boyutpedia Chapter 1 Lu Cheng, Snow Mountain Temple
Chapter 1 Lu Cheng, Snow Mountain Temple
Tianqiao, Beiping.
The winter solstice has just passed, and the wind stings my face.
The backstage area of Deyun Tea House was in complete chaos.
"He ran away? You're saying Xiao Shengyun ran away?!"
The purple clay teapot in the hands of the troupe leader, Zhou Daikui, shattered into pieces with a "crack".
The young apprentice who brought the news was so frightened that he knelt on the ground, his voice trembling with tears.
"Master, I just went to urge the makeup process, but there was no one in the room, and the bundle was gone. There was only a note left... saying that the 'Qinghe Troupe' next door gave him a hundred silver dollars as a resettlement fee, and he... he went there to sing a leading role."
One hundred silver dollars!
These days, one silver dollar could buy you a good hot pot meal at Dongsi Archway, while one hundred dollars was money to save your life.
That's enough to make an actor betray his promise.
Zhou Daikui swayed and almost fainted.
The world has been in chaos these past few years, with warlords changing like a revolving lantern.
Today it's the Qin faction, tomorrow it's the Yan faction; the common people's pockets are emptier than their faces.
To get the role in today's show played, Zhou Daikui had to kowtow countless times to invite the local tyrant, Master Jin.
Why?
Just so that Master Jin would show his support, give him a job, and keep this team going!
The opening act was so bad that the tea drinkers started smashing teacups and cursing in the street.
If the grand finale, "Lin Chong's Night Flight," were to be cancelled again, even without Master Jin's intervention, the tea drinkers alone would be enough to tear down the stage.
"It's over, Qingyun Class is finished..."
Zhou Daikui slumped in the armchair, his face ashen.
Everyone backstage looked dejected.
If the team falls apart, that means unemployment.
in the corner.
Lu Cheng tightened the training belt around his waist.
He has been here for three days.
In these three days, he saw clearly the cannibalistic nature of this world.
His predecessor was also named Lu Cheng. He came from a poor background and practiced martial arts.
He trained hard through the sweltering summer and freezing winter, honing his skills for twelve years without ever losing his virginity or slacking off.
Unfortunately, the patriarch didn't grant me the gift.
This body is just too "perfect".
He's a master of martial arts, but once he's on stage, his movements become stiff and his eyes become dull. And when it comes to opera, which emphasizes "charm," he lacks it.
So now, I'm just a background stuntman, occasionally filling in as a substitute.
Lu Cheng's family was not originally in dire straits, but his mother had been coughing up blood for years, and each dose of medicine cost two hundred copper coins.
My father, who is over fifty years old, can only work like an old ox, pulling a rickshaw to make a living in the wind.
If the Qingyun Troupe disbands, he won't have any money to take home.
Cut off the money means cutting off the medicine.
If he stops taking his medicine, his mother will die.
We can't let it go!
Lu Cheng took a deep breath and stood up.
"Tanker, I'll sing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the chaotic backstage area suddenly fell silent.
Zhou Daikui raised his cloudy eyelids, glanced at Lu Cheng, and gave a bitter smile.
"Chengzi? You're no good. That's just a dead end; you'll be nothing but a wooden stake on stage."
"What kind of eyesight do you have, Mr. Jin? Are you trying to make me die even faster?"
The old man who was in charge of the lockers next to him also sighed.
"Chengzi, don't make things worse."
"Your acting only has the form, not the soul. You can't portray the tragic end of a hero like Lin Chong, that kind of suppressed rage and outburst."
Outside in the tea garden, the sound of teacups shattering grew louder and louder.
"Refund! Refund!"
"Damn it, Zhou Daikui, you old bastard, you dare to mess with Master Jin?"
Without wasting words, Lu Cheng walked a few steps to the dressing table and grabbed the prop that originally belonged to "Xiao Shengyun"... the big gun.
This gun is made of waxwood, and for stage effect, it has been weighted up to seven or eight pounds.
Lu Cheng trembled with one hand.
"Buzz!"
The spear tassel exploded, like a red cloud.
"Master of the troupe,"
"Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll still get stabbed. There's no one else left, let me go; maybe I can survive. If I mess this up, I'll pay you with my life!"
Zhou Daikui was stunned.
Is this still the same dull, honest, and taciturn Lu Cheng who wouldn't utter a sound even if you hit him three times?
That look in his eyes... it's like he's a completely different person.
The urging from outside had turned into sounds of someone wanting to lift the curtain backstage.
Zhou Daikui gritted his teeth, his face trembling violently.
"We're doing this as a last resort."
"Quick, paint his face and put on full makeup. If he messes up, we'll all jump into the Yongding River together!"
……
The drums and gongs sounded rapidly.
"The Mountain Temple in the Snowstorm" is Lin Chong's most frustrating and explosive scene.
offstage.
In the very center of the front row sat a fat man wearing a mink coat, twirling two walnuts in his hands, looking utterly impatient.
This is Jin Ye.
"If Zhou Daikui doesn't come out soon, I'll smash this garden to pieces," Jin Ye sneered.
Just as the younger brother next to him was about to respond, the stage lights suddenly went out.
when!
A crisp gong sound silenced the noise of the entire venue.
Lu Cheng has made his appearance.
He wore a felt hat from Fanyang, a black cloak, carried a flowery spear, and wore thick-soled boots.
