bookandnovel Chapter 79: A single melody breaks the heart, and all the ghosts and gods in the hall weep!
Chapter 79: A single melody breaks the heart, and all the ghosts and gods in the hall weep!
Chapter 79 A Song of Heartbreak, Even Ghosts and Gods Weep! (First Update 7600 words)
Crane Patrol Celestial Venerable was now full of questions.
No!
Why are they both suddenly angry?!
Because of—what I just said?
No way—wasn't what I just said a good thing?!
Once he is crowned the Celestial Venerable of the Ages for the fifth time and his prestige reaches its peak, he can completely transform the Heavenly Dragon Temple.
Invite the founders and masters of your lineage into the temple and worship them for eternity!
After all, the entire Tianlong Temple is now filled with his disciples and grand-disciples.
The only obstacle left are some elderly people in the temple, plus the people who were originally scattered outside Tianlong Temple.
But after he became the Celestial Venerable of the Ages five times, his prestige reached its peak, and these people dared not say anything more.
What's wrong?
yes----
Do you feel that what you're doing is too despicable?
That shouldn't be happening!
He endured all those messy things that happened at Tianlong Temple back then, and now he's completely transformed the temple's appearance.
Isn't this a wonderful thing?
Moreover, this isn't something I've just started doing; I've been talking about it countless times over the past thirty years.
I didn't see either of them getting angry.
What's going on all of a sudden?!
Was it because I was a little too smug and disrespectful just now?
Well----
No, it's not that either.
It's hard to say about the patriarch, but my master was definitely not the kind of person who cared about this kind of thing.
Not to mention that his master has been dead for many years, he has never seen him get angry.
When my master was still alive, I urinated into his wine gourd, and he wasn't this angry.
no! !
What on earth happened?!
Meanwhile, in the old city of Fengtian.
The altar was rearranged, and Lu Yuan lit three sticks of incense, respectfully placed them in the incense burner, and once again respectfully invited the patriarch.
The wisps of smoke rose straight up this time, without any further twists or turns.
After doing all this, Lu Yuan turned around and looked at the two beautiful women who were quietly waiting in the cold wind.
"Aunt Qin, Aunt Qiao'er, you should go back first."
"I have to break this cursed place tonight."
After completing the process, Lu Yuan turned to look at the two beautiful aunties waiting to the side.
"Look at what you two are dressed like, aren't you cold!"
Lu Yuan glanced at the two men, who were holding the expensive fox fur coat.
Her lower body consisted of two plump and slender legs, so white they were dazzling in the night, as if she weren't wearing any pants.
After Lu Yuan said that, the two glared at him but didn't say anything more.
Although the two were flirtatious and promiscuous, they only flirted and promiscuous in front of Lu Yuan.
If Xu Erxiao, Wang Chengan, and Song Zonghu weren't nearby, the two of them would probably immediately start uttering some seductive and vulgar words.
But with other people around, and considering that both women came from respectable wealthy families, they couldn't do or say anything. The two beautiful aunts simply said in a coquettish voice, "It's so late, why don't you come again tomorrow?"
"Afraid someone will steal it?"
Aunt Qin even raised her jade-like hand, painted with a bewitching purple nail polish, and pointed at Song Zonghu not far away.
"Just have my brother send someone to keep watch and not let anyone in, okay?"
"Let's get some rest tonight and come back tomorrow."
Song Zonghu, standing to the side: "————"
Something about that sounds a bit odd.
Lu Yuan shook his head and said, "Tomorrow will take care of its own business. Let's finish today's work today. It won't take long, at most an hour or so. There's no need to go back and forth."
As he spoke, Lu Yuan looked at Song Zonghu in the direction Aunt Qin pointed.
This is the first time I've seen Aunt Qin's brother in all the time I've known her; I'd only heard about him from her before.
At this moment, the middle-aged man was somewhat embarrassed. He stood next to the military vehicle and forced a smile at Lu Yuan.
To be honest, Lu Yuan was also quite embarrassed.
