Chapter 163: No Waiting

After holding his tongue for a long while, the leader of the Mei Family Troupe ultimately failed to answer whose Opera House this was.

In the end, he could only speak with a complete lack of confidence:

"The Opera House is just the Opera House..."

At that, Yan Jing chuckled.

"If you can't even tell me that, I'm afraid there's a trap waiting inside. It seems I won't be entering this Opera House today."

"..."

The Mei Family Troupe leader's gaze darkened.

Countless eyes were watching from the shadows just now. If the Young Master of the Luo Family didn't even dare to enter the Opera House, once word got out and people added their own embellishments, Luo Sheng would lose a head of standing in the county magistrate election. Coupled with the fact that Young Master Luo was already inherently 'shorter' than the others, he would be down by two heads in total. His general momentum would be entirely gone.

Therefore, the person backing him had been absolutely certain that Luo Sheng would enter this Opera House.

And if the other party did enter the Opera House, he would similarly lose a 'head'—but this time, it would be a literal shortening of his physical stature.

However, he hadn't anticipated that Yan Jing would subtly single out the Mei Family. In an instant, the situation had reversed.

In such a short amount of time, he couldn't come up with a solution.

The person backing him hadn't left any instructions for this, either.

"If you won't enter the Opera House, we can step outside instead."

He looked at Yan Jing.

The opera performers flanking him leaned forward in unison.

"Then come out."

Yan Jing smiled.

Yesterday, the man who had been subjected to severe interrogation had revealed a secret concerning Actor Cultivators. One of the abilities of a Third Tier (Seventh Trade) Actor Cultivator was called 'Becoming a Lead.'

Starting from the Seventh Trade, one's cultivation was finally considered to have entered the ranks within Minhu. For an Actor Cultivator, reaching the Seventh Trade meant they could barely qualify as a lead actor.

Once they became a lead, their first task was to take a stroll through the Opera House and make their debut in the truest sense.

Therefore, in a place with an Opera House, an Actor Cultivator would be incredibly strong.

This was exactly why the Mei Family Troupe leader had invited the two of them into the Opera House.

But if they weren't physically inside the Opera House, a Seventh Trade would still be a Seventh Trade, but their strength would be drastically reduced.

Because of this, the opposing Mei Family Troupe leader wouldn't necessarily dare to step outside.

"..."

The Mei Family Troupe leader's gaze grew even darker.

"Forget it. We won't be stepping outside today. There's still a play to perform this afternoon. Since you refuse to enter, you should leave."

Besides... the matter should be just about finished anyway.

The Mei Family Troupe leader's eyes flickered.

Yan Jing smiled. Beside him, Fei Yu pulled out two prepared stools, and the two of them simply sat down.

"I feel like sitting here and basking in the sun for a bit today. Do you mind?"

"..."

The Mei Family Troupe leader took a deep breath.

"Sit wherever you please. We need to rehearse."

With that, his group rose to their feet. But just as they turned around, Yan Jing's voice casually rang out behind them.

"Do you really think your people have already finished the job?"

!!!

The Mei Family Troupe leader's heart clenched. He spun back around, staring at Yan Jing with poorly concealed shock.

Yan Jing chuckled. "You thought that since my maid and I left the house, and your people watched my manager leave as well, there was no one left at home?"

"So you wanted to..."

Yan Jing raised a hand and drew a finger across his own neck.

At those words, the Mei Family Troupe leader panicked.

Indeed, this was part of his plan.

He knew his man had been captured and might have cracked under pressure, but he didn't know exactly how much had been revealed.

Since last night, he had ordered his men to stake out Mud Alley. When they saw the Old Man leave, and then saw Yan Jing and the maid heading this way, the lookouts had rushed back to report the news. That was when he set up this Hongmen Banquet.

Regardless of whether the Hongmen Banquet succeeded or failed, the captured man had to die.

Either that man had already been tortured to death, or his subordinates would kill the man themselves.

There shouldn't have been any accidents in this plan; he was absolutely convinced of that. Yet, looking at the smile on Yan Jing's face, he felt an inexplicable wave of panic.

Then Yan Jing's gaze subtly shifted toward Fei Yu beside him.

The Mei Family Troupe leader followed that gaze.

