Chapter 2 Man under the Eaves

  Li Bangzhu followed the family servant to the reception room, where he saw two people sitting. One was a young man dressed as a scholar, and the other was a young nobleman with a greasy face, dressed from head to toe in gold, with a large piece of white jade on his hat, a thick golden chain around his neck, seven or eight jade pendants hanging from his waist, a ring on his right hand set with a golden-yellow gemstone as big as a pigeon's egg, and even two pieces of jade hanging from the heels of his shoes. At first glance, he shone brightly like a god descending to earth, dazzling people so that they couldn't open their eyes.

  Li Ban recognized the bright young master in front of him, who looked like a walking lantern, as the only son of County Magistrate Ma. He hastily stepped forward and paid his respects, saying: "Young Master is well, what instructions do you have for me?"

  That young master lifted his foot and pointed to the scholar beside him, saying: "This Mr. Zhang is a noble person. His esteemed presence in your humble theater is an honor for you."

  Li Ban Zhu repeatedly said: "Yes, yes. The two young masters have come to our humble abode, and we are honored by your presence." In his heart, he was thinking: What's going on? Are they giving us face? Could it be that they won't give us the ticket money, but instead want us to pay them?

  Marquis continued: "Since you know honor, you should serve well. Zhang Gongzi loves to listen to opera, and I heard that there is a small actor who sings Dan here, called... called..."

  The scholar beside him said, "Cheng Jiu, Old Master Cheng." Ma Gongzi slapped his thigh and said, "Ah, it's him. Why didn't I see him today? Do you look down on us?" As he spoke, he slapped the table, causing the teacups and bowls to jump high into the air with a loud clatter.

  Li Ban Zhu was secretly surprised: How did he know Jiu Sui Hong's original surname? On the surface, he smiled and said, "To answer your question, it's not that we don't want Jiu Sui Hong to perform, but rather she has already retired from performing."

  "What? Not performing anymore?"

  "He's lost his voice." Seeing Master Ma didn't understand, he continued, "He's reached that age, his throat has changed, and his voice can't come out. He's currently studying to recover it, but these few years might be difficult for him to perform. If the recovery doesn't go well, and his voice doesn't come back, he might not be able to perform in the future either. He'll just have to become a music teacher, or a drummer, or maybe change professions and play a small role like a clown."

  "What a pity. That child has great potential at such a young age, he's a natural-born actor, it would be a waste if he were to squander his talent like this."

  Ma Gongzi's eyes rolled, and he shouted: "How do I know it's true or you're deceiving us? Never mind if she can sing or not, is the person still alive? Bring her out and let us see. If it's true, we won't make things difficult for you, and we'll even give you a reward."

  Li Ban-zhu hesitated: "This..." Then Ma Gong-zi glared at him, and Li Ban-zhu could only say: "Yes, yes." He retreated.

  Li Ban Zhu returned to the back, very annoyed, not because of Ma Gong Zi's unreasonable behavior, he had been in this line for decades, what kind of villain hadn't he seen? It was just that if it were someone else, it would be fine, but Cheng Jiu, this little scoundrel, really wasn't a good egg.

  When he was popular, he had a very arrogant and unruly personality, never knowing how to restrain himself in front of noble people. Fortunately, at that time, he was young and sang well, so those guests all liked to follow the fashion, showing off their own elegance and taste, seeing his personality, they would say that he was naturally high-minded and different from others, not thinking it strange. But now that he's older, his career is declining, his temper hasn't improved, and he's becoming even more eccentric. That Marquis obviously isn't the kind of person who would humble himself for the sake of appearances, on the contrary, he's more arrogant than anyone else, shameless, and has no limits, if he encounters Cheng Jiu, it's likely that his theater will be finished.

  He stormed into the back office with a scowl on his face and grabbed someone, asking: "Have you seen Chengjiu?"

  That guy is a hoodlum. He pointed with his hand and said, "Just now, I saw him fiddling with a knife blade in the corner."

  Li Ban's master felt dizzy and thought to himself: "Ancestors, don't let him come up with something new." Over the past month, for some reason, Chengjiu seemed to have improved his temper a lot. His usual arrogance had been restrained by more than half, and he basically didn't argue with people anymore. However, strange words and deeds kept increasing, as if he was possessed by a ghost, doing many unbelievable and bizarre things. Selling off his own house was one thing, going to the pharmacy and incense shop to exchange miscellaneous items was another. Today was a critical moment, don't let him cause any trouble.

  Li Ban's owner dodged the crowd and finally found Chengjiu behind the door. He took one look and almost bit off his own tongue.

  All that can be seen is a young man sitting on the ground, expressionless, with one sleeve rolled up and half of his arm covered in blood, dripping into a small box. The ground is littered with yellow papers, like fallen leaves, with strange symbols drawn on them in eye-catching bright red ink.

  Li Ban almost fainted, and his mind was filled with only one thought: possessed by a ghost, absolutely possessed by a ghost!

  The young man looked up at Li Ban and said in a flat tone, "You came quickly." He pinched his arm to stop the bleeding, tore off a strip of cloth from his shirt, wrapped it around the wound, picked up the scattered papers on the ground, stuffed them into his pocket, stood up and asked, "Master, what are your orders?"

  Li Ban Zhu saw that his eyes were clear and his speech was coherent, and he let out a slight sigh of relief, thinking to himself: "It's not possession by a ghost, just plain madness." He said: "You damn..." Then he took another look, and saw that the young man's white clothes had turned completely red, or rather, they were covered in messy red lines, looking like a blood-stained map.

  Li Ban Zhu stared at this horrific scene, already unsure whether to be shocked or angry, a thought flashing through his mind - with so much blood shed, why wasn't he dead?

