Chapter 197 A Creative Performance
Of course, as a gala, "Chasing the Sun and Observing the Sky" is only the highlight. The PR department and the provincial troupe had signed a contract for an entire gala.
It was getting dark and the sky was dotted with stars.
It was a hot night, and many people from nearby villages and even from the city came to watch.
Lao Xiao prepared five rows of VIP seats. He stood there to welcome guests. When important guests came, he instructed the customer service staff to guide them to sit in the front row.
Mr. Chen sat in the front row with several invited Taoists. Company executives, some employees, and invited guests who hadn't left the hotel also took their seats.
…
At seven o'clock, all the lights went out. Only the sky was filled with stars and a crescent moon.
A spotlight shone towards the east of the stage. In the circle of light, two people wearing the same Taoist robes walked slowly up to the viewing platform.
The whole place was silent. I walked toward the center of the stage. Shiyu stood in the dark, outside the spotlights. A resounding baritone voice rang out, cutting through the valley:
"Observing the sky is a Taoist activity, and observing the sky is a Taoist study. Hong Hui, the third-generation descendant of Taoist Master Hong Yuan, will demonstrate to you tonight: the Taoist daily art of observing the sky.
A clear female soprano sang: "The Art of Observing the Sky by Chasing the Sun" will kick off the entire evening party tonight.
Under the spotlight, I sat cross-legged on a mat, holding a book, surrounded by darkness.
The light chased me away and moved to the left, and what came into view was a wooden pole standing upright. At this moment, the light chased me off, and a slanting light came from behind.
Shi Yu Nian: A sun is rising.
Picture: The wooden pole casts a long shadow on the ground.
Shi Yu Nian: The sun keeps getting higher.
Picture: The shadow keeps shrinking, getting shorter inch by inch.
Shi Yu Nian: The sun is at its zenith.
Screen: Shadow disappears.
Voice-over: This is the instrument used to measure time in ancient my country, called a "sundial".
Three girls dressed in pure white clothes appeared and danced around the "sundial", as if they were measuring the length of the shadow, or calculating the time.
Sometimes they chase, sometimes they stand still, sometimes they dance gracefully, and sometimes they run wild.
After the dance, the spotlight hit me again.
I stood up from the mat, took three steps forward, placed one hand on my forehead, and looked up at the starry sky. Then, I quickly walked around the stage and shouted, "Heaven asks, what is time?"
Shiyu and the other three women answered in unison, "The shadow cast by sunlight on the sundial."
"Heaven asks, what is cloudy and sunny?"
Shiyu and the other three girls answered in unison: "Towards the sun and in the shade."
"Heaven asks, what is the meaning of roundness and crescent?"
Shiyu and the three women answered in unison: "The moon waxes and wanes."
"Heaven asks, what is meant by a gap?"
Shiyu and the other three girls answered in unison: "Time flies like an arrow, the days and months pass like a shuttle."
I stretched out my hand, as if embracing the moon, and sang: "Time flies like an arrow, the sun and the moon shuttle back and forth, the mechanism is infinite, the waxing and waning is ever-present. Thinking of the immensity of the universe, I am alone and sorrowful, asking questions to the heavens."
Voice-over: Taoists determine time by observing the sky, determine yin and yang by examining the time, and determine gains and losses by the fullness and crescent of the sky. What we just saw was "Heavenly Questions". Next, we will see the oldest Taoist technique - alchemy.
All lights went out.
The spotlight shone on the center of the stage, creating a fiery scene that grew increasingly intense, emitting crimson flames. Strangely, a tripod hung suspended above the flames.
Another spotlight shone on Shiyu and me. We came to the tripod and added wood to the fire while reciting.
Shi Yu Nian: One Yang. Heaven gives birth to water.
I read: Yellow bud. Earth two produces fire.
Shiyu read: Millet. The third day produces wood.
I read: Dantou. Earth four produces gold.
Shi Yu Nian: Live at midnight. Heaven five produces earth.
I read: Second Marquis. Six parts of the earth are water.
…
The voice-over sounded: This is how the ancient alchemists made elixirs.
The sound stopped, and the stage lights brightened. It turned out that the flame was merely red silk being blown by a fan, and the tripod suspended in the air was simply held by the hands of the three women.
