Chapter 48 This is not my home
The information says that Yu Xuezhou, the young master of the Fuxiang troupe, eloped with the young master of the Jiangnan Silk Shop. Because he suddenly gave up performing and offended the powerful, the old master was beaten and died three days later.
The person looking for information also specifically stated: Yu Xuezhou, gender is male!
Duan Anluo asked, "Your name is Yu Xuezhou?"
"Yu Xuezhou? Yu Xuezhou..." The ghost girl muttered the name, and something in her mind seemed to be about to burst out, causing her to have a splitting headache. Who was Yu Xuezhou? Why did she look so familiar?
Duan Anluo looked at the makeup on her face, which was so bright, and she spoke in a slow and soft voice, occasionally with a theatrical accent. If she didn't say it herself, it would be hard to tell whether she was a man or a woman.
"Yu Xuezhou... Yu Xuezhou!" The female ghost seemed to be stimulated. The ghost energy on her body rose and fell, and tears flowed uncontrollably. Duan Anluo called out with spiritual energy: "Boss Yu?"
These three words were like a dull hammer hitting his soul. The memories that had been weighing on his mind finally found an outlet, and he remembered.
He is a man, but he has been learning Qingyi since he was a child and sings female roles. His stage name is Yu Xuezhou.
In that society where men were superior to women, it was considered immoral and against ethics for women to appear in public. In addition, opera performances were considered lowly, and it would be considered damaging to the reputation of a decent woman to participate in them. For many reasons, men had to play the roles.
He couldn't remember his original name, but he knew that when he was almost starving to death, he was picked up by the troupe owner and named Yu Xuezhou.
The troupe owner treated him very well in life, but was particularly strict with him when it came to learning opera.
Learning opera is so hard. He is obviously a boy, but he is forced to be as weak and boneless as a girl. Every time he stretches his legs and bends his waist, it is extremely painful. What's even more terrible is that he has to imitate women's bound feet and learn to walk on stilts.
The eyes and expressions, the movements and posture, everything must be practiced, even the voice must be sweet and charming.
He not only has to look like a woman, but also a beauty. Every movement he makes is painful beyond his physical limits.
He couldn't remember how much suffering he had endured and how many beatings he had received. More and more people came to listen to his opera, and the name Yu Xuezhou became more and more famous.
But so what? No matter how famous he was, it was still a low-class profession. People often said that actors were heartless and whores were disloyal. Even beggars looked down on him.
Until he met that man, a silk merchant from Jiangnan.
He liked to listen to him sing, and didn't care that he was an actor. He bought him expensive gifts and exquisite costumes, and even booked a theater for half a year just to listen to him sing.
Later, he fell in love with the young, handsome and wealthy businessman.
Learning every move of women since childhood has made him feel in his heart that he is a woman, a charming and beautiful woman.
He likes women's clothes and how they dress, and even likes to wear women's clothes in his daily life.
The class owner tried to persuade him many times, even spanking him several times, but he just wouldn't change. The more the class owner tried to stop him, the more rebellious he became.
He knew it was wrong, so he kept this love bottled up deep in his heart until she was about to leave and asked him before she left: "Do you want to come with me?"
The man didn't care about his identity or whether he was a man or a woman. He wanted to take him away from this miserable place and live a good life.
The other party swore to heaven how sincere her feelings were towards him, and he believed it!
Before going on stage that night, he burned his costumes, gave up everything, and followed him.
He thought he would live a good life, but unexpectedly, it was all a scam.
The man has been married for a long time and has a wife at home!
His sky collapsed...
Later, he was imprisoned and raised like a singing bird. Once sold, this androgynous actor would be even more miserable than the women in the brothel. He learned to compromise and worked hard every day to sing opera. As long as he sang well, he would have enough food and warm clothes.
Later, he thought, this is not bad. What's the difference between performing for a family and performing for a large group of people? They are both performing.
Until one day, he heard the man say to his friends, "It's just a cheap actor. Just spend some money and he will be devoted to you. I've never played such a game before. It's just new. If you want to play, play as you like."
In their eyes, he was just a little thing that could be trampled on and played with at will.
He took advantage of the rainy night and escaped.
After several twists and turns, he returned to the opera troupe that raised him, but the once bustling troupe had long been abandoned.
The shop next door told him that on the day he left, he offended a powerful person, and the old boss took the blame for him and was beaten.
No doctor dared to treat the old boss, and three days later, he died.
He ran away, and there was no one to take his place. The old owner was gone, and the entire troupe fell apart.
All that was left for him was a lonely grave.
Later, his junior apprentice found him and told him the words the old master left him before he died. The old man said, "Don't blame him."
The man who raised him like a father but was killed by him said before he died that he didn't blame him!
He would rather the old man hate him, beat him, and scold him. The words he dared not hear the most were "don't blame him".
"Ahhhhhh!!!" Yu Xuezhou screamed in agony, his eyes stained red with ghostly energy. The talisman on his head shone with a blinding light, but it still couldn't suppress his resentment. His voice was sharp, and his voice was good. His cry shook the tables and chairs in the theater.
Duan Anluo snorted, this guy is going crazy.
Raising his hand, he touched Yu Xuezhou's brow. Duan Anluo's voice was not loud, but it was like a basin of cold water, pouring on Yu Xuezhou's head: "Stop."
Yu Xuezhou suddenly stopped shouting, stood motionless with his mouth open, and the blood color in his eyes gradually faded.
