"Is this... the actor who came down with Zhao Qigong just now?"
Mei Sijun watched the man hold his fingers in an orchid gesture and sing an eerie melody, blood streaming from all seven orifices. Only after some effort did he recognize him.
"Could he be possessed by a ghost..."
The sight really left Mei Sijun little choice but to wonder.
Just then, however, Qin Manjiang suddenly gave him a gentle tug.
"Wait. Take a step back and look again."
Mei Sijun stepped back with Qin Manjiang, and his eyes widened in shock. The actor who had been bleeding from all seven orifices and singing "Searching Mount Yin" in a strange tone abruptly vanished again!
The two took another step forward, and both the voice and the man reappeared!
"This is... scenery conjured through words, scenery moving with the performer-Changing Scenery with Each Step!"
Mei Sijun paled in shock.
Before Qin Manjiang could ask for details, he volunteered an explanation. "It's a technique used in theatrical performances. The stage isn't large, but it forms a world of its own. To make mountains look like mountains and rivers look like rivers, the performers have to convey them through their lyrics and movements, until the illusion seems real and every step brings a different scene. Shall we try taking another step forward?"
He suddenly turned to look at Qin Manjiang.
Qin Manjiang nodded. Mei Sijun was certainly the expert when it came to theater. If he said they should take another step forward and see, then that was what they would do.
They stepped forward together. All at once, another troupe member who had come down with the Troupe Leader appeared on the gravel path ahead!
Just like the first, he was bleeding from all seven orifices, eerily singing an excerpt from