Chapter 383: "The Carriage-Blocking Challenge"

Seeming to hear Li Qingshan’s call, the red-clad figure turned his head slightly, surprise also appearing on his face.

"Li Qingshan?"

Seeing a familiar face in this mysterious place, Li Qingshan’s heart settled down quite a bit.

He walked over to Chen Ling’s side and asked, puzzled:

"Brother Lin, you received an invitation too?"

"Yeah." Chen Ling nodded slightly. "You too?"

"Yeah, I went back from the Hibiscus Bridge and found someone had come to deliver an invitation, seemed to be a young man... but I didn't see him, my grandma received it." Li Qingshan sat in the seat next to Chen Ling.

Chen Ling was thoughtful.

It wasn't surprising to Chen Ling that not only he had received an invitation. After all, this wasn't his first time witnessing a performance from the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts. Back when he was in District 3 with Chen Yan, several people had sat and watched... However, at that time, it seemed there was no such thing as an invitation. Whether it was him and Chen Yan, or the porter and the beggar, they were all attracted halfway through.

Only that teacher from District 2 seemed to have known about the performance in advance and rushed over specifically... Chen Ling didn't know if he had received an invitation.

"Brother Lin, is this... is this really a performance from the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts?" Li Qingshan asked, holding the invitation uncertainly.

Chen Ling turned and stared at him for a moment, then nodded affirmatively.

"Yes."

It was imaginable that when Li Qingshan received this invitation, he must have been confused and conflicted, but the fact that he appeared here was enough to show that he had a connection with the Opera Arts... Moreover, the one who delivered the invitation to him was that mysterious beautiful young man.

Chen Ling had already vaguely guessed the young man’s identity. If it was true, it meant the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts thought highly of Li Qingshan, and he indeed possessed the potential to step onto the Opera Divine Path.

Li Qingshan had seen Chen Ling’s methods and guessed that he must have some connection with the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts. If Chen Ling said it was the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts, then it must be.

Li Qingshan suddenly felt a bit panicked and uneasy.

"Then what should we do?"

"We don't need to do anything." Chen Ling leaned back in his chair, looking at the crude stage shrouded in mist and rain, and said calmly, "Just... wait for the performance to begin."

"Oh... okay."

Li Qingshan took a deep breath, trying his best to relax. After all, this encounter was too impactful for an ordinary person like him; his body was still tense even now.

The torrential rain swayed with the wind, creating a faint white mist on the surface. The two figures, one red and one green, sat in the middle, as quiet as two statues.

Time passed minute by minute. When the clock’s hand pointed to 3:00 PM, a sudden change occurred!

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding—

A dull sound came from the crude stage, and the strings of light bulbs wrapped around the stage lit up one after another.

The orange-yellow light tore through the wind and rain, like miniature suns hanging in the mist, illuminating the faces of Chen Ling and Li Qingshan in the front row. The stage, which had been gray and dead, suddenly seemed to come alive, bathed in light.

Seeing this, Chen Ling narrowed his eyes slightly; Li Qingshan immediately adjusted his posture, sitting upright in his seat.

They knew the performance... was about to begin.

"It seems this performance only invited the two of us." Chen Ling glanced at the empty seats behind them and said softly.

"Seems like it." Li Qingshan licked his lips, his face showing undisguised nervousness.

Light enveloped the stage, and after a brief pause, a crisp gong sound came from backstage!

Clang—!

The bright red curtain on the stage slowly pulled open.

A voice full of vigor rang out from behind the stage:

"Lads! To the camp!"

"Ah!" several distinct voices overlapped and responded.

"I am the Great Marshal of the Northern Desert, Ha Tielong! Because the Fourth Prince Wushu has besieged Prince Kang at Niutou Mountain, a letter has been sent back to the country to urge for reinforcements. The Old King has ordered me to escort the Iron Sliding Carts, known as the 'Pagoda,' to be released from above. Even if there were a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, they would be ground into powder! Look ahead, we are not far from the camp.

Lads!"

"Ah!"

"Hurry on!" (Note 1)

“……”

The series of dialogues left Chen Ling in the audience confused. As the drum music started, the performance seemed to have begun...

However, wasn't there an announcement before the performance started?

Li Qingshan, sitting to the side, heard the dialogue and let out a soft "Oh?": "'The Carriage-Blocking Challenge'?"

"What?"

"This opera." Li Qingshan pointed to the stage.

"This is a martial arts opera. It tells the story of the early Southern Song Dynasty, when the Jin army invaded the south. Yue Fei and Jin Wushu fought at Niutou Mountain. Jin Wushu was defeated repeatedly, so he used Iron Sliding Carts to block Yue Fei. Gao Chong, acting on the orders of Marshal Yue Fei, led the generals to defeat the Jin army and pursued them in victory, straight to Jin Wushu’s camp.

Jin Wushu, having no other choice, urgently ordered the Iron Sliding Carts to be pushed out. Gao Chong, disregarding his own safety, single-handedly blocked and flipped eleven Iron Sliding Carts... It’s considered quite a spectacular fight scene."

Chen Ling didn't know much about these things. After Li Qingshan explained it, he understood that there was a fierce warrior who flipped eleven Iron Sliding Carts in a row, and it seemed to focus on martial arts... But why did the Ancient Treasury of Opera Arts choose this opera?

Chen Ling sat in the front row, thoughtful.

……

Three figures passed through the [Circle] and stepped into Willow Town.

"Willow Town isn't big, but it isn't small either... Elder He, where should we start searching?" asked one of the figures wearing a black headscarf.

Among the three, Elder He had the most seniority and the strongest power, so the other two didn't dare to express their opinions easily, waiting for his answer.

Elder He narrowed his eyes into slits. He didn't answer, but raised the cane in his hand and tapped it lightly against the ground.

Thump—!

With a dull thud, the white crane patterns on the surface of the cane seemed to come alive, flapping their wings and flying out from the cane like surging white waves, spreading out in all directions, covering the sky and earth.

"Searching inch by inch is too slow." Elder He spoke slowly. "The white cranes will guide us."

The two [Floating Life Painting] members behind him were also seeing this scene for the first time, their eyes full of surprise and reverence.

As the white cranes fluttered up into the wind and rain, covering the sky over the entire Willow Town, Elder He closed his eyes, as if sensing something...

A moment later, a faint glimmer flashed in his eyes.

He tapped his cane again, and a white crane flew out from it, supporting his figure as he rose slowly, then flapped its wings and headed in a certain direction.

The other two [Floating Life Painting] members saw this and didn't dare to delay, immediately chasing after the white crane at full speed, deep into Willow Town.

……

……

Note 1: Selected from the Peking Opera "The Carriage-Blocking Challenge" fragment.