The ultimate master in the city

Chapter 66 Untitled

Zhou Fengchen dozed off for a few hours, but was woken up by Wang Min. He got up and saw that it was exactly eleven o'clock. The two of them tidied up and went out.

As soon as I arrived at the lobby on the first floor, I heard a quarrel. The hotel owner was arguing with a young man carrying a suitcase, spitting as he spoke.

Zhou Fengchen glanced at him casually, feeling the young man looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't quite place him. Just as he was about to lead Wang Min out, the young man saw him too, his eyes lighting up as he rushed over, exclaiming in delight, "Hey! Brother, what are you doing here?"

Wang Min looked at Zhou Fengchen with suspicion, "Your brother?"

"I don't have a younger brother." Zhou Fengchen shook his head and asked the young man, "Who are you again?"

The young man pointed to himself: "Brother, I'm Jiang Hao, Xiaoya's classmate. Do you remember me? The first time you came here, I drove to pick up Xiaoya and Qiqi, but I didn't take you with me."

Zhou Fengchen cursed, recognizing who it was, and said with a stern face, "What do you mean by calling me 'brother'? What's your relationship with my sister?"

Jiang Hao scratched his head: "Hey! Bro, you're overthinking it. Xiaoya and I are just ordinary classmates and good friends."

Zhou Fengchen breathed a sigh of relief and asked him, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Hao chuckled and said, "I went to participate in a singing competition, but I was eliminated. I rushed back overnight, but my car broke down on the way, so I came here to stay for the night. But the owner said there were no rooms available."

Zhou Fengchen nodded, took out his key, and said, "203, my room. Go to sleep."

Jiang Hao shook his head, didn't take the keys, glanced at Wang Min, and said enthusiastically, "I'm not sleepy. Is this your sister-in-law? She's incredibly beautiful! What are you two doing?"

Wang Min's face flushed red instantly. She glared at him and said, "Kid! Stop talking nonsense."

Zhou Fengchen smiled and said, "We can't sleep, let's go for a walk."

Jiang Hao, being shameless, said with a fawning tone, "Take me with you, I can't sleep either. You two chat, I'll just listen from the side."

Just as Wang Min was about to speak, Zhou Fengchen asked with a strange expression, "Can you sing opera?"

Jiang Hao made an exaggerated expression, "Brother, look at what you're saying. I studied vocal music. I'm not bragging, but I can hum a few lines of Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, and Qinqiang Opera."

Zhou Fengchen chuckled, "What a coincidence! Put your bag down, let's go to the opera."

"That's interesting, bro. Going to a theatrical performance in the middle of the night, that's classy." Jiang Hao happily put his bag on the counter.

It was getting late, so the three of them went out. The streets were deserted. Wang Min quietly pulled Zhou Fengchen aside, pointed at Jiang Hao ahead, and asked, "Why are you bringing this burden along?"

Zhou Fengchen whispered, "We're going to have to perform opera later. I can't, and you're probably only a dabbler. What if the old man doesn't appreciate it?"

Wang Min glared at him. "What if something goes wrong later?"

Zhou Fengchen said dejectedly, "If something happens, protecting one is the same as protecting two."

Wang Min remained silent.

The three walked for a while in the light rain, and then they arrived at the east side of the town. The "Fengqiu Hall" was pitch black, hidden in the weeds and drizzling rain, looking somewhat mysterious and eerie.

Jiang Hao was still completely confused, but turned around excitedly and asked, "Brother, where are we going to perform?"

Zhou Fengchen beckoned Jiang Hao to his side and casually said to him and Wang Min, "I think the entrance to that house up ahead looks pretty good. What should we sing?"

Wang Min thought for a moment and asked Jiang Hao, "Do you know 'The Peony Pavilion: A Dream in the Garden'?"

Jiang Hao blinked: "I know a short part. How about I sing the opening 'Wandering Around the Earth'?"

Wang Min said, "Then I'll sing 'Bu Bu Jiao'."

Zhou Fengchen was completely confused and said, "Let's do it this way and begin!"