Earlier, all of his attention had been focused on Yan Jing. Now that he looked closely, cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead.

There was something wrong with that maid.

Those subtle movements, that gaze, that posture...

That person was an Actor Cultivator!!!

At this thought, his heart pounded wildly.

There were no Actor Cultivators in Bianliu County that he didn't recognize, and Yan Jing wouldn't have one pop up by his side out of nowhere.

So, that Actor Cultivator was...

His heart clenched to the absolute limit. Then, he watched as the 'Fei Yu' beside Yan Jing revealed his true appearance.

It was the exact same man he had sent to kill Yan Jing yesterday!

In that instant, Mei Yi felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his face turning deathly pale.

"Look at the state of him. I told you, he wouldn't send anyone to save you."

Yan Jing smiled. "Troupe Leader Mei is a man of morality and justice, but justice is divided into the greater and the lesser. In the face of greater justice, the lesser justice can be temporarily discarded."

"Troupe Leader Mei, am I right?"

Faced with Yan Jing's words, Mei Yi couldn't utter a single syllable.

He was supposed to be the most skilled at acting, but at this moment, he couldn't put on a performance.

Yan Jing's words had torn away the mask covering his face. The man opposite him was a member of his opera troupe, an apprentice he had raised and taught since childhood. And right now, that man was staring at him with angry, disappointed, knife-like eyes.

Stabbing straight into his heart.

Slicing his heart until it bled.

"Think about it. I've done everything I could for you. If I had left you there, what would have happened to you?"

Yan Jing said with a smile, "You thought someone was coming to save you, but then they pulled out a knife. It could have been your fellow disciple, your childhood friend, or even someone you considered family. Wouldn't that feel awful?"

"Or perhaps you want to wait for Xiao Yu to drag that person over, pin him down in front of you, and have him tell you to your face exactly what he went there to do?"

That was right; the one who had stayed behind in the inner room was naturally the real Fei Yu.

If anyone had entered the inner room during this time, they naturally would have seen her.

"There's no need."

The man's voice rang out, his heart as dead as ashes. He understood Mei Yi because he didn't just treat the man as his master, but also as his father.

So upon seeing Mei Yi's reaction, he understood everything.

"Good. Then you must do what you promised me."

Yan Jing laughed heartily, the Jade Walnuts in his hand pausing in their rotation.

"Alright."

The man agreed.

Opposite them, Mei Yi's back was already drenched in sweat. Under the watchful eyes of the public, his plan to murder his own apprentice had been exposed, leaving him entirely at a loss.

He even heard the hushed whispers of several opera troupe members echoing around him.

This plan had been carried out in secret; many of them were completely unaware of it!!!

This was the only way it aligned with the rules they had always adhered to.

"Troupe Leader Mei, you look very hot. You seem to be sweating profusely."

Yan Jing smiled.

"There's one more thing I'm curious about. You are the leader of the Mei Family Troupe. Why does the newly arrived Wang Family Troupe in Bianliu County seem to obey you as well? Could it be that they are also the Mei—"

"Shut up, brat!!!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Mei Yi let out a low roar and charged out of the Opera House, choosing to tear away all pretenses.

Seeing the man beside Yan Jing, he knew his apprentice had definitely confessed everything.

He also realized why Yan Jing had been able to single out the Mei Family earlier.

But no matter what, the Mei Family Troupe's biggest secret absolutely could not be exposed.

So for the sake of the person backing him, he had to make a move.

As for Yan Jing across from him, in Mei Yi's eyes, the young master had ultimately made a critical oversight.

Since the person Yan Jing had brought along was a fake, a mere Eldest Young Master Luo was nothing to fear.

Even outside the Opera House, crushing him would be as easy as flipping a hand.

Even if doing so was completely unjustifiable on the surface, he still had to act! He had to be unreasonable! He had to shut Yan Jing up forever!

In an instant, he transformed into a burly, broad-shouldered giant of a man. His hands balled into fists, his muscles bulging, and his eyebrows raised fiercely. With heavy strides, he caused the ground to tremble.

