24: Chapter 21: Shattered Nu 24: Chapter 21: Shattered Nu *Did Liu Jiaotian change the lyrics, all for these one-eyed “people”?*
Zhou Xuan alternately looked at Liu Jiaotian and those red-eyed one-eyed “people,” finally landing his gaze on Mr.
Dai, who had half of his face poking out from the waiting area backstage.
Mr.
Dai’s face was tightly wrinkled, appearing weathered, yet in Zhou Xuan’s eyes, there seed to be so kind of excitent mingled in that weathering.
In that instant,
a series of events—Qing Lian’s death in the Dai Mansion, the Corridor River, villagers standing on tiptoe without shadows, Liu Jiaotian changing the lyrics, Mr.
Dai’s strange deanor…
All kinds of bizarre phenona were like ghostly bodhi beads, twisted and full of holes, strung together by an epheral thread, drifting in Zhou Xuan’s mind.
Zhou Xuan *felt that with just a little effort, he could pluck those beads and see the truth clearly.*
*But the more he wanted to grasp it, the more elusive it beca, and he couldn’t restore the true nature of things.*
*Yet he had a premonition…*
“There’s a ninety percent chance sothing will go wrong at the theater today!”
Zhou Xuan muttered to himself, but then added, “However, this isn’t directed at the Zhou Family’s Troupe; it should be aid at…”
Since the target wasn’t the Zhou Family’s Troupe, why should he care?
He could just enjoy the show.
Refocusing on the theater, Zhou Xuan found Liu Jiaotian’s talent to be too enchanting, as if naturally seductive.
It reminded him of the sea demon Siren, who excelled at srising people’s hearts.
Luckily, there were no villains present, otherwise, those audience mbers, bewitched by Liu Jiaotian’s singing, would undoubtedly remain silent even if soone stabbed them in the back.
…
Such enchanting lody lingered for three days, its echoes incessant.
Liu Jiaotian was just like that.
After the segnt finished, the audience hadn’t yet left the fantasy of the dreamlike garden tour, their eyes wide open, mouths savoring the experience, as if tasting a delicious dish.
“Thank you very much, young and old, for your support.”
Liu Jiaotian bowed slightly to thank the audience and stumbled off the stage.
Opera was physically demanding work, combining intricate movents with loud vocal expressions, making exhaustion inevitable.
Zhou Xuan was now backstage, helping the veteran perforrs pack up chairs and move boxes and cabinets.
With only one program left, this Netherworld play would be over, and it was ti to clean up the stuff.
Xu Li and Song Jie carefully folded and packed each costu that the actors had taken off, putting them into suitcases.
“Sister-in-law, why haven’t I seen Eldest Brother?” Zhou Xuan didn’t see Yu Zhengyuan and asked Xu Li.
“Don’t you know Lao Yu by now?
He’s dedicated to his work and is in the waiting area, assisting Mr.
Dai.”
“Mr.
Dai went on stage?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Wasn’t the last program supposed to be ‘Monkey King’s Birth’?” Zhou Xuan had seen the program list.
“Originally, it was the Monkey King, but Mr.
Dai wanted to give a speech and wrote a script in advance, so they cut the last program.”
Pointing to a group of children nearby wiping away tears, Xu Li said, “Look at those kids dressed as monkeys.
They prepared for this show for several days.
Even if it was a flop, they would at least get to perform.
Now, they can’t even step on stage; they’re all unwilling and very aggrieved.”
Joining a theater troupe requires gaining experience, which is accumulated through one performance after another.
Missing today’s chance to perform ant lacking an important piece of experience, making it understandable for them to feel disappointed and sad.
Zhou Xuan also felt sorry for the young actors, but there was no ti to pity them.
He was more concerned about his Eldest Brother.
“Xiao Xuan, where are you going?
They need soone to carry the water pots over there.
Give them a hand.”
“I’ll help when I co back.”
Zhou Xuan hurriedly ran to the waiting area, finding Yu Zhengyuan leaning against the entrance, holding the curtain corner with one hand and giving all sorts of encouraging gestures to Mr.
Dai with the other.
“Eldest Brother, step back a little.”
“If I step back, Mr.
Dai won’t be able to see my encouragent,” Yu Zhengyuan said as he gave Mr.
Dai a thumbs-up.
*Heh, don’t let Mr.
Dai cause trouble and get you splattered with blood!*
Zhou Xuan’s premonition grew stronger.
He suspected that sothing would happen to the opera today, and this incident was likely aid at Mr.