As for my relationship with Aunt Qin, it's safe to say it's practically a done deal!
There's no escaping it!
Lu Yuan would absolutely not push this beautiful aunt out.
Presumably, Aunt Qin must have mentioned this matter to Song Zonghu a few times.
How could he not feel embarrassed, considering his own age?
But now is not the time to think about these things.
Lu Yuan's expression became extremely serious, and he bowed to Song Zonghu.
"Logically speaking, you shouldn't be the one to take the blame, but I do have something important to do right now."
"If your boss blames me, and you can cover for me for more than a month, I will remember this favor for the rest of my life after the Heavenly Venerable Ceremony is over."
Hearing Lu Yuan's words, Song Zonghu blinked, then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, grinning rather憨厚ly, and said, "According to Fengtian City—there shouldn't be many people above me—"
"In the whole area outside the pass, there are indeed a few people like that, but they are quite busy and won't come to me for such a small matter."
"You flatter me, Master. You saved my sister's life in the middle of the year, so this is nothing."
Hearing Song Zonghu's words, Lu Yuan was somewhat taken aback.
hiss~
Is it that amazing?
Lu Yuan had never inquired about Aunt Qin's family situation; he only gleaned some information from Aunt Qin's occasional remarks and the things she did.
But Lu Yuan really had no idea what was going on at Aunt Qin's house.
After all, Lu Yuan wasn't thinking of currying favor with Aunt Qin or anything, so why was he asking those questions?
As soon as Song Zonghu finished speaking, Aunt Qin, who was standing to the side, immediately glared at him and said, "What do you mean by 'considered'?"
"that is!!"
"If it weren't for my good nephew, do you think you'd still see me after you came back from Heilongjiang!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Song Zonghu nodded repeatedly, overwhelmed by his sister's imposing manner. "So, Daoist Master, please don't be so polite. This is nothing to worry about!"
After saying that, he hurriedly said, as if avoiding a plague, "Um, I have urgent business at my unit, so I'll head back now!"
"This squad of soldiers will stay here and watch over things for you. Once you've finished your business, just let them return to their units on their own!"
Before he could finish speaking, Song Zonghu had already opened the car door, jumped into the military truck in a flash, started the engine, and sped away without looking back.
That's so damn embarrassing!
Get out of here quickly.
Of course, what Song Zonghu found most unbearable was not the embarrassment, but mainly the way his own sister looked.
Good heavens!!
I've lived for thirty-three years, and I've never seen that tigress act like this before!
And what the hell was that tigress making just now?!
And that affected manner, is that something a tigress could pull off?
When she was little, she didn't act like this when she would grab a feather duster and throw it at herself!
Song Zonghu couldn't help but shudder when he recalled the tone of his older sister's voice when she spoke to Lu Yuan.
Goosebumps instantly rose all over my body.
I grass!
That's absolutely disgusting!!
Song Zonghu thought Lu Yuan was a remarkable person, able to even suppress his own sister's rage—
Anyway, Song Zonghu felt that if he stayed anywhere for even a second longer, his own sister would disgust him to death on the spot.
Song Zonghu ran away, leaving behind only a group of soldiers carrying old-fashioned bundles of firecrackers and two charming and beautiful aunts.
Lu Yuan blinked as he watched the truck disappear around the street corner.
This guy is running so fast, what are his two aunts going to do?
But then I thought, this is Fengtian City, not some desolate wilderness, so I'm not worried about not having a ride back.
Immediately, Lu Yuan looked at the two beautiful aunts and urged them, "You two, don't just stand here, hurry back, look how cold you are."
The moment the two got out of the car, her long, slender, plump, and fair legs began to tremble.
As a result, after Lu Yuan finished speaking, the two of them stubbornly replied, "No, you either come home with us right now, or we'll make a fire over here and wait for you to come back."
"You said it would only take an hour, so we can just wait for you!"
-
"Otherwise, we won't be able to sit still at home, it'll be even more uncomfortable!"
