Who Are You?

Everyone present was profoundly shocked by the scene before them!

The elderly man in opera costume stood before the nearly abandoned teahouse. The vigor carved into his features by time could not be erased. His words were like a thunderclap, making everyone's scalps tingle. Just a sentence or two, yet they stirred the soul, and the shock they carried lingered for a long while!

The streamer's camera was still aimed at Qiao Xiang as his words fell.

The entire chat exploded:

"Holy shit, who exactly is this old man? Those two lines alone gave me chills!"

"Same here, I broke out in goosebumps instantly!"

"Well said! Let beggars hear it, let nobles hear it, let ordinary people hear it, let these vast lands and this flourishing age hear it!"

"Even though I don't know much about Peking Opera culture, those two lines from this old gentleman have made me deeply interested in it!"

"I remember this teahouse was supposed to be renovated. Why is there an old man in opera costume here? What's going on?"

Watching the viewer count in his livestream surge wildly, the streamer immediately realized that this old man was his benefactor—the key to traffic!

At the same time, the old man's words had filled him with excitement, and the shock in his heart was difficult to calm.

In recent years, masters of Peking Opera culture with such charm and bearing had become fewer and fewer.

Su Chen, who stood not far away, was also deeply moved by Old Mr. Qiao's words.

As expected of a master of Peking Opera. The moment he spoke, everyone was shaken.

At that moment,

the three short men who had just arrived appeared and said in their clumsy Chinese, thoroughly out of place:

"Ridiculous! You Dragon Country people just love this kind of empty pomp. Peking Opera culture should have been eliminated long ago. Look at the movie theaters around here, packed with people—that is where culture is truly spread! For backward, ignored culture like this, the fact that investors from Japan are willing to help you renovate it is your honor and your opportunity!

As long as you agree, we can immediately build a Dragon Country–Japan cooperative shopping mall. You performers will all become shareholders in our mall! And the cinema we open next door will let you watch movies for free for life. How about it?

In our view, the disappearance of your Peking Opera culture has become an inevitable trend in Dragon Country!

Not only are there fewer and fewer people listening to it, but there are also fewer and fewer people performing it, aren't there?"

The three spoke to Qiao Xiang with smiles on their faces, especially that final sentence, whose provocative intent was obvious!

After running into walls twice in their attempts to acquire the place, they had torn off their false masks and could no longer be bothered to claim that they appreciated Peking Opera culture.

They directly began flaunting the value they could bring.

They intended to acquire the teahouse with the most practical price and bargaining chips!

They had even brought several Dragon Country people carrying briefcases, apparently hired specifically to negotiate the acquisition.

The sudden appearance of the three Japanese men drew furious glares from everyone!

Old Mr. Qiao's words still lingered in everyone's hearts, yet these three short men had jumped out to say they wanted to buy the teahouse?

Their condescending, contemptuous, provocative attitude made everyone extremely displeased!

"Empty pomp?"

Qiao Xiang frowned slightly, and his opera costume seemed to tremble with him!

His gaze locked tightly onto the three Japanese men, as if blazing fire surged within it. An imposing aura seeped from his frail, trembling body!

He spoke:

A man who knows nothing of Peking Opera dares to speak so arrogantly?

Peking Opera is not merely a simple art form.

More importantly, it carries on the spirit of Huaxia!

Its beauty lies not in the opera, not in the performers, and even less in this costume!

It lies in the fact that it is a microcosm of Huaxia Culture!

The Peking Opera of our Dragon Country bears the legacy of five thousand years of history. Before us, our forebears united the realm and spread the prestige of Huaxia;

The Peking Opera of our Dragon Country has seen countless brave heroes and loyal martyrs emerge. As the mountains and rivers wavered, amid national humiliation and bitter hatred, Huaxia still had successors;

The Peking Opera of our Dragon Country also bears the legacy of an operatic soul that distinguishes good from evil, loyalty from treachery, recounts a thousand years of success and failure, and reverently tells of the rise and fall of the land!!

Does your so-called cinema possess that?"

When his words fell, they struck the ground with resounding force!

The entire scene seemed to fall into dead silence. Those stirring words seemed to clutch every person's heart.

Old Mr. Qiao's stooped body seemed to straighten slightly at that moment!

He cast his eyes toward the three short men and spoke with absolute certainty:

How can the culture of a nation be measured with money?

The aspirations passed down by countless forebears—what can you use to buy them? Can you afford five thousand years of history!?

What right does a nation that does not even dare acknowledge its own history have to judge the culture of our Dragon Country?"

Old Mr. Qiao's words were profoundly stirring, like a deep-water bomb exploding in an instant. Everyone present seemed to have been drawn into his words. Even those unfamiliar with Peking Opera felt an incomparable sense of closeness toward it now. This Peking Opera that had witnessed the rise and fall of history, good and evil, loyalty and treachery, wavering mountains and rivers, and an age of prosperity—it was as though they had witnessed it with their own eyes!

The first to recover were the viewers in the livestream, who had been stunned through the broadcast.

As Old Mr. Qiao's words fell, the livestream's audience had already surpassed one hundred thousand, rising into the ranks of trending streams!

Those powerful words, seemingly representing Dragon Country's Peking Opera culture, directly ignited their blood!

"Our Peking Opera culture carries on the aspirations of our forebears and guides those who come after! Just as Huaxia had ancients before us and will have successors after us!"

"Through wavering mountains and rivers, this flourishing age is as the martyrs wished. I am willing to learn about our Peking Opera culture!"

"I've honestly never listened to Peking Opera, and I had zero interest in it before this. But after hearing what this old gentleman said, I'm freaking fired up! It would be amazing if we could hear him personally sing a Peking Opera piece!"

"Who exactly is this old man? He got me so worked up I'm crying! He's setting the record straight for Peking Opera and for the spirit of Huaxia!"

"Damn it, this is national heritage culture! This is Dragon Country culture!"

Su Chen was also deeply shocked by Old Mr. Qiao's words. They built step by step and struck straight into the heart.

Throughout it all, there was a light in the old man's eyes, as though scenes from the past were appearing before him. It felt as if he had personally experienced the scattering and decline of Huaxia Culture, the turmoil of the land, and then the flourishing age of song that stood before them now!

"You!"

The three men from Japan were rendered speechless by those words, their eyes wide.

Their faces turned red with frustration, yet they could not utter a single rebuttal. The words "a nation that does not even dare face its own history" had deeply pierced their hearts~

Embarrassed beyond measure and faced with the furious glares of everyone around them, they still looked at Qiao Xiang with resentment and asked:

"Who are you!?"

That vengeful question tugged at the emotions of everyone at the scene.

Thanks to sect master Zhenxiang~Ya for the 1666 reward!

Thank you all for the recommendation votes, monthly votes, and rewards!

One more chapter coming!

Let me recommend a friend's book:

Bringing Breakfast Every Day, Yet She Says She's a Cold School Belle?