A master of comedy!

Chapter 66 Chu Hegemon

"Great King!"

In a private room backstage at Juxianlou, a woman's opera voice rang out. Her voice was melodious and clear, yet not shrill, like the silk thread in the hands of a Suzhou embroiderer, soft yet resilient.

The word "大" (da) is pronounced in a high pitch, like a sword being drawn from its sheath, while the word "王" (wang) resonates deep in the nasal cavity, with a hooking sound at the end.

These two words alone are like the sound of metal and stone, like the cry of a phoenix.

"Today's battle—what will the outcome be?"

Upon hearing this opera tune, all the actors backstage stopped what they were doing and pricked up their ears.

They knew that this was Xiao Feng rehearsing with Boss Long, performing "Farewell My Concubine".

Next, it's time for the Overlord to speak. Boss Long is so young, I wonder if he can sing with the spirit of an Overlord.

You should know that singing the role of the Overlord is not easy; it truly tests the skills of the actor playing the copper hammer painted face.

But the next moment, they realized they had been worrying unnecessarily.

"He killed several Han soldiers—generals!"

The bold and domineering opera singing exploded like thunder, the angry voice booming and shaking the chest, as if a breath of energy from the dantian broke through the sky, causing the bronze mirror on the dressing table to tremble slightly.

"However, the enemy outnumbers us, making victory difficult—"

"This is Heaven's will to destroy Chu—alas!!"

The thunderous voice of Xiang Yu gradually subsided, and his soaring heroic spirit slowly transformed into the desolation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides.

With just one line of spoken dialogue, one can almost see the desolate figure of a hero gradually heading towards his end under the setting sun.

Inside the room, Yao Taifeng's eyes lit up instantly, flashing with a strange light.

What a magnificent Hegemon of Western Chu!
The two locked eyes, both fully immersed in their roles.

"My concubine!"

Zhou Sheng suddenly called out, then pressed his palm forward, his eyes slightly lowered, as if he felt guilty, or perhaps lonely.

In that instant, Yaotai Feng seemed to understand his heart, reaching out to hold his hand, her tender gaze revealing a hint of heartache.

"All around me are the songs of Chu; it seems Liu Bang has already conquered Chu. My power is waning—"

Little Red Thread was sitting on the opera stage, watching the play while swinging her short legs. But when she saw the two holding hands, she was so shocked that she stopped swinging her legs.

Weren't these two supposed to just rehearse their lines? How did they get so into character?

……

"The Han army has seized territory, and the songs of Chu echo from all sides—"

"With the king's spirit broken, what reason is there for this lowly concubine to live..."

As Yao Taifeng walked, her eyes were already red, as if tears were welling up in them, but in the end, not a single drop fell.

Yu Ji was a woman of great courage and integrity; how could she act like a little girl?
She wasn't saddened by her own situation, but by seeing the great hero she admired and revered fall into such a state.

Even if an unparalleled overlord loses, how can he lose his spirit?

"Waaaaaahh ...

Hearing Yu Ji's voice, Zhou Sheng's hands trembled, his eyes widened in anger, and his painted-face singing style was desolate and heroic, like a raging wave, one note after another, one wave higher than the next, until the roof rattled.

Snapped!
The candied fruit in Xiao Hongxian's mouth fell out. She, who was usually fearless, instinctively curled up and turned pale under the thunderous roar of Chu Bawang.

For a moment, he couldn't tell whether it was the real Overlord or the fake Overlord.

When experts meet, masters meet.

Even without costumes or stage props, with such a master singer performing the role of the Overlord, Yao Taifeng immediately became immersed in the performance, growing more and more deeply into the role.

She reached out to grab the sword at the Overlord's waist, the very sword she had just lent to Zhou Sheng.

Knowing that Yu Ji intended to commit suicide, the Overlord reached out to stop her. Yu Ji stepped forward and grabbed again, but the Overlord stepped back and blocked her again.

The two figures intertwined, and although they had not rehearsed beforehand, they had a perfect understanding and moved as smoothly as flowing water.

