Chapter 65: Longchang Opera Garden
“It happened in the middle of the night!” Inside the room, Sha Lifei wore a bitter expression as he explained. “I heard a noise and woke up to find Wang Daoxuan on the ground beside the bed. No matter how we called him, he wouldn’t wake up. I thought he had suddenly come down with some illness, so I hurriedly brought people to fetch the village physician.
“The physician couldn’t make heads or tails of it either. In the end, one of the Wan Family’s old carpenters sensed something was wrong and immediately sent someone back into the city to invite Senior Wan over. Only then did we learn he had been ambushed by someone who also used mystic arts.”
As he listened to Sha Lifei’s account, Li Yan’s face turned ice-cold. On the bed opposite them, Wang Daoxuan’s teeth and fists were clenched tightly, every muscle in his body taut. Twelve oil lamps burned in the positions of the twelve earthly branches around him.
Shopkeeper Wan stood nearby with a solemn expression, holding half a bowl of clear water in his left hand and three chopsticks in his right while muttering incantations under his breath. Then he picked up one chopstick and tapped Wang Daoxuan’s forehead three times before dipping it in the water and trying to stand it upright in the center of the bowl.
Clack!
The chopstick failed to stand and fell to the floor. Shopkeeper Wan narrowed his eyes and continued the ritual. Li Yan recognized the ritual. It was called a popular folk ritual known as grave measuring, known colloquially as standing chopsticks. Wang Daoxuan had once explained it to him as a form of divination.
Clack! Clack!
As the remaining two chopsticks also fell over, Shopkeeper Wan finally sighed and shook his head. “There’s no response at all. His soul has been seized.”
As he spoke, he looked toward Wang Daoxuan on the bed. “Fortunately, Daoist Wang was clever. Realizing something was wrong, he used a technique to seal his inner temple before his soul completely left his body. Otherwise, something else might already have possessed him.”
Li Yan said in a deep voice, “Senior, do you know who did this?”
“That much I do know.” Shopkeeper Wan snorted coldly. “The one responsible is called Chen Fakui, a disciple of the Nine Essence Sect from Mount Li. Somehow he’s been hiding in Xianyang and secretly associating with the White Ape Gang. The one using evil arts to force a breakthrough was him!
“Yesterday, when I arrived at the City God Temple, Daoist Qing Yangzi, the temple master, was furious. But in order to uncover the mastermind behind everything, he chose not to make a big commotion. Instead, he and the others lay in ambush at Menggu Village.
“Sure enough, someone showed up at midnight. After capturing and interrogating them, we discovered they were White Ape Gang thugs. Following the trail, we learned that Zhou Peide of the Zhou family and Yuan Qu had been working together to assist Chen Fakui.
“That very night, the White Ape Gang was surrounded and exterminated by troops of the imperial court. Daoist Qing personally set up an altar and summoned spirit soldiers for a night patrol, but they still failed to locate Chen Fakui.
“Zhou Peide has already been thrown into prison. According to his confession, Chen Fakui’s ritual was intended to lure Brother Li out of the village and ambush him.”
Sha Lifei cursed angrily, “The Zhou family really does fight dirty!”
“The Zhou Family is finished.” Shopkeeper Wan shook his head. “Using evil arts to steal fortune and force a breakthrough violates the taboos of the mystic path. The Nine Essence Sect’s lineage will send people to clean house, and the Enforcement Hall of the Taixuan Orthodox Sect will also take action. Chen Fakui is as good as dead.
“As for the Zhou family, once something like this happens, Minister Lu, the Left Minister backing them, will immediately cut ties. Monkey Zhou may not have participated directly, but without a stronger backer in the imperial court, the family’s collapse is only a matter of time.”
“We can deal with the Zhou family later.” Li Yan’s voice was low and steady. “The urgent matter is saving Daoist Wang. Senior, do you have a way?”
Shopkeeper Wan shook his head. “To imprison a living soul, one must use a spiritual artifact such as a Wandering Soul Jar. We first need to find that object. If Chen Fakui destroys the jar, Daoist Wang’s soul will scatter completely.”
The moment Sha Lifei heard this, panic flooded his face. “The Wandering Soul Jar is in Chen Fakui’s hands, and nobody knows where that bastard’s hiding. Even the City God Temple can’t find him. What do we do now?”
“No need to panic. There’s still another way.” Shopkeeper Wan continued, “There are many strange talents hidden within Xianyang. There’s a martial clown actor named Wu Laosi in the Longsheng Opera Troupe. Though inconspicuous within the troupe, he’s actually a practitioner of the mystic path who has opened his Intent Root and is highly skilled in traversing the nether.
“When he was younger, something happened to him. He gave up and stopped helping people cross into the underworld, concealing his identity within the opera troupe instead. But he owes me a favor. I’ll write him a letter and ask him to help. He may not be able to summon Daoist Wang’s living soul, but he should at least be able to determine its approximate location. With Brother Li’s divine ability, you should then be able to find the man.
“Remember this well, when dealing with disciples of the Nine Essence Sect, never act at night. And one more thing. I can use a secret method to preserve Fellow Daoist Wang’s body, but his living soul must be retrieved within seven days. Otherwise, it will be too late.”