Seeing the two beautiful aunts looking like this, Lu Yuan thought for a moment and decided to go for it!
Then hurry up!
Lu Yuan has already used the system's [Slay Demons and Exorcise Monsters] function to check this area. There are no powerful evil spirits here, so let's speed through it!
Immediately, Lu Yuan picked up his wooden sword again, looked at Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an who were already prepared, and said, "Let's go!"
"Let's get started!!"
The blue curtains leading into the backstage area of the opera troupe looked as heavy as if they had been soaked in water.
Lu Yuan lifted a corner of the lid.
The fabric rubbed together without making the usual "rustling" sound.
The sound was delicate and viscous, seeping into the ears and transforming into countless whispers coming from close by.
Behind the curtain was a long, bottomless corridor.
The dim light coming through the doorway could only illuminate three steps ahead.
-
A musty smell wafted over.
First, there's a heavy musty smell, from years of accumulated dust and moisture.
Immediately afterwards, a rancid scent of cosmetics wafted into my nostrils. It wasn't fresh osmanthus hair oil, but rather the greasy smell of expired rouge mixed with sweat.
Finally, there was a faint, rusty, fishy smell, extremely faint, yet it forcefully assaulted the top of one's head.
The corridor was lined with densely packed wooden frames.
The shelves were filled with all kinds of theatrical costumes.
On the left are female roles, with the plain pleated robes of the Qingyi, the brightly colored jackets and trousers of the Huadan, and the soft armor of the Daomadan.
On the right are the male and female roles: the martial male roles wear hard-clothed python robes, the old male roles wear official robes, and the young male roles wear scholar's robes.
Each costume was held perfectly upright, with flowing sleeves, slightly flared skirts, and armor plates reflecting a cold, eerie light in the darkness.
But their postures are too bizarre.
The left sleeve of a bright red python robe was slightly raised, framing a dignified and composed posture.
The fingertips of the flowing sleeves were curled up, clearly forming a delicate orchid-like gesture.
The four flags of a martial arts costume fluttered backward, as if the actor had just turned and made his appearance, and the audience was about to erupt in cheers.
The knife and spear handles on the ground added to the sinister atmosphere.
A wooden "Green Dragon Crescent Blade" leaned against the wall, its tip piercing through a female opera mask.
The face paint is that of Yang Guifei, with gold powder peeling off between her eyebrows and a knife tip piercing through her right eye and exiting from the back of her head.
The two riding whips were tightly intertwined, tied in a sailor's knot, their red tassels tangled into a mess.
At the end of the corridor, leaning against a life-sized pear wood framed bronze mirror.
The frame is carved with intertwined peonies, but the mirror surface is cracked from top to bottom with a jagged, menacing slit.
At its widest point, a finger can be inserted.
The edges of the crevice were dark red, like dried blood scabs.
Upon closer inspection, a viscous liquid was slowly seeping out from the crack and flowing down the mirror surface.
Xu Erxiao stepped forward and gently touched the nearest quilt with a peach wood yin-probing ruler.
On the ruler, the markings for the twenty-four solar terms, specifically "Awakening of Insects," "White Dew," and "Frost's Descent," simultaneously emitted a faint green phosphorescence.
"This costume—is adorned with three different 'theatrical spirits.'"
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted slightly. He didn't touch them, but his gaze swept over the various costumes.
"The Awakening of Insects is the trepidation of making a debut, the White Dew is the loneliness of being famous, and the Frost's Descent is the desolation of the curtain falling."
His voice turned cold.
"The Wang family, what wicked thoughts they have!"
"They not only kept the main evil spirit, but also used secret methods to trap the lingering resentment of the actors who had performed tragedies, suffered humiliation, or even died tragically here over the years inside these costumes."
"Let these wandering ghosts serve as mere supporting characters to the main evil spirit for all eternity!"
Lu Yuan walked to the cracked bronze mirror, stood sideways, and did not look directly at the mirror.
A major taboo in the trade: a cracked mirror can steal one's soul.
He took out a small porcelain bottle, removed the cork, and tilted the bottle opening.
