boyutpedia Chapter 26 Picking the Slippery Car
Chapter 26 Picking the Slippery Car
That evening.
Lu Cheng was cleaning his gun inside when Zhou Daikui rushed in, clutching a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.
His face was deathly pale, as if he had just seen a ghost.
"Chengzi, something's happened."
"This is a letter that Master Jin had secretly sent out."
Lu Cheng took the note.
There was only one sentence on it, written in illegible handwriting.
[I'll protect you offstage, but your fate is sealed onstage. The car weighs a hundred pounds; you'd better watch yourself.]
These sixteen characters, though brief, convey a sense of helplessness and bloodshed.
Jin Ye was telling him: He, Jin Ye, could withstand any sabotage or shooting from behind the scenes.
But the props on the stage were provided by the "official" authorities; it was Aunt Bai's doing that, and even Master Jin couldn't do anything about it.
Even the weight of that sled could only be described by Master Jin as "a hundred pounds".
"Chengzi, shall we stop acting in this play?"
Zhou Daikui's voice was trembling.
"This is a trap, it weighs a hundred pounds, it's a lump of iron, this is just sending you to your death!"
"We're withdrawing from the competition, we admit defeat. As long as we're alive, we can always make a comeback."
"At worst, we'll leave Beiping and go to Tianjin or Shanghai!"
Lu Cheng looked at the note and gently rubbed his fingers together.
The paper strip turned into powder.
"retreat?"
Lu Cheng stood up, his gaze sharp.
"Master, retreating now would be like stripping your spine."
"No matter where we go from now on, we'll always be seen as cowards who get talked about behind our backs. We'll never be able to hold our heads up again in this lifetime."
"and……"
Lu Cheng turned his head to look at the prop sled in the corner, which he had practiced on until it was full of dents and bumps.
There was no fear in his eyes, only a fighting spirit.
"A hundred jin?"
"Then I'll let them see."
"Is their ironclad armor harder, or is my spirit, Lu Cheng's, harder?"
"Training in China is all about cultivating that audacious spirit, the kind that dares to pierce the sky!"
……
The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year.
On this day, Beiping City was bustling with activity, and the sound of firecrackers rose and fell.
Outside Qianmen, at the meat market, the Guanghelou Theater was brightly decorated with lanterns and colorful banners. A large sign stood at the entrance, with red paper and black characters written in a very impressive manner.
[The Peking Opera Guild's Closing Performance]
[Final Performance: Lu Cheng of the Qingyun Troupe – "Picking the Slippery Cart"]
But there was an eerie feeling hidden beneath the liveliness.
Normally, for such a big show, scalpers would be selling tickets outside, and the audience would cheer.
Today, however, there were two rows of soldiers carrying rifles standing at the gate; they were Commander Zhang's guard platoon.
Each of them looked fierce and menacing, their eyes scanning every audience member who entered the venue.
"This isn't watching a play, it's going to the execution ground!"
Several veteran opera enthusiasts hunched their shoulders and entered the venue, whispering among themselves.
Backstage.
The atmosphere was extremely oppressive.
The usually bustling backstage was now so quiet that only the ticking of the huge grandfather clock could be heard.
The members of the Qingyun Class all had solemn expressions.
Shunzi and Xiaodouzi were dressed as extras in soldiers' uniforms, their hands and feet were ice cold, and they were shivering.
They will be responsible for pushing the trolley later.
They just secretly touched those sleds parked on the side.
It can't be pushed.
It's impossible to move!
The car looked the same as usual, but it was surprisingly heavy when you picked it up, as if it were welded to the ground.
Without the help of the slope of the slide rail, it would take at least two strong men to move it by hand.
"Master..."
Shunzi walked to Lu Cheng's side with a sob in her voice.
Lu Cheng was applying makeup.
Today he painted the face of "Gao Chong", but it's a little different.
The stroke between the eyebrows was drawn exceptionally sharp, like a vertical sword.
He looked in the mirror and finished the last stroke.
He turned around.
Under the light, the mask appeared ferocious and majestic, exuding a murderous aura of fearlessness in the face of death.
"What's the panic?"
Lu Cheng's voice was steady and powerful, like a pillar of strength.
"Once you're on stage, just keep pushing."
"Use as much force as you can."
"Once the car is out, leave the rest to me."
"But that's iron..."
"Shut up."
Lu Cheng's eyes turned cold, then softened.
He reached out and straightened Shunzi's collar.
"Remember, we're not acting today."
"We are at war."
"This is a tough battle fought by our Qingyun Troupe against the world!"
At that moment, the curtain was lifted.
Xiao Shengyun from the Qinghe Troupe, dressed in a bright and beautiful costume, swaggered in.
He was the lead actor in the previous scene, and he had just finished filming, looking quite pleased with himself.
"Hey, Boss Lu, still hoping for the best?"
Looking at Lu Cheng's outfit, Xiao Shengyun's eyes flashed with a hint of jealousy, but more so with schadenfreude.
