### Chapter 8: The Grand Show Approaches
After treating Yunni’s body, Yelan and Kong Yubai left.
Yunni originally wanted to keep them longer to thank them properly.
At least she wanted to pay the accumulated reward for completing missions to cover the cost of healing her body.
However, Yelan refused the massive reward, saying, “No need to thank us. Keep your money; it’s just a minor thing.”
Eventually, all Yelan asked for was a head pat, and that was it.
Yunni really didn’t mind getting her head patted.
Though it hurt her pride a tad, compared to being saved, it was nothing at all.
It seemed as if Yelan’s price was only worth a head pat… and it wasn’t even expensive.
“She’s such an odd and adorable little thing,” was Yunni’s assessment.
Even if Yelan declined her payment, Yunni would always remember her kindness.
Enough with the chitchat.
Yunni wanted to quickly tell Xixia the news.
Once she knew, she’d surely be very happy.
This way, they wouldn’t need to do all sorts of dangerous tasks.
If possible, she wanted to settle down in some city with Xixia to switch from special night watchers to regular ones, which would make life much easier.
Thinking this, Yunni grabbed her communicator and called out to Xixia.
However, after waiting, there was no response from Xixia; instead, the automated synthetic voice replied, “User busy. Please don’t disturb.”
“Oh… what on earth is Xixia up to?”
Yunni placed the communicator down, feeling slightly puzzled.
After their last meeting, Xixia had disappeared.
She seemed to be off doing something serious.
Moreover, she had taken a Star card from Yunni, and Yunni wasn’t sure what she planned to do with it.
In this case, they could only wait for her to come back.
When she did, Yunni would give her a surprise.
That was Yunni’s thought.
—
It was the next day.
Yelan and Yexing were still moping about at home, studying opera composition on the side.
Sometimes, it was okay to take a day off from the troupe or the night-watch base.
After all, neither Yelan nor Yexing were formal members and didn’t have any duties anyway.
Yelan had already told Zero Meow that she wouldn’t spend too much time at the night-watch base to avoid unnecessary worry.
As for the troupe, aside from Lotus Flower, nobody really cared whether Yexing was around in the theater.
They only needed to ensure their presence on performance days.
Wait a minute – did I forget about the pigeon waiting for French fries?
Hmm… I’ll bring a box over when I go past tonight.
Yexing had to keep his promise, even if the one making the promise was just a chatty pigeon.
However, Lotus Flower should show up.
As mentioned earlier, Lotus Flower would certainly care where Yexing spent his time.
If Yexing was in the theater, Lotus Flower would be too.
But if Yexing was not in the theater, Lotus Flower might feel bored and lonely, probably seeking him out.
That was probably how things went, considering Yexing’s understanding of Lotus Flower.
Well, Yexing didn’t mind Lotus Flower visiting.
So, let’s wait and see.
While waiting, Yexing could practice learning about scripts.
Maybe by the time Lotus Flower arrived, they could discuss the script.
Both puppet shows and operas fundamentally involve telling stories, meaning they might share conversation topics.
—
In the Rising Sun Theater.
Singer came here as Star Eclipses and saw an empty scene.
“It’s empty… everyone has disappeared.”
The Singer walked around the theater, suddenly feeling a sense of emptiness.
For some reason, her heart felt heavy, as if she was being influenced.
This started the moment she transformed into Star Eclipses.
Just then, a delicate silhouette emerged from the theater shadows.
The Singer turned around only to find Announcer.
“Announcer?”
“It’s me.”
“I feel something strange in the theater. Where is everyone?”
Announcer softly replied, “Everyone is preparing for the grand performance. Don’t worry.”
“Is it really like that?”
“Yes.”
The Singer closed her eyes, sensing the surrounding troupe members’ presences. She murmured, “I can feel something weird with everyone…”
“That’s normal.”
Announcer gave a slight smile and offered her hand.
“Songstress, get ready for the upcoming performance. Nobody can miss out on this interesting event.”
“Nothing will go wrong, right?”
“Yes, the audience member will handle everything.”
“Phew…”
With those words, the Singer’s heart relaxed, and the gray feathers within her began consuming her human consciousness, allowing the Star Eclipses consciousness to return.
“I shall, once more, sing.”
—
Somewhere in the entertainment district, Xixia’s keen eye flashed.
“The time has come.”
At that moment, members of the troupe stirred awake, one-by-one emerging from the shadows with a bizarre aura enveloping them.
If Yexing were here, he could definitely sense their rich Star Eclipses energy, approaching a certain threshold.
The stability of a Star Eclipses depended on their obsession.
Their obsession sustained the stability.
Once twisted, they entered an abnormal state.
Though not as agitated as inferior Star Eclipses, they became extremely dangerous, prone to harming others.
This was the imbalanced state of a star eclipses.
Group Leader swept everyone with a glance and said, “The grand moment is approaching.”
Upon hearing this, the members nodded and followed the group leader out of the theater.
Elsewhere,
The alarm in the night-watch base blared.
It was the tragic shadow theater’s Star Eclipses flux.
“What’s happening? The tragic shadow theater performing twice in one weekend? This doesn’t follow the pattern.”
“Yeah, it should be resting today and not perform until next Saturday.”
“This is abnormal.”
“Immediate deployment to observe. If they carry out a regular show, stand clear.”
“Understood.”
Xiao Jin gave orders immediately, sinking into deep thought.
For some reason, he had a bad feeling, as if something terrifying would happen soon.
Is this reliable?
The premonitions of the Sunlight Night Watchers never came out of nowhere. Even if no great calamity was imminent, stars subtly hinted at Star Eclipses disturbances.
It seemed this Star Eclipses event would be unprecedented.
Facing this, Xiao Jin stood up sternly, preparing to move out.
“Wang Chao, keep up.”
“Ah, yeah, yeah, I’m coming… I also got this unsettling feeling.”
Sometimes, the premonitions of the Sunlight Night Watchers eerily coincided.
Entertainment district.
A few moments later,
The eerie figures of the tragic shadow theater appeared in the Wan Yu Square of the entertainment district.
For Yexing, this was the start of a dream.
The troupes’ figures blended into the bustling crowd unnoticed.
“Now, the show begins!”
