The Divine and the Strange: A Playwright

[Folkloric Horror] + [Spirit Possession and Immersion in the Role] + [Mad Protagonist] + [Loss of Identity] + [Rules-Based Conflict]

Actors have no heart, and no one leaves the stage alive.

“My master always said that an actor has to see himself as the star of the show for the performance to come alive.”

Qi Xiaolou believed him. But the operas he performed weren't for ordinary people. They were “Farewell Plays” for the gods above and the wronged spirits below.

When Qi Xiaolou painted Guan Yu's red face, he could cleave a headless ghost in two; when he donned the phoenix-winged purple-gold crown of the Monkey King, he could shatter the City God Temple with a single strike. Everyone went wild with praise, calling him a living god.

But they didn't know that the makeup on Qi Xiaolou's face could no longer be washed away.

Every time he removed his makeup, another face appeared in the mirror. Guan Yu's phoenix eyes sneered, Xiang Yu's double pupils wept blood, and even the soul-snatching Wuchang whispered in his ear.

Little by little, Qi Xiaolou could no longer tell whether he was a living person or a stage filled with gods and ghosts.