A master of comedy!

The temple wasn't large, and its decorations were simple; it could only be described as unremarkable. But once that jade statue of a deity was placed there, it immediately changed everything.

The statue is about three feet tall, and the jade flesh is naturally infused with a smoky color, like a shawl wrapped around the arm.

The folds of the clothing resemble the flowing ribbons of Wu Daozi, but the turning points reveal the vigorous and forceful patterns of Han Dynasty jade discs.

Her oval face resembles the Mid-Autumn Festival moon, but her jawline is sharply defined, conveying a sense of softness with a hidden edge.

With his phoenix eyes slightly lowered, he observed the world's affairs, one hand forming a lotus mudra, the other holding a bright silver spear.

The biggest difference between her and ordinary statues is that she is dressed in theatrical costume, with a seven-star forehead inlaid with kingfisher feathers and jewels, a civil and military double sleeve cloak with sun and moon on her feet, and a pair of cloud-climbing stilts.

Lifelike and exquisitely beautiful.

The divine majesty, as well as the beauty and heroic spirit of the phoenix on the Jade Terrace, were all sculpted with remarkable precision.

Zhou Sheng finally understood why so many people flocked to it. Besides Hong Ying's own reputation and accumulated wealth, the most important reason was this jade statue.

Not only is it the work of a master, but it also contains divine radiance. Although mortals cannot see it, they can feel an invisible influence.

In their eyes, the statue was extremely spiritual; once they looked at it, they couldn't take their eyes off it.

"Hey, who are you?"

"Quickly step back, lest you offend Her Majesty!"

"How dare you! Who gave you permission to get so close to Her Majesty?"

Someone tried to grab Zhou Sheng, but as soon as their hand touched Zhou Sheng's shoulder, they let out a scream, as if they had been electrocuted, and half of their body felt numb and sore.

On the shrine, the jade statue's eyes twitched slightly.

Zhou Sheng picked up three incense sticks, looked at the statue of the deity, and smiled, "I have studied Taoism for sixteen years and have achieved some success. I wish to become the temple keeper of the goddess. What do you think?"

"If you agree, the incense will burn by itself; if you do not agree, the incense will break."

After speaking, he placed the unlit incense sticks in the incense burner and bowed deeply.

The next moment, wisps of fragrant mist rose up.

"The incense is lit! It's really lit!"

"The Phoenix Goddess has appeared and chosen him to be the temple keeper!"

"No, I don't believe it. It must be sorcery. I have been waiting here for days. Why didn't the goddess choose me to be the temple keeper?"

A scholar excitedly stepped forward, gazing at the beautiful statue with a look of fascination, even wanting to reach out and touch its delicate jade feet.

But the cold blade instantly brought him to his senses.

Zhou Sheng snorted coldly and said, "Here, the temple keeper is in charge. If you dare to make a fuss again and disrespect the goddess, don't blame me for being ruthless with the knife in my hand!"

Upon hearing this, the scholar immediately fell silent.

"Alright, from now on, everyone line up properly. No crowding, no noise, and absolutely no frivolous or reckless behavior, otherwise..."

With a clang!
The blade flashed like a startled swan. The temple appeared unchanged, but a few breaths later, with a crisp sound, the jade pendant at the scholar's waist shattered into two, then four, then eight…

Finally, it turned into a pile of fragments, which flew all over the sky.

The scholar's face turned deathly pale instantly. Such superb skill was worthy of a master swordsman. In an instant, he could no longer care about the beauty and slunk away.

Then, the chaotic temple of the God of Drama suddenly became orderly, and everyone was respectful. Some people even revered the Goddess of the Phoenix even more.

Such a highly skilled swordsman was willing to become the temple keeper of the goddess, which shows how powerful the goddess is.

Time passed slowly, and Zhou Sheng stood to one side of the statue, holding the knife. Though he said nothing, his silence spoke volumes.

No one dared to cause trouble here anymore.

