The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

The two arrived at a pastry shop next to the overpass, and Li Xiao parked his bicycle at the entrance.

"Old Yan, give me two jin of roasted peanuts, two jin of roasted melon seeds, three jin of peach shortbread, and three jin of assorted fruit."

"Oh, it's Xiao Li! What brings you here today?"

This pastry shop was opened by Yan Laokou, Yan Bugui's family. His father is still alive, so the brothers have not yet divided the family property, and he has not moved to Nanluoguxiang.

At this time, Yan Bugui was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.

He was wearing a thin summer jacket and had a pocket watch with a gold chain tucked into his chest, making him look quite stylish.

Li Xiao had naturally been to this overpass before. It was here that he discovered Yan Bugui's shop. After all, Yan Bugui was a main character in the drama, so the two of them became acquainted over time.

"Oh, my sister wanted to come to the overpass to see what was going on today, so I brought her along."

Yan Bugui looked at Liu Qianqian next to Li Xiao. Although her face was made up to look a little sallow, it still couldn't hide her stunning beauty.

"Hey, this is your sister, she's really pretty!"

"My name is Yan Bugui, you can just call me Lao Yan!"

Yan Bugui's face was plastered with the snobbish smile of a small businessman.

Liu Qianqian was still a little shy around the stranger in front of her. She hid behind Li Xiao, holding his arm with one hand, only peeking out her head.

"Um...you...hello...Old Yan!"

"Why!"

At this time, Yan Bugui's family was relatively well-off; he was no longer the stingy old man who would taste the saltiness of the food even when a manure cart passed by.

He grabbed a handful of fruit candies from the counter and handed them over with a smile.

"Hey girl, take this to sweeten your mouth, don't be shy!"

Liu Qianqian glanced at Li Xiao, and seeing him nod, she reached out and took it.

"Thank you!"

"Oh, don't be so polite!"

While Li Xiao was chatting with Yan Bugui, the shop assistant had already packed up the pastries Li Xiao wanted to buy.

"Sir, everything you ordered has been packed!"

"good!"

After paying, Li Xiao said goodbye to Yan Bugui and left with Liu Qianqian.

Li Xiao led Liu Qianqian directly to the Deshengxuan Theater on the overpass. A few days ago, the theater invited the famous Kunqu Opera performer Pei Yanzhi to perform, and tickets for Deshengxuan have been extremely hard to come by these days.

Li Xiao parked his bicycle, then took Liu Qianqian's hand and walked directly into the theater.

After Li Xiao took Liu Qianqian's hand, her originally sallow face suddenly turned bright red. However, she did not struggle, but obediently followed Li Xiao in.

The two found a table on the second floor and sat down. The table faced the stage and had an excellent view.

The waiter quickly ran over: "Sir, what would you two like to drink?"

"Bring me a pot of jasmine tea, and a few plates too. I brought some snacks with me."

"Okay, please wait a moment!"

The waiter quickly went to serve tea. Liu Qianqian turned to Li Xiao and asked, "Brother Xiao, have you been here before?"

"Yes, since we moved to Beijing, I've practically explored every corner of the city!"

As the two were chatting, Liu Qianqian suddenly paused, then shrank back.

Li Xiao naturally noticed her unusual behavior, so he took her small hand.

"Don't be afraid, these Japanese devils usually won't come up!"

"oh!"

It turned out to be several Japanese officers in military uniforms who sat down at the front table on the first floor, apparently also there to watch the opera.

Under Li Xiao's reassurance, the little girl quickly became less afraid, and her big eyes curiously observed the opera on the stage.

Li Xiao wasn't particularly interested in these things, but in this era of scarce entertainment, watching plays and listening to storytelling were the main forms of entertainment for some well-off people in old Beijing.

"Sisi, have some dried fruit. It's made from apricots, and it's sweet and sour—very delicious!"

"Okay, sure!"

Li Xiao popped a dried apricot into the little girl's mouth; its sweet and sour taste made her squint her eyes happily.

Today was the happiest day she had been in a long time. She had Xiao-gege by her side and was able to watch a play and drink tea in such a big theater. These were experiences she had never had before in her life.

After the opera ended, Li Xiao was about to leave with Liu Qianqian when he inadvertently noticed that one of the Japanese officers had sent a Japanese soldier to talk to the famous actor Pei Yanzhi.

Pei Yanzhi, who was dressed in blue, seemed to have a slight frown on his brow. However, judging from the threatening look on the Japanese soldier's face, Pei Yanzhi nodded with a sense of helplessness.

The theater was bustling with noise, but even with his keen hearing, Li Xiao couldn't hear what the other person was saying.

However, through the other party's lip reading, he learned that the group of Japanese soldiers seemed to want Pei Yanzhi to lead their opera troupe to celebrate the birthday of a certain high-ranking Japanese general.

"Five o'clock in the afternoon three days later..."

After learning the information, Li Xiao immediately took Liu Qianqian's hand and left the Deshengxuan Theater.

Three days passed quickly. Li Xiao had disguised himself and was now standing opposite the entrance of the Deshengxuan Theater, holding a wooden box for selling cigarettes.

"Hey, give me a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes!"

"35 cents for Daqianmen!"

"for you!"

Li Xiao handed the cigarette to the customer, then continued to stand there waiting for something.

About half an hour later, a sidecar motorcycle led the way, followed by two Ford sedans, and then a military truck.

Soon the convoy stopped in front of the Deshengxuan Theater, and a group of Japanese soldiers jumped off the trucks and immediately surrounded the two cars.

Several high-ranking Japanese officers stepped out of two cars, and Li Xiao immediately recognized their identities.

The middle-aged man with a small mustache walking at the front was Major General Tanaka Nobuo, the brigade commander of the 15th Independent Mixed Brigade of the Japanese Army stationed in Beijing.

The officers beside him were all senior officers of the 15th Brigade.

A group of Japanese officers walked into the Deshengxuan Theater, chatting and laughing. Then, four Japanese soldiers stood guard at the theater entrance with their guns in hand.

Li Xiao walked into a secluded alley, and when he came out, he had changed into another outfit.

At this moment, he had a small mustache on his upper lip and wore round-framed glasses, making him look like a schoolteacher.

Li Xiao walked to the back door of Deshengxuan Theater, and then darted to the eaves of the second floor.

There were no customers left in the Deshengxuan Theater at this time; the theater had been booked out by the Japanese soldiers for the entire night.

Today is Tanaka Nobuo's 40th birthday, and this group of Japanese soldiers specially booked out the entire Deshengxuan restaurant to celebrate his birthday.