He chanted aloud:

"If you wish to show your divine might~~ Then wield the strength of a thousand jin~~ I'll ensure bones scatter beneath my fists, bones scatter beneath my fists~~"

These were Wu Song's lines from Wu Song Beats the Tiger, but it was an altered version. In this version, Wu Song and the tiger were colluding. Therefore, behind the Wu Song that Mei Yi had transformed into lurked the phantom of a weirdly smiling tiger.

Watching the menacingly advancing Mei Yi, Yan Jing smiled.

Mei Yi's mind was ultimately in chaos, leaving certain things he hadn't fully thought through.

For example, Old Master Liu had indeed left home this morning, but where exactly had he gone?

"Boom!"

From the shadows, a figure dashed out of the alley entrance. A pair of fists swung out, generating gusts of wind and stirring up a baleful gale, directly colliding with the Wu Song that Mei Yi had become.

Mei Yi was instantly terrified, his expression changing drastically.

Meanwhile, a Paintbrush materialized in Yan Jing's hand. Aiming at Mei Yi, he drew a circle.

White Tracing.

Mei Yi's figure trembled, his strength withering by half. Already lacking the enhancement of the Opera House, he naturally couldn't withstand the Old Man's sudden punch, taking a heavy blow directly to the chest.

"Pfft!!!"

Mei Yi spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood. At the same time, the Paintbrush in Yan Jing's hand waved again, and a massive tree made of ink instantly manifested, blocking Mei Yi's path of retreat.

Although such a tree would only take a single punch for Mei Yi to destroy, victory and defeat were often decided in these subtle margins.

The moment Mei Yi's figure stalled, the Old Man thrust both hands forward with a loud shout, clawing straight toward Mei Yi's freshly injured chest. Mei Yi hurriedly reached out to block, only for the Old Man to change his palm into a grip, tightly seizing his elbow.

Then, Weird Energy surged like a violent hurricane. "Bang!!!"

Mei Yi's entire body was hoisted into the air by the Old Man and slammed heavily into the ground.

Meanwhile, from Yan Jing's cuffs, Little Birds flew out one after another, pecking straight for Mei Yi's eyes.

Without waiting for him to cry out in pain, the Old Man extended a foot and stomped directly on the center of Mei Yi's chest, crushing down like a mountain.

Accompanied by another massive spray of blood, Mei Yi's body convulsed like a deflated balloon, instantly reverting to his true appearance.

Everything had happened too fast. By the time the crowd regained their senses, Mei Yi's neck was already gripped in the Old Man's hand. He dangled like a dead dog, his life hanging by a mere thread.

"Young Master, what should I do?"

The Old Man looked at Yan Jing.

"Just kill him."

Yan Jing smiled, showing not a hint of hesitation.

Just as the Old Man prepared to strike, an angry roar rang out.

"People Leave Wealth, Dogs Leave Lives!!!"

They're here. Yan Jing smiled.

Someone ultimately couldn't hold back anymore.

A burly figure appeared at the alley entrance. His physique was massive, towering as high as three or four men. His body was covered in gaping slits, and inside every slit, a faint, tiny hand wriggled about, as if demanding something.

He looked incredibly ferocious and bizarrely terrifying.

"Highway robbery!!!"

Wielding two massive sabers, the man let out a deafening bellow.

At the same time, a faint singing voice drifted from the other end of the road. Though it wasn't approaching, the melodious tune seemed to carry a subtle warning.

As long as the Old Man made his move, the two of them would face complete encirclement.

The situation seemed to have reversed once more.

As the burly giant gradually closed in and the singing voice rose higher and higher, a figure suddenly appeared beside the massive silhouette.

"Excuse me, you're blocking the way."

Fei Yu's expression was utterly calm.

But all around her body, swirling cyclones of air had already begun to rise.

That aura caused a flash of vigilance to cross the burly giant's eyes, and the melodious singing gradually lowered in volume.

"Alright, now it's three on three."

Yan Jing smiled, turning to the Old Man.

"Do it, Old Man."

"Once you squeeze your hand, it'll be three against two."

After Yan Jing said that, the burly giant's previously ferocious expression twisted drastically.

"Wait!!!!!"

The giant panicked.

"Show mercyyy~~"

The singing voice cracked.

"No waiting!!"

Yan Jing said.

"Crack!"

The Old Man exerted force in his hand.