A master of comedy!

Chapter 20: Throwing the Holy Grail

The next day, on the banks of the Pear Blossom River.

It was still pitch black when Zhou Sheng got up and went to the riverbank to practice his singing.

Although he was given a good beating by his master last night, he was actually quite happy. It wasn't that he necessarily wanted praise, but rather that he hoped his master could be more lenient.

He could always sense that his master seemed to live a very heavy life, and sometimes, he even seemed like a living dead person.

Only when teaching opera can one occasionally see a glimpse of his former brilliance, but it is fleeting.

After shouting, Zhou Sheng didn't rush to leave. Instead, he took some paper money and burned it by the river.

This is for the underworld messengers who brought him back.

"Brothers, thank you for taking me home. Please take this little bit of money and use it for drinks. It's nothing."

Zhou Sheng read out their names and hometowns, and then kept scattering paper money into the fire.

The flickering firelight stood out starkly against the dark backdrop of the Pear Blossom River before sunrise.

Few people come to this river after dark, because people have drowned here.

In folk tradition, people who drown are called water ghosts. These ghosts cannot be reincarnated and must first find a substitute to take their place.

Therefore, if someone drowns, the locals will throw a mud figure at the spot where they fell into the water to deceive the water ghost.

There were indeed water ghosts in the Pear Blossom River.

When he was fourteen, he was swimming in the river to cool off when he felt as if a hand was grabbing his feet and dragging him down.

However, by then he had already studied Yin Opera for nine years. Like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, he dived directly into the river and, guided by the Luo Shu, dug out the corpse that had turned into white bones.

He then carried the body ashore and left it to dry in the sun for a whole day.

That night he dreamed of a person whose body seemed to be roasted, disheveled and begging him, kneeling down and pleading incessantly.

Later, Zhou Sheng burned the corpse, and nothing happened after that.

Pear Blossom River has always been peaceful.

The paper money had almost burned out, and Zhou Sheng clapped his hands, preparing to get up and leave. But just then, a gust of wind blew in, swirling up the paper money in his brazier.

Ashes danced in the air, and fire snakes swirled around.

Zhou Sheng's eyes narrowed, revealing a look of surprise.

This was no ordinary wind; it was a swirling, eerie wind.

Master said that even without having the wisdom eye, there is actually a way to determine whether there are ghosts.

If the yin wind is blowing in the right direction, it is a natural phenomenon; if the yin wind is blowing in the wrong direction, it is most likely that a ghost is causing trouble.

"Is this... a robbery to steal the paper money?"

A strange glint flashed in Zhou Sheng's eyes as he snatched the paper money meant for the ghost messengers from the hands of a ghost performer.
Where did this wandering ghost come from, so distraught?

He snorted coldly, and the next moment his words were like thunder.

"Bah!!!"

His voice was clearest and loudest right after he shouted. This roar of the Yan people had already captured three-tenths of the spirit of Huan Hou Zhang Fei. It was like a Vajra glaring and thunderous!
In an instant, the eerie wind that had been swirling around the paper money was suddenly shaken away, and the ashes fell like snowflakes.

At the same time, a strange sound rang out from the river.

With a tearing sound, like the crisp sound of cloth ripping.

Immediately afterwards, streaks of blood appeared on the surface of the river, and a figure slowly emerged from not far away, looking quite bloated.

The sky was dark at the moment, with only a few points of light. An ordinary person would naturally not be able to see clearly, but Zhou Sheng had exceptional eyesight and could see the other party clearly at a glance.

That's a person!

To be precise, it was a corpse that had been soaking for an unknown amount of time.

The body was rotten and bloated, with an abnormal orange-yellow skin and a bulging abdomen, resembling a woman in her tenth month of pregnancy.

His black hair, as black as seaweed, seemed to have been scraped by something, tearing his scalp and causing blood mixed with black corpse fluid to flow out.

The scene was bloody and disgusting; if an ordinary person saw it, they would probably be so frightened that their legs would go weak and they would be unable to stand.

