Shore Flower

Hearing Lu Bingyuan's words, Zhou Sheng fell silent for a long while, a bitter taste rising in his heart.

Having studied Yin Opera for sixteen years, he naturally knew Lu Bingyuan was referring to the final aria in Li Ling Stele, where Yang Jiye died by crashing into a stele.

Yang Qilang had gone to seek reinforcements, only to be pierced through by ten thousand arrows from Pan Renmei. In despair, Old Master Yang finally dashed his head against a stone stele and died.

The young sheep died; the old sheep perished.

What Lu Bingyuan meant was that if Zhou Sheng failed to survive until graduation, Yu Zhensheng, who had guaranteed him with his life, would naturally have his life claimed by Ghosts and Gods as well.

"No wonder you are so certain that my Master will come out of retirement for my sake."

"Danshan, you figured everything out long ago, yet you chose to take the medicine and enter the hall to see me. Tell me, what are your plans?"

An ungraduated Ghost Opera Performer originally had no value as a partner, but now Lu Bingyuan had developed a great deal of interest in him.

At this, Zhou Sheng gathered his thoughts, and his gaze became bright and sharp.

"Master is old. His legs are inconvenient, and his skills are long since no match for what they once were. As his disciple, I truly cannot bear to see him run about and toil again."

A strange look surfaced in Lu Bingyuan's eyes. He shook his head and smiled. "So, you intend to help me yourself?"

In the end, he was just a hot-blooded youth. Though clever, he was far too naive.

"I know my current Dao cultivation is meager, nowhere near Duke Lu's standards, but..."

Zhou Sheng's voice rang like metal and stone, sonorous and forceful.

"One year. Please give me one year, Duke Lu. One year from now, I will not only graduate, but also grow strong enough to be of help to you!"

"You have such confidence in yourself?"

"Yes."

Zhou Sheng made no effort to conceal his confidence. That soaring self-assurance held both a young man's vigor and drive, as well as an indescribable steadiness and composure.

Lu Bingyuan looked into those youthful, vibrant eyes, and an involuntary smile appeared on his face.

But this time, there was no contempt in it. Instead, it seemed as though something had touched him.

"You truly are a... strange Ghost Opera Performer."

Over the years, Lu Bingyuan had seen countless Ghost Opera Performers. The most stunning among them was Yu Zhensheng, while the most unusual was the boy before him.

Every Ghost Opera Performer spent the time before graduation preparing for the Ghost Opera of the Ghost Festival. They lived each day beneath enormous pressure; even if their minds did not collapse, they became gloomy and oppressed.

Even those who survived graduation often remained shrouded in the shadow of death, their hearts tormented without respite.

In fact, some Ghost Opera Performers had taken their own lives.

Yet this boy possessed a confidence and brilliance that made people look twice. In all his years, it was the first time Lu Bingyuan had seen a Ghost Opera Performer with such... living vitality.

Naturally, Lu Bingyuan did not know that Zhou Sheng's confidence mainly came from the Luo Book.

As long as he could accumulate enough energy, he could have the Luo Book complete the Immortal's Cloud Mica Pill formula. When that happened, his cultivation would surely soar by leaps and bounds!

"Duke Lu, if you do not believe me, I can sign a contract—"

Lu Bingyuan shook his head. Just as Zhou Sheng was about to continue persuading him, Lu Bingyuan flicked a finger. Yin energy gathered into yellow paper and fell into Zhou Sheng's palm.

"A gentleman's word carries the weight of nine tripods. Why leave it written on paper?"

"Take a look at this."

Zhou Sheng fixed his eyes upon it, his brows twitching slightly.

Written upon the paper were lines of blood-script, but the signatures at the bottom were not Shen Jinhua's name. They belonged to the executioner and stagehand she had killed.

"Vengeful spirits of the living world, weeping blood, kowtow before the case of Earl of Manifested Protection Lu, City God of Yang City..."

The contents roughly stated that they had not intended to harm Shen Jinhua. The executioner said that, during the beheading scene in the execution-ground vow section of The Injustice to Dou E, he had smelled an unusual fragrance and become mentally dazed.

What he saw at the time was not Dou E as portrayed by Shen Jinhua, but a slab of pork upon a chopping block.

