**Chapter 47: The Noble Lady on Stage**
In a dim corner.
Night Star was clutching her little backpack, eyes darting nervously at the crowd, barely daring to breathe.
As she noticed they hadn’t spotted her, Night Star cautiously moved to the next corner.
Then, a thought struck her.
“Today, I want to check out the stage!”
From what she knew, Lianhua had always dreamed of putting on a grand puppet show, maybe even on the city’s biggest stage.
Based on this hunch, Night Star decided to take a chance.
Once she found Lianhua, she could maybe return the puppets stuffed in her backpack.
“But the stage is so far away…”
Feeling frustrated, Night Star stared at the map on the screen, realizing the distance was ridiculous.
If she walked, it would probably take forever.
Let alone the fact that she had to stay alert to avoid being spotted by puppet folks—by the time she got there, it would probably be dark!
Floating in the air, Eypar was also deep in thought, wanting to help Night Star desperately.
“How about I go check it out for you? It would save a lot of time!”
“Do you even know where the stage is?”
Eypar tilted her head and suddenly realized something, her little hair tuft shaking.
“Nope.”
“Aw, what? Can you at least read a map?”
Night Star shoved the map in Eypar’s face.
“Hmm…”
Eypar pored over the map with a serious expression, squinting her eyes.
“I kind of don’t get it…”
“Uh, what…?” Night Star was dumbfounded.
How is there still someone in this day and age who can’t read a map?!
No wait, Eypar isn’t human, she’s a ghost!
Has she perhaps wandered too long and forgotten basic knowledge?
Thinking this, Night Star stared at Eypar with a hint of melancholy, saying, “Eypar, I’ve just realized you’re kind of useless…”
“Hey, hey, hey? But I’ve been cheering you on this whole time! How can you say I’m useless?” Eypar’s eyes widened, clearly unhappy with that remark.
At this rate, she felt Night Star would reject her just because she was the “useless ghost girl.”
That would be just terrible for Eypar!
So she was trying hard not to let Night Star think of her as a burden.
“Look, Night Star, you’re super timid, but with me around, you’ve dared to step out, right? So I’m really helpful!”
“Umm… is that so?”
Night Star pondered for a moment, thinking Eypar had a point.
If it weren’t for Eypar being by her side these days, she might have wanted to turn back to base after barely half a day.
Considering the eerie atmosphere of the city and the weirdos wandering around, it was absolutely terrifying when they came at her like zombies!
But having a chatting ghost girl around made the spooky vibes much less intimidating.
“Well, I guess that’s a little useful.”
“Yay~ I knew you’d see it!”
“But it’s only a little bit useful.”
“Isn’t that enough?! (angry voice)”
“That’s all you aspire to?!”
“Right!” Eypar declared with pride.
Night Star had nothing to say back and decided to ignore this walking mascot.
Looks like she really had to rely on herself.
Peeking out to gauge the crowds, Night Star saw they weren’t looking her way. It was time to move to the next spot.
Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted her.
“Little Night Star? What are you doing here?”
Night Star’s hair stood on end, nearly tripping over herself.
“Eh?!”
She quickly turned to see a familiar pink-haired girl—it was Lan Feng Su Yu.
“Sister Su Yu, how lucky to see you here…”
As she sighed with relief, she awkwardly blurted out without thinking.
Lan Feng Su Yu frowned as she crouched down to meet Night Star’s gaze.
“You can’t sneak out like this; it’s dangerous. Your sister, Night Lan, must be worried sick. You can’t make her worry, okay?”
“Umm…”
Night Star hesitated, glancing at Eypar who had flown up. She instinctively shot a look of help her way.
But Eypar just shrugged helplessly.
Completely useless!
Better not rely on this unreliable ghost girl.
“Um… actually, I’m looking for my friend. She’s really important to me, so I have to find her.”
Lan Feng Su Yu looked puzzled.
“A friend? In this situation, if your friend is a normal person, she shouldn’t be in any danger, right? Just wait until this whole event blows over.”
“No, it’s not that. My friend is…”
Night Star hesitated again, considering whether to let Lan Feng Su Yu in on a bit of the truth.
After spending so many days with her, Night Star knew what kind of person she was.
With that in mind, it should be fine to share a little secret.
“Actually, my friend is the one who triggered this Supernova Star Eclipse… I need to find her.”
“Eh?!”
Lan Feng Su Yu was taken aback by the news.
