Lord Bao Judges Ghosts

On the stage, an eerie wind swirled, and the candlelight flickered, illuminating a series of terrified faces.

Yet, it cast no shadow of her.

Accompanied by strings that sounded like tearing silk, she finally opened her lips, her singing style completely transformed.

"The sun and moon rise and set—"

Her voice now held an indescribable ethereal quality, echoing long after it faded from the stage.

"But cannot illuminate—the eyes of a lonely ghost!"

Her voice suddenly sharpened, like an iron thorn piercing her throat. At the same time, tears of blood began to stream from her eyes.

Most horrifying was the line, "How can I send the vast azure sky, the deep yellow springs, to find naught," as she sang this, a creaking sound, like a tightened noose, emanated from her neck, revealing a deep bloody gash that continued to bleed.

But even so, she continued to sing, her original white robes gradually becoming stained with blood.

Her figure flickered, her feet moving without any discernible steps, like a wisp of smoke drifting across the stage.

There was a unique skill in opera called Ghost Steps, where performers imitate the gait of the deceased or demons. It required the upper body to remain steady while the feet seemed to have no roots, with the rhythm fluctuating between fast and slow, advancing and retreating.

Masterful performers of Ghost Steps usually gave the illusion that their bodies were hovering half an inch off the ground, as if flying.

However, at this moment, even the most skilled performers would feel ashamed seeing this display of Ghost Steps.

Everyone on stage knew clearly that even the living Shen Jinhua could not perform Ghost Steps like this.

The Qingyi on stage was undoubtedly possessed by Shen Jinhua's vengeful spirit!

They wanted to flee, but an invisible, cold yin energy surged into their bodies like snow in June, stiffening them and rendering them immobile.

"Sister Jin... we, we really don't know who killed you..."

"Sister Jin, you always took such good care of me, how could I harm you..."

"Please don't kill me, I have old parents and young children!"

All they could do now was beg desperately.

The female ghost stared intently at everyone with her pitch-black eyes, as if scrutinizing each face. Her water sleeves rose without wind, and she spoke in an operatic tone.

"It wasn't you gentlemen—it wasn't you gentlemen—"

Her voice gradually became strange and chilling.

"Then who was it?"

"Was it that faithless lover? That gossiping woman? That cold-hearted official?"

With each question, bloodstains seeped from the silk flowers at her temples, and the blood in her dark eyes grew more intense.

"The wronged have their heads—the wronged have their heads, alas, I sang of Dou E, yet lost my head~~"

"If there is still no answer—"

Her voice suddenly fell silent, then her eyes turned crimson, and her voice became piercingly shrill, hurting people's eardrums.

"Do not blame this concubine... for borrowing the souls of everyone present—"

"To, ask, them, one, by, one!"

The last six words dripped blood with each syllable, and bloodstains even seeped from the stage's support beams, as if returning to that day of fake play turning real, of dying with a severed head.

But just then, at the 'Exit General' curtain on the side of the stage, a figure suddenly emerged, striding with urgent steps, moving with the power of a dragon and the bearing of a tiger, majestic and imposing.

"Halt! What resentful spirit dares to disturb the court!"

His voice boomed like thunder from the heavens. Instantly, the eerie wind ceased, and the ghostly aura receded. Everyone felt their bodies lighten, regaining their ability to move.

Zhou Sheng, portraying Lord Bao, finally made his grand entrance.

He wore a black gauze cap, a black python robe, a jade belt at his waist, official boots on his feet, and held a jade tablet. His face was dark, with a silver moon marking on his brow, exuding solemn authority.

Especially the silver moon on his forehead, which seemed to bloom with radiant light in the night, as if bestowing a halo upon him.

The bloodstain in the female ghost's eyes instantly faded considerably, and she stared blankly at Lord Bao.

Zhou Sheng's appearance on stage instantly subdued the vengeful spirit, and a brief calm fell over the scene.

He continued his majestic stride towards the stage, walking past the female ghost without even glancing at her.

Only after sitting on a chair did he slightly raise his eyes, gaze at the female ghost, and quietly utter a single word.

"Kneel."

The weight of that one word was like Mount Tai, as if an invisible divine power forced the female ghost's knees to slowly bend until she finally knelt down.

Crack!

The gavel struck the table.

"Shen Jinhua, you claim there is nowhere to seek justice, yet do you not see this official's three executioner's swords? Have you not heard of Bian Prefecture's Kai—feng—Fu!"

The last three words were sung by Zhou Sheng in a rising, powerful melody, with full voice and force, like a rushing thunderbolt. The righteous and awe-inspiring aura surged forth within this song.

The flickering candlelight around them instantly straightened, transforming into the brilliant light of the sun and the pure white of the heavens!

At this moment, the female ghost finally seemed to believe that the person before her was the legendary Lord Bao, Bao Qingtian, the Prefect of Kaifeng, who could bring justice to the spirits!

