You have mastered the art of thunder and you tell me that it is in a strange world?

Chapter 126 Life is like a play, and play is like life

Caiyi did not go directly to the stands, but walked up the tattered and creaking wooden stairs next to her, came to the main gate, stepped through the gate, and walked onto the stage.

The entire stand was wide and large, but it was covered with a lot of dust. The curtains on both sides were tattered and had many holes in them.

Although it looked like no one had taken care of it for a long time, it didn't look deserted. Combined with the surrounding villages, it had a strange liveliness to it.

The warm yellow flames swayed slowly from the colorful walls of the surrounding villages. They were torches that had been inserted in advance to illuminate the stage under the moon.

She looked at Tang Qi in front of her and could clearly see his wrinkled face and graying temples.

He was indeed old, and his body was not as straight as before. The years had left traces on his body, piling up into the Tang Qi in front of us.

After going on stage, there was still no one playing any musical instrument or singing around. It was as if the background music of the opera just now appeared out of thin air. No one knew what kind of magic trick Tang Qi was performing.

"But you came here for the opera?"

When Tang Qi opened his mouth, he already started singing, and even his movements were very precise.

This is the opening line. Some people will recite the lines before the show even begins.

She could see that this was an altar. If she didn't speak and get into the role, she would not be able to even move, let alone confront Tang Qi.

She was silent for a while, then she straightened her spirits, lifted her sleeve with her left hand, hid her right hand behind her, and sang in an operatic style, imitating the tune:
"There are many friends in this small village. How about singing today?"

"The sky is clear and the moon is bright, so let Tang Qi perform a play and sing about the life of this bastard!"

After saying that, the flower-faced young man smiled, raised his left hand, pressed his right hand down, turned his face back, and actually made an opening directly with a changed face!
At this moment he was using the face of the young man from yesterday. Caiyi had time to take a closer look at that face and discovered that it was 70% similar to Tang Qi.

This is exactly what Tang Qi looked like when he was young!

At the same time, above the surrounding stage and in the air, gongs, drums, and suonas sounded again, this time as a prelude before the show began.

It’s so lively, just like Chinese New Year.

The whole village seemed to have come alive, and there seemed to be wandering souls all around, all gathered nearby. The stage was empty, but it seemed as if countless people were gathered there, clapping and cheering.

Tang Qi was seen taking eight-direction steps and getting ready on the high platform.

Then the song begins:
"In Hongtou County in Changbai, a rich family gave birth to an only son. He had gold and silver, wore brocade clothes, and his parents were still alive. He had a herd of mules and horses, and the family was very wealthy. But after eighteen years, a lazy boy appeared.

"The boy has no ambition, does not like red tape, and does not read the sage's scriptures. His mind is full of singing those girls in Kyoto Opera. He has wasted his future!"

"Snapped!"

One foot on the spot.

In a trance, Caiyi suddenly felt that the surrounding scenery seemed to have changed. It was no longer a deserted village with no one in it, but a wealthy town.

When he lowered his head and looked, he seemed to be wearing the clothes of a young man, and it seemed to be Tang Qi!

When I raised my eyes, the surrounding scene changed again. What appeared before my eyes was a huge opera troupe with many figures standing on top, singing various tunes.

These characters include both men and women, old and young, but they all have painted faces and their facial features are exactly the same as Tang Qi's.

They stood on the stage, performing scene after scene. Caiyi even felt a little more at ease, as if as long as she stayed here, everything would be quiet, peaceful and beautiful.

Suddenly, an old actor came onto the stage, dancing in the Eight Direction Step. Suddenly, he turned around and turned into a ferocious black face!
Caiyi felt her heart tremble, and when she looked around, she found herself already in a sea of ​​blood!
The town that was quiet and peaceful just now turned into a hell on earth in the blink of an eye, with screams everywhere!

And in this town, black riders are riding iron horses, wielding knives and killing people!

It's bloody storm!
The singing voice of Tang Qi also came from the mouth of the black-faced man:

"That boy only knows how to listen to operas, but he doesn't know how to master a skill. He thought that wealth and honor are set in one's lifetime, but who knows that life can be determined in a few moments.

"That day, there was a change in the court, and a group of cavalrymen came on horseback, killing everyone in the town and robbing everything. When the little boy who watched the opera returned home, he saw a mess of blood all over the ground.

"Killing my mother Tang Qi, killing her beloved husband, slaughtering the whole town, leaving blood and flesh all over the ground, wailing and wailing for life!

“Ridiculous! Ridiculous!

"A whole family of good people was slaughtered, leaving only a useless person in the world.

"Pathetic! Pathetic.

“When a dynasty is in chaos, the people suffer. When it prospers, the people suffer. When it fails, the people suffer.

