CH 98.2

When Bai Lixin entered the backstage accompanied by Dijia, he saw several other people aside from Bai Ban sitting in the dressing room.

Eight soldiers stood with backs straight, and the doorway was completely blocked.

The performers had all removed their makeup, revealing their original facial features.

These opera people had never seen this kind of situation. They were all cowering, only Bai Ban calmly sipped tea on the sofa.

Dijia stood at the doorway, and looked at the unperturbed Bai Ban, “Bai Ban, come. Let’s have a chat.”

Bai Ban put down the tea cup, and calmly got up from the sofa. He gave the troupe members a reassuring glance, and then gracefully walked to Bai Lixin and Dijia with a polite smile, “Let’s go, my lord.”

The next room was the private space of Bai Ban. After asking the two to sit down, Bai Ban went to prepare tea but was stopped by Bai Lixin, “No need, let’s just get to the point.”

Bai Ban put down the tea set, his eyes slightly stunned.

He looked at Bai Lixin, who had a master’s posture, and cast Dijia a questioning look.

These two stood together, so Bai Ban thought the fairy-like beauty was Dijia’s companion. He never expected that the one who opened his mouth to inquire was this man who seemed to have no offensive power.

Was he originally the dominant, or was the Lord Governor angry with him and crowning his companion?

Dijia raised his head, “You’re all his.”

This gave capital to Bai Lixin’s questioning.

Bai Ban’s eyes fell on Bai Lixin, whom he had taken for granted, and he pondered.

Could it be that this person was more noble than the Lord Governor? Who exactly is this person? How come he never heard of him?

Bai Ban was someone who had seen the world, and after a moment of surprise, he quickly gathered his expression. His words showed his lowered posture, “This… Lord, uh, what do I call you?”

Dijia, “Call him young master.”

Bai Ban nodded, “This young master, I wonder what you want to ask?”

While Bai Ban was sizing him up, and Bai Lixin was sizing up the room. The room was well decorated, with adequate materials.

This was a study. In addition to the necessary bookshelves and desks, there was a shelf for ornaments. The shelf had a dazzling array of gold and silver ornaments that were low-key but luxurious.

When his eyes swept over those gold and silver ornaments, Bai Lixin seemed to see something, his line of sight slightly paused there, after which he quickly moved away.

To Bai Ban’s inquiry, Bai Lixin answered, “Seven days ago, the wealthy man of Fengcheng died tragically, did you know?”

Bai Ban, “Of course, such a big thing has spread through the whole city. Was the murderer caught? It is said that it was the work of beasts, is it true?”

Bai Lixin, “Then where were you that night?”

Bai Ban instantly froze, “Why are you asking where I was? Are you suspecting me? I have never even met Lord Li! That night, we practiced our new repertoire here at Meiyuan until late, my apprentices can all testify for me.”

He glanced at Dijia speechlessly. The latter just shrugged his shoulders with a matter-of-fact attitude.

“You have never really met?” Bai Lixin stood up from the sofa and walked to the shelf. He casually picked up a blue and white porcelain, “Lord Li loves ceramic wares. Besides collecting antiques, he also likes to customize things. After customizing the porcelain, he would find someone to engrave his surname.”

“What a coincidence, I saw an identical vase in Lord Li’s study,” Bai Lixin turned the vase upside down. At the bottom was the seal, followed by a small “Li” character.

“Your surname is Bai, why is there a ‘Li’ character on this vase?”

Bai Ban’s eyes flickered. “I do not know. I picked this vase from the antique store. I didn’t look carefully at that time, and I wouldn’t have noticed if you hadn’t pointed it out.”

Bai Lixin picked up a fish mouthed enamel vase and turned it upside down. “Why is this also like that? Judging by the seal, there are two years between the time these two were bought. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”

“Are you taking us for fools?” Bai Lixin asked delicately, “Or do you want us to directly torture you until you are willing to say the truth?”

“Bai Ban’s body was born for opera; it wouldn’t be able to withstand those weird tortures in prison, right?”

Bai Ban’s fingers on his knees trembled slightly.

This young master is too evil! He has a gentle and harmless appearance, but what comes out of his mouth is more frightening than a poisonous snake. The oppressive feelings hidden under the soft words are almost crushing .

Who the hell is he?

Bai Lixin put down the porcelain and retraced his steps to take his seat.

Bai Ban thought for a moment and confessed, “I came here a few years ago, and although I was popular, I was looked down on by the people in the acting business. Three years ago, I went up to the mountain to pray for blessings and met a senior.”

“He stuffed me with a book and told me that as long as I rehearsed according to this book, not only would I have a full house, but I would also have a good fortune.”

“I thought the man was joking, but the content of the book was really interesting. I practiced with the attitude of giving it a try, and we performed “Romance of the West Chamber”.”

“The first performance that was released brought a full house.”

“The so-called fortune, was it Lord Li that gave you a lot of benefits?” Bai Lixin asked.

“Uh, yes.” Bai Ban hesitated for a moment, but continued, “In the seventh performance, Lord Li secretly found me and asked what my name was.”

“When I said my name was Bai Xian, he seemed to be shocked and ran away while yelling that it was impossible. Within a few minutes, he turned around and gave me a bunch of treasures, telling me not to perform this play. That was the only time we saw each other, and although he did not come again, he would still send treasures over.”

