All the evil beasts in the world, I feed on demons and monsters

Chapter 176 Taking Heads, Winning Hearts

Inside the pear orchard, only five people were seated in each row of chairs.

The seats were shrouded in the shadows of the eaves, while the stage shone brightly in the clear sunlight.

Below the stands, a man dressed as a Taoist priest stood with a fortune-telling flag beside him that read "Divine Hand".

A hunched old man, carrying various cloth bags that emitted a faint medicinal fragrance, sat beside him. A fair-skinned, pretty woman, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe, watched the platform with great interest.

An elderly man with a Taoist-style beard shook his head and tapped his iron fan, watching with great interest. Beside him, a voluptuous woman held a huqin (a two-stringed bowed instrument), looking bored, and pulled out a long pipe to play with.

On the stage, a martial arts performer was making exaggerated noises and fighting fiercely with a clown! A group of onlookers around them dodged and weaved during the fight, making exaggerated expressions and gestures—they were actually a group of paper figures!
The paper figures moved back and forth, and the paper tables and chairs seemed to come alive, accompanying the two fighters on the stage!

Dai Yue glanced at it briefly, then stared intently at it!
Judging from their movements, it was clearly the same fight I had with the leader of the Hongmen martial arts guild this morning!
boom!
Just then, on the stage, a martial artist unleashed a powerful "Old Ape Hanging Seal," slamming it hard into the chin of the clown opposite him! A paper figure was clinging to the clown's back, trying to dodge but unable to move!

Click!

puff!
The sound of bones cracking and blood splattered onto the stage in an instant!

The clown fell to the ground, his mask flying off his face! Dai Yue's pupils contracted! The one who was beheaded on the spot was actually the head of the Hongmen!

On the stage, the martial arts actor wiped his face, and in an instant, he transformed into the clown on the ground!
The paper figures rustled, and the tables and chairs quickly transformed, turning the stage into a Western-style room in an instant. The clown immediately knelt on the ground, bowing to a paper figure resembling a Westerner, his face full of fawning obsequiousness.

Without saying a word, just a few glances were enough for Dai Yue to understand what was going on—that Hongmen leader was a real traitor!
No sooner had he left than the traitor was captured and the whole thing was turned into a good show!
Just watching the paper figures come and go on the stage, the betrayal of the Hongmen, the infiltration of thieves, and the welcoming and sending off of guests were all brought to life by that one person!
After the play ended, the only actor was replaced by an ordinary middle-aged man.

He grabbed the dead body on the ground and strode to the side!
On the ground on both sides of the stage, there were two rows of chairs with backrests, which were now filled with more than twenty dead people.

Judging from his clothes, he's definitely one of the eight martial arts sects!

Dai Yue vaguely understood what today's play was about.

Clean up the house!

At this moment, the five people sitting in their seats also stood up. The Taoist priest held his flag like a spear, standing in the shadows. The old man's several cloth bags wriggled, revealing the heads of snakes, rats, and mongooses. The woman wore a wide robe with flowing sleeves, her whole demeanor graceful and poised.

The old man with the Taoist temples held an iron fan in his hand, while the alluring woman carried a huqin (a two-stringed bowed instrument) on her shoulder and wore a high-slit purple cheongsam that revealed a section of her snow-white skin.

The group all clasped their hands in greeting to the paper figure Li, saying, "Chief!"

Hey!
Paper Man Li turned around and, together with the six people behind him, quietly looked at Dai Yue, saying, "Golden skin and colorful decorations, judging troupe and willow tunes."

"Eight families, eight people, one person in one concession."

"Let's do it tonight."

Dai Yue nodded, then asked softly, "For what?"

"Apply pressure."

Paper Man Li spoke up: "The foreign coalition forces have encountered logistical problems. Tai Sui Ye and I sank many of their logistical ships."

"With the Grand Duke Jupiter at Dagukou, he will surely be able to protect the gateway between Tianjin and Beijing."

Paper Man Li spoke with absolute certainty, saying, "As long as there are problems in the concessions, the foreigners here will definitely put pressure on those troops!"