Her chest full of grievances seemed to find an outlet, and she immediately slammed her head against the ground, blood and tears flowing.

"Reporting to Bao Qingtian, this commoner Shen Jinhua, has never offended anyone, yet I was framed on the stage and died with my head severed. My death was truly unjust, even more so than Dou E's!"

"I beg the esteemed Lord Bao to uphold justice for this commoner!!"

At this moment, beneath the painted face of Lord Bao, Zhou Sheng's heart finally felt a slight relief.

She believed it, so half the play was already a success.

The so-called "singing ghost opera" was an ancient and mysterious profession. When a ghost opera singer performed on stage, through the characters they portrayed, they would enter a state similar to divine possession.

Playing different roles allowed them to wield different abilities.

For example, the Lord Bao he was currently portraying could intimidate ghosts, especially those who died unjustly, who would often actively seek him out to avenge themselves.

But this did not mean he could act with impunity.

Singing ghost opera also came with terrible dangers.

If any flaw was exposed on stage and recognized by ghosts or gods, they would instantly perish without a burial place.

Of course, if one played fierce characters like Guan Gong or Zhong Kui, highly skilled ghost opera singers could even forcibly slay evil spirits and demons.

However, although Zhou Sheng had studied ghost opera under his master for sixteen full years, he had not yet fully graduated and his skills were still shallow.

Therefore, he had been waiting backstage for the female ghost to appear, to observe her strength before deciding whether to go on stage.

Her malevolent energy was not small; she could already be considered a fierce ghost.

Fortunately, for ghosts who died unjustly, the Lord Bao opera held an extraordinary attraction. The female ghost was initially somewhat suspicious, but in the end, she knelt down.

This kneel was more than half the battle; the next step was to conclude it.

"Shen Jinhua, tell me your grievances, your suffering, your hatred—"

"From, beginning, to, end!"

Zhou Sheng drew out his tones here, like a surging river, and the last four words were like jade shattering on Kunlun Mountain, their echoes lingering, reverberating.

The seasoned actors on stage at this moment, hearing this singing, could not help but marvel inwardly.

What a naturally gifted voice, blessed by the Grandmaster!

"This commoner does not know who harmed me, but the executioner and the stagehands were not the real culprits. Furthermore..."

The female ghost seemed to recall something, and the blood-red color in her eyes deepened again.

"After this commoner was buried, someone stole the head from my coffin!"

Hearing this, Zhou Sheng's mind flashed.

No wonder Shen Jinhua's malevolent energy was so strong. Dying unjustly with a severed head was one thing, but to have her head stolen after burial...

Wait, her head was stolen?

Zhou Sheng was shocked, and a terrifying guess surfaced.

The purpose of the true culprit behind Shen Jinhua's death, who replaced the fake knife with a real one, might not have been simply to kill her, but rather...

The other party had been targeting Shen Jinhua's head from the beginning!

To 'borrow' her head.

And to be able to quietly take away her head after her unjust death, leaving a fierce ghost with no one to seek revenge from, showed that the other party was by no means ordinary.

This case was very deep. Zhou Sheng's eyes flickered, and he had already made up his mind.

Although he sympathized with the female ghost, the only thing he could do at this moment was to resolve the immediate trouble and fulfill his master's instructions.

He was no longer a novice ghost opera singer. He had witnessed the cunning and ruthlessness of ghosts. His master had repeatedly told him that many excellent ghost opera singers had met tragic ends due to moments of soft-heartedness and sympathy.

For thousands of years, successive generations of ghost opera singers had adhered to two major principles.

First, do not break character. Second, do not fail to break character.

"Murder deserves a life for a life, and head theft is an additional offense, punishable by entry into the eighteen levels of hell to suffer tortures such as skinning, tongue-pulling, and mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

Zhou Sheng first passed judgment righteously, continuing to gain the female ghost's trust, then took out a small black jar and pointed at it.

"This Prefecture will summon Yin Division ghosts and gods to apprehend the true culprit. Shen Jinhua, enter this urn for now to suppress your grievances. Once the true culprit is captured, this Prefecture will ensure you personally exact your bloody revenge and uphold your injustice!"

Shen Jinhua suddenly looked up, a hint of excitement in her eyes, but also a trace of hesitation.

She slowly rose and drifted forward, gradually approaching the small black jar.

Hesitantly, she glanced up at the crescent moon on Bao Gong's forehead.

It was perfectly positioned, bright and upright.

"What, you don't trust this Prefecture?"

His gaze was sharp as lightning, making it difficult for her to look directly at him.

Her blood-red pupils lowered, a flicker of struggle flashed, and finally, she nodded with difficulty, her soul beginning to slowly withdraw from the physical body she possessed.

Luring the wolf into the sheepfold!