Chapter 178

Getting off the train, I and Pangzi lingered a moment in the county town. After sobering up, Wang Pangzi didn't hesitate, buying several jars of fine old liquor and tea in the town's shops, then hired a tricycle to go to the appointed place.

Hong'an is not a nationally famous scenic spot, nor a prosperous city, but anyone who lived through the reform and opening-up era knows Hong'an.

Here is one of the places with the most red flow; during the War of Resistance, the county's population of over 100,000 saw 60,000 people shed blood on the battlefield.

This is the nation's most famous Red Army county; tens of thousands gave their lives resisting Japan. Countless families were massacred because their husbands had joined the Eighth Route Army, resulting in the extermination of whole households.

In the capital, a stumble might bump you into two senior officials, but in Hong'an, a sneeze could wound three Red Army soldiers.

The Taihang Mountain Campaign, the Hong'an Campaign, the Menggang Campaign… countless battles, countless piles of corpses and blood; even after decades, every blade of grass and tree in Hong'an still exudes a sorrow that makes one's heart ache.

This county town is not developed; at least it can't compare to a third-tier city in Guangdong's Shenzhen. Yes, I felt that riding in the tricycle. After getting off the train, the tricycle carried us forward; the longer the time, the farther we went, the rougher the road became, and the constant jolts up, down, left, and right on the tricycle several times nearly threw me and Pangzi out.

After an afternoon of jolting, Pangzi and I finally reached the entrance of Xu Family Village.

At the village entrance stood a dark-skinned, sturdy man; seeing the tricycle from afar, he laughed and waved, coming to meet us. Pangzi likewise waved in greeting, then lowered his voice and told me, 'This is the disciple of Uncle Liu, named Song Lin.'

Although Pangzi is not from QingSongShu's generation, he had seen Liu Guozhong as a child; he was not unfamiliar with Liu Guozhong, nor with this opera troupe, and indeed Liu Guozhong had passed on martial arts to both QingSongShu and Pangzi.

Song Lin was enthusiastic; as soon as he reached the vehicle he paid our fare, grinning as he helped us with our luggage. Seeing such a frank, easygoing fellow, we quickly chatted and became at ease with each other.

"Song Lin bro, how is my uncle-in-law doing?" Pangzi and Song Lin chatted casually, their faces showing anxiety and longing.

Song Lin split his mouth, showing a row of white teeth as he smiled at us. However, that smile mostly carried the air of forced cheer.

He sighed, shaking his head with bitterness: 'The old boss is unwell—not just physically, but mentally too. Several of the troupe's clown and painted-face roles are either unconscious or injured. When the brothers meet trouble, the old boss's heart has been hanging in suspense these days; at mealtimes he often sighs, often putting down his chopsticks after a bite or two, then puffing on his dry tobacco and sighing; seeing this, even I, his disciple, feel heartbroken.'

"You know, the old boss's health was never good! If this continues, I'm afraid his body won't hold up!" Song Lin put his arm around Pangzi's shoulders, speaking anxiously.

Pangzi likewise put his arm around his shoulders to comfort him: 'Hai Sheng and I came this time mainly to settle this matter; rest assured, with the two of us here, the problem will be resolved quickly.'

At that moment, I interjected from the side and asked Song Lin.

"Song Lin bro, could you tell us what exactly happened? I heard that those few opera… brothers were injured while performing, and afterward some remained unconscious while strange phenomena appeared."

I had originally wanted to say 'opera performers,' but upon feeling the term inappropriate at the tip of my tongue, I immediately changed it. Since ancient times people have said, 'Courtesans are heartless, opera performers are unrighteous.' Though this saying is certainly fabricated, it has been passed down to the present and is even used by some to insult others. So I promptly corrected myself, replacing the term 'opera performers' with 'the brothers in the troupe.'

Song Lin also had no great reservations; in a few words he told me the whole story. But frankly, Song Lin knows only half about this matter; although he witnessed the process, his understanding is quite limited.

