Chapter 300: The Last Watchman
Everyone in the opera troupe was a Mortal, unlike cultivators who did not need sleep.
Therefore, this convoy traveled in stops and starts, traveling during the day and resting at night. If they encountered an inn during their rest, they would stay there; if not, they could set up a tent and make do for a deep night.
And on the nights when everyone was asleep, Ji You would continue to absorb Spiritual Qi and refine his body in a quiet place nearby.
Day after day, the opera troupe's carriages, after an incredibly long journey, finally returned to Pingyang County.
Pingxi County was in the southeast of Yunzhou, not in the mining area.
The people here still lived by farming, working from sunrise to sunset.
When the opera troupe returned to the county town, they happened to encounter a spring rain falling, and from a distance, it looked misty.
As soon as they entered the city, the four carriages, weary from their long journey, began to slow down and finally stopped in front of a courtyard with a plaque bearing the words 'Fengxian Opera Troupe'.
The porters jumped off the carriages one after another and began to unload their luggage.
They were busy until noon, when the spring rain lightened a little, and one of the carriages headed east.
Two hours later, the opera troupe Master, carrying wine and meat, appeared on a slanted street with the troupe's young female lead and martial artist.
Along the street, houses were everywhere with wooden frames, undergoing repairs. Some had collapsed courtyard walls that had been mostly filled in, while others had collapsed roofs and were completely abandoned.
Ji You followed behind them, his gaze sweeping over these houses.
"Repairs after the snow disaster are only starting now?"
"Young Master also knows about the snow disaster?"
Ji You nodded: "I've heard a little about it."
The Master couldn't help but sigh softly: "We took on a job at the time, but we were trapped in Qingzhou and couldn't return home. We were anxious all winter knowing our hometown was severely affected, but thankfully, everyone in our family was saved."
"Who paid for the repairs?"
"I'm not sure about that. Our family doesn't have an old house in the city; we've always lived in Xujia Pass outside the city. It was only after that snow disaster that we realized living in the city was safer than living outside, so we took out years of savings and bought some dilapidated houses in the city that the original owners didn't want to repair anymore."
The Master stepped over a patch of mud and stopped in front of a courtyard gate: "We're here."
Ji You looked up and saw a courtyard with green stone and gray tiles: "Although it's remote, the area is quite large."
"It was bought with money pooled by our opera troupe. After buying it, we immediately hired people to renovate it, to be used for our elders to retire. My Junior Martial Uncle and Senior Martial Uncle both live here, and my Grand Master is also here."
As the Master spoke, he led everyone in through the door.
In the courtyard, two middle-aged men with graying hair were wiping some old jade belt opera costumes.
Seeing the people from the opera troupe pour in, the two men looked up and smiled.
"You're back?"
"Senior Martial Uncle, Junior Martial Uncle, we're back. Where's Master?"
"Your Master took on another job. How was your trip?"
"We performed for eight days. For some unknown reason, the employer didn't let us perform the last show—"
The young female lead looked at the Master who was responding, bit her lip lightly, and swallowed the guess about the Lang Family Old Ancestor playing dead.
The Master handed the wine and meat in his hand to the older man: "Senior Martial Uncle, how is Grand Master doing now?"
"His spirits are still good, and he eats quite well. These past few days, he's been wondering why you haven't returned. Now he's finally seen you. Ah, who is that—"
"Oh, that's right, Junior Martial Uncle, Senior Martial Uncle, I brought a friend back with me this time."
The Master's Junior Martial Uncle and Senior Martial Uncle had already seen Ji You, and after staring for a long time, they came back to their senses: "Your friend—?"
The Master nodded: "This Young Master is someone I met on the road. He's very interested in our play 'Immortal Saves the World' and wants to know what happened later. I don't know about it either, so he wanted to come and meet my Grand Master, the old man."
As they were speaking, an old man with white hair and beard walked out of the main hall opposite the main gate.
He held a bamboo cane, and with trembling steps, he crossed the threshold and looked out the door.
It was rare for someone to live to seventy, but this old man did look quite energetic, though his legs were a bit unsteady.
"Wencai is back—"
"Grand Master, we're back."
Seeing this, the Master immediately went forward, explained a few things they encountered on this trip, and then whispered a few words into the old man's ear.