The tripod slowly fell from their hands back to the ground, and they gathered around it and performed a kind of "witch dance."
The "Wu Wu" is performed with almost no clothes, wearing only a tube top with half of the breasts exposed, shorts underneath, and a few drooping silk jackets with sequins hanging around the waist.
They were extremely charming and seductive. They were demons who wanted to seduce the Taoist priest. The Taoist priest sat beside the cauldron, concentrating on refining the elixir, and was unmoved.
Those shameless cameras and mobile phones were raised one after another. They were not interested in refining the elixir, they just wanted to take pictures of their red panties.
Then the lights dimmed and the stage was empty.
This darkness is long enough.
Just when people were about to lose their patience, the lights gradually brightened.
People saw me sitting in the middle of the stage,
Bare-chested.
The lights came on full force and people screamed simultaneously.
When they saw me, I was sitting on a cushion surrounded by snakes.
Voice-over: Dragons and snakes rise from the continent, heaven and earth hide spiritual energy, red elixir is refined for a thousand years, and the blue origin is opened for ten thousand years.
I stood up, and the snakes beside the mat didn't stir. There were at least twenty or thirty of them.
Three women formed a circle in the center of the stage, representing the sun.
I held a bow and arrow and aimed at them.
There were screams from the audience.
I slowly raised the bow higher and higher.
The lights were all dimmed.
The chasing light hits the bow and arrow.
I pulled hard, released it, and the arrow shot into the sky.
Suddenly, countless fireworks burst into the sky, and people realized that they were launched from behind the scenes.
Bloom, bloom, one, two, three... countless flowers.
A male baritone rang out: "Friends, the Taoist art of observing the sun and the sky will be a signature feature of our Taiyi Temple. It is the first of its kind in the country and is unique."
A soprano voice sounded: To express our gratitude, we have prepared a celebratory drink. There is a snake on the stage. We will invite five friends, provided that you are brave enough and you have an unopened bottle of mineral water in your hand.
A baritone voice sounded: Taoist Master Honghui will bring you a surprise.
There was a commotion in the audience, after all, there was a snake lying on the stage.
Finally, five people finally bravely walked onto the stage.
Jiang Yiwei and three other girls were carrying trays with disposable cups on them.
I opened one bottle, two, three, four, and five.
Start pouring water into the cup.
People don't know what the surprise is.
The host came forward and said: Please drink some champagne.
The five of them drank and their eyes widened.
Jiang Yiwei and the other girls walked downstairs with trays, offering champagne to the front row guests. Some of them realized it was champagne, while others realized it was baijiu.
The baritone voice said: The sun-watching performance has come to an end. Now please continue to enjoy the singing, dancing, sketches and acrobatics.
The second show began.
Yifan ran backstage to find me and said, "Mr. Lan called. Can we still talk tonight?"
I shuddered. If Yifan hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. Why did I agree to this yesterday? I clearly have something to do tonight.
I thought for a moment and said, "Tan, tell him to come to the room at 9:30."
I told Captain Gu that I had something important to attend to and would thank them properly another day. Then I went to the front row and whispered a few words to Mr. Chen. He nodded.
After getting in the car, Yifan was a little surprised: "You're so tired, and you're still talking?"
"Yifan, this is my fault. I was in a hurry and should have agreed to discuss it the night after tomorrow. But, this is our first business deal, so we have to discuss it."
After a while, my phone kept beeping. I picked it up and saw that the "Zhu Ri" group was very lively and Team Leader Gu was sending photos she took.
The three women kept exclaiming, liking, and commenting in the group chat. Although the photos of each person were not very clear, the silhouettes under the lighting were particularly beautiful.
As I was watching, Zuo Qingfen sent me a private message:
"Teacher Wan, why are you so busy? You always say you have something to do."
I replied: "In order to make a living, I have to run around."
"For living? You earn over a million yuan a year, and you say it's for living. How can you be so embarrassed to ask us to make only a few thousand yuan a month?"
Three "sad" symbols in a row.
Yifan said, “We’re here.”
I replied: "I have to work, let's talk next time."
I went upstairs and checked the time: nine twenty.
Just wash your face, boil a pot, and wait for the first night talker.
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