Song Lin said the incident occurred on the evening of a week ago. At that time, the brothers were rehearsing 'Zhao Family Town,' but no one expected that halfway through, an unforeseen mishap would arise.

'Zhao Family Town' is an anti-Japanese Peking opera; it tells how, during the War of Resistance, Eighth Route Army soldiers disguised as women lured the Japanese devils into a village encirclement, and then everyone joined forces to wipe out those devils.

The incident occurred just as the women led the devils into the encirclement and the ambushed Eighth Route Army soldiers surged forward.

After all, it's drama; even if someone is supposed to die, it's just a casual swipe of the prop knife across the neck twice, a 'pap' sound, and they fall over—considered dead.

But during the rehearsal, one of the actors playing an Eighth Route Army soldier suddenly went berserk like a mad lion, grabbing the surrounding actors and hacking at them with all his might. What's more unbelievable is that this was clearly a prop sword, yet it actually wounded the actors present.

Liu Guozhong noticed the abnormality and immediately cooperated with the troupe members to contain the situation. Only then did he discover that the actors' wounds were truly bleeding, and the wounds were not ordinary in size.

Everyone picked up the sword and saw that it was still a prop; with a little force it could be snapped easily by bending it a couple of times. Yet just moments ago, that sword had behaved like a real blade, cutting down every actor present—especially the clown playing the Japanese devil, who suffered the most severe wound, gasping for breath and still unconscious to this day.

Although everyone felt the affair was eerie throughout, the injured still needed treatment and rescue. So the group first set aside other concerns and jointly sent the wounded actors to the town clinic for treatment.

At that point, Liu Guozhong discovered something even more bizarre. Although the wounds of the several injured actors had healed over time, at night they would cry out in pain, each breaking into a cold sweat, clutching their bodies and wailing with heart-rending agony. Even the two who were still unconscious would utter the same heart‑rending cries; after crying out, they would faint again, barely clinging to life.

Finding this strange, Liu Guozhong immediately reported it to QingSongShu. Because QingSongShu had to go to Hong Kong, that's why we were dispatched over.

"Hai Sheng, what do you think is going on?" After hearing Song Lin's account, Pangzi turned to me and asked.

I pondered silently for a moment, then shook my head and said: 'This matter certainly involves spirits or gods, but exactly who was offended, or what other cause triggered it, we won't know until we go see for ourselves.'

Although my words sounded like pointless chatter, the fact is indeed just that. I suspect the actors' frenzy while performing is related to spirits or gods. But specifically, I don't know whether something in the troupe offended the spirits, or whether some other cause was responsible. Moreover, I seem never to have witnessed such a bizarre injury.

Even if yin energy from a spirit body harms people, logically some medicinal methods and strong sunlight should be able to dispel the internal yin. Moreover, harm caused by yin energy produces deficiency‑cold and discomfort; how could it cause such bizarre pain?

Therefore, we still need to examine the troupe's layout and those injured actors before drawing a conclusion. We cannot rule out a problem with the troupe's positioning—perhaps a clash with unfavorable geomancy, or perhaps something beneath the troupe's quarters that we unintentionally struck while performing.

Of course, we cannot rule out that this was deliberately done by spirits or gods.

The three of us chatted about everyday matters as we slowly entered the village. After Song Lin led us to the opera shed, he said to me and Pangzi.

"My master is currently in the Ming Hall; those few injured brothers are at the village clinic. Let me first take you to the backstage of the opera shed to pay respects to Great Emperor Huaguang, then we'll see the master and talk! I have already had someone prepare the pomelo leaves."

Although Pangzi was eager to meet Liu Guozhong, upon arriving at the destination his mood unexpectedly calmed. Thus he nodded to Song Lin and said: 'All right, then first lead us to pay respects to Huaguang Ancestral Master before we talk.'