The chivalrous spirit is fickle

After saying that, Shi Gu's body rose from the ground, as if he had wings, and went straight up. He placed his raised palms on the stone above and returned to the ground.

When the stone slab was lifted up, the breeze from outside fell into the ground. Dan Xiu was refreshed and sniffed the breath from the outside greedily. When the stone slab was closed again, the candles on the wall went out without wind, and the whole basement returned to darkness.

In the darkness, Dan Xiu looked up and suddenly sneered.

"Oh, you are running out of energy. I wonder how long you can live. I have plenty of patience. You can't hold me back."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a gentle knocking sound coming from above. The sound of bones being released passed through the thick stones and fell clearly into Dan Xiu's ears.

"Keep your voice down, I can hear you."

"..."

After a brief silence, the Black Bird Dan Xiu became like a human, feeling ashamed and annoyed, and hammered the ground with its wings, but when the wings touched the ground, sparks were created.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

The dull sound could not penetrate the thick stones, but Shi Gu above could still hear it clearly. He sat back in his recliner, put his hands behind his head, and muttered to himself.

"Is it really necessary to keep such a stupid bird locked up?"

Chapter 11: Sudden Fortune

The next morning, before the morning star had faded, a convoy of cars, stepping on the dew, drove out of Bai Niao Temple and out of Lin'an City.

Shi Gu was like an outsider. He did not take any action. He slept until noon as usual, then closed the shop and went to a teahouse to drink tea and listen to music.

Dengxiang Pavilion is the largest teahouse in Lin'an City. It is three stories high and has a stage in the lobby on the first floor. On weekdays, there are actors playing music on the stage.

Shi Gu found a private room on the third floor, where he enjoyed himself while cracking melon seeds and watching the stage.

Creak—

Suddenly, the door opened slightly, and a figure came in carrying some wine and food. It was a woman with light makeup, delicate features, slender waist, and with a slight smile on her face, she walked towards Shigu step by step.

A teahouse is not necessarily just a place to drink tea. In order to attract customers, some teahouses always use some shady means, just like this woman in front of him.

Shi Gu glanced at the woman, then looked away, and suddenly realized in his heart, no wonder this Xiangge tea was not tasty, the opera was not good, but it was still so famous.

The woman was wearing a light green dress and had waist-length hair, looking like a pretty girl from a small family.

The woman moved lightly, put the food and wine on the plate on the table, smiled softly, and spoke to Shigu.

"Sir, it's been a long time since we last met."

Shi Gu picked up the teacup on the table and looked down. The tea leaves in the celadon teacup did not sink to the bottom but floated on the water. The tea was yellow and turbid, and there was no fragrance at all.

Seeing this, Shi Gu sighed, put down the teacup in his hand, looked up at the woman with a sweet smile, and asked.

"Girl, this is my first time here today. You and I have never met before."

Hearing this, the woman covered her mouth and chuckled, her long sleeves falling to her chest.

"Sir, you and I must have seen it before, but you just forgot it."

Hearing this, Shi Gu shook his head and smacked his lips.

"Tsk, then tell me, where have we met before? Let me think about it."

The woman frowned slightly, put down her hands, took a step forward, leaned towards Shigu, and smiled.

"You and I may have met in our past lives, so we have a deep connection."

Shi Gu was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he burst into laughter. This girl is quite wild. She could even say such words in her previous life.

The woman moved her hand lightly, raised the wine jug and added a glass of wine for Shigu. Then she held the cup with both hands, handed it to Shigu, leaned closer, and spoke softly.

"Sir, I offer you a toast."

Shi Gu looked at the wine glass that was getting closer and closer, frowned, stretched out his hand to block it, his expression became serious, and asked the woman in a deep voice.

"Is this drink priced separately?"

"what?"

Perhaps the question was too abrupt, the woman was stunned, holding the wine glass, not knowing whether to go in or go out.

Seeing this, Shi Gu quickly put down the wine glass in the woman's hand, waved his hands and said.

"You seem to be calculating the price separately, so I'd rather not drink it."

Hearing this, the woman's pretty face twitched for a moment. After a moment, she calmed down and forced a smile.

"Sir, isn't our fate worth a glass of wine?"

"What do you think."

"Of course it is worth it. Destiny is priceless, but gold and silver are just dirt in the end."

"Then you can buy me this drink."

"..."

After several conversations, the woman was choked and her face turned red, unable to speak, while Shigu turned his head, picked up the cup of tea, and continued to look at the stage downstairs.

The people on the stage were not famous actors. Although they tried their best, their singing skills were not satisfactory. While they were singing, a female lead in a white costume lost her feet and fell onto the stage.

"it is good!"

Immediately, the whole teahouse was filled with boos. Seeing this, Shi Gu frowned and shook his head. The actress was a man, but his steps were so frivolous and his basic skills were so weak. It was really an eyesore.

At this moment, the woman's eyes lit up when she saw this, and she came forward again and asked with a smile.

"Sir, do you like to listen to opera? Unfortunately, I can also do it. Would you like to listen to it?"

Shi Gu turned around in surprise, thought for a moment, and asked again cautiously.

"Wouldn't that be another price?"

The woman's face froze, then she smiled slightly, pinched her sleeve with her right hand, stepped lightly, walked on the drama cloth on the stage, and spoke in a operatic voice with a pinched voice.