The old man listened, and while listening, he looked up at Ji You twice: "For a play?"
The Master heard his Grand Master's hoarse inquiry and nodded: "I don't think he has any other intentions. All along the way, he's been asking about the play. He seems to be a play enthusiast, so I dared to invite him over."
Grand Master looked at Ji You for a long time, then coughed lightly twice: "Please invite him into the front hall."
"Young Master, my Grand Master invites you to the front hall."
The Master turned back and called out.
Ji You bowed in thanks, then stepped towards the Grand Master and followed him into the front hall.
At this time, the female lead and the martial artist had already sat down in the courtyard, and seeing Ji You walk towards the front hall, their expressions were somewhat puzzled.
From Zhongzhou to Yunzhou, they had become familiar with Ji You and knew that he had come for the story of that play.
But in their opinion, their opera troupe's rules had always been very strict, and this person was likely to have come for nothing.
But what they didn't expect was that the young Young Master was actually invited in.
The lighting in the front hall was quite good, so even though the weather was a bit gloomy today, the room was still bright.
The Grand Master, in his twilight years, extended his hand to invite Ji You to sit down and tremblingly tried to pour him tea, but Ji You waved his hand to stop him and poured himself a cup from the teapot.
"The old man's health is still good."
"Just an old bag of bones, nothing much left to live for. I just heard Wensheng say that Young Master is very interested in our play."
Ji You held the teacup and nodded: "I've inquired for a long time. I've heard shadow puppet shows and three-stringed instrument stories, but all I heard were unfinished stories. It was only after listening to a few of our troupe's plays a few days ago that I gradually began to understand them."
The old man in his twilight years was silent for a long time: "Young Master has come all this way. What is it about this play that you are curious about?"
Ji You's initial excuse to the Master was that he wanted to know what the last play was about, but saying that now was clearly a bit clumsy.
No one would travel thousands of miles from Zhongzhou to Yunzhou just for the content of the last play.
So after much thought, Ji You said: "I seem to have some connection with the people in the story, and there are some things I want to ask about, but many people I've asked don't know. I accidentally heard bits and pieces in a tea house, and that's how I've traced it all the way to now."
"So Young Master wants to find the people in the story, but this old man only knows the person who wrote the story."
"The person who wrote the story is fine. May I ask, old man, where did he hear this story from?"
The opera troupe's Grand Master spoke in a hoarse voice: "My Grand Master was saved by an Immortal when he was a child, and this story was compiled by him based on that Immortal."
As soon as the words fell, Ji You's eyebrows couldn't help but raise.
Before he came, he had a psychological pre-setting, thinking that the older generation of this opera troupe might not know the source of the story, or perhaps they had only heard it through hearsay.
If that were the case, he wouldn't plan to investigate further.
Because no matter what, he had embarked on this Body Refining path, and no matter what stage he reached, he would always continue to walk down it.
But he really didn't expect that he actually found the source of the story.
With this thought, Ji You remembered the child character in the opera.
That character had very few lines and seemed to be of little use, never appearing in other performances, but oddly enough, he was not removed from their troupe's plays.
Now it seemed his premonition was correct. That character was probably one of the ancestors of this opera troupe.
Ji You thought for a long time before coming back to his senses: "Besides the content of the play, did the old man's Grand Master say anything else about this Immortal?"
The old man was silent for a long time: "I can tell Young Master about my Grand Master's life."
"That would be good."
"My Grand Master's name was Cui Rong."
In the drizzling rain, the old man slowly spoke in a hoarse, weak voice.
His Grand Master's name was Cui Rong, an orphan who begged for food everywhere, living with many children who shared his background, mingling among all sorts of people.
After much difficulty, they lived to be a little older. To fill their stomachs, these children followed a few slightly older children and got involved in gambling dens.
It was said that those older children were very smart and had a great talent for gambling. At a young age, their gambling skills were already superb.
So some were responsible for stealing, and some were responsible for gambling, and they managed to get by.
But then one day, they suddenly won too much because they didn't stop in time, were targeted by the casino's dealer, and almost lost their lives.
At that critical moment, those children were saved by an old man covered in Immortal light.
