Chapter 2222: Brightest Star in the Night Sky

“Thank you for your support, everyone.

“Thank you for enjoying my performance, everyone.

“I’ll continue to work hard and hone my cooking dance for everyone!”

An Lin’s words caused the spectators’ cheers to reach a climax.

Tonight was a night that was destined to belong to An Lin.

The spectators indulgently cheered in joy.

Meanwhile, the other performers were feeling both envy and admiration.

Both of these caused An Lin to appear even more radiant and dazzling.

At this moment, the gold medal tutors who had examined him were feeling slightly dazed and adrift.

“I even rebutted Liu Dabao when he said that he was going to claim victory. Looking back now, I was clearly far too naive…” Daphne said as she sighed with emotion.

The elder beside her nodded and said, “He had a clear goal right from the very beginning. Moreover, he’s extremely knowledgeable regarding the psychology of people and the behavior of spectators. He’s definitely an extremely talented and skillful performer!”

Ying Bao didn’t consider as much as the tutors.

Her heart was beating wildly, and her breathing was also heavy.

Countless thoughts were floating around her mind.

Liu Dabao did it?

Liu Dabao actually did it?

I thought he was dreaming…

Yet Liu Dabao actually turned his dream into reality?!

What’s frightening is that Liu Dabao was always aiming for this goal right from the very beginning… Just how much hidden talent and skill does this man possess? Who in the world is he?

Moreover, that bet…

What will Liu Dabao ask me to do?

Ying Bao’s heart started to thump against her chest as this thought floated into her mind.

Meanwhile, there was still that one person on the stage.

That person had already gone weak at the knees, and they wanted to directly dig a hole in the ground and hide inside.

Not in his wildest dreams would Jin Feihong have imagined that the seemingly easy to bully trainee would become a main drawcard of the Red Ink Tavern in just one day.

More importantly, he had even slandered and humiliated this trainee before. He had actually tried to screw him over! However, in the blink of an eye, he was already the one being peered down on.

No wonder Liu Dabao had remained silent in the face of his abuse. He hadn’t been pretending to be tough. Rather, Liu Dabao had been looking at him as if he were a foolish little clown…

An Lin completely ignored Jin Feihong.

Even though he had become a main drawcard already, he still couldn’t be bothered showing off before Jin Feihong. After all, he had never taken Jin Feihong seriously to begin with.

The Red Empress appreciated An Lin even more upon seeing his calm demeanor when facing the deafening cheers of the spectators. “Liu Dabao, according to tradition, the person who becomes a main drawcard needs to perform an encore for the audience.”

“Huh? There’s such a tradition?” An Lin genuinely didn’t know about this.

Ying Bao hadn’t told him, or perhaps she hadn’t felt the need to tell him. After all, who knew that he would actually become a main drawcard tonight?

“You don’t have anything prepared? You can give an impromptu performance too.”

The Red Empress didn’t seem high and mighty as she gazed at An Lin. Instead, her smile was as if she were a big sister from next door. Moreover, her tone was also especially pleasant and calming.

The spectators became extremely hyped upon hearing that there was another performance.

“Perform the cooking dance again!” the son of the Dragon Emperor shouted loudly.

The other spectators also shouted in agreement.

“Chicken, you’re too fragrant!”

“Chicken, you’re too fragrant!”

“It’s fine if you cook other dishes as well!”

“Beef, you’re too fragrant!”

“I want pork, you’re too fragrant!”

“Fish, you’re too fragrant!”

The stomachs of the spectators started to growl as they shouted this.

Jin Ling’er facepalmed upon seeing this and said with a sigh, “Detestable Dabao, what have you done to the image and atmosphere of the Red Ink Tavern?”

The Red Ink Tavern was one of the last artistic theatres of this world’s civilization. Yet a crowd of spectators was now shouting for food? If one didn’t know, they might have even mistaken this place for a market.

An Lin smiled and remained silent. What was wrong with this image and atmosphere? In the beginning, he had even thought that the Red Ink Tavern was a high-class brothel! Moreover, Sister Hong had even been claiming that the women inside were all artists. At that time, An Lin had already been showing great respect by not laughing out loud…

The sixty thousand spectators were all extremely enthusiastic.