“Anyway, I’ve been in the capital, and I’ve met many types of people. I understood the moment I saw those treasures, and I guessed that the book must have had something to do with the rich man, and he wanted to use money to keep my mouth shut.”

“He gave me so much money, so I stopped the performance and replaced it with another. Not long ago, I heard that he died. I figured, since the person is gone, it doesn’t matter if this play is performed.”

“I just did not expect to draw you two out.”

He muttered in a small voice, “If I had known, I would not have done it.”

Bai Lixin, “What about the one who gave you this play? Have you ever seen them again?”

Bai Ban shook his head, “No, I’ve seen that senior once, and I don’t even know if they are a man or a woman.”

Bai Lixin was a little surprised. “How can you not even know if it was a man or a woman?”

“The person wore all black, with a black veil hat on their head, and gloves on their hands. They didn’t say anything to me, just threw me a piece of paper and that book, and then left. I once thought it was an Immortal that came down to bless me.”

Bai Lixin looked at Bai Ban’s excessively young face and said, “Speaking of which, you should also be in your forties today. How come you look so young?”

“Do I?” Bai Ban became more amiable after being praised. “It’s all thanks to the Taoist master at the Qinglian temple. He gave me medicine to prolong life and keep me youthful. Three years ago, my face was already having wrinkles but when I took that medicine, I gradually became younger not long after.”

“But you two are still so young so there is no need to use that.” Bai Ban sighed, “and it’s better not to touch it. I broke a few bottles before and my skin immediately turned back, so I can’t stop taking that medicine. On the 15th of every month, I go to the mountain to ask Taoist Qing to give me medicine. Of course, the price is not cheap, what a treacherous businessman ah.”

Bai Lixin and Dijia looked at each other.

“Then it seems that this ‘treacherous’ businessman will not have any more opportunities to harm you.” Dijia’s voice was cold. “Taoist Qing died yesterday.”

Taoist Qing keeps getting mentioned, so it seemed necessary to go for a visit to this legendary Qinlian Temple.

After leaving the petrified Bai Ban, Bai Lixin and Dijia left Meiyuan House.

They left when the sky was thunderous and rain finally fell.

Like a cracked countless mouth, raindrops fell like a broken line of pearls.

Fortunately, Dijia had a car.

The dark green military cap was placed on Bai Lixin’s head, and Dijia held Bai Lixin protectively as he entered the backseat, and he quickly followed him in.

“Drive to the house.” Dijia used his hand to wipe away the raindrops that had fallen on his body, and also gave the short order.

The car started slowly. The surrounding street lights were off, perhaps because there was an electricity shortage; even the surrounding buildings were not lit.

Rickshaw pedestrians had all disappeared, and the whole street was empty except for them.

The sound of raindrops falling on the hood came from the front, and hidden in the sound of rain was the sound of thunder.

Such a rainy night felt inexplicably eerie.

It was such a noisy environment, but the atmosphere was weirdly silent.

“There is a towel next to you. Help me get it.” Dijia’s voice finally broke this silence.

Bai Lixin felt around and quickly touched a neatly folded towel.

He picked it up, turned around, and wiped Dijia naturally.

He wore Dijia’s cloak and the latter remained in just a military uniform. He used his body to block the rain, so while a little rain fell on him, it was a different case for Dijia.

His hair, shoulders, chest, and back were all wet.

Dijia was afraid of getting Bai Lixin wet, so he chose not to sit close to the party. He only slightly turned to the side so as to facilitate Bai Lixin’s service.

His body was leaning back in the leather seat behind him, and his head was turned to the side as his eyes surveyed Bai Lixin.

His mind recalled the things that happened before entering this copy.

—

System: [This player named Bai Lixin is too special; he’s like a virus ruining the game’s harmony. I want to punish him and make him tuck his tail between his legs.]

Dijia’s expression remained indifferent, “So he broke the rules of the game?”

System: [That’s not true, but don’t you care about this, my lord?]

Dijia’s heart skipped a beat, but the expression remained bland, “Care about what?”

System: [Whenever you watch this player’s livestream, your blood pressure rises, your adrenaline spikes, and there is a shortness in your breath. These are the psychological reactions of the human body when angry. Your mouth might not say it, but in your heart, you’re also angry at him for ruining the fun nature of the game.]

Dijia’s eye twitched, “Yes, you’re right.”

System: [I’m going to give him a random hell mode copy!]

“But he has the most potential to reach the 900th level,” Dijia said earnestly. “If you throw him into a copy of hell mode, won’t it be a pity if the wisdom and ability disappear with him?”

The system hesitated for a moment, then asked: [Then what do you suggest?]

Dijia, “How about I go down and punish him myself? I also want to vent my anger.”

System: [How do you want to punish him?]

Dijia, “Hasn’t he been arrogant and insolent? Then how about punishing him by making him cry? Making an arrogant person cry is much more painful than torturing him in any other way.”

System: [You have a point. But even for you, you will have limits when you enter the copy, and you need to place a link to your consciousness in this room and build a special channel. Otherwise once all the players die, the copy will close and you won’t be able to return to the game lobby.]

Dijia, “I will place part of my consciousness here so that I can always stay connected to the game lobby.”

System: [Okay, let’s do that. When this player enters the game again, please be sure to let him know that life is hard.]

Dijia raised his eyebrows and sneered, “Of course.”

—