Doomsday Traveler

Chapter 200 Home is wherever you are

Hearing the cheers, the old tree sang with increasing enthusiasm, its movements becoming more and more graceful. Its festering, cracked wounds and the roots atop its head seemed to transform into theatrical costumes, making its operatic singing even more vivid.
"Your Majesty, stop your wild behavior in the palace! The elders of the court and the emperor's father are not to be trifled with. Who is plotting to seize the throne? All this is because the prince is young! Unfurl your merit books, and I will compare you to your father..."

He sang with great energy.

After he finished singing, the crowd was still eager for more, and Lu Xi'an clamored, "One more!"

Luo Ping, always eager to join in the fun, immediately joined in the commotion when Lu Xi'an called out: "One more! One more!"

Old Tree suddenly became a little shy, fidgeted a couple of times, and said, "I only remember this part of the play, I don't know any others. Let me sing another play, I also remember a part of another play."

Luo Ping finished eating an ear of corn, threw the cob aside, clapped his hands, and said, "Great! Great! Sing! You can sing anything, we love to hear it!"

Everyone echoed in agreement.

The old tree was greatly encouraged and immediately struck a pose, singing: "This official comforts the king, weary from the long journey... fulfilling the covenant and keeping faith, how dare I seek comfort..."

This is sung in a different style of opera, clearly not the same opera as before.

Lu Xi'an could tell that both operas were high-pitched and rugged, with unique styles. However, the former was powerful and vigorous, always carrying a strong energy, like Qinqiang opera, while the latter had a rich and melodious voice, more like Shangdang Bangzi opera. Each had its own beauty and charm.

In his previous life, Lu Xi'an didn't particularly enjoy listening to opera, but now, sitting here listening to the old tree sing an unaccompanied opera, he felt it was so beautiful and so nostalgic.

After finishing his corn, he closed his eyes and listened quietly.

After the old tree finished singing, it wasn't Lu Xi'an's turn to applaud and cheer; Luo Ping took the lead and started cheering.

"Great! Great! That's wonderful!"

Luo Ping clapped his hands and said, "What you sang sounds like a story from an old martial arts novel, doesn't it? Although I can't understand it very well, it's still really good. Really good! Really good! Eat some corn."

As he spoke, he handed the corn to the old tree.

Old Tree smiled sheepishly and said, "Brother Luo, you flatter me." Then he started munching on the corn, clearly hungry.

Lu Xi'an opened her eyes and asked, "Aren't these two different kinds of plays?"

Old Tree looked up between munching on corn and said, "Yeah, you noticed, brother."

Lu Xi'an nodded: "Your two parts sound completely different."

Luo Ping pursed his lips unhappily, still somewhat displeased that the old tree called him "Brother Luo" and Lu Xi'an "Brother".

However, the old tree was already used to being called that and couldn't change it, so he could only helplessly keep his displeasure to himself.

Listening to the conversation between Lao Shu and Lu Xi'an, Luo Ping suddenly had an idea and asked Lu Xi'an, "Since you know so much about this, do you know how to sing? Can you sing a few lines?"

Lu Xi'an was stirred up by the old tree and said, "I don't know how to act, but I can sing a few lines. Anyway, I'm full, so if you want to hear me sing, I'll sing a few lines."

Luo Ping grinned and said, "Of course I want to hear it! How could I not want to hear it!"

Lu Xi'an glanced at Chai Xin, the girl who didn't say anything but nodded vigorously. He then looked at the old tree, the old man who was munching on corn while staring intently at him. When he saw Lu Xi'an looking over, he hurriedly swallowed the corn kernels in his mouth and said, "Brother, sing me a song! It's been so long since I've heard a song!"

Tang Er and Liu Hua didn't make any move, presumably because they didn't dare. The two of them were very careful, not even daring to eat the bread in big bites, but carefully nibbling at it little by little, and they hadn't even finished half of it yet.

Looking at Yao Wei again, the woman made no move, but her eyes were fixed on him, shining brightly, clearly also full of anticipation.

"Okay, I'll sing."

Lu Xi'an sat on the ground with one leg outstretched and the other bent. He supported himself on one arm and bent the other arm, placing his hand on the knee of the bent leg, tapping his index finger to find the rhythm.

How many songs do I still remember, and how many songs can I recall by following the beat?

As he tapped his index finger, the lyrics and melody suddenly popped into his mind, and he blurted them out in rhythm with his fingers:

"To dream of not seeing the bright moonlight is like losing one's eyes in a desolate city; to not kiss the rich fragrance of flowers is like losing one's soul and being overwhelmed by loneliness..."

It was a completely different feeling from the old tree's opera singing, causing everyone to involuntarily stop what they were doing.

As everyone listened to Lu Xi'an's singing, they felt a sense of melodious wistfulness, as if she were reminiscing about something, yet unable to grasp it no matter what.

They were all captivated by the emotions conveyed in the song, until the chorus roared in:

"I want to gallop my horse into your arms, to unravel the mystery of longing, the dream of a thousand years, to traverse the vast sea of ​​clouds where the blue sky remains unchanged, and as the harp sounds, all my worries melt away..."

