Immortality begins in Goose City

Chapter 43 Please, Lord Bao, seek justice for this humble woman.

The other actors on stage also noticed Huang Shujian in the audience. They were all as if they had been injected with chicken blood, their eyes shining, and they put in their best effort in terms of posture, singing, and recitation!

Young Master Huang has arrived! This is a golden opportunity!

If Xingliyuan can regain the favor of this patron, even just by taking one more look, it can be brought back to life.

Those of them who were left behind had something to look forward to.

Huang Shujian sat at the table, seemingly unaware of the sudden surge of enthusiasm on stage.

He picked up the teapot that the waiter had just brought and poured himself a cup of tea.

The tea was so-so, and the water was lukewarm, but he didn't care.

He didn't come to see the opera today.

Xiuer sat to his left, her little hands tightly clutching the hem of his clothes, her round eyes anxiously surveying the gloomy theater.

She had heard many terrifying rumors about Lan Xiaodie.

Zhao Ming sat on the right, her head bowed, her hands resting on her knees, her fingers slightly intertwined.

She was more silent and more afraid than Xiuer.

Huang Shujian took a sip of tea, and fragments of memories surfaced in his mind.

The original owner of this body was indeed a frequent visitor to Xingli Garden and Yuchun Garden.

They could even be considered the lifeblood of these two major opera troupes.

Actors need support, especially famous ones.

The leading actors of the two opera troupes often compete not only in terms of their voices and stage presence, but also in the financial resources and influence of their backers.

However, the original owner of the body, Huang Shujian, liked both sides.

In Xingliyuan, the most beloved actress is Lan Xiaodie; in Yuchunyuan, the most beloved actress is Mei Ruguo.

The two opera troupes used to fight tooth and nail, openly and secretly, largely because they were vying for the favor of Huang Shujian, the prince of Goose City.

Whoever receives more reward money from Young Master Huang will have the upper hand over the other.

Until... Lan Xiaodie was murdered.

Since then, the original owner of this body has never set foot in Xingli Garden again, and only goes to Yuchun Garden.

Later, it was at Yuchun Garden that he received that fatal blow.

The cycle of cause and effect is ironic, really.

Huang Shujian snapped out of his thoughts and calmly looked at the stage.

His purpose today was clear: to investigate the truth behind Lan Xiaodie's death and see if he could find any clues about the skinning evil spirit.

Xingliyuan is the site of the crime and also a place rumored to be haunted by vengeful spirits.

Perhaps we can glean something from this final scene.

On stage, "The Story of the Black Basin" is at a crucial moment.

This play tells the story of a wronged soul seeking revenge.

The wealthy merchant Liu Shichang kindly took in Zhao Da and his wife, but the couple murdered them for their money. Their bodies were burned to ashes, mixed with mud, and made into a black basin.

The black basin was later bought by an old man named Zhang Biegu. Liu Shichang's ghost then possessed the black basin, begging Zhang Biegu to take him to Judge Bao in Kaifeng to seek justice.

The play is already halfway through.

Bao Gong was in the third trial of Wu Pen.

According to the play, this should be the moment when the wronged souls in the black basin speak out and plead their grievances.

The troupe leader stood on the stage, his expression stern. Facing the black basin prop placed on the official's desk, he gathered his strength and recited Bao Gong's lines:

"You black basin! I am here! What grievance do you have? Speak the truth!"

After finishing the recitation, he tilted his ear slightly, waiting for the ghostly singing that was supposed to follow backstage.

however……

The backstage area was completely silent.

The expected mournful and plaintive ghostly singing did not ring out.

The troupe leader's heart skipped a beat, but he dared not show it on his face.

He was experienced and knew that the actor backstage might have been nervous or had made some small mistake.

He quickly composed himself, then emphasized his question again:

"Black Basin! I summoned you, why did you not answer? What grievance do you have? Speak quickly!"

Still... there was no sound.

There were only dim lights on the stage and a few puzzled looks from the audience.

The troupe leader's forehead began to sweat.

He knew something must have happened!

The actor backstage was personally arranged by him. He has a good voice and is very steady. There is no way he would forget his lines or get stage fright at a time like this!

He was preparing to smooth things over, gloss over the matter, stage a four-stage trial, and then quickly hint to others to go backstage to check.

Just as his lips parted slightly, before he could utter a sound...

"Clang!"

A crisp sound broke the silence!

It's not gongs or drums, nor is it a wooden clapper.

It was that black basin placed on the desk as a prop!

Without warning, it rolled off the table and landed on the wooden stage floor!

What's chilling is that the black basin didn't shatter into pieces like ordinary pottery when it hit the ground.

It just rolled twice on the ground with a "thud," and then... came to a steady stop in the center of the stage.

Immediately afterwards—

A voice echoed faintly from the direction of the black basin.

The sound was ethereal and mournful, carrying endless sorrow and coldness, like a chilling wind emerging from the ground in the twelfth lunar month, seeping into everyone's ears.

"Injustice... I'm innocent...!"

The sound echoed in the empty theater.

Just three words.

But the seven or eight remaining old opera enthusiasts in the audience were like people who had been splashed with boiling oil, and they instantly erupted in chaos!

"A ghost! It's a ghost!"

"Lan Xiaodie! It's Lan Xiaodie's voice! I recognize it!"

"Oh my god! Run!"

The old men were terrified. They scrambled and overturned chairs, not caring about their dignity, and ran frantically towards the theater gate, crying and shouting!

He kept screaming, "A ghost!!" "Lan Xiaodie is back to take my life!"

There was only one old man with a missing front tooth who accidentally broke his leg and could only shout helplessly.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me!"

The troupe leader and the actors on stage were also terrified.

The troupe leader's face was ashen, but he remained calm and sat firmly in the main seat.

After decades of performing in operas, his intuition told him that at this moment, perhaps the only thing that could protect him was the Bao Gong costume he was wearing!

Several timid extras were already trembling with fear, barely able to walk.

Behind Huang Shujian.

Xiuer let out a soft "Ah!" Her face instantly turned pale, and she clung tightly to Zhao Ming's arm, burying her face in her chest, trembling all over.

Zhao Ming was also startled by the sound, her face turning pale. But she seemed to be suppressing her fear and did not scream. She just closed her eyes tightly, her long eyelashes trembling.

The entire apricot and pear orchard fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.

Only the lingering echo of that cry of injustice seemed to still linger between the beams.

Only Huang Shujian.

He slowly put down his teacup, his eyes showing no fear, but instead a sharp glint suddenly appeared.

There really was something there!

The mournful, plaintive female voice emanated from the black basin lying quietly on the ground, like silk threads soaked in icy water, swirling in the dim, yellow air of the apricot and pear orchard.

"Injustice... I'm innocent...!"

Then, the voice became slightly clearer, carrying a stubborn, clinging hope, as if grasping at the last straw:

"Please...Lord Bao...seek justice for this woman..."