"Oh—so joyful, so joyful, laughing ...
Li Shengtian frowned, glanced at the ground, and exclaimed in dissatisfaction: "Oh, so this is what you call a god? Go over there and shout again. Go on, put the hammer down first! Put it here. Put it down!"
Seeing that Huaiyu had finally listened, Li Shengtian's tense face relaxed. Everyone treats Huaiyu the same way; this child can't be spoiled. Even if you spoil him, you can't let him know. He has a natural air of arrogance, and perhaps this arrogance will harm him.
Huaiyu glared angrily at Zhigao, who was laughing so hard he was doubled over, and began their journey into the open, yet desolate wilderness dotted with scattered graves:
"Ah—look—woo!"
Zhigao looked at him:
"I just don't understand what's so difficult about it? These few lines, I can sing them just by yawning."
"Don't be ridiculous."
You don't believe me?
Zhigao immediately recited the aria from "Narcissus" on the spot:
"Ah—so joyful, so joyful! Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing that Wenli and his soldiers are caught off guard. Good, good, good, good like a god! How could anyone know I'd be so strong today?" Zhigao possessed a bright, clear voice, pure and melodious. Although he hadn't practiced diligently, he had listened to many operas and often spent time with Huaiyu, so he had picked up several from a young age. Not yet satisfied, he sang another one:
"Having killed so many that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei had to defend themselves, my valiant name spread throughout the land—"
Upon hearing this, Li Shengtian came over and patted Zhigao on the shoulder: "Zhigao, you really are a bit of a cunning and clever fellow."
Zhigao was embarrassed:
"No, no, no, I'm using pocket cloth to make a coat—it's not enough material to go around in one direction."
"Why don't you join in? You'll be fine if you do," Huaiyu said.
"Me? Singing opera is all about breathing. Every time I make a sound and use my breath, especially my diaphragm, I get hungry. I might as well imitate birdsong; I can earn a few coins that way."
Just then, another group of people arrived.
There were about six or seven people, both men and women, led by a short but wiry middle-aged man. They were practicing separately in the open space, so they were divided into several groups.
Two young boys, around seventeen or eighteen years old, were practicing basic wrestling skills with the middle-aged man: lifting bells, doing handstands, somersaults... and then the two of them were shoving each other.
The middle-aged man offered guidance from the sidelines:
"Trip him up, yes, give him a few 'dodges' back, lower body, lower body, bring it on!"
The other two women were playing with diabolo.
The diabolo is made of wood, with a two-tiered, hollow disc at each end of a cylindrical column, edged with bamboo strips and four small holes. Two bamboo poles with white string tied to them are looped around the center of the column. Holding the poles and shaking them, the discs spin rapidly, producing a loud, pleasant buzzing sound from the holes in the bamboo strips. Two girls were performing some tricks with the diabolo, tossing it high and catching it quickly, showing some skill. They were shouting, "Monkey climbs the pole, Zhang Fei tricks the horse, climbs the cross—"
There was also a middle-aged woman with a long beard, practicing with two swords alone in the distance, her long tassels fluttering in the wind; she looked like a man's wife.
The girl beside her was incredibly flexible, bending over, forming an arch, her head jutting out a little more between her legs...
Huaiyu asked Li Shengtian:
"Master, what do you think this group does? I've never seen them before."
“They’re all skilled in acrobatics,” Zhigao said.
“Maybe they’re just here to make a living,” Li Shengtian said to Huaiyu. “Isn’t there a saying that ‘people can make the land thrive, and the land can make the people thrive’?”
I've never seen them on the overpass either.
"If we don't meet today, we'll meet tomorrow. We're bound to run into each other eventually, and there's always a chance we'll bump into each other."
After practicing several rounds, the group was covered in sweat. They then went together to the Yulaisan Tea House in Taoranting Park.
"Yu Lai San" actually refers to a tea stall selling large bowls of tea, with seating arranged under the shade of a few willow trees.
Zhi Gao admired Huai Yu and pulled him away:
"Huai Wang Huaiyu, look!"
"What are you looking at?"
"That woman—"
Shunzhi pointed, and the group of people had already bent over and sat down on the other side of the willow tree, their figures uneven and indistinct.
They sat around a small, low table, on which sat several large, chipped bowls and a green pickling jar wrapped in a cotton cover. The jar already contained tea, nothing more than a type of tea called "Gao Sui" or "Man Tian Xing."
The girl carried a porcelain jar with a handle and a spout, filled several large bowls with tea, and left them to cool because it was too hot. The group chatted and laughed.
Seeing that Huaiyu was distracted, Li Shengtian was a little displeased. Zhigao, noticing his face turning pale, had no choice but to smooth things over like this:
"Even a woman like her practices so diligently, and look at you, you're not focused at all."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, I watched as my master added salt.
"Master Li, I'll take care of Huaiyu for you."
Before leaving, Master said to Huaiyu:
“Huaiyu, if you want to make something of yourself, you have to change your ways.”
As Huaiyu watched Li Shengtian and his fellow disciples walk away, he cursed Zhigao:
"You are both God and demon!"
Zhigao ignored him and hurriedly looked towards the "Rain Comes to Disperse" teahouse. This kind of teahouse was chaotic when the wind came and scattered when the rain came, and the tea drinkers would stay for a while and then leave.