"it is good!"

Luo Ping couldn't help but clap his hands again. This moment, a blend of boldness and tenderness, instantly touched everyone's hearts.

Lu Xi'an abandoned technique—he didn't really have any—and sang with abandon, stirring up the emotions of everyone present: "I want to gallop across the endless sky, sweeping away the wind and rain to create a rainbow, drifting in your heart, happiness remains, a gentle breeze, a reunion in past and present lives..."

Everyone else was just enjoying the excitement, but Yao Wei was savoring the song, thinking about the lyrics as she listened.

She didn't really understand some of it. Words like "heart's sea," "happiness," and "past life" were too abstract for her. She didn't even know what a maqin looked like, but she just inexplicably felt that the song was being sung for her.

So she listened attentively and felt deeply. She thought it was wonderful.

It's not just pleasant to listen to, it's good.

And Lu Xi'an singing with abandon, letting loose completely, was truly wonderful...

"One more! One more!"

After Lu Xi'an finished singing, Luo Ping started teasing again, "Old Tree sang two songs, so why don't you sing two too? You can't possibly only know one, can you?"

This guy's resorting to reverse psychology.

However, Lu Xi'an didn't mind and laughed, "How could that be? I'll sing another one."

His enthusiasm soared, and he felt as if he had returned to the KTV of his past life, even though there was no sound system or accompaniment, and he could vent his emotions to his heart's content. It was so enjoyable.

—The recent sparring session was a release for the body, and now singing is a release for the spirit.

Since you've already started venting, why not vent it all out?
He tapped his knee lightly with his index finger, thinking about what song to sing.

As I tapped away, the melody and song unconsciously drifted into my mind again—

"Five thousand years of wind and rain have hidden so many dreams; yellow faces and black eyes, but an unchanging smile; eight thousand miles of mountains and rivers are like a song, no matter where you come from or where you are going..."

He sang with the same passion as before, but as Luo Ping listened, he couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

This song seems to contain more sentiment. He is a new human being in a new world, and for a moment he is a little hard to understand, but he still can't help but be moved.

Chai Xin was just a child, so he listened while shaking his head. The old tree sat there, seemingly lost in thought.

"The same tears, the same pain, the past hardships, we keep them in our hearts; the same blood, the same seed, the future still holds dreams, we will explore them together..."

When the song reached this point, Luo Ping suddenly shuddered.

The song sings of five thousand years, but he also seemed to hear the past few decades, the hardships and difficulties, his desperate efforts, the repeated failures, the falls and rises...

And then there were the people gathered behind them, like Liu Hua, Tang Er, Lao Shu and Chai Xin who had just arrived, and Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei who were destined to leave...

Is there still a dream for the future?
Where is the dream?

"Hand in hand, we walk forward with heads held high, letting the world know we are all Chinese. Hand in hand, we walk forward with heads held high, letting the world know we are all Chinese..."

When Lu Xi'an finished singing, Chai Xin, Liu Hua, and Tang Er all clapped, but as they clapped, they realized that no one else was making a sound.

Turning around, I saw Luo Ping looking up in a daze, seemingly lost in thought. The old tree bowed its head in silence, also seemingly reminiscing. Meanwhile, Lu Xi'an, unaware of what was happening, found herself singing a song that brought tears to her eyes.

Yao Wei suddenly felt a pang of heartache and took Lu Xi'an's hand.

Lu Xi'an turned around and saw Yao Wei's concerned look. She said, "I'm fine, I'm just a little homesick..."

He tried hard to control himself, but he couldn't. His lips trembled and he unconsciously tried to lower them, making it difficult for his voice to be smooth.

"Ah."

Yao Wei nodded without saying anything more. She moved closer to Lu Xi'an and sat down next to him. For some reason, she felt an impulse and leaned over to kiss the tear stains on Lu Xi'an's face.

The movements were so natural and deliberate that there was no discomfort or sense of loss of control.

But she was still not feeling well because Lu Xi'an was not feeling well.

Lu Xi'an paused for a moment, glanced at Yao Wei, and then finally smiled. He raised his hand, cupped Yao Wei's face, and whispered, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"I know, there are some places I've already left, and there's no point in thinking about them anymore. It's enough that you're by my side; home is wherever you are."

"Ah."

Yao Wei nodded and said, "Me too."

Suddenly, the melody of another song popped into Lu Xi'an's mind—who is singing "Mudanjiang" outside the door? I listen with sorrow as your voice is melodious…

But he didn't sing the song.

Seeing Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei like this, Luo Ping had already called the others and quietly left without anyone noticing.

They only returned after Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei finished speaking and there was no further movement.

Luo Ping said, "Alright, let's tidy up. Next, I'll open my warehouse and show you all my treasures. Brothers and sisters, you've helped me a lot. Just tell me what you want later."

Lu Xi'an remembered something and smiled, "Perfect timing, I also have something good to give you."

(End of this chapter)