A master of comedy!

"Wow, that's strong!"

"They're stunned! Completely stunned!"

"This opening...we're saved!"

The performers backstage watched this scene with great excitement, and many of them couldn't help but smile.

The opening ceremony of the stage by the spirit official is an essential ritual before performing large-scale ghost plays such as Mulian Opera. Although it is not the main performance, it is of great importance to the ghost play master.

The spirit official wields his whip to pacify the four directions, ensuring that the ghosts and spirits who come to watch the play behave themselves and do not disturb the actors or other living people watching the play.

In the underworld, where evil spirits abound, the spirit official's lashes become even more crucial.

If you can control the stage, the rest of the performance will be much easier; but if you can't, it will be the beginning of a nightmare.

At that moment, looking at that towering figure on the stage, everyone felt a sense of security and reliability.

"Although he is the successor of the Demon of Drama, I have to say... acting with him is indeed reassuring."

Someone couldn't help but sigh.

Upon hearing this, Fatty Song nodded repeatedly: "It's more than just reassuring; my benefactor is like a pillar of strength. I've never seen anyone sing opera so steadily!"

"After listening to him sing, I wasn't nervous at all."

Song Pangzi's words resonated with many people. They were all practitioners of Yinxi opera who had studied for many years. The moment Zhou Sheng opened his mouth to sing, they were captivated and even couldn't help but sway their heads and immerse themselves in the performance.

Only Tan Sheng gazed intently at Zhou Sheng on the stage, his expression quite complex.

……

"Three battles against the Northern Water Demon, Xuanwu shrinks his armor to make way for the journey!"

"The Bullfighting Woman's Void Chamber Walls—"

"The tide will not surge tonight; the Blood Lake will be reserved for the filial woman of the world to clear her name!"

The majestic and domineering opera singing was like rolling thunder, echoing endlessly on the stage. Every recitation seemed to come from beyond the heavens, deafeningly loud.

The golden whip lashed out again, striking the bronze pillars of the stage, like the morning bells and evening drums of a thousand-year-old Buddhist temple, giving people a strange power that felt like a sudden awakening or a sudden enlightenment.

The ghosts below the stage all shuddered, their malevolent aura greatly diminished, and many of the previously restless evil spirits calmed down completely, truly getting into character.

It was as if this strike was the gong that opened the show.

"Get ready, it's time for us to go on stage."

Yu Ruyi squeezed her junior sister's hand and reminded her.

As expected, Zhou Sheng, who played the role of Ling Guan, left the stage after delivering three lashes, without actually whipping Nan Fang.

This is also a rule in the Peking Opera world: the south is kept uncleaned to leave a passage for ghosts to watch the performance. One should never go to extremes.

When Zhou Sheng came down, the gazes of the crowd had lessened considerably in hostility and were now filled with admiration and gratitude.

Although this person acted somewhat domineeringly, he single-handedly shouldered the heavy responsibility in a time of crisis, completing the most dangerous opening ceremony, and doing so exceptionally well, which is truly admirable.

"Thank you for your hard work, Boss Long. Now it's our turn."

Tan Sheng nodded to Zhou Sheng, then his gaze sharpened slightly as he stepped onto the stage. He showed no fear whatsoever, and even his aura underwent an imperceptible change.

His eyes and brows exuded a sense of Zen and compassion.

It was as if he had transformed from a taciturn nobleman into a lay Buddhist who practices vegetarianism and chants Buddhist prayers.

Zhou Sheng raised his eyebrows slightly and couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

This person is already fully immersed in the role. To be able to calmly immerse oneself in the role in such a situation shows that this person is indeed an outstanding master of occult arts.

Accompanied by the melody of "A Plum Blossom Melody," Tan Sheng entered the stage and began his performance.

"Lingchun dreamt of departing for Nanke. Tears flowed in the morning, tears flowed in the evening. What were her dying words?

"Remember Amitabha, follow Amitabha." The voice was not loud, but it could clearly reach everyone's ears, and its Zen meaning was profound and refreshing.

