C3 (1/2)

To keep up with the strangers, I turned and headed back to the village. On the way, I asked him his name, but he didn't answer me. After a while, we came to a deep alley in the village. One of the families had taken in quite a lot when they were building the house, leaving a relatively spacious space at the base of the wall. He then placed another pile of dirt on the ground about a meter high and plastered it with cement, creating a platform that was about ten meters long and five meters wide. Usually sunning some crops or something on it.

A few people were standing on the concrete platform. They were all wearing ancient clothing. There were fake jade ribbons carved out of bamboo strips, a beaded pheasant feather hat, and wide, thick-soled shoes. The woman's face was heavily powdered and rouged, and the man wore a fake mustache. It was clearly a costume for a singing show.

As the stranger and I approached, a few people on the stage remained silent, their bodies motionless as they stared at us like statues.

The moon in the sky became increasingly bright, illuminating the world.

When we came to a stop below the concrete platform, the people on the stage suddenly moved and began to croak. One by one, he finished her song. The voice was clear and distant. One could tell it was someone who had put in a lot of effort, but ordinary people wouldn't be able to sing such a voice. But after listening to them for a long time, I still couldn't understand what they were singing.

Logically speaking, the loud noises these people had made should have attracted the attention of everyone in the village. But I kept turning my head to look at Hu Tong, and there was no sign of him.

After a while, the people on the stage were still singing excitedly. The stranger who was standing next to me asked, ”How is it? Is it nice?” I smiled bitterly and shook my head. ”I really can't understand what they're singing!” The stranger frowned slightly and said, ”Since you don't understand, then let them not sing and let them change their act!”

The stranger waved his hand. The people on the stage stopped singing. They all stared at me as if I were some rare object. I thought their eyes were full of something strange, something complex and deep. I even thought I knew them, but I couldn't remember where I had seen them.

On the concrete, besides the few of them, was a large box. It must have been used for carrying props and clothes. On top of the box was a large shining knife and a bundle of rope. A man and a woman walked over. The man, dressed in the tight-fitting Wusheng attire, used a piece of cloth to cover his face and picked up the huge sword to carry on his shoulder. The woman was dressed like a maidservant. Her face was covered with a thick layer of white powder while her lips were covered with red pills. She grabbed the rope and lifted it.

Another man, wearing a dark robe embroidered with ferocious tigers and a fake beard that fluttered from his face, tore open the trunk. There was actually a person hidden inside. His head was covered with a cloth, and he was wearing white clothes with the word 'Prisoner' written on it. Judging from his skinny and crooked body, it was most likely an old man.

The two men brought up the prisoners in the box. He dragged them to a man wearing a beaded crown, a golden dragon robe, and a fake jade belt carved from a thin bamboo strip hanging around his waist.

A loud and clear sound entered his ears. The prisoner knelt down heavily before the man in the golden dragon robe. The maidservant, who was carrying the rope, rushed over and quickly tied the prisoner up.

”Heavens, spare me!” The prisoner let out an old mournful wail. It was a woman. I heard it in my ears and felt very familiar. In my mind, I thought of my clan's great-grandmother, Hu Shizhen.

But I'm not sure it was her. She was so old, how could she have come to this kind of stage!

”Do you know what crime you have committed?” The yellow-robed man had a dignified expression as he shouted with a deep voice.

”Extremely evil! ”It's a heinous crime!” The prisoner kneeling on the ground didn't say what crime he had committed, but only forcefully said these four words twice.

”I won't forgive you. It depends on the other person's wishes!” As I spoke, the man in the golden dragon robe cast a glance in my direction.

The prisoner's knees moved, changing the direction he knelt in, he faced me, who was standing below the stage, and wailed, ”Jin Shi, spare me!”

I couldn't help but ask, ”Are you Granny Gao Zu?”

The prisoner did not respond.

The scene fell into absolute silence. The full moon in the sky was like a silver plate. The weather was unusually hot and stuffy, without even the slightest breeze. The clothes that were soaked in sweat stuck to his skin, causing him to feel extremely uncomfortable.

About two minutes passed. The stranger next to me inclined his head and said, ”Follow the script and the prisoners on this stage will be executed.”

Feeling inexplicably depressed, I said, ”Can you not follow the script?”

The stranger said, ”Then it wouldn't be a good play! Do you want the show to be more exciting? ”

I nodded. ”Since I don't understand how to act, I'll leave it to you to decide!”