It took her a moment to gather her wits, stumbling over her words.
“Uh… is that really true? Little Night Star, you can’t lie about this, okay…?”
“Yeah, it’s true. Her name is Lianhua, and she’s a very cute girl, but she was killed by horrible bad guys, and that’s how the Star Eclipse happened. If I can reach her, maybe I could wake her up and bring her back.”
Night Star’s expression was dead serious, sincerity shining in her eyes—absolutely no lies here.
“That’s…,” Lan Feng Su Yu’s mouth dropped open as she grasped the truth.
But she didn’t know what to say.
Looking at Night Star’s determined gaze, it was clear that if she told her to go back, she wouldn’t easily give up.
“Does the big boss know about this?” Lan Feng Su Yu asked cautiously.
Night Star nodded.
“He knows.”
Earlier, Mo Tu had informed Yao Can to give her that heads up when he took her away.
“Then let me help you.”
After a moment of thinking, Lan Feng Su Yu made up her mind to assist Night Star.
Upon hearing this, Night Star’s flawless face broke into an adorable smile that made anyone want to hug her.
“Thank you so much, Sister Su Yu.”
“Don’t mention it, it’s the least I could do.”
For some reason, the more Lan Feng Su Yu looked at Night Star, the more she felt she resembled Night Lan.
Even though they were sisters, the similarities were uncanny.
From their smiles to their looks, even down to their tones and expressions—they could have been cut from the same mold.
If one didn’t know better, they’d think Night Lan had dyed her hair silver and put on colored contacts to stand in front of her.
But regardless, it didn’t stop Lan Feng Su Yu from adoring this silver-haired loli.
With both of them being so cute and having such lovely personalities, it was double the joy!
If only she could cuddle with them both while sleeping at night.
That would feel amazing!
“Hehehe~”
Lan Feng Su Yu thought to herself, inadvertently showing a blissful expression.
“Sister Su Yu? Sister Su Yu?”
Night Star’s puzzled voice pulled her back to reality.
Lan Feng Su Yu snapped out of it, quickly hiding her moment of lapse.
“Ahem, what is it?”
“I want to reach the city’s biggest stage; how will you help me?”
“That depends on my Stars.”
At that moment, Lan Feng Su Yu was itching to show off in front of Night Star.
This would definitely earn her even more admiration!
“What are your Stars, Sister Su Yu?” Night Star asked curiously.
Although she had spent some time with Night Lan, she knew little about Lan Feng Su Yu’s Stars.
Now she was finally going to find out, leaving her a bit excited.
Lan Feng Su Yu adopted a slightly smug expression.
“Actually, I’m a bit different from other Night Watchers; I have two Stars! I’m part of a very special group.”
“Two…Stars?” Night Star’s mouth dropped open slightly in surprise.
They say that just one Star is already impressive for an ordinary person.
Yet Lan Feng Su Yu had two—how special was that!
“That’s awesome!”
“Yup, yup~”
Lan Feng Su Yu was pleased with Night Star’s reaction, her small vanity instantly satisfied.
Being admired by younger ones was always a delightful thing.
Especially when Night Star was such a cute little loli, that was double the fun.
“One of my Stars is called ‘Shadow Realm,’ I can slip into shadows to move quickly, and I can’t be attacked. So I can take you where you want to go.”
“Oh~ But what if there’s no shadow around?” Night Star inquired.
“Well… then I can’t use it, so this Star has its limitations.”
“I see, so when it gets dark, can you use it all the time?”
“Exactly! You’ve got it! I often work at night for that reason.” Lan Feng Su Yu affectionately ruffled Night Star’s hair.
“Mhm…”
Being able to conceal oneself in shadows at night sounded really cool.
If Night Star had that Star, she would definitely stand on the tallest building during a moonless night, dramatically proclaiming, “I hereby declare that I am the master of shadows! Infinite dark night, bow down to me!” The next second, she would leap off the roof, diving like a dark arrow into the embrace of the shadows.
Oh man!
Just thinking about it was exhilarating!
After satisfying her little “chuunibyou” thoughts, Night Star wanted to hurry up and get to the stage.
This city had many high-rises; all sorts of buildings stretched endlessly, creating shadows that covered a third of the city. Even during the day, Lan Feng Su Yu could make great use of ‘Shadow Realm’!
“Hehe~ Now let’s head out!”
Then, Lan Feng Su Yu hugged Night Star from behind with a gentle smile.