Dai.
He worried that if Yu Zhengyuan stayed too close to Mr.
Dai, he might get involved in the consequences too.
Zhou Xuan kept a tense watch on those red-eyed one-eyed “people” in the theater, ready to whisk his Eldest Brother away at the first sign of trouble.
Ti ticked by,
“Nobody move, absolutely no one move.”
Zhou Xuan predicted that sothing would go wrong, but he also hoped his premonition was mistaken.
No one liked trouble.
Unlike the nervous Zhou Xuan, Mr.
Dai on stage seed to relish the spotlight, carrying himself with great ease.
He grasped a large tal loudspeaker, calling out lodiously, indulged in the vision he weaved with his words.
“Folks, I’m Dai Siming from Corridor River, also a worshipper of Lord Buddha, like everyone, I have suffered, been poor.
“Now, I’m wealthy, the policies have co,
Ping Shui Prefecture is set for industrial boom this year.
I, personally, with my own funds, will establish three factories in Corridor River,
I promise here,
the monthly salary for workers in our factories will not be less than four hundred yuan!”
At the ntion of money, the villagers below applauded in unison.
Four hundred yuan was more than what dock workers could earn with backbreaking labor.
Factory work wasn’t as tiring and was stable, offering a monthly inco throughout the year, truly a great opportunity.
But Zhou Xuan found Mr.
Dai’s rambling frustrating, mumbling, “Quit yamring, get off the stage before sothing happens…”
“Of course, these three factories are just my personal goal.
The Benevolent Society will also contribute a substantial amount of funds, by then, factories, schools, hospitals will rise in this small town of Corridor River.”
A cascade of applause broke out once more.
“Thank you, folks, for your support.
I’m getting old, my body isn’t robust, I can’t speak much more…”
*Finally!*
Zhou Xuan’s anxiety eased.
The speech had reached this point, leaving only the formal conclusion—a few phrases of blessing, followed by a bow, wave, and exit.
By then, this Netherworld play would be over.
The troupe would wrap up, and Mr.
Dai would settle the final paynt.
Once the stage was dismantled, the villagers who stood on tiptoe without shadows could stand where they pleased.
Whether they would later trouble Mr.
Dai privately, Zhou Xuan couldn’t care less.
Just as long as no blood ends up splattered on the Zhou Family’s Troupe’s reputation!
The plan seed flawless,
but reality had a way of thwarting expectations.
Just when there were only two “blessing phrases” left, Mr.
Dai on stage couldn’t say a word.
He opened his mouth without sound, as if an invisible little man held up a stick inside it, preventing his jaws from closing.
“Say sothing, Mr.
Dai…” Yu Zhengyuan, thinking Mr.
Dai was nervous, patted his leg anxiously.
*There’s no more to say.*
Zhou Xuan just wanted Yu Zhengyuan to quickly carry Mr.
Dai off the stage, forgetting about the speech, avoiding trouble was the priority.
He shouted, “Go, carry Mr.
Dai off…
off…”
But halfway through his shout, he too found himself speechless.
The white noise that had been absent for half the day returned.
This ti, it wasn’t gently “shhhhh,” but more like the magnified electrical hum from microphone feedback.
Piercing, sharp,
In an instant, Zhou Xuan felt like his eardrums were being pierced, and the intense pain made him break into a cold sweat.
Thankfully, the sound persisted for only two or three seconds, coming and going swiftly.
A mont longer, and his life might have been forfeit.
As the electrical hum faded, he heard the clear sound of shattering glass.
Enduring the pain, Zhou Xuan looked toward the source of the sound, at the Golden Crow Mask hanging from the theater’s beam.
The Golden Crow, also known as the Sun God Bird, was popularly depicted as a three-legged crow living within the sun.
However, as beliefs diversified, the image of the Golden Crow varied.
The Zhou Family’s Troupe’s Golden Crow Mask largely adhered to the traditional depiction, shaped like a bird’s head painted black, but with three upward-pointing bone spikes carved on the forehead, making the divine bird look more fierce.
This modification was ant to “subdue evil spirits.”
With the Netherworld Play Troupe performing for the dead, there’s always the chance of malevolent spirits causing chaos at the theater.
Ghost-suppressing items thus beca essential for the performance, hung on the theater’s beam from the start of the play until its conclusion, only then taken down with reverence.
The Golden Crow Mask was one such ghost-suppressing item hung by the Zhou Family’s Troupe.
But now, the Golden Crow Mask had shattered…
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