Chapter 4 - 4 4 Fangxiang

4: Chapter 4 Fangxiang 4: Chapter 4 Fangxiang “I’m not doing well!” Zhou Xuan answered truthfully. Zhou Lingyi nodded and said, “Then I’ll ask again in a few days!” Not even asking why I’m not well, is our sibling relationship this indifferent? Not even a pretense of concern? Zhou Xuan had his grievances with his sister, but there were many things he couldn’t say outright. Although the two were biological siblings, since his return to life, they had not met often. Zhou Lingyi had only proactively visited Zhou Xuan two or three times, without much conversation, only leaving behind some prescribed decoctions and a few perfunctory words like “take care of your health.” It seemed that the original owner of the body didn’t get along too well with his sister. Uh… Not surprising, Given the personality shown in the original owner’s diaries, social relationships couldn’t be good. Moreover, through the brief interaction these two or three times, Zhou Xuan sensed that the members of the Zhou Family’s Troupe were particularly cautious around Zhou Lingyi. This sister, only in her early twenties, mysteriously exuded a strong presence, so that when the five older classmates stood with her in any setting, they were overawed, unable to lift their heads. Aside from her intense aura, Zhou Lingyi carried herself with a brisk and confident manner. At this moment, she was dressed in a white blouse, a black vest, black trousers, and a silver serpent earring dangled from her right ear, which, combined with her delicate and handsome features, made Zhou Xuan suspect that his speed of finding a girlfriend would definitely not match up to his sister’s pace of finding girlfriends. Zhou Lingyi changed the subject and asked Zhou Xuan, “What are you doing here at Luoying Hall?” Afraid that Zhou Lingyi would blame Zhou Xuan, Xu Li hastily and nervously explained the situation: “Class Leader, a sudden business came in, I’m not good at writing, so I asked Xuanzi to help me.” Zhou Lingyi showed understanding and said, “Good, the younger brother has grown up, it’s appropriate for him to help out the family.” After speaking, she left with her umbrella. She had only walked a few steps when she turned around and said to Xu Li, “Sister-in-law, a few days ago, did Zhou Xuan hit Second Older Classmate?” “Yes, that happened, the Second Older Classmate was also at fault, Lao Yu has already scolded him…” “Don’t make excuses for my brother, always coddling him, when will he grow up? Once you’re done with your work, go to my cashier and withdraw one thousand yuan for the Second Older Classmate as an apology.” After compensating a large sum of money, Zhou Lingyi finally showed some emotion, giving Zhou Xuan a sharp glance, but she didn’t say much else. Without any blame, without any scolding, not even a sarcastic remark to spare, she simply walked away. However, Xu Li’s mentality had subtly changed. With a tone of slight resentment, she said to Zhou Xuan, “Xuanzi, the Second Older Classmate got punched and kicked by you and picked up a thousand yuan for it, why don’t you beat me up too? Even with a whip, I won’t mind the pain, your sister-in-law wants to earn as well!” Don’t be like this, Sister-in-law, please don’t be like this, I am a decent person, how could I casually resort to the little whip? “Sister-in-law, I’m a gentleman, gentlemen use their mouths and not their fists, moreover, without a buildup of anger or impulse, how can I just hit someone?” “But that’s a thousand yuan,” Xu Li sighed at the thought of a thousand yuan. In Ping Shui Prefecture, dockworkers on a good month could earn just over three hundred yuan, and on a bad month, they couldn’t even make one hundred and fifty. The oldest classmate, being part of Zhou Family’s Troupe’s management, naturally didn’t earn as little as the dockworkers, but a thousand yuan was still a substantial amount. “Next time you have bottled-up anger, make sure to let your sister-in-law help you vent it out, let me earn the money, and I’ll treat you to a movie.” Zhou Xuan: “…” … The decor and furnishings of Luoying Hall were quite simple. The floors were paved with bluestone tiles, and in the center of the hall, there were two pots of oleander halfway to a person’s height, flanking a tall, double-layered wooden table. Underneath the wooden table, there was a shiny black hand-cranked telephone, while on top, there was a gramophone. “With a telephone and gramophone at home, our family is indeed wealthy.” On his first visit to Luoying Hall, seeing the telephone and gramophone made Zhou Xuan believe that Zhou Family’s Troupe’s business was booming. In Pingguang Mansion, only affluent households had electricity, as for telephones and gramophones? Lesser families, even if they could afford it, wouldn’t bear to use