Jiang Hao coughed twice, then ran to the front of Fengqiu Hall with a serious expression. He started to sing: "The nightingale sings in my dreams, the fleeting years are scattered everywhere. I stand alone in the deep courtyard, the smoke of incense has dissipated, the embroidery thread is torn away. This spring, my feelings are just like last year's..."

Upon seeing this, Wang Min quickly ran to the opposite side and struck the same pose, reciting, "A gentle breeze blows through the quiet courtyard, swaying spring like threads, I pause for a moment to adjust my hair ornaments..."

Zhou Fengchen carefully observed his surroundings. Just as Wang Min sang "I walk into my boudoir," half an old head suddenly emerged from the dark corner of the room. The face was painted with gaudy colors, and the old head looked over with a sinister gaze, which was quite terrifying.

Zhou Fengchen gritted his teeth and forced himself to adopt the awkward posture he had seen when watching operas back in his hometown, chanting: "Clang, clang, clang... clang clang!"

After shouting, he stared intently at the head, when Jiang Hao next to him suddenly burst out laughing, "Hahaha, bro, what kind of unorthodox method is this? It's really flashy!"

Zhou Fengchen forced a smile and said, "Am I arrogant or not?"

"Sure, haha." Jiang Hao copied a few moves, "Clang!"

Wang Min then saw the head behind the house, was startled, stopped singing, and looked at Zhou Fengchen with trepidation.

Zhou Fengchen quickly gave her a wink, meaning to continue singing.

Wang Min gritted his teeth, about to speak, when the head suddenly jumped out from behind the house, angrily saying, "What are you singing? It's utter nonsense!"

This man was the owner of "Fengqiu Hall" during the day, but now his hair was messy and his face was covered in strange theatrical makeup, making him look both funny and scary.

Wang Min knew this old guy wasn't human, so he instinctively moved closer to Zhou Fengchen. Jiang Hao, completely bewildered, asked curiously, "Where did this old man come from?"

Just as Zhou Fengchen was about to tell him to shut up, the old man started to whine, saying, "I'll sing for you guys, listen carefully!"

Before Zhou Fengchen and the others could react, she began to sing: "You say the skirt is emerald green and the hairpin is sparkling with eight treasures. But do you know that my lifelong love is for nature, and the beauty of spring goes unseen by anyone..."

After the opera performance ended, Wang Min and Jiang Hao were both a little stunned and couldn't react.

Although Zhou Fengchen couldn't understand the lyrics, he felt it was indeed much better than Wang Min and Jiang Hao's singing, and immediately clapped exaggeratedly: "Amazing! Amazing! How can you sing so well, grandpa?"

Wang Min clapped along with him, and Jiang Hao blinked and exclaimed, "Wow! Old man, you really sing well!"

The old man smiled proudly and said, "I've been singing this for almost a hundred years, how could it not be good?"

Jiang Hao immediately replied with a grin, "Look at this bragging, you're only worth seventy at most..."

Zhou Fengchen immediately kicked him, "Shut up!"

Jiang Hao scratched his head, unsure of what he had said wrong. Fortunately, the old man didn't seem to notice, staring intently at them and asking, "Do you want to learn?"

Zhou Fengchen immediately replied, "Yes!"

The old man said, "I know a theater where they're putting on a show right now. The actors there are all incredibly talented. Would you like to go see it?"

Zhou Fengchen and Wang Min exchanged a glance, and Wang Min quickly said, "Yes, where?"

The old man waved his hand: "Come with me."

With that, he took the lead and walked out of the town.

Watching the old man's retreating figure, Zhou Fengchen suddenly realized that the three deceased must have refused when faced with this situation. Who would go out with a crazy old man late at night? But after all, they made a living by performing opera, and after thinking it over, they came back a few more times when they had free time, only to fall into his trap.

"Let's go." Wang Min pulled Zhou Fengchen along and followed the old man.

Jiang Hao caught up, looking completely bewildered. "Brother, sister, isn't this a bit unnecessary? Why are we following this crazy old man?"

Zhou Fengchen patted his forehead, took out his keys, and said, "Go back to sleep first."

Jiang Hao shook his head. "Let's go, let's go, it's quite fun!"

The three men followed the old man out of town in the dark. After walking for about three miles and crossing a hill, a bright light suddenly appeared ahead, revealing a large courtyard with many figures inside.