A master of comedy!

Chapter 49 Corpse-Driving Talisman

"Phoenix on the Jade Terrace..."

Zhou Sheng pondered the name, which was clearly a stage name for an opera singer. He also observed that when the storyteller uttered the name, the guests in the restaurant all put down their chopsticks.

Anyone of a certain age seems to have a deep and unforgettable impression of this name.

Even though a full eighteen years have passed.

"Speaking of this Feng family, she is truly remarkable. She debuted on stage at the age of sixteen, and her voice astonished half of Xunyang City. By the age of twenty, she had become the number one female impersonator in Jiangzhou!"

"Not only the Qingyi, but also the Huadan, Wudan, and Daomadan are all incredibly skilled, their kung fu is absolutely amazing, and every performance is a resounding success!"

"Back then, half the people in Jiangzhou were her fans..."

When the storyteller mentioned Yao Tai Feng, he immediately became eloquent and his eyes were filled with rapture, as if he could see that dazzling figure on the stage again and hear that extraordinary singing voice.

No one in the restaurant interrupted; most of them wore expressions of reminiscence and nostalgia, while the unfamiliar out-of-towners looked on with great curiosity.

"Feng Dajia is not only skilled in martial arts and has a great singing voice, but every year on the birthday of the God of Pear Garden, she would perform at Juxianlou for seven consecutive days, donating all the money she earned to help orphans or to give porridge to beggars, saving countless lives..."

At this point, the storyteller clasped his hands and sighed, "Back when I was poor and destitute, I also received kindness from Master Feng."

Some diners echoed this sentiment.

“I was too young to remember that year, but my mother said that there was a drought that year and the harvest was completely lost. If it weren’t for the soup kitchen run by the Feng family, my mother and I would have died long ago!”

"Yes, yes, yes... In the eighteenth year of Zhaode, that drought was truly terrifying. I remember that the Feng family sang for nine days straight to raise money from the landlords and wealthy gentry, and their throats were almost bleeding..."

"Sigh, although it's a lowly profession, when you mention the Feng family, who in the whole of Jiangzhou doesn't give them a thumbs up? It's just that this good person... why does he always seem to get no good reward?"

The storyteller waved his folding fan lightly and sighed, "Indeed, the great fire eighteen years ago burned the huge Juxianlou restaurant to the ground. Neither the performers nor the audience managed to escape!"

"It was a terrible tragedy. There were hundreds of people, but they couldn't find many intact corpses. Later, the place was abandoned. It was said that the resentment was too strong. The government hired a high monk to perform a ritual and even built a Buddhist pagoda to suppress the evil spirits, but it was no use. No one dared to buy it!"

"A while ago, Zhou Laosan from the coffin shop, who was usually obsessed with opera, reportedly got drunk and wandered into Juxianlou. He said he heard Feng Dajia singing opera again, and he went completely mad, like he was possessed..."

After listening to the storyteller's words and the discussions of the surrounding diners, Zhou Sheng's heart stirred.

Therefore, the Yu Ji sung by Zhou Laosan must be a modified version of the song by Feng Dajia, who died in a fire eighteen years ago.

The reason why Zhou Laosan had such a heavy yin aura was not because he slept in a mass grave, but because he went to Juxianlou.

If you were to actually go to a theater where countless people died in a fire eighteen years ago, he would probably be the only living person on and off the stage.

How could this not be heavy with yin energy?
Even the fact that he managed to walk out alive was attributed to his strong destiny and good fortune.

Even if it were him, he wouldn't be able to withstand hundreds or thousands of vengeful ghosts. Just thinking about the scene of those ghosts swarming in like a tide made Zhou Sheng's scalp tingle.

and many more……

His heart skipped a beat, and then he looked at his master stiffly, asking in a low voice, "Master, the stage you asked me to step onto, could it be... Juxianlou?"

Yu Zhensheng put down his chopsticks, slowly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and smiled without saying a word.

“Master, this is not funny at all…”

Zhou Sheng returned a stiff smile, thinking to himself, "You really are my master."

"To perform on stage, you need a stage name. Sometimes a stage name is even more important than your real name. Think about it yourself. Tell me your name before you go on stage tonight, otherwise... I'll just choose one for you myself."

After a pause, Yu Zhensheng said with a half-smile, "I think Xiao Taohong and Zhou Fengjiao are quite good." Zhou Sheng immediately gasped.

Suddenly, the fear of going on stage seemed insignificant. As a grown man, if he adopted such a stage name, he would be so ashamed that he would die of embarrassment that even without the help of a vengeful ghost.

Wait... he seems to have missed something?
"Master, you just said...we'll be performing tonight?"

Yu Zhensheng glanced at him indifferently, then called over the waiter, bought some candied fruit, carefully wrapped it in oil paper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

He got up and left, his voice drifting back softly.

"It's better to die today than to wait for another day; it's better to die sooner than later."

"Don't worry, it's not that painful... after all, it's not me going on stage."

Zhou Sheng: "..."

After the meal, as dusk fell, his master led him to a house in the south of the city and skillfully took out a key to open the door.

It seems like no one has lived here for a long time; it's overgrown with weeds and covered in dust.

The courtyard was spacious. Zhou Sheng saw plum blossom stakes and a dilapidated weapon rack, but they were all covered in mold and were rotten.

In an instant, a picture flashed into his mind.

That was a picture of myself practicing martial arts on plum blossom stakes and with wooden swords and spears.

He had used all of these training tools before.

It seems that Master once taught Senior Sister martial arts in this mansion.

"Make do for now, we'll tidy it up another day. Go get some water to take a shower now, and remember, only cold water, the colder the better."

Yu Zhensheng gave the instructions.

Zhou Sheng didn't ask any more questions and immediately went out to fetch water from the well. The water in the deep well was icy cold, and he felt chilly even while washing.

Then the master picked up a cinnabar brush, dipped it in cinnabar mud, and drew a talisman on the skin of his back.

As soon as the talisman was completed, Zhou Sheng suddenly shivered, feeling as if every pore on his body was sealed by a chill. The three yang flames on his shoulders instantly went out, and the yang energy in his body slowly dissipated.

If someone were to touch his body now, they would feel it was icy cold, with a chilling sensation, as if he had just come out of an ice cellar.

"This is a corpse-driving talisman from the corpse-driving lineage. Corpse-driving people usually remove the internal organs of a corpse, stuff it with preservatives, and then draw this talisman on it to suppress the corpse from turning into a zombie."

Zhou Sheng asked, somewhat puzzled, "Master, if the talisman is meant to be drawn on a corpse, why did you draw it on my back?"

"So that you can live."

Yu Zhensheng gave him a deep look and said, "This corpse-driving talisman, when drawn on a living person, can seal acupoints and suppress yang energy. In this way, when you go on stage to perform, it will not be discovered that you are a living person."

He paused, then solemnly reminded him again: "Remember, once you're on stage, whatever you do, don't be discovered... You're alive."

"Otherwise, you might become... one of them."

……

　Thank you Asian Black Donkey for the generous donation of 100! Sending you love!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)