Chapter 663
Aftermath
The above sentences are all the lines spoken by Han Zhou and Gu Zheng in this stage play.
Because the traveler played by Han Zhou really "died".
A plastic arrow with a rubber suction cup struck him precisely in the chest, sticking firmly to his clothes, making him look as if he had really been pierced through the heart.
The arrow was both accurate and deadly. He didn't even have time to leave a last word before he fell straight backward, lying stiffly on the mossy prop next to Wang Lengqiu, his eyes wide open, looking as if he had died with his eyes wide open.
The elf played by Guzheng was clearly a cold-blooded character. Seeing that he had stopped moving, she showed no pity at all. Instead, she drew a short knife from her waist, stepped forward, squatted down, and calmly checked his breath with two fingers.
Just as her fingertips were about to touch his skin, Han Zhou suddenly sprang up from the ground, swung his arm, and forcefully ripped the arrow from his chest. With a quick thrust, the plastic arrow pierced solidly into Gu Zheng's chest.
Gu Zheng stared wide-eyed in disbelief, her expression hardly seeming to be acting. It turned out that when Han Zhou pulled out the arrow, he had grasped the tip of the arrow, but when he thrust it back, the suction cup caused his hand to slide forward and land right where it shouldn't have.
Fortunately, the stage lights were dim, and Han Zhou was extremely fast, so no one in the audience noticed it.
She was both ashamed and angry, suspecting that the guy did it on purpose, but she could only follow the script. The short knife in her hand fell to the ground with a thud. She seemed to want to do something before she died, but in the end she had no strength left. Her arm went limp, and her whole body tilted to the side, falling precisely next to Han Zhou.
Having avenged his great grudge, Han Zhou completely lost consciousness and peacefully closed his eyes.
And so, the tree spirit, which had been asleep for a thousand years, along with the two travelers and the elf who had both perished, lay side by side beneath the ancient tree, motionless.
The stage lights dimmed, and if the curtain hadn't been drawn yet, the audience would probably have thought the performance was over.
"What... what kind of development is this?"
One viewer asked in confusion, "How could the main character have died in less than two minutes?"
Fortunately, the lights suddenly brightened, answering his question, and with a steady footstep, the real protagonist made his appearance.
It turns out that everything that had just happened was merely an old story told by a traveler, a fate long since forgotten for three historical figures. The following plot will revolve around these three "corpses"—
The protagonist and his companions visit the forest with the same purpose: to awaken the legendary tree spirit that has been sleeping for thousands of years. However, due to the gap in civilization in later generations, people can no longer distinguish between tree spirits and elves. Tree spirits and elves represent two extreme fates, and there is no room for error. With no other choice, the protagonists and their companions have to first revive the only identifiable ancient human among the three corpses, thus setting off a farcical and absurd drama.
Overall, it was a very interesting story, as evidenced by the occasional bursts of laughter from the audience. However, it was tough on Han Zhou and his two companions. Despite the air conditioning in the stadium, lying on the floor in such cold weather wearing only thin clothing must have been incredibly uncomfortable.
Wang Lengqiu was alright, because she had a fixed "bed" and could lie down comfortably. Judging from her breathing, she seemed to be really asleep. But Han Zhou and Gu Zheng were in a terrible situation.
Because the two hadn't practiced their movements properly, they still made a mistake when they fell to the ground. Guzheng's waist landed squarely on Han Zhou's arm. Normally, this might be considered a perk, but it lasted for almost half an hour. Even with Han Zhou's physique, his arm would inevitably go numb and he might even lose consciousness briefly by the end of the performance.
Gu Zheng, who was lying on the ground, seemed to realize this as well. Taking advantage of the lights being focused on the other side of the stage, she slightly raised her waist so that Han Zhou could pull his hand out.
Han Zhou naturally wouldn't miss this fleeting opportunity, but being on stage, he dared not act rashly, fearing that the audience below would notice the "corpse" moving, so he could only move his arm carefully.
Nearly ten minutes had passed since the two men collapsed. His hands were becoming unresponsive, and he could only move them outwards little by little with difficulty…
Just at that moment, Guzheng's body suddenly sank down.
