt when he left his hometown alone, clutching the plaque—pain, helplessness, longing, and utter destitution… On those nights when he first arrived in the Hidden Cloud Realm, did he curl up in a ball, hugging his knees and weeping? Did he hope that she or Li Qingshan would return to his side when he was most helpless?

But the growth of a young man is always lonely and agonizing. He didn't wait for himself or Li Qingshan, but instead worked hard alone, stumbling and struggling to rebuild Jinghong Tower... Perhaps from the moment he truly completed Jinghong Tower, he was looking forward to the day when he and Li Qingshan would return and see it.

Looking at the opera house before him, a sense of guilt welled up in Chen Ling's heart. His hands, hidden beneath his sleeves, clenched silently into fists, and he asked softly:

"Where is Baosheng...?"

Li Qingshan closed his eyes and let out a long sigh...

He walked around to the wheelchair and, with a creak, pushed open the door of Jinghong Tower:

"He's been waiting for you."

The theater was spotless, just like in the mortal realm; there was hardly any dust, as if someone had been meticulously cleaning it every day. The empty stage was deathly silent and oppressive, and the audience seats below looked like they hadn't moved in a long time. Everything here was eerily quiet.

Chen Ling pushed the wheelchair slowly into the building.

His gaze swept over every corner of the place, from the arrangement of the tables and chairs to the decorations on the stage, almost exactly the same as in the mortal realm... He walked around the entire first floor, and then pushed open the side door in the corner.

Behind the side door of the Jinghong Tower in the mortal realm, there should be a vibrant little courtyard...

But when Chen Ling pushed open the door, what she saw was a small, cramped room.

at the same time,

A thin, pale figure struggled to get out of bed, coughing violently...