The scarlet, viscous liquid slowly flowed out of the bottle. This was a secret elixir made from the blood of a rooster that had been in the bloodstream for more than three years, mixed with cinnabar and the juice of mugwort harvested at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival.
The liquid flowed down the peony pattern on the frame, and when it reached the crack in the mirror, an unusual phenomenon occurred.
The crimson liquid defied all logic; instead of flowing down the mirror's surface, it was pulled into the depths of the crack by an invisible force and vanished without a trace.
At the same time, a very soft sigh came from the mirror.
The voice was a mix of crying and laughing, with the last syllable drawn out, gradually morphing into a muffled, indistinct opera verse: "—Life in this world—is like a spring dream—."
Lu Yuan: "?"
Like what?
"Mirrors connect the realms of Yin and Yang; if this mirror cracks, it becomes a 'break' between the two worlds."
Lu Yuan took a step back, and his cuffs were somehow stained with the yin energy seeping from the mirror, and a thin layer of white frost had condensed on the surface of the fabric.
"The real culprit should be hidden in the annex of the stage."
Lu Yuan turned his gaze to the center of the stage and said in a deep voice, "Wang Cheng'an, find the mechanism."
The three immediately split up to investigate.
The backstage area was long and narrow, filled with rotten trunks, broken dressing tables, and shattered paint cans.
Xu Erxiao was in charge of inspecting the ground, Wang Chengan tapped on the walls, and Lu Yuan looked up to observe the structure of the beams and pillars.
Fifteen minutes later, Xu Erxiao squatted down in the "Nine Dragon Mouth" position in the center of the stage.
In Peking Opera jargon, this is the central point where the main character makes their appearance on stage.
He tapped the floor lightly with the yin-probing ruler; the echo from the ruler was hollow and dull, unlike anything else.
The bottom is empty.
It took some effort to pry open the floorboards.
The edges of the wooden board were sealed with a viscous black substance. Wang Cheng'an scraped it open little by little with a copper dagger, and the rusty smell instantly became several times stronger.
The moment the wooden plank was lifted, a gust of cold wind rushed out from the ground!
The wind carried a sweet, cloying stench of blood, mixed with the musty smell of old silk and mothballs, making one almost nauseous.
The mezzanine space is small, only enough for one person to lie down.
Inside, a theatrical costume lay quietly.
With a crimson base and gold thread embroidered with a phoenix spreading its wings, it is the style of a concubine's robe, but it is far more gorgeous and complicated than an ordinary concubine's robe.
Large patches of dark red stains covered the hem of the robe, spreading from the chest down to the waist and abdomen.
The color has turned black, but the edges of the stain still show traces of liquid splattering from back then.
Three inches above the opera robe, a palm-sized diamond-shaped mirror hangs.
The mirror was facing down, directly opposite the area around the heart where the bloodstains were most concentrated.
Strangely, what was reflected in the mirror was not a theatrical robe, but a blurry profile of a woman.
She was putting on her makeup in front of the mirror, holding a wooden comb, slowly combing her waist-length hair, stroke by stroke.
"Blood-stained robes lock the soul, mirror reflection nurtures evil."
Lu Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he asserted, "This is the [Mirror Robe Twin Evil]."
"The robe is where the resentment of the flesh resides; the mirror is where the obsession of the soul gathers."
"If one is destroyed, the other will immediately go berserk and out of control. To completely resolve the issue, both must be dealt with simultaneously."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan.
"Furthermore, we need a 'trigger'."
"Someone needs to draw that thing out of the mirror and the robe, and separate them—temporarily."
Midnight (11 PM - 1 AM).
The moon hid behind the clouds.
Spring Blossom Garden was shrouded in darkness, devoid of any light, both inside and out.
In this deathly silent theater, not a single insect chirp could be heard.
Lu Yuan had already changed his clothes.
Dressed in a plain white arrow-patterned outfit, he looked sharp and upright.
His face was not painted with any makeup, except for a striking, blood-red dot made of cinnabar on his forehead.
