Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 104 General's Temple

With a muffled thud, Li Kang fell to the ground, foaming at the mouth and his eyes rolled back; he was already unconscious.

"boss!"

"Master Li!"

Several of his men were shocked and rushed forward to help him up.

No matter how they called out to him or shook him, Li Kang did not respond at all, as if he were dead.

"Quickly, get him to the hospital first!" one of the more level-headed subordinates shouted.

In a flurry of activity, the group forgot all about watching the show and rushed out, carrying the unconscious Li Kang.

The commotion naturally attracted the attention of guests in the lobby and other private rooms downstairs, who all turned to look with curiosity and began to discuss it amongst themselves.

On the stage, Chen Ye, who had just finished singing a line, caught a glimpse of the chaos in the second-floor private room out of the corner of his eye.

A cold smile curled slightly at the corner of his mouth.

The mirage-like palace, a natural illusion.

His talent in this new profession certainly did not disappoint him.

It turned out that after sensing Li Kang's malice, Chen Ye tested his skills by using his professional talent to drag Li Kang's soul into an illusion designed specifically for him.

Moreover, this illusion will evoke the deepest darkness and fear in people's hearts and amplify them infinitely.

In retrospect, the results are quite good.

As the show came to an end, Chen Ye returned to the stage several times before finally seeing off the enthusiastic audience.

As soon as he returned backstage, Deng Ming, with an excited, chubby face, rushed over in a hurry.

"Boss Chen, something terrible has happened! That Li Kang has gone mad!"

Deng Ming lowered his voice, but his tone was full of undisguised schadenfreude.

It turned out that after Li Kang was carried away by his men, he was taken directly to the best medical clinic in Zhenhaiwei.

Despite consultations with renowned doctors and the use of various methods, Li Kang remained unconscious.

If even renowned doctors are helpless, then it can only be attributed to being possessed by an evil spirit.

So the Li family spent a lot of money to invite a high-ranking monk who was quite famous in Zhenhaiwei.

This master was indeed quite skilled. He set up an altar in front of Li Kang's bed, recited a passage of scripture, and Li Kang, who was unconscious, actually woke up slowly.

Ke Ren woke up, but Li Kang went mad.

He kowtowed to everyone he met, repeatedly saying, "I am guilty, I was wrong," and then, with snot and tears streaming down his face, he recounted all the heinous crimes he had committed over the years, detailing each and every one of them, leaving the Li family members ashen-faced.

Seeing this, the master could only sigh and shake his head, saying to the Li family, "This is a case of a vengeful spirit seeking revenge, burdened by karma. It cannot be resolved by human effort. You should take care of yourself."

After saying this, he left without even accepting the generous reward prepared by the Li family.

After listening to Deng Ming's excited account, Chen Ye nodded, but didn't pay much attention to the matter.

In his view, this was all Li Kang's own fault, and he had no one else to blame.

Meanwhile, news of Li Kang's madness quickly spread throughout the upper class of Zhenhaiwei.

People were talking about it, but they all thought he had done something really bad and had attracted some unclean spirits, which led to his retribution.

The Li family used all their connections to investigate, trying to find out what exactly happened at Guang Le Lou that night, but to no avail, and could only accept their bad luck.

Only Lu the tycoon and Qi Shihao exchanged a glance after hearing about this, both seeing a hint of speculation and surprise in each other's eyes, but they both tacitly kept their mouths shut and chose to remain silent.

Seven days passed, and Li Kang died.

Before he died, his body was covered in sores, and he howled in extreme pain all night long before finally passing away.

With his death, his shady businesses and shops immediately became ownerless.

In the struggle for these industries, Li Kang's men fought each other, and business partners turned against each other.

In addition, those who had long-standing grudges against Li Kang also joined the fray, and for a time the underground forces of Zhenhaiwei were reshuffled, with all sorts of struggles emerging one after another.

However, just a few days later, once the new order was re-established and the power structure was stabilized again, everything returned to silence.

As for how many people died as a result, nobody cares.

Just like that, a once powerful figure in Zhenhaiwei vanished without a trace in just a few days.

After the storm passed, everything returned to calm.

In the days that followed, Chen Ye lived a fulfilling and regular life.

Every day he either practices his skills or studies the script.

These days, he only performs one show a week at Guang Le Lou.

But this one battle alone was enough to drive the entire Zhenhaiwei into a frenzy.

On the days he performs, the area in front of Guanglelou is always bustling with cars and people.

Tickets were sold at exorbitant prices, yet they were still extremely difficult to obtain.