"Insufficient logistics, battlefield setbacks, and loss of control over the concessions! The foreigners' invasion has collapsed on its own!"

"Therefore, once we enter the concession, our main objective should be destruction, and we need to act quickly. I have purchased firecrackers and gunpowder."

Paper Doll Li glanced at the group and said, "The magicians and medicine sellers shouldn't be needed. As for the rest, I'll arrange for a paper doll to carry ammunition and travel with us."

"Gentlemen, time waits for no one."

"First chase away the jackals, then exterminate the rats and deer!"

"These past few days, while selling newspapers, I received news that officials in the capital have begun to extoll the dangers of the Boxers. This means that the imperial court is about to take action against the Boxers."

"At present, expelling the foreigners is not difficult. But destroying the imperial court is difficult!"

“We need the 100,000 Boxers in the capital! Without them, even if we kill the nobles in the palace and the princes of the Eight Banners, it will only be a splash of water.”

“Those bureaucrats will support a new king.”

"But the 100,000 Yihehui will not need to do anything. When changes occur in the capital, the waves formed by these 100,000 mouths and 100,000 drops of water from the people will be the last wave that capsizes the boat."

Paper Man Li said in a low voice, "Looking back over five thousand years, this is the first time that the imperial court has allowed 100,000 rebel troops to enter the capital without any control."

"The stage is set up." "What we'll see is who has the last laugh on stage."

Dai Yue nodded and said, "I understand."

Paper figure Li claps his hands.

The woman in the wide-sleeved robe smiled, revealing two dimples, and then reached behind her back with her delicate hand—

Brush and pull!

Eight black and red Renzi flags appeared in her palm!

"After completely destroying the concession, the Renzi flag was hung in the embassy."

"We are racing against time. We must kill ruthlessly enough to awaken the people! We must win hearts and minds with lives!"

The group nodded and began to leave one after another.

The old man covered in cloth bags walked up to Paper Figure Li and suddenly said, "That Tai Sui is also from our leather business?"

"Yes."

"Hehe, not bad, not bad."

The old man rubbed the animal head that was sticking out of the medicine bag, pulled out a small box, and said, "Give this medicine to him, consider it my gift to the young man."

"My old legs, after I finish my business tonight, probably won't be able to run anymore."

"Thank you for taking care of the girl at home."

The old man waved his hand and said, "You promised me that she could go to school like the boys and be dressed as neatly as the foreign children."

"must."

"Alright, I'll sell my life to you."

The old man strolled away.

Dai Yue stared at his retreating figure, slightly stunned.

"Death is neither something to be feared nor something to be regretted."

Paper Man Li stood beside Dai Yue and spoke softly: "But everyone has seen the state of this world; it has reached the edge of a precipice."

"Standing on the cliff is his granddaughter, who could also be our son or daughter."

"Today, you and I will not die. Should we wait for them to die?"

Paper figure Li stepped out.

Behind them, in the sunlight, colorful ribbons fluttered, and a traditional opera tune drifted over—

"My motherland—I can't help but feel a sense of desolation; in my leisure, I seek a kindred spirit amidst the dust of the world!"

"The golden goblet is broken and must be mended; how can I hesitate to sacrifice myself for the country?"

Dai Yue stopped and looked behind him.

The middle-aged man had changed into a suit of armor and was now practicing Wing Chun and Tai Chi with great power and skill!

"Ignore him, the person he's playing is you."

The voice of Paper Man Li came, saying, "I had the paper man demonstrate the fist technique you used to kill the shaman in the Bagua Hall."

"If he performs well, he'll have your level of skill in no time."

"This is the power of the guardian deity of the Liu family actors."

Dai Yue nodded, watched for a while, and then turned and left.

The actor's voice grew increasingly powerful, his eyes blazing with anger! He changed his expressions rapidly, switching between martial arts and female roles! It seemed as if men and women were constantly groaning and weeping!
"A true man's heart is as hard as iron until death!"

"Let's see how you mend the crack in the sky!"

(End of this chapter)