This is both a simplified ritual for "opening the third eye" and a beacon.
In this darkness, it will tell that thing that it is here.
Lu Yuan is not good at singing opera.
When he was a child, he wouldn't linger for even a second on the noisy TV channels.
After time travel, he accompanied the old man on his travels across the country. In the desolate mountains and wilderness, whenever they encountered a makeshift troupe, the old man would watch with great interest.
Lu Yuan stayed with him, watching, and gradually became absorbed in the story as well.
After all, there's really not much else to do these days.
Lu Yuan didn't look back. He turned around and stepped onto the stage.
Nine oil lamps were already lit on either side of the platform.
The lamp oil was a mixture of tung oil, rosin, and mugwort powder, and the flame burned steadily and brightly.
On this windless night, nine tongues of fire rose straight up, illuminating the stage.
In the center of the stage, there is an old incense table.
On the table is a small wooden statue of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the founder of Peking Opera.
Three offerings were placed in front of the statue.
A fresh peach can ward off evil spirits.
Three cakes, offered as a sacrifice to the gods.
A bowl of clear water, a clean table.
"Let's begin!"
Lu Yuan nodded to Xu Erxiao on the side of the stage.
Xu Erxiao flicked his wrist.
"clang--!"
The first gong rang out, its clear, metallic sound exploding in the open garden, its lingering echo lasting for a long time.
"clang--!
'
The second gong sounded.
Lu Yuan slowly walked to the center of the stage, facing the empty audience seats below, and also facing that mysterious being, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply.
He read aloud, each word clear and distinct.
"The glory of yesteryear is the consequence of today's actions."
"Once the song begins, all grudges and grievances will be recounted."
"The entire hall is lit with candles for you."
"After singing this, cross the River Styx!"
The moment the words fell, the flames of the nine oil lamps on the stage all shot up half a foot!
The color of the flames suddenly changed from warm yellow to a cold, dark blue.
Backstage, deep within the long corridor blocked by netting, came the clear sound of a woman sobbing.
The cries, suppressed for decades, as bitter as thick, unyielding ink, finally found an outlet.
Lu Yuan spoke up.
His voice wasn't smooth; it even had a hint of rawness, but every word he uttered was extremely steady, as if carrying immense power.
"The moon, like an ice wheel, begins to rise over the island."
"I see the Jade Rabbit, the Jade Rabbit has risen early in the east again—"
This is the classic opening of "The Drunken Beauty".
When the song reached the line "The moon begins to turn," the sobbing backstage stopped.
When the song reached the line "The icy moon leaves the island," the air above the stage began to distort and condense between the beams and pillars.
A pale blue female silhouette slowly emerged.
She was dressed in the full attire of an imperial concubine, with kingfisher feather headdress, a bright red python robe, cloud-patterned shoulder cape and jade belt, her figure slender and graceful.
Her face was blurry, but her eyes were frighteningly clear.
Those eyes were filled with decades of pent-up obsession and resentment.
It was the female lead, "Xiao Xiangyu," who tragically died here back then.
She hovered in mid-air, gazing intently at Lu Yuan on the stage, her fingers unconsciously tapping gently in rhythm.
Lu Yuan continued singing, then changed his tone and entered the "drunken" section.
Xiao Xiangyu's illusory image began to tremble violently.
Two thick lines of bloody tears slid down her cheeks.
This is not an illusion.
Blood and tears dripped onto the wooden planks of the stage, making a soft "tap, tap" sound.
Each drop burned a thumb-sized charred mark on the wooden board, with wisps of smoke rising from it.
At this moment, a sudden change occurs!
Below the stage, the dilapidated audience seats had somehow become filled with a dense mass of illusory figures.
In the front row were elderly men wearing long gowns and mandarin jackets and melon-shaped hats.
The middle row consisted of peddlers and laborers dressed in short clothes.
In the back row, there were even a few soldiers dressed in old-fashioned military uniforms.
