Chapter 40: The Empty String Murder

  I saw from afar Old Eighth Uncle walking into the empty grassland at the village entrance with the support of Village Chief, and the crowded people quickly made way for them.

  By the light of the cow oil lamp, I was surprised to find that Grandpa Ba brought a strange-looking straw hat, and his entire face was hidden under the wide brim.

  It's not daytime, what's the point of wearing such a strange straw hat at night? I couldn't think clearly and was puzzled, when I heard the drums on the stage getting more and more urgent, this was the prelude to the start of the play.

  I hastily got up from the stone and squeezed to stand behind Grandpa Ba, quietly touching the mountain-cutting knife hidden behind me. A surge of hot blood rose from my heart. Little brother had told me to take good care of Grandpa Ba, tonight if anyone dared to make a move on Grandpa Ba under this stage, I would fight him with this mountain-cutting knife!

  I really didn't believe it, would Eighth Grandfather be harmed under my very eyes? I thought so, but my heart was still tense like fifteen buckets of water being lifted up and down, all my thoughts were focused on this old man under my eyelids.

  The play finally began amidst the sound of gongs and drums. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw people coming and going on the stage, chattering away, singing something or other.

  Watching movies is okay, but as for this so-called Peking Opera, I don't understand it at all and find it very boring. If not for the young master's orders, I'm afraid I would have returned to rest in Gaba Uncle's medicine shop long ago.

  I stared at Old Man Ba while anxiously waiting for Xiao Ge's appearance. But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of him. Moreover, to my surprise, I found that Ya Tou seemed to be nowhere in the crowd watching the show either. Where did she go?

  The play on stage was performed with great enthusiasm, and the audience below applauded thunderously! Unintentionally, I took a closer look at the stage, and this glance left me stunned.

  At this moment, the dan (female lead) on the stage who is shooting arrows with a curved bow, isn't she Jin Xiangyu, the owner of Phoenix Inn? Those eyebrows and eyes, that figure... I seem to have smelled again that deadly fragrance on her body!

  How did she end up on stage? Where's Autumn Goose? Could she also be among this troupe of actors? My heart is racing to the brim!

  It turned out that when she left the dead village, she said "If it's late, I'm afraid it won't be in time" was referring to rushing to Huanglong Village for a performance! She absolutely wouldn't simply come just for the show, there must be an ulterior motive behind this!

  My heart tightened even more, because I clearly saw a very special thing in Jinxiangyu's eyes, that thing I've seen before, it was the flames of hatred!

  Jin Xiangyu stood elegantly on the stage, twisting her waist and flipping her body with incredible agility, her movements were so beautiful that they brought thunderous applause from the audience below!

  I suddenly heard the village chief, Dai Yongguo, who was sitting next to Eighth Grandfather, quietly asking Yang Zheng, who was staring at him with a foolish grin on his face. Although he spoke in a low voice, I still managed to hear it.

  "Where did you invite this troupe from? Why didn't I see such a talented and beautiful dan (female role) in the troupe in previous years?"

  Yang Zheng couldn't help but smile, "Village chief, to be honest with you, I went to the town early this morning to pick up the opera troupe. Who knew that when I got to the town and asked around, the original opera troupe had left! I searched high and low, what a coincidence! A new opera troupe had just arrived at the Phoenix Hotel in the town, with many people and a grand atmosphere, it made me so happy! I told them my intention, they didn't say much, packed up and came here right away."

  "Newcomer? Can't be that coincidental?" The village chief said, his gaze fixed tightly on Jin Xiangyu who was playing the role of Huadan on the stage, muttering to himself, "Strange, why does this Huadan look so familiar?"

  Jinxiang Yu's Phoenix Inn is so famous, and she herself is a stunning beauty with exceptional artistic talent. I believe anyone who has seen her once would find her familiar! If she indeed has an ulterior motive tonight, it can be said that her artistry is matched only by her boldness!

  A strange worry suddenly swept across the whole body, this worry came from the autumn wild goose that had not yet appeared. Since Jinxiangyu has appeared, then the autumn wild goose must also be here!

  Jin Xiangyu jumped onto the stage, made a few swift movements and landed on the ground. She picked up an unstrung bow, held it in her arms like a full moon, tilted her body towards the direction of the ancient well at the village entrance, and sang while assuming a shooting posture.

  The audience below erupted in applause! Jin Xiangyu's hand loosened its grip on the bowstring, and again, a familiar shout of approval rose from below the stage!

  As the bowstring of Jinxiangyu was loosened, I suddenly realized that something was wrong. This feeling came from the corner of my eye, and the residual light in my eyes saw that Baye's head had slumped to one side!

  What's wrong with Eighth Grandfather? Won't he be shot dead by Jin Xiangyu's bow and arrow? No, no way! Jin Xiangyu is holding a prop bow, not even with a bowstring, and the direction of the shot is towards the ancient well at the village entrance. To say that it can shoot people on the stage to death, even pigs wouldn't believe it.

  I didn't dare reach out and pat Ba YeYe on the back, I was so nervous that I didn't know what to do.

  Suddenly, Jin Xiangyu, dressed as a flower dan, stopped performing and bowed to the audience below. In an instant, she retreated backstage.

