A master of comedy!

Chapter 64 Zombie Kung Fu

Hearing the crowd's discussion, Zhou Sheng immediately looked at his master.

"Eat your food and fill your stomach; that's more important than anything else."

Yu Zhensheng continued eating methodically, looking content, as if being alive to eat the finest food was a rare pleasure in itself.

"Master, that ghost king you mentioned before—"

Yu Zhensheng placed a piece of kidney on his plate and said, "Eat, eat, eat. It won't taste good if it gets cold."

Zhou Sheng was helpless, knowing that his master would not reveal anything.

“If you are truly sincere, then perform well and dispel the evil spirits of fire as soon as possible, so that they can regain their freedom sooner.”

"The most important thing is... the red thread."

Upon hearing this name, Yu Zhensheng lowered his eyes, and his chopsticks remained inactive for a long time.

"Master, Senior Sister Hongxian seems a bit off..."

Zhou Sheng hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yu Zhensheng looked up at him and sighed, "It's alright to tell you about this. Hongxian is implicated because of me."

Zhou Sheng was suddenly taken aback.

"It was all because of that play, 'Exploring Yin Mountain.' All my old friends who worked with me died while performing this play. The reason I survived was because a fool covered my tracks."

Although he was called a fool, Zhou Sheng didn't hear any mockery at all; instead, he heard an undisguised sense of self-reproach and loss.

“His stage name is Xiao Jiansheng. He grew up with me and is my junior brother. He is your senior uncle. In our Zhao family opera troupe, our master took in thirteen apprentices in total. I am the fifth and he is the sixth.”

Zhou Sheng's eyes flickered. No wonder Yao Taifeng and the others called their master Fifth Master.

It was rare for his master to talk about the affairs of their lineage of Yin Opera, so he immediately focused his attention and listened attentively.

"Of our thirteen brothers and sisters, six died at the stage of completing their apprenticeship. After I took over the Zhao family troupe, the second and third brothers were dissatisfied and went out to make their own way. Later, I heard that one of them died and the other went missing."

"The rest of them followed me all over the country, traveling among various ghosts and gods, singing ghost plays, until I insisted on singing 'Exploring the Underworld Mountain'."

"Old Six's specialty is throwing zombies, also known as zombie kung fu. It combines the strengths of various martial arts, and his body has reached a level where he is impervious to swords and spears, and water and fire. Even ordinary ghost kings cannot possess him."

Zhou Sheng was startled, suddenly recalling the pair of scarlet eyes he had seen when he returned to Qinggu County that day. At that time, he had fiercely thrust out the serpent spear in his hand, with such force that it could pierce through metal.

But when the spear struck his master, it was like striking a golden bell, leaving him completely unharmed.

Is this what they call zombie kung fu?
The name "Zombie Kung Fu" sounds mysterious, but he himself had actually learned it; it's a type of acrobatic kung fu used in traditional Chinese opera.

This refers to the action of an actor falling to the ground in a stiff posture, which can be divided into two forms: soft and hard.

To practice this skill, Zhou Sheng often broke his head and bled profusely. After becoming proficient, he recovered a lot, but his back was still often covered in bruises.

The zombie kung fu in Yinxi, compared with ordinary opera, incorporates some hard qigong techniques from martial arts, which can increase the body's ability to withstand blows. However, after practicing for so many years, Zhou Sheng can only block wooden sticks and has a stronger recovery ability.

Just as Master said, it is invulnerable to swords and spears, impervious to water and fire, and even ordinary ghost kings cannot harm it; it is practically like a golden body of Buddhism.

Add to that the master at his peak, and his fellow disciples who possessed extraordinary skills, how powerful must the Zhao Family Troupe have been back then?

That was probably the strongest troupe of the Yin Opera lineage in thousands of years, but it was almost completely wiped out because of a play called "Exploring Yin Mountain".

"Old Six gave me the chance to live, resolutely rushing towards the ghosts and gods chasing him from the underworld. His last words to me were..."

"Fifth Brother, please take good care of my daughter."

Yu Zhensheng's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and the piece of meat he had finally managed to pick up fell onto the table.

