The End of Ten Days: When Qi Xia Enters the Tales of Rules

The ancient and mysterious Return of the Soul Theater.

It exudes a sense of gloom and terror, and also a hint of...desolation.

Xia Fei led a group of examinees to the area under the stage.

"Brother Xia, what should we do now?"

"Brother Xia, we're counting on you!"

"Brother Xia, the door to get out seems to be closed. We have nowhere to turn!"

……

Xia Fei turned around abruptly and found that the door had suddenly slammed shut with a "creak".

"Don't panic, everyone!" Xia Fei said. "The theater can't have just one entrance. Let's look for other ways out."

however.

They searched everywhere, but there was no exit.

The heavy wooden door at the entrance was locked from the outside, no matter how hard they pushed it.

"Brother Xia, I'm scared!"

A little boy wearing glasses was quite frightened and tried to grab Xia Fei's hand.

However, Xia Fei shoved him away.

"Quiet down, all of you!" Xia Fei snapped. "Report yourselves on how much your audience expects."

"30%!"

"30%!"

"Me too, 30%!"

……

The little boy sniffled a few times: "Today was supposed to be my eighteenth birthday. I was happily eating cake and having a party at home, and suddenly I was transported to this godforsaken place. My life is so miserable..."

Another boy couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Cheer up! Look at those girls, they're not scared. What kind of guy are you, crying like this?"

"I'm scared~" the little boy said resentfully.

Upon hearing this, everyone got goosebumps.

You sissy!

Just then, a melodious and graceful opera tune suddenly rang out from the stage.

Everyone was startled.

"Brother Xia, is the ghost play about to start?"

"I heard from those old folks that once the play starts, you can't leave halfway through."

"Brother Xia, you don't mean we have to sit here and listen to the opera, do you?"

……

Everyone who looked at the empty stage felt a sense of foreboding.

The operatic tune that suddenly appeared seemed to be telling the story of how unusual this place was.

Are you locking them up here so they can listen to ghost plays?

Xia Fei said, "Everyone, find your seats."

No one dared to slack off, and everyone quickly found a seat.

The seats here are all old and covered with a thick layer of dust.

But they didn't care about anything else at the moment, and just plopped down on the floor.

Seeing the panicked crowd, Xia Fei instructed, "Be careful, don't damage anything here."

After hearing this, everyone became very cautious in their movements.

The facilities here are very old; if you break anything, make them pay for it…

But even after everyone sat in the audience for a while, there was still no reaction on the stage.

The real show is yet to begin!

Could it be that they've gone in the wrong direction?

Xia Fei looked at the boy with glasses: "You, go up and take a look!"

"I?"

The little boy pointed to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief and fear.

"That's right, it's you!" Xia Fei said.

"No, no, no... No, I can't go on stage. I don't know how to sing opera, and besides..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was pushed by another classmate.

"Yes! You're the one! If you don't go up, who will?"

"That's right, you're obviously got the makings of an opera singer. Go up there and help us find out what's going on!"

……

The little boy's eyes were filled with fear, and he immediately knelt on the ground: "I beg you, please let me go, I really can't do it..."

As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed to everyone.

But now, no one is pleading for him.

Because if he doesn't go up, he's very likely to be the next one to go up.

Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for this one!

Now that things have come to this, the selfish side of human nature is gradually being revealed.

"Audience anticipation +5"

After the argument started, everyone's expectations of the audience increased by 5 points.

This immediately put everyone on their toes.

Xia Fei's tone turned even colder.

"Go up!"

The little boy cried and pleaded, "Brother Xia, you can't do this to me... I beg you... spare my life..."

Xia Fei's voice turned cold again: "The tide has turned, and I can't protect you. Ask the people here if they all agree to let you go up."

"Yes! That's right! We all agree!"

"That's right, he looks very talented in opera, letting him go up is the right thing to do."

"I wholeheartedly agree!"

……

Xia Fei said coldly, "I'll count to three. If you don't go up yourself, we'll all throw you up there together."

He didn't want to take this kind of exam in the first place; it was the Xia family who forced him to.

Fortunately, there were many other test takers with him this time.

These candidates can be used as cannon fodder.

Knowing he had no way out, the young boy glanced resentfully at the crowd and slowly walked onto the stage.

Given the current situation, he has become the target of everyone's criticism below, so he might as well go up on stage and try his luck to see if he can find a glimmer of hope.

However, he secretly remembered this grudge in his heart.

The little boy, his legs trembling, walked step by step toward the stage.

He took a deep breath.

"I don't want to be effeminate either. Is it my fault that I was born effeminate?"

"Audience anticipation +10"

Seeing the little boy go on stage, their expectations for the audience increased by 10 points, and everyone got excited.

The little boy had prepared for the worst, but when he went on stage, he found that nothing had happened.

With his hands and feet intact and no part of his body missing, he felt relieved.

Xia Fei angrily shouted at the little boy, "Sing now!"

Others chimed in.

"Yes! Sing it quickly!"

"If you're not going to perform on stage, what are you going to do there?"

……

The little boy chuckled self-deprecatingly. He had never studied opera, so how could he possibly sing?

However, even now, he still managed to hum a random line from the movie.

"Audience anticipation +10"

All audience expectations have risen again.

Seeing this scene, Xia Fei also figured out some of the details.

Is this stage for them to perform on?

Just as he was pondering this, a female classmate quietly tugged at his sleeve.

Xia Fei turned his head and saw that a "spectator" had been sitting in the audience seats behind him at some point.

It was hidden in the shadows, and its appearance was not visible.

Xia Fei's heart skipped a beat: Could it be that the performance has started and the audience is beginning to enter?

Thinking of this, Xia Fei shouted, "Damn it, you better sing properly, or I'll kill you!"

"Audience anticipation +5"

"Audience anticipation +3"

"Audience anticipation +1"

……

Moreover, audience members were gradually taking their seats in the back rows.

Seeing these strange spectators, everyone was too frightened to utter a sound.

The little boy on stage naturally saw the audience, and he performed even more energetically.

"Why...why do you all look down on me? Why do you all view me with prejudice?"

As he performed with all his might, the number of "audience" grew.

however.

Later on, I don't know if it became less exciting or simply lacked appeal.

Their audience expectations have stopped increasing.

It once remained at 90%.

Xia Fei rolled his eyes, pulled out a switchblade, and quietly slipped it into the hand of a male classmate.

"You, go up on stage. You know what to do, right?"