After a long time, he asked in a hoarse voice: "What happened next? Tell me, what happened?!"
Duan Anluo calmly told him, "You're dead. You were captured and tortured to death by the powerful people you once offended."
No wonder Yu Xuezhou’s ghost energy could reach A-level. He died tragically and had a lot of resentment. Maybe he was too scared before he died and he forgot the cause of his death.
"The records state that after your death you were thrown into a mass grave. Your former junior fellow apprentice found you and buried you in a costume."
Duan Anluo at the back was too embarrassed to say anything, it was too miserable, his crazy fans secretly dug him out, stripped him of his clothes and kept them as a souvenir.
I guess the clothes the puppet is wearing are the ones that the crazy fan stripped off Yu Xuezhou's body.
The thing that was aroused by the collector's ghost and caused the original owner's thoughts to revive was probably not the mask, but the clothes.
That collector is the descendant of the grave-digger fan.
I heard that collector was in a terrible situation too. He rotted away within three days of death. How could he not rot? All those things in the collection room were used by the dead. How strong must the smell of death be?
Yu Xuezhou was no longer talking. At this moment, he looked like an emotionless puppet, sitting on the ground motionless and dejected, not knowing what he was thinking.
Duan Anluo asked Si Cang curiously, "How did they find this information? It's so detailed."
Si Cang pointed upwards, then pointed to the ground, "Everything within the past 130 years can be investigated, but anything further than that won't work."
Duan Anluo was relieved. He didn't have to worry about people who died earlier. If his dark history was dug up, he would have a hard time explaining it. As for what to explain, he didn't know. Anyway, he didn't want Si Cang to know anything about the past.
Soon, the logistics staff delivered the puppet. Fearing it might resurrect, they had already purified it and tied it with special ropes. Yu Xuezhou, upon seeing it, showed no reaction at all.
Duan Anluo examined the puppet. The most eerie part was the embroidered shoes. Having preserved them for so many years without breaking, it was clear that his fans, and their descendants, truly loved him.
But this kind of love has reached the point of digging graves, and even Duan Anluo, an open-minded ancient man, cannot accept it.
The puppet's face was indeed wearing a Huadan mask, exactly the same one Duan Anluo had seen, but underneath the mask was a weeping face. The original owner probably disliked the puppet's crying appearance and put a mask on it to cover it up.
It's unknown how many years this puppet has been around, but it's incredibly finely crafted, with several layers of anti-corrosion and insect-proof paint covering its surface, leaving no visible insect holes. Even more astonishing is that each of its joints is secured with specially crafted metal wires, allowing it to automatically reset after movement.
Duan Anluo was moved again. He really wanted to take this puppet home and raise it.
He asked the logistics department: "How do you usually deal with this?"
Logistics: "It's safest to kill the ghost. The ghost energy on it is too strong. If it harms people, the consequences will be disastrous. It is different from a real ghost. The underworld will not accept ghosts born from the revival of spiritual energy."
Duan Anluo asked Yu Xuezhou, "What is your biggest grudge? Or, in other words, your biggest wish?"
Yu Xuezhou murmured, "I want to see the old troupe owner... and the people in the troupe."
His greatest wish was not revenge, but to return to the troupe, say sorry to them, and sing with them again. The people in the troupe were all miserable, singing just to make a living, and he shouldn't have just walked away and abandoned them.
Duan Anluo took out a lighter from his pocket, which he usually used to light incense. It was windproof and explosion-proof, and most importantly, it had a high temperature and could light anything.
He lit the fire and pointed it at the puppet, asking seriously, "They're all dead, you can't see them. If you have nowhere else to go, come with me. Become a guardian ghost for the Xuanmen sect. I'll give you incense and buy you clothes. When the Xuanmen disciples need you, you just need to help them. You can sing for me and get paid separately. How about that?"
The logistics staff looked at him strangely. You are such an awesome master, can you please put down your anger when you invite others?
Yu Xuezhou paused and said regretfully, "It's a pity that I can't go with you."
His body gradually became transparent starting from his feet. "This is not where I belong."
There was no one he was looking for here, so there was no point in him staying here.
Duan Anluo put away the lighter with regret, "Forget it, it's not meant to be."
Yu Xuezhou disappeared, leaving only a motionless puppet. Duan Anluo stared blankly for a moment, then gave the puppet a kick in dissatisfaction and turned away, "Go back to sleep!"
If this one doesn't work, there's always another one! He'll always find a ghost who can sing and is willing to follow him!
Si Cang frowned. Is he angry?
He picked up the puppet by its neck and followed it. "Do you want more?"
Duan Anluo didn't even turn around and said angrily, "No! What do I need a piece of wood that can't sing opera?"
Si Cang opened the trunk and put the puppet into the car.
Duan Anluo was dissatisfied: "Why take it back?"
Si Cang said calmly, "Find someone to modify it, install a battery and it will move."
Duan Anluo said disdainfully: "Even if you move, you won't be able to sing."
Si Cang glanced at him, his tone still calm: "Install a speaker."
Duan Anluo curled his lips and his eyes began to drift towards the puppet, "It doesn't understand human language either."
Si Cang closed the trunk and said, "Install a voice control function."
Duan Anluo imagined it and immediately felt happy. Isn't this just like before, it can move, sing, and understand human language?
Si Cang sat in the car, his hands on the steering wheel, but he was silent. Duan Anluo was unhappy, why should he coax him?
The author has something to say:
Si Cang: Is he unlucky for me?
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