them. Zhou Xuan’s gaze quickly moved elsewhere; he looked towards the wall decorations. On the north side of the wall hung calligraphy and paintings by scholars, not the common goods bought on the streets, each piece had its provenance. On the south wall, there was a dense array of opera plaques, with many varieties of operas, including local plays, mainstream plays, and even the recently popular academy plays. The Zhou Family’s Troupe had indeed a vast repertoire. After inwardly expressing admiration, Zhou Xuan looked toward the east wall, hung with opera plaques as well; unlike the crowded south wall, this one bore just a single plaque. It was a small rosewood plaque engraved with three characters in relief seal script—Fangxiang. Upon seeing it, Zhou Xuan instantly tensed up. He recalled the old master’s words—”Land of No Birth, Fangxiang Ming Hall.” Fangxiang Ming Hall and this Fangxiang must somehow be connected, right? But Zhou Xuan, due to his status, could not inquire. Luckily, not only he was curious about “Fangxiang.” The guests were interested as well. A man and a woman. The man was alive, the woman was a corpse. Zhou Family’s Troupe was a Netherworld Play Troupe, specializing in performing for the deceased. In Jing Country, there was a popular funeral custom—hiring a Netherworld Play Troupe to perform at the ceremony. Those with little money could not afford a Netherworld Play Troupe and would have to settle for some makeshift troupes, performing a cursory show, as having something is better than nothing. But for wealthy households, the requirements were much higher; the operas would last from three to seven days. Moreover, the plays were not just for the attending guests to enjoy; the deceased, being the main honoree, also needed to “hear” the opera. The Netherworld Play Troupe would dress the deceased to look lifelike, seating them in the place of honor among the audience, allowing the deceased to listen to one last performance. Living and dead watching an opera together—it sounds rather eerie, but from a certain perspective, it’s quite romantic. —To have friends and family accompany the deceased to watch their final show, making one’s last journey in life lively and dignified. This time, the male guest was Wu Yun, head of the tram division of the municipal bureau, and the deceased female guest was Zheng Meizhu. Wu Yun came to Xu Li today to select operas. Hiring a Netherworld Play Troupe begins with choosing the opera pieces, much like ordering dishes in a restaurant. But Wu Yun didn’t understand opera and, after glancing around randomly, he turned his gaze toward the wooden placard of “Fangxiang” on the eastern wall and asked Xu Li: “Boss Xu, what play is this?” “Nuoxi, the golden signboard of our Zhou Family’s Troupe. This play isn’t simple to perform, our troupe has to worship the Nuo God.” Xu Li was very proud, thumping his chest with a smack, and said, “Fangxiang, is the Nuo God that our Zhou Family’s Troupe has worshiped for over two thousand years. In the entirety of Jing Country, it’s our troupe’s Nuoxi that is the most authentic.” Oh? So, Fangxiang is the deity of the Zhou Family’s Troupe’s Nuoxi. Then, Fangxiang Ming Hall must be the shrine where Fangxiang is worshipped, right? Zhou Xuan listened quietly, silently mulling over it in his heart. “How much does this play cost?” Wu Yun asked. “Nuoxi is not like other plays; money is just a threshold, but to actually perform it, we must summon the nine great Nuomian and ask the Nuo God for approval. If the Nuo God agrees, then it can be performed. If the Nuo God disagrees, even if the price were to double, it still cannot be performed.” Wu Yun was astounded to hear this, saying, “Spending money is only the beginning? How much money does it take?” “The Nuoxi consists of fifteen acts, with two acts performed each day, continuously performed over seven days. On the day we send off the funeral procession up the mountain, we perform the last act. The number of acts cannot be reduced, and the price for each act is eighteen thousand eight hundred.” Wu Yun did a rough calculation; that would cost nearly three hundred thousand Jing Country Currency. His income in a month, both open and hidden, still wouldn’t reach a thousand. He simply didn’t bother to ask about the matter of summoning the nine great Nuomians. If he couldn’t even meet the financial threshold, asking would be pointless. Wu Yun shifted his gaze to the wall filled with plaques of various plays and continued to pick a play. Indeed, he wasn’t an expert in opera. After picking back and forth several times and almost going cross-eyed, he still had no idea which play to choose. Having no other choice, he had to ask Xu Li for advice: “Boss Xu, I really don’t understand opera and can’t choose. Could you recommend a