In an instant, their figures vanished into the shadows.
Gone!
“Eh? Eh? Eh?!”
Eypar, who was observing from the air, was left dumbfounded, her little tuft forming a question mark.
“How rude! They just dropped me like that?! So mean~!”
The poor, weak, and helpless ghost girl was once again abandoned by the carefree little loli.
Eypar was brought to tears, once more setting off on her wandering quest to find Night Star (fog).
…
In less than ten minutes, Night Star and Lan Feng Su Yu reached their destination.
Gathering her courage, they stood near the largest stage in Shanghe City, usually reserved for important events.
Only a select few had the qualification to stand on that stage—only those whose popularity was recognized by the masses could perform there.
It was basically the ultimate aspiration for many stage performers.
Legend had it that a world-class songstress sang at the central stages of every city, universally acknowledged as the strongest songstress in the world; countless people were enchanted by her songs.
In many ways, the legend of every high-profile character began right here on this stage.
Night Star pondered.
Since Lianhua aspired to be the greatest puppet master, she must have dreamed of gracing that stage too, right?
Once turned into a Star Eclipse, would she still hold that yearning?
Of course, these were just Night Star’s assumptions.
After all, she didn’t know Lianhua well enough, even after their time spent together.
Back to reality.
Night Star and Lan Feng Su Yu crept near the stage, hiding in a corner to observe in secret.
“Is your friend really here?”
“Um… I don’t know.”
The stage wasn’t active yet, and there weren’t any spectators around. The scene was eerily quiet and empty, making it hard to believe anyone was present.
However, Night Star spotted a couple of figures on the stage that gave off a ghostly vibe.
“Looks like there really are people on stage,” Lan Feng Su Yu’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Um…”
Night Star intensely scrutinized, the figures becoming clearer until she finally recognized them.
A noble lady in lavish attire stood in the center of the stage, accompanied by several men whose movements seemed awkward, almost like they were performing, which undoubtedly meant they were influenced by the Star Eclipse.
“That’s…”
Night Star recognized the noble lady on stage.
It wasn’t Lianhua; notable puppet features decorated her surface, and she was definitely not a flesh-and-bl**d being but a genuine puppet.
Plus, Night Star had a solid memory of that outfit.
She remembered that it was the “Noble Lady” puppet Lianhua had shown her that day; the most exquisite and beautiful puppet!
“Didn’t expect the Noble Lady to be here.”
Although Lianhua wasn’t present, the Noble Lady must have been drawn here due to Lianhua’s influence, right?
Night Star wasn’t entirely off base in her thinking, just slightly derailed.
At this revelation, Lan Feng Su Yu began to hum quietly, as if to sense something.
“Night Star… it seems like everyone on stage is a Star Holder.”
“Eh? Is that so?”
“Yup.”
Lan Feng Su Yu projected a mini-map, highlighting six red Star particles located onstage, marked by Mo Tu as already being assimilated into the Star Eclipse.
And that spot was right on the stage.
Realizing this, Night Star felt a bit dazed.
If the Noble Lady had six Night Watchers around her, that meant she handled all of them by herself?
That’s some scary power!
“What do we do now?” Night Star started to feel the nerves kick in.
Lan Feng Su Yu remained calm, saying, “That commanding guy said if any puppet folks were spotted, we should immediately report their location and call in the Sunlight-grade Night Watchers to deal with them.”
“Got it.”
That did seem like the safer approach.
If those real puppets could quickly assimilate the Night Watchers, then ordinary Night Watchers wouldn’t stand a chance.
One misstep and they could get controlled in an instant.
Moreover, Sunlight-grade Night Watchers had a high resistance to the Star Eclipse and were powerful enough, so they wouldn’t fear these guys.
Lan Feng Su Yu swiftly performed a simple operation and soon relayed the position.
“Alright, Little Night Star, now we just wait for our seniors to come and take care of it.”
“Okay.”
If possible, Night Star wanted to recover those puppets.
After all, they were Lianhua’s possessions, and she wanted to protect them if she could.
But if it truly came to it, there wasn’t much she could do.
Just as Night Star was deep in thought, an ominous premonition suddenly rose within her—a shiver went down her spine like some crisis alert.
The perspective shifted.
The Noble Lady’s gaze turned toward them, seemingly having detected their presence.
Night Star’s breath hitched.
“Uh-oh… we’ve been spotted.”
