Chapter 160: The Tale of Killing a Dog

South Main Street had three theatrical troupes, but only one opera house.

That was the former Mei Family Opera House.

Before their downfall, the Luo Family had controlled the beggars, thieves, and prostitutes, while the Mei Family managed the plays, music, and robberies.

Not long after the Luo Family collapsed, the Mei Family fell right along with them.

Speaking of which, before Eldest Young Master Luo left Bianliu City, he had been close friends with that pitiable young master of the Mei Family. As for now... the two could still be considered friends.

The operas in Minhu weren't for just anyone to hear. The performances were so real that if you lacked the strength, you would be pulled right into the play. Only after breaking a leg, snapping an arm, or losing your head inside would the smart ones manage to escape. The foolish ones would still think they had put on a wonderful performance.

Yan Jing and Fei Yu specifically chose the time when the Wang Family Troupe was performing. They paid the entrance fee and walked into the Opera House just in time to catch the troupe taking the stage.

The play today was The Tale of Killing a Dog.

The general plot involved a rift between two brothers. One was a fop who spent his days mingling with local ruffians, and on the advice of two fair-weather friends, he drove his own brother out of the house.

After a series of bitter conflicts between the brothers, the fop's wife came up with a plan. She killed a dog, disguised it as a person, and placed it at the door while the fop was drunk.

When the fop woke up, he believed he had a murder case on his hands and called his two fair-weather friends to help him bury the body. Not only did the two refuse, but they went straight to the authorities to report him.

Instead, his brother, completely unaware of the wife's scheme, helped him bury the dog's corpse.

In the end, the authorities examined the corpse, the truth came to light, and the two brothers reconciled.

The story wasn't particularly brilliant, but it was a classic.

For someone like Yan Jing, who had consumed countless novels and short videos, the draw wasn't the plot itself, but rather that this was an opera of Minhu.

First, the actors took the stage.

This was already different from plays in the Surface World; it was done to let the audience see the actors' true faces.

Because once the play began and the actors' faces changed, an immersed audience member might just be able to pull themselves out of the play by recalling their true appearances.

Then, the play began.

In an instant, all color faded from the stage, turning it into a scene of black, white, and gray.

An incredibly eerie melody echoed above the Opera House.

It sounded like an old man crooning from an unimaginably distant place, every word held in a flat, monotonous pitch:

"Men are dogs... Dogs are men... Dogs are dogs... Men are men... You killed the dog... So do not kill me... You killed the dog... So do not kill me..."

Yan Jing glanced at Fei Yu beside him. Her eyes were wide, and she was watching the stage with great relish, clutching the bag of plums they had bought before entering the grounds.

Sensing him looking at her, she reached out and held two plums up to his lips.

"Don't look at me. Watch the play, we paid money for this," she said.

Her eyes never left the stage as she spoke.

Yan Jing chuckled, took the plums, and popped them into his mouth. They were delightfully tart.

Just those two were enough to make his mouth water.

Then, amid that crooning, the opera began.

The actors on stage had entirely changed their appearances, looking almost exactly like the characters they played.

Only... this play performed by the Wang Family Troupe seemed quite different from the norm.

Slight alterations had been made.

For example, in the original play, the fop's wife was supposed to find a dog, kill it, and use it as the corpse.

Now, however, the fop's wife had brought in one of those fair-weather friends instead.

Catching him off guard, she drugged him until he collapsed.

Right as the person on stage fell, a spectator in the audience suddenly collapsed to the ground with a thud. He began foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling back as his entire body convulsed.

He looked exactly like the person incapacitated on stage.

Immediately following that, the actor playing the wife began chanting rhythmically in an operatic lilt. As she did, the collapsed actor's form began to morph, shifting into the shape of a dog.

This, naturally, was the art of an Actor Cultivator.

Unlike Envy in Old Sin City, low-tier Actor Cultivators couldn't just transform into whoever they wanted.

One of the techniques in the Opera Cultivation First Tier was known as "Watching the Play."

They had to observe a target for at least five days—taking in their appearance, posture, and voice—before they could firmly memorize them.

The second technique was "Practicing the Play." At this stage, they could begin mimicking the target. However, there was a strict time limit, and the role could only be fixed to one.

Once they reached the Second Tier—having watched and practiced enough—they could attempt to take the stage.

At that point, the number of roles they could assume increased, and the duration lengthened. They could even turn the surrounding area into their "stage," granting them miraculous abilities.

Specifically, the abilities of the characters they played.

They could even portray characters from books or entirely fabricated figures.

Thinking about it now, this monochromatic domain had to be the "stage" set by these Actor Cultivators.

Yan Jing looked over at the collapsed spectator. The man was twisting his body in grotesque ways, seemingly convinced that he, too, had become a "dog."

But since he lacked an Actor Cultivator's powers, he obviously couldn't actually transform. Thus, as he continued to twist, he slowly snapped his own arms and legs, his bones caving inward. That wasn't enough. The very flesh and blood across his body began mutating into a canine shape.

In the end, he lay collapsed on the ground, thoroughly reduced to a dog made of flesh.

The flesh surged through his skin in hideous, deformed mutations.

With the dog acquired, the next step was killing the dog.

In the black-and-white scene on stage, the woman waved her hand. The "dog" on stage retracted its head, but down in the audience, the "dog's" head snapped clean off.

Blood sprayed out, pooling across the floor.

He would not be participating in the rest of the play.

On stage, the black-and-white opera went on.

The wife killed the dog and left it by the door. The husband, horrified and convinced he had killed someone, sought help from his cronies. When they refused, he finally turned to his brother, who helped him bury the dog.

Then came the court trial, the revelation of the truth, and a happy ending.

As for the dog?

No one cared where the dog went.