***
The Longsheng Opera Troupe was the most famous opera troupe in all of Xianyang. Unlike the wandering countryside troupes that erected temporary stages from village to village, the Longsheng Opera Troupe had existed for over a century and performed year-round at Longsheng Garden near the city’s Confucian Temple.
The people of the Guanzhong Plains loved opera, and tickets were often impossible to obtain.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Before the performance had even begun, a servant at the theater entrance was already striking a gong. One curious bystander glanced at the signboard outside and noticed it was completely blank.
“Hey, what play’s being performed today?”
“Yeah, why isn’t there even a title?”
There was no shortage of idle rich folk in Xianyang, and a crowd had already gathered outside.
The servant shouted loudly, “Today, Troupe Master Luo is in high spirits! He’ll be performing The Drunken Beating of the Demon Ape for three consecutive days, and admission is completely free!”
The moment those words were spoken, dissatisfaction immediately spread through the crowd.
A chubby young noble shook his head. “Forget it. Everyone knows The Drunken Beating of the Demon Ape is Troupe Master Luo’s self written play. The last time it was performed, the White Ape Gang even blocked the entrance and caused a huge scene.”
“What, now that the Zhou family’s fallen on hard times, he wants to stage it again?”
“Tell Troupe Master Luo to cool off. We want to watch Stealing the Immortal Herb or Resentment in the Deep Palace. Young Lady Lu just became famous recently. If she wants to become a true star performer, she’ll need our support.”
“Exactly! We don’t want to watch monkey-beating!”
The servant clasped his hands apologetically. “Please forgive us, everyone. You all know Troupe Master Luo’s temper. If he’s unhappy, he might just shut down the theater entirely.”
The crowd immediately grumbled about their bad luck. If one were to speak of the greatest opera fanatic in Xianyang, it would undoubtedly be Troupe Master Luo Shihai. His ancestors had once been high-ranking officials at court. After returning home, the family became powerful local gentry. Several streets in Xianyang belonged to them, and with their vast fertile lands, future generations could spend extravagantly forever without running out of money.
As for Luo Shihai himself, he had been exceptionally talented in literature since his youth. He had even earned the title of a scholar. Yet he had no interest in the court. Instead, he loved martial arts and eventually became the head of the Eight Trigram Sect in Xianyang.
One could say he was born blessed and was lacking nothing in life. Everything was perfect for him, except for one thing. He was obsessed with opera. Most people who loved opera merely spent their days in theaters listening to performances. He went a step further and bought an opera troupe.
As for the origins of The Drunken Beating of the Demon Ape, many people knew the story.
Luo Shihai had once groomed a favored lead actress, hoping she would make a name for herself in Chang’an and compete against the great theaters there. Yet because of a member of the Zhou Family, she had eventually hanged herself.
The incident had caused an enormous uproar back then. Even Luo Shihai, normally someone uninvolved in jianghu affairs, had nearly fought to the death over it. In the end, mediators stepped in, and the matter was settled through a duel between him and Zhou Pan.
Though Luo Shihai possessed exceptional talent and had become the head of the Eight Trigram Sect in Xianyang, he still fell somewhat short compared to Zhou Pan, who risked his life clawing his way upward.
After losing, Luo Shihai remained bitter and wrote The Drunken Beating of the Demon Ape. The entire play consisted almost entirely of insults and beatings, a pure venting of rage. Naturally, the audience had little interest in watching it.
But seeing the servant’s firm attitude, they had no choice but to disperse.
These wealthy young masters had plenty of ways to entertain themselves and didn’t care about free tickets. The poor, however, treasured such opportunities dearly. The moment they heard Longsheng Opera Garden was offering free admission, people flooded in from every direction.
Li Yan and Sha Lifei squeezed their way through the crowd as well. Li Yan naturally hadn’t come to watch the opera.
Walking up beside the servant, he cupped his fists and said in a deep voice, “May I ask if Senior Wu Laosi, the martial clown of your troupe, is present?”
“Oh?” The servant glanced at the Guanshan blade hanging at Li Yan’s waist, then studied his face before suddenly recalling something. His expression immediately became serious, and he made a strange hand gesture with both hands.
“So it’s Brother Li. Have you come to pass the card (pay respects), or are you merely walking the docks (looking around casually)?”
It turned out the servant was also a member of the Liu Sect.
Li Yan replied calmly, “Brother, there’s no need to be nervous. I came with a letter of introduction from a senior, asking Senior Wu for assistance.”
As he spoke, he handed over the letter in his hand.
Wu Laosi?
The martial clown in the troupe was known for being so taciturn that even three blows with a stick couldn’t force a fart out of him. How had he become connected to a bladesman like Li Yan?
“Please wait a moment, Brother Li.” Though puzzled, the servant still took the letter and hurried inside. Before long, he quickly returned. “Brother Li, please head in first. The play’s about to begin. Wu Laosi said he’ll come find you after the performance.”
Li Yan nodded and entered the opera garden with Sha Lifei. “Very well. Many thanks.”
The servant watched them disappear inside and frowned. “No good. That kid’s trouble wherever he goes. I had better inform the troupe master before something goes wrong.”
With that, he hurriedly turned and left.
