Chapter 450: Finally Arrived at Hong'an

After getting off the train, I and Pangzi lingered in the county town for a moment. After sobering up, Wang Da Pang was no less decisive, buying several jars of fine old wine and tea leaves in the town's shop before hiring a tricycle to go to the agreed place.

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

This place is one of the areas 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 most famous Red Army County in the country, where tens of thousands gave their lives for the anti-Japanese cause. Countless families were massacred because their husbands had joined the Eighth Route Army, resulting in the extermination of entire households.

In the capital, bumping into two senior officials after a fall is possible, but in Hong'an, a single 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 the very least, it cannot compare to a third-tier city in Guangdong's Shenzhen. Yes, I felt this while sitting on 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 tricycle's constant jostling almost threw me and Pangzi off several times.

After an afternoon of jolting, Pangzi and I finally arrived at the entrance of Xujia Village.

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

Although Pangzi is not from QingSongShu's generation, he had seen Liu Guozhong when he was young; he was not unfamiliar with Liu Guozhong, nor with this theater troupe, and indeed Liu Guozhong had taught kung fu to both QingSongShu and Pangzi.

Song Lin was very enthusiastic; as soon as we reached the vehicle, he immediately helped pay the fare and cheerfully carried our luggage. Seeing such a straightforward, good-natured man, it was clear he had no ulterior motives, so after a brief chat we all became acquainted.

"Brother Song Lin, how is my maternal uncle doing?" Pangzi and Song Lin chatted casually, their faces showing anxiety and longing.

Song Lin split his mouth open, revealing a row of white teeth as he smiled at us. However, this smile mostly carried the sense of forced cheer.

He sighed, shaking his head with bitterness: 'The old shopkeeper is unwell—not just physically, but mentally too. Among the troupe's few clown and painted-face roles, some are unconscious, others injured. When the brothers encounter trouble, the old shopkeeper's heart has been hanging in worry these days; he often sighs while eating, frequently putting down his chopsticks after just a bite or two, then puffing on his dry tobacco and sighing. Seeing this, even I, his disciple, feel heartbroken.'

"You know, the old shopkeeper'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 shoulder, speaking anxiously.

Pangzi likewise put his arm around his shoulder to comfort him, saying: '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 soon.'

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

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

I had originally wanted to call them 'actors,' but upon feeling the term was inappropriate at the tip of my tongue, I immediately changed it. Since ancient times, people have said 'courtesans are heartless, actors are unrighteous.' Although 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 'actors' with 'the brothers in the troupe.'

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

Song Lin said the incident occurred on the evening of a week ago. At that time, the brothers were rehearsing the play 'Zhaojia Town,' and no one expected that halfway through, an unforeseen interruption would occur.

'Zhaojia Town' is an anti-Japanese Peking opera that tells how, during the war of resistance, Eighth Route Army soldiers disguised themselves as women, lured the Japanese devils into the village's encirclement, and then everyone worked together to wipe out those devils.

The incident occurred when the women had lured the devils into the encirclement and the ambushed Eighth Route Army soldiers surged forward.

After all, it's just a play—even if someone is supposed to die, it's merely a casual swipe of the prop knife across the neck, a slap 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, lunging at the surrounding actors and hacking away. What's even more unbelievable is that this was clearly a prop sword, yet it actually injured the actors on stage.

Liu Guozhong noticed the abnormality, immediately cooperating with the troupe members to bring the situation under control. Only then did Liu Guozhong realize that the actors' wounds were truly bleeding, and that the wounds were not minor.

Everyone picked up the sword and saw that it was still a prop—easily broken with a little force. Yet just moments before, that very sword had functioned like a real blade, injuring all the actors on stage, especially the clown playing the Japanese devil, whose wounds were most severe, leaving him near death and still unconscious to this day.

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

At this 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 one breaking into a cold sweat, clutching their bodies and wailing in anguish. Even the two who were still unconscious would let out the same anguished cries. After shouting, they would again faint on the brink of death.

Finding this strange, Liu Guozhong immediately informed QingSongShu. Since QingSongShu had to go to Hong Kong, that's why we were sent 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 is certainly related to ghosts and gods, but as to exactly whom they offended or what other cause triggered it, we still need to go see for ourselves before drawing a conclusion.'

Although my words sounded like pointless chatter, the fact is indeed just that. I suspect the reason those actors went mad while performing is inseparable from ghosts and gods. But specifically, I don't know whether something in the troupe offended the deities, or whether some other cause was responsible. Moreover, I seem never to have witnessed such peculiarly injurious circumstances.

Even if yin energy from a spirit body harms people, logically, certain medicinal methods and intense sunlight should be able to dispel the internal yin. Besides, harm caused by yin energy results in deficiency-cold and discomfort; how could it produce such strange pain?

Therefore, to reach a conclusion we must still examine the troupe's layout and the injured actors themselves. We cannot rule out that the problem lies in the troupe's selection—perhaps a clash with unfavorable geomancy, or perhaps something beneath the troupe's quarters that we unintentionally disturbed while performing.

Of course, we cannot rule out that this is deliberately done by ghosts and gods.

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

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

Although Pangzi was eager to see 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 continue.'