Drama Cultivator

Under Li Banfeng's interrogation, the actor sent away all the ghosts in the room and began to recount that past.

"Actually, back then, I didn't want to marry Hong Ying, but Zhao Xiaowan. I told the Emperor about it and even asked him to act as the Emperor, but Zhao Xiaowan refused."

Li Banfeng asked, "What is your identity?"

The actor raised his hand and pointed around. "With this courtyard and the furnishings in my house, can't you tell who I am?"

Li Banfeng shook his head and said, "I can't tell."

"I am a prince! Prince Chun!" The actor raised his voice, "You should know what a prince's status is."

Although he didn't study history in college, Li Banfeng had some idea of what a prince was. "You're a prince, and Zhao Xiaowan is a general who started as an actress. You want to marry her? Does she dare to refuse?"

The actor smiled wryly, "It depends on the situation. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't dare refuse. I could even kidnap her and take her to the Prince's mansion. I wouldn't even need to give her a title; I could just take her in."

But that wouldn't work then. There was a war going on, and Zhao Xiaowan winning battle after battle. The Emperor couldn't do without her, so this matter really needed to be discussed with her properly.

In the end, no agreement was reached, but the Emperor gave me a way out by betrothing Hong Ying to me.

Hong Ying comes from a respectable military family, which is somewhat inferior to my social status, but far superior to Zhao Xiaowan's.

Although I was unhappy, Hong Ying was an absolute beauty, and more importantly, she was willing to be with me, so I accepted the marriage.

Li Banfeng nodded and said, "Since she's willing and you're willing, then it's settled."

"It didn't work out," Prince Chun shook his head. "At that time Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying had won many battles. The Emperor some reason, His Zhao Xiaowan Swift Cavalry General and Hong Ying as Recruit General."

They no longer needed to fight; Wave-Subduing General Cong Shixiang was sent to the front lines to take over military command.

One day, the Emperor held a banquet and summoned all the civil and military officials. Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying also went along.

At the banquet, the Emperor ordered Zhao Xiaowan opera. She was dressed in a helmet and makeup, and gave a very proper performance!

Li Banfeng frowned and said, "She's already Swift Cavalry General, why should she still be allowed to perform?"

Prince Chun looked Li Banfeng up and down, then smacked his lips and said, "Your thinking is the same as Zhao Xiaowan's. She also feels that as a general, she shouldn't put on an act in front of the court officials."

This is a bit embarrassing, but it's the Emperor's word, his golden decree! Who dares to utter a single word of dissent?

Zhao Xiaowan actually said no, which enraged the Emperor, who immediately ordered Zhao Xiaowan to be locked up and thrown into prison.

Hong Ying pleaded for Zhao Xiaowan, the Emperor ordered her to be locked up and imprisoned as well. From that point on, the marriage was off.

Li Banfeng wasn't concerned about the marriage; what he cared about was the emperor's opinion. "Just because of something as trivial as opera, two generals have become prisoners?"

Prince Chun was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "To be honest, it wasn't just about the opera. When the Ministry of War received the Tidings Report that the front lines had suffered a defeat, I didn't know exactly how. I only heard the Minister of War secretly cursing that Cong Shixiang was a complete incompetent fool."

The Emperor was probably in a bad mood at the time, Zhao Xiaowan happened to be the one who provoked him, defying his will and thus suffering the consequences!

"Nonsense!" Li Banfeng shook his head. "If they can't win the war, why bother eliminating those who know how to fight? Has this emperor gone mad?"

Prince Chun sighed deeply, "I also felt that this matter was unreasonable, but after thinking about it afterwards, I understood His the Emperor's thoughts."

Those who are good at fighting are disobedient, while those who are obedient are not good at fighting. The Emperor may be using this incident to warn his ministers against becoming arrogant and complacent.

These two generals suffered terribly in prison. It's said they didn't even get a proper meal, enduring hunger and cold, and were also beaten quite a bit.

Later, I heard from people in the Ministry of Justice that the Emperor wanted to kill these two people, and not only kill them, but make their death miserable.

You can do whatever you want with your own generals, but the enemy forces on the Demon Realm really don't respect the Emperor. They're losing every battle on the front lines, and they're almost at the Capital City.

For the sake of the Great Huan's empire and its people, His the Emperor had no choice but to put aside past grievances...

Li Banfeng waved his hand and said, "Don't bring up the country and the people, it has nothing to do with this."

Prince Chun pursed his lips and said, "In short, His the Emperor has released Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying. Hong Ying has been reinstated to her original position as Recruit General, while Zhao Xiaowan has only been appointed as a Captain."

The Emperor ordered the two of them to go to the front lines with Cong Shixiang.

Although Zhao Xiaowan was only a captain, Hong Ying listened to her every word, especially regarding matters of war. The two were closer than sisters.

Despite being worn down to skin and bones, Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying remained formidable warriors on the battlefield, winning victory after victory. The entire court was overjoyed, and the sisters' story spread throughout the Capital City.

Especially Zhao Xiaowan, her reputation was immense. Storytellers, opera singers, street vendors, performers, even fortune tellers on the street, would all mention Zhao Xiaowan's achievements before opening their shops to attract customers.

Li Banfeng looked Prince Chun up and down. "You're living the life of a prince with a real down-to-earth attitude! You even know about fortune telling and street performances?"

Prince Chun laughed and said, "I like this. When I have nothing to do, I dress in plain clothes and stroll around the Capital City. I just enjoy watching what's happening among the common people..."

