The Grand Performance Begins

The sky was overcast.

Before sunrise, the mountain valleys were shrouded in a layer of gray-blue mist.

A cold wind swept through Daliangzi Village mountain gully, and the lingering stench of corpses carried by the wind across the high hill at the mountain pass.

The gates of the dilapidated houses on the hilltop were tightly shut.

Red cloth was hung around the stage that had been set up in front of the courtyard gate.

The red ribbons danced in the wind, adding a touch of poignant beauty.

Inside the small courtyard.

Chang Dafeng washed his face with water, then walked to the clothesline in the yard. He tested the clothes hanging on the line with his hand, then smiled and said, "Let's get rid of the dampness. They'll all be dry by noon."

Ding Ling came out of the house at this moment and casually greeted Chang Dafeng, "Master, are the costumes all dry?"

"Almost done." Chang Dafeng peeked out from behind a theatrical costume, his smile unchanged. "We can put it on this afternoon without delay."

"Once dusk falls, it's the perfect time to start the play."

In the past few days, the troupe leader has been unusually enthusiastic and excited.

He seemed to have been waiting specifically for this good show after dusk.

After Ding Ling returned to the opera troupe with Chang Dafeng, she spent two or three days learning all the important arias of "Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister". She also secretly practiced "Wujia Slope" with Zhou Yang.

Compared to the former, the opera-style song "Wujia Slope" is actually much easier to practice.

"There are three costumes here, one of us playing Zhong Kui and the other playing Zhong Mei?"

Looking at the colorful clothes, Ding Ling blinked and asked Chang Dafeng a question.

"Zhong Kui Chang Dafeng said with a smile. "The remaining costume is for his attendants."

Ding Ling remained calm and pressed on, "But shouldn't Zhong Kui's henchmen be clowns like ghosts, gods, or monsters?"

"The costume you showed off has a flag, a padded jacket... It's clearly the attire of a military general playing a painted-face role."

"His costume is embroidered with pythons; he must be a military general of considerable rank."

"Now that it's just the two of us, we can't really set up such a formal ceremony."

"This is the only military costume left in the box, so we'll just have to make do with it!" Chang Dafeng said. "Sometimes, the meaning is enough; you don't have to be perfect in every detail."

"That's true." Ding Ling finally nodded, but then she asked, "But right now it's just the two of us, so who are you going to dress up in this third costume?"

Chang Dafeng answered fluently, "I made a straw man."

"Then we'll just put this costume on the straw man."

"My Averting God will possess that straw man, making it your follower and protector!"

"The troupe leader's idea is indeed very thorough!" Ding Ling exclaimed in admiration.

Chang Dafeng responded with a broad smile.

The old man and the young man exchanged a glance; there was something they both understood without saying a word.

Although they will be performing together on the same stage tonight, they will each have their own methods.

"Zhong Kui Marries Off His Sister" is just the surface of the evening's performance; both actors have another play to perform inside.

Ding Ling turned and went into the woodshed to cook all the meals for the day.

By the time she brought the salted porridge out of the woodshed, Chang Dafeng had already opened the courtyard gate.

"Master, your bowl of porridge is on the stove, come and get it yourself," Ding Ling said to Chang Dafeng, holding a steaming bowl of thick porridge.

Although the large bowl is thick, it does not insulate against heat.

But Ding Ling held the large bowl of porridge without feeling that it was too hot.

Her seemingly slender hands were already covered in calluses.

With these layers of cocoon providing insulation, a bowl of porridge wouldn't burn her.

After being greeted by the class teacher, Ding Ling prepared to go inside for dinner.

There was a stench emanating from outside, making people feel nauseous and unable to eat comfortably outside.

In contrast, the interior was much better.

He got up from a large stone millstone, led Ding Ling outside the courtyard, pointed to the red-painted stage, and said, "When the show starts at night, I'll have Averting God be your follower and go to the stage with you."

"After you finish singing ' Pink Butterfly,' establish your identity as Zhong Kui and make the Opera Communion with Spirits."

"After that, I came to the courtyard and disguised myself as Zhong Mei, waiting for you in the main room."

"We sang a duet once, and then you led me out the door, down the hill, and straight to the riverbank we'd visited a couple of days ago—"

"If everything goes smoothly, once we reach the bridge over the river, the view on the other side should be visible."

"Let's just run away."

"Have you memorized this charter?"

Ding Ling had heard Chang Dafeng explain this procedure several times every day when he was learning opera, and he already knew it by heart.

Even when she made a mistake, Zhou Yang would remind her.