A sudden thought flashed through Zhou Sheng's mind, and he blurted out, "Hongxian, is that Sixth Uncle's daughter?"

Yu Zhensheng remained silent, and his silence itself was an answer. At this moment, Zhou Sheng finally understood why his usually strict master was so doting when facing Hongxian.

"Although I escaped back to the world of the living alive, I discovered that the underworld's soldiers did not even spare our relatives. They wanted to kill everyone and wipe out our lineage!"

Zhou Sheng's pupils dilated, because of that play, not only were all the members of Zhao's troupe wiped out, but their relatives in the mortal world also suffered and were killed by ghosts and gods.

All those who have performed in that play will lose their entire family and their descendants!

"When I found the red thread, her three souls and seven spirits had already been extracted by the ghost soldiers, leaving her with only a breath left. Although I took action, I could only retrieve two souls and seven spirits, losing the Shuangling among the three souls."

Zhou Sheng finally understood why the red thread made him feel a little strange, and why it always said things that defied common sense.

Humans have three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are Tai Guang, Shuang Ling, and You Jing.

Tai Guang governs lifespan, Shuang Ling governs intelligence, and You Jing governs emotions.

Without Shuangling's soul, Hongxian is like a child who never grows up, and sometimes even less than a child.

“Hongxian loves singing opera, almost to the point of obsession. In order to keep her in check, I lied to her and said I would teach her to sing dark opera. I trained her hard every day, hoping she would give up. But that girl is just as stubborn as you.”

"Even if she falls and gets bruised and swollen, even if she's too tired to get up, she never backs down. She just asks me to buy her a piece of candy or a candied fruit when she's crying in pain. If she has something sweet to eat, she won't cry."

Zhou Sheng remained silent, as if a scene appeared before his eyes: a little girl who had fallen and was covered in injuries, crying loudly in pain, but after eating candied fruit, she smiled and got up to start practicing her kung fu.

Over and over again, day after day.

"But how could I let her go down that dangerous old path of yin opera again? Besides, she has lost her soul, so learning opera will be twice as difficult and half as effective."

"So I only taught her the tiger, dog, and rabbit forms, trying to stall for time. But she noticed and went to Juxianlou to watch plays and secretly learn, until the fire broke out..."

"To be honest, I failed Lao Liu's trust and failed to take good care of Hongxian."

Yu Zhensheng finally finished explaining the whole story. His voice was very soft, but it made Zhou Sheng feel extremely heavy-hearted.

"Master, if I'm not mistaken..."

Zhou Sheng looked deeply at his master and said, word by word, "When you returned to the mortal world, the first person you went to look for was Hongxian, not your own family."

Yu Zhensheng suddenly looked up, his eyes showing obvious emotional fluctuations, and he was speechless for a moment.

"You knew your loved one was in danger, yet you went to find Hongxian immediately and rescued her from the ghost soldiers. For that alone..."

Zhou Sheng poured himself a glass of wine, raised it, and looked solemn.

"Master, you have not failed your friend's trust in your life and death. Your disciple respects you!"

He wanted to drink, but Yu Zhensheng knocked the wine cup away with his chopsticks, leaving a red mark on his hand, and spilled the wine on the table.

"You brat, do you think I need your comforting words? Don't even think about taking this opportunity to drink; your voice is a precious thing!"

Yu Zhensheng laughed and cursed, but the dejection in his eyes faded considerably.

"Remember, I'm telling you all this so you can understand two things. First, stop thinking about 'Exploring the Underworld Mountain'. Second, treat Hongxian well and don't look down on her."

Zhou Sheng nodded and smiled, "Master, I understand."

"That's good. Go early tonight so it'll be easier to rehearse the lines."

Yu Zhensheng gave a word of advice and was about to raise his hand to call the waiter when he saw his apprentice already waving his hand and calling out.

"Waiter, another bag of candied fruit, to go!"

Yu Zhensheng was stunned for a moment, then slowly laughed and cursed under his breath.

You little rascal, you learn pretty fast...

(End of this chapter)