A master of comedy!

Chapter 3 Judge Bao Tries the Ghost
On the stage, a chilling wind swirled, and the candlelight flickered, illuminating terrified faces.

But her shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Accompanied by the mournful sound of the strings, she finally opened her lips, but her singing style was completely different.

"There is the sun and moon, dawn and dusk—"

At this moment, her voice had an indescribable ethereal quality, and the sound lingered on and off the stage for a long time.

"Yet it cannot see—the eyes of wandering, lonely ghosts!"

Her voice suddenly became shrill, like an iron thorn piercing her throat, and at the same time, bloody tears slowly streamed from her eyes.

The most horrifying line was, "How can I send away the vast blue sky and the deep yellow springs, where none can be found?" When she sang this line, her neck made a creaking sound like a noose tightening, and a deep bloodstain appeared, bleeding continuously.

Even so, she continued to sing, her original white clothes gradually turning into blood-stained ones.

Her figure was elusive, and her footwork was so subtle that it was impossible to tell what she was doing, like a wisp of smoke drifting across the stage.

There is a unique skill in traditional Chinese opera called "ghost step," which is the way performers imitate the walking style of ghosts or monsters. It requires a stable upper body, feet that feel rootless, and a rhythm that is sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes advancing and sometimes retreating.

A skilled ghost step performer can often give the illusion that their body is half an inch off the ground, floating and flying.

However, at this moment, even the most famous performer would feel ashamed upon seeing such a ghostly step.

Everyone on stage knew very well that even the living Shen Jinhua couldn't do such a ghostly step.

At this moment, Qingyi was undoubtedly possessed by the vengeful spirit of Shen Jinhua!
They tried to escape, but the invisible and icy yin energy surged into their bodies like snow in June, making them stiff and unable to move.

"Sister Jin...we, we really don't know who killed you..."

"Sister Jin, you've taken such good care of me before, how could I possibly hurt you..."

"Please, please don't kill me! I have elderly parents and young children to support!"

All they could do at that moment was plead and beg.

The female ghost stared intently at the crowd with her dark eyes, as if scrutinizing every face. Her water sleeves rose without wind as she recited her lines in a theatrical style.

"Not you gentlemen—not you gentlemen—"

The sound gradually became eerie and chilling.

"Who is that person?"

"Is it that heartless man? Is it that gossipy woman? Is it that cold-hearted official?"

With each question, beads of blood seeped from the silk flower at her temple, and the bloodshot color in her dark eyes intensified.

"Every wrong has its perpetrator, every wrong has its perpetrator; pitifully, I sang the role of Dou E, yet I lost my head in the process."

If there is no further response—

The sound suddenly stopped, then her eyes turned bloodshot, and her voice instantly became extremely shrill, piercing the eardrums.

"Please don't blame me... for borrowing the souls of everyone here—"

"Ask them one by one and make sure they understand!"

The last six words dripped with blood, and blood seeped from the beams and pillars of the stage, as if returning to the day when the play became real and the victim was unjustly beheaded.

But just then, from the curtain at the entrance of the stage, a figure suddenly emerged, walking with a brisk, powerful stride, exuding majesty and grandeur.

"Hey! What kind of vengeful spirit dares to disturb the Dharma Hall!"

The sound was like thunder, descending from the sky. In an instant, the yin wind stopped, the ghostly aura dissipated, and everyone felt their bodies lighten, and they were able to move again.

Zhou Sheng, who plays Bao Gong, finally makes his appearance on stage.

He wore a black gauze hat, a black python robe, a jade belt, and official boots. He held a tablet in his hand, his face was black and his expression was silver, and he was strict in upholding the law.

In particular, the silver moon between his brows seemed to radiate a bright glow in the night, as if bathing him in a radiant light.

The bloodlust in the female ghost's eyes faded considerably in an instant, and she stared blankly at Bao Gong.

Zhou Sheng's appearance on stage instantly intimidated the evil spirit, and the scene fell into a brief calm.

He continued his stride toward the stage, walking past the female ghost without even glancing at her.

Only after sitting down did he slightly raise his eyes, gaze at the female ghost, and quietly utter a single word.

"kneel."

The weight of that single word was like Mount Tai, seemingly possessing an invisible divine force that caused the female ghost's knees to slowly bend, until she finally knelt down.

Snapped!
The gavel struck.

"Shen Jinhua, you say you have nowhere to seek justice? Why don't you see the three guillotines of this prefecture? Why don't you hear of the Kaifeng Prefecture of Bianzhou!"

Zhou Sheng sang the last three words in the style of "rising higher and higher, up and down the stairs," singing with full force and cadence, like thunder, with a majestic and awe-inspiring spirit bursting forth from his singing.

