Chapter 34: Gathering the Old Shadows Bagel on the Eve of the Moon Festival
The skeleton wearing a top hat on the stage was still holding the microphone and singing, the hoarse and old-fashioned voice gurgled out of the speakers. The tone of the music sounded a bit like "Hotel California", quite bourgeois.
Ye Wan pulled You An over to the gloomy-looking bartender, who was pouring a bluish-gray liquor into a goblet. A layer of strange, suspicious dust and debris floated on top. "What would you two like to drink?"
Ye Wan carefully glanced at the glass of wine, then took two steps back. "I don't think I'll need it. I'm allergic to alcohol. I came here... uh, I heard you used to be in the Undead Dance Troupe?"
The bartender in vampire costume glanced at her, then nodded sadly and went back to fiddling with his ice.
"Well, we met the old troupe leader, Hans, a few days ago. I have great respect and sympathy for his situation. I thought maybe we could reunite the troupe during the Shadow Moon Festival and attract everyone to come and see it?"
The bartender looked up immediately after hearing this and gave her a serious look for a moment. "Oh... I'm not sure if this is a good idea. I've only been in touch with Leo, the pianist. Perhaps you could go find him? He lives in a small hotel in District B of the Royal Capital."
He was about to say something else when the performance on the stage interrupted him. The singing skeleton stood up, took the microphone and said, "Next is the puppet theater. Let us warmly welcome the dwarfs' short play, 'Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma Wolf'."
Ye Wan whispered to You An: "How can we perform such a fairytale-style theater..."
Then a gloomy-faced dwarf, wearing Little Red Riding Hood's cloak and carrying a large iron saw, walked onto the stage from the back, while a dwarf in front dressed as a gray wolf ran wildly on the stage in fear.
"Eh..." Ye Wan frowned in disdain. "Leo doesn't have much taste. I don't think this place is fun. Let's go, Youan."
The bartender wrote the address on a small piece of paper and put it in her hand. His face looked old and anxious. "Oh... I'm old and can't ride a horse anymore, but I hope I can be of some help. After all, old Captain Hans is such a good man!"
Ye Wan solemnly took the note and said, "Don't worry, we will."
Coming out of the Tomb of the Xue Bar, Ye Wan and You An looked at the double broom leaning against the side. "There's no skytrain now, and there's nothing else blocking the way nearby. Let's try this broom again."
The two men circled the broom in the cemetery, as if performing some mysterious ritual, and then they sat on the broom with a solemn look, and the broom moved.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The broom shot straight up into the sky like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins.
Then it flew away quickly towards the royal capital.
The next day, Ye Wan went to Leo's shop to buy bread with dark circles under her eyes. Leo took out a few fresh bagels from the oven and handed them to her: "What did you say last night?"
"But it's so boring. First there's a skeleton singing old songs on the stage, and then there's some puppet theater with an ugly dwarf playing Little Red Riding Hood. What on earth is he supposed to be playing Little Red Riding Hood?"
Leo burst into laughter. It was rare for him to laugh so cheerfully. "The wine there is good. I go there occasionally, but I don't pay attention to what programs are on the stage."
Ye Wan's stomach was churning from the torture of the broom. He just held a few bagels and walked back with weak steps.
Youan was in good spirits, and he even had the energy to fix the squeaking door lock.
Ye Wan put down a few bagels. The meat sauce in the pot had already started to bubble. The minced meat was rolling in the tomato soup, and the aroma of osmanthus fragrans and red wine was steaming up.
Ye Wan added some diced mushrooms and stirred the tomato soup continuously with a spoon, allowing it to turn into a sticky meat sauce until the sauce was thick enough to cling to the side of the spoon.
The crispy bagel was cut open in the middle, revealing the neat, honeycomb-shaped interior. Ye Wan used a spoon to spread a thick layer of meat sauce and a layer of lava fried egg sprinkled with black pepper.
She felt that the meat sauce was not enough, so she took half a smoked sausage left over from making pasta, cut it into slices and stuffed it in.
I bought this sausage from an orc at the market. He said it was made from hunted red pigs. After being roasted until slightly charred, the meat was very juicy and you could taste the graininess of the meat in every bite.
The sweet and sour taste of tomato sauce, the rich and juicy sausage, the smoothness of runny eggs, and the freshness of mushrooms are all wrapped in the bagel.
Ye Wan was very hungry, so he ate a large piece of meat and a bottle of milk, then wiped his hands and said, "Okay, before the guests arrive, let's go to the small hotel and look for the pianist of the Undead Song and Dance Troupe."
The pianist's inn was located at the end of an alley on the 52nd Street in the royal capital, next to a fortune-telling shop. A gypsy girl wrapped in a shining cloak sat at the door and glared at them.