  It seems that Jinxiang Yu had no other purpose, purely for acting, I was overthinking, and I let out a long sigh of relief.

  The applause from under the stage was endless.

  In the noisy sound, the village chief sitting next to Grandpa Ba gently pushed Grandpa Ba and said, "Grandpa Ba, why are you sleeping..."

  His words had barely fallen when I saw an unbelievable scene: Eighth Grandfather actually fell heavily to the ground with just a light push!

  What's going on? Was Eighth Master really shot dead by Jin Xiangyu with a bow and arrow without a string just now?

  The village head shouted, "Eighth Grandfather, what's wrong with you?"

  Can't hear Old Man Ba's response!

  His entire body fell to the ground, motionless, with blood seeping out from his throat, silently dying before everyone's eyes...

  I was shocked stiff!

  The village chief suddenly roared and rushed towards the stage, "Stop! Stop for me immediately! Eighth Grandfather, Eighth Grandfather was killed by someone!"

  The village chief's words were like a thunderclap on a clear day, and everyone was stunned. The actors on the stage stopped singing, and the villagers who had been cheering and laughing just now suddenly fell silent.

  A tall and thin figure flashed out from the backstage, walked onto the stage and bowed to the village head, "Village head, I am the master of this theater troupe, what do you say?"

  "What did I say? Hmph! Old Man Eighth was killed by someone, and I suspect it was that dan actress from your troupe who shot him with an arrow!" The village chief let out a cold snort, his anger uncontrollable.

  The host was stunned, and then shouted loudly, "Heavenly conscience, that bow is a flower bow used for singing opera, and it doesn't even have a bowstring!" He said, turning to the villagers below, "Do you think that's a bow that can kill people? And besides, even if this bow could shoot arrows, where's the arrow from the wound? Who saw an arrow?"

  The host said that it was reasonable, and even I thought that the thing that Jinxiang Yu had done with her bow and arrow was unbelievable. I clearly saw that the movement of drawing the bow and shooting the arrow was towards the old well at the village entrance. Even if there really was an invisible arrow on the bow, it's impossible for it to curve around and hit Eighth Grandfather who was sitting under the stage.

  Too unbelievable!

  The village head was asked by the leader of the troupe and was speechless, suddenly roaring, "No matter what, you go to the backstage dressing room and call that flower dan over to ask, don't you know?"

  The host waved his hand and said to a young man standing on the stage, "Lin Er, go backstage and call out Master Miao Yu, remember to bring that flower bow!"

  Miao Yu sister? Then it's not Jin Xiangyu! Could it be that what I saw just now on the stage was all an illusion? No, no way, I'm too familiar with the fragrance on Jin Xiangyu's body!

  After a brief moment of stunned silence, I saw that young actor called Lin'er hastily rush onto the stage, shouting as he ran, "Master! Something's wrong... something's wrong! Master Miao Yu has fainted in the dressing room!"

  "Did she faint in the dressing room?" The class leader frowned and waved her hand, saying to the village chief, "Let's go take a look!"

  The village chief shouted loudly at the villagers below the stage, "Everyone, don't leave for now. Let's wait until we catch the murderer who killed Eighth Grandfather before leaving!"

  The villagers under the platform responded with a loud shout, "Good! Find out the murderer who killed Eighth Grandfather and chop him into pieces!"

  ……

  The village head finished speaking and took Yang Zheng to follow the class leader towards the backstage.

  Is the Miao Yu sister in Lin Er's mouth actually Jin Xiangyu? I shivered all over, and before I could think carefully, I took a few steps onto the stage, and ran into the backstage with three steps as two.

  Behind the wooden boards, there were more than a dozen changing rooms. The class leader stopped in front of the first changing room with the village chief and Yang Zheng.

  I went over to take a look and indeed found a young flower dan wearing a theatrical costume fainting in the narrow dressing room.

  The figure and physique of that flower dan are somewhat similar to those of Jin Xiangyu, but at a glance, I can see that the flower dan in front of me is not the one who appeared on the stage!

  "The village head said coldly, 'Wake her up!'"

  The leader of the troupe thought for a moment and said to the young Lin'er, "Go! Fetch a bucket of water!"

  The water was brought quickly, and Lin'er poured a bucket of water all over Huadan's body. Huadan shuddered and woke up with a start. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the class leader standing in front of her and suddenly cried out, "Master, red-clothed fierce ghost... there is a red-clothed fierce ghost!"

  She struggled to get up, her face extremely terrified!

  Everyone exclaimed in unison, "What? The Red Cloak Ghost?"

  The flower dan nodded in terror, "Yes... yes..., there are red-clothed fierce ghosts, and more than one, two!"

  "Baoyu shouted loudly, 'Miaoyu, what's going on? You'd better explain clearly in front of everyone today, otherwise we'll all be suspected as murderers!'"

  Miao Yu's face still had a lingering expression, and she looked around at the crowd standing around her with a terrified gaze. Her voice trembling, she said, "It was like this... Just as I finished putting on my makeup and was about to go on stage, I suddenly heard two eerie laughs coming from behind me. I turned my head to look, and saw two red-clad evil spirits, one tall and one short, bursting into the dressing room..."

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