A master of comedy!

Chapter 16 Lord Ma

"Hey!!"

A single roar from a Yan man, his heart and soul transformed into thunder and lightning.

Realizing he had been discovered, Zhou Sheng remained calm and instinctively thrust out his spear.

He hadn't yet changed into the Huanhou mask, but for a master of Yin Opera, who had toiled since childhood to hone his skills and refine his blood and qi, the techniques he practiced were also methods of killing.

A solid bridge, a strong horse, and the backbone of a dragon and tiger; real swords, real spears, and real kung fu.

Therefore, this spear was both fast and ruthless, employing the "Yaksha Probing the Sea" technique from Huanhou's Eight Spears.

The key to this move lies in speed and accuracy.

Legend has it that Zhang Fei used this move to pierce the gaps in the shield formation, and could pierce the throats of three people with one spear!

He could shatter even the most impenetrable shield walls with a single spear thrust, moving freely across the battlefield as if it were his own backyard.

Although Zhou Sheng was far from reaching that level, his spear shot out like a thunderbolt, instantly piercing through the wooden door and accurately striking the opponent's chest.

Even in the military, this single shot would make him a rare talent.

However, the expected scene of the spear piercing the chest and lifting the enemy's arm did not occur, because the spear that could split stone seemed to have struck a piece of refined steel.

clang! !

The spear tip trembled like a snake's tail, and the spear shaft was squeezed and bent by Zhou Sheng's thunderous force, but it was firmly clamped and could not advance any further.

What a monster!

With just one shot, Zhou Sheng knew that his opponent was incredibly strong, seemingly possessing a body of steel and the strength of ten thousand jin.

He raised his sleeve, preparing to change his expression and use underhanded tricks, but just then, a familiar voice rang out from behind the door.

"You little rascal, your marksmanship has improved."

Zhou Sheng immediately lowered his sleeves, but did not completely let his guard down. Instead, he holstered his gun while crouching back.

It allows for both escape and convenient execution of the "Crushing Mountain and Returning Horse" move from the Eight Spears of Marquis Huan.

He had read in some ancient books of strange tales that some monsters could mimic the voice of a person after eating their throat.

However, as the wooden door was pushed open, the familiar figure finally made Zhou Sheng breathe a sigh of relief.

An old man dressed in cloth clothes and hemp shoes walked out of the house. His beard was cleanly shaved, but his sideburns were already gray. He had a ruddy complexion, a thin figure, and looked stern.

Even though it bears the marks of time, its elegance and unique demeanor remain undiminished.

This was Yu Zhensheng, the master who taught him Yin Opera for sixteen years.

The people of Qinggu County all called him Doctor Yu, praising him for his kindness, gentleness, and refined manners. He was a renowned physician in the surrounding area.

But only Zhou Sheng knew how sharp-tongued his master was in private, and how terrifyingly rigorous and serious he was when teaching opera.

It's truly not easy to get a compliment from him on your progress.

"Master, what were you doing just now...?"

"Pharmaceutical manufacturing".

“A patient has been afflicted by yin energy. We need to make pills with rooster blood, cinnabar, realgar, and other substances. You’ve come back just in time. Go kill a rooster for me and get its blood later.”

Zhou Sheng nodded, but the image of that scarlet pupil and the feeling of striking a rock with that shot kept flashing through his mind.

Master must be lying, but...

Remembering that his master had used his life as collateral to buy him, his disciple, three more years, Zhou Sheng decided not to press the matter further.

"Danshan, don't forget the old rules."

“My apprentices all remember.”

Zhou Sheng put down the spear, took out a brazier, lit a fire, and placed it at the doorway. When the fire was at its strongest, he stepped over it.

As he stepped over the fire, the raging flames instantly shrank considerably. Yu Zhensheng sneered and said, "Such heavy Yin energy. It seems that this time, the filth you've provoked is no ordinary thing."

Just as Zhou Sheng was about to explain, Yu Zhensheng interrupted him.

