A master of comedy!

Chapter 18 Practice
“Ee—”

"ah--!"

Even though it was still dark, a melodious voice could be heard from the banks of the Pear Blossom River. A tall, handsome young man was practicing his singing by the river.

This is called "shouting out one's voice," a habit that every opera singer must develop from a young age. Generally, one must get up early and go to a place with water or a sparsely populated low-lying area to avoid disturbing others.

Therefore, since Zhou Sheng started learning Yin Opera at the age of five, he has never slept in late again.

After he finished shouting, the sun had just begun to peek through the sky, his throat was already fully open, and his vocal cords vibrated with a smooth, clear sound, like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Sheng filled two buckets with water and hurried home as the sun rose.

There were already people on the road. When they saw Zhou Sheng, they greeted him familiarly and warmly, as if he were their own nephew or niece.

The neighbor to the east gave me a corn cob, the neighbor to the west gave me a cucumber, and someone even stuffed a string of chili peppers into my hand.

It seemed he wasn't a performer, but rather someone begging for alms.

When Zhou was twelve years old, he settled in Qinggu County with his master. They lived there for nine years. Although it was remote, the local people were simple and honest, and the neighbors looked after each other, so it was a harmonious and happy place.

Zhou Sheng, with his handsome looks and dashing figure, was very popular with families whose daughters were of marriageable age.

When I got home, the sun had already risen fully, the sky was high in the sky, and the morning light filled the air.

The first thing Zhou Sheng did was change the water in the water tank.

This water isn't for drinking; it's for raising fish, specifically a goldfish.

"Brother Fish, the water's here!"

Zhou Sheng touched the goldfish, and then began to pour water.

In my memory, whenever my master went to a new place, he would first find a water tank to raise this goldfish. He was always stingy with praise for Zhou Sheng and often had a stern face, but he treasured this fish so much that he would ask Zhou Sheng to change the water every day.

So much so that Zhou Sheng called it "Brother Fish".

Brother Fish is indeed extraordinary. Ordinary goldfish can only live for six or seven years, but it has lived for more than ten years and is still lively and energetic.

The master said these were feng shui fish that could bring wealth, and instructed him to take good care of the goldfish no matter what, and never to move the water tank.

After changing the water, he began practicing tumbling exercises under his master's supervision.

The so-called "blanket kung fu" does not refer to playing with a blanket, but rather to the fact that the movements practiced are so dangerous that a thick blanket must be laid down for protection.

On that old, faded blanket, Zhou Sheng began practicing various opera movements.

Headstand, backbend, tiger leap, cloud somersault...

On the three-foot-wide blanket, he dodged and weaved with the agility of a rabbit and the swiftness of a falcon, completing one difficult move after another with effortless grace.

Agile as a dragon, fierce as a tiger, swift as a leopard, and light as a cat.

Yu Zhensheng watched coldly from the side, rapidly spinning several pebbles in his hand, producing a harsh grinding sound that brought an invisible sense of pressure to Zhou Sheng.

Whoosh!
Whenever he was even slightly distracted, a pebble would fly at a tricky angle, hitting his vital points with pinpoint accuracy, like a hidden weapon.

If you can dodge it, that's fine; if you can't, your body will instantly lose its balance and you'll crash down hard.

Just like now.

Zhou Sheng was practicing the "Pounce on the Tiger" move. He had been practicing for half an hour and was feeling tired, so he was a little distracted.

As a result, a pebble flew by, as fast as lightning, and struck his Mingmen acupoint on his lumbar spine.

Pfft!
Zhou Sheng fell straight onto the blanket, his lower back aching slightly; he knew without even looking that it was bruised.

He thought that after his cultivation improved, he would be able to dodge his master's 'hidden weapons', but he did not expect that his master's stones would also become faster.

That silent yet lightning-fast technique of using hidden weapons is absolutely rare, even in the vast world of martial arts.

"Get up and continue practicing!"

Yu Zhensheng's words were forceful and uncompromising.

"If you are distracted even for a moment while performing a ghost story, you may die without a burial place!"

"Remember, those pairs of eyes staring at you from below the stage..."

"But none of them are alive!"

Zhou Sheng didn't complain at all and immediately got up to practice hard.

Finally, he was so exhausted that he fell seven times, his body covered in bruises, that Yu Zhensheng nodded in satisfaction, but he didn't say anything to praise him.

"You've mastered the blanket technique; now it's time to practice your eye technique."

So Zhou Sheng could only drag his weary body to his feet and begin staring at the pigeon coop twenty feet away...

And just like that, the morning was over.

Lunch was as lavish as ever: a roast goose, two pounds of braised beef, a large pork knuckle, white rice, and ginseng and black chicken soup.