Unlike the story of wandering and saving the world in that play, this old man was not just passing by; in fact, he was also a regular at that casino.
Cui Rong often saw him at the card table and only knew that he looked shabby and was terrible at gambling, sometimes even reneging on debts, but he never expected him to be an Immortal.
Ji You frowned slightly when he heard this: "As far as I know, cultivators can see through dice cups with Divine Thought."
The Master of the troupe paused slightly: "I'm not clear about this matter, but that's how the story is told. I'm just trying my best to recount it in detail."
"Please continue, old man."
"Alright."
The old man picked up his teacup, took a sip, and continued.
The rescued children did not feel grateful to that Old Immortal; instead, they took advantage of the chaos to escape.
This was not because they were ungrateful at such a young age, but because their parents had almost all been beaten to death due to tax offerings.
So, even though an Immortal had saved their lives, they still harbored wariness and hatred towards cultivators.
But who knew that Immortal was not a proper Immortal? He kept pestering several children, including Cui Rong, wanting to take them as Disciples to learn gambling.
Upon hearing this, Ji You's mouth twitched, and a scene of an Immortal-like old man chasing a group of poor children to take them as Disciples appeared in his mind.
If this story were true, then this Night Watchman was truly unrestrained.
"What happened next?"
"After that, they began to use each other."
"?"
"My Master and his companions were not old at the time. Although their gambling skills were exquisite, they were also worried about being beaten if they went to the casino again, so they came up with the idea of using that Immortal."
Ji You nodded, thinking that children living alone in troubled times might be illiterate, but their ability to assess the situation was extremely high.
The subsequent story unfolded naturally. According to this Master, that Immortal and these children gathered together, meeting daily at the casino.
The Old Immortal protected them and acted as a bodyguard, while the children received practical lessons and protection.
After a while, everyone became familiar with each other.
These children gradually discovered that the Immortal who entered and exited the gambling house with them every day seemed different from other Immortals, not so high and mighty, and they gradually got used to his existence.
Then, these children learned from him that the old man's name was Cui Lang.
Upon hearing this, Ji You lightly raised his eyes: "The same surname as your Master?"
The Master shook his head: "At that time, my Master was called Gou Laba, not Cui Rong."
Upon hearing this, Ji You understood.
The person who wrote the play was an orphan and didn't have a proper name, only a humble name that was easy to raise.
The reason he was later called Cui Rong was probably because he grew up, got married, and wanted to take a name that could be spoken aloud.
This order was reversed; it wasn't a coincidence that they had the same surname, but rather, Cui Rong came about because Cui Lang existed first.
Ji You regained his composure: "According to you, this person has always stayed nearby and never moved. So where did the stories about leaving the mountain and wandering in the play come from?"
"Naturally, he told them. My Master, when recalling this matter in his later years, said that the man loved to brag immensely."
The Immortal named Cui Lang loved to brag immensely. Every day when he ate with those children, he loved to ramble about this and that.
He said his cultivation was very high, deeply envied by his fellow Disciples, and everyone wanted to snatch what was rightfully his, becoming furious when they failed.
He also boasted that he had slain demons, guarding the night so that they could live.
The children naturally didn't believe him, but they knew in their hearts that he must be a good person.
Thus, year after year, day after day, they lived a steady and peaceful life. During this time, they also took in many other orphans who had lost their parents, living together.
Ji You opened his mouth after hearing this: "Fellow Disciples' envy?"
The Master nodded: "Indeed."
"That's not how it's portrayed in the play."
"A play performed for Immortals must naturally be written in a positive light. How dare we Mortals sing about Immortals fighting among themselves?"
"Did Cui Lang ever say what the 'night' was?"
The Master shook his head: "At that time, my Master and his companions were not old, and their knowledge was shallow. They thought he was referring to the night.
No one thought otherwise until they grew up and considered that what he said back then might have been symbolic."
Ji You pondered for a long time after hearing this, then softly asked: "What happened after that?"
"Later, my Master and the children who relied on him gradually grew up."
"?"
In the words of this old man, the later story indeed became mundane.
His Master and the other children gradually grew up. At first, the children responsible for gambling got married, started families, and moved out.
And Gou Laba was introduced to a marriage. For this, he took the name Cui Rong and also left the courtyard where they had lived together.