They are all "lonely souls of opera fans" who have been attracted by the evil energy of this place and have lingered here year after year.
At this moment, they all raised their heads in unison, their eyes gleaming with a deep green light, and they swayed their heads in fascination with the rhythm of Lu Yuan's opera.
Some clapped their hands in a perfunctory manner.
Some opened their dark, gaping mouths, making a silent cheering gesture.
Several others greedily stretched their necks, making a sniffing motion towards the smoke rising from the burning blood and tears on the stage.
Seeing this, Xu Erxiao banged the sedative clapper.
"Thump! Thump! Thump!"
Three muffled thuds, like rolling thunder, shook the illusory figures, distorting their forms as if their reflections on the water had been shattered by stones.
However, in just three breaths, the phantoms condensed again, even more than before.
They crawled out from between the seats, climbed up the aisle, and hung all over the windowsills on both sides.
Lu Yuan's heart sank; he had to speed things up.
He sang the core line, "lying fish".
This is the climax of the entire play "The Drunken Concubine". The concubine bends down to smell the flowers, her posture is extremely enchanting, but also extremely tragic.
This was Xiao Xiangyu's most skillful pose back then.
It was the last move she was rehearsing when she was killed.
Just as Lu Yuan bent down, Xiao Xiangyu's phantom image suddenly fell!
There was no sound, no light.
She silently, like a feather, clung to Lu Yuan's back, her translucent body overlapping with his.
A bone-chilling cold instantly pierced through Lu Yuan!
Every pore was contracting, and my limbs and bones froze and went numb in an instant.
Countless voices exploded in his ears, men, women, young and old, weeping and wailing.
The clearest sound was a young woman's murmur, filled with endless resentment and bitterness.
"Yang Yuhuan—You have such a tragic life—"
"Your Majesty—Sanlang—why haven't you come—"
"That poisoned wine—it's so spicy—so spicy! It burned through my throat—"
"Mirror—Why am I still smiling in the mirror?"
"The robe is so heavy—it's soaked in blood—the gold thread is pricking my skin painfully—"
The Shadow is resonating!
It uses Lu Yuan's words, body, and five senses to relive the resentment of being tortured and killed back then!
Lu Yuan clenched his teeth tightly, and the tip of his tongue tasted rust.
The true madness within him surged, and a scorching warm current rose from his dantian, desperately protecting the last bit of clarity in his heart and mind.
He maintained his "lying fish" posture and sang the last few lines of the opera.
His voice was already hoarse, which instead conveyed a deeper sense of sorrow.
Life is but a fleeting dream.
"Let's enjoy a few drinks to our hearts' content!"
As the trembling final note faded, Xiao Xiangyu's illusory image drifted away from him.
She stood blankly on the stage, her tears of blood had stopped, and the thick, inky resentment in her eyes finally softened slightly.
She looked around blankly, as if she had just woken up from a nightmare spanning decades, not knowing what day it was or where she was.
It's now!
Wang Chengan, sitting in the audience, was moved!
As Lu Yuan sang the last line, he had already slipped into the stage's mezzanine like a raccoon dog.
Wearing specially made gold-threaded gloves, his palms were layered with gold leaf, cinnabar, and realgar, as he picked up the blood-stained imperial concubine's robe.
The moment it left the ground, the robe began to writhe violently as if it were alive!
Wang Cheng'an's arms were bulging with veins as he held it tightly, chanting a cleansing incantation. Only then did the robe's struggles lessen slightly.
At the same moment, Xu Erxiao backstage also made his move!
He tore off the thick velvet cloth from his back, which had been soaked in the blood of a rooster for seven days and seven nights over three years and then exposed to the scorching sun for forty-nine noons.
He pounced like a hungry tiger, completely enveloping the cracked bronze mirror!
"Ugh—!!!"
A piercing shriek erupted from the mirror—the sound of countless panes of glass shattering simultaneously!
From the crack in the mirror, foul-smelling black blood gushed out wildly, instantly soaking the velvet cloth.
