Chapter 78 - 78 75 The Blank Paper Play

78: Chapter 75: The Blank Paper Play 78: Chapter 75: The Blank Paper Play Zhou Lingyi sat in the pavilion outside Second Senior Brother Zheng Jiujang’s house, releasing the invisible red thread. “My Perception would be great if it were as sharp as my brother’s.” Zhou Xuan’s Perception was strong. Although not yet at the level of two incense, he could already listen in all directions and see the yin and yang, able to scout the surroundings unseen and without a trace. Unlike her, she needed the red thread as a medium to probe. Although ordinary people couldn’t see the thread, if someone very knowledgeable, especially an expert whose Incense Fire Level was not much different from hers, not only could they detect her red thread, they could even use the thread as a vine, using their spiritual practices to entangle and climb along it, gaining the upper hand by reaching her first… Fortunately, her senior brothers’ spiritual practices posed no threat to Zhou Lingyi. The red thread slowly climbed up to the window of Zheng Jiujang’s house. Having heard from Yu Zhengyuan about Second Senior Brother’s hidden ailments, while probing the truth, Zhou Lingyi also kept her distance; the tip of the red thread merely touched the window glass, and did not drill inside through the crevices of the wooden frames. The scenes inside Second Senior Brother’s room were not explored by the red thread, only the conversation between Zheng Jiujang and Song Jie, which clearly reached Zhou Lingyi’s ears through the red thread. “Lao Zheng, stop fussing. If it’s not working, it’s no big deal,” Song Jie consoled Zheng Jiujang. Zheng Jiujang’s tone was clearly dejected, with a hint of desperate struggle, saying, “In the past, my manhood worked two or three days a week, now it doesn’t even work for one day a week. I can’t even hold my head high, I’m embarrassed to meet anyone. What kind of man am I now… even my beard is falling out…” “It’s just your bad luck, running into that beast Zhou Xuan, the Young Master. If it wasn’t for his knee three years ago, at your age now, you’d still be vigorous…” Song Jie’s angry words even held a sobbing tone. “Stop trying, stop trying, for supporting your trials I haven’t been properly teaching my classes this week. Our little Hua is over five years old now, there’s a successor. Even if your manhood really is ruined, it’s no big deal, stop crying and making threats…” Zhou Lingyi retracted the red thread. It turned out that Second Senior Brother had barely left the house recently due to his worsening hidden ailment. “It’s all the mess left by my younger brother!” Zhou Lingyi cursed her younger brother mentally, then got up and walked towards the room of Yu Zhengyuan. This time Zhou Lingyi didn’t hold back; the red thread glided through the crevices of the window. The tip of the red thread became her ears and eyes, and the sounds and visuals inside the room were all perceived by Zhou Lingyi without omissions. The furnishings inside were extremely simple, a radio placed on a wooden table, with the rest being common items like a wardrobe and a bed. There were no record players, no trendy embroidered curtains, nor any cotton tablecloths with beautiful patterns. In terms of decorative detail, it was less refined than the instrument master in the Zhou Family’s Troupe. For Yu Zhengyuan, who as the oldest senior brother earned a substantial salary, such a bleak room didn’t really match his status. Presently, Yu Zhengyuan was not at home, Xu Li stood in an outdated old cheongsam in front of the wooden table, with a group of unfamiliar, half-grown children standing behind her. The children lined up, Xu Li gently grabbed the child at the front of the line, used a fruit knife to cut his middle finger, then squeezed the blood into an empty porcelain bowl. Soon, the blood covered the bottom of the bowl… “That’s about enough, young one, it’s your turn now.” Xu Li led the second child, cut the middle finger, and squeezed the blood. After many children in the room had dripped blood into the bowl, the porcelain bowl had more than half a bowl of blood. Xu Li picked up a thermos, placed a funnel on the spout, and carefully poured the blood from the bowl into the bottle through the funnel. After pouring, she even used a water cup to rinse the blood stuck on the funnel into the bottle, afraid to waste a drop of the children’s blood, which for her, wasn’t just blood, it was Lao Yu’s medicine… Zhou Lingyi withdrew the red thread, feeling somewhat relieved. Big Brother had a hidden illness, which she’d known since childhood. In the past few years when Zhou Xuan and his parents managed the Zhou Family’s Troupe, the operation depended entirely on Yu Zhengyuan, causing the senior brother to overwork and his hidden illness to become more severe. Since Zhou Lingyi took over the Zhou Family’s Troupe, the senior brother was no longer so burdened, and his hidden illness was also improving, seeing the amount of child’s blood Xu Li had collected today, which was far less than before, it was clear that the trend of recovery for the senior brother’s hidden illness was becoming evident. “It’s a good thing.” Zhou Lingyi moved to the outside of Li Shuangyi’s room. She didn’t even need to release the red thread; Zhou Lingyi could already hear the sound of opera singing, the melody mournful. If passersby stopped to listen for a few lines, they would feel sorrowful. If the passerby was in a bad mood, they might even resonate with the tune, tears streaming down. “Third Senior Brother