But since he started a family, he naturally had to support it.
He didn't have any good skills, but fortunately, the girl he married was originally a Young Miss from a fallen official family who knew some characters, so he began to write storybooks.
And the storybooks he wrote were basically the stories Cui Lang had told, compiled by the two of them from a first-person perspective, gradually forming volumes.
Later, they came up with the idea of establishing a troupe.
Initially, the troupe was very small, just struggling in the folk, operating for a long time before gradually taking on the business of delivering commissions for Immortals.
Perhaps it was because Immortals liked it, this lineage has continued for a hundred years without interruption, and it has also taken in many Disciples, slowly passing down to this day.
And during these hundred years, some sanxian books, shadow puppet plays, and so on, also drew inspiration from their stories.
Ji You felt a bit lost after hearing this: "What about Cui Lang? Why did his story suddenly disappear?"
The Master was silent for a long time: "Cui Lang died."
"Died?"
"I don't remember the exact date, but I only remember my Master saying it was a summer day with rumbling thunder when Cui Lang suddenly said he was leaving for a while, and then he disappeared. About half a year later, my Master and the others found many bloodstains in the courtyard, and his money pouch was soaked in the blood."
"Master said that among their group, there was a child named Zhu Guan. Seeing that the Old Immortal's money pouch was beautifully sewn and made of good material, he wanted to ask for it. The Old Immortal said he would leave it to him when he was about to die. Later, thinking about it, he must have returned once when he was near death."
Upon hearing this, Ji You felt his mind buzzing.
Since the Night Watchman had the ability to guard Qingyun, his cultivation must have been profound.
If he truly died, then many major events must have occurred during those six months when he was gone without a trace.
"Did he have any Disciples?"
The Master shook his head after hearing this: "His lineage has already died out—"
Ji You opened his mouth: "How do you know about this?"
"Master said that the Old Immortal once told them that it was difficult for his lineage to take in Disciples and that he needed to search slowly. He also said that if he couldn't find suitable ones, he might choose some from among them. Perhaps even he didn't expect that he would suddenly pass away."
"He died in the night?"
The Master spoke after a long silence: "My Master believed he died at the hands of an Immortal Sect—"
Ji You was slightly startled, a hint of confusion showing on his face.
"Back then, my Master took in Disciples, but only our lineage survived. That's because several of my Senior Martial Uncles, after going out to take on a job one time, performed a play about an Immortal's demise. They were killed by people from the Immortal Sect before they could finish the performance. Master then realized that someone did not want the news of his death to spread."
"So your Master removed the character's identity from the play and kept the last act a secret, never performing it again."
"Yes, after that incident, my Master completely altered the play. Some details about identities were never mentioned again, and only the story of his death was passed down at risk, becoming a rule. I think Master didn't know what meaning there was in passing it down, but he still hoped someone would remember him."
Ji You regained his composure: "Such a high-risk matter, which the old man didn't even tell his Disciples, you told me just by my asking."
The old man, in his twilight years, spoke tremblingly: "This old man feels that Young Master looks kind—"
"Forget about today's matter. I was never here, and you never knew anyone named Cui Lang."
"As the Immortal's decree commands—"
The troupe had a motto: Do not enter the door, cover your eyes, guard your tongue, and keep your heart calm.
So, even though they recognized Ji You from the start, they never spoke of it.
But unspoken understanding was one thing; however, neither this old man nor the Junior Martial Uncles and Senior Martial Uncles outside the door had forgotten the appearance of the Immortal who had temporarily led people to disaster relief.
Ji You now strolled outside the door, looking at the faintly thundering, overcast sky.
During his journey, the more he investigated, the more confused he became. Before coming here, he had accumulated a belly full of questions, and now he finally got the answers from the old man's mouth.
The Night Watchman was truly alone.
Perhaps he gambled at the casino not for money, but merely to relieve his loneliness, just as he sought those children to be his Disciples not to learn gambling, but to have someone to talk to.
The boy who followed the Night Watchman was Cui Rong, the one who wrote the play, or rather, half of those orphans.
The last scene was only passed down after the older generation died because someone didn't want the matter to spread.
But the answer he didn't expect was that the Night Watchman's lineage had already died out.
