Chapter 25 025 You're all too immersed in the role to know...
Yun Tianjiao was disguised by Zhiwei as a Taoist cultivator, with his hair tied up high, wearing a gray-blue Taoist robe, and holding a whisk in his hand.
"I'm already dressed up, what about you?" She twirled the whisk around a couple of times, finding it amusing.
This is where the convenience of the gods comes into play. Zhiwei only used a little of his divine power to change his appearance and become a ragged young man.
Yun Tianjiao couldn't help but laugh out loud, "You're not a vengeful ghost, you're clearly a beggar."
Zhiwei earnestly defended himself: "Before becoming a vengeful ghost, one could also be a beggar."
"Alright, the script is yours anyway, you decide." Yun Tianjiao didn't argue with him and asked again, "Now that our roles are decided, what will Wan Cai'er be playing?"
So Zhiwei told Yun Tianjiao the contents of the play.
The story is quite simple: a wealthy merchant took a fancy to a golden vajra and bought it. However, after purchasing the vajra, misfortunes began to befall the merchant's family. He then invited a Taoist priest to examine it and discovered that the vajra was tainted with something unclean.
The cultivator wanted to release the spirit attached to the vajra, but the spirit was extremely stubborn. No matter how much the cultivator tried and tormented it, it stubbornly clung to the vajra and refused to leave. Finally, the cultivator, enraged, suppressed and sealed the spirit and the vajra together in a dry well.
Wan Cai'er was to play the role of that wealthy businessman.
Yun Tianjiao asked curiously, "Why won't the ghost spirit leave the Vajra Pestle?"
Zhiwei, her hands adorned with silver finger cots, toyed with the vajra, a prop she held. Her raven-feather eyelashes drooped, concealing the emotions in her eyes. "Perhaps it's because the owner of that vajra is very important to this ghost."
"A lover? Or a relative?" Yun Tianjiao couldn't help but ask, but before Zhiwei could answer, he added, "I suppose it's nothing more than that. They can't be an enemy, can they?"
Zhiwei paused slightly in the vajra in her hand, and asked softly, "Does Your Highness find it cliché?"
"If it were a real event, it would certainly be something to sigh about. However, as a play, it's a bit outdated."
Zhiwei thought for a moment, then smiled and agreed: "Your Highness is right. All the plays in the world can be summed up in eight words."
Yun Tianjiao slightly raised his bright eyes: "Hmm? Which eight characters?"
"Driven by love, seeking revenge."
...
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), while in ordinary theaters one act after another is already taking the stage, this theater is quiet and still.
In an instant, the sound of the seal seemed to be released all at once, and the drums and gongs in front of the stage were deafening, and the applause was thunderous, as if the hall was already full of guests.
Zhiwei stood up and extended a hand to Yun Tianjiao: "Your Highness, it's time to go on stage."
There were steps leading straight up from the back of the stage. Yun Tianjiao followed Zhiwei out of the dressing room and walked directly up the steps.
In the first act, only the Taoist priest and the wealthy merchant appear. Zhiwei does not let go of Yun Tianjiao's hand until she leads him behind the curtain.
"Your Highness, please go. Remember, you must not break character."
Yun Tianjiao took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and flicked his whisk around the curtain.
A person was already standing in the center of the stage.
The man was dressed in a long, brightly colored robe and wore a turban, typical of a merchant.
Is this... the ghost of Wan Cai'er?
Yun Tianjiao took a quick look and felt that Wan Cai'er was very tall. He wondered if she had deliberately changed her figure to fit the role.
"Oh, Master Daoist, you've finally arrived!"
Upon seeing Yun Tianjiao, the man rushed over in a panic, bowing repeatedly to her.
Wan Cai'er... her acting was indeed very realistic.
Yun Tianjiao remembered Zhiwei's instructions and immediately got into character: "Master Wang, where do you think that monster is?"
"Daoist Master, please follow me!" The wealthy merchant led Yun Tianjiao across the stage in a very professional manner, then circled back to the center of the stage, pointing to a table that had been set up beforehand, "Right here!"
On the table, the vajra had been placed there by Zhiwei at some point.
The wealthy merchant said, "Ever since I bought this item, my wife and children have fallen ill, and my business has also started to go wrong."
Yun Tianjiao recited his lines according to the script given to him by Zhiwei: "Why does Master Wang believe that this is the reason for the unrest in his household?"
The wealthy merchant was extremely annoyed: "Alas, it was my greed for cheap things that led me to acquire this vajra from who-knows-where. It is said that not long after, his house caught fire, and his entire family perished in the flames, with no survivors!"