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up slightly. Good recitation!
The Mulian Opera mainly tells the story of Mulian rescuing his mother. After the virtuous Fu Xiang died and ascended to heaven, he instructed his wife Liu Qingti to observe a vegetarian diet and do good deeds. However, Liu Qingti broke the vows, indulged in pleasure, and beat monks and cursed Taoists.

So the five ghosts seized her soul and dragged her into the eighteenth level of hell.

His son, Fu Luobu, became a monk to save his mother and later became Maudgalyayana, one of the Buddha's ten great disciples, known for his supernatural powers.

After achieving spiritual enlightenment, he ventured deep into the underworld to find his mother, braved hell, battled the demon king, and finally cleaved through the iron city with his staff. With the Buddha's blessing, he held the Ullambana Festival and helped his mother ascend to heaven from the Blood Lake Hell.

This day is the Ghost Festival, also known as the Ullambana Festival in Buddhism.

At this moment, Tan Sheng is playing the role of Fu Luobu, who has not yet become a monk. After his father's death, he follows his father's will to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, and persuades his mother not to break the precepts.

But his mother wouldn't listen, claiming that helping the poor and reciting Buddhist scriptures would be very expensive and that she feared they wouldn't be able to continue in the future. So she ordered her servant Yili to help Luo Bu go out to do business. Luo Bu obeyed his mother's orders and had no choice but to pack his bags and set off.

Not long after, Yu Ruyi, who played Liu Qingti, and Yu Ruyi, who played Jin Nu, also came on stage. The two sisters had good basic skills, especially Yu Ruyi, whose voice was powerful and long. Coupled with her natural costume, she did not look like a young girl at all.

As for Yu Ruyi, although she was a bit timid, she had extremely sharp eyes. Her big, dark eyes darted around as if they could speak.

Soon after, Fatty Song, who played the servant Yili, also appeared on stage.

This fat man caught Zhou Sheng's eye. Despite his bulky appearance, he was extremely agile, which showed that he had considerable martial arts skills.

In particular, his martial arts tumbling skills, combined with his tight-fitting clothes, light steps, and agile and swift movements, drew cheers as soon as he appeared.

Zhou Sheng breathed a slight sigh of relief, knowing that the first scene was going well; everyone had their own unique skills and were capable of handling it.

He stopped paying attention to the stage and instead focused his gaze on the audience.

On the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell are said to open wide, allowing evil spirits to escape from the depths of hell.

Those who have come now are only ghosts from Fengdu City. But as time goes by, when the evil spirits who have escaped from hell arrive in Fengdu City, they will inevitably be drawn here.

Because yin opera is originally sung for ghosts and spirits, ghosts and spirits come to where the sound reaches.

Zhou Sheng understood that those evil spirits capable of escaping hell were their true test this time, and...

Zhou Sheng looked up at the private rooms on the second floor. Under the hanging curtains, many places were empty, but some rooms already had people vaguely visible.

Ghosts watch the show on the first floor, gods observe the stage on the second floor.

His master had told him some key points about Ghost Play during the Ghost Festival, including mentioning the private rooms on the second floor.

Evil spirits don't go upstairs; those watching the show upstairs are either righteous gods from the underworld or all sorts of demons and monsters.

People love watching plays, and so do ghosts and gods.

In this world, drama is one of the most popular art forms, with a large following that extends even to both the living and the dead.

Ghost plays during the Ghost Festival are often the beginning of fame for many ghost play masters. Those who successfully graduate will receive invitations from all sorts of demons and monsters to perform after returning to the mortal world.

When the mountain god celebrates his birthday, the river god gets married, or even when a demon king holds a grand banquet, they will invite a sorcerer to perform.

The reward was not something ordinary, but rather a variety of rare treasures.

Of course, if the performance goes wrong, danger will follow.

Zhou Sheng's gaze swept across the rooms one by one, finally settling on a certain spot.

Through the curtain, he seemed to see a pair of cold, indifferent, and extremely authoritative eyes.

A deadly intent lurks beneath the surface.

His eyes lit up instantly, as if flames were burning within them, and the dragons carved on the golden whip seemed to come alive.

We meet again...

Judge Lu! (End of Chapter)