A master of comedy!

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

The twentieth year of Yuanshou.

The Juxianlou Theater in Xunyang City was repaired once again, but the two consecutive fires made it a place shrouded in mystery, and the people in the city felt it was eerie, so few people dared to come and watch the plays anymore.

But for some, this place holds extraordinary significance, as it is the final resting place of many predecessors who fought and bled for the Yinxi lineage.

The backyard has been turned into a cemetery, surrounded by many pine and cypress trees, which are lush and green under the midsummer sun, and a gentle breeze carries the faint scent of pine.

Today is the Ghost Festival again.

This time, however, the young Yinxi practitioners no longer showed tension and fear on their faces; only nostalgia for their predecessors remained.

Just like ordinary people, they cleaned the tombs of their ancestors, offered sacrifices and wreaths, and burned paper money while expressing their longing.

It was midnight.

The stage at Juxianlou would be brightly lit all night long.

These Yinxi performers from all over the country collaborated and performed on stage. Each of them was extremely serious, showing off their unique skills as if they were performing for someone important.

Most of the chairs in the audience were empty, but each one had a name written on it.

Mulan Sheng, Iron Monkey, Beihai Kun, Xian Shisan Niang...

These are all famous actors of Yinxi opera who sacrificed their lives here, and they were also their seniors and masters.

Three years ago, the legendary Yin Opera Master wreaked havoc in the underworld, severing the contract that had bound the Yin Opera lineage for nearly a thousand years and casting Yama, the King of Hell, into the cycle of reincarnation. Since then, the Yin Opera Master has enjoyed complete freedom.

Those who witnessed Zhou Sheng's divine power back then were filled with gratitude. They regarded Juxianlou, which had changed their destiny, as a sacred place and agreed to come here to perform during the Ghost Festival to entertain their masters.

At the same time, this is also a great opportunity for exchange. Because we have lived together and gone through life and death together, we have put aside our prejudices and stopped working behind closed doors. Instead, we have communicated frankly and made progress together.

Yu Tianheng and Yu Zhensheng, the two most respected masters of Yinxi, would sometimes appear to give guidance.

Because of that man, the fate and lineage of the Yin Puppet Masters underwent a dramatic change.

But one thing remained stuck in everyone's heart like a thorn, and even after three years, they could not let it go.

The man who rescued them from hell, who changed the course of history of the Yinxi lineage like a god descending to earth, the universally acknowledged greatest and most legendary Yinxi master, never appeared again after that.

They were nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead.

As dawn broke, everyone packed their bags and said their goodbyes.

Each of them would come to the stone statue in the courtyard, bow spontaneously, and then go off to all corners of the country. While performing, they would all insist on inquiring about one thing.

Where is Zhou Sheng?
They refused to believe that the man of unparalleled talent and extraordinary abilities was truly dead, so they traveled throughout the martial world for years, never giving up searching for Zhou Sheng's whereabouts.

Unfortunately, there has been no news to this day.

After everyone had left, Yu Zhensheng and Yu Tianheng slowly strolled to the stone statue. It was a handsome and dashing man with bright eyes, sharp eyebrows, and an extraordinary demeanor, except for a slight frost on his temples.

"Where did that brat go...?"

Yu Zhensheng gazed at the statue that the Yin Opera masters had spontaneously erected for their apprentices, his eyes slightly red, and his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

"The fire pit at home has been burning for three years, just waiting for him to come and burn it down, but that brat hasn't sent a single word..."

The apprentice succeeded, not only accomplishing what he himself had failed to do, but also slaying countless ghosts and gods, and even casting Yama, the King of Hell, into the cycle of reincarnation. This matter had already been spread to the human world through the King of Hell's men.

The name Zhou Sheng has now spread throughout the world. His astonishing behavior has shaken the entire cultivation world like a thunderclap. The young Yin-Yang Masters revere him as a god. Now, when Zhou Sheng is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is not the successor of the Demon of Play, but the God of Play.

It has both the praise of being a god of ghost plays and the allegory of teasing and joking with ghosts and gods.

Sensing his old friend's excitement, Yu Tianheng sighed and comforted him, "Everyone is looking for him. The Yin Opera Masters are searching in the martial arts world, Bao Ying and the court officials are also searching, and after the Yin King and Judge Wei took power, the people of the Underworld are also searching..."

"Actually, no news is the best news."

Yu Zhensheng understood what he meant, nodded, and said with a firm gaze, "That kid is tough, he always manages to turn bad luck into good. I believe that God won't take him away so soon!"

According to the surviving ghosts and spirits, Zhou Sheng was not absorbed into the cycle of reincarnation, but suddenly disappeared. Before he disappeared, he seemed to have taken a magic pill.

"Old Man Niu Shan cast divinations for him several times, but the results were very vague. It seemed that he was in a place where the secrets of heaven were cut off, and it was not clear in a short time. But one thing is certain: he is most likely not dead!"

Yu Zhensheng repeated himself, and Yu Tianheng couldn't help but sigh inwardly after hearing it.

This was the umpteenth time he had heard the other person say these words. He knew that Yu Zhensheng wasn't speaking to him, but to himself.

People become more nostalgic as they get older, especially when it comes to their most prized apprentice whom they raised themselves.

This hero of yesteryear has now become quite verbose.

Yu Tianheng knew that he had better change the subject now.

"By the way, the Yin King's people said that Yao Tai Feng has also entered the cycle of reincarnation. However, due to the chaos at the time, it is impossible to confirm which family she was reincarnated into. But what is certain is that she was still reincarnated as a human, and the time of her birth... may be coming soon."

Yu Zhensheng then regained some energy and said, "Then I'll ask Bao Ying to help investigate the recent births of female fetuses and see if we can find her and take her as a disciple!"

If the apprentice were still alive, the one he would be most worried about would definitely be Yaotai Feng.

If his apprentice were to pass away, he would never allow him to have any regrets.

Yu Tianheng nodded, but in truth, he didn't hold out much hope. The scope was simply too vast, the time frame uncertain, the location unpredictable, and the number of recently born babies was astronomical. Finding Yaotai Feng would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

But he didn't say it out loud; instead, he wanted to find something for Yu Zhensheng to do.

……

The capital of Daxuan, the residence of the General Who Protects the Nation.

General Yang Dingbang, who is 42 years old, was in high spirits today, with an unstoppable smile on his face, and he smiled at everyone he met.

This surprised those who knew him.

Yang Dingbang was a famous general of the Great Xuan Dynasty, with outstanding military achievements. He was awarded the title of General Zhenguo. The emperor once praised him for having the composure of a thunderbolt in his heart but the calmness of a still lake, and for having the demeanor of a great general.

But then they realized that it was probably because the old general's son was about to be born.

Yang Dingbang had three sons in his early years, but they all died young. Later, he was wounded in battle and his health deteriorated, so he had no children, which was a constant worry for him.

Last year, his wife became pregnant and dreamed that a Qilin entered her womb. The doctor also said that the fetus's pulse was strong and powerful, and that it would surely have the bones of a dragon and tiger and inherit the old general's martial arts skills.

And judging by the days, she should be giving birth in the next few days.

Not long after he arrived at the Ministry of War, a servant rushed in to report that his wife was about to give birth. Yang Dingbang was overjoyed and immediately asked for leave to go home.

...(End of this chapter)