A master of comedy!

Upon learning of Yan Jun's intentions, Zhou Sheng showed no fear; instead, his courage grew even stronger, and he made no attempt to conceal his murderous intent and ruthlessness.

Gongsun Ce secretly praised him again, thinking that this young man was capable of great things.

"However, Senior Gongsun, does that mean we shouldn't kill the Night Wanderer for the time being, so as not to play right into Yama's hands?"

Zhou Sheng seemed to know the purpose of Gongsun Ce's visit; he probably wanted to persuade him not to act rashly for the time being.

"Yes, but no."

Gongsun Ce smiled slightly and said, "You and Baozi killed Judge Lu. Although this move was a bit aggressive, it was also a lucky accident. It stirred up the stagnant waters of the underworld and created an opportunity for the whole game."

After a pause, he noticed a chessboard in Zhou Sheng's room with chess pieces still on it, so he smiled and walked over to the chessboard.

"Just like playing chess, there are aggressive ways to play and conservative ways to play, but no matter which way you play, as long as you can win, it is a brilliant move."

"Huh? What kind of move is that?"

Gongsun Ce looked at the chessboard and suddenly frowned.

Zhou Sheng coughed and said somewhat awkwardly, "This is how to play Gomoku (Five in a Row)."

Gongsun Ce: "..."

"Um, Senior Gongsun, when do you think is the best time to get rid of the Night Wanderer?"

Zhou Sheng quickly changed the subject and asked the question he was most concerned about.

Gongsun Ce acted as if nothing had happened and laughed, "That's a question for Him to answer."

"Ask Himself?"

"Hehe, let me put it another way: the time you receive His invitation is the perfect opportunity to make your move."

Invitation to the play!

Zhou Sheng was taken aback, but then it was as if a flash of lightning struck his mind, and he suddenly understood.

"The Night Wanderer is a newly appointed official. After he consolidates his power, he will probably send you an invitation to play a role, firstly to celebrate his promotion, and secondly because he is attracted to your beauty and wants to take the opportunity to have a tryst with you."

"That will be the best time, when you can rightfully go to His side and sing a song for Him..."

Gongsun Ce picked up a chess piece and placed it on the chessboard to form a line.

"Bao Gong Opera".

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up; he understood the refined meaning behind the music.

"Bao Ying returned to the capital, could it be to retrieve..."

Before Zhou Sheng could finish speaking, Gongsun Ce stopped him with a hiss.

"Success comes from secrecy, failure from leaks. That's all for tonight. In short, Mr. Long, you'll have to wait for the invitation. If it doesn't arrive soon, you can choose another invitation to avoid making things seem unintentional."

"Those who are good at guarding their positions hide deep underground. I hope Mr. Long will remain calm and patient."

The two then talked about other things until night fell and the candlelight had died down, finally ending their long conversation.

Watching Gongsun Ce's departing figure, Zhou Sheng felt he had gained a great deal.

Senior Gongsun is refined and gentle, knowledgeable, and without any airs. He enjoys guiding younger generations and is truly a good teacher and friend.

It's likely that Bao Ying was taught by him from a young age, which is why he is such a person of upright character and values ​​loyalty and righteousness.

The conversation tonight was indeed quite enlightening for him. Before, he had only made up his mind to kill the Night Wanderer, but when and how to kill him were still very vague.

But now it's becoming increasingly clear, and even the outline of a complete plan has emerged in my mind, just waiting to be slightly improved using the Luoshu.

Thinking this, he sat down in front of the chessboard again and slowly closed his eyes.

Let's begin the divination.

……

Just as dawn was breaking, Yu Zhensheng had already bought breakfast and returned, and had Hongxian collect a large pile of new wooden sticks.

Full of fighting spirit, he was about to start "torturing" his apprentice.

If young people don't work harder now, how can their teacher sleep soundly?

But as soon as he pushed the door open, he froze.

Zhou Sheng sat in front of the chessboard for a day and a night. Although his eyes showed undeniable fatigue, they were filled with even more excitement. "Playing chess again?"