"After that, Tang became a beggar with no home to go and no money to spend. He wandered the streets alone and nearly starved to death. Fortunately, he spent money on the theater, which made the troupe owner soften his heart and take him in as a handyman, providing him with shelter and clothes."

Caiyi suddenly took a step back, and when she came to her senses, she found that the surroundings had turned into the huge stage again.

Everything that just happened was just a show performed by Tang Qi!
Tang Qi waved his sleeves again, and his face changed again, becoming weathered. Although he was not far from the young boy he was, he already had wrinkles on his face. The pain remained on his face and the blade was engraved in his heart. When the last cavalry of the previous emperor passed through his home, the young man who once went to the brothel with silver to watch operas was no longer there, and only Tang Qi was left.

To say that he is a mongrel means that his life is so cheap that he is even worse than that of a dog.

Caiyi wanted to sing along, but she found that the depth of Tang Qi's singing was far superior to hers, and she didn't even have a chance to connect the two tunes.

Caiyi didn't even know what to sing if she took over.

Mr. Tang seemed to realize that it was not yet time for Caiyi to sing the part, so he changed his posture and sang the second part with this new face.

"I was trying to make a living in a theatre troupe, performing martial arts and horse stances. I thought I could live a comfortable life, but I didn't expect to see strange things, such as cutting up living things and treating people like animals. I asked my troupe leader why he wanted to do this.

"Then he said to me:

When singing to this point, Mr. Tang suddenly stiffened all over, and two robes were lifted up in front of his face, and when he appeared again he was the handsome man with a flowery face.

He raised his head, laughed three times, and ran quickly towards Caiyi. In just three or two steps, he was in front of Caiyi.

Then he half bent over, lowered his body, and continued to sing with a smile:
"It's hard to get rich by performing martial arts, but I'm seeking immortality under the ginseng fruit tree~
"In troubled times, human life is worthless, and there is no soul under the iron horse's hoof. So what if I kill people? So what if I harm people? The troupe didn't take me in out of kindness, but to cut my flesh and skin.

"My family was killed, my property was taken away, their intention to take me in and raise me was fake, their intention to kill me and skin me was real! If the world won't let me live, why should I let the world live? Then go and have fun! Have fun and have fun!"

Suddenly, two long knives appeared in his hands, and he actually attacked Caiyi's neck!
This is a killing move. If Caiyi doesn’t dodge, her head will definitely fall off!

Caiyi seemed to have been prepared, and she suddenly retreated back, dodging the knife. Seeing Caiyi dodge, Huamian Langjun did not chase her, but turned around on the spot, threw up his sleeves, and laughed:

"I went to Kyoto and was lucky enough to get the capital's legacy. From then on, I was able to ascend to heaven and feel happy and at ease! I have been killing people for thirty years and I am free and unattended. But the old man is still alive and has become a demon in his heart. He even wants to disturb my mind and ruin my practice!
"On the stage, I am the female lead, and everyone else is the supporting role. What use is a little girl like you to fight with me?"

He raised two swords, prepared for a martial arts stance, took a sudden step forward, and swung them in the direction of Caiyi at the same time as if spinning!
The left-hand knife is in front, and the right-hand knife is behind, like an axe splitting a mountain, full of murderous aura!
Caiyi suddenly felt a touch on her waist, and in the blink of an eye, a cold light appeared, and with two crackling sounds, two white lights collided with each other, making a sound of metal crisscrossing!

In an instant, both sides retreated. The Flower-faced Young Man half-flipped in the air, and his feet stood firmly on the stage like nails. The Colorful Clothes turned around, and when he looked again, he had a long sword in his hand!
This sword looks long and thin, and is exactly the same as the swords often used in performances by opera troupes. It is the sword left behind by the Flower-faced Young Master at that time.

“You can use knives, spears, sticks, hooks and hammers, but you, a female role, can’t hold a sword!” The Flower-faced Young Man took another step forward and suddenly felt a slight chill on his face. He glanced downward and found that his face, with its thick oil paint, was cut open and blood was oozing out.

Caiyi also took a step forward and swung two sword flowers beautifully.

At this point, she finally got into position and sang along:

"I have been practicing acting for more than ten years. I dozed off and skipped classes every day. I am not good at using swords, spears, sticks, and clubs. Axe blades, hammers, and hooks are too unorthodox. The only thing I am good at is using the rapier. It is perfect for killing thieves!"

The flower-faced young man laughed loudly and rushed directly towards Caiyi. The two of them started fighting, and the double knives collided with the long swords, making a series of loud noises.