"After returning from the opera, we first step over a fire basin and then pay respects to the ancestral master. This is the custom. We can say whatever we want after we have paid respects to the ancestral master."

"Yes, Master."

Zhou Sheng entered the inner room and, with practiced ease, went to the statue of the deity enshrined in the central hall, where he respectfully lit three incense sticks.

"Zhou Sheng, a disciple of the Yinxi lineage, pays respects to Patriarch Huaguang!"

He placed three incense sticks into the burner and gazed at the statue of Emperor Huaguang through the rising wisps of incense smoke.

Most folk opera troupes worship the Old Man God as their patron saint, who is said to be Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji. Li Longji loved to sing opera and even played the role of a clown, so the clown has a very special status.

For example, apart from the drummer, only the clown in the opera troupe can sit in the Kowloon Mouth.

The main patriarch worshipped by the Yinxi lineage is the Huaguang Emperor in front of us, also known as Marshal Ma, the Three-Eyed Spiritual Light, and the Huaguang Heavenly King.

He has a very famous name among the people—Lord Ma!

The statue that Zhou Sheng was worshipping at this moment was about a foot tall, with golden armor and a red robe, majestic and imposing, with a vertical mark between its eyebrows, which was the closed third eye.

What is most eye-catching is the golden spear in his hand, which is entwined with dragons and snakes. It seems to be made of pure gold and shines with the unique luster of gold.

According to the master, this statue of the patriarch is nearly a thousand years old, extremely miraculous and efficacious, and is the most precious treasure of their Yinxi lineage.

From the age of six, Zhou Sheng would visit this patriarch every morning and evening until he turned eighteen, after which he would stop visiting him once a month.

According to his master, children who learn Yin Opera are more likely to die young, and his ability to grow up safely is undoubtedly due to the protection of the ancestral master.

He had previously been skeptical of this claim, because the statue had never shown him any supernatural abilities since he was a child. But now, with his improved spiritual cultivation, he had discovered some clues.

In his spiritual perception, he felt as if he were facing not a clay or stone statue, but a... living person?
This strange feeling was fleeting, but Zhou Sheng knew it was no illusion.

After bowing respectfully, Zhou Sheng was about to get up when he looked up and was shocked to see that the vertical line between Emperor Huaguang's eyebrows had opened at some point.

In an instant, he saw a sun wreathed in blazing golden flames!
Zhou Sheng felt a moment of disorientation, and he seemed to hear a muffled groan in his ear. Then a terrifying yin energy dissipated, as if it had been burned to ashes by the raging flames.

When he came to his senses again, everything around him had returned to normal, and the third eye between the god's eyebrows closed again, leaving only a shallow vertical mark.

But when Zhou Sheng touched his face, the tiny scar left by the evil spirit on the Yin-Yang Road had disappeared.

It was spotless, without even a scar.

"You brat, you didn't even know you were attacked from the shadows. I noticed something was wrong as soon as you came back. The yin energy was too strong. Anyone who didn't know better would think you were possessed by a female ghost."

"Hmph, to be able to alarm the Ancestral Master, it seems this filthy thing is quite powerful!"

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Zhou Sheng took a deep breath and recounted the events in Yangcheng, including his one-year agreement with Lu Bingyuan and his encounters on the Yin-Yang Road.

He had actually considered hiding some things because he didn't want his master, who had already retired from the criminal world, to get involved again.

However, the waters of this matter are far too deep, and judging from the current situation, it has far exceeded his capabilities.

If we continue to conceal it, it's not filial piety, but foolishness.

"Not bad, you know to confide in your family, so you're not hopelessly stupid."

After hearing this, Yu Zhensheng's eyes flashed with a hint of relief, but he let out a cold laugh.

He took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Sheng.

"Look, you acted as someone's pawn, and they betrayed you completely."

"What, do you want to be like Yang Qilang, getting riddled with a thousand arrows by Pan Renmei?"

……

(End of this chapter)