  He really wanted to kill him, but now was not the time. Li Bangzhu took a deep breath and almost choked to death. He said viciously: "I'll settle with you later, come with me to see our honored guest. Be careful, if you provoke Mr. Ma, I'll tear you apart and feed you to the eagles." Seeing him dressed like that, it was not just meeting Mr. Ma that would scare people to death, but anyone else as well. For a moment, he couldn't find any other clothes, so he opened the wardrobe, took out an opera costume, which was a small actor's pleated skirt, and threw it at him, saying: "Put this on first, and follow me."

  The young man took over the clothes and put them on, saying in a low voice: "Lead the way ahead."

  Li Ban almost fell over, turned his head to look at him, saw that he was not paying attention, and wondered in his heart: This kid is usually arrogant, but has never used this tone before, as if he were the king of heaven. Without thinking twice, he turned around and said: "You'd better be careful, Ma Gongzi is not like other people, he's a ruthless person, you're trying to pull a hard bow with him, he'll crush you with just one finger." As he walked forward.

  The young man didn't listen to what Li Ban Zhu said at all, and his expressionless face finally cracked a smile, saying in a low voice: "Although the time is a bit tight, it's enough."

  Marquis Zuo sat in the elegant seat, just seeing Li Ban Zhu bringing a 14 or 15-year-old boy up, thinking: Is this the little actor that even Zhang Gongzi can't forget? I'll take a look at what kind of unbeatable beauty he is - how come it's actually a man?

  Kan Qing was a young man, and Ma Gongzi's tone immediately dissipated. The neck that had just stretched forward also withdrew, and his entire body leaned back. When the young man came in again, he carefully examined him and couldn't help but widen his eyes. He suddenly straightened up, took a deep breath, and felt a thrill of excitement in his heart. He thought to himself: So it's true that he's an absolute beauty! Since he grew up like this, whether he was male or female didn't matter. This young master would take him as is.

  He looked at the young man, and the young man was also looking at him, his eyes narrowed, a dazed expression appeared in his gaze, as if recalling something.

  After a while, Master Ma slowly calmed down from his excitement, and unconsciously took out a folding fan to fan himself twice. A whiff of fragrance wafted through the room as he drawled: "So you're Chengjiu?"

  The young man slightly paused, as if he had finally awakened from his memories, and revealed a smile that was not quite a smile, saying: "Cheng Jun."

  Ma Gongzi was taken aback for a moment before reacting that he was introducing himself, and smiled: "What's the name doesn't matter - I heard you can sing opera?"

  "Can't sing, warehouse is empty."

  Marquis's eyebrows rose, and he smiled: "You dare to deceive me? You're fine, aren't you? Today I must hear you sing. If not, you'll come with me, and slowly sing for me. How about this, you obediently follow me back, and I'll reward you." As he spoke, he took off his ring and threw it on the table, the golden gemstone shining brightly.

  Cheng Jun's gaze lingered on the gemstone for a moment before moving away. "If you can't sing, then you can't sing. Going back won't make you able to sing either."

  Marquis smiled and said, "Oh? Really can't sing? Then prove it to me." He whispered to the young servant, who slipped away with a sly smile. The atmosphere in the room was momentarily awkward, just as Li Ban Zhong was about to say something to ease the tension, he suddenly caught a whiff of fragrance and turned around to see the young servant carrying a pot up to the table, where it let out a gentle sizzling sound - it was a pot of boiling oil.

  Ma Gongzi said, "Today, either you sing or drink the boiling oil inside. Anyway, your throat is ruined, drinking a bit won't make a difference. If you don't dare, follow me back and I'll give you good medicine to nurse you back to health. In two years, you'll be fine, and then you can sing for me again."

  As soon as he finished speaking, no one in the room spoke, and all around was a dead silence. Li Ban Zhu felt a blackness before his eyes and thought: It's over!

  The young master next to him opened his mouth and persuaded, "Ma Xian Di, there is no need for this. If Boss Cheng can't sing, let's just have him drink a cup of wine with us."

  Ma Gongzi laughed and said: "Zhang brother, you don't know these people, where is it that they can't sing? He's clearly trying to get money from me, just like the prostitutes in the brothel, they come out to sell themselves but still pretend to be virtuous, if you don't give them enough money they won't go downstairs. Haha, I'll deliberately not give him money, and with one pot of oil he'll reveal his true form. If he really can't sing, do you think he dare drink? Haha, haha...". After saying this, he burst out laughing.

  "Haha, hahaha..."

  Laughter burst forth, starting with a gentle smile, gradually turning into loud laughter, more and more resonant, ten times more unrestrained than Master Ma, ten times more delightful!

  Marquis Zǐ smiled and smiled, but found that he couldn't laugh at others, so he stopped with a humiliated expression. The Mǎnyǎ Gé was quiet and silent, only the sound of his loud and crazy laughter remained.

  Standing in the midst of the crowd, laughing with such great pleasure, was none other than that little actor who had just been forced to drink boiling oil!

  Everyone was stunned, watching the young man in the middle laughing non-stop, wondering how such a thing could happen in this world, and what kind of person he was.

  Li Ban Zhu looked at Cheng Jun, who was laughing wildly and without restraint, and thought to himself: "It's all over, he was already a bit crazy, but now that he's been stimulated by Master Ma, it seems like he's completely lost his mind. What bad luck, this is what they call beyond salvation."

  After a while, the laughter gradually stopped. Cheng Jun turned his head around and glanced at Master Ma with an expression that was neither sorrowful nor frantic, but rather had a hint of genuine joy. He smiled and said, "Very good, very good. At this moment, I truly believe that I... have returned!"