His wife and children had been urging him to hurry and chop the meat so they could cook.

Though he felt that something was not quite right, he could not withstand their urging and brought his blade down.

The stagehand's grievance petition likewise confirmed this.

The stagehand was named Wang Xuan. He had worked for the Yang City opera troupe for most of his life, and was known for being patient and responsible. He had never made a single mistake.

Before that performance of The Injustice to Dou E began, he had deliberately inspected everything three times. In the end, he had even stood guard backstage, afraid that someone from another troupe might sabotage the costumes and props before the show.

Later, when the fake blade became a real one and Shen Jinhua died tragically behind the stage, he blamed himself beyond measure. He kept thinking it over until he finally recalled that, while guarding backstage that day, he too seemed to have smelled some strange fragrance.

Afterward, he seemed to have fallen asleep for a moment.

That fragrance was extremely distinctive, as if he had never smelled it before. It was somewhat like lilies, yet lighter; after smelling it, one would become mentally dazed.

"So the key lies in this fragrance. Does Duke Lu have any leads?"

Lu Bingyuan's gaze turned cold as he enunciated three words, one by one.

"Shore Flower."

Zhou Sheng's heart jolted, and in an instant, he understood everything.

Yellow Springs Road, Ghost Gate Pass, Shore Flower.

It was a special flower that grew in the Underworld. It was said that Meng Po's Soup, which could make people forget their memories, was brewed from Shore Flowers.

The fragrance of the Shore Flower—upon careful thought, it was terrifying.

That meant the mastermind behind this was very likely... Ghosts and Gods from below?

He finally understood why even the City God of an entire region was so wary, plotting to draw his Master out of retirement to help.

Though the City God of Yang City was the underworld ruler of a region, compared to the colossal Underworld, he seemed insignificant by comparison.

And any being able to travel freely between the Underworld and the mortal realm, while daring to violate Underworld Law and harm the living, was surely no ordinary figure.

"What, did that frighten you?"

Lu Bingyuan asked with a smile.

Zhou Sheng shook his head, returned the blood-written yellow paper to him, and said calmly, "We merely know a direction now. We still cannot lock onto the target."

"One year from now, I will surely help Duke Lu thoroughly investigate this case!"

With the Luo Book in hand, as long as he accumulated enough energy, whether it was completing the medicinal formula to increase his strength or directly divining the mastermind's identity, neither would be difficult.

Thus, even knowing that the other party possessed a tremendous background and might be a Ghost or God of the Underworld, Zhou Sheng remained confident.

"What spirit!"

A trace of appreciation appeared in Lu Bingyuan's eyes. To him, Zhou Sheng did not look like a Ghost Opera Performer at that moment, but rather a true scholar.

Filial toward his Master, loyal to benevolence and righteousness, upright and incorruptible, unafraid of the powerful!

What a pity. If this boy became an official, perhaps he could bring blessings to countless people and leave his name fragrant in the annals of history.

The more Lu Bingyuan looked, the more he appreciated him. It was as if he saw the younger self who had just entered court as an official. Time had weathered all things, and people and circumstances had changed, yet in every generation, one could always see similar shadows.

"But if you wish to help me, you must first survive until graduation."

"Very well. Come with me."

Leaning on his cane, Lu Bingyuan walked outside. Zhou Sheng followed behind him, only to discover that once they left the City God Temple, they were no longer there, but had seemingly arrived in an unfamiliar land.

It was still Yang City, yet the scenery had become entirely different. No sun or moon could be seen overhead, and everything around them was hazy, as though shrouded in a thin mist.

Along the way, he could hear the cries of ghosts, as well as the rebukes and whips of underworld constables, yet he could see nothing.

Zhou Sheng knew this was not the Underworld, but a special region at the boundary between yin and yang in Yang City.

For the dead, perhaps this was the true Yang City.

"Danshan, stay close. Do not look around, and whatever you do, do not turn back."

Lu Bingyuan's voice sounded beside his ear. In the brief instant Zhou Sheng became distracted, Lu Bingyuan's figure had nearly vanished from sight.

Zhou Sheng hurriedly quickened his pace and followed after him.