The intense yang energy on the chicken blood cloth fiercely clashed with the yin energy in the black blood.
The cloth exploded with a series of loud "pops," locking all the filth inside, not a single drop leaking out!
Lu Yuan strode off the stage, his steps unsteady, the aftereffects of the murderous aura causing him to feel chills.
He took the still-trembling blood-stained robe from Wang Cheng'an and walked to the center of the courtyard.
There, sandalwood firewood had already been piled into a standard octagonal shape, with the "Li" fire position facing south.
He spread his robe flat on the woodpile, its scarlet color particularly striking in the night.
Lu Yuan took out a brand-new small round bronze mirror from his bosom. The back of the mirror was engraved with the four ancient seal characters "破妄归真" (Breaking through illusions and returning to truth).
He held the mirror in his left hand, aiming it at the blood-stained robe on the pile of firewood.
With his right hand, he lit the tinderbox.
"The old clothes of the mortal world are cleansed by the fires of karma."
His voice wasn't loud, but in the deathly still night, every word was clear.
"Flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water, all return to emptiness and clarity."
The fire extinguisher fell.
"burn!"
"boom--!"
Flames shot skyward!
The blood-red robe writhed wildly in the fire like a dying snake, spewing out two thick plumes of black smoke.
The black mist stretched out in mid-air, twisting into the shape of two mournful phoenixes.
But it was immediately entangled by the golden runes rising from the flames, dragged back into the fire little by little, and devoured completely!
The bloodstains made a strange "sizzling" sound as they burned, and the smoke that rose up condensed in the air into a blurry Peking Opera mask.
Yang Guifei's drunken makeup featured a blush as thick as blood.
Beside the campfire, the scene in the new bronze mirror in Lu Yuan's hand began to change.
First came the leaping flames.
Then the flames became transparent, and a young woman with an ancient-style bun and delicate features appeared in the mirror.
She wore a simple light blue dress, no longer the gorgeous imperial concubine robe.
Her face was not heavily made up, only her clean eyebrows and eyes were visible.
She looked at Lu Yuan in the mirror and smiled slightly.
That smile contained relief, gratitude, and a hint of shame.
She curtsied, bent her knees, and gave Lu Yuan a standard curtsy.
After the ceremony, she straightened up, and her figure gradually faded away.
The mirror returned to normal, reflecting only the leaping flames and Lu Yuan's slightly pale face.
On the stage, Xiao Xiangyu's phantom image was almost transparent.
Like dewdrops in the morning light, they break at the slightest touch.
She took one last look at the theater that had confined her for decades, at the mottled pillars, the faded embroidered curtains, and the empty seats.
Then, she turned around, facing the direction of the sunrise, and nodded slightly.
Her figure transformed into countless blue specks of light, as tiny as dust and as shimmering as stars.
They drifted away in the night wind, growing fainter and fainter until they finally blended completely into the dark sky, leaving no trace.
Below the stage, the phantom images of those "lonely opera fans" also stood up one after another.
The old man, wearing a melon-shaped hat and a long gown, bowed with his hands clasped.
The man in short clothes clasped his hands in greeting.
The soldier in uniform awkwardly gave a military salute.
Then their figures faded away one by one, turning into faded ink.
The last thing to disappear was the silhouette of a little child with a topknot in the front row.
He even turned around, waved vigorously at the empty stage, and then leaped into the darkness.
The stands were empty again.
Only the dilapidated seats creaked softly in the night wind.
Call ~
-
After finishing all this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
It's finally done.
Then he rubbed his waist, realizing that all that performing had made his back hurt.
Looking at Xu Erxiao and Wang Chengan, who were starting to clean up the mess on their own, Lu Yuan was very satisfied.
These two guys are getting more and more presentable.
Before long, he will probably no longer need to follow Lu Yuan and will be able to lead a team on his own.
Then, Lu Yuan took out the old brass pocket watch from his pocket, opened it, and took a look.
Holy crap!
It's already 2 AM!
I hope those two beautiful aunties don't freeze to death outside!
>