The large mansion that Lu Da Hu promised has been delivered.

It was a large courtyard with three entrances and three exits, pavilions and towers, winding paths leading to secluded spots, and it was even larger than the entire Qingchun Troupe's residence.

Chen Ye did not refuse and moved in without hesitation.

On the day of the move, Tiedan, Chunyan, and all the fellow apprentices from the Qingchun Class came to help.

Looking at the magnificent mansion and then at Chen Ye, who was now famous throughout the city, their eyes were full of envy, but also a hint of inexplicable restraint and distance.

They felt that Chen Ye was no longer from their world.

"From now on, this is my home. You can come and play anytime. If Master Guan scolds you, just run here and hide." Chen Ye smiled and patted Tie Dan on the shoulder, dispelling the misunderstandings in everyone's hearts with just one sentence.

Everyone was relieved and ran around the house happily, exclaiming in amazement.

Besides singing and practicing his skills, Chen Ye would occasionally visit the three shops that Lu Dahu had given him in his spare time.

However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to disguise himself every time he went out.

There's no way around it, he's just too popular these days. Some busybodies have even given him a nickname: Lingxian (伶仙, meaning "the fairy").

It means that his acting is so good that he is like an immortal, not like an ordinary person.

Lu Jinghong, Chen Ye's number one fan, is no longer content to simply sit in the audience.

She plunged headlong into the world of opera, no longer bothering Chen Ye, but spending a lot of money to collect all kinds of rare ancient books and scripts, some of which were even long-lost rare books.

Whenever she obtained something, she would carefully carry it to Chen Ye's residence.

She asked for nothing more than to provide Chen Ye with a tiny bit of help.

Seeing the pure sincerity and enthusiasm in the girl's eyes, Chen Ye was also moved and couldn't bring himself to refuse her again and again.

That day, when Lu Jinghong brought Chen Ye a collection of play scripts as usual, Chen Ye nodded to her and said, "Thank you, Miss Lu!"

"It's alright, it's what I should do. You just need to study the script carefully," Lu Jinghong stammered, then turned to leave.

But just then, Chen Ye suddenly called out.

"Come in and have a cup of tea!"

"Ah, me?" Lu Jinghong couldn't help but ask. "There seems to be no one else here," Chen Ye said with a smile.

Lu Jinghong was stunned for a moment, then a huge surge of joy welled up in her heart, and her face flushed red. She lowered her head and murmured an "Mmm".

"Thank you!"

Chen Ye was speechless. It's just a cup of tea, why are you blushing?

However, when they went inside for tea, they saw that Lu Jinghong looked shy and spoke in a coquettish voice.

"Brother Chen, you don't need to bother anymore. I think this is fine as it is," Lu Jinghong said shyly, looking down.

Chen Ye: "..."

Then, with a helpless expression, he poured Lu Jinghong a cup of tea.

"Drink."

"Thank you, Brother Chen," Lu Jinghong said softly.

Chen Ye was speechless for a moment, and couldn't help but ask, "Do you talk like this at home too?"

"Huh, how can you talk like that?" Lu Jinghong asked, looking completely bewildered.

"Oh, it's nothing." Chen Ye knew that his words had been in vain, so he said helplessly.

Lu Jinghong lowered her head, feeling her heart pounding like a drum, and finally mustered up the courage to speak.

“Brother Chen, I…”

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ye had already lowered his head and started studying the script.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Chen Ye asked.

"Oh, it's nothing." Lu Jinghong said somewhat dejectedly.

"Well, it's alright as long as nothing's wrong," Chen Ye said calmly.

As time goes by, the sweltering heat of summer gradually fades, and the autumn atmosphere deepens.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, an unexpected guest arrived at Chen Ye's residence on this day.

The visitor was an elderly man with white hair and beard, wearing a faded gray robe, and with a solemn expression. He was the temple keeper of the General's Temple in the city.

"Mr. Chen, I've come to invite you to perform in this year's Mid-Autumn Festival religious opera." The old temple keeper got straight to the point, his tone respectful.

A religious performance?
Chen Ye was slightly surprised.

Seeing his confusion, the old temple keeper then recounted the origins of the General's Temple.

It turns out that the general's temple enshrines the founder of Zhenhaiwei, a great general surnamed Qin.

Back then, General Qin was ordered to expand the coastal frontier. He built a city and established a garrison here to resist sea pirates and made great achievements.

Unfortunately, his achievements overshadowed the emperor, and he was later framed by treacherous officials in the court. He was falsely accused of treason and his entire family was executed.