Yu Zhensheng hadn't forgotten that before his disciple devised the plan to kill the general, they had played a game of Gomoku.

Then, as if divinely inspired, he devised strategies without fail, much like Zhuge Liang.

Zhou Sheng nodded with a smile.

"Did you complete the transaction?"

"It's done."

A flicker of emotion crossed Yu Zhensheng's eyes. The master and disciple stopped there, neither of them continuing the conversation.

He knew his apprentice had a secret, but since the apprentice wouldn't tell him, he wouldn't ask.

"Now that the training is complete, let's eat and practice our skills!"

"Master, I haven't slept all night..."

Zhou Sheng smiled wryly and rubbed his temples. Although he had the help of the Luo Shu, the deduction and planning were still very mentally taxing.

"Then get a good night's sleep first. Oh, by the way, Feng girl has really made something of herself now. The dilapidated local temple in the south of the city has been transformed into a shrine to the God of Opera, where her jade statue is enshrined. As a result, the news spread throughout Xunyang City overnight, attracting countless opera fans to come and worship."

"She did a lot of good deeds back then and built up a lot of good karma. Now it's finally paying off. Tsk tsk, the number of worshippers she has is so great, even Old Zheng would be envious..."

Yu Zhensheng exclaimed in amazement. He had never imagined that the girl with such exceptional talent would actually embark on the path of becoming a deity through incense offerings.

Is the God of Opera going to become the guardian deity of all Peking Opera performers?
Zhou Sheng suddenly realized why he had only seen Yao Tai Feng once when he first returned, and then she left in a hurry.

The path of religious faith is not easy, especially in the initial stage when the foundation is established, requiring a great deal of effort to reach and respond to believers.

Hearing this, Hongxian, who was placing sticks in the corner, said angrily, "Hmph, Sister Feng has changed since she became a god!"

Zhou Sheng asked with a curious smile, "Oh? Tell me, what has changed?"

"Everything has changed. She ignores me when I try to talk to her, and if I get annoyed, she just glares at me and it scares me half to death. It's really frightening..."

"Also, I wanted to be her temple keeper, but she looked down on me. Meanwhile, lots of slick-haired men go to the temple every day, vying to be her temple keeper. I wanted to beat them to death, but Sister Feng wouldn't let me..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng immediately became restless.

Yu Zhensheng glanced at him and laughed, "Alright, I see you can't sleep either, so go to the south of the city and take a look for yourself."

"I want to go too!"

Hongxian was about to leave with Zhou Sheng when Yu Zhensheng grabbed her by the neck.

"Your junior brother is in trouble, but you, as his senior sister, are always free. Now, start practicing your skills!"

Yu Zhensheng selected the thickest wooden stick and sneered, "Also, you're not allowed to turn into stone, or you'll be punished by not being allowed to eat candied fruit for three days!"

Hongxian looked at the stick she had picked up, her little face on the verge of tears.

Damn it, I shouldn't have picked such a thick one on purpose.

……

South of the city, the Temple of the God of Drama.

From a distance, Zhou Sheng could see the chaotic pilgrims scrambling to squeeze in.

"I've heard that Lady Feng is incredibly efficacious and grants all requests!"

"However, I heard that only the first thirty incense sticks each day are the most effective; if you wait too long, they won't work."

"But if we force our way in like this, won't Lady Feng be angry and blame us?"

"Definitely not. Actually, many people who come here aren't praying to the gods, but just looking at them. I've heard that the jade statue of the god is incredibly beautiful, a beauty that could topple kingdoms!"

"If we're talking about offense, aren't those frivolous libertines who come for beauty the most offensive?"

"They're all fine, what are we afraid of?"

Listening to their conversation, Zhou Sheng's eyes turned cold, and he walked straight ahead, immediately sweeping away the people around him with an invisible force.

He stepped into the shrine and saw the so-called jade statue of the god, and was taken aback.

...(End of this chapter)