The moment he took his first step, a voice rang in his mind.
[Current Performance: The Mountain Temple in the Snow]
[Character: Lin Chong]
[Playing Requirements: When you've reached your breaking point, there's no more room for restraint! Portray that murderous intent born of desperation!]
[New player bonus: Activate "Empathy Mode" for one minute.]
[After the performance, rewards will be awarded based on overall evaluation.]
This is... a system?
Lu Cheng was taken aback.
boom!
As the "empathy mode" was activated, a surge of grief and indignation rushed into his mind.
At this moment, Lu Cheng couldn't tell who he was.
He was Lin Chong, the instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards, who was framed, mistakenly entered the White Tiger Hall, was exiled to Cangzhou, beat Instructor Hong with a stick, and set fire to the hay storage yard...
Along the way, he endured, yielded, and retreated.
But this world doesn't give him a way to survive!
Lu Cheng raised his head, and his once dull eyes were now bloodshot.
His eyes revealed a ferocious glint, like that of a wild beast, and the desolation of a hero's demise.
"Big avalanche——"
As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was desolate and deep, instantly drowning out the noise from the audience.
The audience members who were prepared to hurl insults were stunned.
Grandpa Jin's hand, which was spinning walnuts, stopped.
A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.
Lu Cheng made a move.
He walked along the edge of the stage as fake snow fell from the sky.
He thought of himself.
I remembered that in my past life I was a 996 office worker who died from overwork at my desk.
Thinking back to the original owner of this body who had transmigrated, he had endured countless hardships, training hard in the coldest and hottest winters, only to be ridiculed and looked down upon because of his lack of talent, and even struggled to get enough to eat.
I remembered my father pulling a rickshaw in the cold wind, and my mother lying in tattered cotton, groaning in pain all night long.
On what grounds?
Why should honest people be bullied?
Why should heroes fall from grace when villains are in power?
Why is it that a family who fights so hard to survive ends up living worse than a dog?!
The resentment in his heart blended perfectly with Lin Chong's sorrow.
"That scoundrel, he's gone too far!!"
A roar that shook the entire arena.
Lu Cheng thrust out his spear with a sudden burst of power.
This shot was no mere showmanship.
This is a killer move!
Collapse, pull, press, cover, pick, stab!
The moves of the Six Harmonies Spear, when executed by him, carried a whistling sound.
His figure was like a dragon, his steps as steady as a mountain, and the spear in his hands seemed to come alive. The cold light emanating from the spear tip made the faces of the audience in the front row feel painful.
"good!!"
Jin slapped his thigh and shouted.
The audience below the stage finally came to their senses, and thunderous applause and cheers almost lifted the roof off.
"That figure is absolutely stunning."
"That look in her eyes...it gave me the creeps!"
"When did Qingyun Troupe discover such a talent? He's a hundred times better than Xiao Shengyun!"
On stage, Lu Cheng seemed oblivious to the noise, completely absorbed in the moment.
In the end, Lin Chong killed his enemy and stood proudly in the wind and snow, spear in hand.
Lu Cheng makes a frozen pose.
His eyes were like knives, filled with murderous intent, before turning into a long sigh, revealing the desolation of a fallen hero.
The curtain falls.
A line of comments slowly appeared, the handwriting simple and vigorous.
[Current Performance: The Mountain Temple in the Snow]
[Character: Lin Chong]
[Commentary: "The indignation is palpable, like a lament. Though the technique has not yet reached perfection, the emotion is deeply moving, like a dragon raising its head amidst the wind and snow."]
[Overall Rating: Best (Perfect in both form and spirit, a truly stunning performance)]
[Rewards: Ten years of external martial arts skills; Lin Family Spear Technique - Minor Mastery]
ten years!
Lu Cheng was startled.
boom!
A warm current appeared out of nowhere in his dantian and then rushed to his limbs and bones.
Click click click!
A series of cracking sounds came from his body.
The previously blocked muscles and bones were instantly opened up under the rush of this heat.
The spine twists and turns like a dragon, with the fascia rising up.
The entire energy barrier has been breached.
Lu Cheng was shocked.
This is the "whole force" that countless people in martial arts schools dream of!
Although the original body had been practicing martial arts since childhood, it had been stuck at the threshold for several years due to insufficient nutrition.
I can never develop that "whole force" that can unleash the power of my entire body into a single, unified force.
This one scene saved him ten years of hard work!
"Chengzi, Chengzi, you're amazing!"
The curtain backstage was lifted, and the troupe leader, Zhou Daikui, rushed in, his face flushed red, looking even more agitated than if his own father had just died.
"Master Jin gave me a full fifty silver dollars, and a gold ring too!"
Zhou Daikui presented the tray to Lu Cheng, looking at him as if he were a god of wealth.
"From this day forward, you will be the top martial arts performer in our Qingyun Troupe."
Lu Cheng stared blankly at the pile of white silver dollars on the tray.
Fifty silver dollars.
Gou Dad bought that rented rickshaw so he wouldn't have to put up with the rickshaw dealership's nonsense anymore.
It's enough medicine for Mom to take for a year and recover her health.
In this chaotic world where human life is as worthless as grass.
With this system...
Lu Cheng finally has the right to speak up!
"Master of the troupe,"
"Give me ten silver dollars first, I need to get medicine."