"Of course not."

Shi Gu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, raised his hand slightly to signal, and said.

"Then sing a few lines and I'll listen."

Hearing this, the woman smiled brightly, but she was no longer as pretentious as before. She stomped her feet and waved her sleeves as if they were water sleeves.

He stepped, turned, and twisted his waist, all in a very orderly manner, without a single flaw.

The woman took a few steps, covered her face with her sleeves, and then staggered a few steps. She looked very sad. Her lips moved, and a deep sadness came out of her mouth along with the lines of the opera.

"I saw the magpie bridge break, the laurel tree fall, and the red thread fall apart."

"The red beans are burning out, the longing is deep, but the love is deep but the fate is shallow."

The woman's opera voice was melodious and beautiful. With every breath she sang, every step she took, every sorrow and cry, she seemed to have forgotten herself.

The woman waved her sleeves as she walked in the narrow room, her eyes becoming increasingly dazed. She stepped on the stage in ecstasy, turned around, and waved. The lines she thought she had forgotten were now clear to her as if engraved in her bones.

She didn't mention the past, but the formula that she was taught when she became a disciple, now came into her ears through the childish voices of children, passing through her memories.

"The green mountains remain, the clear water flows."

"The steps are like lotus, the music is like meaning."

“The mountains are not like mountains, and the water is not like water.”

“Mountains become mountains, water becomes water.”

In that childish nursery rhyme, there was her voice at that time, her sister’s, and her good friend’s voice, which was childish and crisp, methodical and without worries.

It was as if he was telling her how much he once loved that stage and how much he wanted to be on stage again.

How long has it been since I sang so happily?

Suddenly, the woman waved her sleeves, turned around and sat on the ground, her eyes red, pinching her sleeves, and sang the last line of the play.

"When I left, the flowers on the road were as beautiful as brocade, and today the willows on the roof are green again."

After singing, the woman felt mixed emotions. She covered her face with her hands and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

But Shi Gu naturally shifted his gaze away and looked at the stage downstairs again. Seeing this, the woman felt even more sad and felt that her efforts were in vain.

Whether it was learning skills in childhood or using one's beauty to please men now, it's all in vain, empty and lonely, with only oneself left.

Just when the woman was feeling discouraged, she heard Shi Gu say calmly.

"You sang very well. I wanted to applaud you, but I was afraid that the guy below would think I was cheering for him."

The woman was stunned when she heard this, and stared at Shi Gu blankly, but then she smiled bitterly. At this moment, she felt that these things no longer mattered.

So what if I sing well? Is there anyone who can save me from this bottomless abyss?

Feeling disheartened, the woman slumped to the ground, with no intention of getting up. She looked at Shigu, smiled bitterly, and asked softly.

"Sir, people like you should look down on me."

Shi Gu did not refute anything, and did not even move at all. He still looked at the stage downstairs and asked softly.

"Why do you say that?"

The woman lowered her eyebrows, looked at the long dress she was wearing, as if looking into her heart, and said in a hoarse voice.

"I know."

"People like you have always looked down upon people like us. They even think the drinks we have touched are dirty."

There was no falsehood in his self-pity and self-abandonment and that feeling of sorrow.

Shi Gu still didn't make any movement, as if he was fascinated by the opera, but he spoke slowly.

"I have been to many places and met all kinds of people. One time I met a Taoist priest on the road. He told me a pretty interesting story about a Taoist master and his apprentice."

"One day, the old Taoist priest asked the young Taoist priest."

"Is this big?"

"big."

“Are the leaves on that tree big?”

"Not big."

"The old Taoist priest asked again, can you cover people's eyes that day?"

"The young Taoist priest replied, no."

"The old Taoist priest asked again, can the leaf cover a person's eyes?"

"The young Taoist priest replied, yes."

Having said this, Shi Gu finally turned around, looked at the woman, and spoke softly.

"What blocks the eyes is not something as vast as the sky, but a tiny leaf."

"The so-called blindness is when those small things block out things that are more worth seeing."

After saying that, Shi Gu raised the wine glass on the table and drank it all. Then he held the glass upside down, only to see that there was not even a drop of wine left in the glass.

"Do you want to sing on stage?"

Hearing this question, the woman was startled, then her expression became gloomy and she lowered her head and said.

"Of course I do. I have been learning since I was young, from winter to summer, and I never slack off. Isn't it all for the sake of being on stage?"

"What's the use of thinking about it? I'll just be using my beauty to please others. When I'm old and ugly, someone will buy me at a low price. That's how my life will be."

Shi Gu put down his wine glass, tapped the table lightly with his fingers, and continued to ask.

"You signed a contract to sell yourself?"

Hearing this, the woman's expression became even more gloomy. She bit her lips lightly and murmured softly.

"Maybe, it's worse than that."

Shi Gu frowned, feeling that something was a little strange, and asked.

"Girl, can you tell me something?"

The woman looked up at Shigu, hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke softly.

"I have been learning art since I was young, and I studied under my master. I had hoped to perform on stage one day."

"Unexpectedly, seven years ago, the master offended a villain. He took advantage of the cover of night and brought his thugs to beat the master to death. He also forced everyone in the troupe to sign a contract to sell themselves."