few for me?” “What kind of opera did your beloved like to listen to before?” “I just heard her singing ‘yi ya yi ya’, I don’t even know the name.” Wu Yun said. Xu Li was experienced in business and switched to a different question: “Which opera house did your beloved like to visit the most?” Different types of opera correspond to different opera houses. To listen to Capital City Opera, one goes to Guangde Building on East Second Street. To listen to Mingjiang Opera, one must go to Ping Shui Grand Theater on Siping Road. Wu Yun shook his head and said, “She loved going to Cloud Garden.” Cloud Garden was a nightclub. This kind of place didn’t host grand operas before, until about ten years ago, several students from Pingjiang Academy, inspired by Western plays, incorporated the singing and melodies of opera troupes and created a new style of opera that began to be performed at nightclubs. At first, it wasn’t very popular. Later, Ma Yin, the editor-in-chief of the “Pingjiang Daily”, wrote a special report praising the new opera for its progressive ideas and stronger expressive power than old operas. With Ma Yin’s considerable influence in the cultural sphere and other newspapers following suit, they continued to hype up the new opera. Gradually, this style of opera was considered trendy, favored by many young people. Despite its luster waning a bit over the past two years, the trend remained fierce. Now, the people of Pingjiang Prefecture called this style “Academy Play”. “Oh, Academy Play, our troupe has indeed staged it before, and it doesn’t fall short of those professional performances.” Xu Li, holding a bamboo pole, picked down four play plaques in succession and let Wu Yun choose. “‘Love and Hatred,’ ‘Butterfly,’ ‘Mistaken Dreams,’ ‘Storm,’ these are all the hottest of the Academy Plays.” The names of these four plays, to Wu Yun’s ears, were practically as incomprehensible as hieroglyphics. He scratched his cheek and asked if it were possible to find an actor to sing a bit from these four plays so he could compare and decide which play plaque to select. Xu Li gently patted the record player and said: “Chief Wu, times have changed. Now we don’t need actors to perform; we use this.” “Xuanzi, you handle this foreign gadget; you always tinkered with it before, I’m no good at it.” Ah? I’m going to be cued in for this? Zhou Xuan, who was originally in spectator mode, never expected to be called upon to operate the record player. How could he have ever come across such a device in his past life? Fortunately, there was a handwritten manual stuck on the cabinet used for playing records. Zhou Xuan matched the corresponding records while studying the manual. When it came time to play a record, he slowly recalled the steps, “First, switch on the brake, Place the record, Then crank the handle until it won’t turn, Place the stylus arm onto… Ouch, damn it.” Zhou Xuan’s operation was clumsy, and his mind wasn’t focused as he had to recall the steps. In a moment of carelessness, the needle pricked his finger. A drop of bright red Finger Blood stuck to the needle. He quickly sucked on his fingertip to stop the bleeding and, enduring the pain, he continued to operate. After much effort, he finally got the “Butterfly” play to run. Hiss, hiss, hisiss, As the old record player worked, it carried a speckled static, akin to the sound of softened snow. “We must fill this room~ with the fragrance of spring~ making it like a garden~ brimming with the radiance of spring~” The dramatic voices from the record were slightly distorted. The Zhou Family’s Troupe’s records were made by a very small company with relatively outdated equipment, so distortion was inevitable. But, oddly enough, it was this distortion mixed with the static, along with the rather lackluster pressure from the record player itself, that when it reached Zhou Xuan’s ears, it sounded somewhat ethereal. Searᴄh the Nôvelƒire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Having been accustomed to “high fidelity” sumptuous feasts in a previous life, now tasting some plain vegetables, it felt refreshingly novel. Zhou Xuan leaned against the counter in the corner, eyes closed, thoroughly enjoying the opera sound from the vinyl. Xu Li quietly explained the essence of this “Butterfly” Academy Play to Wu Yun. None of the three noticed the drop of Finger Blood clinging to the record player’s needle, Slowly seeping onto the spinning record, Then drawing out extremely fine threads of blood, Staining the record crimson, The red light vanished in an instant, And at that moment, The “Fangxiang” wooden placard on the eastern wall vibrated with a hum, as if it had sensed something. The body that had lain quietly—Wu Yun’s beloved, Zheng Meizhu, Her index finger moved imperceptibly, twitching lightly twice.