Even Zhou Sheng, who was mentally prepared, couldn't help but feel a chill and a slight nausea upon seeing this scene.

A roar from the Yan people caused a floating corpse to emerge.

Most importantly, the floating corpse was slowly drifting towards him with the current.

...In the main hall, in front of the statue of the patriarch.

Yu Zhensheng respectfully offered three sticks of incense and laid out some fruit as an offering.

"May the Ancestral Master bless us! That child is gifted, kind-hearted, and intelligent. He will surely be able to revitalize our Yin Opera lineage in the future!"

"But he died and came back to life when he was young, which greatly damaged his yang energy and weakened his life force. He is very susceptible to attracting evil spirits. For many years, I have been using medicine to regulate his body. In addition, this child is hardworking and willing to endure hardship. He has actually cultivated his Taoist skills and has become somewhat better..."

If Zhou Sheng were here right now, he would be astonished.

He thought he had hidden it well, but little did he know that Yu Zhensheng had seen through his resurrection at a glance.

A dead body, a living life.

A child who shouldn't have been alive has somehow survived.

Therefore, Yu Zhensheng did not hesitate to refuse Zhou Sheng's request to become his apprentice, as he did not want to cause trouble for himself.

But the child's resilience, stubbornness, and tenacity, like that of wild grass, still moved him.

"The Ghost Play of the Ghost Festival is inherently dangerous, and he has not yet completed his apprenticeship. Now he has been caught up in the vortex. I, your disciple Yu Zhensheng, humbly request that you take this child as your adopted son and protect him."

There is a folk custom where some sickly children are asked to recognize the gods or Buddhas in temples as godparents, so that the children can be protected and grow up safely.

In some places, children are even made to worship ancient trees and become their godparents.

However, this method should be used with caution by those who practice Yin-Yang magic, because they associate with ghosts and spirits all year round and attract too much trouble. If they rashly claim kinship, it may anger the other party.

Therefore, after praying, Yu Zhensheng knelt down and began to cast the Holy Grail.

First, let's ask Emperor Huaguang if he agrees.

The so-called "holy chalice" or "divination blocks" is a way for people to communicate with the gods. If the result of the divination is one yang and one yin (one flat and one convex), it means that the gods agree and it is called the holy chalice.

If the result of the toss is two yangs, it means that the spirit's mind is not yet made up, and further instructions can be sought; this is called the "laughing cup".

If the result of the toss is two negative numbers, it indicates disapproval or that the deity is angry; this is called a negative toss.

Snapped!
As the Holy Grail hit the ground, Yu Zhensheng's expression changed slightly.

All the divination blocks on the ground were convex, forming a yin shape, which was not acceptable.

He picked up the divination blocks and continued throwing them.

To ensure accuracy, three consecutive positive results from the divination blocks are generally considered a reliable indicator.

The second time, it was another Yin cup.

The third time, and it's still a negative cup!

Yu Zhensheng remained silent for a moment, then continued to cast the Holy Grail.

Yin cup, yin cup, yin cup, and still a yin cup...

He threw nine Yin cups in a row!
Yu Zhensheng frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but just then, there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

The knocking was urgent, like the beating of a drum.

……

To be honest, Zhou Sheng felt a chill run down his spine when he saw the corpse floating towards him.

It's not that I'm afraid, it's just disgusting.

As he drifted closer, he realized that the corpse was not a woman who was ten months pregnant, but a man.

The reason his belly was so swollen, in terms of his previous life on Earth, was that after a person dies, bacteria multiply rapidly, producing a lot of putrefactive gases that compress the abdominal cavity, causing it to swell.

It's like a balloon stretched to its limit, ready to burst at any moment.

As the corpse drew closer, Zhou Sheng hesitated for a moment before deciding to go back and get his weapons.

Now that the opera box is not with him and he doesn't have a suitable weapon, his combat strength will inevitably be affected.

As he turned to leave, a question arose in his mind.

There has never been anything like this in Lihua River before. Could it be that something happened in Qinggu County while he was away on business?
……

　Happy National Day to our motherland!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)