Li Banfeng pressed his palm down and said, "Let's not talk about you yet, let's talk about Zhao Xiaowan first. What happened after the victory?"

Prince Chun sighed and said, "That's all. The two sisters won one victory after another, and the war situation was very favorable. Tidings Report came from the front lines that the enemy leaders were surrounded."

They were just one step away from a resounding victory, but who would have thought that these two sisters would start fighting!

To this day, I still don't know why they started fighting, and I can't understand why they hit so hard.

Zhao Xiaowan died at Hong Ying's hands. Hong Ying was seriously injured and passed away a few days later.

Li Banfeng asked in surprise, "You don't know why they started fighting?"

"I don't know," Prince Chun shook his head. "I didn't go to war, how would I know?"

"And then?"

"Later, we won the battle. I don't know how we won, but I heard that the Emperor summoned reinforcements. I don't know which reinforcements came from. We fought for several months, but anyway, we won."

After the victory, the Emperor summoned all his civil and military officials and held a three-day grand banquet in the palace.

I remember those three days; the Emperor was exceptionally happy. He toasted us cup after cup, and the ministers drank cup after cup. I myself don't even know how much wine I drank.

I was drunk, drunk for who knows how long. When I woke up, I found that my house was no longer in the same place, and the people under my command were no longer the same either.

They're no longer alive. They told me so, and so am I. They told me the area outside is called Pro State, and this place is called Carefree Plains. They said we can go anywhere from here, but we can't go anywhere.

I said the road is right under our feet, let's go out and take a look.

They advised me not to go out, saying that once I left Carefree Plains, everyone who saw us would beat us to death.

All these years have passed, and I've stayed in this place. I have nothing else to do, so I sing opera every day for my men.

They listened day after day, year after year, initially agreeing with me and pretending to enjoy it.

Eventually, they grew tired of hearing it and didn't want to listen anymore. Even whipping them wouldn't make them listen.

They wouldn't listen to me, so they found someone else. There used to be a pedestrian crossing where people would stop and rest, but at night I would sing opera for them.

Later, no one came by all year round. My men told me that this area had become Old Land, and it would be difficult to encounter a living person again.

For a full ten years, you've been the only living people to come here. That girl peed in my yard, it's really nothing serious.

I deliberately made things difficult for you so I could keep you here and listen to me sing some opera.

I love singing opera, but how painful it would be if I sang and no one listened.

"You just want us to stay and watch the opera?" Li Banfeng laughed. "Do you want us to stay for a day, a year, or a lifetime?"

Prince Chun was quite frank. "I really wanted to keep you all alive for life, but you are too ruthless, and it's not easy to keep you. If I fight with you for a couple more days, I'm afraid I won't have many men left under my command."

Now that we've talked things out, and I've given you what you wanted—this record..."

Li Banfeng pulled the record out from behind his back and handed it to Prince Chun.

Prince Chun held the record, rubbing it in his hands for a long time. "General Zhao, I truly admire you. You say you're handsome, but I haven't really paid attention to that. What I truly admire is your beautiful voice."

Every time I hear you sing a line, I feel like all my spiritual practice in this life has been wasted.

Li Banfeng asked, "There's something I won't force you to say if you don't want to: What sect do you belong to?"

Prince Chun put away the record and said, "I shouldn't be telling you this, but I haven't spoken this much in many years, and it feels good to say it now."

I am a practitioner of opera, not just someone who loves listening to and singing opera. I have genuine cultivation; the skills I used to impersonate that mother and daughter were based on my true cultivation.

But this is the first time I've seen this mother and daughter, so there are bound to be some oversights in the details.

Let me tell you this: if I pretended to be someone I knew, I guarantee even his own wife wouldn't recognize me.

Li Banfeng sneered, "Keep bragging!"

Prince Chun slammed his hand on the table and said, "How can this be boasting? When you first recognized me, you must have realized I wasn't from the mortal realm."

The second time we met, I disguised myself as that girl's mother. Be honest, you didn't notice anything amiss at first glance, did you?

Li Banfeng nodded. He had to admit that, judging from appearances, Li Banfeng hadn't noticed anything amiss at the time.

Prince Chun said with great pride, "Let me tell you, not only can you not tell from the outside, but you can't tell from the inside either."

"How do you see inside?" Li Banfeng curiously.

"As long as our sect's cultivation level is high enough, no matter what disease a person has, what injury they suffer from, what poison they are poisoned by, or what medicine they take, we can make them look exactly the same!"

Li Banfeng lowered his eyes and said, "Isn't that a bit too eerie?"

"Why would I lie to you? You haven't seen the masters of my sect. They can even perfectly imitate Bloodline Seed. Top-tier cultivators and Medicine Cultivator were all fooled by him!"

Are Bloodline Seed exactly the same?

Li Banfeng was skeptical. Could there really be such an evil technique in the world?

At Yuezhou Third Hospital, Xiao Zhengong is inquiring about He Jiaqing's condition.

The attending physician's reply was the same as before: the patient's vital signs were stable, but he/she could not move around easily.

Xiao Zhengong dismissed the caregiver, sat down in front of He Jiaqing's hospital bed, and sneered, "How the hell are you pretending? In such a big hospital, you can't even tell that you're faking illness?"

What are you doing Outer State? Are you really here for me?

Things are tense these days, so I can't easily touch you. But remember this: as long as you 'Outer State, your life is in my hands!

PS: Who is lying in bed?