"Don't blame me for not warning you."
"This sled today was meticulously crafted by the brothers in the engineering battalion; it's incredibly smooth."
"If you can't lift it, don't force yourself. Just lie down on the ground, and you'll break both your legs."
"If you try to tough it out... tsk tsk, you'll end up as a meat patty."
The people from the Qinghe troupe around him burst into laughter.
Lu Cheng slowly stood up.
He was tall and imposing, and his heavy armor made him look even more majestic.
He looked down at Xiao Shengyun as if she were a clown jumping around.
He didn't speak.
It was just taking a step forward.
boom!
An invisible wave of energy, mixed with a strong stench of blood and killing intent, rushed towards Xiao Shengyun in an instant.
That's the aura of a grandmaster, imbued with unwavering loyalty and courage!
That was the ferocity of someone who had killed and seen blood!
Xiao Shengyun's laughter stopped abruptly.
He felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, as if he saw a striped tiger roaring at him with its blood-red maw wide open.
"what!"
Xiao Shengyun screamed in fright, her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground with a thud, her freshly applied makeup ruined by cold sweat.
"roll."
Lu Cheng uttered only one word.
It was light and airy, yet it felt like a slap in the face, landing hard on the faces of everyone in the Qinghe Class.
Xiao Shengyun ran away as fast as he could, without daring to utter a single harsh word.
"good!"
In a corner backstage, the blind Abing, who had been silent all along, suddenly pulled his bow.
"squeak--"
A resounding, tearing sound from the zither exploded outwards.
"Master Lu, the time has come."
"It's our turn!"
……
At the front desk, there was a great commotion of gongs and drums.
The audience below the stage was a sea of black heads.
In the central private room on the second floor, Bai Feng, wearing a mink coat, held binoculars in her hand and a cold smile on her lips.
Sitting next to me was Commander Zhang, a man with a fierce face, who was peeling peanuts.
"Madam, it's just an actress, why make such a fuss?"
"You don't understand."
Bai Feng snorted, "This is about saving face. Today I'm going to let all of Beiping know that this is what happens if you offend me, Bai Feng."
Meanwhile, in the other private room...
Master Jin and Master Tan sat together, neither of them looking too good.
"Fifth Master, is there really no other way?" Master Jin crushed a walnut.
"It's difficult."
Master Tan sighed, his gaze fixed on the stage.
"That's 'momentum'. Although Lu Cheng has entered the Ming Jin stage, the hundred-pound iron cart plus the impact force is equivalent to seven or eight hundred pounds of force."
Human strength has its limits.
"unless……"
"Unless what?"
"Unless he can break through in the heat of battle, grasp the basics of 'Ming Jin' and slightly dissolve that dead strength, and learn to use the opponent's force against them."
"But that's too difficult. Many legitimate disciples of martial arts schools get stuck at this step, and they can't get past it even after years of hard work. Let alone an actor like him, who has never been able to practice diligently all the time."
Just then.
"Cang—Cai—Cang—Cai!"
A sudden gust of wind rises, and the curtain is drawn back.
On the stage, banners fluttered in the breeze.
Lu Cheng, playing the role of Gao Chong, took the stage.
Upon seeing this, those in the audience who were expecting a laugh were suddenly taken aback.
Such a strong killing intent!
Unlike in traditional plays, Lu Cheng didn't start off making a big fuss.
He walked steadily, each step he took on the stage producing a dull thud on the thick wooden planks.
It was as if he was carrying not four flags on his back, but the eternal green mountains.
"I, Gao Chong——"
A spoken monologue.
He didn't use a falsetto, but rather generated power from his diaphragm, producing a faint, thunderous sound reminiscent of a tiger or leopard.
This sound, like rolling thunder in spring, instantly drowned out the noise of the entire venue, making everyone's eardrums buzz.
"What a great voice!" Master Tan couldn't help but exclaim.
The plot progresses.
Gao Chong stormed into the Jin camp and killed four generals in succession.
Lu Cheng wielded the spear with unparalleled skill.
Although he deliberately concealed the sharpness of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix spear technique, transforming it into moves on the stage.
But that speed and ruthlessness still dazzled the audience.
at last.
The most crucial turn has arrived.
Gao Chong rushed up the hilltop and faced the iron carts that the Jin soldiers had laid down.
On the high platform of the side curtain.
Shunzi and Xiaodouzi, with tears streaming down their faces, gritted their teeth and their faces were flushed red.
"One, two, three! Push!!"
"Boom!"
The first sled, with a terrifying roar, rushed down the specially designed track.
too fast!
too heavy!
This isn't a prop car! It's a derailed locomotive!
The dull rolling sound caused the experts in the audience to change their expressions instantly.
"It's the real deal, it's the real deal."
"Has the Qinghe Troupe gone mad? This is murder!"
The audience erupted in uproar.
Bai Feng, however, was laughing uncontrollably in the private room.
"Come on, let's see how you choose."