The stage lights shone on the three of them again, and then came the soft murmur of Zhang Yunqing, one of the main characters and the great magician:
“Whispers in the wind, memories of moss, answer my call! Gods above, tell me, who is the true tree spirit…”
She was casting a spell, trying to discern the true tree spirit through divine guidance.
No wonder the lights fell back on them.
But the problem is... isn't this timing a bit too tricky?
Han Zhou gasped. Through the wide black robe of a traveler, he could clearly sense where his hands were. If the robe hadn't concealed them, he would have been "killed" on the spot.
But all of that is secondary. As the saying goes, you can't touch a tiger's backside.
The guzheng may not be a tiger, but can you really touch its backside?
Han Zhou could already imagine the scene after the performance, when Gu Zheng would take that real bow and shoot arrows at him like crazy.
Those plastic arrows aren't lethal, but they really hurt.
However, thinking about it from another perspective, this might not be a bad thing. It's better for Guzheng to pay attention to him than not to him. With this in mind, he relaxed.
Gu Zheng had secretly tried to shoo him away several times, but he dared not move rashly at this moment. He could only slightly twist his waist to show his protest, but this subtle movement seemed more like a different kind of gift to Han Zhou.
But he still managed to pull his hand away.
After finally enduring the performance, Han Zhou immediately got up from the cold floor and reached for the guzheng, but the guzheng had already stood up on its own, turned around, and walked towards the backstage without saying a word.
Han Zhou didn't call her. The next program was about to start, and it wasn't appropriate to make noise here. So he pulled Wang Lengqiu up and helped her leave the stage.
As soon as I entered the backstage area, I bumped into Xia Qing, who had been waiting there for a long time. She smiled and handed me two cups of hot milk tea: "Thank you for your hard work."
As she said, Han Zhou and the other two did have very few scenes, but lying on stage for twenty minutes was no easy feat, and she came specifically to offer her condolences.
"It's good that I didn't cause any trouble for anyone."
Han Zhou smiled and took the milk tea, then asked, "Where's the guzheng?"
Xia Qing didn't answer, but glanced at a certain place out of the corner of her eye, while secretly observing Wang Lengqiu's expression. She had a lot of questions in her mind, but she swallowed them all back.
Wang Lengqiu's clothes were very thin. She was already thin and weak, and it would be difficult for her not to catch a cold if she wore so little in such cold weather. Soon, she went to the dressing room to change clothes at Han Zhou's urging.
"Um... I'm sorry." Xia Qing suddenly said, watching her retreating figure.
The three characters playing today have no romantic entanglements, yet they are caught in a love triangle. If the traveler, as the "protagonist," chooses to awaken the tree spirit, the forest will wither and the spirit will die. But if he chooses to let the spirit live, he will be abandoning the tree spirit he can't forget.
Throughout the entire story, from beginning to end, everyone's choice is to awaken the tree spirit, while the elf remains an unnoticed presence.
While this is just part of the plot, it's hard not to speculate when compared to the subtle relationship between the three in reality.
No... the relationships in reality are only more complicated. After all, besides the elves and tree spirits who just stepped off the stage, there is also a terrifying being lurking in the broadcasting room who is suspected to be a great magician.
Han Zhou could roughly guess why she apologized, and smiled indifferently: "It's my problem to take things personally, not your fault, senior. You don't need to apologize to me."
"I'm glad you don't mind."
Xia Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said half-jokingly, "But you seem to have misunderstood. I apologized because someone took a real bow as a prop. Your chest should still be hurting, right?"
Han Zhou shook his head: "Someone is in more pain than I am."
Today was full of unexpected events, such as Mo Yixia's sudden arrival, Wang Lengqiu being pulled away to make a guest appearance in a stage play, and the unexpected accident during the guzheng dance...
Many things happen so suddenly and inevitably leave behind aftereffects. Just like now, when he followed the direction Xia Qing pointed out, Gu Zheng was nowhere to be found in that room.
That girl, who always strived to be number one, didn't even wait for the show's rankings to be announced backstage. Just before her final exams, she took two days off and went home overnight. (End of Chapter)