will never be able to get over that hurdle in his heart.” Zhou Lingyi released the red thread and slipped through the window crevice… Li Shuangyi’s room was quite uniquely arranged, with four walls, two of which were decorated with costumes, and another wall covered with posters—the posters from the major opera roles of Ping Shui Prefecture, pasted on the big red opera announcement boards. Scattered on the last wall were some black and white photos, including photos from when Li Shuangyi was learning his craft and his first stage appearance. From childhood, Li Shuangyi was designated by the Zhou Family’s Troupe as a future star. His master also adored him deeply, and whenever there were major life events, he would dig into his wallet to hire a studio master to take pictures for him. However, the person who appeared the most in the photos hung on the wall was Liu Jiaotian. Liu Jiaotian and Li Shuangyi were taught by the same master, sibling disciples, but now things had changed; Li Shuangyi had become a drama teacher, while Liu Jiaotian had become a pillar of the Zhou Family’s Troupe, often surrounded by friends in glory and splendor. At this moment, Li Shuangyi, wearing a loose-sleeved, wide-collared white water garment, was spinning on the carpet inside the room, dancing with his hands and singing opera enchantingly. “Third senior brother shows no anomalies, none of the senior brothers show any anomalies, could it be, as the shadow said, that I am overthinking?” Zhou Lingyi began to doubt herself, yet after taking another two or three looks at Li Shuangyi, she faintly sensed something was not right. The singing Li Shuangyi seemed somewhat stiff in his steps; each time he lifted his foot and bent his knee, there would be a slight pause. Having grown up in the Zhou Family Troupe, though not a seasoned opera lover, Zhou Lingyi understood the art. She knew that although Li Shuangyi had damaged his voice, his postures and steps were top-notch, polished smoothly in every minor detail of a performance, certainly without slight hesitations. “This person is not the third senior brother.” Thinking this, Zhou Lingyi quickly walked to the window, waved her hand at the window crevice, and fanned a gust of wind. The wind blew through the wooden frame of the window, first lifting the curtains, and while it had weakened, when it reached Li Shuangyi, it still blew him up half a meter high. The body of “Li Shuangyi” floated up lightly like a falling leaf, then slowly descended, and upon landing, continued spinning and singing opera as if nothing had happened. “White Paper Opera?! Originally infiltrated into the actor’s Tangkou! Hiding for so long without revealing any flaws, the third senior brother is really cautious.” Actors are adept at hiding their presence; Dog King’s tracker Zhu Tingsheng was also an actor, who infiltrated the Zhou Family’s Troupe. Even with Zhou Xuan’s Perception and Face Reading, he couldn’t spot any flaws, and it was only Zhu Tingsheng’s three dog barks that finally revealed his slip. “How could it be the third senior brother?” Zhou Lingyi was nearing the truth behind her younger brother’s lost soul, but her mood was extremely heavy… …In a certain sense, Zhou Lingyi felt that she was most wrong toward Li Shuangyi. She felt somewhat panicked, steadying her spirit before re-analyzing the incident of her brother’s lost soul. “Actors excel in hiding, changing faces, and also in luring souls… But, the day my brother’s soul was lured away, it couldn’t have been done by just the third senior brother alone.” The actor’s one incense is White Paper Opera, two incense is Face Changing Opera, and three incense is Ghost Play. The higher the level of the technique, the higher the required Incense Fire Level, and the greater the movement during the technique, making it easier to be perceived. Using White Paper Opera creates very small disturbances, and being cautious, it’s not hard to evade the shadow’s patrol. But employing Ghost Play to lure souls, especially when done in the courtyard amidst a feast, with no obstructions, and with a large crowd, would definitely produce significant disturbances that would be perceived by patrolling shadows. Thus, there must be more than one insider in the Zhou Family Troupe besides Li Shuangyi, at least another individual! Zhou Lingyi guessed that this person was also an expert at hiding disturbances and presence, perhaps even more adept than the techniques of Li Shuangyi. This person covered up the disturbances when Li Shuangyi lured the soul, one acting and one covering, allowing the shadow to perceive no anomalies, “The planning was so thorough, placing another expert at concealing presence in the Zhou Family Troupe, was the third senior brother luring away my brother’s soul really just for the sake of revenging the past…” “I have controlled the Zhou Family Troupe, and my relationship with my brother was like enemies; he liked to go out to brothels and feasts. I only ensured his safety within the Zhou Family Troupe, never sending anyone to guard him when he went out. If it was just to avenge a ruined voice, the third senior brother had plenty of opportunities, why take the risk and act within the Zhou Family Troupe?” Sёarᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zhou Lingyi looked up at the sky, feeling as if the clear sky had cast forth a finely meshed fishing net. What fish does the one casting the net want to catch? My former brother? Or something else… Lost in thought, Zhou Lingyi couldn’t help but fall deep into reflection.