Many believers were very satisfied with such a dedicated temple keeper, but what they did not expect was that as soon as dusk fell and the temple gates closed, Zhou Sheng would suddenly stop pretending.

He picked up a pear offered before the altar, took a big bite, and juice splattered, even landing on the statue's feet. "Oh dear, Your Majesty, please forgive this temple keeper's rudeness!"

After Zhou Sheng finished speaking, he reached out and gently wiped the jade lotus feet. His palm felt warm and cool to the touch. Because he was very close to the statue, he could even smell a faint fragrance.

"Bold."

A hollow, ethereal voice suddenly echoed through the temple, its majesty seemingly tinged with a hint of embarrassment.

"You lecherous temple keeper, you forbid others from desecrating this deity, yet behind closed doors you humiliate and blaspheme this god?"

The jade statue's body shone with light, and the shawl seemed to flow. Its phoenix eyes were slightly raised, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

Zhou Sheng smiled slightly, knowing that Boss Feng's passion for acting had returned, so he simply continued singing with her.

"Your Majesty, since you've discovered me, I won't pretend anymore. If you don't want the statue to be smashed, you'd better behave. In public, you'll be the Phoenix Lady whom everyone worships, but in private..."

"You'd better listen to what this temple keeper says!"

"you!"

The jade statue's voice was both annoyed and ashamed, but after a moment it finally let out a helpless sigh.

"You mustn't go too far, or I'd rather die than submit..."

Zhou Sheng laughed heartily, looking every bit like a petty person who becomes arrogant after gaining power. He sat on the altar without any restraint, eating the offerings, and said mockingly, "Phoenix Lady, why don't you show yourself quickly so that this temple keeper can have a good look at you?"

"..."

A beam of light flew out from between the gods' eyebrows and transformed into a beautiful and dashing woman. Her body radiated a faint jade light, and her eyes and brows already showed signs of divine power, making her difficult to look directly at.

"Shameless lecher!"

She snorted coldly, deliberately glancing at him with disdain, and said, "Are you satisfied now?"

Zhou Sheng said with a half-smile, "It's still a bit short. Since Your Majesty is the Goddess of Opera, please sing a piece of opera for this temple keeper."

"What...what do you want to hear?"

"Battle of Wancheng".

Upon hearing this play, Yao Tai Feng knew perfectly well what wicked thoughts he was harboring, and immediately glared at him.

"The Battle of Wancheng" tells the story of Cao Cao's campaign against Zhang Xiu, who was stationed in Wancheng. Zhang Xiu was defeated and surrendered. Cao Cao entered the city and did not do any important work. Instead, he took a fancy to Zhang Xiu's aunt, Zou Shi. He also ignored the official duties in the city and spent his days having sex with Zhang Xiu's aunt, enjoying himself immensely.

This is a very famous pink play.

So-called "pink plays" are those operas that are offensive to public morals and contain explicit content. They are often banned by the government, but they are still performed in the public despite repeated bans, and every performance is always sold out.

Yao Tai Feng looked down on this kind of play, whether in life or after death.

When she was at the height of her popularity as a singer, a wealthy man offered her ten thousand taels of gold to sing a popular opera, but she scolded him and refused. If her master hadn't intervened, she might have even gotten into a physical fight.

Logically speaking, she should have vehemently rejected such a "malicious" request, especially now that she had embarked on the path of divinity, how could she willingly degenerate?

But she sighed softly and nodded slowly.

It wasn't because she was addicted to acting, but because she and Mr. Zhou had made a prior agreement.

If Zhou Sheng could graduate alive, she would be willing to perform any play with him, even... a romantic one.

Originally, he was thinking of escaping for a few days, but unexpectedly, Zhou Sheng chased him to the temple.

"Could we... sing somewhere else?"

She pleaded softly, after all, it was rather embarrassing to sing opera in her own temple.

"Ahem, this is fine, I like this environment."

...(End of this chapter)