You An walked forward without changing his expression. Ye Wan couldn't stand the look in his eyes, so he leaned his back against the stone wall and slowly moved in.
The small hotel was filled with the dull smell of incense, and the windows were tightly sealed with dark green velvet curtains. Ye Wan wiped the sweat off his face and pressed the reception bell at the front desk.
A young waiter with unsteady steps and skin as pale as milk came over. Ye Wan noticed that his eyes were a strange red.
"Are you two staying at the hotel?" The waiter at this hotel was quite polite.
"Oh no, no, no, I'm here to look for someone." Ye Wan looked down at the note: "I'm here to look for the pianist Leo."
The waiter nodded. "That guy often plays the piano upstairs, and he gets a lot of complaints from customers."
He turned and went upstairs, then quickly returned: "Mr. Leo is not seen, you can leave now."
"Wait!" Ye Wan shouted, "Tell me one more time that I'm asking him to help reorganize the Undead Song and Dance Troupe!"
The waiter's stiff face rarely showed a hint of surprise: "I'll go ask." He disappeared into the dark staircase again.
"Leo agrees to see you." The waiter led them through a narrow corridor and knocked on a dilapidated wooden door.
"Come in." A hoarse voice came from inside.
Ye Wan turned the brass handle on the door.
It was a clean little room with an exquisite Persian carpet on the floor. An old man in a burgundy robe and glasses was sitting at the piano, writing music. He looked quite gentle and elegant.
Ye Wan noticed that there were some obvious burns on his arms.
"Hello, Mr. Leo. The bartender at the Tombxue Bar gave us your address yesterday. I ran into the old leader, Hans, at Golden Goose Park. I have great respect for his deeds. I also hope to reorganize the Undead Song and Dance Troupe to increase the popularity of Honey Alley."
Leo poured each of them a cup of hot black tea, then lowered his head in thought for a moment, and then said, "Wait a moment."
He went out.
Only Ye Wan and You An were left sitting on the sofa in the room. Ye Wan was a little restless, while You An crossed his legs and drank black tea elegantly.
"Can you say something?" she asked.
"What did I say?" Youan asked back.
"For example, I could persuade them or something, otherwise it would seem like I'm just performing a one-man show." Ye Wan said.
Youan was silent for a moment: "If they turn into zombies and come back to attack you, I can protect you."
"How is that possible?" she complained, and then drank the warm black tea.
The door opened again, and Leo walked in with a large group of people. Each of their faces was pale or pale.
Ye Wan spat out a mouthful of black tea, and then shrank behind You An: "You are such a badass."
Youan reached for his sling sword from his waist.
Leo hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Oh, don't misunderstand me, they are not bad people. Most of the guests in this small inn are from the previous Undead Song and Dance Troupe. They are not zombies, but the Shadow Clan if you must say."
According to legend, the Shadow Clan lived in cemeteries or rough, damp caves. They were a cursed race and no one liked them except their leader, Hans, who gathered them all into the Undead Song and Dance Troupe.
"This is really touching." Ye Wan comforted the tearful Leo dryly.
"I can't believe that there are still people willing to invite us to participate in the Shadow Moon Festival. I mean..." Leo pointed to the scar on his hand, his face darkening: "Everyone dislikes us."
"I've already thought about this!" Ye Wan said cheerfully, "On the night of the Shadow Moon Festival, I plan to require all the audience to wear all kinds of strange costumes, so that your scars won't look weird."
That night, Leo brought all his men who were willing to participate in the Carnival of the Dead to the tavern in Honey Lane.
"We're still in the early stages of preparation. The venue is in the small square behind Honey Alley. We'll use various vines and dead trees to build a stage, and the moonlight vine will be the perfect lighting."
Leo said, "Our troupe also has some props, such as the Netherworld Fire that can float around."
"That's fantastic!"
Ye Wan continued to arrange the singing and dancing troupe. Those Shadow Clan members had extremely high musical talents and were very adept at using harps, guitars, pianos and the like.
Dorothy was responsible for the candies that night, Grandma Katya and Leo were responsible for baking various kinds of bread of the dead, Penny helped everyone sew strange costumes, and Ye Wan and Youan were responsible for the supply of all the alcohol and snacks.
"Maybe we can invite other merchants to join us and open a market in the square. I remember the Dwarf Association also has a performance troupe." Emma said.
"This sounds very interesting. This will make the Carnival of the Dead more colorful." Ye Wan said.
"But I don't know how to invite those merchants. I don't know them. Maybe I can just go to the market and recruit them?"
Everyone looked at Ye Wan in shock.
Ye Wan looked at you, then at him: "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"
Dorothy was surprised: "You've been here for so long, haven't you been to the Merchants Association?"
"Merchant Association? What's that?"
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