The flickering candlelight around them instantly straightened up, transforming into the brilliant sunlight of the blue sky!
At this moment, the female ghost seemed to finally believe that the person in front of her was the legendary Prefect of Kaifeng, Bao Gong, who could redress grievances for ghosts!
As if finding an outlet for her pent-up resentment, she immediately banged her head on the ground, tears of blood streaming down her face.

"Your Honor, I, Shen Jinhua, have never wronged anyone, yet I was framed and beheaded on the stage. My death was utterly unjust, even more so than that of Dou E!"

"I beg Your Honor to do justice for this humble woman!!" At this moment, beneath the mask of Bao Gong, Zhou Sheng finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If she believed it, then the play was half successful.

The so-called "singing ghost plays" is an ancient and mysterious profession. When a ghost play performer sings, recites, acts, and fights on stage, he or she will achieve a state similar to being possessed by a deity through the role he or she plays.

By playing different roles, one can unleash different abilities.

For example, the role of Bao Gong that he plays now can intimidate ghosts, especially those who died unjustly, who will often take the initiative to seek his help.

But that doesn’t mean he can act recklessly.

Performing occult plays is accompanied by terrifying dangers.

Once a flaw is revealed on stage and discovered by the spirits, one will die without a burial place in an instant.

Of course, if the character is a ruthless figure like Guan Yu or Zhong Kui, a highly skilled Yin Xi master may be able to forcibly kill evil spirits and demons.

However, although Zhou Sheng had studied Yin Opera with his master for sixteen years, he had not yet fully graduated and his skills were still relatively shallow.

Therefore, he stood backstage waiting for the female ghost to appear so he could observe her strength before deciding whether to go on stage.

It exudes considerable malevolence; it could already be considered a vengeful ghost.

Fortunately, the Bao Gong opera had an extraordinary attraction for the wronged ghost. The female ghost was initially somewhat doubtful, but eventually she knelt down.

This kneeling completed most of the task; the next step was to figure out how to finish it off.

"Shen Jinhua, tell me your grievances, your suffering, your hatred—"

"From the true way!"

Zhou Sheng's long, drawn-out melody here is like a surging river, and the last four words are like jade shattering in Kunshan, leaving a lingering, resounding echo.

The actors on stage are all veteran performers, and even they couldn't help but marvel at their singing.

What a gift from the gods!
“Although I don’t know who harmed me, neither the executioner nor the inspector was the real culprit. Furthermore…”

The female ghost seemed to be thinking of something, and the bloodlust in her eyes intensified again.

"After the woman was buried, someone stole my head from my coffin!"

Upon hearing this, a thought flashed through Zhou Sheng's mind.

No wonder Shen Jinhua was so vicious. It was bad enough that she was unjustly beheaded, but after her burial, she even threw away her head...

Wait, the head is missing?

Zhou Sheng was startled, and a terrifying guess surfaced in his mind.

The real culprit behind replacing the fake knife with a real one, and killing Shen Jinhua, may not have had a simple motive, but rather...

The other party had their eyes on Shen Jinhua from the very beginning!

The first character of '借' is used.

The fact that the person could quietly take Shen Jinhua's head after her wrongful death, leaving even a vengeful ghost with nowhere to seek revenge, shows that the person was no ordinary person.

This case is very complicated. Zhou Sheng's eyes flashed, and he had already made up his mind.

Despite feeling sympathy for the female ghost, all he could do at that moment was to resolve the immediate trouble and fulfill his master's instructions.

He was no longer a novice ghost storyteller; he had witnessed the cunning and ruthlessness of ghosts. His master had also told him many times that many outstanding ghost storytellers had died tragically because of momentary pity and compassion.

For thousands of years, practitioners of Yinxi (a type of Chinese folk art) have adhered to two major principles.

First, don't break character; second, don't be unable to break character.

"A life for a life, and theft is an even more serious crime. One shall be sentenced to the eighteenth level of hell to suffer the cruel tortures of being skinned alive, having one's tongue pulled out, and being subjected to mountains of knives and seas of fire!"

Zhou Sheng first delivered a righteous and stern judgment to gain the female ghost's trust, and then took out a small black jar and pointed at it.

"This court will mobilize the gods and spirits of the underworld to apprehend the true culprit. Shen Jinhua, you will first enter this urn to temporarily suppress your resentment. Once the true culprit is caught, this court will ensure that you personally avenge your blood feud and clear your name!"

Shen Jinhua suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with excitement, but also with a hint of hesitation.

She slowly rose, floated forward, and gradually approached the small black jar.

Hesitantly, she looked up at the crescent moon above Bao Gong's head.

Impartial and upright, aboveboard and honorable.

"What, you don't believe me?"

His gaze was so intense, so piercing, that she could hardly look him in the eye.

Her blood-red pupils drooped, a hint of struggle flashing across them. Finally, she nodded with difficulty, and her soul began to slowly detach from the body she possessed.

Please enter the urn!

……

(End of this chapter)