There was also a pot of fine wine, but Yu Zhensheng drank it all himself and forbade Zhou Sheng to touch a drop.

In his words, alcohol can affect one's voice, and if one wants to sing opera, it's best to abstain from alcohol completely.

Zhou Sheng practically wolfed down his lunch, devouring it in a flash, while Yu Zhensheng was the complete opposite, behaving with elegance and composure, even his pouring of wine and handling of chopsticks exuded grace.

In my memory, even when the master and his disciple had been starving for a long time and were suddenly given a sumptuous meal, the master remained calm and composed, elegant and unhurried. It was a demeanor etched into his very bones.

Zhou Sheng wiped his mouth, wanting to take the opportunity to chat with his master.

"Master, about completing my apprenticeship—"

Yu Zhensheng glared at him and tapped him on the head with his chopsticks.

"Do you need me to teach you what to do after you finish eating?"

Zhou Sheng could only nod, get up and walk to a willow tree, where he assumed the Hunyuan Lifting Basket Stance from the Lan Caihe Guiding Twelve Postures.

Practicing guided exercises after meals can better help the body digest food and increase strength.

Yu Zhensheng then walked to the water tank to tease his favorite goldfish.

At 1-3 PM, they begin to discuss and practice the play.

"Justice Bao", "Beating the Dragon Robe", "Reed Catkins", "Locking the Five Dragons"...

"The key to singing in singing, reciting, acting and fighting lies in practicing breath control. As the saying goes, if you master the dantian qi, you will be invincible wherever you go."

"Remember, the breaths for each long sustained note in the middle of a song are all prescribed; you can't just take a breath or steal a breath!"

"Before the big, powerful vocalization, you need to take a long, deep breath so that the following vocalization will be full and powerful!"

……

Yu Zhensheng was very strict. He was not impatient. Although he would hit Zhou Sheng with a stick every time he made a mistake, his voice was calm and he would repeat himself many times with great patience.

At the end of the day, Zhou Sheng's body would often be covered in wounds, but he was very grateful to his master.

There's a saying in the theater world: "I'd rather give you ten acres of land than teach you a single line of opera."

But when his master was instructing him on acting, he held nothing back and was completely selfless, wishing he could pass on all his experience and skills to him.

I am lucky to have met such a strict teacher.

He was not only a strict teacher, but also a kind father who was not good at expressing himself.

After dinner, the master asked Zhou Sheng to take off his shirt and lie face down on the stone table in the courtyard, which had already been polished to an extremely smooth finish.

The master rubbed his palms together to warm them, then applied the medicinal oil to him, repeatedly relieving his muscles and improving blood circulation, especially in the injured areas.

Massage techniques help the carefully blended medicated oil penetrate the flesh more quickly, strengthening muscles and bones.

This press lasted for an hour.

It has been a full sixteen years.

"Master, I have tried my best. Can't you just say something and praise me once in a while?"

Zhou Sheng said, seemingly jokingly.

Yu Zhensheng was sweating profusely, breathing slightly heavily, his snow-white hair fluttering in the wind. Hearing this, he sneered and mocked, "Are you a three-year-old? You're so old and you still need to be praised?"

"Master, why did you lie to me, saying you would graduate at twenty-one? Was it worth it to trade your life for three years of my training?"

Yu Zhensheng's hand paused slightly, then he said indifferently, "That old fox Lu Bingyuan is lying to you. I said I'm twenty-one, and I mean I'm twenty-one."

"Master..."

Time passed quietly, and the sound of snoring gradually filled the courtyard.

Zhou Sheng had fallen into a deep sleep at some point.

Yu Zhensheng's gaze gradually softened as he looked at the wounds on his disciple's body and sighed softly.

"When I found you, you were only five years old, about the size of a puppy, and very dirty."

"I never imagined he would become such an outstanding master of shadow puppetry."

"Regarding the Yangcheng incident, if it were me in my younger days, I certainly wouldn't have handled it as well as you..."

"You've done a great job."

Only when his apprentice was asleep could he seem to remove his mask and offer genuine praise, even then, his voice was very soft, like a mosquito's buzz.

"Master, I didn't know you could praise people!"

Suddenly, Zhou Sheng opened his eyes and said with a smile.

He was pretending to be asleep.

In an instant, Yu Zhensheng was struck dumb, losing his elegant demeanor for the first time and remaining frozen in place as if petrified.

Immediately afterwards, his face turned bright red at a visible speed, and his toes began to dig into the ground inside his shoes.

"Traitor...traitor!"

"I beat you to death!!!"

Moments later, screams echoed through the courtyard, lingering for a long time.

……

(End of this chapter)