But she listened attentively to Chang Dafeng's words and nodded, saying, "I've memorized them all."

"Good."

Chang Dafeng nodded and said, "Tonight, those dead people in Daliangzi Village who are tainted by Ghost Rhyme will surely come to the stage to watch the play under the influence of the Ghost Rhyme."

"When the gongs and drums sound to signal the start of the performance, the dead from the village will gradually gather here."

"You have to hold on, don't let that Ghost Rhyme overwhelm you and make you forget what you're supposed to be acting or singing!"

"Is the Opera Ghost mixed in with those corpses too?" Ding Ling asked.

"Yes..." Chang Dafeng's expression turned serious. "That's why I need you to memorize this play perfectly, without making a single mistake—then, you can only rely on the Opera Communion with Spirits power to captivate it."

"If it gets completely absorbed in the play, we'll have a way out."

"I'll sing the opera a few more times later," Ding Ling replied.

The sun set, and darkness gradually fell.

Lanterns were lit on the hilltop, turning the night sky a warm red.

The red ribbons tied to the stage pillars added a touch of liveliness to the otherwise silent night.

The sound of gongs and drums from behind the curtain drifted into the night, echoing throughout every household in Daliangzi Village.

"Dong dong qiang, dong dong qiang, dong qiang dong qiang dong dong qiang!"

The rhythmic sound of the gongs and drums was like a secret code.

Those who heard the sound of gongs and drums naturally understood the code and gathered from all directions.

Zhou Yang and Ding Ling hid behind the curtain.

He watched as Ding Ling, dressed as Zhong Kui again, sat on a bench, banging gongs and drums.

The rhythm of the gongs and drums was surprisingly similar to the gongs and drums used by those amateur opera troupes I heard as a child before their performances.

The performers used gongs and drums to remind the villagers that a grand opera was about to begin, urging them to come and gather their support.

Not far from Ding Ling, the straw figure, adorned with a flag and fully armored, stood frozen.

A chilling, bone-chilling aura emanated from the straw figure.

A piece of yellow paper was pasted on the face of the straw figure.

Chang Dafeng also thoughtfully used a brush to draw a set of facial features—eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—on the yellow paper.

This straw figure was inhabited by Chang Dafeng's Gate of Rest Averting God: Da Le.

"Sir, are you bored?"

If you're bored, let's talk.

As Ding Ling banged on the gong and drum, he whispered to Zhou Yang in his heart.

Zhou Yang replied, "It's not boring."

"What time is it now? Focus on your work."

"I know what I'm doing, sir," Ding Ling said with a sly smile. "Sir, you still haven't told me where you live?"

I've asked you several times, but you haven't told me.

Hearing her question, Zhou Yang paused for a moment before saying, "This time you'll be able to escape alive and leave this ghost village."

I'll tell you where I live.

"Great!" Ding Ling responded enthusiastically.

She wanted to speak to Zhou Yang again, but a cold wind suddenly stirred the curtain in front of her.

An even stronger stench of corpses wafted on the wind!

Ding Ling froze.

Through her eyes, Zhou Yang saw that outside the curtain, which had been blown open by the wind, three or four people carrying stools walked over to the front of the stage.

They stopped in front of the stage, arranged their benches, and sat in a row.

Of the four, the tallest was also extremely overweight and obese.

Sticky hair clung to a purulent, greenish liquid, and two dark, gaping eyes peered behind the curtain— Zhou Yang nearly made eye contact with it.

Fortunately, before Zhou Yang could look away, it turned its head and smiled as it spoke to the long-haired woman beside it.

It grinned, and its mouth stretched all the way to its ears.

Greenish-purple fluid dripped from his mouth.

The woman beside it nodded frequently in response to the tall man's words.

Every time he nods even slightly too much, his head droops downwards, and the woman has to hold it up with her hand.

The two children beside the woman could no longer contain their nature. While their parents were talking, they got off their seats and started chasing each other in the open space in front of the stage.

Children love to play, but they are also often forgetful.

They would occasionally lose a leg or a hand, and then have to stop and reattach their hands and feet.

As the family of four secured their seats in front of the stage, villagers followed one after another, bringing their own families and stools to the stage.

This play gradually gained popularity.

The villagers sat around the stage, laughing and joking with each other.

But they only made playful movements and didn't make any noise.

The villagers' playful antics, combined with the exceptionally cold and desolate air, made the place seem all the more eerie and terrifying.

The stench of corpses permeated the air, almost solidifying into a tangible form.

Being trapped here is already a nightmare.