If viewed from a distance, this fight may seem like just a performance on the stage, but anyone with some tricks can see that every move here is deadly, and every sword can kill!
After several fights with Dingdang, Caiyi was already at a disadvantage. Huamianlangjun's swordsmanship was much better than Caiyi's, and Caiyi hadn't practiced sword for a long time, so she was naturally no match for him.

Suddenly, the flower-faced young man used his sleeve to scrape his face, and when it fell, it had turned into a charming female face. He threw the handkerchief in his hand outward, and it drew an arc in the air and hit the colorful clothes, and also sang:
"Look at how many chivalrous and tender people there are in this world, look at how many times the love is long-lasting, intoxicated by the fragrance of flowers~"

In the blink of an eye, several handkerchiefs turned into blooming flowers and flew towards Caiyi's forehead.

He raised the sword again and knocked the handkerchief flying.

When I looked at the man again, I found that he had already painted a monkey's butt on his face with white ink, with two red dots, and a shuttlecock had appeared on his foot, flipped on the sole and instep of his foot.

"He treated his wealth like a shuttlecock and kicked it away with a bang, a bang."

She exerted force with her feet, and with a whoosh, the shuttlecock flew directly towards Caiyi. Caiyi tried to block it with her sword, but she felt that the shuttlecock weighed a thousand pounds, making it difficult for her to stand steadily. She could only somersault in the air before landing on the ground.

Caiyi knew that if she continued to fight, she would eventually be at a disadvantage, so she picked an opportunity, swung her sword upwards, and spit out a mouthful of fire.

The fire was like a cloud. The Flower-faced Young Man, whose face had long since returned to his original one, suddenly dodged backwards and avoided the burning, but was also forced back by the colorful clothes.

The ball of fire flew directly to the broken curtain not far away, and began to burn upwards along the bottom of the curtain.

In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the entire stage, burning half the sky red.

Caiyi used the fire-breathing spell again, and although there was a blazing red flame next to her, she couldn't feel the heat at all. Her spiritual energy was flowing, and she could even feel a slight resonance with the fire platform.

During the fight, she actually managed to grasp the essence of fire magic, and her fire manipulation skills improved greatly!
"I still need to practice my sword skills, but my fire skills are pretty good."

The firelight flickered behind the flower-faced young man, but even so, he still got into position, showed off his figure from top to bottom, and sang:
"I am Tang Qi, and Tang Qi is me. Killing me is the same as killing Tang Qi. The sword cuts the blood of my relatives, and my heart is covered with thick dust. How heavy is this cause and effect? ​​How can my little spine bear it?"

Caiyi did not answer, but just raised her sword. Her posture alone seemed to have revealed her attitude.

The Flower-faced Young Master then sang:

"When he was over fifty, the old thief passed away. He was about to go to the capital when he suddenly came across a small village. He rode on horseback and trampled through hundreds of houses. In the smoke, he found a baby girl."

When Caiyi heard Huamian Yangjun singing this part, her hands trembled slightly and she almost fainted from the singing.

In fact, she has been investigating her own background to some extent over the years.

In her memory, the broken village was bustling with activity. She was too young at the time and could not remember it clearly. She only remembered that the old man found her in the last ruins, stretched out his hands and picked her up.

Only today did she know that those iron horses were the soldiers and bandits that spread out when the old emperor passed away.

She swayed, suppressed her emotions, and looked back at the Flower-faced Young Master, only to hear him continue singing:

"It's like seeing the past, when the bastard was heartbroken, threw away his identity and status, and raised me up with so much hardship.

"But I didn't expect that today we would see swords drawn against each other and relatives killing each other."

Suddenly, the Flower-faced Young Man's voice changed, and his face changed with it.

His face was like melted wax, and in the blink of an eye it turned into Tang Qi's appearance.

Just murmured:

"You really want to kill me?"

Even if you have made up your mind, even if you are already standing on this stage, even if you know what you are facing.

Caiyi was also still in a state of confusion at this moment.

Being caught in a flaw, the Flower-faced Young Man suddenly jumped forward, raised his two knives high, and smashed them directly in the direction of Caiyi.

It seemed as if he was going to chop off Caiyi's arms directly!

Suddenly a breeze blew in front of Caiyi, and her mind became clear immediately. She drew her sword and raised it upwards.

With a clang, the flower-faced young man was sent flying, and he retreated seven or eight meters in the air before he stopped.

Caiyi took a deep breath and slowly raised her sword.

The flames flickered from the side of the blade, emitting a faint red glow.

But it seemed just like that year, not long ago, when Tang Qi carried her out of the ruins.

As the firelight flickered, Caiyi recalled a small incident that happened long ago.

That happened when she was a child, and it even scared little Caiyi to tears.

At that time, Tang Qi touched her head and asked her with a smile:

"If I were a thief, would you kill me?"

(End of this chapter)