This item, like pure gold, survived a fire and was put up for sale by my relatives. Because the head of the family had died a violent death, many people considered it unlucky, so I bought it for a very low price. Little did I expect that it would actually bring bad luck!
Looking at the wealthy merchant's heartbroken expression with his two small mustaches, Yun Tianjiao couldn't bear to look at him, even though the thought of the whining female ghost behind him made him feel a little uncomfortable.
She then lowered her eyes, feigning profundity.
"In that case, let me take a look."
"Please, Taoist priest!" The wealthy merchant quickly stepped aside.
Following the example Zhiwei had taught her, Yun Tianjiao quickly learned and practiced several hand seals, then proceeded to demonstrate them on the vajra on the table.
"Huh! I knew it! Something's fishy!"
She came to a conclusion.
The wealthy businessman suddenly knelt down and begged, "Taoist Master, save me! Save my family!"
Yun Tianjiao stretched out his arm and flicked his whisk, "Everyone, step back!"
Wan Cai'er was extremely dedicated, playing a wealthy merchant who crawled backwards to the edge of the stage.
Yun Tianjiao flicked his whisk east and west, unleashing a powerful spell while shouting, "You wicked creature! Reveal your true form!"
The vajra on the table actually shone with a brilliant golden light.
Zhiwei stepped out from there.
He glanced coldly at the wealthy merchant kneeling in the corner, then looked indifferently at the Taoist practitioner.
Yun Tianjiao had never seen Zhiwei look at him like that before. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and said, "You wicked child, why have you done evil?"
"Doing evil?" The ragged beggar sneered. "This vajra is mine. They want to take it from me, can't I fight back?"
The wealthy merchant immediately retorted, "Nonsense! I clearly bought this vajra with my own money! How can you say it was stolen?"
Perhaps to adapt to the role, Yun Tianjiao felt that Zhiwei's appearance was much younger and more immature than usual, looking at most fifteen or sixteen years old, pale and thin.
But those eyes were bright, without the tenderness of peach blossoms, like a lone, brave wolf in a snowy night.
"No matter what happened to you in your life, you are dead now. A dead person cannot linger in the mortal world. I will send you away. Go to the ghost realm as soon as possible, cross the Bridge of Helplessness, drink the Meng Po soup, and be reincarnated." Yun Tianjiao's tone was still kind as he raised his whisk to perform the ritual of deliverance.
However, the little beggar was ungrateful and clung tightly to the light of the vajra, refusing to leave even an inch!
"You wicked child! How stubborn you are!" Yun Tianjiao, the cultivator he was playing, shouted angrily and quickened his hand seals.
The vajra shone even brighter, dazzling like the sun. The beggar ghost spirit bled from its seven orifices, its expression one of agony. Finally, it could no longer stand and knelt down, but its pale hands still gripped the vajra tightly.
Yun Tianjiao then noticed that Zhiwei's right hand, which was originally covered by finger cots, had lost half of its fingers, leaving them bloody and mangled, as if they had been smashed to pieces by something.
Zhiwei...
Although she knew it was all an act, she still couldn't bear to see Zhiwei in such a miserable state. Her heart ached as if it were being stabbed, and she couldn't breathe.
Almost instinctively, I was about to rush over and hug her, but I saw Zhiwei gently shake her head almost imperceptibly.
Suddenly awakened, he realized that if he broke character, Wan Cai'er might lash out.
So he had no choice but to continue, abandoning distractions and focusing intently.
"You wretched creature, still won't leave?! Still won't let go?!" The cultivator she was playing raised her voice and increased her oppressive aura.
"This vajra is mine. Even if I die, I will not let go..." The little beggar coughed up blood, and the hand holding the vajra was also injured by the cultivator's magic, bleeding profusely.
At this point, the wealthy merchant chimed in, hiding behind the Taoist: "You were a beggar in your past life, weren't you? How could you possess such a precious treasure? In my opinion, this vajra is not yours at all! You stole it!"
The little beggar, delirious, gritted his teeth and uttered each word slowly and deliberately: "It's mine, this vajra is mine, it was given to me by someone..."
The cultivator pointed his whisk at the little beggar: "Let go! If you don't let go, I'll make sure your soul is scattered!"
The wealthy businessman asked, "Then tell me, who gave you this vajra?"
The little beggar sneered, "You don't deserve to know."
Blood dripped from between his pearly white teeth, running down the corner of his lips and across his pale, thin jaw.
His bloodshot eyes gazed coldly at the world.
"None of you... deserve to know..."
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