They were eager to witness An Lin’s performance.

However, An Lin was quite troubled by this. He definitely couldn’t perform the cooking dance again.

After all, the special effect of the frying pan was only available once per day. If he used it again, his dishes would no longer be that fragrant. Thus, he needed to perform something else.

So, what should he perform?

An Lin looked toward the audience.

This place was lively and bustling with excitement. The cheers of the crowd were more so like the waves of the sea.

The performers who had all reached the pinnacle level of their respective crafts also smiled in encouragement as they looked at An Lin. It was as if they were cheering him on.

Each of the spectators appeared so full of passion as if everything were peaceful and beautiful.

However, An Lin knew that this was perhaps the last land of joy in the Ancient Tai Chu Realm.

These people were clearly in a state of half-living and half-death, yet they still continued to guard their civilization and live their lives.

Glazed lamps of the Red Ink Tavern;

Bright sky of the desolate Tai Chu.

An Lin was dressed in a white Daoist robe as he stood in the center of the stage.

He suddenly recalled a popular song from Earth.

This was a song that was already over one hundred years old…

How many people still remembered this song?

Just like the Ancient Tai Chu Realm that had once been the center of the universe… How many beings still remembered this land?

“The brightest star in the night sky,

“Can you hear,

“That person who’s gazing up.

“The lonely sigh in their mind…”

The loud cheers instantly subsided as An Lin started to sing. They were a respectful audience, and they knew that they should remain silent now that An Lin had begun his performance.

The Red Empress faltered upon hearing these lyrics.

She had a nagging feeling that these lyrics were an appropriate description of their current situation.

Hadn’t the Ancient Tai Chu Realm once been the brightest star in the night sky?

Now, however, they had become people who gazed up and reminisced about the past…

“The brightest star in the night sky,

“Can you recall,

“The figures that once accompanied me and vanished into the windy rain.”

An Lin’s ethereal and charming voice reverberated around the theatre.

The spectators gradually confirmed that this was a song dedicated to them.

During that apocalyptic period, how many of their family and friends had vanished from beside them? There were far too many, too many to remember and keep count of…

They were lonely beings who gazed up at the universe.

A graceful and elegant accompaniment started to play.

The spectators suddenly discovered that Gu Qiu was sitting on the stage like a

tranquil Celestial Maiden. She was holding a harp as she accompanied the singing of the man.

“I pray for a transparent soul,

“And eyes that can shed tears.

“Give me the courage to believe again,

“Oh, I’ll leap over the lies to embrace you.”

The spectators couldn’t help but develop goosebumps when they heard the climax.

It was as if An Lin’s voice possessed a peculiar ability to penetrate and a peculiar sense of prayers and blessings.

“Whenever I question the reason for existence,

“Whenever I’m lost in the dark night.

“Oh, that brightest star in the night sky,

“Please guide me toward you.”

An Lin’s singing continued to echo around the theatre.

Tears had already stained the faces of the spectators.

They were struggling; they were fighting to survive even if they had to do so in a different form of existence.

However, they couldn’t find a reason for their existence. They were stationed in this final and lonely city of a destroyed world, enduring the pain of boundless loneliness and darkness.

An Lin continued to sing.

However, the spectators in the stands started to vanish one after another.

They vanished from their seats, almost as if they had never existed before.

However, An Lin ignored this as he continued to sing.

Ying Bao—who had been sobbing and silently following behind him—also vanished.

An Lin continued to sing with emotion.

The performers on the stage also started to vanish one after another.

In the end, even the accompanist Gu Qiu vanished, causing her accompaniment to abruptly fall silent.

The stage became empty and spacious.

The stands were already devoid of spectators.

Perhaps… they had never come here to begin with.

However, there was still one person singing on the stage.

What An Lin saw was a Red Ink Tavern that had lost even light. The lanterns were extinguished, and the divine light was scattered. The only light came from the starry universe.

It was as if he were standing under this starry sky, standing in the dark and silent pagoda of ninety-nine floors. The stands were deserted, and only a single person remained singing on the stage.

Was everything truly non-existent?

“The brightest star in the night sky,

“Can you hear,

“That person who’s gazing up.

“The lonely sigh in their mind…”

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