Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul

The day for the Lu family's apprentice-acceptance banquet is drawing ever closer.

Prominent figures in the industry are gradually making their way to Suzhou.

As the absolute protagonist of this apprentice-acceptance banquet, Li Chang'an naturally couldn't truly remain uninvolved.

Lu Jin began to guide him through the entire banquet process.

In the entertainment industry, there is an extremely strict set of rules for formally accepting apprentices and taking on masters.

Although Lu Jin is not a person who likes formalities, this apprentice-acceptance banquet is of great significance.

It was to issue a statement to the entire community of supernatural beings that the Trinity Sect was about to reappear in the world, so he had to make it a grand affair.

Since it's a banquet...

There has never been a shortage of programs.

When ordinary people hold banquets, the programs are mostly singers performing, operas, magic shows, and the like.

Even banquets in the world of the supernatural are not immune to this custom.

However, those who perform on stage are all extraordinary individuals involved in these fields within the industry.

Among those invited were crosstalk masters from Tianjin Deyun Society, entertainers from Guanghelou in Beijing, and magicians from Jiyun Society.

The apprentice-acceptance banquet will be held the next day.

Most of the performers had arrived early and were rehearsing in the courtyard.

Many members of the Lu family gathered there to watch.

To avoid embarrassing himself during the formal apprenticeship ceremony, Li Chang'an also had to rehearse with her.

He followed Lu Jin to the front yard of the Lu family's residence.

The venue has been rearranged.

The artificial hill that originally stood in the center of the courtyard, along with several obstructive and valuable bonsai trees, were all moved away, leaving behind a spacious open area that could accommodate a hundred people.

A stage was erected in the very middle of the open space.

A large crowd had gathered around the stage, mostly older and younger members of the Lu family, who were there to join in the fun.

Lu Linglong, Bai Shixue, Zhi Jinhua and others were also here.

On the stage, a young man was adjusting the audio.

The young man was fair-skinned and handsome, wearing a moon-white long gown and holding a folding fan in his hand. Judging from his posture, he seemed to be about to perform a crosstalk routine.

"Xiao Xiao, is he going on stage too? Can he handle it? Does he have any work to do?" Bai Shixue muttered softly.

"Xiao Xiao is on stage, so he must have something to do, right?" Lu Linglong said somewhat uncertainly.

As Xiao Xiao's good friend, she knew all too well what Xiao Xiao was capable of; he was known as the king of awkward silences in Deyun Society.

A joke that's clearly funny becomes completely unfunny and awkwardly cold when he tells it.

Zhi Jinhua pushed up her glasses and said:

"If Xiao Xiao's job were changed to telling corny jokes, he would be absolutely amazing."

"He came with Teacher Yu, so it should be Teacher Yu who performed on stage."

"He's just a handyman, how did he get onto the stage? Does he want to satisfy his stage addiction? Isn't he afraid of making a fool of himself?"

Lu Linglong covered her mouth and chuckled, "Hua'er, if Xiao Xiao hears you say that, he'll definitely cause you trouble."

"If you don't tell him, he won't know, right?" Zhi Jinhua squinted at Lu Linglong. "Are you going to betray me?"

Lu Linglong smiled slyly, about to extort hush money from her best friend, when she suddenly noticed Lu Jin and Li Chang'an coming into the courtyard.

She quickly jumped up and down, waving and greeting everyone.

Upon seeing this, the others also respectfully bowed and greeted Lu Jin.

Lu Jin smiled and waved his hand:

"Have fun, don't be shy, make yourself at home."

Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao on the stage had finished preparing and began his carefully prepared opening remarks.

"Hello everyone, I am Xiao Xiao, a student and a candidate actor in the crosstalk world."

"I've come here with my master today to perform a show for everyone."

"My performance is about online shopping. It's so interesting, I guarantee you'll laugh non-stop after listening to it."

"I've never shopped online before. I feel uneasy about things I can't touch or see..."

Xiao Xiao then began to speak in a dry, uninspired manner, without any inflection or humor.

The audience found it all rather boring, so they asked him who his master was.

Startled by the interruption, Xiao Xiao quickly said:

"Oh dear, I got nervous and forgot to mention my lineage. My master is Donkey Whip."

The audience was stunned.

Xiao Xiao was also stunned for a moment, then suddenly covered his mouth and looked around in horror:

"Oh no, I can't let my master hear this, or he'll definitely beat me."

The audience immediately realized that this kid's master must be Yu Qian.

Yu Qian was mispronounced as "donkey whip".

This kid is really bold; he's truly a filial son who has caused trouble in his parents' home.

Everyone burst into laughter.

Lu Linglong and Zhi Jinhua laughed along with them.

After laughing, Lu Linglong asked in confusion:

"What's going on? Xiao Xiao's skills have improved! That joke was pretty funny."

Zhi Jinhua narrowed her eyes, her glasses reflecting the light, and said:

"Judging from his reaction just now, I don't think it was a burden at all. He was just too nervous and misspoke."

Bai Shixue nodded: "I also think that under normal circumstances, he would never be able to tell a funny joke. If it is funny, then something must have happened."

Lu Linglong said, "If Teacher Yu hears this, won't she punish him?"

"Probably not!" Zhi Jinhua said, "Look, Teacher Yu is standing there, laughing like crazy. He probably didn't realize that Xiao Xiao had misspoke and thought he had finally figured it out."

"Is this Xiaoyu's disciple?" Lu Jin heard this and asked with a smile.

Lu Linglong nodded and said, "Grandpa, Xiao Xiao has been at Deyun Club, learning skills from Teacher Yu."

Lu Jin smiled and said, "He's quite an interesting little guy."

Deyun Society... Teacher Yu... Li Chang'an glanced at Xiao Xiao on the stage. Goodness, there's this connection.

He still had some impression of this Xiao Xiao.

In the storyline, he lost a hand during the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, and was then manipulated by Qu Tong, ultimately suffering a gruesome death.

Seeing that Li Chang'an seemed quite interested in the people on stage, Lu Jin introduced them:

"Deyun Society is not just a crosstalk troupe, but also a sect in our circle of extraordinary people. The leader is Guo Zengfu."

"Performing crosstalk is just their way of making a living. After all, times have changed, and the old-fashioned style of fighting and killing is no longer popular."

"If a school of thought is to be passed down, it must have a proper way of making a living. The Deyun Society's way of making a living is by performing crosstalk."

"Their cultivation method is called 'expelling Qi.' They use the incantation of 'humph' and 'ha' to violently expel the Qi from their bodies."

"The ancient masters who created the art of exhaling were Zheng Lun and Chen Qi, who were known as the Heng and Ha Generals."

"The current head of Deyun Society and his partner are also known as the Heng and Ha Generals."

"The terrifying thing about exhaling is that once it hits you directly, it affects your soul, blasting your spirit out of your body and leaving you completely unable to resist."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an nodded.

Compared to the art of exhaling qi, he was more curious about this so-called contemporary Heng and Ha generals.

Lu Jin had just heard Xiao Xiao's opening remarks and felt they were quite promising, so she wanted to continue listening.

After listening to another segment, I found that the child's level dropped sharply, and the rest of the time it sounded like he was just reading a textbook, dry and uninteresting.

He shook his head, gave a word of advice, "Cut this program," and then took Li Chang'an and Lu Lin to familiarize themselves with the apprenticeship process.