At this moment, Yu Ji seemed to have come up with a plan, and pointed outside, saying, "Your Majesty, the Han soldiers, they, they, they—they have broken in!"

"where is it?"

"over there!"

"Let me see—"

The Overlord strode forward, burning with rage, his eyes blazing with murderous intent. He failed to notice Yu Ji darting behind him, drawing her sword with a clang.

The sword flashed around his neck, and blood splattered.

Zhou Sheng was instantly jolted awake from his trance, his pupils contracting sharply as he saw the stunningly beautiful figure in the long dress, like a waning moon falling into the river, collapsing helplessly to the ground. A fake Yu Ji, a real suicide!
In an instant, the magical power in his dantian surged into his legs. He stepped out with the Bagua steps, instantly moving from the Qian position to the Li position, and embraced her in his arms.

Dang rang~
The blood-stained sword fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Zhou Sheng cried out urgently, "Yaotai—"

Before the name could be finished being called, the dead Yu Ji suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze revealing a hint of reproach.

"Boss Long, why did you break character?"

Meanwhile, the scars on her neck are disappearing at a visible rate.

"I……"

Zhou Sheng stood there awkwardly, feeling a wave of embarrassment wash over him.

"Boss Long, we're all dead already. What's the big deal about drawing a sword and committing suicide? Why are you so surprised?"

Yao Taifeng's eyes held a strange glint.

"Cough cough!"

Zhou Sheng coughed and quickly released his grip on her, apologizing, "She just died, she just died, it's understandable that I'm not used to it yet."

He breathed a sigh of relief. He had been so engrossed in the role that he had completely forgotten that the other person was a ghost, and he was genuinely frightened when he saw the blood splatter.

Yao Taifeng took a step closer, her clear eyes fixed on his, her jade-like skin clearly visible, and a faint fragrance that resembled both plum blossoms and pear blossoms.

Just as she was about to ask something else, she heard a knock on the door.

"Boss Long, Xiao Feng, it's time to get ready. Don't keep the show waiting."

It was Guan's voice that helped him successfully resolve his current predicament.

Yao Taifeng smiled and said, "I understand, Master."

"I... I'll go get my face done first..."

Zhou Sheng avoided her bright and piercing eyes and hurried backstage without looking back.

Yao Taifeng glanced deeply at his retreating figure, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"Just died... Interesting."

……

With imposing presence, unparalleled face, and the aura of a tyrant.

The armor plates are covered with a T-shaped pattern, embroidered with unicorns on the belly, and adorned with silk tassels. Every movement of the armor plates produces the sound of metal clanging.

His beard, as black as ink, rose and fell with his breath like surging dark clouds.

"It's done! Look at this overlord, he's really impressive!"

The makeup artist who helped with the makeup praised Zhou Sheng highly, expressing extreme satisfaction with his appearance.

The next moment, Zhou Sheng suddenly opened his eyes.

In an instant, the bronze mirror seemed to flash with lightning, startling the face-painting master so much that the ink on his brush trembled and spilled onto the table.

In a daze, he recalled the teachings of Master Guan.

"A true tyrant is not defined by a loud voice, but by the murderous aura that makes ten thousand armies tremble when he raises his eyes!"

At this moment, on the peerless face of the Chu Overlord, his eyes were bloodshot and fierce, as if the entire Wujiang River had been stained red with blood.

Whether it was an illusion or not, the face-painting master saw the Overlord in the bronze mirror, with two pupils in each eye, but they disappeared in a flash.

clang!
The gong sounds, and the show begins.

Zhou Sheng slowly got up and walked towards the curtain leading to the stage. Halfway there, he suddenly started singing.

"Bah!!!"

Like the roar of a dragon, like the howl of a tiger.

It was like the roar of someone lifting a massive cauldron weighing ten thousand pounds.

All the actors backstage felt a chill run down their spines, and even Yao Tai Feng, who had just changed into her Yu Ji costume, turned her head to look at it.

The master of the painted face stared blankly at the retreating figure, muttering to himself.

"The King of Chu... is he really alive?"

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(End of this chapter)