Neither the one on stage, nor the one in the audience.

Neither the one in the play, nor the one outside of it.

"Brilliant, brilliant."

The play ended. Yan Jing clapped his hands.

Beside him, Fei Yu also looked quite satisfied.

"This Wang Family Troupe is pretty good," she said. "A little better than the Li Family Troupe."

She glanced at Yan Jing beside her. Seeing that he showed no intention of leaving, her expression shifted.

"Young Master, are we not leaving yet?"

"The actors still have to take the stage again." Yan Jing looked at the stage.

"Since when do we have extra money to just give away? We already paid for the tickets."

Fei Yu was displeased and pressed her lips together. If the actors came back out, it meant it was time for the audience to give tips.

She had always been the type to stretch one coin into two for household expenses; she couldn't stand seeing this.

Yan Jing smiled.

"It's not just to see others, but also to let others see us."

Fei Yu blinked, not quite understanding.

Finally, she let out a sigh, slumping over the chair in front of her and puffing out her cheeks.

"You're scheming again."

Yan Jing shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not the one scheming."

"In this world, those with weapons use weapons, and those without weapons use fists. Even without fists, they still put their lives on the line and fight. Who else sits around fighting with their brain every day like you?"

Fei Yu rested her head sideways. Strands of hair tumbled down, resting against her slightly chubby cheeks.

"You just have bad luck. You ended up with me and Master Liu, and neither of us is very quick in the head."

"If you had met someone else, those other people wouldn't even have a chance to compete for the county magistrate."

Yan Jing just smiled and said nothing.

In his mind, he recalled the conversation Old Master Liu had with Eldest Young Master Luo right before he left.

"Young Master, I expect I'll be gone for quite a while this time. As long as you stay with Xiao Yu, you'll definitely be safe. Your head works better than ours, just don't overthink things. Is there anything in this world more important than a life? Right?"

"Master Liu is right."

"Rest assured, Young Master. While I'm out, I'll also train my brain. Once I return, you won't need to tire yourself out with all this thinking anymore. I, Liu Fu, will handle it all."

"Alright, Master Liu. I'll wait for you to come back. Until you do, I won't step outside this house."

In the end, Eldest Young Master Luo had stepped out of the house after all—because Old Master Liu had been gone for far too long.

And Old Master Liu hadn't broken his promise either.

Yan Jing thought of the old man's thick stack of detective novels and comic books, and smiled.

"Let's go, Xiao Yu."

Yan Jing stood up.

"You figured it out?"

Fei Yu stood up in pleasant surprise.

"Let's save our money to come watch tomorrow," Yan Jing said with a smile.

"We're coming again tomorrow?"

Fei Yu was even more pleasantly surprised.

Yan Jing chuckled.

"We haven't seen enough yet."

As for who hadn't seen enough, he didn't say.

The two left the Opera House but didn't head straight home.

Yan Jing led Fei Yu to the riverbank.

This time, he saw the person he wanted to see.

"Brother Four Hands!"

He looked toward the Retriever in the middle of the river, who had four hands.

Unlike other Retrievers, the eyes on his body weren't scattered or excessive. There were exactly four of them, situated squarely on his face.

His hands also numbered exactly four, growing on the sides of his body.

As for his legs, he only had two.

But the biggest difference was that he hadn't become a Retriever because he was forced into it, nor by accident, but voluntarily.

As for why he hadn't grown any superfluous hands or feet, that was his secret.

"Young Master Luo."

Seeing Yan Jing, the man came ashore from the river.

He wore long sleeves on his upper half, but shorts on his lower half. Barefoot, he left footprints with every step.

"Brother Four Hands, it's been a while," Yan Jing said with a smile.

"We just saw each other last week."

The man smiled gently. "Has Young Master Luo been well lately?"

"Quite well. And you, Brother Four Hands?" Yan Jing smiled.

"Not bad." Four Hands smiled. "Did you come today to chat, or just to see me?"

"Neither."

Yan Jing laughed. "I'm here to buy a Hand Fish."

"A Hand Fish?"

Four Hands laughed. "I understand. Young Master Luo connected with that Monkey."

"That's right."

Yan Jing nodded with a smile.

"Perfect timing, then."

Four Hands splashed into the river, hauled up a net, and came ashore to Yan Jing. "I just so happened to catch a good Hand Fish today."

With that, he pulled the Hand Fish out, packed it into a cloth bag he carried, and placed it in front of Yan Jing.

"Consider it a gift to Young Master Luo."

"Then thank you, Brother Four Hands."

Yan Jing accepted the Hand Fish.

It was indeed a very fat Hand Fish, looking fully four or five times the size of a normal one. Yan Jing suspected the original owner of this hand had been a fist cultivator.

"Everyone, look! Brother Four Hands gave me a Large Hand-Fish!"

To the surprise of both Four Hands and Fei Yu, Yan Jing suddenly hoisted the fish high, showing it to the crowd and earning a round of applause.

After that, Yan Jing led Fei Yu away, preparing to head to Old Monkey's shop.

"Young Master, why did you have to show everyone the Large Hand-Fish?"

Fei Yu had always been like this: whenever she didn't understand something, she asked.

"Because I'm afraid this Large Hand-Fish can't be eaten," Yan Jing said with a smile.

"Can't be eaten?"

Fei Yu blinked. "Do you have a bad relationship with him?"

"We're friends, more or less."

Yan Jing nodded with a smile.

"How come I never knew you had friends?"

Perhaps because she had seen a play today, Fei Yu's tone had grown noticeably softer.

"That man looked really familiar."

"Like I've seen him somewhere before..."

Eventually, she remembered.

"Oh—it's Mei—"

Before she could finish, Yan Jing placed a finger against her lips. He chuckled, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"Shh—you can't say it."