There may be some exaggeration, but his storytelling art has indeed reached a level of exquisite perfection.
As soon as the wake-up stick sounded, the whole place fell silent, and only Liu Mazi's voice could be heard echoing in the teahouse.
I heard that Liu Mazi's best work was "Water Margin", especially "Wu Song Fighting the Tiger", "Drunkenly Beating Jiang Menshen" and "The Fight at the Inn at the Cross Hill", which were all well-known.
The book we are talking about today is Wu Song Fighting the Tiger, but Liu Mazi's description of the story is quite different from the novel. His description and portrayal using his own language and vocabulary are more detailed and vivid than the novel.
"...Speaking of Wu Song, he went to the inn to get some wine, but found no one there. Suddenly, he roared, and the empty jars and pots in the inn began to hum..."
Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly and admired inwardly.
Liu Jingting's reputation was well-deserved; his storytelling was not confined to a set script, but rather he boldly developed and recreated it, capturing the essence of subtle details and making even the most mundane moments brilliant, a story with his own unique style.
When it comes to the appearance of the tiger, Wu Song is described vividly, and the tiger is also vivid, making people feel as if they are there and hold their breath with tension.
Suddenly, Liu Mazi stopped and stared coldly at a table where three young men who looked like scholars were whispering to each other.
"Mr. Liu is angry," someone whispered, explaining, "This is Mr. Liu's rule. Listeners must sit quietly and listen. If anyone chatters or yawns, he'll interrupt. No one can force him to do anything."
The audience was addicted to the story, and when Liu Mazi stopped, it was like a drunkard having his glass taken away from him in the middle of a drink, which was extremely uncomfortable. After hearing someone else say this, they all looked at the "culprit" in anger.
The three young men of letters also realized that they were not blind to the blaming and complaining looks they received.
"Three of you, please get out!" A waiter came forward to chase them away with a stern look on his face.
The three scholars exchanged glances, and one of them, with a scowl of anger, suddenly stood up and pointed at Liu Mazi, saying, "It's bad enough you're just bluffing, but you're also being pretentious and making us angry. Okay, I didn't mean to expose you, but you forced me into this."
As he spoke, he glanced at everyone and said loudly, "You have all been deceived. He is not Liu Jingting at all, but an imposter. He is using Mr. Liu's reputation to defraud money."
Hurry! The audience started a commotion, some were confused, some were surprised, looking at this, and then looking at the storyteller.
Liu Mazi was really calm and not panicky. He looked at Wensheng who exposed him with a half-smile on his face.
Wensheng took this as a mockery and grew even angrier, shouting, "I met Mr. Liu in Yangzhou. He had a sallow complexion, scars all over his face, and a laid-back, casual demeanor. How are you like him?"
The audience looked carefully and saw that it was indeed the case. However, they did not know whether it was true or not, and most of them looked suspicious, waiting for Liu Mazi to explain.
Liu Mazi calmly tapped the wake-up stick and said to Wensheng, "When did I call myself 'Liu Jingting'?"
"You want to cheat?" Wensheng's eyes widened, and he asked, "Didn't you sign up to be 'Liu Mazi'?"
Liu Mazi nodded and said seriously, "That's right. My last name is Liu and I have pockmarks on my face. People call me 'Liu Mazi'."
Standing up, Liu Mazi bowed to everyone and said, "I came from Jiangnan. Introducing myself by a nickname doesn't count as a scam, does it?"
Not only was Wensheng confused, but the audience was also confused. That's right, they had been saying "Liu Mazi" and not Liu Jingting.
Don't think that what you think is what you think. Zhu Youxiao pursed his lips and smiled.
He thought of the lines from crosstalk, as well as "Sprite" and "LeBi", "Six Walnuts" and "Big Walnut".
“You, you—” Vincent blinked and said with all his might, “Why do you use the same nickname as Mr. Liu instead of your real name? It’s clearly—”
In order to ride on the popularity, copy the name, and make the fake look real, Zhu Youxiao thought of several names for this guy, but he didn't know if they were appropriate.
"I won't change my given name or surname. I don't like the name my parents gave me, so it's just like a nickname."
Liu Mazi seemed to have made up his mind. He bowed again and said confidently, "So, I'll still be called 'Liu Mazi' even if I go to the ends of the earth. Even if Mr. Liu were to come to my face, there's no reason to force me to change my name, right? Unless he can heal me and remove the pockmarks on my face."
Haha, some people couldn't help laughing. Listening to a book has become like listening to a crosstalk.
More and more people are smiling, which is interesting. It will be even more fun to chat with people when I get home!
The other two scholars frowned, realizing it made no sense. Even if someone said he was called "Liu Jingting," if you were to argue, wouldn't you be allowed to use the same name?
"Let's go." The two students stood up and called their companions, not wanting to continue this useless entanglement.
Xia Yunyi was also helpless. He glared at Liu Mazi angrily and left the teahouse with his two companions.
Liu Mazi did not continue to speak ill of him, but showed his wisdom by knowing when to stop.
He bowed to the crowd and said, "Everyone, this name is indeed easy to be misunderstood. But I have also studied hard and practiced diligently, and I dare not use the name to deceive others. If you think my speech is not good, spend an extra penny of silver as a donation to me, so that you can have dumplings for the New Year. If you think it is okay, then let's continue."
"Go on, go on." someone shouted impatiently.
"Go on, go on, Wu Song and the tiger are getting impatient." Someone joked, causing a burst of laughter.
Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly, stood up and left.
Storytellers come from the lower class, and their plain and simple language performance style is more popular among ordinary people.
This seemed to be a means of promoting the court's policies and providing wise answers to the common people who had never been to school, were illiterate, and could not read newspapers.
After leaving the teahouse, Zhu Youxiao smiled and said to Lu Jianxing, "Still feeling unsatisfied, right? Come and listen more often in the future."
Lu Jianxing smiled awkwardly and said, "I think what Liu Mazi said is correct. He also explained the boxing techniques clearly. He must be a martial artist."
Zhu Youxiao glanced at Lu Jianxing, shook his head slightly, and said, "You understand the boxing theory, but you may not be able to fight well."
Lu Jianxing didn't quite understand, but he didn't dare to argue. He slowed down his pace and returned to the state of secret protection with his companions.
You don't know about Mr. Jin, the martial arts novelist. If you really go to fight him, you can beat ten of him.
Zhu Youxiao didn't believe that Liu Mazi was not only good at talking, but also a martial arts master. But to be able to speak so convincingly, he must have worked hard, or at least consulted with martial artists.
While walking, Zhu Youxiao suddenly saw two foreign missionaries walking out of the street, debating as they walked, which seemed to be about Copernicus and Tycho Brahe.
After observing carefully, Zhu Youxiao seemed to remember something and told Wang Tigan, "Isn't the mansion in the alley the one I gave to Xu Guangqi?"
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