Chapter 259: Woman

Chapter 259 Woman

As if to signify the intensity of the battlefield, this red-faced general, amidst the encirclement of several minor soldiers, leaped directly onto a table with only three legs, spinning continuously along its edge.

"Clang clang clang clang~" Accompanied by the music, this spin lasted for several minutes, and he was standing on a three-legged table; his kung fu was truly formidable.

The scene on the stage even caused Li Huowang to open his eyes in surprise, "Are the requirements for grand opera in the Great Liang Kingdom really this high?"

"Clang~ Clang~ Stage~" The general on stage, bristling with flags, executed a backflip and landed steadily.

Accompanied by the surrounding minor soldiers cooperating to fall to the ground, the general struck a pose, suddenly revealed himself, and instantly cheers and applause erupted from the audience below.

This applause included Li Huowang's as well; he realized he was wrong, he truly hadn't expected the difference between one opera troupe and another to be so vast.

Even someone like him, who knew little about opera, could discern the brilliance within.

Just as Li Huowang was watching entranced, the general on stage stiffened his body, and the two long pheasant tail plumes atop his head began vibrating at a high frequency as he shook his head. "Hmm~? Who~ approaches~?"

As soon as the general finished speaking, the lanterns on the stage extinguished instantly, and everything around became pitch black.

Just as a trace of doubt rose in Li Huowang's heart, suddenly the lanterns lit up, but this time the light inside was no longer red, but had turned into an eerie green.

On the stage where only the general stood moments ago, another person abruptly appeared.

It was a woman, her back turned to others, her hands holding long water sleeves that trembled ceaselessly like a waterfall.

The music had stopped at some unknown time; the only sound on the stage was a certain breathing that grew heavier and heavier.

"Hehe..." A chilling whisper suddenly rang out in Li Huowang's ear, and instantly every hair on his body stood on end.

"What damn thing! Can this place ever find some peace!" With a face instantly twisted in fury, Li Huowang gripped his sword with one hand, stomped his feet on the tiles beneath him, and was about to rush onto the stage.

At this moment, Bai Lingmiao hugged him tightly with both hands, crying out anxiously, "Senior Brother Li, that's fake! That's acting!"

"Fake??" Li Huowang looked hesitantly; on stage, the general stepped in square steps, vigilantly circling the woman with her back turned again and again.

Suddenly, the woman whipped her head around, simultaneously raising two bronze mirrors on either side of the stage; the bright candlelight reflected from the mirrors instantly struck the woman's faceless visage.

This terrifying scene startled everyone present immediately, and many children cried out in fear.

Li Huowang, however, let out a sigh of relief; this was indeed fake. His keen vision allowed him to see that the head was merely a prop; her actual head was currently tucked inside her clothing.

Li Huowang slowly removed his hand from the sword and sat back down on the roof, "Do you people in the Great Liang Kingdom play so wildly with grand opera? Adding horror elements to a performance?"

"Senior Brother Li, what are horror elements? This play has always been performed this way, for over a hundred years. Legend has it that back then, General Yue encountered this very thing on the battlefield."

Looking at the gloomy and terrifying stage in the distance, Li Huowang felt that if this were true, the past must have been far more tragic and far more horrifying.

Just then, Li Huowang saw the general on stage swing his mace and smash down, easily cleaving the woman's head off. The woman fell straight onto the stage as if truly dead.

Unexpectedly, just as the woman fell, a man with a black face and two copper coins pasted on his cheeks walked onto the stage, tilting his head and swaying.

"Wu hahaha~~~"

Sharp fangs spiraled in and out of his mouth; accompanied by piercing gong strikes, specks of sparks sprayed from his lips, standing out vividly against the dark night.

"Hehe." Hearing Li Huowang's laughter, Bai Lingmiao turned her head towards him in the darkness with some confusion, "Senior Brother Li, why are you laughing? Is the play not good?"

"It's good. I'm not laughing at the performers on stage, but at Master Lu. He has calculated wrongly this time; with those few clumsy tricks of his, he fears he won't earn a single coin in Great Liang." Li Huowang said, looking at Master Lu's increasingly sour face in the distance.

"Speaking of which, the Great Liang Kingdom is different from other places. Whether material enjoyment or spiritual enjoyment, it surpasses other places by countless times; truly worthy of being the strongest realm."

That night, everyone watched with great satisfaction, including Li Huowang.

The troupe also earned ample rewards; they chose this time to perform for a reason, for this was harvest season, landlords had money in their pockets, and were generous with their spending.

Lu Zhuangyuan returned soulless; at this moment, he had long lost his previous momentum, his self-esteem built on decades of singing shattered into pieces.

Unlike the others engaged in heated discussion, he entered the room with his two sons and cowered in the corner, saying nothing to anyone.

"Father, they can spit sparks from their mouths! What do we have to compare with?" Lu Xiucai broke the silence.

"How can we not compare? That old actor at the end didn't sing as well as me!" Lu Zhuangyuan stuck out his neck and argued forcibly.

But after speaking, he deflated like a punctured airbag; he could boast, but it couldn't make up for the gap in strength between troupes.

Stuffing the pipe deeper into his mouth, he hunched his back and walked towards the corner where Bai Lingmiao was making the bed.

"Hehehe~ Miss Bai, may this old man ask something? You see, plays like today's, can all Great Liang troupes perform them?"

"Yes, and not just this kind; they can perform several kinds. Today's show wasn't even the most outstanding one!"

Lu Zhuangyuan hunched his back even deeper and stumbled towards his two useless sons.

That night, Lu Zhuangyuan hardly slept at all, tossing and turning as he thought, "If the Lu Family Troupe's stage cannot be set up, won't I become a freeloader again?"

However, he was not the only one who slept poorly that night. When the rooster crowed in the village, the early-rising Lu Xiucai saw Gouwa, wearing a shameless grin, emerging from a small grove while embracing Hong'er.

The two clung affectionately together, whispering and giggling about something.

When Gouwa saw Lu Xiucai drawing water by the well, his eyes lit up; after sending Hong'er away, he approached him with a face full of pride.

"Hehehe~ Kid, do you know what I did last night? Hehehe~"

Lu Xiucai said nothing, carrying the bucket of water towards the house, but Gouwa refused to let him go, following him and talking incessantly.

"Ai~ That feeling, ai~ That feeling~ Hehehe~"

That expression, combined with Gouwa's shifty-eyed appearance, was as sleazy as it could possibly be.

(End of Chapter)