It is said that when this General Qin was beheaded, his resentment was soaring to the heavens. His head was separated from his body, but his corpse stood upright with his eyes wide open, glaring angrily in the direction of the capital.

This matter alarmed the emperor at the time, who sent people to investigate the truth. Although the general was exonerated, the dead could not be brought back to life.

To appease the general's overwhelming resentment, an imperial edict was issued to bestow upon him the title of "Great General King of Zhenhai Weiling," and a temple was built for him in Zhenhaiwei, where he was worshipped by countless families throughout the four seasons.

After receiving this promise, the unyielding corpse finally collapsed to the ground.

"Although General Wang was granted an imperial title, the resentment of his wrongful death was too strong and had not dissipated for years." The old temple keeper sighed. "Therefore, every Mid-Autumn Festival, a play is performed in the temple to thank the gods and use the music of the opera to relieve the general's resentment. This has been the rule of Zhenhaiwei for more than a hundred years."

The temple keeper did not explain that, in fact, this performance to thank the gods has now become a grand event in the Zhenhaiwei opera troupe. Those who are selected to perform in this performance are all the top stars of their time, which is a supreme honor in itself.

This year, Chen Ye is undoubtedly a leader in both popularity and skill, and his name "Lingxian" is known to everyone.

Therefore, it was only natural that the General Temple invited him to perform in this year's temple fair.

"I see." Chen Ye understood after hearing this, and then nodded. "I agree."

Seeing that he agreed, the old temple keeper's face lit up with joy. He solemnly took out a yellowed scroll from his cloth bag and handed it over with both hands.

"Mr. Chen, this is the script for this year's performance to thank the gods. Please take a look. This performance to thank the gods is different from ordinary plays, so you need to familiarize yourself with it in advance."

Chen Ye took the script and immediately felt that the texture of the paper was different from others, carrying a sense of the weight of time.

He slowly unfolded it, and there were opera lyrics written in neat, tiny characters.

But after only a few glances, Chen Ye's brows furrowed slightly.

Because something seems off about this script.

The emotional transitions between some lyrics are rather abrupt, as if a few key notes had been forcibly removed from the middle of a beautiful piece of music.

"This script seems to be incomplete?" Chen Ye looked up at the old temple keeper.

The old temple keeper nodded with a wry smile: "Boss Chen is indeed insightful. To be honest, this General's Command was created by a master a hundred years ago, but much of it has been lost in the process of being passed down to this day. Later generations have tried to complete it, but the performance always loses its charm. Alas, it is truly getting worse year by year."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye remained silent, seemingly pondering the matter.

After seeing off the old temple keeper, Chen Ye sat alone in his study, spread the play script on the table, and studied it intently.

As night deepened, the candlelight flickered.

He was so engrossed in watching that his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the table in rhythm with the lyrics.

In a daze, everything in the study began to fade and blur.

The words before my eyes seemed to come alive, transforming into soldiers clad in golden armor and riding iron horses.

He heard deafening shouts of battle and smelled the stench of blood and gunpowder in the air.

The scene changes in the next moment.

He saw a general in heavy armor, with a resolute face, standing on a high platform, receiving cheers from the people of the city.

In the blink of an eye, the general found himself imprisoned. Faced with the framing of treacherous officials and the emperor's suspicion, he was speechless and could only glare angrily.

A flash of cold light appeared on the execution ground.

"I can not be reconciled!"

A roar filled with endless anger and sorrow seemed to travel through a hundred years, exploding directly in the depths of Chen Ye's soul!
Chen Ye was suddenly jolted, feeling a powerful and tragic will surge into his mind along with the script.

He witnessed firsthand how that great general went from being a hero to dying unjustly. He clearly felt the general's injustice of being loyal but slandered, and his resentment at being wronged for protecting the country and its people.
At that moment, he felt an unprecedented resonance with the general's remaining will.

The lyrics, which were originally obscure and fragmented in the script, suddenly became clear in his mind.

Those missing parts, those lost charms, those singing styles and movements that no one could understand, were naturally filled in at that moment, clearly appearing in his mind.

So this is the real general's order.

Chen Ye suddenly opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them.

He picked up the brush on the table, dipped it in thick ink, and wrote a new set of opera lyrics on the paper in one go.

After finishing writing, he slowly stood up and, facing the empty study, began to hum a song in an unprecedentedly desolate tone.

"Heaven is blind and earth is silent, a loyal soul...to whom can it cry out!"

Before the song was finished, a sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, followed by rolling thunder in the distance.

Although it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, there was a heavy thunderstorm!
(End of this chapter)